Purple Birthdays

We're throwing a birthday party this Saturday at The Whimsy Cottage & the plan is to keep it simple! Our daughter's only request is for a purple party, purple balloons, and a purple cake.

THAT, I can handle.

But then she told her Daddy this morning, "Mommy's going to make me a purple cake with purple icing and black wings. It's going to look like a beautiful purple butterfly." Let's hope her almost 3 year old mind comes up with something a little less complicated between now & Saturday. Something {again} SIMPLE like sPriNklEs!

Here are some adorable party ideas:

An Obsession with Vintage Game Pieces

I love vintage game pieces.

My love affair with vintage game pieces started with the purchase of a small box of dominoes. It was an innocent little collection of dominoes, but in the years since that first buy my little collection has grown.

the dominoes, you can add dice, lotto and bingo cards, letter tiles, wooden numbers, and vintage flashcards. The vintage flashcards are my new favorites... especially the little ones en francais!

I've always imagined a hobby re-purposing all of these beautiful objects into something like this:

{from katie.b.creative}

I think I'm going to try it. No, better yet... I'm going to order this little house kit *right* now!

Cottage Decor for Little Girls

I spent too much time this morning searching through Pinterest looking for inspiration for my almost three year old daughter's bedroom. This photo above {from photographer Mandy Lynne} is my absolute favorite! To see all the photos from this darling little girl's bedroom, click here.

The most difficult part of our re-do is letting go of A LOT of toys. I prefer wooden or vintage toys around the house, but I have suddenly found that our house is filled from top to bottom with a whole lot of plastic. If you could only see our house in its transition today... it is a mess & certainly not whimsical at the moment!

When People Wrote Letters

This antique letter slot makes me long for a time when we still wrote letters.

When I was in the fourth grade, I had a pen pal from Buffalo, NY. We spent a summer or so exchanging letters back and forth about our afternoons spent riding bikes & swimming before losing touch.

My letter writing continued in middle school after two summers at church camp. Before cell phones, instant messaging, and Facebook, keeping in touch meant putting pen to paper. We wrote letters on stationery, sent cards, and even included a photo or two inside a carefully sealed envelope. It was such an exciting feeling to open the mailbox and see a letter from a friend inside.

I still cherish these letters and will keep them as a sort of time capsule to share with my daughter about a simpler time {not so long ago}.

Vintage Ice Cream Treat

When visiting my parents in rural Pennsylvania, which is home to some of the best little ice cream parlors, we stopped to treat ourselves to a cone of ice cold deliciousness. Ard's Farm Market is a favorite stop with its vintage decor... just check out these adorable 50's chairs!

We didn't have to worry too much about Miss Sticky Fingers on these chairs!

What's your favorite flavor?

{I'm a mint chip kind of girl...}

Easy Pillow Tutorial

Check out this easy pillow tutorial! These 20 x 20 throw pillows are made using fabric napkins. Clever, huh?

Click on the pillows to get started!

Fabric Pennants -- Not Just for Birthdays!

I'm having a love affair with fabric pennants this summer!

AND they're *sew* easy to make.

First, head to The Whimsy Cottage store & pick up some fabric.

Next, I suggest making a template for the triangles using a piece of cardstock. I made the tops of my pennants as wide as the paper and used a ruler & pencil to mark the sides. Now you're ready to...

Trace, cut, press!

I used bias tape to string them and highly recommend using a wide piece -- trying to keep the pennants inside a narrow piece is a lil' bit frustrating. You can also run a bit of stitch witchery in the tape to help keep things together before you sew. Then it's...

Pin, stitch, hang!

I love them so much, I'm getting ready to make more. Pennant valances, anyone?