My Fave Back to School Ideas!

So school has started!! I can't quite believe my little man has started first grade!! Time really must slow down!!

Here is my little guy on his first day of First grade!

To print this image or any other grade level sign please click here. From Catch My Party.

Since school has started...I wanted to share with you guys some examples of crafts I have either done myself or ideas that I have found online that are great for the beginning of the school year!

1. Printables & Parties!

And is this Back to School Party not to die for?!? It is an Apples and Donuts themed party! If one of my children were born in Aug. or Sept. I might have to do this as there themed Birthday party!! Or why not have a back to school themed party! You can find all the details of this cute themed party here.

Here is another adorable back to school party from Giggle Galore!

Here is another link to some adorable free printables! Click here to view and print various Back to School printables!

You can also print these adorable School Days labels and notes here.

 

 

Print these school time inspired stationary here.

 

2. Back to School Crafts!

This Ball Mason Jar Pencil Holder is to cute and you can find all the instruction on how to make it along with the printable here.

This adorable First Day of School Teachers Crate from SippyCupMom Blog! Not only is this crate super easy to make but it is such a great way to send school supplies to school + give that new teacher an extra special gift!! You can find the directions and supplies needed right here.

3. Back to School Interviews!

I really, really love this idea! This is a great way to capture your child's heart...and it will be quite funny to read when he/she is all grown up! Oh, to have the mind of a child...and dream big, big everyday!! You can download and print these cute Back to School Interviews here.

 

 

 

 

4. Back to School Photo Shoots!

 

Seriously if this is not adorable I don't quite know what else is! Such a great idea to photograph them as they start the new school year!!

 

 

 

 

Do these pictures inspire you to take some of the little school age children in your life? I know it does for me!! Hope you are inspired!

 

Love,

Vera

 



The Longest Yard Sale - Day 2

WOW Guys! We are whipped!! So tired and Ash is saying that she can't post until tomorrow because she can't keep her eyes open any more! Today was beyond great!!

Our first day we started in Gadsden, Alabama and traveled all the way to Chattanooga, Tennessee...we slept over at a Super 8 (watch out...keepin' it classy!) I would rather spend my money on vintage treasures and not hotels! But, remember guys this is off the beaten path...so please don't think you will have the option of staying at a 5 star hotel, because you don't! Some of the cities / towns that you pass through on the Longest Yard Sale are very small and don't have very many options for places to stay! So tip #1....book your hotel rooms well in advance....one you can get great rates (I booked early and didn't pay more than $50 per night!)

So today we traveled from Chattanooga, Tennessee all the way up highway 127 north and made it to Crossville, Tennessee! Because Crossville is such a small town - there were no options for hotels and the few places to stay like cabins and such - were booked well in advance...so we are staying in Cookeville, Tennessee which is about 35 min from Crossville (but when you have a truck full of stuff...it takes a little longer to travel, so it took us about an hour!)

The part of the route we traveled today was my favorite so far...don't get me wrong...I spent the most money today (in comparison to yesterday), but man it was worth it! Tennessee is such a beautiful place for one and two the people around here are so kind and lastly of course...they have some amazing treasures hiding behind these mountains! Me and Ash many times would just pull over on the side of the road and take our bags of cameras out and just start snapping away (I say bags of cameras...because if you know me and ash...we travel with multiple cameras...iphone camera, Ash's professional camera, my nixon 1, our instax camera, etc...I mean you get the point...it is madness!)

We traveled through lots of little towns and cities today - if you ever decide to take this crazy adventure....please know that in many of the cities on Hwy 127 (the route for the longest yard sale) have vendors / antique dealers that set up in groups...which makes it nice when stopping because you can park and look through hundreds of vendors booth all in one central location! But, Tip #2 if you stop at every vendor booth and every single yard sale on the route you will never be able to get very far each day....because there are thousands!! I know it is hard to pass up any yard sale if you like me, but in this case...you have to pass some up! 

Here are some awesome things that were found in Signal Mountain, TN area...

When I was a kid...I had this little red suitcase and of course my mom (with four kids!) could not keep everything...but I am now the proud owner of this suitcase once again!! Circa early 80s I was bringing that to my Mimi's house every weekend!! Now I need a second one...for my twin sister because we had a matching set!! 

Who remembers these stencils put out by Tupperware back in the 80s as a promotional item?! (Can't you tell I grew up in the 80s?) Well...another item I use to own and my mom got rid of...I mean that is where my creativity began...well for $1 I got them back!! It is those little things that bring back such happy memories...and that is why I collect!!

One of my many purchases for my yard! This beautiful wooden blueberry wagon that I will most likely use for plants! I paid $17 for it! 

Vintage bicycles are all the rage these days!! And they are so expensive and in some places extremely over priced! Some of these bikes in these pictures were any where from $300 - $800. So if you are the owner of one of these...you have a serious treasure!!

Ash bought a vintage doll house (circa 1940s) from a Mennonite woman who told her that her and her husband do a lot of estate sales and resale the items...recently they were at one and saw this doll house...she looked at her husband and said "please get that doll house...I have always wanted one as a child and never had one!" Awhh....she was tearing up telling Ashley that! She was excited because she knows it is going to a good home...and it will be sure appreciated! 

Cookeville, TN is a jewel of a city too (that is where we stayed friday & saturday night) I learned today while at dinner (at the best Italian restaurant around this area...go to Mauricio's if you ever in the area!)

that Cookeville is home to Russell Stovers Chocolate and you can visit the factory store...although they manufactured the chocolates in the Cookeville for many, many years....they no longer do it because they learned that you can make things cheaper in Mexico (Go figure...even our chocolates are made in Mexico!) They still have the retail store...where you can buy chocolates for a discounted price (I guess they are passing there savings on to you...since they are now made in Mexico...how sweet?!)

After a long day of treasure hunting...here I Am amazed that we can even fit another thing in the back of the truck!!

Still another day of junkin'!!! Our three day will be in the next blog post...it will start in Clarkrange, TN! 

Also I am posting this blog post from my iPhone, so please know when I get home to my actual computer I will up load pictures from my camera and also take pictures of all the items I got (everything is so packed down...I can't even begin to try to unpack it until we get back to Louisiana!!)

Vera 

The Longest Yard Sale - Day 1

Well, Well Ladies...

How do I even begin to write about my first experience at the Longest Yard Sale in America??!!! What....What....incredible!!!

To begin....Me and my vintage junkin' lovin' bestie (Ashley Burke) headed out from Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon and began the road trip to our first destination and also the beginning of The Longest Yard Sale in America - Gadsden, Alabama.

We stopped a few times on the way up to North Alabama, but the drive was pretty much interstate the entire way, so total drive time was about 8 hours (only due to a major rain storm right before we got into Gadsden, Alabama.

Gadsden is known as the officially starting place of The Longest Yard Sale and we started the sale off at 7am at the very first stop in Gadsden - Noccalula Falls Park at the top of Lookout Mountain! It was beautiful and to kick off the morning of our first day right....we met an incredible little man named Paul (from Kentucky)....as we were getting out our truck...he yells "Ya'll ready Ladies!" and we are like "Of Course!" and he states "I collect Vintage Pyrex!" and we say "Oh yeah...well we do too!" Well by this point Paul was pumped!! He next takes out an organized binder from his truck with pictures of every single Pyrex dish every made!! He has an organized system for keeping up with which pieces he has and which ones he doesn't have...but he is quite the collector and has been collecting since the early 70s! He is currently the owner of over 1,100 pieces of vintage Pyrex!! I would say that he is considered an expert in the field of Vintage Pyrex to say the least!!

To say we knew what to expect is completely wrong...although I was the obsessed researcher (that I usually am before a trip...especially a junkin trip!) we really didn't know what we were walking into...we could only imagine and hope the junkin' God would pour out vintage treasures from the sky!!

Well let me just tell you....that is pretty much what happened...and don't think me and Ash didn't pray on the way...and I tell you...God didn't let us down!!

Here are the cities that we covered on Day #1...(there is an official highway that The Longest Yard Sale is on...through Alabama it is Hwy 176 or also known as Lookout Mountain Parkway...Once you cross into Georgia it is Hwy 157...and then into Tennessee it is Hwy 127 all the way into Michigan!

We covered a ton of ground and went through hundreds of yard sales, antique deals, and my fave...estate sales!!

Here are some of my favorite memories from today and some beautiful sites that we saw!

Junk, Junk, and more junk! For all your picking' needs!!

The beautiful Desoto State Park on Hwy 176! Be prepared for curvy roads for miles!

I love the tiny city of Mentone, AL...beautiful and also home of many famous girls/boys summer camps!

Wildflower Cafe is amazing and located right on the route of the Longest Yard Sale in Mentone, AL (just 6 miles from the Georgia State Line).

So for the final question....what did we find today? Me and Ashley definitely walked away with some steals! Here are the things I found today (sorry for the bad pic...I am posting this from my iPhone and hotel rooms lighting/tacky carpet can just about kill any picture!)

Here is a break down of what I got!! Can I say cheap??

Longest Yard Sale Finds...Day #1:

1. Metal wire basket $10
2. White distressed shelf for wall or can be free standing $10
3. (2) Wire Metal Baskets $2
4. Bama Vintage  Tin Can $2
5. Large wooden Spool $5
6. Vintage Pillow $1
7. Large Chalk Board $2
8. Large Tin Water Pale $12
9. Crochet White Sweater $1
10. Large Tomato Basket $3
11. Glass jar with red top $1
12. Small Bama Apple butter jar $1
13. Spool of Lace Ribbon $2
14. Clutch Purse $1
15. Large wooden Frame $15
16. Baby bed spring $15
17. Bag of Lace Trim $1
18. Bag of Vintage Lace $.50
19. Bag of Vintage Papers $1
20. Vintage Material $.50
Total for  Day #1: $86.00

Ash had a great junkin' day too and only spent $86 bucks...you can check out her finds here.
She found some great things and even snagged some precious vintage Christmas decor for way too cheap!

Well tomorrow we will both post recaps of Day #2...we are starting in Chattanooga (where we are laying to rest tonight!)

Happy junkie' to all!

Vera