1st Birthday Flash Sale on Leafy Treetop Leather

Cognac Brown Triple Wrap Leather Bracelet with Ring

It's been one year since I decided to take my little side business online.  I resisted making the move for several reasons, but the number one being work/family business.  I tend to have a bit of difficulty not letting work consume my life, and with little kids at home I know I didn't want that to happen. Having an online shop means that you lose a bit of control over your work schedule.  With Etsy, although you can put your shop on vacation mode, and control your inventory, you never know when orders are going to come rushing in.  I didn't want to have to spend my life fulfilling orders, and rushing to the post office multiple times a day, but I still wanted to cushion our bank account with a little extra income.

Fortunately, over the past year I feel like I have kind of  found my groove.  My shop isn't always being pounded with orders, which is how I prefer it.  But rather, have been able to have a manageable stream of orders come through.  I've taught myself to stick to a schedule, and fill orders (for the most part) in the afternoon during quiet time and pre-school.  I also TRY to take weekends off, though I'm not great at it.

Lightweight leather earrings in Dove Gray

I feel like anytime you decide to venture outside of your comfort zone you are allowing yourself to learn and grow.  I am not a business expert, and to be honest, that isn't necessarily something I aspire to be.  I have, however, learned new skills, and refined old ones.  I'm grateful for the small but scary steps that I've taken outside my comfort zone.

6/2 Flash Sale: The Woodland Collection

In celebration of our first year on Etsy I'm running promotions all month long.  I have flash sales scheduled for each Friday of the month, with limited edition items available at each.  Save 40% during our flash sale promotions, and stock up for Christmas, birthdays, and back to school.  Our Woodland Collection flash sale is now live, and inventory is limited.

I'm shipping out a free gift with every online order, and have giveaways funning on both my @leafytreetopleather Instagram account, and Leafy Treetop FB account.  Enter for a chance to win either five pair of earrings, or 5 sets of bows.  I'll also be holding a second giveaway at the end of the month.  I'll be drawing the winner from all the buyers that placed an order during the month of June.

Leather Knotted Butterfly Bow Hairclip

So hop on over to Leafy Treetop Leather, and see if there is something that you can't live without.

Rustic Brown Wide Leather Cuff 

Thanks for all of the support and encouragement throughout the years, and especially this last one.

Dog Bowl Birthday Cake, For the Non-Cake Decorator

We celebrated Clark's second birthday this past week.  He is such a little man (other than the fact that he likes to pretend like he's a puppy and refuses to sit on the toilet).  He sure has grown up though.  He's learning how to get exactly what he wants.  He's already a master of manipulation.  This birthday cake was inspired by some of his recent manipulations.  

When we were on our trip visiting family, Clark discovered that my Aunt had these delicious graham cracker Scooby Snacks.  He soon fell in love with them, and found out that if he would grab my Aunt's little finger and lead her to the kitchen, that he would be able to enjoy his new favorite treat.  

Another side small story, Clark's Grandma called him up early last week to see what he wanted for his birthday.  Clark replied puppies.  Later we asked him how old he was going to be, and he replied "two puppies".  He seems to know how to get what he wants.  

So in an effort to please my little man I made him a dog bowl birthday cake.  I used his favorite new graham cracker scooby snacks to fill the bowl.  Here are a few little tips and tricks for this cake.

Disclaimer:  I am not a cake decorator, and would never profess to be.  I deem my cake a success if it makes it out of the pan in one piece.  I can barely use a piping bag, and I don't care that there are crumbs throughout the frosted layers of the cake.  So if any of you fellow non-decorators are looking for a simple boy birthday cake, here it is.

To learn how to make this cake click "read more" below.

Scrap Birthday Bunting

I decided to make a super easy bunting with some of the scraps that I have stashed away.  Mr. C has a birthday coming up next month, and Stashbusting September gave me a little motivation to put those scraps to good use.  If you look closely at the fabric choices you will see bits and pieces of changing pads, reversible toddler bibs, jelly jar toppers, quiet book page scraps, and torn bed sheets.  I thought that it turned out nicely.

I've seen these scrap buntings all over blogland and thought that I might as well give it a whirl.  I made my bunting about 7' long, and used strips that were between 7 and 10 inches long.  I tied all of my scrap strips onto a bit of extra length from my clothes line.

I can't wait to try another bunting.  I am dying to try a pennant bunting, but it looks like a bit more work than I am willing to put in at the moment.

Check out these great link parties.