New Rustic Rope Christmas Wreaths

Y'all, it's only 89 days till Christmas! Say what??? 

This weekend, on facebook, I saw someone sharing only 90 sleeps till Christmas eve... 

This year is been flying by! Anywho, Christmas will be here before we know it and now is the time to start gathering up your Christmas decorating essentials. There just happens to be several new Christmas rope wreaths available in my shop now! 

The lasso wreaths are all one of a kind. This one features a rustic bell Christmas tree, snow covered greenery, along with a burlap bow, holly, and pine cones. 

A couple of different wreaths have the jute webbing, Christmas greenery, horse shoes, and pheasant feathers.

 A little glitter and grit - Gold glitttery Merry Christmas signs adorn several of the rustic wreaths.

 Another bell Christmas tree. I only have one of these trees left (and its a different size,) so there won't be any duplications of the wreaths with the metal tree.

 The rope is intertwined among the Christmas greenery and red burlap poinsettias for this wreath.

The Cowboy Santa will be going to the Backwood's Marketplace event, November 19-20. 

 When I got in ropes this time, there was several red colored ones and they are perfect for Christmas! Red berries and a burlap bow, also accents this lasso.

Have a Merry Cowboy Christmas! A rustic, hand painted sign, horse shoes, the city marshal's badge, pheasant feathers, berries and assorted Christmas foliage make up this wreath. 

There are several more styles in stock, so please go check out my shop, now for best selection! 

I will be taking some of the wreaths to our Yamboree booth in October and Backwood's in November. If you will be at one of those events and want to pick up a certain wreath, please let me know and I can save it for you / give you a coupon code to purchase now and save on shipping. 

A Junky Little Christmas Wreath

This morning I was working out in the yard: watering and transplanting some plants, cleaning up my greenhouse, and piddling around the yard for a while, when I was inspired to make a

Junky Little Christmas Wreath for my Gazebo.

 It all started with a used basic green Christmas wreath form.

 I had a string of 100 white mini lights, a rusty old license plate, a saw blade, and what I think is a medallion from a chandelier or light fixture. I "tied" these item on with the silk Christmas greenery from the wreath and then added 3 rusty bed springs.

 Then I added a couple strips of burlap fashioned into a bow. It still needed something, so I went and clipped a few branches off a cedar tree in the pasture. The clippings were tucked in and aound the wreath and viola - A Junky Christmas Wreath!

  I then headed off to town for a while this afternoon and then came home to this!

 Notice Bo - he thinks the chair in the gazebo is his bed!

 I wasn't sure if I was going to do any outdoor decorating this year, but I'm glad I felt inspired this morning.

 I hope you all have a Merry Junk-Filled Christmas!

 

Thank you 2011

As the last few hours of 2011 come to an end, I think about all the events that occurred this year. A year ago, this blog didn't exist, I didn't have an etsy store, a Twitter account, Pinterest, or know anything about all the craft blogs that existed out there.

I am thankful for all of you that follow along with me here on my blog and all the other social media outlets, the customers who have purchased items from my etsy store, and the ones who have featured my work and pinned my projects. I appreciate your support as I venture along with my creative endeavors and share stories from our farming life.

I've yet to fully explore Pinterest, but am tickled these projects have been pinned this year!

The pictures above are from my blog and the items below have been pinned from my store!

I opened my etsy store, Gypsy Farm Girl on February 2 and my first item sold 3 weeks later...O happy day!

Spring is my favorite time of the year as flowers start to bloom and color returns after a long cold winter.

In April, we took two trips to view the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails. Our truck broke down the first day and Farmall Man used his incredible skills to rig our truck when the clutch bracket broke a hundred miles from home and all auto parts stores in the area did not have the part we needed. We had to drive home from Ennis without using the clutch. A hammer, channel locks, and card board from a clothes hanger held the clutch assembly in place. We had lots of rolling stops on the way home. That was an adventure, but the beautiful scenery was so worth it. I hope we can go back in 2012!

In May I shared some of my rustic garden decor and pictures from my yard. The drought hadn't hit yet.

June brought more flowers to the yard, but I was kept busy as Farmall Man was still recovering from his broken collar bone. The horses helped me mow the yard this summer! A motorcycle wreck slowed down his activity and I had to complete almost all the farm chores for a while as he heeled.

We celebrated the 4th of July by photographing a fireworks show on the lake. I learned about new camera settings for photographing the fireworks.

My Burlap and Belt Buckle Chair Covers from August were featured on Tip Junkies Top 10 Crafts to Make this Week and is my second most popular blog post to date! I jumped up and down and squealed with delight when I found out I had been featured!  

August also brought about an opportunity to be an affiliate with My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software. I held my first giveaway on my blog thanks to My Memories, and anyone who uses the promotional code : STMMMS41634 can receive $10 off My Memories Software and a $10 coupon to the online store!

I've enjoyed working with the software and have actually used the scrapbooking software more for blog work (designing headers and photo collages) and for making my Christmas cards this year.

August also brought about a Makeover on our Gazebo. I love how it all turned out!

By September, the Texas drought was becoming drastic and wildfires were occurring everywhere. Our county was struck hard and one large fire happened less than a mile from our house. I was mentally making evacuation plans as we watered everything we could as the ashes dropped on our property. I've never been so scared of fire before.

December has been kind to us in the way of rainfall. Thankfully we have begun to see regular rainfall again, the burn bans have been lifted, and the ponds are filling up. I know that some of my plants in the yard have died from the drought, along with lots of trees in the area. Its sad as you drive down the roads and see the toll the drought has taken on everything. Many farmers and ranchers are hurting and hay for animals is in short supply.

I entered my moth picture in  our county fair photo contest and received honorable mention in October. 

In October, I received some photography advise from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors and in November, she featured my Rag Wreath on her facebook page. The wreath had already sold before her feature, but another fabric wreath from my etsy store sold that day! I love Donna's junky style and have linked to her Saturday Night Special several times. She suggested I take my photos with natural lighting and have started taking my product pictures under the gazebo.

Christmas shoppers purchased several items from my etsy store this season. I will definitely be more prepared with more items in stock for next years holidays. My rope wreaths were featured by Handmade in Texas and all the Christmas wreaths sold. I am making more wreaths and hope to get more items restocked soon.

I took down my rustic, junky, shabby chic Christmas tree today. I've never left my tree up this long and was kinda sad to take it down. I'm trying to figure out how I can decorate with the pattern paper ornaments and bed springs in the house. I'm thinking some type of wreath or garland. I'll let you know what I come up with!

 

I didn't realize how long this post would be or the time it would take me to write it, but as I look back on my blog and through my pictures, overall, its been a great year! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for following along on my journey and supporting me with your comments and encouragement. I appreciate you ALL! Now I can't wait to see what all 2012 has to offer! I'm dreaming big and hoping its a great year for us all!

 Happy New Year!!!

Poinsettia Watering Tip

Christmas and Poinsettias go together like a hand and glove, the only problem is, so often the poinsettias die from lack of care. I wanted to share a little tid bit of info with you about watering a poinsettia.

Actually, you don't "water" at all - use ICE CUBES instead! Yes, you read that right. A plant wholesaler shared the tip with us one time and it really does help.

Poinsettias like consistant moisture - not too wet, not too dry. A few ice cubes a day keeps a happy plant. The ice slowly melts and waters the plant and you don't have to worry about water splashing on the leaves and causing spots.

So each day as you fill your glass with ice, give your poinsettias a 2-3 cubes as well (for a 6 inch plant) or when you finish your drink, place the "used" ice cubes in the pot. One time I had a customer tell me that she gave her poinsettia the last drink of her coke each day and her poinsettia was thriving the next summer!

{I wanted to say Thank You to everyone who has voted for my Christmas Wreath

 in the Better Homes and Gardens Pretty Wreath Contest! I'm currently in first place for the week and would appreciate your VOTES each day through December 11.}