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.}

Help Me Choose a Christmas Card

Help! Ever since I bought my "good" camera last year, I have lots of pictures on my computer. I take all these pictures, but don't do that much with them. This year, I have decided to use my pictures to create Christmas cards. Now the hard part - I can't decide which card to send out! I created these cards in the

 My Memories Suite Scrapbooking software and can print them at home on photo paper. I should be able to get 2 cards per 8 by 10 paper and mail in regular envelopes.

The first card is very simple. Just a scene from last winters snow storm on the same road I took the fall pictures last week.

 Card 2 and 3 are basically the same, except for the font color. This cardinal graced our yard during the snow and ice last January.

So, I need your help! Which card do you like the best?

Speed Scrap!

Tonight I participated in my first My Memories Sunday Night Speed Scrap. Here was my entry. The more I play with the software, the more I am learning. For the spped scrap, you are given specific elements to include on your page and then use your imagination to implement the directions.

I figured out hot to make the scalloped edges tonight and "found" more of the embellishment goodies that are included in the software. I had fun experimenting tonight and hope to participate with more of the Speed Scraps soon!

Fall Means County Fairs!

Fall means that it county fair time! Our local festivities were held last week.

As a 4-H and FFA member growing up, I competed in the livestock show and have always loved this time of year. As an adult, I can't compete in the livestock events, but there are several other contest that I entered.
I entered the Yam Pie Contest in the footsteps of my Grandmama and Aunts. Needless to say, we have ate a lot of sweet potato pie during October! Sadly, my pie didn't place this year:( I think they must have dropped it or something.

I submitted five of my favorite pictures in the photography contest and my moth picture received an honorable mention! I was excited about that.

I captured a few pictures of my nephew exploring his first county fair! He didn't ride any carnival rides this year, but by next year, I bet he can convince me to join him on the hobby horses or bears, or motorcycles! In about 8 more years, he can follow in the footsteps of his dad and aunt and start competing in the livestock contest. (You have to be 9 years old or in third grade to show livestock.)

It was a fun week. I got my yearly corny dog and walked around the fair enjoying all the sights and sounds and sharing the festivities with my nephew and his mom for the first time.  I enjoyed the fair while it was here, but I'm glad town is back to normal now.

No Faces

The My Memories Blog is hosting a No Faces Allowed Challenge.

Here is my submission with Farmall Man and Trixie at the Tractor Show we recently attended. I love to capture pics of them on our adventures, even if they have no idea I'm taking pictures.

Butterflies and Fun Free Stuff!

I've been trying to catch up on some scrapbooking this weekend.

 I look at the calendar and realize this year is almost over and I've hardly scrapped since Christmas of last year. What have I been doing all year? Hmmm...Taking lots of pics, but not getting them successfully in my scrapbook.

I think I have pictures screaming to get out of my computer! Remember that commercial?

While I haven't had many butterflies in the yard this summer, I happy for the ones that stop and visit and felt as if they should have a spot in my scrapbook!

I've been doing some digital scrapbooking to with My Memories Suite as well as using up a few of my 10,001 pages of paper I have in my stash! I need to start printing my digitally scrapped pages and get them out in the real world!

Speaking of My Memories, they are having a fun giveaway on their New Facebook Page. If you go and like the new page you are entered to WIN an iPad2! When the new facebook group gets to 10,000 fans, they will choose a winner for an iPad2 plus there is a

EXCLUSIVE Fan Freebie kit

available to facebook fans!

But that's NOT all! My  Memories is offering

FREE Designer Packs!

Yeehaaaa!!!

Who doesn't like a great deal? This 2 page pack with all the embellishments comes in two of my favorite colors! I can't wait to rescue some pics that are stuck on my computer to use with this layout. Hurry and Click on the link to go to My Memories and get your free scrapbooking goodies! They will be hosting new pages every two weeks, so if you like this page, GO NOW!

If you haven't got the My Memories Software yet, you can use my

code:  STMMMS41634 

to receive $10.00 off the software purchase and a $10.00 coupon for purchases from the My Memories store!

Now that's lots of fun, great bargains from My Memories!

 What are you waiting for, we got pictures to RESCUE off our computers!

Winner Winner!

The winner of the My Memories Suite Giveaway is Donna from Cottage Days!
Woo hoo,  Congrats Ms. Donna!

Donna said:
"I would love to win and use their papers for my blog backgrounds. That would be so cool! I could spend hours on their web site, but the Aquarella Dream Set papers and the Vintage Harmony packs would be terrific to use on my blog.

Thank you so much for this great giveaway!"

I'm liking both the paper packs you chose - I can't wait to see how you transform your blog Ms Donna! Please email me and I will get the instructions to you for downloading the My Memories Suite.



{The Discount code and coupon DO NOT EXPIRE, so be sure to use the code on my sidebar if you are interested  in the $10.00 off scrapbooking software and $10.00 coupon for the  My Memories Store.}

Last Chance

Once I figured out how to download scrapbook kits to my computer from My Memories, I created this page in just a few minutes. This was a free layout called Love of a Lifetime, available  in the store, and is composed of the background page and the circle embellishment. All I had to do was find a picture to insert and add my text. Easy Peasy and Fast. I like this picture that we took while we toured the Bluebonnet Trails last spring. This was a very quite nature area along the lake. I set up my tripod and we took a "family" picture! Trixie, after all is our 4-legged little girl ♥

The My Memories Suite Giveaway ends tomorrow (Wednesday). Entries are very low for the Free Software Giveaway. Your chances to win are great. So don't think you are a scrapper? You can create new headers or icons for your blog with all the options available. Its great for making easy collages - there's even an option to select the pics you want to include for the collage and it automatically places all the pictures on the page. Or Christmas time is coming - this software would make a great gift for a creative person on your list! The software has a $40.00 value!

My Memories provided this video for you to explore.

Here’s what’s on the video –

·         Software Screen Tour – finding your papers and embellishments.

·         MyMemories.com website tour (and description of different types of products on the site)

·         Beginning information on album creation

·         Introduction to SOME of the tools (and references to the other video tutorials that are available)

Hurry up and go enter for the free My Memories Suite Giveaway! Contest ends Wednesday at 8:00 central time, but the coupon code: STMMMS41634 for $10.00 off software and $10.00 off merchandise DOES NOT EXPIRE!

Click here to put your name in the hat!

The Gazebo Reveal!

We finally finished our gazebo this weekend and I love how it all came together!

 The gazebo was literally pulled out of a trash ditch a few years ago. A friend of ours had eyeballed 2 gazebos that had been pushed over and rolled into a ditch. He ask the owner if he could have them and they said yes. They only had a few minor blemishes and the lattice on the lower section was gone. For helping haul the gazebos, we got to have one of them and our friends kept the other one. Other than some brackets for hanging baskets, I had yet to make any changes to the gazebo until last week.

I had been wanting to paint the gazebo for a long time, but just hadn't got a round to it. My brother recently became unemployed and he came over to help us out! Now we have never had any help on our yard or house. We have always been DIY people, but since Waldo (my brother's nickname)  is not a trained painter, I think we can still classify this as DIY! Jeff even got in on the painting project while I was at work! Of course they talked and text a lot of smack to me!

We bought one gallon of white paint and three gallons of barn red paint last week. (We are also painting a building sometime soon.) I had visions of the gazebo white - they had visions of a red gazebo!

I got text like:

 when we opened the white paint bucket, it was miss labeled, its red paint.

Is red spelled - w-h-i-t-e?

They debated on whether to wrap red paper around one of the post and send me a pic.

While out delivering flowers, I did run by the house to check on the progress!

They finally got it all painted, but sure were not looking forward to putting a second coat on it. I saved the day, when I relieved them of that duty! I decided to do a little sanding, to give the gazebo a distressed look.

They sent me a picture Thursday of recycled tin on the roof! I love, love, love how it looked on the roof! This was totally Jeff's idea and he did good! They even used salvaged nails!

So then I finally got to do my thing! Remember that $2.00 piece of burlap that I found at Canton? The one that was hanging on the line, hoping to pass the smell test. I cut it into three strips and draped it from the center point and tucked in the lattice. I made the insulator chandelier several years back and hung it in the center  as well. All the insulators were found at a yard sale nine years ago, for ten cents each!

 

 One of my favorite parts was carving our initials on one of the post! I also personalized the floor with paint. I cut out stencils with my Silhouette machine and painted with the red paint J and J Farm, est 2002. The guys got their red paint some where on the gazebo and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've had the lanterns for a long time. I found them four or five years ago at Garden Ridge for $1.00 each!

I had visions of wrapping grapevine garland around  and through the lattice, but I didn't want to drive for two hours to get the garland or pay an outrageous price for it. When my red bud tree died from the drought, I saved the branches. The branches were just too pretty and I knew they would make good fall decor. So I took the branches and tucked them in the lattice for added depth. 

  

 I'm thrilled with how it all came out! Other than a gallon of paint  and the burlap, we reused and recycled everything for this project. We have about $17.00 in our gazebo and still have paint leftover!

I think we just might spend more time in the gazebo this fall! I am so ready for cooler temperatures and evenings spent outdoors by the chiminea.

Want to see more of our gazebo and how it's changed over the years? Go here for a recap!

My Memories Suite - Giveaway!

Several of you noticed I used a scrapbook type format for some of  my recent blog post. Last week My Memories contacted me about hosting a giveaway right here on GypsyFarmGirl for FREE digital scrapbooking software. They allowed me to download the software and try it out and then give away to one LUCKY reader their very own scrapbooking software! They are also offering a discount code and coupon for ALL my readers as well!

I had a few questions at first and after reading on the My Memories website and checking out all there awesome stuff, I felt more confident about sharing this with you, my friends. One of my biggest questions was "How can this benefit my readers?" I love to scrapbook, but was unsure if any of You do, but then again, we are bloggers and we are really just scrapbooking what goes on in our lives on our blogs. I ask if the scrapbook pages could be saved as jpeg files and uploaded like pictures to our blogs and the answer was YES! That made everything better!

I get frustrated at times with my current photo editing on my computer - I use one program to edit a picture, then have to use another program to compress my photos in order to get them to load on my blog. (We all deal with blogger and photo uploading issues - don't we?) With this software, I am able to work in one program, save the layout with pictures and text and load on my blog with NO trouble. Hallelujah!

I downloaded the digital scrapbooking software and found it very easy to create fun pages. I've yet to hit the help button! You can share your pages by printing, exporting to a picture file, creating DVDs, albums, and there is even an iPod ready button.

I have scrapbooked the traditional way for several years and honestly had never thought about digital scrapbooking. While I love the textures and creative techniques in scrapbooking, I will admit I am behind with my scrapping. This week I have enjoyed being able to create a page while sitting on the couch, while watching tv or at the kitchen table while I am working on supper. I can work on a page for a few minutes, walk away and its still there, without dragging out all the mess on my scrapbooking table. I can scrapbook on my laptop whenever and where ever I get a chance. I have made far more pages this weekend on my computer than I have have added with traditional methods!

While I will not neglect my traditional scrapbooks all together, my memories suite has definitely sparked  an enthusiasm in me to tell the story behind some of the many pictures I have on my computer, in a creative way. I can even print the pages out on my home printer and add them to my big, fat scrapbooks!

 I love all the layouts, background options, ribbons, brads, and flourishes that are available. Better yet, I don't have to run off to the store (my nearest scrapbooking store is over 30 minutes away) to get a special paper or embellishment when I am home scraping. All the options are on my computer and with the My Memories store, so much is available at my finger tips. There are lots of options that come with the software, many free downloads available on the website, and numerous scrapbooking options available to purchase.

The only negatives I have run into have more to deal with my internet connection. We have a download allowance per day and the My Memories Suite was definitely larger than our allotment. I was able to take my computer to work and download the software from there, so all worked out fine. Our internet service does allow us to complete large downloads during the night, but I didn't want to get up at 1:00 am to complete the task at home.

Here comes the FUN part! I get to give away FREE software to one lucky person and give a COUPON CODE to EVERYONE!

The following code is good for a $10.00 discount for My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software  and a $10.00 coupon  to the MyMemories.com store! Please copy and paste the following code when shopping with My Memories  to receive your discount : STMMMS41634

Several options are available to enter to win your very own copy of the software. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Mandatory to enter:

1. Visit MyMemories.com and let me know what your favorite layout or paper pack is. Comment on this post and let me know what you like 

AND

 Be a GypsyFarmGirl Blog or Twitter follower.

To obtain up to 6 ADDITIONAL chances to win you can:

2. Follow My Memories on their Blog, Facebook, or Twitter.

3. Blog, Tweet, and Facebook about this Giveaway and Coupon Code to all your friends.

Let me know what you did by leaving a separate comment for each and a link to your post.

You can copy and paste the following tweet: I just entered to WIN free Digital Scrapbooking Software @gypsyfarmgirl from @mymemoriessuite. Coupon Code STMMMS41634 Available! #Giveaway

That is up to 7 lucky ways to enter this contest!

I will choose one random winner of the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software Version 2 on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Entries close at 8:00 AM and winner will be notified by email and provided a code to download your very own software. If you do not have an email address linked to your profile, please include it so that I can contact you when you WIN!

The coupon code does not expire!

GOOD LUCK!