A little about me -

Hey Y’all! Lots of new friends here and I’m getting several questions, so I thought it’s time to introduce myself again.

I’m Janice. Springtime is my absolute favorite and I despise being cold, so I can usually tell you how many days till spring (Currently 56!)

I am a maker and am passionate about supporting the makers. I can be a very thrifty girl, but I’ll spend on quality hand made things. Our gazebo was literally pulled from a trash ditch - we love decorating it each season and sharing our love of junk and gardening with y’all.

10 years ago, I started an Etsy shop, but didn’t tell anyone I knew - it was my night / weekend job. The first year, I made my Christmas money (enough to buy supplies to make my gifts. It was scraps of that fabric that made my first burlap bouquet. )

6 years ago, I left my town job as a florist to make this my full time job and what a ride it’s been! My original focus was burlap and lace wedding bouquets, but now we’ve added clothing to our line up. All of our shirts are created by us (not simply ordered, unboxed, and resold.)

Now, for the places you can find our items:

Always online- our website: www.GypsyFarmGirl.Shop (newest items will be found here.)

Etsy shop: GypsyFarmGirl.Etsy.com

Blog: www.GypsyFarmGirlmGirl.net

www.Facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl

www.instagram.com/gypsyfarmgirl

www.pinterest.com/gypsyfarmgirl

We have spaces inside Kickin’ K Cattle Co in Quitman, Texas and most recently P20 Land & Cattle Interiors and More in Gilmer, Texas (our hometown.) These places have an assortment of our tees and things.

When I left the flower shop, I didn’t think I’d be doing fresh flowers again, but you started requesting my work and referring your friends to me (I’ve never advertised, but just show pics of things I’ve made.) I work from home or on location.

Throughout the year, we participate in several pop up events, farmers markets, and shows. Our favorite is when my vintage camper, Miss Gussie, gets to come along! Watch for announcements about future events.

We always try to provide a positive attitude and experience here at GypsyFarmGirl. Thank You for allowing us to make pretty things for all of you!

Oh and we have a farm as well - cute baby calves and silly donkeys are likely to show up from time to time.

P.S. you can grab this flower truck tee in our shop! 

Slightly Obsessed with Flower Trucks!

Okay, I admit it, I'm obsessed with flower trucks! I even have a Pinterest Board dedicated to Flower Trucks. Check it out to see some fun inspiration and garden ideas. I really wish Jeff would let me plant flowers in one of his old trucks, but I seriously doubt that's ever going to happen.

I created this turquoise truck with pink flowers as a "Goodbye January" graphic and it kinda went crazy on Facebook and then I decided it needed to be on some shirts too.

I had already started on the Rust and Romance flower trucks when I created the one of above and then we already had the red flatbed truck with flowers. Oh and then there is the Vintage Soul shirt with a vintage truck and flower!

Read more about the Rust and Romance theme and how it resonated with me on this blog post. 

Have I mentioned my daffodils and jonquils have started blooming?!? They are a couple of weeks early, but we are excited to see them.

Which Flower Truck is your favorite? 

(All the shirts are in my etsy shop now or I'll have them at the Mineola Antique Fair this weekend. The flannels and plaid shirts are all one of a kind, but I can always make more of the t shirts, if you don't see your size.) 

Making Herb Butter

 I love herbs - both growing and cooking with them. After attending a recent Medicinal Herb class, I'm exploring using herbs as tonics and for cleaning, so I've been adding a few more plants to my yard that can be beneficial to us.

 I've had this bird cage hanging in a tree and decided to add small pots of oregano and some aloe in it. As the plants get larger, I'll transplant to bigger containers or somewhere in the ground.

One of my favorite ways to use herbs is "Herb Butter."

It's so easy to make and there's no exact recipe.

I let two sticks of (real) butter soften at room temperature, so that you can stir in the herbs. For this batch, I added chopped chives, oregano, basil, salt, and garlic powder. Stir it in good and then refrigerate to let it get firm again. That's all! 

Use whatever herbs you like and to your taste. Now that I think about it, at times I've even added dried cayenne pepper to the butter.  

Grilled corn on cob is so good with herb butter. At Memorial Day, we bought 10 ears of corn and grilled them. Everyone was going crazy over the corn. Later that night, I found out Jeff didn't get any corn. We had 11 in attendance and everyone ate the corn . Ooops! So for 4th of July, I made sure there was plenty of corn for everyone and that he got a piece.

 For grilled corn, I remove the silks, but leave on the husk. Soak corn for 30 minutes in water, liberally apply butter to ears of corn, pull the husk back up over the corn, wrap in tin foil and grill 20-30 minutes. It holds it heat really well, so its the first thing to go on the grill and it'll still be warm after grilling the meat. Remove foil just prior to setting on the table and then watch it disappear! Oh and pass the herb butter around the table!

We also used a pat of butter on the steaks, right before they came off the grill and it's good on bread as well.

Do you cook with herbs? If so, what's your favorites? 

An Artist Hands...

I've worked with fresh flowers this week and my hands look filthy.

This reminds me of a time a coworker was accused of not bathing and just being nasty because her -florist hands were dirty / stained. 17-18 years later, I've never forgot those words that were said to me, about another creative person, by someone who worked in the industry.

Y'all, I've washed them numerous times. I've hand washed the dishes and I've taken a bath every single night, I've scrubbed, I've scraped my nails... They are still stained. Everything I made this week had a type of eucalyptus in it. We have private well water with iron in it. The combination makes my hands speckled. It's crazy, but eucalyptus is gorgeous and it won't stop me from using it or from creating art!

You know, it rials me up when I see and hear people comment that they judge a person by their hands (or feet, etc.) Don't get me started on feet and why cute shoes are not supportive or comfortable!

I'm proud to be an artist, who puts my hands, heart, and head into everything I make. I'll proudly wear the stains of my work on my hands in order to create something for you! I'm not embarrassed by the stains or the paint, and the cuts, wire scrapes, etc on my hands. I encourage you not to ridicule someone because their hands are not perfectly manicured.

July News

Hope your summer is going great! Several things to tell you about in today's update.  It's now more convenient to order different size bouquets for your wedding! From drop down menus, you can choose quantity and size, bouquets on the most popular bouquets in my shop, without having to message me first. Custom Orders are still available if you want different color combinations or styles. I always send pictures for your approval on all made to order items. Etsy guest check out now offered, so you don't have to have an Etsy account to purchase.  Several new styles of ready to ship bridal bouquets are available for immediate shipping.  Rush orders can usually be accommodated, if you need something quickly, so don't be afraid to ask!  Bouquet sizes (left to right) - Bridal, toss / flower girl, medium size bridesmaid, small bridesmaid bouquets. Angea @ RoosterTails and I moved to a new booth at Uniques and Antiques last month! Same store, we just moved down the row to a larger space, so we can share more of our junkin' finds and creations with you! Shop Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00-5:00 at 124 S. Line St. Mineola, Texas The turquoise hutch makeover can be viewed here.  Christmas in July and the Super Summer Sale is happening NOW! New rope wreaths in stock and lots of other one of a kind items!  Shop Now If you missed the Summer Garden Tour on my blog, you can catch it here.  Dream BIG, my friends!

P.S. You might have noticed I changed my logo again! I think this one better describes some of the things my business / life is all about - burlap, white chippy frames, chasing wildflowers, old trucks and glampers, mason jar everything, cactus, and turquoise. Whatcha think about this one? 

Rustic Summer Garden Tour

 I'm a fan of golden hour, sun setting through the trees, and enjoying the fiddling around in the yard in the evenings. Come on over and take a walk around the yard with me! 

The gazebo has several rusty buckets hanging from springs. 

 You may remember that these two hanging baskets are "bottomless buckets". Plastic pots are liners inside the galvanized buckets and serve as a focal point when walking up to the gazebo. The herbs are going crazy in these two baskets!

 Hens and Chicks are overflowing the wheelbarrow.

My garden is full of Roots and Wings! Many of the roots in my yard have been shared by friends and family and tells a story and of course I love watching my feathers friends.

I haven't planted anything in these buckets...yet! I'm telling myself these buckets are water troughs for the little critters in the yard.

 A rusty chicken feeder of rose moss sits on the front steps.

 Moss rose in a vintage chicken feeder on the front steps.

The yuccas are blooming along the front fence and they have really multiplied in the past few years, nearly taking over the brick patio, so I must divide them up soon and find more place to plant them.

 Pale pink crepe myrtle blooms along the path to the gazebo.

 Mexican heather finds a home in a turquoise tool box.

I love taking close ups (macros) of the flowers, particularly the small little blooms.  

 A little succulent in a old tea tin - I mean, the tea tin even has the word planter on it!

 Dianthus

 Periwinkle

 Million Bells (mini petunia like flowers.)

 Sun flares on the plants... ♥♥♥

Thanks for stopping by the rustic garden tour, this evening. Tell me, what was your favorite part?

For the Love of Junk - Gardening

Hey Y'all - I thought I would share a few pictures from our junk yard! I planted flowers in April and they are starting to fill in nicely and my geraniums have even bloomed a second time. (That's a record for me, as I don't usually have good luck with geraniums!) Last year, my sweet mail lady shared the day lilies with me and they are blooming pretty this week. 

For those of you who are new here or don't know the story of our gazebo, we rescued it from a trash ditch a few years back. Yes, it was rolled over on its side, all reddish brown, with a shingle roof, in a ditch. Actually there were two of them and our friend had spotted them and ask the property owner if he could get them. We got recruited to help load and haul them and got one gazebo in return! That was before we had great camera phones and I didn't document the rescue. For a season or two, the gazebo was in its found state, but I started landscaping around it and built the brick patio that connects to our house. Finally, we decided a makeover was going to happen! She got painted white and my husband and brother surprised me with a rusty tin roof! 

'

It was about the same time, that I decided I would no longer have plastic pots visible in my yard and started planting with recycled junk! That's when the real fun began and my yard took on a new personality. The only thing purchased new in a store is the hummingbird feeder and the solar lantern.

That crock was abandoned in a field. The rusty container the chives are in doesn't even have a bottom. In fact several of the planters shown, have rusted out bottoms. I hide the plastic flower pots by sitting them inside the metal ones. For the hanging buckets, the plastic hanging baskets have been wired to the top of the bucket and then I plant in them. (It's going on 5 years, with the same wires holding the same flower pots inside.)

I have 4-5 different pots arranged in the old wash tub. I mulch around the edges, so it looks like everything is planted in the tub. This makes it easy to switch out plants seasonally or when one begins to made away, I can change it out. I', surprised the geraniums are still holding on, since I don't have the greatest of luck with them. Why do they always look so good on everyone else's porch, but I struggle with them?

This was a beat up, rusty old water jug and I love to plant alyssum in it. Little lizard likes it too!

A broken clay pot, spills a bouquet of flowers into the oval dish pan and is hauled around in a rusty ol' wagon. 

The bike has a gym locker basket full of creeping jenny.

I do have fun looking for unusual ways to plant in containers and giving life to abandoned items. As the words on one of my favorite t shirts read "For the Love of Junk Rescue ~ Reuse ~ Recycle"