Christmas Decor Makeover

Sometimes our Christmas decor just needs a makeover to make it feel fresh and pretty again. Last week, a client called wanting to update their wreaths, swags, and order a new mantle piece. I went and looked at her pieces and home to get an idea of what she had to work with. The home had been decorated for a Christmas tour several years back and the teardrop / swags were about 12 years old. They had a great woodsy base, although new bows were much needed. She wanted to lighten them up a bit, so I added some snowy greenery and gold ribbon. She already had a large supply of feathers, berries, and some other foliage, so I used as much of what she had, as possible.

 I completed the makeover at their house and when the owner came home, she was so excited and happy with how everything turned out!

The tear drop swags hung with the garland at each post on the staircase.  

I should have taken a before picture of this piece. There was a poor pheasant setting in the middle of this nest that sits on the stair rail. Oh, he was pitiful! I used some of the elements the client had and gave it an updated look. 

They have a large stone fireplace where this wreath hangs, but said it didn't show up very well. So more of the snow covered greenery helped lighten it up come, along with lots of feathers. A snowy bird nest replaced balls that were missing their covering. Not real sure if they were originally moss orbs or what.

 She had an inspiration picture with a mantle piece with the cascading pheasant feathers, so we created this piece for them. The wreath has a very rustic, winter lodge look to me. I suggested that it could be left up all winter and they liked that idea.

We were happy to help give their Christmas decor an updated and fresh look for the holidays! 

Come See Us at The East Texas Yamboree!

"Some dreams stay with you forever...

Some dreams keep on gettin' better,

Gotta keep believin' if you wanna know for sure..." ~Eli Young Band 

I've had this dream, this feeling, this desire, these ongoing thoughts for years, long before I started GypsyFarmGirl, that involved a vintage camper trailer and just knew that one day it would be a part of my future. I dreamed about flea markets and wanting to set up at a trades day event and thought I would just be sleeping in my camper. This was way before "glamper" was a term, before Pinterest and Facebook helped popularize vintage campers and mobile boutiques were a thing. 

I looked for years for a affordable camper of my dreams and was so excited when I found one last year. Little did I know in my early dreams, that my glamper would be a part of my full time business, a mobile boutique of sorts, the World Headquarters of GFG!  I was working a full time day job at the time and this was just a little side business. Fast forward a year and here we are!  This year, I've used her some for photo shoots for my new products and next month, Miss Gussie gets to make her public debut and one of my long time dreams will come true! She's been getting gussied up and got a new awning a few weeks ago. (See earlier post.) 

Good Lord willing and the Creek don't rise, my ever so talented and good friend Angea, from Rooster Tails, will be joining with me and we will have a booth at the 

East Texas Yamboree in Gilmer, Texas, in October. 

Together we will be using Miss Gussie as our shop and will be set up at the livestock fairgrounds as part of the arts and craft exhibits. 

I will have an assortment of items including wedding bouquets, pillows, western rope wreaths, home decor, furniture, lamps, chandeliers, fall and Christmas arrangements, dream catchers, tote bags, and the such. There will be items that are not available in my etsy shop and some special sales. Other than a small trunk show last spring (without my camper), this will be the first time my items will be available in person. I've had people ask if they could come see bouquets in person, before ordering. I work from home and don't have a storefront shop, so this will be an opportunity to meet me and see my items in person and I look forward to meeting customers and visiting with you face to face. I'm still working on several new items and furniture makeovers. 

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Angea is a creative friend and former coworker from the flower shop, where we both worked for several years. She's a talented florist, seamstress, painter, repurposer, and junker and she loves to laugh and is a happy person. (See why we are great friends?!?)  We have a lot of common interests and text each other on garage sale days giving each other the "you gotta get there now"  or "don't waste your gas money" advice! Here's a sneak peek of a few of the items Angea will be contributing to our booth. She makes the most adorable scarecrows, pillows, wooden signs and wreaths. She will also have some florals, wooden tool boxes, aprons, fabric pumpkins and so much more. Her business name is Rooster Tails  and she has a few items in her etsy shop, but most everything she makes will be offered in person at the Yamboree. 

Now for some show details - the Yamboree is our HUGE county fair and will be held October 15-17, 2015 in Gilmer, Texas. Our small town of around 5,000 swells to 100,000 visitors during the week as many activities are held in celebration of all things Yam (or sweet potato). There's a Yam Queen that is crowned at the pageants, 2 parades (Friday and Saturday), band stand, carnival on the square, band marching contest, car shows, fair food, lots of yam pie, a barn dance, and my favorite - the livestock shows, yam pie contest, art and photography contest, among so much 5more. Google the East Texas Yamboree for a schedule and see pictures from past events. If you need more info, please feel free to email me and I'll be happy to help you. 

We will be set up near the Yamboree exhibit building at the livestock grounds, located on US Hwy 271, just north of Wal Mart and the Gilmer / Upshur County Civic Center. So if you are anywhere near East Texas, we would love to meet you! The exhibits will open at noon on Thursday, and be open all day Friday and Saturday of the Yamboree. 

I'll be sharing more info as times gets closer and follow us on Instagram (@gypsyfarmgirl and @roostertails55) or GypsyFarmGirl on Facebook for some sneak peeks of what we are working on and will have available for you to shop from. 

We certainly hope you'll come see us and Miss Gussie! 

Pillow Talk!

Can we have a little pillow talk?

I've been busy the last couple of weeks working on some new items for my etsy shop. I have created some new pillow covers in several different styles from rustic country to shabby chic french farmhouse and elegant gold. I had a big photoshoot yesterday and all the items are now available in my shop. All the pillow covers are made to fit an 18 by 18 inch pillow form.

You can also see a glimpse of some of the other new products! I took over 200 pictures yesterday and listed nearly 4o new items in my shop, including the rope wreaths, buntings, bouquets, and ankle boots. 

I live and work in a small home. I see people complain that their second home / weekend house is only 1000 square foot and think to myself how much I could do with 1000 sq ft! Storing lots of pillows is hard for me to do, so I thought I couldn't be the only one. You can easily transform the look of your existing pillows by slipping the covers over them. No need to go hide that pillow in the closet or behind the couch when you want to change them out for a different look. The covers have an envelope style back, like a pillow sham for your 18 inch pillows. They can easily be stored in a closet or drawer if you decide to change them out seasonally and being lightweight, they will ship more economically than bulky boxes. 

I have a couple of the damask print pillows on my couch now and a matching curtain in the living room. I thought of the colors as rustic red and tan until I read the fabric description online. They call it tan, taupe, coral and peach damask. How would you describe it? The damask fabric coordinates will with the elegant gold pillow with fringe and the rag wreath. The wreath has tan, gold, white, and damask print fabric, along with tan burlap and white and ivory vintage lace. Get the wreath and the pillow covers will ship for just 25 cents each! 

(The Kay-Bee seed sack pillow, above, and the camper and angel wing pillows will continue to come with pillow forms.)

 Here's a couple close ups of the french letter and postage stamp pillow and the burlap scrambled alphabet.

 Faux leather and turquoise fringe for your rustic country home! I always pick out fabrics that I like. I could pull off any of these looks in my living room. I guess thats why I like more neutral colors in my house, so that I can change a look by adding pillows or decorations.

Miss Gussie, the glamper,  was excited to get to show off for the photoshoot! Stay tuned to see more new items or head over to my shop to find them now.