Wedding and Event Pictures

2020 has got off to a busy start! Last week, we had several events, all happening at the same time. It took lots of planning and coordinating, but we pulled them all off, with help from our friends! The Mineola Antique Fair was Friday and Saturday, with us having to put the finishing touches on our new space on Thursday morning. I also had funeral flowers to deliver on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. I did as much advanced prep work the week before, since I knew it was going to be a busy weekend.   

We finshed setting up Thursday, then I picked up all the flowers and started the prep work for Friday and Saturdays arrangements. I opened Friday and closed on Saturday in Mineola, and in between made lots of pretty floral bouquets. This large arch was one of our favorite things to make. The Spencer Wedding was held at Dove Hollow Estates in White Oak. Madison's colors were white, black, silver, and burgundy. 

 The view from the second story...

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of burgundy roses and callas.

 The front entrance of the elegant barn.

 Hydrangeas and iced branches comprised the entryway arrangement, where guest would sign in.

 Sharlette helped me with the on location work at Dove Hollow.

 The bridal bouquet was a cascade style arrangement with white roses, callas, and orchids. (Can't wait to see a picture of the bride carrying the bouquet, since I didn't get a great pic of it.)

 Always have my scissors nearby! The arch was huge at about ten high, so we climbed up and down the ladder a lot.

 Friday night we had storms and a huge temperature drop. Saturday temps were definitely winter like, but the shows had to go on! As soon as we finished up with the wedding, we hit Highway 80 west to Mineola.  Many local schools and businesses closed early on Friday (in anticipation of a storm that didn't hit till after 10:00 pm Friday night. We certainly didn't close or stop work, because the shows had to go on. We are thankful that the storms weren't as bad as predicted.

Selbie was nice enough to help Angea, while I wasn't there. 

We are liking our new space in the building and heard lots of compliments on our new set up. One things for sure, one picture can't capture all the booth anymore, as you can shop from all the way around it. 

A couple of years ago, I give a presentation at a 4-H meeting. At the meeting, I officially met Mrs. Fite (although I had known of her for many years.) We talked and she ask for a business card. Later on, we discussed sewing machines, since she wanted to get one for her granddaughter. A few months later, she called me about flowers for her son's funeral. She had specific ideas and flowers she wanted to use and I was able to make the flowers for them. 

Last week, I got a call that she had died and left instructions for her family to call me and I would take care of it. They didn't tell me any colors, just that they needed a casket spray and an easel with ribbons on it (that was the only details that they give me.) That level of trust and respect for my work is truly humbling. I later talked to her sister on the phone and she said Mrs. Fite always talked about my work. 

I knew she had picked out a pink or red dress to be buried in, so I decided to go with a mixture of red roses, stargazer lilies, along with pink and purple mixed flowers. 

 Last week, I also wrote a blog post about living in small town America. The word "Community" was on my mind a lot last week. It was a community service type event where I met Mrs. Fite. It was a lady in our community that recommended me to the Spencer family, when they were wedding planning. It took a community of friends for me to pull off everything in three days. The best selling shirt at the fair last week was the "Rural Route" - it's a t shirt design inspired by our life and work in the rural community and apparently it resonates with many of you as well. 

My business depends on your referrals and an online community of support and shares. I am extremely grateful for all of you that are a part of our community! 

Here's to a great start of 2020! Looking forward to helping all of you in the coming year! 

Rustic Burlap Wedding Flowers

Recently, we've had some custom request for new burlap color combinations.  The Etsy Trend Report predicts that Burnt Orange will be one of the 2019 top color trends and this was  a recent order requesting burnt orange, tan, and white burlap roses with ivory lace.

 This wedding had bouquets in every size, so I thought this would be a good time to label and show the different sizes, side by side. The bridal and medium size bouquets both have the lace collar around the edges, while the small bridesmaid bouquet and toss bouquets only have the tufts of burlap or "leaves" around the edges. Often, the medium size bouquet is used for the maid or matron of honor to carry, while the smaller option is carried by the remaining bridesmaids in the wedding party.

We also made boutonnieres to match for the groom and groomsmen. 

Another new color combination featured mint green, blush pink, pink, and tan burlap roses, ivory lace, hunter green leaves and just a touch of chocolate brown used for the stems of the bouquets and boutonnieres. 

 The bridal bouquet had mint green roses added to it, while the bridesmaid bouquets only had the shades of pink and tan roses.

 The groom and father of the bride had a mint green bout, while the groomsmen had pink roses.

 This mint green pin on corsage was made for the mother of the bride.

Both of the above color combinations have now been added to my shop. Of course, if you want custom colors or other variations, you can always message me for a custom order and changes can be made. 

The following color combinations are long time favorites! 

For the turquoise  - the bride chose to carry a medium size bouquet, while the bridesmaids were actually carrying the toss bouquets. For budget conscience bride's, this is one way to scale back and save a little bit. 

We also did this very simple corsage for the mother of the bride and groom. A rose with just a little bit of lace and pearls. 

Navy has long been a favorite of bride's! 

The Hawthorne Wedding

A few pictures from the Hawthorne Wedding! It was a beautiful afternoon for an outdoor wedding and I couldn't help taking pictures beforehand as the horses grazed in the background! 

 Is she not the most precious thing ever?!? That look of awe in her face is priceless!

Congratulations to the Hawthorne's! Wishing you many years of happiness and love! 

GypsyFarmGirl Seven Year Anniversary with Highlights from My Favorite Projects

7... Seven years ago today, I did something

big, crazy, and scary

all while 

sitting on my couch.

So what exactly did I do? 

 I listened to the encouragement from Jeff and the friends who always said "you need your own store". That night, I opened an Etsy store, established an email account, and this blog with the name GypsyFarmGirl, but I didn't tell anyone but Jeff. Quite frankly, I didn't think it would ever work. My goal was to use my creative passions to make a little extra income on the side. 

I only went by Janice from Texas, because I didn't want anyone to know, in case I failed (or for it to interfere with my day job). I started using Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram because all my friends were on Facebook. True story- I didn't create a Facebook page for a long time! 

 Honestly, the first year was super slow and it would have been easy to give up, but I kept blogging and occasionally sharing what I was making. I got featured on some blogs, with some of my projects that weren't necessarily related to the things in my etsy shop, but it brought some exposure to my blog and in return my shop, so I continued on. 

Here are a few of my favorite projects and features from way back then.

This little vignette in our bathroom was featured by

Funky Junk Interiors.

Burlap and Belt Buckles Chair Covers  - this was inspired by The Junk Gypsies and Miranda Lambert's wedding. I still remember how I excited I was when the Gypsies tweeted me and then Tip Junkie picked this project as a Top 10 Crafts to Make This Week and claimed them perfect for a western themed party. 

It looks like I have a thing with chairs! 

Jeff and I toured the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails a couple of times and my pictures and story were included in FOLK Magazine.

 A bucket list item was to be featured in a magazine! 

The week before my one year shop anniversary, I made a burlap bouquet and things started to pick up and you started asking me for custom wedding bouquets! I found my niche and I've not quit making fabric bouquets since then! Six years ago, there was less than 10 fabric bouquets with burlap flowers in them on Etsy, so I guess you can say I'm a pioneer in the burlap and lace bouquet business! 

The Original Burlap Bouquet in my Shop! 

A few other highlights from the past seven years.

 Funky Junk Interiors, once again featured a project and y'all went crazy over my rusty bucket of flowers. My post on how to plant in a bottomless bucket is my most popular blog post ever! 

Of course, our gazebo makeover and the reveal of our "junk yard" was another fun project, a reader favorite, and featured on many Facebook pages and blogs! 

One day, I received an inquiry for turquoise burlap in a bouquet. I had no idea such colors of burlap existed, but I found the fabric, completed the order, and shipped it out for a wedding in Canada. Now I have over 40 colors of burlap in stock and have shipped to over 47 states (at last count) and several countries! Turquoise has remained one of the most popular wedding colors, along with navy.

Along the way, I found an ugly camper and turned her into 

"Miss Gussie the Glamper" and I quit my day job! 

 For years, I just knew a camper would be a part of my future. Knew it deep down in my soul and would be so upset when I couldn't find one or couldn't afford the one I found. One day, I deposited my Valentine's overtime check into my savings account (for a florist, that was the very best pay check of the entire year and I do miss that bonus.) The very next day, I withdrew it and bought a 1959 Arrowhead Camper! That was in February 2014. Little did I know at the time, I would be quitting that job before the end of the year and GypsyFarmGirl would be my full time business. Miss Gussie has found herself the backdrop for many product shoots, gone to fairs and vintage markets and even got her picture in Mary Jane's Farm Magazine!

In October 2015, Angea Howell and I teamed up to do a show together and it has led to us having a blast junkin', more shows, and now we have a year round booth in Uniques and Antiques in Mineola, Texas. 

 We went big with our first show setup! See Miss Gussie hiding back there?

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for all allowing us to be a part of your special events over the last seven years! I love helping all of you and you've all been amazing to work with! I never dreamed all of this would ever happened or that I would be celebrating 7 years with this business. I look forward to helping you for many years to come! 

Some of my friends think we won the lottery and didn't tell anyone. We did not. We hustle, we work hard, and we have faith that everything will work out some how, some way. (We may be known to stress about a few things as well, but we won't go there...)

I hope along this journey, I can be an encouragement to you to

  dream big and follow your passion!

 Warning: Some days require more strength and patience than others.