My YouTube Debut and 2015 Year in Review!

I finally posted my first YouTube video today! Ahhh, it was a year in the making, literally!

Last winter, I attempted to set up a YouTube account and post my monthly video (that I share on Instagram and Facebook) but I had some issues and my video wouldn't load and I neglected it for a while, ok, 11 months give or take a few days. Enter today, and I really wanted to share my year end video on my blog. I won't bore you with the run around I had at one point today, but its now working!

Finally, here is my first YouTube video, featuring a collage of pictures from 2015 and music by Miranda Lambert, created with the Flipagram app. 

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this year and allowed me to be a part of your weddings and events! With over 10,000 pictures on my phone and camera card from this year alone,  I condensed it down to 235! It's been an exciting 2015 and I can't wait to see what all 2016 has to offer and where the road leads us.  I can definitely see more videos coming!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

2015 Best Nine on Instagram

Everyone on Instagram was doing it, so I had to join in the #2015BestNine! No, I wouldn't jump off a bridge if all my friends did, but this was not life threatening, so I had too! 

2015bestnine.com takes your top 9 most liked pictures on Instagram and forms a collage of them. It seems like all my Instagram peeps like dream catchers, turquoise, Miss Gussie the Glamper, sweet baby calves and rustic gardening as much as I do! 

Thanks for all the love this year! If you're not already following on Instagram, what's the hold up?!? It's my favorite place to hang out! Find me @gypsyfarmgirl or the link above. 

I'm having fun looking back at 2015 and dreaming about the new year to come! What wild and crazy dreams do you have for 2016?

My Favorite Rustic Burlap Wedding Bouquets

As 2015 is coming to a close, I'm looking back at some of my favorite rustic burlap wedding bouquets of the year. After some time off for the holidays, I am ready and excited to get back into wedding season!

The white burlap, lace and feather bouquet is always a favorite of mine and yours too it seems, as there have been many request to duplicate this bridal bouquet. 

The butter yellow and turquoise bride's bouquet with lots of vintage lace, doilies, pearls and rhinestones, was requested after the bride to be saw a similar bouquet in pink and white. 

There were several variations of the red, white and blue bouquets and I liked this picture with the boots and vintage wedding dress. 

I love sunflowers and this set of bridesmaid bouquets! A single sunflower was surrounded by tan burlap roses, accented with pearls and tufts of lace. 

The navy burlap bouquet was a very popular choice in my etsy shop this year and one was shipped to Italy! 

I love the neutral burlap colors and this bouquet with cotton in it. 

I tend to personally like the neutral colors or just a splash of color and that seems to be the way I dress as well. I can throw on a turquoise necklace and earrings and match almost everything in my closet! The jade (or light turquoise) burlap was a popular choice for weddings this year and I'm convinced turquoise can be paired with almost any color!

This jade bridal bouquet had lots of bling in it and the photo albums made great wedding gifts. 

The blush pink burlap roses were substituted for the brown ones in this variation of the above bouquet.

Another variation with jade, was the sola flower bouquet. The bride chose the turquoise, tan and cream flowers, while the bridesmaid bouquets had brown burlap roses. 

Of course I had to include this bouquet in my favorites, because it traveled all the way to Australia! Vintage book pages were tucked among the flowers and lace. 

Bahama turquoise and plum are the brides colors for this 2016 wedding. The hanging flowers balls took lots more time to create than I expected, but I loved how they turned out! They are building a pergola and these will be hanging from it, to create the backdrop for the wedding ceremony. 

Sabrina's wedding bouquet (their wedding was recently  featured) was something different and one of my favorites. I plan to include more of this style in my shop in the coming year. I did another wedding that was very similar to this one, although the handle of the bouquet holder was covered in rhinestones. 

This was a rush order over the summer and the black roses created a pop against the jade and natural colors. (Rush orders are available, so if you are worried about the time frame, please send me a message and I'll try my best to accommodate your needs!)

Coral and navy were both popular colors and here the two colors are paired together.

I photographed these camo and orange bouquets out by our creek and can just imagine the woodsy outdoor look of the wedding, the bride and groom were planning.  

I like to call this bouquet the "Rhinestone Cowgirl."  What cowgirl doesn't like turquoise, rhinestones and feathers?!? Of course any color combination can be used to create a similar bouquet. 

Red roses are always a romantic touch and sign of love, wouldn't you say? 

During the spring, lavender was a popular wedding color. 

I love the neutral colors and how they can be used with almost any wedding color combinations or work with a wide variety of bridesmaid dress colors. No fear of the colors clashing and it takes on a very rustic, vintage feel. 

Of course, this turquoise burlap bouquet is hands down one of my customer favorites and mine too! 

Rustic Americana bouquet with pip berries was another take on the red, white and blue wedding flowers,  using a vintage maroon and navy burlap. 

Everyone in this wedding party was going to wear pink converse shoes and carry pink, red, tan and white burlap and feather bouquets! A winery was going to be the location for the event.

Sunflowers and burlap are always a favorite when paired with lace and pearls, perfect for the vintage farm wedding!

 Gold toned brooches and ivory lace made this rustic bouquet a bit glamorous and had a very vintage look.

I remember there being snow on the ground when I was ready to take the pictures of this lavender and purple order, so I used my dress form to stage my pictures in the camper.

Out of all the color combinations, which is your favorite? I can't seemed to narrow it down very easily!

 It has been a pleasure working with so many wonderful brides this year and I can't wait to see what 2016 has to offer! I would be happy to create something for your wedding or events in the coming year. With almost 40 colors of burlap in stock, I can create custom bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages to match many color schemes. You can contact me through my etsy shop or email me for more information or to place a custom order. If there's something you have in mind, but don't see it, please ask!  I would be happy to help bring your vision to life and create your dream wedding bouquet!

Sabrina's Beach Wedding

Sabrina had one of my favorite rustic wedding bouquets of the year! We worked together to create something different and unique for her Destin, Florida beach wedding and she recently sent me pictures from her big day. Rhinestone accented black and tan burlap flowers, along with shabby ivory ribbon flowers and cream feathers created the bridal bouquet. 

I ask her to describe her theme or style, since this was something different and she replied she was a black-winged eyeliner, red lipstick, old vintage classy style person. She liked rustic, vintage and went with the burlap theme, since they were getting married on a beach. 

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding and sharing your wedding pictures! Congratulations and best wishes to the new couple. 

Above pictures were provided by the bride and taken by Photography by Laura 

Christie Sachse of Yours Truly Weddings was the wedding planner and appointed the photographer. 

Custom bridal bouquet by GypsyFarmGirl on etsy. 

Close up pictures of the bouquet, that I sent Sabrina before shipping her bouquet to her. 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas! 

May we all remember the reason for the season and enjoy our time with family and friends! 

One Year Ago

One year ago today, I walked out of the day job for the very last time, and GypsyFarmGirl became my full time job! 

What an exciting year it has been! 

I had never advertised or talked much locally about the fact I had been running an etsy shop at night and on the weekends, for almost 4 years, so many people were shocked when I made the announcement that this would be my full time job. I had worked at building up my business over time and when the opportunity came, I decided to jump! 

The two sayings have been my inspiration for the year: 

Rope Your Dreams  

and 

What if I fall?

Oh, but my darling, what if you FLY? -e.h. 

Of course, the second quote inspired a pillow and tote bag collection in my shop! 

For the longest time, only Jeff and a couple others personally knew of my shop, because I never dreamed it would be a success. In just a little over a month, my shop will turn 5 years old and today marks one year of full time operation! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if there's something you are wanting to do, work hard and rope your dreams! 

As always, thank you for supporting my shop and handmade items! You do make a difference in our lives and we so appreciate you allowing us to be a part of your weddings, events, gift giving and decorating your homes. We are looking forward to a great year ahead and can't wait to see where 2016 takes us! 

My Favorite Christmas Memory

I'm working on cemetery flowers for my grandparents today and I'm getting a bit sentimental. 

My favorite Christmas memory doesn't come from a present, a shopping experience, decorating or a big party. It involves peanut brittle and my Grandmama! 

It was the winter of 2001, and Grandmama had just got of the hospital. She had a stroke a couple of years before that and someone had to stay with her. I stayed a lot of nights with her and made the sweetest memories with her! 

She usually went to bed around 8:00. The house was quite and I was in her kitchen, baking cookies. Christmas was just a couple days away. Now mind you, I was expecting her to go to bed any minute, but she got up and came in the kitchen, grabbed her big cast iron skillet and got busy making peanut brittle! 

(This pic was from my cousin's wedding that was held that summer.) 

Due to her stroke, she had trouble talking. Everyone was "mama" and she used words like "skeepits" and "Wiggins" 

She knew what she was trying to say, but it didn't come out that way. If you ask her a question, she could answer or nod yes or no, but you had to know what to ask. 

I had never made peanut brittle and didn't know exactly what to do, how to help her, or how to spin a thread! Somehow that peanut brittle turned out fantastic and I've never had another piece as good as that night! She died the following March and I'll never forget her and our time together. 

The recipe above is in her handwriting and is a copy from her cookbook. One time, I tried unsuccessfully to make it and almost had to throw away my skillet as it stuck terribly and I had to chisel out the failed brittle! 

Favorite memories aren't bought or underneath the tree... 

December Designs

It's been a busy month and I realized I've been behind on blogging recently. We've been on the road working on some freelance floral jobs and Christmas decorating, along with keeping up with my etsy shop and shipping online orders.

This truck and camper pillow combination has been a local favorite!  

I designed these large garlands and several wreaths for one customer. She wanted to stay with the traditional red and green colors for Christmas and wanted a really full, lighted garland around her door. I truly had a truck load of wreaths when I delivered and hung her pieces! 

I've also got to work with fresh flowers several times recently and delivered a few arrangements locally as Christmas and thank you gifts. 

One of my big jobs last week was creating centerpieces for the Gilmer National Bank Christmas party, held at The Reserve. It was an honor that they ask me to design their arrangements! 

I spent the day working on site to decorate the ornate latern centerpieces with Christmas greens, berries, pine cones, burlap ribbon and green buttons. 

One of the bank board of directors decided he liked the arrangements so much, that he ordered two of them for his secretaries as Christmas gifts! He wanted the latern arrangements made with silk greens and flowers, so they could keep them for many years to come. 

This pink and green arrangement was delivered for an 89th birthday gift! 

I squeezed in some time to make these stick horses for my niece and nephew for Christmas! I've wanted to make a foo-foo pink horse for a long time.  My nephew thinks everything has to be blue, so I'm hoping he likes his blue mane horse!  I've still got to make a couple more gifts this week. 

Sadness struck a friend's family as they lost a loved one recently. They ask me to create floral tributes in his honor. Two red and white easels flanked a flag draped casket. 

He was a airplane and Harley Davidson enthusiast, so two easel held model planes and motorcycles (although they are kind of hard to see with the low lighting.)  

Almost all of the weddings I do are shipped out of town, although I got to personally deliver the bouquets and boutonnieres to the bride for her December wedding! 

She chose a small, 10 rose bridal bouquet and a half dozen burlap roses for her bridesmaid and toss bouquets, in turquoise, tan, and white. 

With everything that has been happening, I've kind of been slack at decorating my own house. Outside the camper is decorated, but that's about it. Sadly, I haven't decorated the gazebo much. Just a wreath and the lights that stay up year round. 

I'm so thankful for everyone who has supported my shop and allowed me to help create something special for them! I hope you all have very Merry Christmas!