My office...

My office is not the traditional sort! I work from wherever I roam. Thanks to modern day technology, I am able to be flexible and work outside the 4 walls of a traditional office. 

This morning I was on the road early to a vintage market for supplies (can't wait to show some of my new products I'm working on) and delivering a wedding shower corsage to a local customer. THE Junk Gypsies commented on my Instagram pic this morning too! The see the world glamper air freshener was a gift from a friend and the "Resist Much. Obey Little." tag with a Walt Whitman quote came from a junk gypsy purchase last year and hangs on my rear view mirror. 

I stopped on the backroads to answer a return call and talk business with a supplier and order fresh flowers for an event next week. Uhhmmm, secretaries day is next week y'all! Don't forget! 

I answered email and text from the cow pasture, while I checked on my girls. 

I stopped and ate lunch and yes, I was on my phone the entire time. I was alone in a restaurant. I know, most people think, gosh, people should put their phone down to eat (and I do a lot) but I was having a "business meeting". You just couldn't see or hear the customer on the opposite side of the table. If I would have had a laptop or a yellow legal pad, everyone would say "oh she's having a business lunch", but my phone is all that and more for my business. I had lunch with a customer in Ohio, while grabbing a burger in Texas, as we worked out details for her bridal bouquet order. It's a rush order, so I needed to correspond timely  to help her out, instead of waiting till I got home this evening. 

I guess I'm rambling on to say, just because you see someone on their phone a lot, it doesn't just mean they are playing on Facebook (I just may be talking with potential clients in another state or country on fb or Etsy though) and goofing off. It is a job and customer service for some of us who have businesses and don't conform to a traditional office. 

 

I live and work on the Rural Route and that's just fine with me! 

Now I'm back home and working to get the rush order made and blogging. And you know what? I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for a 9-5 job! So thankful for modern day technology and everyone who allows me to help them with their events and special occasions!  

Edited to add- the finished bouquet is ready to go out tomorrow! 

Rustic Burlap and Lace Wedding Bouquets

I thought I would share some of the recent burlap and lace, custom wedding bouquets that have been shipped out this spring. 

The navy burlap bouquets have been one of the most requested colors in my etsy shop this year.

Navy burlap and lace bridal bouquet

The veil on this head band is removable, so the bride can wear the birdcage veil during the wedding and be easily removed for the wedding reception. 

Rustic birdcage veil headband with removable veil 

rustic navy burlap bouquet with white lace

Navy burlap boutonnieres

navy and coral burlap wedding bouquet

This is a medium size bouquet and can be used as a bridal bouquet or for bridesmaids.
(Psst - the vintage wedding dress is available in my shop!) 

rustic turquoise burlap wedding bouquet

Feathers and bling were added to the turquoise bridal bouquet.

The "Rhinestone Cowgirl" Bouquet - turquoise burlap bridal bouquet with feathers and bling

Camo and Orange bridal bouquet and small bridesmaid bouquet 

brown, tan and cream burlap bridal bouquet

jade burlap and lace bridal bouquet with sunflower and burlap bridesmaid bouquets

This was something totally different for me! A local customer ask for a seashell bouquet for her upcoming beach wedding. They got engaged on the beach last summer and some of the shells were collected on their trip. 

Seashell bridal bouquet

Dried babies breath and wheat were incorporated into this bouquet.

Navy burlap and lace bridal bouquet with wheat and babies breath

Turquoise, black and white burlap and lace bridal bouquet and small bridesmaid bouquets

Shotgun shell boutonnieres with camo burlap rose

This was a new color combination with coral, oyster and Idaho potato! The order started out being turquoise, like the rhinestone cowgirl, but then the colors changed (prior to me starting on the order) to coordinate with the dress the groom's daughter and maid of honor found. I thought it was very sweet that the bride was willing to change colors and was including his daughter in the wedding planning process. 

Coral, Idaho Potato (brown) and Oyster (cream) burlap and lace wedding flowers

These two brooch bouquets are on their way to Canada now! 

burlap brooch bouquets with lace flowers and aqua brooches 

sola bouquet with jade and tan burlap rose and lace

Introducing a new wine colored burlap to my offerings. The bride's color were David's bridal "marine and wine." 

wine and navy (wine and marine) burlap wedding bouquet

jade (light turquoise) bridesmaid bouquets

This bouquet was ordered by a granddaughter to give to her grandmother as a Mother's Day gift. How sweet is that? 

pink, purple and white burlap bouquet

red, white and tan bridesmaid bouquets with feathers

To make the groom's boutonniere stand out from the rest of the wedding party, two small roses and feathers were used in his bout.

turquoise burlap boutonnieres

Many times the mother's corsages are made in neutral colors. Often, the mother's and grandmother's either don't know what they are wearing till last minute or they pick out a dress that is a different color from the chosen wedding colors, so the neutral colors will match better for them. 

burlap, lace and pearl wristlet corsage

For this wedding, they chose to use cream and turquoise pin on corsages.

This corsage was for a Woodland Creatures baby shower, that included duck feathers.

Woodland creatures baby shower corsage

Thank you to everyone who has allowed me to be a part of your weddings and special events! 

If you are interested in bouquets for your wedding, please send me a message through my etsy shop (or you can email me) and we can discuss your ideas and needs. I have almost 40 colors of burlap in stock now and continue to add colors, upon request. Custom orders are always available or there are some ready to ship bouquets ready for fast delivery. Current production time is averaging 2-3 weeks (plus shipping time), although rush orders are possible, pending I have all the supplies on hand to quickly fulfill your order. 

 I would love to help create keepsake bouquets for your upcoming events!

Spring Garden Tour - Junk Yard Style

Welcome to the Spring Garden Tour, Junk Yard Style! 

Where we love everything rusty, chippy, rustic and almost everything in my garden is recycled, found at garage / estate sales or found in the trash and repurposed! 

I've finally had a chance to clean up the yard  and plant more pretty flowers this week and couldn't wait to share with you! So pull up a chair and I'll show you around. 

I love my bucket planters. Several years ago, I made a vow to not buy new containers and that you would not see plastic flower pots in my yard. The hanging buckets have rusted out bottoms and I have tied in plastic pots inside the buckets to hold the flowers.

For all the new followers here, even the gazebo was pulled out of a trash ditch and brought to our yard. I have been looking for chair cushions for my other chairs, but can't find any that aren't hideous. I mean, tropical Hawaiian print does not go with my vintage look and that's the only option available at our local store. I guess I should attempt to make some, but until then these old wooden chairs will do the job just fine!

I love alyssum and the pretty little lacy flowers they have. It seems to pair well with the begonias and they are usually pretty hardy with our hot summers. 

Crocks and galvanized buckets of blooms! The large wash tub actually has 4 separate containers in it, so that I can change them out seasonally. Add mulch around the edges and you would never know my  little secret, if I didn't tell you! 

A gym locker basket holds another bucket of flowers. The lanterns are solar powered, so they automatically light up at night. 

A rusty old can is turned on its side and has coleus and alyssum planted in it.

This antique lawn mower came from my great grandparents house! 

A hollowed out stump serves as a vase for these sweet little things. 

I love spending spring evenings in the yard and the light from the sun setting behind the trees.

I have a shirt that says:

For the love of JUNK

Reuse ♥ Repurpose ♥ Rescue 

I guess you can say that's the motto for my yard! 

That lily, planted in front of the bike, was a gift from my mail lady. Rural route carriers are the best! She takes such good care of all my packages and she shares plants from her yard with me. Can't wait to see what color it will bloom! 

Many of the plants in my yard have been shared by friends and family. I have one large flower bed (partially seen in next two pics) in the center of the yard and everything in it was free. If I ever buy a plant and add it to this flower bed, it will surely die. Seriously, they won't live with the shared! Not much is blooming in this flower bed yet, but the day lilies will be starting their show soon. There's lots of daffodils that have already had there time, 4:00 will come later, along with the phlox, larkspur, some iris, and more. 

An old push plow has become surrounded by alstromerias. I sure hope a lot of them bloom this year, since they didn't have a good show last year. 

This is a tub from a washing machine and I set my plastic planter down inside it and added mulch to hide it. By the end of the summer, the springeri fern will be really full. 

Some of my herbs are in the little rusty wagon near the front door, for easy picking, while cooking. I can't tell you how long I've had the chives and they come back every year in the same container. The mint came back from last year. 

The climbing roses are blooming! 

An old blue chair holds a pot of oregano. 

Marigolds - by the end of summer, my yard seems to take on a very pink look, so I'm trying hard to include a little more yellow, in hopes of still having more color in late summer and fall.

The iris started blooming this week as well!

So tell me, what's your favorite part of my junk yard?