Looking back on this week...

It's been a busy week on the go, with lots of pretty flowers, a little bit of junk, and some cows and farm work thrown in! 

Monday started off with me picking up flowers and creating wedding bouquets for a Tuesday wedding. Yes, you read that right, the wedding was on Tuesday, but I'm not sure the significance of that day. I was sent two pictures of the gorgeous stained glass windows in the church and a couple of screen shots from pinterest of flower crown ideas. The bride said she wasn't picky, wanted something to coordinate with the stained glass in shades of red, blue, purple, green, and a touch of gold. 

This was her bridal bouquet! Red roses, blue hydrangeas, blue thistle, delphinium, purple larkspur, millet, hypericum berries, scabiosa pods, bronze amaranthus, and assorted greenery comprised the bridal bouquet and alter arrangements.

The bride was gorgeous and I hope to be able to feature her pictures here soon. 

I think this was the first flowers crown I have made with fresh flowers! I  was a little nervous about it, but think it tuned out great for her. 

The bride definitely wore it better than me...The flowers were delivered Tuesday on my way to some appointments.  

Tuesday also brought about a surprise share from Junkyjoey on facebook and lots of new faces on my page! So to all of you I say Welcome and Thank You!

Hurricane Irma brought cloud cover and cool weather to East Texas on Tuesday as well. I did some mowing at the farm, while checking on the cows and horses.

Homecoming time for the Gilmer Buckeyes! I took some special request for mums and delivered on Wednesday, along with getting my yearly haircut, meeting with other customers and shipping out flannels and more tin pumpkins.

Thursday of course is junkin' day with Angea! We restocked our Uniques and Antiques booth and did a short video discussing some of the items in our space.

This suitcase is in our booth now and it describes this week! Lots of wondering and wandering, but we aren't lost! 

Checking cows Thursday and all the babies had to gather around my truck and attempt to wash it! Ha! Between the dirt roads, summer ending on a dry  and dusty note, and driving in the pasture, this truck can't stay clean.

I finished up some more wedding flowers, including this sunflower and burlap bouquet with feathers and dried wheat.

When I filled out my planner on Sunday night, I thought my key events for the week would be over by noon on Friday and I was going to be a "hermit" on Saturday and work on new items, spend extra time at the farm, or just hang out, without makeup or fixing my hair. Well, plans change and I was asked to design flowers for a couple of funeral services this weekend, so I went to pick up more flowers and created tributes for them.

The fall flowers are just the prettiest and I think most elegant of the year! I love the rich and deep colors... These kind clients simply ask for fall flowers and said "we trust you." I went to the wholesale floral supply and hand picked all the flowers for the arrangements. Saturday they told me the flowers were "more than they ever could have imagined" and received so many compliments. 

Now for Saturday, the day I was going to be a hermit! My friend called me and said there was some barns she was helping a friends clean out that had my name wrote all over it. That most of the stuff was going in the trash or burn pile if I didn't come rescue it. Well of course, I had to go pickin' through the barns and rescued a couple of truck loads of treasures!

I got my first load early, went home to unload, change clothes, eat a sandwich and then make and deliver more flowers for another service, have more flower consultations, and then I went back for another load of junk.

For this service, the family wanted bright colors, with sunflowers, blue, red, purple, and white flowers. 

I came home as the sun was fading lower in the sky, with another load of rusty treasures. From farm implements and tractor parts, to old chairs, shelves, bricks, chicken crates, cages, and all kinds of rusty buckets, tools, and that huge mailbox! We've got a little surprise project we are working on and some of these new found items will surely find new life with it. 

It's been a super busy week and I am thankful for all of you who allow me to be a part of it! May all of our new friends find it welcoming here at GypsyFarmGirl and Janice East Designs (my fresh flower site)! I appreciate all of you who allow me to be a part of your weddings, events, or ask me to create tributes for your loved ones, the friends who pass along your referrals,  the ones who share your junk with me or share my post with others, and those who wear something I've made or decorate your homes with some of my hand made items. Thanks for being a part of my tribe! Y'all are the BEST!!!

The Young Riders... My 4-H Story

The 4-H Pledge

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,

my heart to greater loyalty,

my hands to larger service,

my health to better living,

for my club, my community, my country, and my world.

In the spring of 1990, the local 4-H Horse Club was re-organized and we joined at the first meeting. For the second meeting, we were to bring our name suggestions for our new club and the members would vote on our new name. My suggestion was "The Young Riders" and everyone immediately could tell what my favorite show on TV was and the name suited our youth group of horse enthusiast, after all we were all between the ages of 5 and 18. That night, we became "The Upshur County Young Riders 4-H Horse Club" and it was the beginning of some of the best times of my life!  

That's me on the left, showing my horse Champ in halter or showmanship. 

I had some horse riding experience and had participated in the local play days, although through 4-H we learned more through presentations and demonstrations at our monthly meetings. I still remember giving a presentation over "parts of a horse." We had training clinics, the horse (quiz) bowl, and we learned leadership skills, went to summer camps, and then had our local horse shows were we exhibited the skills we had learned. 

Leadership Lab in Trinidad. 

A couple years later, a precision riding team was formed and later on it turned into a mounted drill team with anywhere from 12-20 riders practicing and performing choreographed routines with music and costumes. We performed at local rodeos and competed at the district (usually in Athens or Lufkin) and state 4-H horse show in Abilene. Throughout the 90's, our summer vacation was always spent with our horses and 4-H family and our only swimming happened when we stayed in hotels with a pool, at one of the out of town shows! 

Our first year for the precision riding team  perform at the Pittsburg Rodeo. 

We were friends and team mates and we had an absolute blast together! It was sad when we all graduated and had to leave our 4-H days behind.

Drill Team group picture at the State 4-H Horse Show in 1995. The undersides of many of our hats were autographed - we had met Ty Murray and Tuff Hedeman, when we performed at the Gladewater Rodeo that summer and they signed our hats! 

Our families all became friends, we had trail rides and picnics, bonfires and weenie roast, and spent many nights roping together, or at the Union Ridge play days, outside of our regular 4-H functions.

Barrel racing in 1992. God bless our 90's clothing style! I had Rocky Mountains in every color! 

My mom, dad, and aunts were all 4-H members growing up and my grandparents had been 4-H leaders. My dad was in the electrical club growing up and went on to study electrical trades in college and have a career as an electrician.

 US Calvary themed performance in Abilene. 

We submitted record books each summer with details of our projects, community service, leadership, achievements, photos and records from the year. One year we had a series of photography meetings and I had a funny photo place at district round up and we also kept records for our cows, along with our horses. 

Yamboree parade in 1993. 

The Gold Star award was the highest award to be earned in 4-H and you had to complete 3 separate projects and completed record books to qualify for the award. I received the award my senior year and traveled to SFA in Nacogdoches to receive the honor and become the second generation of family members to receive the award. 

Gold Star Awards Banquet in 1998. 

My senior year, I also received a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo college scholarship for $10,000 due to my 4-H involvement. 

Another drill team performance in Abilene - we were the Wild West Show with cowboys, pony express riders, saloon girls with big fancy dresses, and Indians. 

I also competed in Horse Judging contest through our school FFA program and earned more scholarships that way. At the time, we didn't have a 4-H Horse Judging Team, although the skills and experiences through our 4-H shows, programs, and training contributed to my success in FFA contest. With these skills, I traveled across the USA to collegiate horse judging contest at the All American Quarter Horse Congress (our team won halter judging and I tied for first individually), AQHA World Horse Show, Reining Horse Show, and more. Several semesters, I received a check from Paris Junior College, because my tuition, room and board was less than the scholarship amount paid to the school and they must pass the difference on to you!

4-H Officer team and I believe this was shirts from a recent camp. 

The leadership skills (our meetings were all member led, organized with an agenda, parliamentary procedure, pledges to the flags, etc.,) community service platform, responsibility, and education we received through both the 4-H and FFA were valuable lessons that are still used today. I'm fortunate that my family believed in these programs and saw fit that we were able to participate. They personally knew the value of the volunteer led clubs and made in possible for us to have that same opportunity. 

4-H Banquet. 

I am happy that my niece and nephews (on my husband's side) have been able to have the opportunity to be involved as well and if I ever have a child, I would definitely encourage and make a way for them to participate in 4-H.

My last year in 4-H, our theme was Rock n' Roll and the girls wore poodle skirts. Yes, there was glitter in my horse's hair! 

 Please know that there are so many different projects to choose from and participate and its not just limited to agriculture based programs. If you are interested, contact your local county extension office or here is a link to Texas 4-H to find out more information and see all the different programs out there. Our Upshur County program has a section in the Gilmer Mirror newspaper this week about the different clubs and history of the organization and they are trying to grow the membership back up again.  Two of our pictures from our 4-H days even made it in the paper and one of the county agents ask me about some history from my time in the club, which prompted me to write about my experiences here. 

Gypsy Farm Girl is definitely a supporter of this great youth organization!  

Fall Favorites Restocked and Something NEW in store!

You've been asking if I would be making more of the pumpkin tin signs and I'm happy to share that there are several now available in my shop! I left a couple of the pumpkins blank, so they are ready to personalize with your name or favorite fall saying.

Another batch of distressed flannels and denim shirts was also added this week! 

 The cold front this week dropped the temperatures and I was finally able to wear one of my cozy flannels! Most of the shirts are men's sizing, so they do run big. They are great to wear with boots and jeans or add a belt and wear with leggings as a long tunic top.

 There's also some fall centerpieces and bridal bouquets that are ready to ship now.

Now, I would like to introduce you to a new item in my shop! The following necklace are a all unique, one of a kind pieces. You all know I have a love for vintage fabrics and the countless hours of handiwork that went into creating the tablecloths, scarves, napkins, hankies, etc. Instead of trashing a piece because of stains, I have cut out some of the embroidered flowers and created necklace pendents. Each necklace has a 1 inch round bezel and come on assorted chain styles. Some have a piece of vintage lace tied to them as well. 

This set was the absolute hardest product I have ever photographed! I used scrapbook paper that has definitions of memory, inspire, and flourish, along with a piece of dried babies breath. Since this is my first experience with the bezels and resin, all the necklace can all be described as "perfectly imperfect." The babies breath gives these necklaces a 3D effect, as it raises out of the resin a little bit. The embroidered fabric also adds a texture opposed to thin paper creating the design... Definitely a learning experience with these!

 All the items pictured are currently available in my etsy shop, with worldwide shipping. There are some similar items in our Uniques and Antiques booth in Mineola, Texas. For local friends, send me a message and I can meet or deliver for you .

Hope you all have a Happy Fall!