Vintage Glam Satin Fabric Wedding Bouquets

Today I delivered this order for satin fabric wedding bouquets for a Great Gatsby / Vintage Glam themed wedding next year! 

This was a challenging custom order, as I had never worked with the satin flowers like this and had to learn a new skill. It took several samples and trial and error, till we created the desired look of the bouquets. Each petal is cut out by hand, treated to prevent fraying and shape the petals, then sewn together. This process took an average of 10 minutes per flower, before the bouquet assembly ever started. At one time, I counted up the flowers I still needed to make and it was about 16 hours of work, before I could begin to create the bridesmaid bouquets. It was a labor intensive order, but I'm so glad that I could learn a new technique and will be able to offer this style to other brides in the future! 

The bridesmaid bouquets had wine, champagne, ivory, and rose gold satin flowers, with lace tucked among the flowers. Rhinestone and pearl clusters accented the center of the flowers. The handle of the bouquet holder was wrapped in wine satin and accented with gold rhinestone style ribbon.

 The boutonnieres were made from smaller satin flowers, a tuft of lace, and rhinestones. The groom will have a white flower, the groomsmen and ushers will have wine, while the minister, father of bride and father of groom will have a champagne boutonniere.

I delivered the bridal bouquet before Thanksgiving, so the bride would have it for her bridal portraits. That is one benefit for the fabric bouquets - the same bouquet can be used for bridal portraits and for the actual wedding. The pictures don't do the bridal bouquet justice!

The bridal bouquet has white, ivory, and champagne satin flowers and a multitude of vintage  and new brooches, pearls, and rhinestones.Rhinestone and pearl chains cascaded from the bouquet for a very vintage glam / roaring 20's feel.

 I can't wait to see all the wedding pictures after the big day! I know they will be gorgeous!

The mother of the bride provided the fabric and some of the jewels for the bouquets,  (therefore exact reproductions are not be available, as some of the colors of fabric were very hard to find.) I will be happy to offer this style of bouquet to future brides! I am building up my inventory of satin fabric and will be creating some new bouquets for my shop in the coming weeks. 

I'm looking forward to helping create your dream wedding! 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you Joy and Peace this Christmas. 

May you have a wonderful day with family and friends. 

Christmas in the Camper

Miss Gussie's Christmas Decor - 

The week after Thanksgiving, I found a little pink Christmas tree, while at our favorite thrift store. I didn't know what I would do with it, but it just called out to me and I couldn't pass it up. At first I was like "Christmas show next year... or booth space next year." Later that afternoon, it hit me - the camper needed the pink tree! The quilt I have in the camper has lots of pink in it and of course all the lace... so that's where it went! It was just the right size to fit on the tray that I leave sitting on the bed.

 As I was rearranging the camper, I was reminded of the white rag / ribbon garland / bunting / whatever you want to call it and wrapped it around the tree. It instantly made the little tree fuller and give it that shabby chic look. Another white tinsel garland and a few gold ornaments (purchased at same thrift store) and I was almost done.

  For my tree topper, I gathered a few feathers from my workroom and tucked them in the branches. I already had the pink doilies and scarf on the tray and they work great to hide the tree stand. Simple and less than $5 spent on the tree (since several things where already on hand and I've already had to rob a few feathers for a wedding bouquet!)

 Now to the front of the camper  - while it still has burlap and lace, this area has a little more color. This is where the table would have been, but it was missing when I got Miss Gussie, and I've been leaving it made as a bed, instead of the two separate benches. The front quilts have more red and blue in them, so it worked with this Texas flag I found. I originally thought about hanging the flag over the back window as a curtain, but it just didn't fit back there. I finally settled on this corner and was able to drape it without having to staple or make any permanent alterations to hang it.

A few fresh cedar branches were tucked around the camper in places. (I won't be lighting this lantern with the cedar attached.)

 Miss Gussie serves as the " Gypsy Farm Girl World Headquarters!" Sometimes (OK, a lot of times) extra inventory gets stored in the camper and such is the case with the silver platter turned Christmas wall hanging.

Because we all need LOVE...

 and to DREAM...

I've failed to get good pictures of the outside lights and tree, so here's a phone snap shot. If you saw my earlier video, you know that I prefer white Christmas lights and Jeff likes colored. We compromised and I've got white in the gazebo and inside the camper, but we've got colored lights on the outside of the camper. I've been meaning to do a camper Christmas video, but haven't got around to it, yet. Maybe tomorrow... (it's raining today)

Merry Christmas Friends! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season. 

I know many of you are suffering the loss of loved ones, sickness, and other problems and we send our love and prayers for all of you, that this time can be the best possible under the circumstances. 

Snowman Christmas Gift Tags

Six days to Christmas and there's not a single gift under the tree. Yikes! 

Honestly, I'm waiting to pick up a few handmade gifts and I've got to finish a couple of things myself, then I'll have a wrapping party in a couple of nights. I love wrapping with pretty bows and gift tags. Sometimes I also tie in a new Christmas ornament in the bow. 

I love brown paper packages or something neutral and old fashion, as I'm really not into too much glitter or bold prints. I also tend to make all my bows and gift tags for my presents. 

This is a simple snowman gift tag I made last year. I raided the button stash for white buttons in different sizes and found some tidbits of ribbon to create a snowman. 

I cut the brown paper tags from some kraft scrapbook paper (or you can recycle paper sacks). I inked the edges white with an ink pad from my scrapbooking days, then stamped names in red. I glued the buttons and bow on, then drew him some twiggy arms and punched a hole to tie it on my gift. Tada, easy and a cute Christmas craft! 

Since we are talking about snowmen, here's Mr. Dish Pan Snow Man! Three enamel pans are stacked to make him and a piece of flannel made his scarf. The small dish pan already had the holes in it that make up his facial expressions. 

Now, I've got to get busy and finish a wedding and all of my gifts! Tell me I'm not alone - Are you finished with all your Christmas shopping / making and wrapping yet? 

Christmas in the Gazebo

Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair for a tour of our gazebo decorated for Christmas!

Once again, everything is rustic, rescued, and repurposed. 

The decor took on a very natural / garden / flea market style theme this year. 

If you have a few minutes, you can watch my video, as I show you around the gazebo or you can scroll down to see more pictures. I attempted to do a live Facebook video, but the lighting just didn't work out correctly. Wish I could have chatted with everyone as I was videoing...

 

 I used objects that were all found or taken from nature. I gathered pine, cedar, twigs, berries, and pine cones from the farm. I trimmed limbs that stuck out in the paths (as in nearly scratch the truck as you drove through the gates) and added them to a artificial tree and adorned many other objects with the fresh greens. After Christmas, I'll add all the branches to the compost bin.

A twiggy tree top! Instead of glittery ting and branches like some use, I preferred to use sticks and berries for a nature theme. 

 After we got the gazebo, I purchased 3 bushes in small, one gallon containers (because I was on an extreme budget.)  It's hard to believe just how big those little bushes have grown! The bicycle used to sit way out in front of them - now the bush grows through the bike. The lily that is in front of the bike was gifted to me by my mail lady. 

Now for a few daylight pictures, so you can see some different details.

When I was delivering Thanksgiving flowers, one of my sweet friends gifted me some fresh grapevine they had trimmed from their yard. I decided to hang it on the door and then nestled in the Christmas tin sign.

I found this candle stand while out junkin' recently and decided it would go on the gazebo for the time being. 

I loved this metal scroll work fixture for a long time and decided to hang it up this summer. 

For the Birds...

Now, if you recall, last year I had an upside down Christmas tree hanging where that rustic fixture is now and I had a cardinal the would stay in the tree every night. (click the link to read about it.) The red bird family went on to raise babies in the bush beside the gazebo. That's their little nest tucked in the Christmas tree! I've had the red burlap birds for several years and decided they should go on this years tree.

The handy hauler has a load of fresh Christmas greens and berries.

The bottomless rusty bucket - it still has the original flower pot wired inside it from when I did the how to post several years ago. There's still some herbs left in the pot from this summer and I just added the cut branches into the potting soil. 

My rusty, junky wreath from years past returned again and graces the front of the bicycle.

So there you have a tour of our rustic gazebo. 

What is your favorite part? 

P.S. Stay tuned, as I plan to share another video and details from my glamper Christmas! 

The best birthday gift...

So yesterday was my birthday...

Three years ago, I turned in my resignation to my then boss. I had worked at the flower shop for 15 years and 3 different owners. My etsy shop and farm were keeping me busy in every spare minute outside of the day job. As things changed at the shop and my personal business kept growing, it became clear that I should work for myself and leave the stress of working for someone else's dream.

But still, I was scared to leave the world of a dependable paycheck, to go full time self employed. Could we make it? I would be lonely working from home and not seeing my friends... So many doubts from a person who likes dependable and a sure thing.

 I made sure I was there for some obligations and then my birthday rolled around and I knew I had to give myself the best gift I could. So the Friday after my birthday, I finally handed over that letter I had typed and carried with me for weeks. I had to believe in myself and give it a try.

What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly? -e.h.

Since then, I've been blown away by the friends and clients who have supported me. I never dreamed I would be ask to do fresh flowers after I walked away from my former job.

That fear of not ever seeing my friends? Jeff likes to remind me that my tribe is better now than ever before! I have a tight circle of good friends and I'm so thankful for them.

I'm on the go all the time. Quite frankly, I really want a few days that I don't have to go anywhere and just be able to stay home and work on whatever / create some new items.

Anywho... the best gift you can can ever give yourself is to believe in yourself.

Are there days that are still hard? You betcha!

Do I still have fears? For sure and sometimes the anxiety and doubts sneak in.

Would I do it again? In a heart beat! I'm so glad that I finally decided to take a chance on myself!

There's still stress, but those daily knots in my neck and feet that I couldn't hardly stand on at the end of the day - those seldom occur. There were days that I couldn't hardly walk through the grocery store when I got off work, because my feet hurt so darn bad.

Back to my birthday this week - age has never bothered me. Some friends thought we were old when we turned 30, although I never thought that. This isn't a big birthday with a 0 behind a number, although this one has me thinking and looking back on things from the past few years and goals for the year to come. Once again, I must remember to believe in myself!

So whatever it is you are wanting to do - believe in yourself! Chase those wild dreams and make them happen! 

Sewing Stockings and Reminiscing

I've been sewing stockings today, for a custom order and it had me thinking about several things.

For one, I'm a self-taught seamstress. Sometimes that can be a frustrating thing. A couple of weeks ago, I was working on an set of stockings and as Angea would say "I nearly lost my Jesus." It was a disaster and I cut up / scrapped three of them today, because I totally made a mess of them. It was one of those orders that I should have said "No" to from the very beginning, as it was something more complicated than I usually take on...

I really don't know how to use patterns, so I just create my own templates to use. Sometimes getting everything sewn in the correct order - wrong sides together, sew,  right sides together, sew, flip, sew, yada, yada.... gets confusing. Thankfully, today I was able to peacefully sew all of the stockings without any complications! 

While Grandmama was an excellent seamstress and made all my dresses up till 8th grade, she didn't teach me to sew. I watched her quilt and occasionally helped a little bit. As an adult, I wished I would have learned so much from her. You know, there are so many skills that I wish would have been passed down from the older generations. Maybe they thought we weren't interested or would never use the skills. I'm sure she's looking down and surprised to see me sewing and making a living with fabric... I also wish I would have learned more in the kitchen and garden from my grandparents.

 The first thing I ever remember sewing was a giant stocking for Jeff. It was our first Christmas together and I decided to make a huge stocking and fill it with things for him. I was staying at Grandmama's house that night (she had a stroke and couldn't stay alone, so I stayed with her a lot) and decided to use her machine to sew the stocking. I think my mom helped me some, but I really just made Grandmama nervous with my sewing. The stroke affected her speech, so she couldn't properly communicate and teach me at that point.  It all worked out in the end and if I look in the storage building, I can probably still find the stocking.  After she passed away the next spring, her old Sew Gem sewing machine became mine. I don't use it much anymore, as I have two other machines, although its a treasure I'll never part with. 

The stockings were hung on the mantle with care... this is a snapshot of our shared booth at Uniques and Antiques. Angea makes the French Country style stockings, while I created all of the burlap stockings. You can also find my burlap stockings in my online shop, with worldwide shipping. 

Our stockings are all handmade, right here in East Texas!

What's the one thing you wish your grandparents would have taught you? 

The 12 Days of Christmas!

This would be the perfect junker / DIY'ers  12 days of Christmas! 

I can say, I've already got most of it, although 2 extra hands and the vintage truck for hauling all my junk would be he icing on the cake!

Speaking of 12 Days of Christmas - I'll be hosting sales in my Etsy shop for the next 12 days. New sale announced every other day, on a specific set of items. Today starts the sale, with 50% off all pillows! While supplies last and limited to items in stock. All sale items are ready to ship, so you'll get them quickly! 

Here's an example of some of the pillows on sale! 

Follow on Instagram or Facebook to find the new sales and announcements. 

P.S. I plan to go Live on Facebook when we light up the gazebo and camper for Christmas, so be sure to follow and be watching for notifications!

Dear Santa, I've Made my Christmas Wish List!

Dear Santa,

I hope you are having a really good year. We are doing good and I've been wearing my Santa flannel shirts for a while now. I don't think you've stopped by our house since I got out of school. I usually don't ask for anything for Christmas, although this year, there are several things on my wish list. I've included affiliate links to all my favorite things, if you are able to help me with anything on my list.

Love yours truly,

Janice

Clothing - 

These Junk Gypsy Boots are pretty awesome! Not sure exactly what I would wear with them, but I love them and can we say Fringe! Size 8 please.

An old red truck, with a load of flowers... well that's just about perfect for me!


A Flower Truck T-Shirt...Love

Remember our shenanigans in the Junkin' Sisters Tribe and the funny graphic Charity Sparrow created? Well, she's got it on a shirt now! More Chickens and Rust. Less Drama and Fuss. I would take a medium in unisex size, as I hear the women's shirts are really fitted.

You may recall my search for the perfect dress - modest but cute and trendy, not have to wear leggings or show my white legs, can wear my boots, and has pockets? I think I finally found it in this long sleeve, vintage floral maxi dress!  It comes in several colors, although I like this navy blue. Of course, now I don't know of any events I'll be attending to need the dress, although it couldn't hurt to have it on standby.


For the House -
Alright Santa, I've just recently started drinking coffee and I really want to try one of the Keurig single serve coffee pots... it looks like it takes up less counter space than the bigger versions so that would be nice for our small house. Jeff has his perk pot and blends several types of coffee together, but I just want to make me a single cup when I want it.

We really need some new kitchen towels, as our are getting threadbare and I think this one applies for when I'm hungry. Poor Jeff!







These camper towels are just too cute as well.



And of course, I love this towel that says Support Your Local Farmers!


We could use a few new bath towels, as several of ours have made there way to the farm, used for the dogs, and used to clean up after DIY jobs outside. Turquoise or brown would be lovely and match my shower curtain.




For the Yard / Outdoors / Work

While browsing Amazon, I found this 20 pack of succulents and I really need to replant my vintage chicken feeder and wagon with succulents. Having some plants growing in the winter time would sure cheer me up!


I could really use a new set of drill bits, since I have a way of breaking them... I've been looking at estate sales, but I've yet to find an assortment pack to replace my broken ones.

I always need a good pair of fabric scissors and these are my favorites!
Planning for 2018

I'm really wanting to be more organized in the new year and keep track of all my business in one planner. I like this Leather A5 planner, because I can add pages to it and want to keep up with all my notes from wedding consultations together. So that when I have a meeting in January, I can find my notes in November. I can keep up with my calendar and add blank pages for notes each month. I've been searching for a rustic looking planner, because I'm not into polka dots, chevron print, or some of the other crazy patterns I've been seeing. (P.S. Someone in Santa's workshop really needs to get on board with some rustic planner accessories. I think that market needs some help.)


I like the color of this leather planner and that its handmade, although I really wish the pockets were sewn in, since I stuff all kinds of receipts and extra papers in mine.





(Post contains Amazon affiliate links to all of the products shown, except for the Santa flannels and tumbler wraps shown in the first picture - those are in my shop and created by me.)