Featured on Etsy's "The Storque"

Southern Girl Weddings was featured on Etsy's Blog "The Storque". I am so excited!

Here is the bouquet that was featured:

It is truly one of my favorites. I love the magnolias and how realistic they look and feel.

This morning I noticed that I was getting an unusual amount of views and hearts, so I looked for a reason why and saw that sure enough I was featured. You can read the article here. It is a lovely article about weddings and even though I am already married, I just love looking at wedding pictures and finding inspiration for some of my bouquets!

Southern Girl Weddings

I have been absent from the blog world for a while, and it is because I have been working on starting up a second Etsy shop! I am so excited.

Introducing:

Southern Girl Weddings

http://www.SouthernGirlWeddings.etsy.com

I already have five bouquets listed and I am hoping to get some boutonnieres, corsages and hair pieces done.

If you know of anyone getting married and in need of wedding flowers, direct them my way!

Autumn Wreaths on Etsy

I have been working hard on getting my autumn wreaths listed in my Etsy shop.

The Gathering Season Wreath

Pumpkin Spice Wreath

Autumn Sunset Wreath

There are a lot of steps involved in listing an item.

• The whole process starts when I shop for the materials for my wreath. Sometimes I go into the store with an idea already in my head and other times I pick up a flower and the idea for a wreath is there! I usually spend about an hour in the store perfecting my purchase, and I usually only buy the materials that I need for that particular wreath without buying any extra flowers.

• Then I make the wreaths, which can take at least a couple of hours arranging, perfecting, gluing and making sure it looks exactly how I want it to look. This is when I put a girly movie on and get to work!

• Then come the product photos - my house is way too dark to take the pictures inside, so I go outside. I have to take the pictures in the morning because I get the best light during that time. It also helps that I have a super-duper awesome camera at my disposal.

• I perfect my product photos in Photoshop - cropping, enhancing and tweaking the colors a bit.

• I also write out each description and add up the cost of the wreath.

• Finally I can list it on Etsy and hope that it finds a good home.

It can be a long drawn out process which is why I am shocked that I have been able to get all of these autumn wreaths listed in this amount of time!

Peachy Keen

Here's the latest addition to my Etsy shop.

The roses are from Hobby Lobby's new "Fresh Picked" silk flower line. The flowers in this line look so realistic that they really do look freshly picked. They are a little more on the pricey side, but I think they are well worth it! I am so in love with this line, check back often to see more arrangements and wreaths featuring "Fresh Picked" flowers.

Brand New Awesomeness

I have a brand new wreath in my shop and I can't get over how cute it is!

Maybe it's just me, but I love the colors in this one - it seems like they just pop! "Floral Circus" is another mini wreath which will fit nicely in a smaller space where some of my larger wreaths would not. The wreath measures 17 inches tall, 17 inches wide and 6 inches deep, so it is not really "mini", I just like the way that sounds!

It has the perfect summer time colors and can actually be displayed through fall since it features mostly oranges!

I've Been Featured

I've been featured on Lilly Eve Designs!

Thank you so much Lilly Eve!

She has a lovely blog and she designs beautiful jewelry! Check her out!

Land of the Free Wreath

Check out the newest addition to my Etsy shop! Introducing "Land of the Free Wreath"...

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays! I love that it is in the summertime so that includes barbecues, beaches and fireworks - is there anything better! I also absolutely love the decorations! The red, white and blue splashed everywhere, the flags flying, and remembering why we are free, and those that sacrificed for our freedom makes me proud to live in this country!

I can't wait for Fourth of July!

This was my Grandma's favorite holiday as well. I remember when we were little, we would always spend the Fourth of July weekend at her house. My uncle would barbecue, and Grandma didn't mess around when it came to decorating. There would be huge tents set up behind her house with plenty of tables and chairs for the whole family and then some. She would decorate the tables with patriotic tablecloths complete with matching citronella candles (to keep the mosquitoes away), the dishes and tableware matched as well. And there were always too many flags to count! One of the adults would take us to the fireworks stand where the boys would go crazy and buy all kinds of fireworks. Once we got back to Grandma's house, they couldn't wait to set them off - and they would usually get yelled at for trying to fire at the dog or getting to close to the house! After dark, we would head over to the beach and watch our uncles set off the "special" fireworks. I have so many great memories of the Fourth of July that is probably why it is one of my favorites!

This year we have plans to go to my parents house where my Mom's side of the family will be joining us! I am very excited and I am sure there will be plenty of pictures taken to share with you!

Blooming Treasure

I have been so focused on making my hair accessories that my wreaths and arrangements have kind of fallen by the wayside! I guess just because it takes much longer to create the wreaths and arrangements and I am all about the instant gratification that is involved when making the hair clips!

The other day I decided to go to Hobby Lobby and check out the floral department. Oddly enough, they had some vases on clearance, so I picked out three of them and found the perfect flowers for the arrangements. I also bought materials to make a lovely Fourth of July wreath!

Here is the first arrangement I created -- "Blooming Treaure". I am in love with it! You can find it here in my Etsy shop.

I still need to photograph the other arrangements and the wreath, but I will post them here as soon as I get pictures.

Another Fun Custom Order

I received a request for a custom hair accessory the other day! I was so excited because I have yet to sell one of my hair clips (I'm not counting the ones I have sold to family and friends). The customer needed a hair clip to match her graduation dress and she loves my hair clips, but none of the colors were just right for the dress she is going to be wearing. She ended up sending me pictures of the dress and I created a custom design just for her!

I am very happy with the way it turned out! I just love custom orders because I love collaborating with the customer and creating a design I might not have even thought of without their insight!

Bridal Hair Pieces

I have two new bridal hair combs in my Etsy shop! The first one features two creamy white magnolia blossoms and bright green leaves. It has got to be my favorite hairpiece in my shop right now! It has a sort of vintage feel to it that I just love!

The second hairpiece features three bright white gladiola flowers with light green centers. With its crisp white color, this design would look gorgeous with any hair color, and it would be perfect for a spring or summer wedding!

I will be adding more bridal hair pieces soon, so check back often!

Simple Elegance

This has got to be one of my favorite hair accessories! I love the simplicity of the three dogwood blossoms and the swirly grasses add just the right amount of whimsical charm. It is attached to a metal hair clip. I have one just like this that I made for myself and I wear it everywhere because it literally goes with everything! I will wear it to go grocery shopping or on a dinner date with my husband - it is so very versatile.

You can find this lovely floral embellishment and more like it HERE in my shop!

Getting the Big Picture

Is it just me, or do other people like seeing products on a model? I would rather seeing clothes, jewelry, hair accessories, etc. that I am going to potentially buy, on actual people. Even if the dimensions are listed, it still doesn't beat having that visual image proportion-wise. You can see the big picture and imagine how it will look on you as well.

Most of my hair accessories are pictured by themselves because I don't want to wait until my sister comes into town, or have to transport them anywhere to have a "photo shoot" just to list them. I want to get them listed as soon as I can. During the week, whenever my husband comes home from work, he is usually exhausted and I know the last thing he wants to do is play "photographer".

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24012458

http://www.southerngirlflorals.etsy.com/

Well today we didn't have anything planned, so I asked in my sweetest voice possible if he would mind snapping a few shots - he agreed! I pulled my hair up and grabbed a couple of my floral combs. Now my husband is wonderful when it comes to the camera, but nothing is ever right when it comes to my obsessive-compulsive need for perfect pictures. I felt so bad for him (and kept apologizing) when he ended up snapping over 50 pictures! He really did a great job and I am so thankful that he put up with me! Here are the shots that I added to two of my current listings. I didn't want to subject him to any further torture - we'll save the other floral accessories for another day!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23763803

http://www.southerngirlflorals.etsy.com/

Happy Etsy Day

Happy Etsy Day everyone!

If you do not know what Etsy is please check it out: http://www.Etsy.com. It is a worldwide handmade marketplace. You can find just about everything you need from handmade designer jewelry to handcrafted soaps. It is THE place to buy and sell everything handmade! There are really some wonderful shops there and the customer service you receive when you purchase an item is outstanding!

Spread the word around; tell everyone about it!

Enchanted Evening

Check out my newest listing in my Etsy shop! I want to keep it for myself! I just love the colors. It would be perfect to wear at a wedding or other fancy event!

To see more of these accessories visit http://www.southerngirlflorals.etsy.com/.

Hello Yellow Sunshine

I bought these little woven baskets a long time ago because they were on clearance and I knew I would use them. I put them away and totally forgot about them! It wasn't until I was sorting through the mess that I call my workroom that I found them again. I really wanted to list something new in my shop, but I didn't have time to go to Hobby Lobby to get new materials, so I pulled out all of my flower stash and started crafting. I was able to create this Hello Yellow Sunshine Basket out of flowers I already had. The basket is flat on the back side, so you can hang it on your front door or set it on a table against the wall!

You can find the Hello Yellow Sunshine Basket and more wreaths and arrangements in my Etsy shop here: http://www.southerngirlflorals.etsy.com/

I love it when everything works out!

New Mini Wreath

I finally went out and took some pictures of the new Mini wreath - Lime Sherbet which can be found in my Etsy shop! Isn't it so cute! The dimensions of the wreath are 16inches x 16inches x 5inches, so it is not itty-bitty, but compared to some of the gigantic wreaths in my collection it is pretty small.

My first treasury!

I got my first Etsy treasury on Saturday! I could not believe it!

For those of you who do not know what a treasury is, you can check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-make-a-treasury-the-nuts-and-bolts-688/.

I decided to create one featuring my fellow Design Style Guide Team members. The theme I chose was "Dusk till Dawn".

I am very proud of the way it came out.

And four of my team members items that I had listed there sold! It was probably because they are awesome items to begin with, but I like to think that it was because they were in my treasury!

A Taste of the Tropics

There is a new wreath in my shop - A Taste of the Tropics.

This is the first tropical wreath I have ever made and I am so happy with the way it turned out.

We live probably 30-45 minutes from the coast and I love the beach! When I was younger, we would stay at my grandma's house over the weekend. She lived right on the coast and a few years ago she even bought a beach house. The kind up on stilts that was so close to the water that it even had it's own dock. She had a way with decorating. She was one of my biggest inspirations. I am sure she drew her style from some of the places she had lived - Hawaii, Florida, California, Aruba, Venezuela. Her style was tropical and eclectic with so many bright colors; she was a lady not afraid of color!

I love the island style and decor; the relaxing sense like you're on a never-ending vacation. There are some gorgeous houses built along the coast and I can just picture my wreath on one of their front doors.

Lovely in Lavender

Spring time is here (in South Texas at least)! I am so ready for the warm weather - I am a summer time girl. I just love when the sun is shinning and all the plants are starting to bloom. The colors of spring come alive; it is like a fresh start for the year.

I designed a brand new spring time wreath that I have just recently listed in my Etsy shop.

Introducing...

Lovely in Lavender

The combination of purple and yellow is one of my all time favorite color combinations for spring. The wreath features purple ranunculus and yellow irises.

Those of you who are still a bit chilly, I hope that looking at this wreath will bring you some warmth! Have a great weekend!

100 Hearts

I know to some of you this may not mean much, but for me it is a big Etsy milestone! I looked on my shop's favorites page and saw that I have 100 people that "heart" me! Woohoo!