Altered Clothespins Pro31 Designs

Hey there Peeps! Hope you are having a fabulous Wednesday!

On the 15th of each month our lovely Design Team Challenge Coordinator at Pro31 Designs, Anna Fallas has us create something cool for the monthly challenge! This month the theme was altered clothespins! Score! I was so happy when I found out that is what the challenge was this month! I am much more in tune with the altered crafty projects then I am with scrapbooking actual layouts so I was stoked to say the least!

These things are so cute! They can be used for so many things! Need a great magnet for your refrigerator but want it to look stylish too? These are perfect. Slap some magnet tape on the back and you have the perfect decorative element for your kitchen! What about a closure for a cute envelope with a little gift inside? These work perfect for that! I am in love with how many uses there are for these!

So, do you wanna see? :)

I love how vintage you can make them look! I used the Tim Holtz Rosette Flower die, Pro 31 Designs Butter Pecan 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Small White pearl strands, Pro31Designs Large Pearl Center, Pro31Designs White Button, Pro31Designs White leaves, and Pro31Designs round pearl sprays.

 These are going to look super great as magnets!

Please make sure you check out all these great things at Pro31designs!

Oh... and a funny thing happened when I was downloading these pictures.. I had used a memory card I hadn't used in a while and there were some "before" pictures of my studio before I reorganized again. Ooh boy is it ever messy! Here are a few shots so you can see just how messy it was!

It's Monday, Again..

When you are a work from home Mom, sometimes the weekends are just plain out of control. Everyone is home, everyone needs something, so many more chores to do, plus when you work from home you rarely get a day off.

I know alot of people dread Mondays and trust me when I was in the "out of your house" work force so did I. I remember relaxing on the weekends, leisurely catching up on chores, doing fun things, going out to eat etc. Ha, those days are long gone. I am not complaining though, I love working from home. I LOVE my little crafty shop. The things I don't love..not that you asked but in case you are considering joining the growing numbers of work from homers with Etsy Shops:

• You will work more hours then you ever worked at your "real" job
• The pay is considerably less
• You might be working from home, but don't forget their are your "at home" jobs to do: cooking, cleaning, etc. Whatever your chores were before, will still be your chores.
• Dealing with spouses and children that don't understand the huge amounts of time that you have to spend in front of a computer screen. (thankfully mine were already used to it :)) 
• Scheduling, meeting deadlines and being responsible for your own marketing, advertising and customer service. 

That being said, I do love my job. It's hard to think I do after I just stated all those facts but I do. It does provide me with some degree of flexibility and for that I am thankful. I enjoy being able to go to my daughters sporting events and being here when she leaves and gets home from school. She will be 18 in just over a month and I will be the parent of an adult and just as I typed that I died a little inside :(

Anyways, see how easy it is for me to get off track! Back to Mondays. I love Mondays! It means that I have my house back, my hubby is back at work, typically Haley is back at school and I can get my chores done in peace and work my business for a few hours without constant interruption! 

Are you a "work from home-r", do you love or loathe Monday's. I am interested to hear! I would love to know what you do to manage your time, what is your job at home, do you own a shop? Tell me about it! I would love to come visit your shop! In case you are new here and wondering what I do; I am a crafter and I own a small paper shop on Etsy! Find me at Jscraftystudio on etsy! I specialize in DIY wedding items as well as scrapbooking supplies. If it is a paper product you are looking for check me out!

Playing catch up and making lists

Are you a list maker? I am. I have noticed over the years that when I have a list I am much more productive. It makes it easier to work with a goal and I like to see items checked off the list!This week I have been trying to make a list each day of things to do. The items that don't get finished, get moved to the next day's list (see below photo)

I have been pretty good this week and have written a list every day but one. On that day.. Well lets just say I didn't get much done because of some issues that I don't think ya'll want to hear about (those female issues lol) So, this morning I started on Thursday's list. I just took this picture and it is now 9PM.. lol yeah. I didn't get much done at all! Just seems like so many things come up during the day.. So now I am going to spend the next few hours getting orders ready to ship and catching up on emails from the shop today. 

I wanted to share with you a few pictures I have taken this week thus far. One of my goals on my list from Sunday was to take more pictures. Well, it seems like the only camera I ever have handy to take pictures with is my phone so I guess these might not get printed but they do look decent on a computer :)Don't get me started on my phone.. I will be so happy to get rid of this hunk of junk in December when my contract is up!

Here's one of the road :D This was on my way to get all my hairs cut off :)

I live pretty much in the middle of no where so this is my view on a daily basis! 

I haven't had my hair cut in well over a year, probably more like two.. I do try and keep it trimmed (myself) but it was really getting out of control and the breakage was terrible! Soooo, I got it all cut off!

Here's the Old Do:

 And Here's the new Do:

I think I look a little less "old lady" with the new do. I actually got it cut this way because it is really very short in the back and I can spike it up! :D  The lady that did my hair had the funkiest hair but she kinda styled mine very conservatively! I have been spiking the back and flat ironing the sides and then really teasing the crap out of the crown.. lol no wonder my hair was all nast-i-fied! 

Ok.. So- I have lots to do on my list and even though a blog post was one of them, I think I really need to get busy with orders! Gotta pay the bills! Have a great Thursday night!

I'm Back...

Yes, Finally summer softball is over and I am back ready to focus back on crafting and decorating! I am hopeful in the next two weeks or so I can get my living room repainted, going from Dark red to a Creamy white! ooh Thats only going to take a gazillion gallons of paint to cover!

I have a To Do List that I want to post for the next two weeks. In two weeks I home to come back and cross everything off the list! We will see. Ha! So here it goes!

• Blog 6 times in two weeks. This needs to be first on my list. I have some goals for myself for 2013 and one is becoming a much more successful blogger. So I am going to shoot for 3 times a week and I need to get started ASAP. :) 
• Take more pictures. I have been terribly lax in this over the past year or two.. only taking pictures of products for my shop and my creations. I need some every day photos. Pictures of everyday things! So, I hope to take at least 3 pictures a day! Quality ones too.. so I will need more then 3 to choose from!
• Get back on track with Design team projects! With my summers the way they are I am gone all the time! So, I need to bust out some serious projects over the next two weeks! So look for some really great goodies coming from Pro31Designs! 
• Keep up a good working schedule and not let it overwhelm me anymore.With the busy summer, and me taking on a much hefty load to really get my Etsy Shop and my Tophatter auctions off the ground. I have been running myself way to thin! Need to keep a schedule and stick to it. 
• Get that Living room Painted. I have been talking about it for years now.. So just do it! 
• Find a table that I can saw the legs off of, and then repaint it and shabby it up!
• Get my hair cut! I have been putting this off for months and my hair is terribly damaged and I need to have it cut short again. I have very fine and sometimes coarse hair. I need Hair Help!!
• Continue with the weight loss and 5k Training. Take some dang photos of yourself girl! I have lost 124 pounds in just over 1 year and you think I would be a heckuva lot more comfortable in front of the camera! But alas, I think that is a learned behavior and I need to learn it! 
• Clean and organize studio and keep it that way! I am such a messy worker.. my studio is always in disarray! I need to clean it, organize it and keep it that way!

I think that is enough for 2 weeks.. along with all the other daily goodies that go with it! I better get started on this list! First things first? I need to work out a schedule for myself! I got a new notebook and I am going to decorate it and get started on this schedule! I need to get up earlier and go to bed before 2am!

Here's to progress! Wish me luck!!

Card Share using Copics, Digital Stamps and Scrapbuck Goodies

Hi Everyone!

It has been a worldwind two weeks for me. It has been crazy busy as I have started to sell some of my items on Tophatter.com. I have come to realize that using that type of venue it takes alot more of my time then say Etsy. I am still using Etsy as my main store though. I like the format of Etsy better for sales of a more permanent nature and building repeat customers for sure. I love all of my Etsy customers. I enjoy creating the custom items so much that there is no way I could ever stop!

Tophatter for me is a source of instant gratification. I like that I can place an item in standby and know that if it gets advanced that it will be a sale for sure. I need that because as many of you know, this is my job. It is the way I help out with the bills and make sure that we can afford for Haley to play softball on a higher level travel team.

So, now that you all know what I have been up to for the past 2 weeks.. I want to share with you a card that I created using some of the goodies that I received with my 25$ gift card from Scrapbuck.com. As many of you know that follow me on YouTube, I am doing a giveaway on my channel for Scrapbuck.com. So, if you aren't a subscriber of my channel you can find me as JulieWalters74 or just click on my name and it will take you to my channel so that you can get in on this great giveaway!

So without further ado, here are a few of the photos of my newest card. 

 I used Scrapbucks TPC Cupcake paper as one of the backgrounds and for the flowers on my card. You will also see the "It's the little things" pink brads as the flower centers and then I used them to close up a little bit of the blank space on the right hand side of the card.

 Here is a close up of my handcrafted flowers. I love making these curly flowers and I think they look really pretty in a little cluster around your focal image! I used Pro31 Designs leaf trim as little accents to the flowers. This is one of my favorite trims that Esmeralda sells. I hope you will check it out too!

I used Spellbinders Nestabilities in the Labels 19 to create the inside of the card. This is a great starter card I think for those of you who want to get into making cards but are intimidated. The design is easy and you can embellish with things that you have on hand. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel and enter to win my Scrapbuck.com 50$ giftcard giveaway!

Also, I would love if you signed up for the email updates to my blog! This way when I post cards and projects and things you will automatically be notified!  You can find the option to do this on the right hand side of my blog.

Super Cute Summer Card and Blog Hop Winner!

Hey Everyone! Today I have a super cute card to share with you and Of course as promised I have the Blog Hop Blog Candy winnner! Woohooo :D 

First though I have to share with you this super cute card I created using the Sweet Nothings Stamp Company digital image Beach Babe Sophie. She is so cute! 

 I used my Copics and Spectrum Noir markers to color her. I have been searching for a read hair combination that is similar to the color of my own hair and I think I finally found it. There is a gal on YouTube that did a video a week or so ago about using this color combination for reds and I just love it! You can find her Here.  Here YouTube name is 2tinytreasures. The colors that I used for the hair are YR04, YR18 and E09

From Pro31 Designs, I used the punchinello border to create a background on the patterened paper. I used Lindy's stamp gang Creme Brulee and pounced the dauber top over the punchinello to create a mottled background. I also used acrylic flowers from her show. You can find the pictures below in the links! 

For the inside of the card I again used the punchinello and created a mottled background on the cardstock. Then I cut out my greeting using an EK success punch. I used my Copic R22 marker and blew very hard on it causing the ink to spray out and splatter the paper! . I also used a few champagne colored bling from my stash! 

Here are the colors I used to create this card! 

I want to congratulate the winner of the blog candy! You can find her name in the video that is directly below! :) 

Pro 31 Designs Grand Opening Blog HOP!

Thanks for stopping at my little pit stop on the web for Pro 31 Designs Grand Opening Blog Hop. I hope that you have just come from the Pro31 Designs Blog If you have arrived here from another blog you might want to make sure that you check out all the great blogs before me so that you can win an Awesome Grand Prize that Esmeralda is providing!

I have two awesome giveaways for you but before we get to those, let me show you some pictures of this amazing project I created with Pro31 Designs products. I cut out this box using my silhouette! I love how it has the ornate bracket shapes at both the top and the bottom!

 You know I had to use some Graphic 45 on this project! I am really in love with the Little Darlings collection! I love how you don't have to use the flip side of most of the pages for little children things. I love that you can use them for shabby and vintage looks as well! 

 How much do you love the image I used on the front of the box? I hope alot! I love it! It was designed by our Heather Hudson (who is amazing!)

Aren't these flowers and pearl trim gorgeous! Make sure you take a good look at them and then head on over to the shop to get yours too! Visit Pro 31 Designs today! When you are ready to shop use the coupon code JULIE10 to get 10% off your order!

Now, as a thank you for stopping by my blog, one of my fellow designers—Heather Hudson (click on her name to open a new window and check out her amazing work) has provided this digital collage for me to give to you! Just click on the photo and then right click and save as to your computer! These tags will be wonderful on your next project! Or print them out and use them on a give you are giving!

*******************FREE IMAGE HAS NOW BEEN REMOVED*********************

Since you are all so awesome for stopping by and playing along with us on our blog hop I would like to have a little give away myself! Just for all of you fine people who follow my blog and leave a comment here! I would love to get to know each and every one of you better! Ok.. So here is what I am giving away I hope that you all will like it!

Ok, now onto the last and maybe most important step on our blog hop. I know that you guys have checked out the Pro31 Designs blog right? You probably already know that Esmeralda is providing an awesome prize to be given away! Well you know then that you need to collect a secret word from each blog and send it in an email to customerservice@pro31designs.com before 12 Midnite PST on June 3rd.

My Secret word is **Bling**

Thanks for stopping by my blog and now you will be off to Heather’s Blog! Please double check and make sure you have followed and left comments on all the blogs to be eligible for the Grand Prize Drawing. You will need to send a list of all of the secret words that you have collected to customerservice@pro31designs.com  before 12 Midnight PST  on June 3rd.

If you are new to the blog hop here are the links to all of the designers blogs. Please start at the top with the Pro31 Designs Blog and work your way through the list! You will get chances to win some great prizes and collect a lot of digital collages on the way!

Here is the Link List for the Order of the blog hop!

1. Pro31 Designs Blog –http://www.pro31designs.blogspot.com
2. Julie Walters—http://www.jscraftystudio.com
3. Heather Hudson—http://heatherahudson.blogspot.com/
4. Anna Fallas--http://afallas72.blogspot.com/
5. Leslie Scrapsofmine --http://www.scrapsofmine.blogspot.com
6. Patti- Shabbypinkstamper --http://www.shabbypinkstamper.blogspot.com
7. Letty MsLetty5-- http://msletty5.blogspot.com/
8. Maria – Lollyrot-- http://lollyrot-scrapbooking.blogspot.com/ 
9. Kim—Berlykim37- http://berlykim37.blogspot.com/

Gorgeous Saturated Canary Card!

I think I have mentioned this before on my blog.. I have a love affair with The Saturated Canary images! From the first time I happened to browse past them on Etsy till now, when they have their own website. I love her images so much! I love how each image has really gorgeous features, perfect hair, gorgeous big eyes and beautiful lips! So awesome! They lend themselves to coloring because of the larger features!

Last night as I was putzing around my studio looking for something to do (like I really have to look that hard!) I started leafing through the pile of images I had already stamped or printed out to color! This lovely pile is increasing in size lately and it is almost 3 inches thick now! I really need to get my booty busy and start coloring and making some cards and projects!

Well I came across the gorgeous Saturated Canary image of Belle! Click on her name and you will be taken to the website of Krista who is the fabulous artist who creates the beautiful girls!I just love this image and I decided right then and there at 11pm that this little gal was destined to become a beautiful card right then and there! So, I set off on my task :)

Here is what I came up with!

I used the absolutely gorgeous embellishments from Pro31 Designs. You will find some of Esmeralda's gorgeous flowers and trims on this card! I honestly don't think I could make a card anymore without reaching for some of these fabulous flowers! I used the Square Bling Mesh, the Elastic ruffled organza trim, a porcelain and mulberry flower and then 3  of the 8130 roses in Apple Green, Ivory and Mauve( more rusty colored) Each flower was topped off with some vintage photo and sprayed with my homemade glimmer to make the sparkle!

 I colored Belle with a Mixture of my Copic Markers and my Spectrum Noirs! I will include a break down of the markers at the end of this post!

I just absolutely love this sentiment stamp. I picked this up many many moons ago and I believe it comes from The Angel Company. I wish I still had to original packaging because I would definitely check to see if it was still available. It really represents how I feel some times!

You will find the links to items I used below in the linky list! I am going to try this out so that you can see an image of the item directly from the website. We will see how it goes :)
First up the Markers :) 

Graphic 45 Olde Curiousity Shoppe Mini Album

Who doesn't love some Graphic 45! I know I sure do! The Olde Curiousity Shoppe is such a great collection! So many little images in the designer paper, great for fussy cutting! I really enjoyed using it to create this album for my partner in our Design Team swap at Pro31 Designs! I really hope my partner Kim loves her mini!

So lets get right too it shall we?

Here is the cover. I used Pro31 Designs flowers throughout the entire mini album as well as alot of Tim Holtz goodies! 

I love the cute "pigs flying" paper! The teals go so well with the rust colors and the browns! Lots of flowers and a wheat spray! I did a ton of fussy cutting and using images that come with the paper collection! I tried to make sure there were pockets and photo mats and journaling tags for each page in the mini! Even though it is small there is a lot of real estate!

I love using designer paper to create little places to tuck journaling or pieces of ephemera! I recieved that vintage looking postage from my friend Khouloud in a Rak! It comes in a tin with a ton of other stamps and postage items! 

I had to add in some of Esmeralda's burlap trim and some lace as well! I used my Big shot and a sizzix tag die to create the tags that are tucked into the pocket! I tied them off with some twine!

There is some more burlap and gorgeous flowers on these two pages of the album as well! Even another wheat spray! Those things are so handy! 

I added a movers and shapers Tim Holtz dress form and a My favorite things Die-namics birdcage die cut to this page! Love the bird on the Design paper that is holding a sign that says "Carter's Little Liver Pills" My mom used to have a saying about Carter's Liver Pills :)

The last page is similar to all the rest! Lots of places for journaling or photos! I added some bling to this page and a cute butterfly punched with my Small Martha Stewart Butterfly punch! 

I hope you have enjoyed looking at the album I have created! It was definitely fun and I enjoyed it all! If you would like to check out the video, as soon as it is loaded you can find it right below here! Thanks for stopping bye and I hope you come back soon!! If you have any questions about any of the products that I have used please leave me a comment! 

Teresa Collins Spring Fling Mini Love Album

Hey everyone! Please excuse my absense! It is Prom season here and I have been in full Mom mode making sure we have all the last minute details taken care of!

Tomorrow is the big day and I will post lots of pictures on facebook! :) But until then, I am posting a mini album I completed earlier this week as a project for Pro31 Designs!

But, before I show off my creation. I wanted to make sure that you guys had heard the news! Esmeralda has a new dot com! Woohooo! So, head on over to the shop at http://www.pro31designs.com

Alright now on to the good stuff! First off, let me just tell you that I am in love with Teresa Collins Spring Fling! The deep pinks, reds, teals and greens...ooh my bestill my heart! Love it! Have you seen the papers?

Aren't they lovely? ooooh and she has Hot Air Balloons in this collection! **Swooon***

I used a Kaisercraft Love Word Album as the basis of my project! It was alot harder then I thought to complete one of these books! Not alot of real estate to put all the goodies I love! Here are a few photos of my projects! I will link you to some of the products that I used from Pro31 Designs! 

 I received the Love mini album from my friend Fran! It is made by Kaisercraft. I used only the Teresa Collins Spring Fling collection for all of the paper items in this project!

 I used many of Esmeralda's flowers in this mini album! Check them out here! Mulberry Flowers

 

 I love the rhinestone buckle! I added one of the bling rhinestones from the collection to the top of it! I also used some Prima bling and my Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch to add a few other embellishments!

 More of the gorgeous flowers and some Diamond Drops!

 

I just love how it turned out and I hope you do too! Don't forget to check out Pro31 Designs on Facebook too! I will link to it below! 

Want to see the video I created showcasing this project? Check it out right below here!

Please check out and like our Facebook Fan Page!

http://facebook.com/pro31designs

Blitsy is having a membership drive!

Blitsy is having a Membership drive this week! You can earn some Cash towards your crafting supplies! Sign up using my referral link and blitsy will provide you with one of your own! 

If you aren't familiar with Blitsy, check them out! They have awesome deals 3 times a week and super fast shipping!
I hope you will give them a try!