J's Crafty Studio

Live Auction Site? Yes Please!

2012-08-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

How many of you fine folks have heard of Tophatter? You haven't? Well let me be the first to tell you about this amazing site! If you like live auctions, you know the type you go to and actually get a paddle to do your bidding? You are going to love Tophatter. It is the first Live Virtual auction website! There is actual LIVE bidding with an auctioneer *OR* auctionette in Charlotte's case below! Each auction is a Live virtual shopping party! For example today there will be 22 different, separate Tophatter auctions in every category imaginable, from craft supplies to antiques to handmade and jewelry auctions! How great is that! With the holidays coming up who doesn't want to purchase some great handmade artisan gifts for their loved ones! Want to know something else? All of the bazaar type auctions where you can find anything and everything have minimum bids of 1$!! Yes, you heard me right 1$!

You get these cute little graphic avatars when you sign up. See me? I am the one with the circle around my feet! It is so easy to start bidding and winning! Sign up for your account and poof you are ready to start bidding and winning! Another great thing about this website, is that in addition to the items that are scheduled for auction that day Tophatter also allows the sellers to place items in what is called Standby. Then one hour before each auction is to start standby opens for buyers to advance items into the main auction by placing the minimum bid on them. How awesome is that! And remember, in the Bazaar auctions the minimum bids are $1. (some bids are higher though, remember that 1$ is the minimum it can be set at)

And now for the super great honest to goodness best news yet! Tophatter has agreed to offer all of my followers a 5$ credit to spend in the auctions as a Welcome gift! So, use the link provided and sign up today! Have some fun at the Auctions!

Give me my 5$ Credit!

Here are just a few of my favorite things that are going to be auctioned today!

So, check out Tophatter today! I bet there are a ton of things that you will want to bid on too! I will be there, so when you see *Julie* talking make sure you say hi :)

Altered Clothespins Pro31 Designs

2012-08-15T13:16:00.002-05:00

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..

2012-08-13T09:50:00.001-05:00

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!