June 2017 Crafty Julie Creative Update

Something new I thought I would try is to do a monthly roundup of what I’ve done to lead my best creative life. I want to do this to remind you (and myself), that being creative doesn’t mean always creating huge DIY projects or elaborate scrapbooks or mastering a new skill every week. It just means taking the time to be creative in whatever ways I can throughout the month.

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year and it was in full swing for us this month. June was quite a hectic month for us at home and on the road, so my creative times were limited throughout the month. But I still managed to fit in some projects.

Projects

I created one of my first DIY blog post projects – DIY Rustic Wood Background for Close Up Photography – and had so much fun being outside getting messy! There is something very therapeutic about getting your hands dirty and physically touching things you are creating. Much of my life is on the computer with work, blogging, scrapbooking, and more, so taking the time to create something in real life felt good!

I bought some materials for another future blog post project, but didn’t get a chance to create the project yet. So those materials (as most crafters can relate), are still sitting, ready to go for a creative evening! More to come on that project, since it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while to help with my photography (hint, hint)

I also took some time to go shopping at JoAnns and Michaels, but didn’t buy a lot. I did have extra time to browse the new products that are in season. Taking time to look at beautiful things or find inspiration at crafting stores helps me feel creative even if I don’t buy anything!

We also did spend some time at the Home Depot to get our vegetable garden planted and also buy a few small flowers for our house. Doing these little gardening projects was a great way to get our daughter involved and pose for some cute pictures. You can bet I’m one of those moms that plan my photos around future scrapbooking layouts.

At the end of the month, my cousin and I took our kids to the town square for a mini photo shoot. My grandma’s 89th birthday was in June and we wanted to get her a special present. It was fun to get behind my DSLR and be creative, since I take almost all of my photos on my iPhone. Of course, it makes it even better to take pictures of adorable little faces!

Inspiration

I found a great scrapbooker via Facebook who is doing awesome things to be creative and simplify life as a scrapbooker. Her name is Jennifer Wilson from Simple Scrapper. She does a Facebook LIVE every Tuesday to help inspire others in scrapbooking – how awesome is that! She also has some great blog articles and I got sucked into quite a few this month. I also loved some of the layouts she created and am inspired by her post on “Finished a Year of Project Life in One Month”. Jennifer’s monthly layouts from that post really inspired me.  I would like to incorporate something similar in my 2017 project life plans. I can’t wait to learn more, read more, and see all that she has to offer.

Learning

My focus has been on creating this blog and all that it entails for the last few months. I’ve been neck deep trying to learn as much as I can about each part of blogging. This month I listened to the Simple Pin Media podcast pretty much anytime I got in the car and learned a lot more about Pinterest than what I thought was possible. I’ve always used it from a personal perspective and didn’t realize how powerful it can be from a business standpoint.

I didn’t have much time to practice or learn any new creative skills this month. I am definitely craving some time to get on SkillShare next month to practice more with Photoshop and also continue some watercolor classes and hand lettering.

Business & Blogging

Life has been busy on the business end of things. I wrapped up an order at the beginning of the month for a returning customer to create personalized recipe cards. It was great that she came back for more. I was so happy to hear how much they loved the recipe cards. I was surprised at the end of the month when she came back for more!  The gift of the personalized recipe cards was such a hit that she needed to order more! I feel so blessed and thrilled that they loved the cards so much!

Those orders filled my creative business cup of joy and helped me meet one of my 90-day goals. It has taken me awhile to create a schedule and prioritize blogging, so those sales reminded me that this is all possible. It also reminded me that I love to bring joy to others through my Etsy shop.

Wrap-Up

Although this month I didn’t get as much time for crafting and blogging, I was happy with what I accomplished. We also spent some good quality family time together. And of course, I have all of the photos that I took that I can’t wait to scrapbook! Documenting those memories will be something that I want to accomplish next month.  (Check out what I did in July 2017 here.)

So what about you? I would love to hear about what you were able to accomplish to be creative last month! Let’s inspire each other – let me know in the comments.

As always, don’t forget to lead your best creative life today 🙂
Julie

Photo Credit: Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash