Welcome Back...Special Announcement from JulieChats

Welcome back to my blog!

After taking a break for summer and a major absence of creativity over the summer, I'm back.  I worked a crop at Whimzee's the other night and started working on a fun new banner project for my studio space.  I'll share it as soon as it's finished!

I'm not exactly sure of the reason behind my break from blogging.  I guess it started after my 40th Birthday Mexico trip with two of my closest friends.  Before that, I had been working very hard since January, at blogging, working at the store, volunteering at Delaney's school, house sitting for my neighbors and being a mom-wife-friend to those around me.  I was also forcing myself to complete creative projects in order to submit them for design team consideration.

Thinking about my "Words" for 2010, see post about that HERE, made me rethink what I was doing and how I was going about it.  My "Words" are BELIEVE and ACHIEVE.  After spending countless hours over about six months and not being chosen for any of the design teams I had submitted creations for, I thought I should reconsider what I was doing.

First of all, I love creating!  I love sharing my creations with friends, family and blog readers.  Also, not all of my creations are scrapbook pages.  I love creating beautiful things for my home and as gifts for others.  I love how the papers & embellishments originally created for scrapbooks can be used to create things that I enjoy seeing hanging on my walls and adorning my surfaces everyday in my home.

One day it occurred to me that no one was paying me to write my blog or create projects for it.  I knew that there were a few who would miss my posts, but I had to start thinking again about my goals for this year.  One of them was to make some money to contribute to my family's expenses each month. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to separate my creative projects from my desire to make money.  Being totally honest with myself, I had to admit that it would be very difficult (or next to impossible) to make much money as a scrapbook blogger.  I know that people do use their blogs to make money and I give lot's of kudos to them for their efforts.  But with all my other responsibilities, I didn't have the amount of time I thought I would need to devote to making my blog a money maker.

So while I took a "Summer Break" from my blog and enjoyed the long days at home with Delaney and Jake and also some summer travel, I thought about how I could help my family and get my "creative mojo" back.  I think that turning 40 this summer was also a part of my re-examination of my choices. 

Speaking of turning 40, I decided to throw myself a Willow House home decor birthday party.  I invited friends and had them skip the gifts and get something for themselves.  My gift was all the great free items I received as the hostess.  My consultant, Darby, is also a friend of mine from the scrapbook store and a mom at Delaney's school.  She's great at her business, starting out 7 years ago with Willow House's predecessor, Southern Living at HOME, Darby retired from teaching a couple years ago to concentrate on Willow House full time.  She's now a Director, inspiring a team of more than 40 women, and making a great living, even earning a couple free vacations each year.  So I listened when she suggested, nonchalantly, that I would make the perfect Willow House Design Consultant.

My love of home decor, design, color and creating, along with my retail background (I have sold so many pairs of jeans at The Gap, that it would make your head spin...along with 1,000's & 1,000's of pieces of scrapbook paper.) all combined with my desire to help out with the finances at home, all contributed to my decision to join Willow House as a Design Consultant.

Into my second month with Willow House, I'm very happy with my decision.  This job allows me to be home with my two year old, volunteer at school, be a good wife-mom-friend, make some money and even have some time left for my creative endeavors.  I'm still house sitting for the neighbors and working part time at the scrapbook store, so I'm a pretty busy lady.  But I'm now able to separate my desire to help out with the home finances and from my blogging and my creativity.

So, yes, I'M BACK!  I'm excited to create again and share some fun home decorating items with you!  So join me here at JulieChats, as I embark on a new journey in my life!  Of course, I welcome you to join me on Facebook, where I keep a Willow House Julie business page.  And also on my Willow House website.  I promise not to be one of those pushy sales people, but to share things that I think will help bring beauty, creativity, simplicity and organization to your life!  When you see something you like, you're able to order it on my website where the entire Willow House catalog is available for purchase, along with our bargain-priced outlet for those among you looking for a deal...I love a deal, so I'll be sure to share as many of those with you as I can!

I'll try to post some new ideas each week, check back here for posts to inspire your creativity and home decorating in the coming holiday season.  But I'm not going to push myself over the edge trying to be sure I post something each and every week, so if you'd like to receive an email reminder when I post something new, be sure to click subscribe to JulieChats over in the right side column of this page.

I look forward to sharing my creativity and passion for decorating with you!  Thanks for sticking with me through this long break!  I look forward to communicating with you through comments here and messages on my Willow House Julie page.  Let me know what you're interested in seeing here or things that you need help with around your home, I'd be happy to help!!!! :)