My AdvoCare journey

Even though I have not posted in such a long time. I have it on my heart to post this now. My life has been forever changed thanks to being introduced to AdvoCare Products. 

I am hoping to reach someone that needs some hope in their life. I am not sure why these products clicked for me and worked when nothing else would. Everyone responds differently to everything out there.

If you are looking to lose weight, or just need energy and want to feel good on the inside. Please contact me so we can discuss if AdvoCare is right for you. 

I was introduced to Advocare June 2012 by a sweet dance mom friend. We talked out about it on the beaches in Florida during Dance Nationals. I fought her at first. "Well, I'm not spending that much" "You try it and let me know how that works for you".

Once we got back pretty soon lots of those dance moms were losing weight and giddy with energy.
I wanted NEEDED a piece of that action as i was over fed and under nourished. I was working out 4-5 days a week with no results.

I gave in and spend my roughly $200.00 dollars. BEST. MONEY. SPENT. EVER.
within 4 days I feel like a million bucks! 

I started this journey with the 24 Day challenge. Find out about it here.
I started on August 5th 2012. A day i will remember forever. I have not looked back since.

The journey has been way easier than I ever imagined. It seems that I lost a little slower than some people do. That's fine. I have completely changed my lifestyle. The vitamins taken make the process so much easier.  To date I have lost 30lbs, 33 inches, 10% body fat and have gone from a size 12 to a 4/6. Not to mention the sugar addiction that I have finally defeated. UNBELIEVABLE. 

Even if I had not lost weight. The amazing energy I have now and the defeated sugar addition was worth it all. The weight loss was just a glorious bonus. 

The best thing I can tell you about AdvoCare is this is a people loving business. You are not going to find these products on a shelf. #1 because there are no preservatives so no shelf life. #2 The products come with a voice. If you buy something from me, myself and a whole army of AdvoCare distributors are here to help you, answer questions, guide you through the process, encourage, motivate and inspire you.

Take a look at my Advosite here at iloveAdvo look around. Tell me what you are interested in and we will see what fits your budget and your goals. 

Thank you for reading about my journey. I hope you are inspired.

Cheers!
Julie
scrappingjulie@gmail.com

Numbered Stairs

Happy Sunday to you!!!!  I hope you have had an awesome start to this new week.
A little while back I decided to paint the stair risers. So glad I did. I LOVE it.

Then of course, I get board with it. I have seen in blogland and on Pintrest fun little numbers or silhouettes on stair risers. Well.. since I recently FINALLY got my Silhouette Cameo I decided to play with some vinyl.

Easy as pie. Pick out the font you want to use, size it to the desired size, cut, peel and stick!!!!

Here is what your left with from just a few fun minutes of  crafty time!!
My Handsome Hubby thought I was crazy.. until he saw them up. Then, of course, like always he thought it was pretty ingenious! HA every time I tell ya =)

Thanks for stopping by today!!!!
Cheers!
~Julie~

Family Name Sign

My goodness.. its been a while. How does time fly by so fast. I actually have not been that crafty lately. I sold my Cricut to get a Silhouette Cameo. I waited quite a while after selling the Cricut before I finally got the Silhouette. The Family Name Sign below was made with the Cricut.

I bought a cheap random cabinet door from Habitat Restore. $3 whopping dollars! I already had the paint and vinyl and the font on a Cricut cartridge so this project cost $3.00. LOVE!!!

First I painted the cabinet door black. Then I just cut letters out of vinyl. Layed the letters where i wanted them on the cabinet. Painted the entire cabinet door creamy white (paint left over from when I painted my kitchen cabinets HERE). Then all that was left to do was peel the vinyl off leaving the black paint exposed. Viola!

 

I am not sure if this is its permanent home but i like it here for now. I have it just sitting on the credenza that I redid HERE . I have it just sitting on top of the credenza, not hanging from the wall. I am considering putting by the door out to the garage after installing some hooks on it?

Simple DIY Art

Good Grief. Has it really been 2 months since I last blogged? My how time flies.
I have been doing lots of fun projects. I have so much more up my sleeve too. Now if I could just find the time right?!

I needed a soft simple piece of art to go over my jewelry armoire in my bedroom. I didnt want anything harsh or drastic and i needed it to be CHEAP! I went to Big Lots and found a naked canvas for $6.00. Yep that is a great starting point.

I already had some paint. I like that it is silver color to match the bedroom. I had wished it was not quite as metallic maybe just more gray but, the metallic has actually grown on me.

I this super cute stencil for FREE. When i ordered the stencil for my bedroom wall from Royal Stencil company they sent me a little stencil for free with my order. This was the perfect time to get that out and put it to use.
Here she is all done and up close. My mom and husband said i should outline the flowers to make them more prominent but I like the subtleness of it.
So there you have it super duper simple $6.00 wall art! What have you been working on?

I am in the market for a Cameo Silhouette if you know of a great deal going on right now let me know please! Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!!!
~Julie~

Camping Fun

Hi Everyone !! got back yesterday from a great weekend of camping fun with a few sweet friends. The weather was crazy cool. Last year at this time it was HOT! so this year we decided to rent a pop up camper. well..we needed the heater instead! how funny right?
you just never know with good ole Tennessee weather. I hope to get on a project soon.
Here are a few pics from Salt Lick Creek Campgrounds.
thanks for your visit

Crafty Home Decor

Hidy Ho Everyone!

so a few months ago while I was watching the best channel on television, HGTV! I noticed in an episode of High Low Project some artwork. side note.. is that show going to come back on? I mean seriously I LOVED IT. i sure hope it comes back. Sabrina (the shows host) did not focus on this particular part of the redo BUT I noticed it. It was 6 framed squares of fabric. I thought WHAT??!! i CAN so do that. and cheap too! instead of fabric i used scrapbooking paper. so here goes.

+

For the frames I went as cheaply as I could without looking super cheesy. I settled on album display frames that I found at JoAnn. They were about $10.00 each but the stars were lined up that day because they were 50% off WHEN I was ready to get them! sweet!

I also used white foam board. I had some on hand already so I only had to buy one piece. I cut them into 12X12 squares to fit the frames, then cut the paper down to 11X11 because I wanted the white boarder around the images. BTW I used foam board to give some dimension, because these were album frames, they are made to hold a wee bit of thickness.

After I had them all framed up I played around with the layout on the kitchen table. then hung them up over the fireplace. I have to say I was very pleased with myself. Sorry for the glare in the pictures. One of these days I will learn how to photograph.

So there ya go. For around $40.00 i had a whole set of artwork. Not too shabby eh?

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me. OH! that pic to the side over the ottoman was what i used to have over the fireplace. it was nice too but I love change things up around here. Much to hubby's dismay.
have a super week!
Cheers!
~Julie~

Linking to :
House of Hepworths

The Shabby Nest

Finding Fabulous

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

FAA Style Quiz Defining Your Style

Go by Mandi's sa-weet blog HERE for info on the FAA club also she is DIY super hero, so you will enjoy the visit.

Julie, you are an Elegant Classic

You have a refined sensibility with an appreciation for history and tradition in your furniture and your rooms. You value beauty, things that are well crafted, and family heirlooms. You are visually sensitive and understand how symmetry and a formal layout give order to a room, and hence your home is refined and calming. You are not taken in by the trends of the moment. You go for things with a timeless appeal, and appreciate old-fashioned virtues like manners and handwritten notes and making a home that is welcoming for others.

You value order. You feel happiest if your home is well organized. You understand that when your house is in order, your mind feels clearer. Rather than a lot of meaningless objects or overly-designed items, you are happier with a few well-placed things. Your home is your respite from a busy life. Try to avoid letting things into your home that you don't really love.

Hummmm... not so sure about ALL of the info in paragraph one. but definitely bang on in paragraph two.

Find your style... TAKE THE QUIZ HERE

I really need to have my husband read this because he would say not that " I value order" he would say I am obsessive compulsive! HA to the second sentence he would say that I am just plain crazy! and for "don't let things into your home that you don't really love" he gets frustrated at me because I give or throw lots of things away. I REALLY cannot stand clutter. It makes me nervous (hence the crazy part) He would rather hang on to something to "save" it for a yard sale (that we will never have). I however would rather give it to a friend, Am Vets, ARC, goodwill, anything to keep it from being the house.

Is this what they mean by opposites attract? LOL

hope you take the quiz, it is only 10 questions and really neat!

Cheers!

~Julie~

The House That Creaks # 11 Bedroom Redo!!

ACK!! I am so excited to show of the bedroom redo! I have been working on this for weeks. I started off by adding the bead board wall paper. then painted the bathroom and bedroom. then painted the stencil on one wall. then made the headboard. then put up the chair rail in the bathroom. whew... but the big parts are over and i LOVE it.
for the headboard I started with a piece of plywood for $10.00 ! whoop. OMG i had NO idea plywood was that dang heavy. now my foot knows it too! got two layers of 1/2 batting with coupon for $16.00

Staple gunned the batting and used a canvas drop cloth for the fabric. for $10.00 I wanted a casual fabric that could easily adapt to any decor changes. it was perfect!

Of course, i could not find any old pictures of the bedroom. i think they were all on my old computer. but here is a pic of the old bathroom so you get an idea of the color the bedroom was.


Okay.. my pictures are all out of whack. some just got deleted... UGGG.. so . i am making do with what i can. my computer is super sensitive and it just goes crazy sometimes.. anywhooooo
here is a look from the bathroom into the bedroom. i used two colors of blue from Sherwin Williams. Let me give some props for a minute. the Super paint by Sherwin .. HOLY MOLY yall!
it cover in ONE coat. I painted over a yellowy orange to a light smokey blue in ONE coat. WHAT?? !!!!
I finally got real curtains for the bathroom, If you look again at the old bathroom pic you will see the pink quilt hanging in the window.. that was there for oh.... about a year! LOL
Just take a look at this cottagey goodness will you?! feels like a little cottage near the ocean to me.
Here is a gander in the bedroom of the stenciled wall. someday i will get new furniture. so dont look at that!
Here is a view of the completed bead board. I got all white bedding for Christmas. Super nice set too! Thanks step mom!! :-) I do plan to put a piece of artwork or maybe a framed mirror over the jewelry box there. but not sure exactly what i want yet.

I also plan to get new lamp shades maybe a drum shape. I got some this weekend but they didnt fit.. phooey! Also got curtains for the bedroom. NEVER had curtains in there before. lived here 2 years with no curtains. at least i did have blinds in the window though. teeheee
I spray painted the lamps a sliver to match the bedroom better. I would like to have wall mounted lamps. but making do with what i have for now.

Just making sure you have a view from all angles :-)

so this is it. last pic of the tour. thanks so much for looking. so here is a rundown
headboard:
plywood $10.00 , batting $16.00, drop cloth $10.00, nail head trim kit $20.00 = $56.00!!
oh, we did have to buy a jigsaw to cut the corners in the headboard. so that was around $30.00 so total was $86.00 what??!!! you will pay HUNDREDS for a ready made one. AND not near the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

the stencil is Royal Designs it was $40.00 but i got it as a gift for Christmas :-) thanks MOM!

the paint was $100.00 for both rooms BUT! well worth the money. like i said.. ONE COAT. the bathroom i used SW cashmere.. i did not like it near as much as the Super Paint. Cashmere i had to use two coats. Super paint is the primer and paint in one.

Cheers!
~Julie~

Stenciling

here is a sneak peek of what I have been working on lately! Lots of projects around this house!

hope everyone is doing great. Thanks for the visit. hope to share more soon.

Cheers!
~Julie~

Update

Wow. Life has raced by this past month. I feel like I have hardly breathed. 3 weekends in a row we had dance stuff. 2 competitions and one out of town adventure. We went to Memphis Tennessee which was actually really fun. The girls got to take classes from world renowned dancers. It was all relaxed and casual. The moms didn't have to worry with make up and hair and costumes. The girls had a blast.

Above is one of my favorite dances this year called clown-o-rama. Its a fun little dance very entertaining. The picture below is Grace in a very contemporary dance that I also like alot.

During all of the dance chaos my grandfather was put in hospice care. He has good days and bad days. I like to visit him when I can.

Also I have started on redoing the master bath and bedroom. I got a good start on the bathroom just to be rudely interrupted with a case of FOOD POISONING!!! Oh my lands... that was the worst. experience. ever. I have never had food poisoning before and I pray to the good Lord above that I never get it again. but, even that event was made better when I found out that I won a give away on YOUNG HOUSE LOVE. John and Sherry are so talented and entertaining I love to visit their DIY blog every day. I won a DIY book by Jen Lancaster and a $100.00 gift card to Home Depot! just in the nick of time for my master room make over!!!

I hope to be back soon, I have been trying to visit blogs and leave comments when I can. Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Cheers!!!
~Julie~