Jo Draper

Jo Draper Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Jo Draper, Digital creator, Gold Coast.
(1)

Creative Business Systems & Storytelling Mentor

Helping VAs & creatives build joyful, profitable businesses The Pretty Way - storytelling, simple systems and self-belief.

Whether you’re someone who loves Halloween and gets into everything or you only dabble in it, there’s something fun abou...
06/09/2026

Whether you’re someone who loves Halloween and gets into everything or you only dabble in it, there’s something fun about the spooky season.

Where I live on the Gold Coast, the end of October is warming up and getting us ready for summer. Not exactly spooky but you have to use your imagination.

We are not a couple that really does Halloween but I do love to see the costumes and hear the kids doing trick or treat. 👻

If you haven’t grabbed some fabric to make your outfits, check out Eek! my playful and fun Halloween collection of patterns created by my own fair hand. Head to Spoonflower and search JoDraperDesigns to see lots more patterns including this collection of spooky goodness.

Last week, I ended up making a pattern collection that I hadn't intended to make.Then Toy Story 5 brought up all the fee...
03/09/2026

Last week, I ended up making a pattern collection that I hadn't intended to make.

Then Toy Story 5 brought up all the feelies about growing up, friendship, change and what we leave behind.

Now we're heading off on a cruise, so I'm literally going somewhere else. In fact, I am going somewhere else because our cruise was supposed to go to Cairns but there’s an issue with the water levels in the port, so we are going to Townsville instead. We’ve not been there before.

Where you thought you were going isn't necessarily where you end up - and isn't that a good thing?

Thinking about the posts I've done this week, it's all very Pretty Way inspired. The route changes along the way and that's the whole point of the Pretty Way - it's the way you go in life and in business.

If you look at a Halloween collection, Toy Story 5 and a cruise, they seem to have absolutely nothing in common. Three completely random things. But somehow, in my week, they've come together.

Maybe that's the dot this week. RIP to where I thought I was going. I'm quite happy to see where I end up instead.

Hand-lettering and illustration created by me in Procreate.

Brushes by Lisa Glanz

Draw Your Happy hand-lettering course by Charly Clements and Nikki Miles

Halloween templates for my Eek! collection by Michelle at Fern & Quill and mockups by Samantha at Dandelion Moonflower .moonflower

02/09/2026

My son, Andrew (or Andy to his friends and everyone else except us hahahaha), has grown up with Toy Story and therefore, so have we.

I cried so hard when Andy left home because my Andrew was also moving out around the same time - very weird coincidence, right?

We watched Toy Story 5 over the weekend and we both loved it. It did end up with Paul and me having damp eyes afterwards, talking about giving away our own toys.

We both kept some of our childhood toys for years, but when we moved to an apartment, they were some of the things that had to go. Some were donated and some were so old and knackered they had to be thrown away!

I see it like this - if we've loved our toys and played with them as much as we can, why not donate them to someone else who's ready to give them just as much playtime and love as we did?

If you haven't watched Taylor Swift's video for I Knew It, I Knew You, I highly recommend it, especially if you love Toy Story. It's really well done and also made me cry - hahahahaha, I'm such a sook!

Do you still have any toys from your childhood, or have you donated your pre-loved toys too?

Creating a new pattern collection can be a nightmare (no, not on Elm Street hahahaha) but having templates to work from ...
31/08/2026

Creating a new pattern collection can be a nightmare (no, not on Elm Street hahahaha) but having templates to work from can save you a lot of time and help you overcome that ‘blank page syndrome’.

As I had some templates from Michelle at Fern & Quill (), it was easy for me to get started as I knew where the motifs needed to go. Yes, I still needed to decide what the motifs would be, but it’s much easier to start filling the spaces when you can see them in front of you. The template isn’t designing the pattern for you - it’s giving you a starting structure to create within.

I worked with Michelle in her previous life as a coach and know her very well - she’s my art amigo. She is someone that I love and respect and I know her work is always amazing.

For me, though, it really comes down to wanting to create something because my brain wants to have something different to draw. Plus, I love patterns.

Are you a surface pattern designer who loves to use a template, or are you ‘winging it’?

29/08/2026

When does an adventure actually begin?

I’ve been awake since five this morning, but I couldn’t eat or drink coffee because I had to fast for a blood test. By eight o’clock, I was ready to chew my frigging arm off.

With the blood test finished, I recorded today’s Pretty Way Walk from my car while waiting to have my legs and underarms waxed for next week’s cruise. Living the glamorous pre-holiday life.

It got me thinking about all the bits before an adventure. Choosing which books to take, deciding what art supplies might come with me and gradually putting everything together are already part of the excitement.

Sometimes we’re so tired and desperate for the holiday itself that we forget to enjoy the anticipation.

What adventure have you got planned, and which part can you start enjoying now?

Go where the sun shinesYou know I love a good metaphor so going where the sun shines is not necessarily what you need.If...
27/08/2026

Go where the sun shines

You know I love a good metaphor so going where the sun shines is not necessarily what you need.

If you’re needing to revitalise yourself or get away from stuff for a while, where is it that you go? Is it the beach, the mountains, a cafe, for a hug with someone you love, or somewhere else?

We all need what we need but sometimes, what we need is something different. I love a good holiday and road trips (where you know I’m going the Pretty Way), plus visits to theme parks are quite often my happy place.

However, right now, I’m tired and a cruise up the Queensland coast for a week is what I need.

A cruise is somewhere I can kick back with my feet up (Paul would say I do that every afternoon hahahahaha - I am working on my art, honest hahaha) and chill out with Paul for a week.

We get up, head for breakfast (and coffee, definitely coffee) before finding a spot to sit. Paul puts his headphones on and watches something he’s downloaded and I will read, draw or create a pattern. We do chat the whole time though - not even sure how Paul manages to watch anything hahahaha.

Morning tea, a walk round the deck and another chill before lunch. After lunch, it’s back to the room to read, and maybe have a nap before shower and ready for dinner, a show and maybe a cheeky gamble at the casino (when it’s open).

Where do you go when you need a change of scenery or need to get out of the house?

I think that’s the thing about going where the sun shines. Your sunny spot doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, and it might not even look the same every time.

Hand lettering and illustration created by me.

Brushes and Seamless Canvas from Lisa Glanz

Hand lettering course - Draw Your Happy - and

I made a Halloween collection because apparently finishing a calendar wasn’t enough for my brain.I am tired, ready for m...
27/08/2026

I made a Halloween collection because apparently finishing a calendar wasn’t enough for my brain.

I am tired, ready for my holiday and needed to draw something playful without turning it into another enormous project. I opened Michelle Marks Michelle’s Halloween templates and began doodling ghosts, worried coffins, eyeballs and spiders with my fave brushes and seamless canvases by Lisa Glanz - illustrator.

That became Eek!

There were originally four patterns, until Spoonflower informed me that a public collection needed five. I re-drew the suspicious little peeping eyes from the ghost pattern, gave them a bright pink background and accidentally created one of my favourites.

Seeing the patterns on tiny dresses, rompers and bibs has made me ridiculously happy. They’re spooky enough for Halloween, but still bright, funny and full of little faces wondering what on earth is going on.

The Eek! fabric and home decor collection is now available on Spoonflower. Search for JoDraperDesigns to find it.

If you’re interested in licensing, let’s have a chat.

Which pattern would you choose?

26/08/2026

Quick side-quest roll call. What are you creating when you’re supposed to be creating something else?

My main quest is the Far North Queensland Adventures calendar. This week, however, I side-quested two Christmas cards and four Halloween patterns.

I don’t think side quests are automatically a problem. Sometimes, your brain needs a smaller, different, or more immediately satisfying thing to work on. Mine produced six finished pieces, so it wasn’t exactly hiding behind the sofa doing nothing.

The important bit is remembering which project is the actual quest.

What are you side questing, and what are you supposed to be working on?

This one started with a page full of frogs.I'm working on my Far North Queensland Adventures calendar for 2027 and, befo...
25/08/2026

This one started with a page full of frogs.

I'm working on my Far North Queensland Adventures calendar for 2027 and, before anything makes it into Procreate, there is usually a fair amount of scribbling in my sketchbook first.

For February I knew I wanted a Kuranda tree frog, a dragonfly, LOTS of rain and a heart-shaped leaf. I played around with different poses until this little running frog appeared and suddenly I could see the story.

The leaf became an umbrella, but instead of keeping himself dry, he's protecting the bag the characters are carrying through all twelve adventures. His dragonfly friend has spotted an opportunity and is flying underneath to dry his wings.

The heart-shaped leaf becomes February's little souvenir and gets added to the bag to continue on the journey.

I'm really enjoying seeing these characters go from scruffy little pencil sketches to finished illustrations, especially when the story changes somewhere along the way.

I'm creating the whole calendar one adventure at a time, so follow along if you'd like to see where the bag - and its growing collection of treasures - goes next.

23/08/2026

Did you know I have a scar that runs from armpit to armpit?

Almost five years ago, I had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Five years before that, I had DCIS and was treated with surgery and radiation.

I’m not sharing this because I want sympathy. I’m all good. I’m sharing it because my second diagnosis was found during the mammogram I had before I was due to be discharged.

BCNA currently reports that an average of 58 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day, including both women and men.

If you’re eligible and due for routine screening, book it. If you notice a lump, pain or another breast change, speak to your doctor rather than waiting for your next screening appointment.

Please get your b***s checked, and encourage the men in your life to speak to a doctor if they notice anything unusual too.

BreastScreen Australia: 13 20 50

Address

Gold Coast, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Jo Draper posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category