Cartwheels In My Mind

Simple Projects....Big Impact.

Have you ever had a space in your house that you thought
needed a little something, but you could never find just the
right thing?  I have struggled with decorating my kids'
bathroom since the day we moved in!  With a 13 year old boy
and a 9 year old girl sharing a bathroom, it's hard to find
a design that they will both be happy with.  When we moved
in I found a multi colored striped shower curtain that was
very gender neutral but still fun, and then painted the
walls pale blue to match one of the stripes.  Accessorizing
the bathroom has been difficult...in fact it has taken me 6
years to finally decide what to hang on their bathroom wall.





I started with 2 8x10 blank canvases from Hobby Lobby and
painted each with several coats of bright blue paint.


I then used my Cricut machine to cut white vinyl.  I cut the
words "HIS" and "HERS" using the Doodletype cartridge and
cut the boy and girl shapes using the Going Places
cartridge.  The whole project only took a little over an
hour, but I love the end result.  It was just the right
thing for the blank wall above their towel bars!

-Amy

Photo of The Day, June 28, 2010.

(c) Amy Covey

I loved these self serve cookie jars in a bakery on the square in Weatherford, Texas. Such a fun idea!

Art Shoppe Interview, Studio Calico.

I am excited to announce this week's art shoppe interviewee: April Foster. April is the founder of Studio Calico, an inspirational website, kit club and most recently manufacturer of their very own line of scrapbook products.

First, here's the gorgeous and very talented April:

I first used the new Studio Calico this January, and instantly fell in love with pretty much everything about their product...from the quality and thickness of the paper, to the colors, to the vintage feel of everything, it's totally relevant and completely universal. I love that so much of her stuff can be interpreted in so many different ways and can appeal to both the traditional and non-traditional artist.

Here's a little eyecandy for you in the form of her newly released line: The Documentary Collection:

Our team will be sharing artwork using thie collection over the next week, but in the meantime, to help you get to know a little more about April and Studio Calico, I asked her to answer a few interview questions and am so excited to share them with you here:

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Hi, I’m April Foster, a native Texan who began my crafting career at an early age selling homemade greeting cards to my dad’s customers at his lumber-yard for $0.25 each.  I’d come home with a handful of quarters in exchange for my drawings and stickerings on typing paper.  It was quite a profitable venture for a 4 year old.  Later, I moved to Tennessee, then to Kentucky, where I continued to craft in the form of scrapbooking and met my husband.  Now he and I live on a farm (never thought I’d be doing that, but that’s a different story for a different day) with our two dogs and have a baby on the way due in November.

Describe your business (and share links as to where we can find it online): Studio Calico is a kit-club, community, shop, and so much more.  Truly, it has surpassed my expectations and continues to every day.  It’s a place you can find inspiration, friendship, and great scrapbooking products for reasonable prices.

What made you decide to open an art business?  The decision to take the plunge with Studio Calico was really my husband’s decision.  I had been working as a manager at a pharmaceutical company for about a year, and was on the road constantly, when the idea came to me via a good friend of mine.  We talked and discussed, but even though I was successful in my career, I was hesitant and unsure if I could be successful enough with Studio Calico to invest in it.  Thankfully my husband was not.  Less than 3 months after the initial discussion, Studio Calico was launched and we’ve never looked back!

When did you start doing art? Oops, I accidentally answered this question in my bio.  My mom was not a creative person, but wanted me to be, so I began fingerpainting, drawing, stickering, you-name-it as soon as my fingers could move.

Where does your inspiration come from? Wow, that’s so hard to pin down.  I’m so inspired by other crafters in the same genre, by products themselves, by color schemes I see in home décor, by just about anything.

 
What are your long term career goals? I love this type of question, because it’s one I used to ask when interviewing potential candidates.  I’m sure they felt like I do now, a little unsure how to answer, but I definitely continue to see myself in the scrapbook industry.  We’ve already made strides to branch out beyond the kit-club into manufacturing and will have our second large release at CHA this summer.  I see that trend continuing to other crafting markets besides scrapbooking most definitely, but before that can happen, we must ensure our customer service and designs stay cutting-edge and reputable.

What kind of music do you enjoy listening to while you create? You’ll think I’m strange, but I need complete silence to create.  My husband can’t think without music, and I can’t think straight with it.

Do you have a motto you live by? I’m not a flowery person by nature, but I do believe in hard work and self-motivation.  Anyone out there who can help me make that sound catchy, I’m all ears.

Any tips and tricks to other artists/business owners? Believe in your ideas and find a way to make them happen.  If you fail, evaluate why it failed (BE HONEST!), ask for advice, and constantly seek feedback, then pick yourself up and try again.

Describe your creative process. Although I’m very regimented in every other area of my life, I don’t really have a creative process.  I think that’s what I so enjoy about crafting is that anything goes.  Usually, I begin with a photo and story to tell and let the supplies on hand take form.

Can you cartwheel? If so, we'd love to see a photo! :) If you’d asked me at age 7, I would have said, “yes” but I just gave the advice to evaluate honestly, so now, I would say “no.”  Truthfully, as a child, I thought I’d be an Olympic gymnast even though I didn’t have a day of training in my life.  What I did have was a good imagination and a banister (aka balance beam) on my back deck growing up.

And here's some inspiration that April sent over:

Aren't they gorgeous? And not only is she sharing inspiration with us, but she has also generously agreed to give-away the entire Documentary Collection to one lucky winner! So be sure to leave a comment here for your chance to win! (Give-away ends at 8:30 p.m. eastern on next Sunday, July 2.)

Be sure to check back for lots more Studio Calico Inspiration from our team this week using the new line!

Peace & Inspiration,

Cheryl

Photo of the Day, June 27, 2010.

(c) Cindy Liebel

Sweet moments like this makes me so happy to be a mama; watching big brother help his baby sister along the way. Happy Sunday!

Creative Challenge 02.

As a creative soul, you are not a single personality.  You may not realize it, but you are a master in the art of balance.  You have an endless number of personality traits - most of them complete opposites of another - that work in harmony to make your own unique self.  Take a moment now to recognize and respect these differences.  Find the fun that's inside you!

Creative Challenge 02:  Create an art piece that celebrates the "this and thats" of life - how the different flavors in your life make up a complete whole.

Idea Prompts:

1.  What about you is a girly-girl? What makes you also a girly-guy? (i.e. I love lace, but also love my 49ers jersey.)
2.  What two food items do you marry together that would completely gross out someone else? (Me, I love rice with my ice cream. Ha!)
3.  What does your husband do that you absolutely hate, but you secretly think is sweet?

4.  When are you vocal? When are you quiet?
5.  Consider colors: What two colors would describe you? (Red for my passionate side, blue for my quiet side.)

So we hope you join in the fun! We can't wait to see what genius art you guys create. :)

And to get you started, I'm sharing this piece of how I interpreted this challenge.

In this layout, I share two parts of me that I especially enjoy: the hopeful Grace and the for real Grace. I have fun with both girls and wanted to share their personalities here.

-Maria*Grace

Partly Cloudy With A Chance Of Earrings.

I have a confession to make: very very often the vast majority of my preparation time for the day is spent creating jewelry to go with whatever it is I've decided to wear on that particular morning (Although, let's be honest...with 2 babies under 20 months, the vast majority of my prep time equals about 10 minutes max..20 if I wake up before them, which pretty much never happens). I just love that with all the supplies being at my fingertips I can embellish in a completely unique and one-of-a-kind way on any given day. And the best part is that it sets the creative mood for the rest of the day. 

Well, given my love for wearing new different jewelry each day, I've come to look at my art supplies in a completely different light...and more often than not, my first thought when I see a new embellishment is how I can make it into a cool new piece of jewelry. And the new Feeling Cloudy Overlays created by Jessica over at Vol25 were no exception...although I will admit, my first few ideas were not very promising. A couple days ago, however, when I ran back across my new rose trim from Joann's (sold by the yard) I just KNEW it would be perfect to use with the overlays to make some fluffy, delicate cloud earrings.

(NOTE: I apologize for the rough quality of the photos...my camera is broken and will be shipped off for repair next week.)

Want to make your own overlay inspired jewelry? Here's how:

Step 1: I first printed out 2 identical sets (created in photoshop) of the Suspended Clouds Shape onto printable chipboard, and then cut out the ones that were the most practical size when it came to earrings (if you aren't sure, take a couple pairs of your own earrings that work well for you and compare them side to side with the uncut shapes). I wanted them to be small enough that they wouldn't catch on my neck and big enough that it could be obvious that they were actually clouds.

 

Step 2: I next cut out my shapes and used fabric glue to attach the fabric (leftover from my wedding dress!) to both sides of the chipboard piece.

 

Step 3: I snipped apart and unraveled the roses on the trim to make them appear more like clouds and less like flowers. I also undid the sewing on the back holding the multiple layers of netting so that I could wrap it around the back of the clouds. I then attached them to the earrings using more fabric glue.

Step 4: I trimmed around the edges of both earrings and sewed around them to give them a more finished look and to make them more sturdy.

 
Step 5: I attached the jewelry pieces to the clouds and put them on!

I actually ended up loving the earrings way more than I thought I would...even though they wouldn't go with every outfit, they are much sturdier than I originally imagined but look delicate and best of all: like actual clouds!

Peace and Inspiration,

Cheryl

SUPPLIES: Feeling Cloudy Overlays: EyeCandy Overlays; White Thread and Rose Trim: Joann Fabrics; Blue Cotton Eyelet Fabric: leftover from my wedding dress.