Cartwheels In My Mind

REVolution giveaway winners...

 

Happy Monday everyone!

I would like to take a moment to announce the lucky winners of the Embrace My Life tutorial from Revlie's, REVolution shop.

CONGRATULATIONS TO........

Every day something new! I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE and I love all the inspiration. Thank you for sharing Revlie with us!

Posted by: Kristine LeRoss | November 01, 2010 at 09:49 PM

and

thank you for the awsome giveaway...revlie is so inpiring!

Posted by: Leah | November 07, 2010 at 06:51 AM

Thanks everyone to participating! Kristine & Leah, to receive your tutorial, please email me at [email protected].

Have a great week everyone!!

Cheers :)

 

Photo Of The Day, November 3, 2010.

 
© cindy liebel

Some day I would like to have a wall filled with everyday photos of my life or of our yearly travels, near & far. how cool is this wall of photos? Seriously? I couldn't resist this shot at an Anthropologie store in Philadelphia. Mush better than just framing them.

Art Shoppe Interview: REVolution.

Revlie is one of the craftiest person I know. It always amazes me how she finds the time to create all that she does. She has such a wonderful personality, sense of humor and a no-nonsense attitude. She has a heart of gold and a wonderful friend.

On top of being a mom/wife, artist and full-time business owner, Revlie finds time to create lushes mini albums and tutorials, that you can find in her etsy shop, REVolution. They are filled with loads of techinques, textures & ideas you will love. When you go to her blog, Life Is Good, you will be amazingly inspired by her crafty goodness. I always look foward to seeing what she has up her sleeves next! She is quite the innovator!!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Revlie Schuit
35 years (36 on October 7 :D)
live with hub Arjan and our 2 muppets: Sanne (7, girl) and Ruben (3, boy).
Netherlands
company owner
chocolate
Vichy handcream
imac
colors
handmade stuff
scrapbooking
sewing
crochet
running
tulips
i should go to bed more early than i do now
i bite nails when i'm nervous or anxious
i laugh too loud and i'm extremely clumbsy
that about sums it all up ...

Describe your business.
I write online tutorials for mini albums and sell those tutorials and sometimes kits to go with it on Etsy. You can, of course, design the mini  you like, but if you need a little get-go you can use my step-by-step instructions. I’m working on tutorials for crochet and sew projects also.

What made you decide to open an art business?
I heard a lot of friends and scrapbook friends say they loved my mini albums but did not know how to make them themselves. So I thought,  step-by-step instructions with LOADS of pictures was what we missed. If you are a beginner you can easily create the mini albums, and if you are a pro already you can simply skip some steps you know how to do already. Also, if you just need some inspiration it’s perfect to use my tutorials and give them your own twist. Love that!

When did you start doing art?
mmm. I guess since my childhood, but since my kids were born (Sanne in 2003) I’m more into it ‘professionally”.

Where does your inspiration come from?
Mostly from everyday stuff and my kids. Love homemade magazines and “live mindful” magazines (all dutch :D)

What are your long term career goals?
I also own a business for Secretarial Services (Artifex Support) since 2000. So 10 years already now. Arjan & I run that together and to be quite honest, I’ve been there, seen that and done that, I feel I need to run a creative business more fulltime than I do now. So, my long term goal is to take a step back from my Secretarial Service business and invest more time in my creative business. Now it’s just a matter of lack of time. With 2 young kids (Ruben goes to school in 6 months from now, that’ll give me more time), 1 very, very hectic company and starting 1 creative company I’ve got my hands full :D

What kind of music do you enjoy listening to while you create?
All sorts of. Jason Mraz (spell that ok?) is my favorite. And Amy McDonald, of course the Black Eyed Peas, and some Dutch Artists (Alain Clark, Ilse DeLange, Jan Smit, Nick&Simon).

What and/or who are your influences?
Mostly every day life for scrapbooking, for crochet & sewing and my kids. I love to ‘solve problems’ (make something out of fabric or crochet something they think they need to buy in store, haha). I love to visit some blogs from great artists like Kal Barteski, Elsie Flannigan and some sewing masters :D

Do you have a motto you live by?
Life is good! Even if it sucks sometimes, it’s still good. And of course, “weather you think you CAN’T or CAN do it, you are right :D),

Where do you see yourself & your business in the next 5 years? mmmm, I like to take smaller steps, but I’m sure in 5 years I’ll be running my creative business fulltime and can be there for the kids when they are not in school. So for them, I’ll be a stay at home mommy, I would love to only work during school hours.

Any tips and tricks to other artists/business owners?
Just GO for it. If you love what you do, success WILL come. I know I can reach my goals if I set my mind to it. Proof for me is my company Artifex Support I run now. 10 years ago I simply quit my well payed job and started it from home. People told me I was CRAZY. Insane! I wouldn’t make it. Of course, I proved them wrong. ha. Don’t let other people hold you down from YOUR dreams and plans.

Describe your creative process...
During the day I’ve got a lot of ideas I jot down in my idea book or any paper that’s nearby. In the evening, when the kids are asleep, I go to my creative room (scrap, sew, crochet) and start making what I had in mind, or go on with what I was already creating. It’s like I’ve got so many ideas, my head would explode if I don’t write them down. There’s just too little time to make them all.

Advice you would like to share for someone looking into starting their own art business?
Stick to your own ideas and plans. Don’t let other people give their opinion on your work. Believe in yourself. Don’t be shy. You need to be a little outgoing and straight forward to reach your goals. Advertise, advertise, advertise!! Get your name out there. You can place banners on blog(s) that doesn’t have to be expensive. Try to get an interview with crafting magazines or other magazines. In Holland, it works like: you send something you sell to the editors of the magazine trying to get them to publish it. Keep positive. It takes time to set up & run a business.

Can you cartwheel? If so, we'd love to see a photo!
:) haha. See, I’m like extremely clumsy. So, if I could even TRY to do a cartwheel, I’m certain I’ll break a bone you didn’t know you have in your body. So, I'll just leave you with that mental image...

When you're looking for inspiration be sure to check out Revlie's blog, Life Is Good. You can also find more of her artwork at on a regular basis at these fun scrapbook inspiration & challenge blogs...One Little Word & Color Conspiracy.

Revlie has generously offered two lucky readers a chance to win the Embrace My Life tutorial from her REVolution shop. All you have to do is leave a comment to this post and two winners will be randomly chosen. You have until Sunday at evening. So good luck! :)

Thanks so much Revlie for sharing your creative world with us and wishing you tons of success!

Cheers :)

Artists Studio: Marcy Penner.

This month I thought I would share one of our team members art studio. Each Cartwheels designer has been introduced on the site and we've all had the chance of getting a glimps their studio. And ever since I've seen little bits & pieces of Marcy Penner's creative space, I've been intriqued to see more. So, of course, I couldn't resist asking her to share with the rest of the world, where her brilliant creations take place.

Marcy is an amazing talent. Her photography is so beautiful, you feel like you are actually there while memories are being captured through her eyes. Marcy also keeps herself busy creating handmade journals, embellishments and all sorts of crafty kits and sells them in her Etsy shop. I just love her style and how she conveys it on paper & in her home.

What is your scrapbook style? Eclectic simple?  Kind of a mash up between simple and random I would say.

How do you find inspiration? Usually from the internet, product and my photos.  Most of the time I don't sit down with a plan.  I just start sticking things down and it takes off from there.

Favorite product? My favorite scrapbooking product hands-down is patterned paper.  It's just a Jack-of-all-trades!

Favorite storage solution? My letterpress drawer I snagged up at an antiques mall a couple of months ago.  It's perfect for storing all my little bits and pieces.

Favorite tool(s)?  Hmmm.  The Crop-o-dile is handy.  I'm not a big "tools" kinda gal.  I recently even put my paper trimmer away.  Usually a pair of Cutterbee scissors and a pen seems to be enough.

Are you a daytime or nighttime scrapper? I used to stay up to the wee hours scrapbooking.  But, lately it's whenever I can grab a minute... usually during the day.I'm really happy with my new inspiration frame. I've used the large frame previously in photo sessions, but I decided it needed a more permanent home.  It got a fresh coat of paint and some kennel fencing for the back.  

Most of my art projects this last little while have been home decor related... like this vintage chair I recovered in houndstooth fabric.

And of course there's still scrapping going on...

This year I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate in Elle's Studio Online Journaling Class (http://www.shopellesstudio.com/blog/jc2010/JournalingInYourOwnWords2010.pdf) and, of course, I joined the Cartwheels in my Mind team.  Designing for a manufacturer in the scrapbooking industry is definately on my bucket list!  ;)

When I'm not renovating our 120 year old home, decorating or scrapbooking I'm taking pictures.  Being a natural light photographer and living in Canada though means for a short season.  But the creative break is always welcome!  :)

Now that you've gotten to know more about Marcy, sit back, relax, grab a hot cup of tea (or coffee...) & enjoy the studio tour!

My studio has changed often.  It's just never been "right".But right now we're in the process of putting in a new kitchen and I knew the old kitchen island just belonged in here.  In addition to this are lots of thrift store finds for storage.It's a tighter space now for sure, but it's now a room that the kids enjoy too.  Plus I would rather have a larger workspace than, for example, room for a chair.

This is the view from the doorway off the living room.

Right on the left is my little sewing station. Our basement stairs jut out into the room here so I stacked some white cubbies and made a little storage unit.

 
Along the other side of the wall (on the right) I have a series of random shelves.The first set is a shelf from a store that closed out here a while ago.  I love the little slots for my alphabet stickers.  A quick coat of white paint and it was good to go.The shelf above was from the thrift store and also painted white.  It's the perfect size for all my little clear containers. Next is another series of shelves.

The large shelf on the bottom is actually part of our old old kitchen. (We started a temporary kitchen renovation when we moved here 12 years ago to tide us over to the "real" one we are in the process of completing). We painted the upper cabinets white and set them on the floor.  Above that we stacked another shelf... painted white ;).

Beside this wall lives a little blue (!) shelf from the thrift store. Here I keep my cardstock and a letterpress drawer filled with little embellishments.  The art is from Andrea Jenkins.

And here's what that side looks like from my viewpoint.

Right now my patterned paper is stored in file folders under the island. We need to build some shelves and some rolling storage boxes for them yet.

On the other side (behind me now) is the closet.  We've never used it as a closet though.  It's the "office". Wicker baskets hold miscellaneous crafts... embroidery, envelopes, sewing notions, tools, ephemera... stuff I don't need access too as often.

Underneath the counter in the "office" is a wooden toolbox... say it with me... "painted white".  Good.  ;)  The bottom drawer houses items listed in my etsy shop.  The other drawers are the perfect size for punches.

My newly purchased product sits on the counter above in wire baskets.

The clipboards one the back wall are super handy!

So.  That's it.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Ahh, yes! Marcy, it was a true treat to see more of where all the magic happens. Thanks so much for sharing your creative space and creative storage solutions in all it's glory.

To read more about Marcy, check out her website: An Inspired Life and see what yummie goodies she has for sale up in her Etsy shop, too.

 

Cheers:)

  

Photo Of The Day, October 25, 2010.

© cindy liebel

Reminds me of crisp, cool fall weather at the pumpkin patch with the family. The colors so rich in oranges, yellows and a bit of purples do it for me.

Photo Of The Day, October 17, 2010.

© cindy liebel

Not only was this meal delicious, but the rich, vibrant purples of the grilled cabbage was just as irresistible. And the best part, it had the perfect mix of sweet and sour with a touch of salt...YUM!