I shared on Facebook and Instagram a few weeks ago, Sweet Friends, that I was interviewed by Revel.com. The article was on The Reveler Blog on October 16, 2019. I thought I’d share the whole interview today as I was quite humbled by the article.

I have been partnering with Revel.com and teaching craft classes since July of this year.

The Joys of Crafting!

Revel is helping women over 50 come together. The mission is to connect, support, share and experience each other.

Making Creative Connections: Cynthia Nessel on the Joys of Crafting

Cynthia Nessel’s love for crafting always felt like more than a hobby. It was her passion, and she dreamed of one day leaving her corporate job in healthcare recruiting to pursue it full time. “For 25 years, I was in a job where the phone never stopped ringing,” Cynthia says. “I was still getting calls after I clocked out.”

In 2015, she created a blog that merged her love of crafting and yoga, createwithcynthia.com. She’d planted the seed, but her day-to-day job consumed the majority of her time and energy and the blog languished. Then, in 2016, Cynthia decided to stop putting her dreams on hold. “I left my marriage after 18 years,” she says. “I felt that I was not being supported in pursuing my passions and was stuck in cubicle nation. I wanted to take what I had learned in my corporate life and apply it in a creative way.”

Cynthia is adept at many forms of crafting, including wordworking, stenciling, and knitting, but her blog focuses primarily on DIY home décor and vintage furniture restoration. Her joy in her work is evident in the sun-filled, colorful pictures, featuring side tables, desks, and benches transformed with chalk paint, milk paint, stencils, stamps and delicate floral patterns. 

Cynthia learned crafting from her grandmother. “When I visited my grandmother, she was always knitting and her dining room table was full of craft projects,” Cynthia says. “She made baskets with old holiday cards and yarn. She inspired me to try different things.”

Cynthia began by making things she could use at home – curtains, baby blankets, and pillows. Now, if she’s interested in learning new techniques for painting or furniture restoration, she just looks up tutorials on YouTube. “I’ve never been afraid to try,” she says.

Cynthia just turned 50, and says she believes the best years of her life are ahead – because she is out of the rat race and focused on the things she finds meaningful and fulfilling. “Now is the time to do what I love, to inspire others to create something beautiful,” she says. Connecting with other women at Revel is part of that purpose. “When you allow your mind to be creative and use your hands in a creative way, your voice starts coming out,” Cynthia says. “Connecting with like-minded women heals the soul.”

Check out Cynthia’s upcoming Revel gatherings: a Halloween Craft Workshop on October 24, a Thanksgiving Craft Workshop on November 21, and a Holiday Craft Workshop on December 19. 

I hope you enjoyed the article. Now go out there and creating something.

Cynthia