PROJECT: New Year's Eve Party Poppers!

Leave the pinatas for the kids and treat your New Year's Eve guests to another form of "break open" surprises: party poppers.

Officially, these little accessories are known as "Christmas crackers," and they were originated during the 1800s in England. But they also will liven up things at the stroke of midnight. The idea is for a person on each end of the popper to pull until they hear a "pop" - and then all sorts of goodies will fall out. How much fun is that?

Party poppers are just as entertaining to make. For an elegant look, use wrapping paper - perhaps metallic or glittered - and then find tiny trinkets to go inside the tube. After the holidays, revamp the process to brighten a wedding shower or children's party.

New Year's Eve Party Poppers

Supplies

- 1 empty paper-towel tube.
- Glitter, fortunes, horoscopes, confetti, mints, funny notes, chocolate coins, small party favors.
- 12- by 12-inch piece of wrapping or tissue paper.
- Scissors.
- Glue gun or tape.
- Ribbon.

Directions: Cut the cardboard tube in half, then cut one of the halves in half. Fill all three pieces with glitter, confetti and other festive accessories. Lay the wrapping paper face down on a flat surface, then set the three cardboard tubes in an even row at the edge of the paper, leaving a 1/2-inch space between each tube. Carefully glue or tape the edge of the wrapping paper in an even line across the tubes. Roll the paper over the tubes once and trim excess paper (also on each end of the tube). Gently twist tubes at the disconnected points and add ribbon for flair. Add them to the table place settings, place a bunch inside a large glass bowl or hand out right before midnight.

Tips and variations: Before giving poppers to guests, use a pin to poke holes around the edges of the tube so it will break open easier. For smaller poppers, use cardboard tubes from wrapping paper. Use color copies of family photos for a personalized look.

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

New photo gallery

My favorite webmasters in the universe, Brad and Jacob of Porchlight MCG, have just added a Crafty Chica Photo Gallery!

There are gobs of pix including this one from 1983 when I went to London for the second time (!!!!) and visted a super cool wig shop.

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Recent interviews: Jennifer Hudson, Cedric, Steve, Steve Buscemi

Here is a link to my interview with Jennifer Hudson of Dreamgirls. I was a big fan of hers during American Idol and am happy she struck gold with this role!


(Photo: Jason DeCrow/Associated Press)
Click here to read the interview.

My interviews with Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Buscemi for Charlotte's Web
Click here to read the interview


***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PODCAST 24: Jennifer Perkins!

In this show I chat with crafty superstar and queen jewelry designer, Jennifer Perkins (host of DIY Network's, Craft Lab and Stylicious, and owner of NaughtySecretaryClub.com)!

Jennifer gives some juicy inside scoop about the new season, tips on launching a crafty career and her New Year's Resolutions!

Click here to listen!

Craft Lab Season 2 debuts on HGTV this Tuesday, Jan 2, 10 am E/P, make sure to watch. I'm excited because I'm in the first episode, All That Glitters!



Jennifer's links:

NaughtySecretaryClub.com
Craft Lab
Stylicious
***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Merry Belated Christmas!

I've been AWOL for a bit! I'm hard at work on the never-ending project of the novel! That first chapter is so dang hard to nail, but I'm not giving up. Hope to have it back to my agent in two weeks.

I have a lot of groovy things to post but I don't have time tonight. This weekend will be my blogapalooza including links and stuff. But for now (tonight) I am staying focused to finish these manuscript revisions! Wish me luck!

Peace!
***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PROJECT: Candy Kebobs

There are two ways to approach this idea. You can do it yourself, or you can use it as a way to keep the kids busy so you can finish wrapping the gifts.

Either way, the result is a tasty, sinful and delectable treat for everyone to gobble up during family gatherings or parties of any sort.

Here are the directions.

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PROJECT: Collage Wrapping Paper

You put all that effort into finding the perfect gift. Now, it's time to think about the wrapping. Sure, you could go the easy route and pick up a package of roll-o-wrap, or you can devote time to making a statement. If the latter is what you are aiming for, there are plenty of options from which to choose.

My favorite is to make custom collage paper. You cut out pictures and phrases and add small objects such as buttons, pins, charms and any fun memorabilia to fill in the white space, creating a flat assemblage. For a slick finish, have laser copies made (Staples' are 39 cents each), or if you are in a pinch, use your home computer printer. The paper can be used for anything from gift-wrap to card-making, scrapbooking, decoupage and more. Here are the directions and other methods to the madness of extraordinary gift-wrap.

Basically to make the collage wrap, I first laid items on my scanner and made a print. and then I made a collage on top of that and color copied it. Check out the link above for more specific directions on size and such.


(STEP ONE)


(STEP TWO)


Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Craft TV Weekly, Scrapbook Gift Idea

Have you checked out Craft TV Weekly yet? It's even more addictive than Perez Hilton. CTVW is chock full of "webisodes" of step-by-step DIY ideas. It's mostly paper craft oriented, but if you are into that, there are lots of tasty nuggets to gobble up - especially at this time of the year! Here is a link to the archives.

Also, you must stop by Cathie and Steve's site for even more happenin' holiday inspirations!


This is a super swift trick for a gift (if you have a wannabe scrapper on your list). Instead of just giving him or her some supplies and an empty book, give them a head start by completing a few finished scrapbook spreads for them. You can make them with or without pictures. On this sample, I left it so the pictures can be plopped right in. If you don't have time, check out the pre-made goodies on eBay.

Have a great Monday. I'm off to celebrate the last few minutes of my birthday!
***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Starlets of Craft 2007 Calendar

Life Time Fantasy Wish #125: To be a pin up calendar girl.

Fulfilled!

The chicas over at the Indie Craft Experience have put together a cheeky keen calendar featuring a different "starlet" crafter. I'm Miss (Mrs.) August!!! It's called the Starlets of Craft 2007 Calendar and you can buy a copy here.

And why should you splurge on this? Because the proceeds go to fund the Indie Craft Experience, an over-the-top crafty event that is taking place in Atlanta TODAY! I was in Atlanta a bit ago and these ladies took me out on the town and I can hardly wait to visit them again.

Gracias to Christy and the glue gun gang, I'm honored to be a part of it!!!

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

The Craftiest Weekend Ever!

After a whirlwind of a season, I have one event left. Today, Saturday, December 9th, I'll be signing copies of my book AND giving a demo on tissue paper flowers. Not just one version, but all kinds of varieties I learned along the way. You can use these methods to make gorgeous flowers in all shapes and sizes for your art projects.

This is a really exciting time for me. I had such a blast darting back and forth across the country for the past few months, but now I'm letting out a comfy sigh of relief because I can relax and enjoy the season. We just mailed out the last few dozen boxes for our orders and I don't think we'll get another rush like that, so it's time to kick back. Sorta.

Now I'm all about watching movies and writing. I'm a member of the Phoenix Film Critics Society
and that means I get to screen oodles of 2006 films and then vote. I've been trying to watch two a day, but now I only have one week until ballots are due. So I may up that to three or four a day to make sure I don't miss any worthy performances!

Once that is done I get to jump back on my fiction manuscript, The Crafty Chica Chronicles (working title). I just have to redo my first chapter and then make some tweaks throughout and it goes back to my agent and then hopefully to editors in January. We'll see. Easier sad than done. It's been two long years since I started this book and I refuse to give up until I've given it my ALL.

I'm off to bed now. If you live in the area, please come visit me tomorrow at borders! We'll make flowers together!

ADDED: What if you don't live in the Phoenix area? Well, then here are some other BIG crafty events taking place around the country this weekend. Christy from Indie Craft Experience compiled this awesome article on where to find them. Support local artists, shop handmade this season!!

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PROJECT: Ornament party!!

Here is an article I did for Saturday's paper on throwing an ornament party!



Here are some branch-worthy ideas to get you started. The key to making this party a success is to think simple. Come up with designs that are easy, but still pack a holiday punch. Everyone brings supplies, makes the ornaments and then swaps them with each other.


This is my fave and you know why, don't you? Pick up a box of glittered chipboard letters. I featured these earlier in my blog and I've found yet another use for them. All you do is hot glue these little babies together to spell out your name. You can even create words and then hang a "sentence" on your tree or wall, or from the ceiling. Ooooo, I like that...



I had some faux fur scraps hanging around and I could not bring myself to chuck them. They were just the right size to make a mini pillow ornament. I used some other fabric scraps for the center and then added glitter for some twinkle power. This is a great way to make use of fun fabric that is too cool to toss out. I used the sewing machine, but you could also use fabric glue, like Aleene's No Sew Fabric Glue. Or heck, even hot glue if you are in a time crunch!


This one I used iron-on appliques and applied them to sheets of starched paper. You could also make your own appliques with Heat N Bond. I am a total HNB junkie. I have rolls of the stuff. It is paper-backed adhesive. However, this week, I got some of Aleene's new Fusible Web that is an alternative to HNB, no iron needed! I'm excited to try it out on some more of these ornaments! By the way, use a fabric pen, and these ornaments make great gift tags!


This is the easiest yet, and looks great. All you have to do is buy some snowflake ornaments (I got this one at Michaels) and then hot glue whatever you want on the front of it. For this picture, I have an original pair of Goldie Garcia bottlecap earrings with pretty guardian angels in them. I sacrificed one of the earrings for the front of this ornament. After Christmas is over, I plan to turn it back into an earring because they are one of my favorite pairs and I miss them. Anyway, you can glue anything, like an antique button, a small toy, photo, mirror, etc. If anything, you can always buy some of Goldie's earrings!


My friend Judy Walker sent me this lovely treat. An artist made it in New Orleans. It's a seashell! It has a picture decoupaged in the center and it is trimmed in gold paint. Genius! I have been wanting to make a seashell shrine for ages, maybe this dangling bauble will motivate me to actually do it.


And last, this is just a piece of cut embossing tin that I glue a picture on and then coated with transparent glitter. Photo is from ArtChixStudio.com.

OK, go have your ornament party!!


***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Hanging out

Out and about in the city.






Last week for First Fridays, my sister and I went with my friend Robrt to Travis Smith's Kitschmaslandbook signing.

The book is a collector's heaven, especially if you are into cheesy (but very cute) Christmas decorations from the '60s and '70s. It was held at a swanky art space/ furniture gallery, Metro Retro. Also along the strip was a new place, Urban Cookies! The Latin Rebels played, which was a nice surprise because they are friends of mine and Patrick's.


Before we headed out to First Fridays, Robrt made us cookies and egg nog with bourbon. I've had egg nog and I've had bourbon, but never the two together. Sheltered, I know! I was so mesmerized that the next day I went out and bought some. When Patrick had band practice on Sunday, I made the guys egg nog with bourbon, and they liked it too. There is something about sprinkling nutmeg on top of a drink, or rather, having someone do it for you. It makes you feel so welcome and cozy. Maybe I'll have to start carrying around a little ice chest and a flask (yes, like Kitty from Gunsmoke)...I like spreading that feeling.

The next day we had an art show at Suenos. Here is some work by The Phoenix Fridas, the crafty collective I belong to! I'm so proud of all of them. I was bummed because I've been so busy filling orders I didn't have any time to make new merchandise, but I hung out and gabbed the afternoon away anyway.


Art by Emily Costello.



Carmen de Novais made the beaded jewelry on this painting her husband made. It amazes me how many Latino crafters there are these days. It hink back to the early '90s when Patrick and I started our line and there was only a handful of crafty artists, and most lived in other cities. Now there is so much to choose from and even though we all share similiar themes, everyone's work is vast!! A few of us Fridas tossed around the idea of leasing a small gallery space, I hope we can swing that next year!




Lucia's table, and Keri's tricked out skeletons!
Keri used to work at Zia Records for years and found a way to make use of old scratched vinyl. Instead of ditching the discs, she makes these crazy, glitzy lapel pins - and of course they sold like hotcakes at IHOP.

The highlight of my entire weekend, even more so than the bourbon and eggnog was chatting with Stella Pope Duarte, who came by my booth on Sunday. She is an amazing, award-winning novelist and lives here in Phoenix, as is also on the same Harper Collins imprint as me (Rayo). I get goosebumps just thinking about her. She just signed contracts for her next book, The Women of Juarez. I can hardly wait for it to come out!


***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PROJECT: Gift Card Book

This is the project I did on Good Morning Arizona this morning. What you do is take two 2x3 inch trading cards, and then accordian fold a strip of card stock seven times. Glue each end flap of that to the edge of the cards. Take some coin envelopes or any other kind of mini envelopes and glue them inside the folds. Insert gobs of gift cards!

The fun thing about this project is that you can make a little look and feel like a LOT! Buy three or four gift cards and put $10-15 bucks on each. It will make the gift recipient feel rich!! Better yet, you can also insert happy notes, cash, small gifts, etc.

Here are some pictures of the "love letter" version I did for my Art de la Soul book. It has specific instructions and even templates!






Me with Brad Perry!



***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

PODCAST 23: More holiday stuff

More holiday craftiness from Kathy Cano Murillo, the Crafty Chica!

CLICK HERE to listen to this episode.

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Recent interviews: Josh Duhamel, Darren Aronofsky, Ed Harris

Here are some recent interviews I did for my day gig at The Arizona Republic.


Josh Duhamel: I was at the Brooklyn Museum with my daughter and sister when Josh called. He said, "Hi Kathy, how is Phoenix?" and I told him I was in New York and he said "What? Your talking to me on your vacation??" Silly boy. Doesn't he know I'd talk to him in the middle of a double root canal? Real nice guy, I hope he continues to do well in his career! Here is my review of his film, Turistas.


Darren Aronofsky: Requiem for a Dream is one of my all-time favorite films. I saw it once and don't ever want to see it again. I mentioned that to Darren during our conversation at the Mondrian Scottsdale Hotel. He told me to please watch it again, that it is much easier the second time. Not only was Mr. Aronofsky a great interview, he also made sure the music level was just right for our conversation and even helped me find my way out of the pool area when I was lost!! Here is my review of his new film, The Fountain. It is one of those "love it or hate it" flicks. I loved it. I will certainly watch it again!


Ed Harris: He stars in Finding Beethoven and does a remarkable job!

***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER

Passing time; 1.5 million; shout outs

I'm sitting here passing time until my phone interviews come in (Charlotte's Web!) and decided to peek at my November site stats. It's now over 1.5 million in one month!! That's a lot of crafty people. Thank you for taking time to come here and see what's cooking. I promise to post more projects and podcasts and goofy filler stuff if you don't mind! Before I go on to my other posts, I have to share some recent shout outs.

TV SHOW: Have you seen the new show on the DIY Network called Scrap? It's hosted by this guy, Scott Petti who reminds me of The Fonz (he even combs his hair on air like The Fonz!). He used to be a prop guru for Disney and now he is here to serve us with cool memory keeping ideas.


CRAZY GIFT: Want to send a bit opf the sparkly stuff to a loved one, friend or foe? Check out Glitter Revenge.com. The recipient will either love it or curse you forever.

GIVE A BLANKET: Blankets of Graditude is still in need of handmade blankets for their drive. Deadline is next week. About Blankets of Gratitude

Blankets of gratitude is a special project designed to deliver a little bit of love and support to the very special residents of the Arizona State Veteran Home. We are asking any interested sewers, crochet artists or quilters to make a blanket for one of Arizona's veterans. The blankets should be small in size (throw blanket size, ideal for wheelchair users) and should feature a patch or logo for one of 4 branches of military (Army, Marines, Air Force, or Navy).

We need 200 blankets total, so that each resident receives a blanket with their service logo. Aside from the patch or logo, your limit is your creativity! If you can donate more than one blanket, please do! Each blanket will be delivered to a veteran of the service indicated on the blanket.

LATINO ORNAMENTS!: Checkout Casa Q for some cool chica-themed ornaments! I love this little bullfighter dude.


And special thanks to all the great blogs and sites like Artes es Vida that have mentioned my web site lately, I appreciate it soooo much!!! I'll return the favor soon!

Oops, phone is ringing, gotta go!
***
Author of Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life ($19.95, Rayo Books, an imprint of Harper Collins).
STORE * T-SHIRTS * MY SPACE * FLICKR* NEWSLETTER