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These are cards I made waaayyy back in 2004. I still have yet to actually send them out, because I love them too much. I'll probably end up framing them.
You can use this same concept with Japanese, East Indian, or all-American vintage comic book covers and pages.
This lovely project is from my book: The Crafty Chica Collection!
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* All content/photos copyright, © Kathy Cano-Murillo, 2008.
National Scrapbooking Day is one week away, so this is the time to get all your materials prepped and ready to go. For starters, think paper.
If you're like me, you probably have stacks of loner scrapbook sheets or scraps that never fit in with your layouts. If you're really like me - you won't even think of tossing them out. So what to do? Create Patchwork Paper! I love this project because it gives new life to your supplies, as well as your scrapbook pages.
You barely need to know how to sew. If you can step on a pedal and hold onto the paper, you'll be fine. The beauty will come from the contrast - don't even think about matching colors or designs. The uniformity will come from the way you put them together. For even more spark, use contrasting threads or add sequins or thin ribbon. You can cut the paper in random shapes, or make a quilted or geometric look by using squares. Regardless, it will give new life not only to your materials, but your design techniques, too.
click here for printable directions
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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).
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Tomorrow is Friday and I can't believe how fast this week has flown by! I should have worn a scarf because my hair is a tangled mess right now!
So you saw the post (right below this one) about the wedding last Saturday. You should check out the comments on MySpace (I double post this blog there). Some of them are flat out hysterical. i love the shower cap one from Yoli.
Monday came and as I've mentioned before, I'm working on a new exciting venture with Duncan Enterprises. Just a few more days and then I can spill the glitter about what that is all about. For now, I want to send a BIG thank you bouquet to Valerie, Alyson, Lauren and all the rest of the team. Last week during my visit, they made me feel like a la rock star artista and sent me home with jars of glitter and all kinds of other goodies. Most of my time this week has been devoted to my new exciting gig - brainstorming, kinda like what I did in my newspaper reporter job, but this time it's for crafting. You'll see!!!
I had three other "is this really happeening to me?" milestones this week as well. Monday morning my agent called to tell me that Random House/Potter Craft has signed me on for my next book! This is amazing news because Potter Craft is known for releasing stellar titles and they are very selective about choosing them. I would get their books at work to review for my craft column, and I'd always clear my desk off just so I could take time to concentrate and drool over the covers, the images and projects. Now I'm part of that family too (thank you, Rosy!)!!
But it didn't come easy. Sure, it sounds like it - "Oh guess what? This happened to me!" - Nuh-uh. This will be my seventh Crafty Chica book - but my 15th pitch. A pitch is a book idea translated into a proposal. A book proposal is about 30-40 pages long and includes every reason why you think your book idea will sell, plus a full-on outline, smaple chapter, intro, pictures, and every other detail you can think of. You have to prove your case backwards, forwards and upside down while chewing gum. And just because you do all that work, doesn't mean an editor will be as excited as you are. I've had my fair share of proposals land in the ca-ca pile, but I don't give up. It's the middle child Jan Brady in me.
For example, this particular book (originally a general sewing book) started as a proposal I did in 2005. I sat on it for a year. And then after having a different proposal rejected, I decided to pull out this one and look at it with fresh eyes. I forgot how much fun I had putting it all together, there was mucho potential. That was a year later. The next year was spent reworking it, narrowing the focus, coming up with interesting projects and formulating it into a book idea that an editor felt confident would sell. Thanks to my agent and Rosy, my new book editor, it worked - it is an amazing, original, artful concept! . Now the hard part comes, I have to put it all together!
It is so worth it. I also feel honored because one of my very dear fiends, Laurie Notaro is also under contract with Random House/Villard Books. Speaking of her - she has her debut novel coming out next month!
OK, so the other skip-happy event this week was I began taking Spanish classes for my new role with Duncan. There is a fabulous company here in Phoenix called Interlingua, that specilaizes in teaching the language.
My parents speak Spanish, but I never picked up on it. Patrick speaks Spanglish, so I've learned a bit from him. However, I'm tired of blaming my poor mom and dad for why I'm not with the program. With my new job (thank you Valerie!!), I need to be bilingual and I'm ready and able to tackle this challenge. I have two friends who learned Spanish as an adult, and now speak fluently, so I know I can do it. Today I had my second class and it's such a wild experience. It's like, I feel connected, yet I'm clumsy.
I'm on such a personal empowerment high right now that next week I'm signing up for Weight Watchers. Lord help me!
Now we're up to tomorrow. First thing, I have a craft segment at 8:20 on Good Morning Arizona. Come to find out it is their first show in high-def TV. I'm going to demo the Glittericious Mixed Media book that I did for the Duncan ad! So many people have asked me about it, so I thought it would be fun to show the step-by-step process!
Today I got asked to decorate 180 centerpieces for the upcoming Valle del Sol Profiles of Success luncheon that kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month in September. I did this last year and it actually was much easier than it sounds. Tonight I cameup with two weeks worth of craft columns and made them, plus extra samples for the TV segment tomorrow. I watched Ugly Betty (best epsiode EVER) and then, The Queen, while I toiled away in the studio.
All this large scale work makes me think about my store web site. I'm a little burnt on keeping that up and running. Patrick and I have been chatting about maybe closing it or moving it to Etsy for when we actually have time to make things to sell. The last thing I want is to start to not like something that I used to love to do. It's kinda getting that way with our art orders. There are so many of them, it is hard to keep up and I don't feel like I'm giving 100% love. Gosh, I sound like Lily Allen when she cancelled the rest of her tour dates (except I'm not drunk).
Well, I better get to bed, I don't want to have bags under my eyes for TV tomorrow. Before I go, I'll share recent links from stories I did (yes, I'm still working at the paper 12 hours a week for the next month! And yes, I miss everyone there and I'm sending hugs right now).
Knitting with SoySilk Yarn
Crafty tools. I'll have a better link to for this tomorrow, with pictures and side bars and stuff.
***
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).
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"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm not backing down," my 16-year-old son told me.
"You mean to tell me that you are directly disobeying me?", I asked.
"Yes. I am."
Our eyes met with a steely glare, neither of us willing to back down. "What happens now?", I wondered. This was new territory.
It was the first time in my parenting history that one of my beloved kids refused to follow a direct order/wish/command/favor. Well, first time since DeAngelo broke his arm in math camp, was sent to ER, got medicated and told the entire ER staff that I loved to drink margaritas.
Anyway, last Saturday we had a big, fancy family wedding to attend. So big that all of my aunts, uncles and cousins would be there. My mom reminded me weeks in advance: "Do your hair and do NOT wear jeans!" Like I would really wear jeans to a wedding?? I knew we all had to look super spiffy and I was on high alert.
OK, so we are about to leave when the kids walk out into the living room wearing their dressy outfits. They looked awesome - gorgeous offspring if I might say so myself!
But I noticed one thing about DeAngelo. A horrible, unforgiveable fashion faux paux - he wore suspenders with a belt!
"Are you really worried that your pants will fall down?" I asked, kinda chuckling.
"No, I just like it this way," he replied casually, picking a loose thread from his shoulder.
I explained to him, practically drew a diagram, as to why people wear suspenders OR a belt. Not even Urkel wears both. I asked him to choose one or the other, end of story. I was not about to be seen with a child wearing such a men's fashion no-no.
He said "No, sorry. I like it just like this."
!!!!! ????
Um, hello? Perhaps he didn't realize the severity of the crime. I didn't want him to have a Carrie "they all laughed at me!" moment. So I immediately ran to the computer and Googled "suspenders with a belt" and read aloud every entry from the experts about why this was wrong, wrong, wrong. I remember my best friend in high school making fun of this one kid who wore suspenders with a belt. I poked fun at him too. Now, years later, my own kid was sportin' the look! See what happens? Karma!!
DeAngelo still didn't back down.
"I'm only trying to help you..." I pleaded. "Don't do it, baby. You're better than this! Listen to Mama...!!!"
He went to his room and I sat on my bed dumbfounded. Patrick was at a gig, so I was on my own on this call. Was this really a big deal? I didn't want the whole night to be ruined over something so goofy (literally).
It took my 14-year-old daughter to reason it out without the emotion of feeling dissed. She sat on the bed next to me and began her mini-lecture.
"Mom, chill. He's 16, this is his way of being a rebel. Just think, it could be worse. He could be refusing to quit drugs or refusing to break up with a hootchie girlfriend. All he wants is to wear suspenders with a belt. Let him have it. Who cares what people at the wedding will think?"
A rebel...Hmmm..I seem to remember being 16 and putting my parents through worse things than suspenders and a belt. I made them gasp in horror by coming home from the hair salon with a crazy, spikey punk hair do. My dad chopped it off within minutes. Yeah, my mom and dad were pretty freaked at that one.
I got up, walked to DeAngelo's room and opened the door. He sat on the edge of the bed with his hands clasped on his lap. He looked up at me with eyes filled with frustration. He didn't mean to diss me, but he really wanted to stand firm. I could appreciate that. We've all been there.
"I love you," I told him. "Wear whatever you want, it's cool."
He jumped up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"But don't say I didn't warn you! Suspenders and a belt are so not cool..."
He points to the TV set, where he had paused a scene from a movie. It was the ultra sexy, cool Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs - wearing, um, suspenders and a belt. You can't get much cooler than that.
Touché.
P.S. Yes, I know those suspenders are Mr Blonde's gun holster, but for my 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker, it's valid.
***
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).
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Thanks to Craft, I came across this lovely site that is all about making your own cotton and/or muslin dress fashioned after the traditional Mexican dress. For an easy, breezy five bucks, you can purchase a pattern to make your own dress, plus the embroidery directions.
This downloadable PDF instruction booklet includes:
Complete instructions for assembling a traditional Mexican dress
Complete instructions for embroidering the pattern as shown
34 detailed illustrations and photographs of the project
Artist Miriam Ellis is the wonderful chica who runs this site, and I love her story of how and why she came up with this idea. So go check it out and explore the pages! I plan to buy a pattern and make a tunic. And of course, I will post pictures here!
TheMexicanDress.com
***
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).
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Calling all crafty people in the PHX area - the famous Swap-O-Rama-Rama comes to town this weekend. What the heck is that?
"Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing."
Join us for this imaginative event and go home with a one of a kind fashion ensemble that you'll create yourself! Please pass this along to others who may be interested.
www.swaporamarama.org/swap.htm
Sunday April 22 at 3 pm
The Trunk Space
1506 NW Grand Avenue
www.thetrunkspace.com
$4 with a donated bag of clothes and accessories
$10 without
Originator, Wendy Tremayne may swing by from New Mexico and Janome is lending some machines for the event. Major props to superfly artist extraordinaire Lisa Takata for sharing the info with us. I'll see you there!
***
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).
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It's difficult to begin the day pretending everythign is A-OK with all that is going on in the world. Especially this week with the horrifying events at Virgina Tech. We can spend our days giving love and being kind, but no matter what, there will always be some form of tragedy to deal with. If you're like me, you are probably trying to process it all. When I get home, I plan to make a beautiful prayer candle for the people who died this week. In the meantime, I'll go the cyber route and light a candle at Gratefulness.org.
Did you know you can keep a prayer candle lit on your computer desktop? After you light your own cyber candle, click on "mini-candle" and a tiny window of a burning flame will open, so you can take time to meditate throughout your work day.
Peace and grace to everyone today.
Kathy :-)
***
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).
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Hola my happy crafty chiquitas!! I'm blogging live and direct from Fresno, California!
I'm here for three fabulous, sun-filled days at Duncan Enterprises!! I get to see all the staff again and relish in the sparkly atmosphere of cermaics, paints, glitter, and more types of glues than Sanjaya has hairstyles.
I've been so excited for this trip that I even spent the weekend making a new bag to wear! I blame it on Target's purse department. I was there with my sister and my mom, when Theresa (my sister) tells me - while flashing a "this is gonna hurt, but I'm telling you cuz I love you" look: "You need a new purse, that one is looking a little beat-down."
She's talking about a fabric collage bag I made last November, that I love. Yah, I admit, after wearing it non-stop for five months, it's not quite as pristine as it used to be. I sighed and agreed. I proceeded to inspect all the store shelves and came "thisclose" to buying a boring black messenger bag. When I reached the cashier, without even thinking, I handed it over and told her i didn't really want it after all. It just so happened that a vision appeared before my eyes! And that vision was surrounded by a circle of sparkling stars - it was a messenger bag that I was destined to make!
So that's what I did, I stayed up until 3 a.m. that night and made this.
Front of messenger bag
Flap lifted up, these are the pockets
Making stuff is my way of burning off nervous energy. Especially when said stuff is of functional value, like a messenger bag with gobs of pictures on it. I knew I did good when I went through airport security today and the lady at the end of the conveyor belt squealed when she saw my bag come out of the X-Ray machine. She was about to ask me where I bought it, but then looked into my eyes, gasped and said - "You made it, didn't you? You're Kathy, the Crafty Chica!" Talk about a surreal moment!!
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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).
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One of my episodes of Craft Lab aired last week and I've recieved so many emails (OK - two) about it, I thought I'd post the projects here. First of all, thanks to Jennifer and the team at Screen Door Entertainment and DIY Network for inviting me on the show!!!
This episode is called "Latin-inspired crafts and I show how to make a Shadow Box Table, a Paper Flower Topiary and a Rumba Girl Lamp.
Directions.
Directions.
Directions.
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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).
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I'm a hardcore junkie when it comes to craft books. I feature the best of the best throughout the year in my newspaper column. These days, so many come through my desk each week, it is getting harder and harder to choose them!
Anyway, here are some new ones to check out. And I have to share one that just came in the mail today, which I think is a genius idea!
Get a Hobby: 101 All Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle ($19.95, Collins, 224 pages, paperback)
I dig the concept because so many people want to have a passion but they don't know where to start. You can tell them "Do what makes you happy!", but many people are so busy with day-to-day, minute-by-minute respinsibilities that they don't even know anymore what makes them happy.
This book offers 101 ideas. From deep frying to olive oil infusions to tarot card reading - there is bound to be something to pique your interest. It's also good for people who will try anything once - this gives them a nice to-do list. Each hobby is presented with a "what you'll need" list, an overview and a nugget of history on that hobby. There is also a little list of other hobbies you might like, as well as mini-projects.
Major kudos to author Tina Barseghian for coming up with - and executing - an excellent idea!!
***
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).
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What to do with all those fabric scraps...hmmm...problem solved! Turn them into puffy fabric appliques! I have a box of nothing but fabric scraps, including images I've printed out on fabric paper. Rather than throw all of them out, I salvaged them by making a batch of appliques. These are fun to keep on hand because you can iron them on to t-shirts, totes, jackets, even jeans or shoes. OK, so here is how I did it!
Puffy Fabric Appliques
Supplies:
pinking shears
fabric image (can be cut out from an old t-shirt, or a patch you have or fabric transfer paper)
Assorted fabric scraps
Pinch of batting
Pins
Sewing machine
fusible web or liquid fusible web (great for heavier appliques!)
How to make one:
Cut out your image and lay it on a piece of fabric that will act as a nice border. Add a pinch of batting between the two pieces and pin in place. Sew it in place. If there are clean lines, sew along thelines to give it more texture. Now sew it to a larger piece and keep adding on until you get it the size you want. When you are done, zigzag around the edges a couple times so it won't fray.
Apply the fusible web according to package directions. However, I got so excited, I added painted dots on my ricrack and I really should have waited until i ironed it on my tote bag. But I managed to iron around the paint, no tears - thank goodness!
Iron it on your item. I put mine on a tote bag that I plan to garnish even further. 
The picture at the very top show appliques that I hand stitched onto Mexican woven totes that I scored for $5 bucks each. For a more sparkling look, pile on the sequins, crystals and glitter.
The cool thing about making appliques is you can use those iron on letters, or cut out images from fabric or vintage embroidered tea towels and so forth.
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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).
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Carisa Perez-Fuentes, runner up on Bravo's Top Design series. This 26-year-old design student may have lost the title to the chic-overload skills of Matt, but at least her rooms sizzled with funky flavas without ever teetering on tacky.
Way to go, Carisa!
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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).
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If you are in downtown Phoenix tomorrow, come check out the 10th Annual Arizona Book Festival! I'll have a booth there where I'll be signing copies of my craft books, demo-ing craft projects from my craft column and showing some of the recent goodies I've made! I'll also have some surprise giveaways too!!!
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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).
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Bubble rings are taking over the universe! I can't go into a store without seeing some form of them. most of the time they are at least $10 buck a pop. all that for painting on the under side of plastic?
I went on a quest to make my own, but couldn't find a decent source. Most of the ones I found online were already painted or had things embedded in them. I did find some on eBay, but the blank singles were going for $5 bucks. That's too much! So, finally I found a source and it was right under my nose - from Tulip!
They have these addictive Fashion Art kits that come with FOUR of the rings, plus the paint and crystals. I ended up using my own acrylic paints and then sealed them with varnish underneath. To get fine lines and detail, I used the end of a head pin. I'm going back to Michaels to get my fourth batch some more because my daughter keeps taking them to make them for her friends!
Another idea is to use fabric underneath like these beautiful Kimono Rings. Just so you know, i tried decoupaging thin paper images, but they didn't work nice. you really need to stick with paint or something thin like sheer fabric or tissue paper. Imagine how much it would be to embellish this kind of acrylic ring?? you can even glue crystals on the ring blanks to look something like this.
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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).
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"Heart Garden" water color on paper
If you are reading this blog, you probably are a crafty chica too. Have you ever thought of entering one of the many crafty contests out there? These kinds of gigs are great because it pushes you to think as a designer and forces you to come up with something out of your comfort zone. Even if you don't think you have a chance of taking the top prize, you still should enter just to go through the experience - you never know what will come out of it!
Here are a few call-for-entries worthy of your consideration:
1. Create Your Style International Design Competition with Swarvoski Elements.
This a contest I read about on Margot's blog (she will also be a judge!). Deadline is July 13, 2007. The prize are fan-freakin-tastic! Trip to Austria, baby!!
All submitted jewelry, accessories, home décor and paper craft designs must consist of at least 80% CRYSTALLIZEDTM - Swarovski Elements, (Beads, Pendants, Pearls, Flat Backs, Fancy Stones & Round Stones, Cupchains and Findings. Crystal-it). The remaining 20% may consist of wood, metal, paper or other material, except other machine-cut crystals. Participants must create and complete the finished design on their own, without outside assistance. Participants are encouraged to use various techniques, such as sewing, gluing, knitting, crocheting, polymer clay, beading, etc.
Call for Entries
500 Handbags
Juror: Jay McCarroll
Editor: Suzanne Tourtillott
Lark Books seeks images of striking, stylish, and out-of-the-ordinary handbags for a juried collection of work from artists, makers, and designers from around the globe for the upcoming book 500 Handbags. Professional fashion designer Jay McCarroll, winner of Bravo’s debut season of the hit show Project Runway, will be jurying images submitted for this book. A diverse assortment of bags will be considered—from teeny evening clutches to rugged bags designed for men—with one-of-a-kind, handmade, and/or limited edition pieces strongly preferred. A wide range of materials, techniques, and looks are desired. To be released in the fall of 2008, this book aims to showcase a fabulous, fun, and funky collection that will inspire amateur crafters, professional designers, and everyone in between.
To be considered for inclusion, please submit high-quality transparencies, slides, or digital images with entry forms. There is no entry fee. Entries must be postmarked by May 1, 2007.
Guidelines & entry forms Can be found on our web site:
One the web:
http://www.larkbooks.com/submissions/ArtistEntryForm-500Handbags.asp
Via e-mail: squinn@larkbooks.com
Hi Crafters!
We want to celebrate all things needlearts and baseball this spring and summer -- what better way to do this than with a contest? CRAFT magazine's Stitch N' Pitch Contest teams up CRAFT with TNNA's Stitch N' Pitch baseball games this summer, scheduled around the country at 23 major league baseball games starting in May. Your work must be of an original design in the needlearts areas of knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, needlepoint, or embroidery and must center on the theme of baseball. You can interpret any aspect of baseball you'd like. Be creative here! Each needleart is a specific category you can enter, along with our extra category of Baseball Team Theme Design, where we encourage you to show your love for your favorite participating baseball team in the Stitch N' Pitch lineup! But that's not all -- we know it's all about DIY and sharing the love, so all winners will have their project how-to's posted up in our special Stitch N' Pitch section on craftzine.com.
We encourage crafters of all levels to join in on the fun! Each needlearts category will have winners in the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels. The contest entries are open from April 4 though May 31, 2007.
I've mentioned Lucky 15 Paper Arts here in my blog before - and now I'm happy to announce that I'm teaming up with Meghan (she owns Lucky 15!) for an event we're calling "Crafty de Mayo". It's for May First Fridays (May 4th) from 6-10 p.m.
It's all about Latin themed arts and crafts, plus Patrick's band will be playing AND I'll be doing a free matchbox shrine demo/make and take project. Plus you'll get to see all the wonderful goodies that Meghan has for sale in her shop.
If you want to be a vendor, give Meghan a call at the number on the flyer or visit her web site. The fee is a super dealio - $5 for a table in front of a store along 7th Ave, or $10 for a table right by the bus stop.
That stretch of 7th Ave is fast becoming a hot spot for First Fridays. I was last there in December and the crowd was crazy, lots of shiny, happy people who appreciate art! So if you are in the hood, come by!!
***
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).
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I have MTD (Multi Task Disorder). I swear, I can never just sit still and chillax, I always, always have to be doing something productive. Even at nightclubs!
This past Saturday I went with Patrick to his show. In typical bandwife style, I sat in the front booth and nursed a giant-sized diet coke with lemon (it's no fun to drink all alone!) and clapped after each song. It was 9:45 p.m. and the show ended at 1:30 a.m.
Not that I don't appreciate the Latin style reggae grooves of my hubby's original music, but dang - it was going to be a long night sitting there, staring at the band with nothing to do.
As I smiled at Paul, the guitar player, I noticed the faded, ragged tam on his head that I had crocheted for him oh...about 12 years ago. Ever since that day, he's worn it from morning until night. It was faded, stained and even had begun to unravel along the bottom.
Next thing I knew, my super she-ro Crafty Chica alter ego took over! My mission for the night was to make Paul a new tam and surprise him at the end of the evening. You know, when the club has cleared out and the band members are all grumpy about tearing down the sound system? I thought it would be a fun pick-me-up for him.
In between songs, I waved to Patrick and slipped across the front of the dance floor and darted over to the Wal*Mart across the street - the only place to find yarn, mini-scissors and a crochet hook for under $15 after 10 p.m.
I came back, scooted back in the booth, cracked my knuckles in front of my chest and went to work on Paul's tam. Talk about speed crochet!
Here it is about 40 minutes into the session. Coming along nice. Paul stood on the other side of the stage,so he couldn't even tell what I was working on. i'm sure I must have looked strange to everyone dancing. Hello? Who crochets in a nightclub? Weird people like me with MTD!!
Here it is a little more in. I used green, yellow and red. At around 1 am, I had this sucker pretty much done. By 1:30 I was trimming and tying off the loose ends inside the hat. Just as I held it up to inspect it, some guy came up and wanted to buy it from me! I told him it wasn't for sale, and then showed it to Patrick (that's him at the keyboards), who then put in an order for a white one.
I handed it to Paul while he was wrapping up his cords and boy was he a happy reggae camper!!! It fit just right and he could throw the old one away. Hopefully he won't have to wait another 12 years for me to make him another one!
***
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).
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If you are a hardcore craftaholic, chances are you've heard about filmmaker Faythe Levine's humongous undertaking formerly known as the Indie Craft Documentary. This week she posted a sneak peek at her footage and how she is putting it all together. It's a real treat to watch and I can tell she did her best to tap into all kinds of genres, which is so important! Hopefully there will be some awesome crafty Latinas in there too!!
Way to go Faythe!! If you want to read more, here is a story about 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).
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Friday was my last day in the newsroom. It was extremely bittersweet. I started at 6 a.m. to write my last movie review. At 10 a.m. I interviewed the lead singer from The Fixx for an event that they are performing at here in Phoenix. At 11:30, my friends, Randy, Maura and her adorable nephew Tony took me to Tradiciones on 16th St and Roosevelt. OMG, if you ever come to Phoenix and want a taste of puro Mexican food - this is your best bet. Look, and see what I mean! I had never been, and I loved it!! This is outside the eatery, there is a little Mexican marketplace that's like a micro Olvera Street.
I bought two ceramic chihuahua piggy banks that I want to trick out so bad! Sequins or squeeze paint? Both! I've finally concluded that I am a collector of cheesy Chihuahua collectibles. I have enough tacky Chihuahua treasures to fill a secondhand curio cabinet. Not the super fancy kind of collectibles, I'm talking the mini-flocked dashboard bobbleheads and their ceramic counterparts.
I got back into the office, wrote up my Fixx story, next week's craft column and stopped to chat with people who came by to send me off with good wishes. I had planned to go hug each and every person in my department, but then I got choked up. I hate that I cry so easy!! So then I decided to just send everyone a personal email. I pulled out our newsroom phone list and by the fifth email, I became Tammy Faye! Yay for waterproof mascara! It had been a 10-hour day and the more I thought about it being my last day in the office the more it made me cry! I kept thinking, "I cannot believe I'm really doing this!" I'm such a wimp because technically I'm still on staff for six more weeks (mini-part time/working from home), just not in the office. I literally sobbed, like I was waving goodbye to my husband from the Titanic kind of sobbed. Thank goodness for my friend Marcia who walked me downstairs and gave me a big hug. Does everyonehave this hard of a time saying goodbye to co-workers?
Fast forward to La Pinata for my Last Day in the Office goodbye party!! A little tequila helps lighten the mood alright (although it does make for blurry photos). Here are some of my friends who showed up!
"Juicy Flame", watercolor on paper
Never be afraid to think BIG. Allow yourself the opportunity to think that the crazy things you've always wished for can actually come your way. Recognize the signs and when they come, be darned ready to let go of the things you never thought you'd let go of.
That's what I learned recently. Remember my "The Last Boo-hoo" post a while ago? My newspaper job was going through some staff changes, and I was so worried I'd get lost in the shuffle. My entertainment reporter job is the fifth member of our family, I love it so much. Well, there was a happy ending once the shuffle was overwith. I got the job I wanted! It all worked out and I shouldn't have freaked out. Anyway, something odd happened along the way.
During that time of waiting to see where and how the chips would land, I did a lot of soul searching about what makes me *most happy*. I mean, aside from my hubby and kids. To pin it down in a sentence, I told myself it to inspire, empower and motivate people. The best way I can do that is through arts and crafts. I learned glitter sprinkles can go a lonnnng way.
I've always had a nagging itch in my mind and heart that I'm meant to take Crafty Chica to the next level. I dismissed the thought because, dang, how much bigger can you get than a national newspaper column? A blog that recieves almost two million visitors each month? Not to mention my craft book sales - nearly 50,000 total! What in the world would be the next level??? Who am I to even dare ask for the "next level" after multiple blessings like that?
Not to get all Secrety on you, but I finally admitted that I knew what that next level was, and that I was ready for it, I'd do right by it. As soon as I confirmed that in my mind and spirit, the opportunity of a lifetime came, right there in front of my face! Yikes! This stuff is for real! Be ready to recieve the things you ask for!
So...gulp! I turned in my notice at The Arizona Republic. That was the hardest act I've ever done in my life! I remember being a senior at Cortez High School, working on the newspaper staff and daydreaming about someday being an entertainment reporter for The AR. To think it actually came true, just blows me away, even after working there 13 years. How in the world could I ever imagine leaving? I come from a family that stays at one company until retirement. And I've had such a wonderful experience at the newspaper - they hired me in the newsroom without a college degree, let me write stories, paid for me to finish my degree, promoted me and, geez, the list goes on and on... Even when I turned in my notice, my editors have allowed me to stay on to write my American Idol column, as well as my beloved craft column!
I'm leaving, but then I'm kinda not. The BEST of both worlds. I won't be interviewing Matthew McConaughey in his bathrobe, like I did for the paper, but that's OK. Mommy can deal!
As for my new gig, (drumroll...) I'm now a Senior New Product Developer and Spokesperson for Duncan Enterprises. It's an amazing, creative crafter's jackpot-of-gold position, and the Crafty Chica brand has a lot to do with the job. The team there is so amazing and it thrills me when I hear how long everyone has happily been with the company. It's like the Willy Wonka factory on steroids - lots of color all throughout the building, cheery, hard working people all with crafting on their minds. I'll be able to post specific details very soon! In the meantime, check out this CNBC video on Duncan!!
This is so bizarre to think about because I can remember when Patrick and I were first married and had very little money, but we didn't let that stop us from making our crafts. One time his grandma ripped out her wood tile floor to make way for a new one and we couldn't imagine her throwing out the scuffed old tiles. We asked her if we could have them. She thought we were nuts, but she let us take them home. Four huge boxes full of them! We painted them, woodburned on them, added polymer clay, decoupaged and we sold every last one of them! You can even see them in our gallery. I remember working on those tiles, making a list of all the different ways to embellish them and daydreaming about what it would be to work for a craft company designing products. And now, that dream has come to fruition. Halle-crafty-lujah!
OK, do you need pancakes to go with all this syrup yet?
The moral to this story? I'm telling/begging/preaching/lecturing you to not be afraid to think about what your next level is. It doesn't mean you have to quit your day job or make a huge life change, but it does mean that there is more to who you are than you know. It's never too late or early to start. We all have that little secret wish inside of us of something crazy we'd like to do. Don't deny it anymore! Carve out a bit of time and energy and look into it. You deserve it so much!! Not to get all soap boxy, but this is our one and only life. Work every angle, appreciate the people around you in new ways, make your mark, have fun, participate, raise your hand, stake your claim, feel worthy, don't be a hater - be a lover, ask questions, inspire others, step it up, practice, show it off!
You will feel so good once you start seeing the results. And I guarantee - you will see results!
Peace, love and glitter always - and in all ways,
Kathy, your resident crafty chica
***
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).
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My obsession with movies and crafts continues! This is a pillow I found online that is used as a prop in the upcoming Farrelly brothers' flick, The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monaghan. According to Defamer.com, Dreamworks hired the shop, Needlepoint on Montana
to whip up this little baby.
Is that not sweet or what? The movie is about a guy who falls in love with another woman while on his honeymoon. Here is more on it from Defamer:
...Apparently, the pillow stars as almost a "character" in the movie because Stiller's on-screen wife needlepoints him a pillow that says "World's Greatest Husband" on it. I think the way the story goes is that the pillow sends Ben Stiller over the edge.
I've been quite the busy chica these past few weeks, and I was lucky enough to have been featured in some fabulous podcasts!
First up is the teleseminar I did with Suzanne Falter-Barns and Nancy Marmolejo about using online social networking to build your platform. Not sure how many of you know, but I'm a hardcore MySpacer. I've met some of coolest people ever on there and whenever I travel around the country, I get to meet and hang out with many of them. I never would have known them if it weren't for MySpace.
Here is the link to the show
Next, I was a guest on CraftCast with Alison Lee! If you are into crafting and podcasts, you MUSt check out her show. She always interviews happy, shiny, crafty people and we get to hear them share their secrets.
Here is that interview.
OK, I have to get back to mailing our orders out, we are way behind, as usual!
***
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
| I Recommend | |
 | Crafty Chica™ Chunky Glitters™ $2.99 |
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Crafty Chica™ Loteria Game™
$8.99 |
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Crafty Chica™ Love Shrine™ Workshop-in-a-Box™ $12.99 |
 |
Crafty Chica™ Iron-On Design™ $3.99 |
 |
Crafty Chica™ Charms™ $3.99 |
