DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Felt Banner

Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition combining Aztec and Roman Catholic practices and beliefs that date back many centuries. It is believed that on Nov. 1 and 2 the souls of our loved ones who have passed away are able to return to their homes and visit with friends and family.
Relatives prepare for their arrival with joy and respect. One way is to build a beautiful ofrenda (altar) in honor of the departed.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Candlesticks

Whether to want to add spice to your Dia de los Muertos ofrenda or just a table setting, these candle sticks are an easy and fun way to go!

New purses and more!

I've been staying up late every night to make stock for our Dia de los Muertos festival this weekend. Here is a sneak peek of one of the purses I made. I'll post more pics tonight! 

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Calaca-themed Art Collage

Collage canvases are a great way to express yourself and add a pop of color and design to your surroundings. Check out Google images for calacas to use as your focal point. Keep in mind, most images are copyrighted, but you can use them as long as you don't sell them!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Wire and Clay Sculpture

There are many crafts to make when it comes to Dia de los Muertos, and one of the most popular is a personality sculpture made from wire and clay. Created in a comical tone, bursting with personality and color, these skeletons remind us that the holiday is always about fun and love!

Terrorific Tuesday: Week Four!

Another edition of Terrorific Tuesday has come and gone this year. I'd like to thank all the participants who made this year another smashing success!

Vanessa shows us how to make a Cute Felt Pumpkin in just a few minutes!

Get creative with Eileen Hull with her Pop Up Bat card. Super festive!

Glory makes a beautiful Autumn Wreath to hang on your door or wall.

Erika shares with us her cute Halloween bandana that her dog Sebastian loves wearing!

Cheryl Ball wows us with an adorable Jack-o-lantern Pin perfect for the season!

Sew a sweet Pumpkin Placement with Phyllis Dobbs!

Crafty Chica gets her glow on with this Sci Fi Senorita Head that is totally spooky!

Crafterella offers up some downloadable custom labels that are super spooky and fun!

Make a spooky Undead Terrorarium with Silvia Chenault.

Whip up some cute and quirky Moss Monsters with Missy at Marvelously Messy!

Kate Pullen offers up a fun Pumpkin Favor Box perfect to hand out at Halloween parties!

Get into the fall spirit with this Pretty Fabric Flower from Ann Butler.

Pattiewack crafts up some Mummy Barbies perfect for a haunting Halloween display!

Alexa a.k.a. Swelldesigner makes a bold Orange and black Mary Jane candy wreath, perfect for hanging or eating!

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Reverse Glass Painting

While everyone else uses the same old decorations, you can add a distinctive touch to your altar by whipping together one of these cheery calaca frames. Visit the local dollar store to pick up a batch of small frames and some paint. Give them as gifts or use them at your next fiesta's table setting. You'll be the life of the Day of the Dead party!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Colorful Calaveras

As you gather with family and friends to celebrate Dia de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead – honor loved ones who have passed on with bright, cheerful décor like these Colorful Calaveras!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Papel Picado

Every year around Dia de los Muertos I make a new set of Papel Picado banners. There is a traditional, painstaking way, but I go the easy route. You can either fold up the tissue like a snowflake and cut your shapes or you can do one at a time. I used stencils as a guide to get some nifty looking swirlies. I call it mixing the new with the old!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Skully Pin

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Ceramic Mug

Dia de los Muertos is a 3,000 year-old Mexican holiday where you celebrate the cycle of life. Held on November 1st and 2nd, you honor loved ones who have passed away by creating a beautiful ofrenda to them with all their favorite foods, hobbies, music, and photos and more. There is always coffee or some kind of hot drink involved because part of the tradition is to set out pan de muerto (bread of the dead) - it is a sweetened bread.

Send a Dia de los Muertos e-Card featuring Patrick's artwork!

 You can now send FREE Dia de los Muertos e-cards featuring the art of Patrick Murillo (my husband!). Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE A CARD AND SEND IT!

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

Come see me today at The Hispanic Women's Conference!

It's open to anyone and everyone who is interested in Latino culture, so come join us!

I'll be moderating and speaking as a panelist for:

Friday October 22nd, 2010

9:00 am - 10:15 am

E-Social Media Marketing Social media has impacted the way organizations communicate with their customers. Understand the new high tech communication connecting business and people.

At 1:30 p.m., I'll have a book signing in the Las Comadres booth on the show expo floor. The expo portion of the conference is FREE!

THE 25th NATIONAL HISPANIC WOMEN’S CORPORATION INSTITUTESOctober 21st & 22nd, 2010 (Full 2 Day institutes)
Phoenix Convention Center –SOUTH PLAZA
33 South Third Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Questions? Call: 602-954-7995 • Toll Free: 888-388-4HWC • email: hwc@hispanicwomen.org
 
Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: La Calavera Box

 The calavera is an important symbol in Mexican culture, representing ancestors and the celebration of the continuity of life through generations. Celebrate family and special traditions this Christmas with a colorful keepsake box decorated with Crafty Chica™ Little Chica Paint Packs™ and Chunky Glitters™ - perfect for giving as a gift or keeping for yourself!

PHX TONIGHT (Wednesday): Author Panel & Reading

 If you live in the Phoenix area and are interested in book publishing, come to this event tonight! We will be talking about the steps it takes to get your book published. FREE, open to everyone! Come join us! Click on the image for a closer view.

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Soft Sculpture Skull

This is a project I whipped up earlier this year and saved for the muertos season. You may have seen the sneaky peek over at the Phoenix Frida blog last month! It's a little time consuming to construct, but worth it. I taught this project as a workshop in Los Angeles and I'm proud to say that 32 students hand stitched their skulls - so know that even if you don't have a sewing machine, you can still make this project!

Prepping for set up!

Another wild photo of Sci Fi Senorita

Terrorific Tuesday: Sci Fi Senorita Head

Meet Lupita. She is from a far away planet called Mexicazonita. She loves to sit on a windowsill at night so she can stare at everyone passing by. She always likes to hide out in dark rooms so unsuspecting guests can walk in and jump to the ceiling when they see her shiny light...

This is a foam hairdresser's head model that I covered in dots of Tulip Glow in the Dark Paint.

This is a different twist on traditional Halloween decor. She's not bleeding at the mouth or sporting zombie eyes. Nope, she's just an alien creature who came to visit during this time of the year. Doesn't she look charmingly creepy?

Special thanks to Alexa Westerfield for snapping the picture for me!

Dia de los Muertos Education Packet

Day of the Dead information for teachers and students

This is a special package I helped put together for http://www.azcentral.com. It features the artwork of my husband, Patrick Murillo. He painted a series of pieces exclusively for this education packet! All images are copyrighted. Thanks! enjoy!


DOWNLOAD the education package [PDF]

azcentral.com is proud to offer a downloadable education companion to our Dia de los Muertos site.

Adults and children alike often get their first exposure to this important celebration through the colorful art, food and folk traditions of the holiday and its close association with the more common Halloween celebration.
Our goal is to educate those seeking information on this celebration through articles, original art, and interactive projects. We hope that you use this information as well the pages found on the web site to enrich young minds as well as your own.
 Packet Contents:

Bibliography
4 coloring pages
Word search game
Mix and match puzzle
Papel picado lesson plan, including an easy-to-use template for younger children.
Calavera mask project
Skeleton puppet project

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT; White Chocolate Sugar Skulls

This is a project from my 2006 Art de la Soul book. This one is muy special to me because I got to feature it on Craft Lab back in the day with Jennifer Perkins on the DIY Network!

Weekend wrap; Denver trip to tape for Sew It All!

FRIDAY: Demoing Tulip Face Paint at Arizona State Fair. It was soooo hot outside, but people LOVED the kits! Especially this guy. Megamind. It took me FOREVER to cover his alien skin with the blue paint!

FRIDAY: At Vision Gallery Dia de los Muertos opening. This is my little nicho I made. We also had a vending booth outside and met some awesome people! It was nice to be surrounded by such talented folks!

SATURDAY: Patrick's band played at the African festival and I stayed home to relax. Later that night we went to Patrick's sister's birthday party. Her husband cracked us up with his candle concoction. Can you take a guess as to how old Stacey turned? Can you figure out his reasoning for these candles? I'll put the answer at the bottom. (Love how the fours are turned backward!)

SUNDAY: I demoed Tulip Fabric Sprays and Fashion Graffiti stencils at Fiesta Phoenix downtown. People really got into it, all ages!

This is Jim Covarrubias, a famous artist in Phoenix. He couldn't resist making a bag either! I found some old Crafty Chica prototype stencils (skull) and he had his way with them!

Next up - the whirlwind month of ultimate craftiness continues this week with my trip to Denver today to film an episode of the new series, Sew It All with Ellen March.

Sew It All is an extension of Sew News Magazine and will launch in early 2011 on PBS. I can't begin to tell you how HAPPY I am that there is new crafty TV programming going on. Thank goodness for PBS and all the wonderful sponsors (muchas gracias iLoveToCreate!). I'll be demoing a project from my Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing book. you'll have to tune in next year to see which one!

Here is a tip I learned while prepping for this shoot. If you want to change your button colors without removing and sewing on new ones, simply paint over them with nail polish! It is enamel and dries sleek and smooth and will not come off after washings. I'm going to mention this in my segment! You can also use paint pens, but I found that nail polish lasts much longer.

I'm still be chased by a stubborn cold, but I'm still two steps ahead thanks to my Airborne. As soon as I stop taking it twice a day, I feel the tickle in my throat. As soon as I get home from Denver, I plan to relax and rest and recharge my body inside and out.

Enjoy your day!

Here is a snippet of Sew It All!


LINK

BIRTHDAY CANDLE ANSWER: 36

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Sugar Skull Art Apron

Whether you are hosting a Dia de los Muertos party or selling your crafts at a fall festival, you want to do it in style. An art apron is a great way to show off your work and share the spirit of the season at the same time.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: history, timeline, traditions, crafts, food, ofrendas

A

This week I'm kicking off my Dia de los Muertos project inspiration series!

Dia de los Muertos is a 3,000 year-old holiday from Mexico that celebrates the lives of those who have passed on. Sometimes it is at the gravesite, other times it is at home in front of an altar or ofrenda that we build for them.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Corpse Bride Costume

 We took a thrift store wedding dress, soaked in the kitchen sink with 8 large tea bags, bought a wig, painted some blue on it and painted her arm like a skeleton. None of it did any good until we did her face - they key is in the eyebrows people! You gotta get that "curvy" thing down! Practice on paper first. Oh, and I added alight blue wash color to her skin using watered-down craft paint. I love it and so does Maya!

 A Corpse Bride costume goes down as a timeless classic costume. Not only because the Tim Burton movie is so eerily entertaining, but also because Emily, the dearly departed, is just too cute and funny to resist. Who wouldn't want to be her in the afterlife? To get the look, you can visit eBay to find handmade Corpse Bride-inspired dresses that are going for up to $300. Or you can check out the expensive packaged costume route, the flimsiness of which will only disappoint you.

Third choice? The do-it-yourself version. It's not only affordable, but so much fun to put together. Remember, Emily had been buried for years so the dress has to look old and tattered, but still pretty. I found this wedding dress at Goodwill for $19. If you aren't so lucky, a white slip and tulle will work just fine.

Corpse Bride Costume

Supplies

1 unwanted wedding dress or slip
1 unwanted wedding veil
1 unwanted pair of long white gloves (optional)
1 black wig with white stripes (or all black is fine)
1 can blue spray-on hair paint
Tulip Face Paint Kit
Medium brush and a liner brush, sea sponge, cup of water
Red lip liner
Scissors
1 box of large tea bags

Directions: Take the dress and snip it vertically in various places at the bottom, and then rip it up above the knee, so the lining shows. Snip, and then rip the hand portion off the gloves. Fill the kitchen sink halfway with hot water, and add about 8 tea bags. Submerge the dress, veil and gloves in the tea bath and let soak for a couple of hours. During the process, squeeze the tea bags in your hands over various areas of the dress so there will be contrast in the stain. When the dress, veil and gloves are at the desired shade, take them out, wring and then hang to dry or put in dryer. Lay the dress flat on a table and on the right side of the rib cage area, paint on a white blob. Outline it with the black paint, using the liner brush so the blob will look like a hole in the dress. Use the white to paint bones and use the yellow to highlight and black to outline. Let dry.

To paint the wig, go outside and use the blue hair spray paint to cover the white streaks.

To paint the body, you want to create a "blue wash" look. Create a creamy, watery mixture of the light blue, white and water. Use the sponge to spread a light layer over the face, neck, arms and upper chest and back. Use the white and black paints to paint bones on the left arm. If desired, paint the skeleton jaw line and teeth along the left side of the face. Under the right eye, use the green, red and yellow paints to draw the maggot that crawls out of Emily's eye.

The trick to getting the right facial expression is to paint the eyebrows in a curvy fashion (see picture), use dark-blue eye shadow on the lids and paint lines for the eyelashes. Use the lip liner to outline the shape of the mouth and fill in.

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)
P.S. Check out my new novel!

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CRAFT: Sugar Skull Iced Fedora

 To me, Puffy Paint is craft therapy. There is something so soothing about squeezing thick, brightly colored paint into to swirls, circles, dots and dashes. Because I work iLoveToCreate, for the company that makes Puffy Paint, I'm privy to always having some tubes on hand.  Recently, during a stressed out day, I used EVERY tube on hand to decorate a fedora. Here's how I did it!

Sam's steampunk shoe repair (Thanks, Sam!)