Thursday, October 6, 2011

The fabric I used for these table runners remind me so much of the Mexican bark paper paintings that hung in my cousin's house when we were kids. The hot pinks, tropical blues and fiery oranges against the black background warm my soul and remind me of being with my family. It's hard to see the sequins, but they sparkle and pick up the orange accents in the fabric just perfectly!





Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sweet Nothings

Like I said, Summer is not my productive season. My preschoolers are not in school and we cook and read and craft together all day. Most other moms are at the playground, but I am not a fan of the sun or the heat, so the thought of a summer day at the park just sounds insane. So this is an example of one of the little crafts we made today--superhero cuffs! They were very impressed with themselves for learning how to lace. They also ran around pretending to fly and 'save the day'.

 A foot cuff, you ask? Sure, why not? These kids think of everything...

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Fall is my New Year

My summer absence is over, folks. I generally don't get much crafting done in the summer, as my region is HOT and not at all conducive to working with fabrics. But fall is here and it's time to bust out the sewing machine and glitter and hit the crafts again!

To kick off the autumn season, I've switched over to Etsy from ArtFire. In all honesty, I felt a little bait-and-switched when ArtFire converted to a subscription site. I had great success with Etsy a few years ago, so I'm going to stick with them a while, see where it takes me. Well, Happy Autumn, Merry Equinox and all that! Here's to my favorite season!

Oh, and the linky link...http://www.etsy.com/shop/happymamidesigns

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Put a Bird on It!

Okay, so I love this Portlandia skit. Most of you have probably seen it, but I'm posting it anyway. Birds are everywhere in the craft world (particularly, bird silhouettes) and I love them, while at the same time recognizing that I'm a part of this whole hive mind thing that's going on. So this is my homage to putting a bird on things. We just can't help ourselves, can we?


Friday, June 17, 2011

Rotary Cutter Fail.

A few weeks ago I purchased my first rotary cutter and mat. I know. Way overdue--I had been cutting my fabric with scissors on my dining room table for years. The shame! I was so excited to finally own a rotary cutter, and had even found both it and the mat for half off at Beverly's! I was all pumped to go home and start cutting fabric like a mofo! Once home, I tore it out of it's packaging and rolled that bad boy across some fabric just as intructed, with firm and even pressure. I imagined quick, clean lengths of fabric stacking up faster than I could say "flour sack towel!" And then it happened.

Despite the reassuring sounds of the rotary cutter biting through the fabric, when I lifted one length of fabric from the other, all I saw was a terrible shredded mess of fabric only cut apart every few inches or so. It didn't cut. No--it shredded. And when I tried cutting using more of a back-and-forth pizza cutter motion, it created multiple, randomly spaced slices of fabric, along with a mat full of fabric dust, chopped threads and well, fabric dust. I've tried various pressures, techniques, forward-cutting, backward-cutting, cutting while hanging from the ceiling. Well, not really, but I would have tried it had I thought it would work.

I'm back to using my scissors. I don't get it. I don't know what the big fuss is about rotary cutters! I may have bought a dull one, I may have bought the wrong brand (this is a major brand, and new out of the box). I may not know what the hell I'm doing, but really? Can it be that difficult?

Oh rotary cutter, why hast thou failed me?

Monday, June 13, 2011

What's on Your Craft Book Wishlist?

I love to read, I love to craft, so it makes sense that I love crafting books! I only own a few, however because let's face it--books can be pricey! So I've got a wishlist going, and here it is. These are all beautiful little gems of books and I can't wait to read them!
I'd love to hear what your crafting book wishlist includes, so drop me some comments!


Craft, Inc. Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business

Any one of the Crafty Chica's Books! (Especially Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life)

The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line

Blogging for Bliss: Crafting Your Own Online Journal. A Guide for Crafters, Artists, and Creatives of all Kinds.

One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Fabric Projects; Look How much you can Make with just One Yard of Fabric!

Monday, June 6, 2011

A quick glimpse at a few of the things I've been working on in my ArtFire studio...

guadalupe up close stagedcantinflas bubble glazebrown satin close upblue mexican birds close up094088
hella crafty frontloteria outsidemexican birds close uprosarita outsidevicente close up sidevirgen outside box open



ArtFire Studio, a set on Flickr. 
Lots more in my actual studio, linked in the top right hand side bar! Whew, creative pursuits have wiped me out this month!