Monday, August 25, 2008

Sacramento Has Much Love For Crafty Chica!



Hey Crafty Homies,

Lately I have been lazy with my blogs and have been cutting and pasting all of Krissi's hard work. (with her permission of course) So this time ,I am going to put in my own two centavos about our day with La Reyna, La Crafty Chica.

Although, I will admit, I am ganking Krissi's pics because I was so busy, I didn't have a chance to take my own. :-)

Friday was Sacramento's turn to represent and show our love for Crafty Chica. She had incredible turn outs at her prior tour stops, and I knew it was time for me to bring out the big guns! Yep, I rallied a few homies and told them to head out to Sacred Casa, because I am throwing a little luncheon Pachanga to help nourish Kathy and family for the final leg of her tour.

My girl, Sharon who is not only my bestest homie, business partner and awesome catorer, helped me with my decorations and shopping the on the night before. We decided to do a panini bar with all kinds of yummy fixings, cupcakes, peach cobler, & macaroni salad.

Krissi brought an amazin"Mexican Fruit Salad with ancho chile powder and a taste of tequila!" Trust me, it was the shizznet,mmmkay?

Mexican Fruit Salad!


There was a super tasty menu - each sammie was assembled and grilled to order and we decided to build a custom Panini for the guest of honor.

menu & art by Yoli Mazo of Sacred Snatch Designs; photo by Kathy Cano-Murillo


Some of the decorations we included were Kathy's books (she has about 5 craft books) and my custom Crafty Chica Empowerment Guardian (I made on her cruise, earlier this year) helped to make this a truly Crafty Chica luncheon!

Party decorations! Yoli's decorations for Chica pre-party! Whatta table!

There was even an extra "loving" shrine on display! (You "Go" Kathy!) hehe.

shrine by Kathy (!) for Rain thru www.swap-bot.com
Shrine!

I decided to use Kathy's mojito papers to decorate the cuppy cakes! I thought they looked super festive if I do say so myself.

toppers made by Yoli out of Crafty Chica "Mojito" decorative papers
Tower o' Crafty Cupcakes


Here are the "glitter" cupcakes that Amy of Peptogirl Industries brought with her (after battling and finally winning with Mapquest!) Thanks Amy! My son ate just about all of them and lectured me about how these were "real" cupcakes. Hmmmmph. ;-)


This was a last minute get together, and I just want to thank all of you that came and helped make this a memorable and special day.

Great minds think alike - Kathy wearing her custom Skelekitty earrings from Krissi and with Rain and the fiesta calavera earrings she made for Kathy.
Cute Kathy in her new Skelekitty earrings! Rain & Kathy


Helped along by the awesome food and Sacred Mama's Magic Sangria! She has been guarding this recipe for ages and only busts it out on the most special of occassions!

Yours truly with Virginia, my 'Sacred Mama,' as she makes sangria! Kathy deciding on whether to have white or red...
Yoli, Virginia & Kathy

Patrick wonders if he can take two more days of glitter and estrogen... D'Angelo has already checked out with his Sidekick.El Patrick!


And all of this before 3pm! Whew! Everyone took a little break after that and we met up at the Sacramento (Truxel Road) Michaels store for the official Spread the Sparkle event!

I am so proud of all who came and welcomed Kathy with open arms. Michaels did a fanstastic job announcing Kathy's presence and enhanced everything with cooooooooooookies! I even scored the coveted "Lucy" who is getting a little sparkle lift and seal.

Thanks Kathy! I'll take good care of her!



All of this goodness was followed by a late farewell dinner with Kathy, Patrick and Krissi.
So much happiness on an eve of another fabulous weekend that included crafting, and a BBQ on a beautiful Sunday Evening.

Thank you Universe!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Frida Sugar Baby Is Ready To Go Home!

Yep, Little Frida Sugar baby was handed over last night to Melody of the Sugar Cube Society and is now listed and searching for a firme home.

I made this doll as a donation to help raise funds for diabetes. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Diabetes foundation.

Also available, is a sweet lil bay created by Amy of Pepto Girls and Pimp Stitch! So cute!

Gracias everyone!

Look who's here:

Frida



and

Sweet Dreams Ginger



You can find these Sugarbabies along with others at:

Click here

Thursday, August 21, 2008

You Better Not Cry, You Better Not frown, Crafty Chica is Coming To Town!

My homegirl, Krissi, did such a fabulous post, I just had to share with yall.

The Sparkle Storm is COMING!

A bunch of us glitter & glue junkies have been telling you for AGES about the Crafty Chica product line by Duncan Crafts, and the Spread the Sparkle Tour Kathy Cano-Murillo is doing to promote the line!

Tonight she wraps up the Southern CA portion of the tour then heads up here for the last three tour dates:
  • Thursday, August 21, 6 – 8 p.m.
    2040 Tully Rd., San Jose CA 95122-1300
    (408) 274-6772

  • Friday, August 22, 6 – 8 p.m.
    3691 Truxel Rd., Sacramento CA 95834-3604
    (916) 928-9777
    I'm so excited, I almost peed a little

  • Saturday, August 23, 3 – 5 p.m.
    7400 N Blackstone Ave
    Fresno CA 93720-4301
Wanna little sneak peekage at what's coming Sacramento-ward on Friday? Sure you do!
Be sure to come out and join me, Yoli of Sacred Snatch Designs, the Sacramento Craft Mafia, several Scary CRAFTers in our joint support of her craftiness!



p.s. Be sure to say hi to Patrick - especially if you're a fan of his art or rasta music!

Yes, Yes, lets all get out there and represent Sacramento's amor for La Crafty Chica!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

August Scary Craft Night Make and Take and Online Challenge

August Craft Night - Little Black Hats & More!

Hey Scary Kids!

The next Night of the CRAFTERS, Sacramento's original Craft Night is coming for you! On August 26 (a week from Tuesday), at the same Bat-time (6pm-9pm), same Bat-channel (Side Show Studios, Sacramento) we are pleased to present an embellished mini-hat make 'n' take by DyMa Creations!



Join us and make a unique "Little Black Hat" that reflects your style and personality while learning tips and tricks from the Haberdasher and Sewing Mogul Extraordinare herself! Kits are available (see below) or BYO stuff.*** Not sure what to pack in? You can get some ideas from the DyMa Creations Etsy store or view her Little Black Hats with homes. Don't wanna make a hat? That's OK - ya don't gotta. Just bring your crafty self, supplies for whatever you want to work on and a folding chair (if you have one) and join the glue sniffing. WARNING - you may leave covered in glitter.

***IMPORTANT: For this class, kits ABSOLUTELY MUST be reserved in advance. Please message us or comment below to reserve one or more of these kits (CASH ONLY PLEASE - price is dependent on embellishments chosen - payable to artist at time of class):
  • $8-10: full kit (5½" hat form and your choice of embellishments)
  • $5-7: embellishments only (BYO hat)
  • $4: hat form only (BYO embellishments)
  • oh, and of course, $0: no kit - BYO everything or craft on your own - no reservation needed!
Other important stuff to bring: sharp scissors and your own bottle of Fabri-Tac (by Beacon Adhesives) fabric glue. If you don't have that stuff, just sit next to someone who shares!

See you at the crafting tables!

Online Tutorial & August Craft Challenge!

Hey Scary Crafters, it's Krissi again. La Snatchita and I have been a wee bit behind on our craft challenges, and we want to tell you that we know and we're deeply apologetic (psshhh!)

Well, my friends, I'm happy to say that the drought is over! Here is a tutorial from Jennifer Perkins of Craft Lab /Naughty Secretary Club brought to us via our own Sacred Snatch Designs.
Now, here is YOUR challenge:

  1. Create your own 'batik' decorative paper(s) using this technique
  2. Make something using the paper you just designed - anything is OK, ATC, mixed-media on canvas, envelope, card, paper your office, whatever.
For our non-local folks, you will:
  1. Post a photo of your masterpiece (along with a "before" shot of your finished paper) on your blog/website/Flickr/whatever account, then
  2. Post a comment on OUR blog with a link to your photo
  3. Complete all of this by Monday night, August 25th at 7pm PDT (10pm Eastern)
Sacramentans may either follow the above procedures, or bring their creations to Night of the Crafters on the 26th (we'll take photos). After the glitter clears, we'll gather all the pics together and post them in a singl blog (with links back to all of our wonderful contributors, of course)!

DRAW ON, SWEET CRAFTERS!

Winner, Winner, Carnita Dinner!

Between this blog and my other blog I re-post on Myspace, there were a total of 29 entries.

::Drum Roll Please::

And the winner of the Batik Muerto plaque is none other than.........
Sofia (sp) from Simply Strands!

Congratulations girly, email me your addy and I'll get it out to you in a jiffy!

Thanks everyone for playing, you all rock! For those of you who tried the technique, please send me a picture. I would love to see your creation!

Besos,

Yoli

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Easy Crayon Batik Technique Tutorial & Give Away!

I watched this technique on Jennifer Perkin's Craft lab show the other day. It looked so easy that I ran to my crayon box and got busy! Guess what? It was totally easy and I made a couple of goodies and have been getting requests to do a tutorial on this technique ever since! So with that, Tada......

Here you go, and on top of a technique, I am also throwing in a drawing for the item below. All you have to do is leave a comment and bam, your name goes into a drawing and the lucky winner will be notified for their mailing address. Sound fun? Of course it is! I will take comments through next Monday, August 18th, and will announce the winner on Tuesday. So, get your comments in and hey, tell a friend!

Materials you will need.
Black Acrylic Paint
Crayons
Paper
Water
Brush or Sponge
Paper Towel

Seriously, that is it! By the way, this is a GREAT project for the kiddies too.



Step 1. Start coloring! Use any pattern or design you want. I like vibrant colors, but you can use any color combination. I suggest applying a good amount of pressure on your masterpiece. The waxier, the better!


Completely cover your entire paper with your groovy artwork.


After your page is done, crumple your paper in a wad like the one below. Squish it good and hard, the more wrinkles, the better!


Next, you are going to spread your masterpiece out on a nonstick surface (or a protected table)


Pour some of your black paint in a container and add some water. I didn't measure, I just made it on the soupy side. Then you are going to get a sponge or brush and cover your masterpiece completely in the black paint wash.


Like This.


Next, before it dries, you are going to wipe off the excess paint with a paper towel.


Lay out to dry. (they dry pretty fast) Tada, you are done. You can use these papers as you like. Use them in everything; Altered Envies, Journals, ATC's, Decopauge, Cards, you name it, you can do eeet!

I love the organic look to it. It really does look like dyed batik, but without the dyes and mess!

So below is a little Dia De Los Muertos plaque I made with the batik papers. This will be my drawing prize. Just leave your comment below, and I will draw your name on next Tuesday!

Thanks again for stopping by and be sure to visit often!

Yoli

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Pink Artist Debut!

Hello everyone, thank you for the kind words and wishes of a speedy recovery. I am back and ready to jump into some projects. Speaking of projects, I am cutting and pasting this blog from my Homegirl, Monica Magness of "Girl Gone Thread Wild"



I know I mentioned before that she did a call for artists to contribute 2 inch square mini quilts for a doll she was making. I had no idea the magnitude and beauty that this project would become. I will always feel so lucky and so deeply honored to have been involved.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thumbing through one of my favorite publications at Border Books, and there, staring at me, was "Our Doll!" On top of that, I even spied my little square on the dolls dress. Yay! My little claim to fame!

What is even more exciting is that you and everyone across the world has a chance to win this doll! Details are below, and if you enjoy constant beauty and inspiration, do check out Monica's blog.

(Cut and pasted from Monica's blog)


The Pink Artist Drawing Begins, Bosom Buddies Unite to fight breast cancer!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!! We're so excited that the day has FINALLY come for The Pink Artist Drawing to begin! We are delighted to celebrate our journey with you!!! Our mission is simple, to spread the WORD: GET CHECKED! and please schedule those mammograms right NOW! From the beginning our promise has been to RALLY FOR A CURE for breast cancer the best way we know how and that is with ART. We pink artists have kept that promise as each of us took to our studios to use the God given tools we were blessed with- OUR HANDS. Support for our project has poured in from around the world thanks to blogs and word of mouth. This support has given us the opportunity to create from the heart a bountiful of PRIZES you could win in The Pink Artist Drawing August 1-October 15, 2008 going on right NOW. Over the course of just a few months our "call for art" grew to include well over 182 men and women, a phenomenal number that makes up The Pink Artist Project & friends who have joined our forces. To see more than 400 squares created by the pink artists personally, please stop by these posts for that joyful experience: The Pink Artist parade of squares (most artists have blog links next to their square, please come and meet our artists). Happy Browsing!

Joining our squares together we have created a 40" art doll we lovingly named, Love Squared to HELP RAISE AWARENESS & FUNDS FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH. Let us introduce you to the lady of the hour, The Pink Artist Doll, ~Love Squared is a symbol of hope, she stands for courage and displays that spirit of connectedness to end breast cancer for good~

To see all of our BEAUTIFUL doll photos,
please click on the links below:

Interested in seeing the making of our doll?
Please visit these posts here:

YOU can win our doll & a number of beautiful ART prizes donated by our PINK friends by helping us to raise funds for breast cancer research!

In the completion of our doll, we have further grown our circle of FIGHTERS to include Art Doll Quarterly & Artful Blogger (both on sale now at your local bookstore). In the Autumn issue of the 2008 art doll magazine, you can learn more about the stories behind our squares and LEARN just who we are as pink artists. Please have a look and let's celebrate seeing our project & doll in PRINT everybody, YAY!!!! THANK YOU to the staff at Art Doll Quarterly and AB both for their extremely generous support! We love you!

(pages 50, 51, 52, 53)
YOU can buy your issue here if you haven't already ran to the store for purchase:
And READ what Artful Blogging wrote about the BLOGGERS who took action:

(Autumn 2008, Letter from the editor)

"We have made a promise to end breast cancer forever – energizing science to find the cures is a critical part of this promise." -from Susan G. Komen website

As a project that grew from the questions, "what if?" and "What can I do?" we artists have taken on the plight to HELP a much BIGGER team of fighters here, those HARD WORKING souls at Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Pink Artist's ART has given us a voice, a place to share the names and lives of our loved ones stricken by breast cancer, and lets the world know we mean business! Breast cancer has taken the lives of many women we call moms, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends, coworkers, and also the men in our lives ... so let's HELP stop this cancer DEAD in its tracks, WE CAN DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN JOIN US! Let's rally together as the pink artists & friends offer up our handmade art to raise donations for Susan G. Komen and the fight against breast cancer!


To enter our art drawing:

All you have to do for a chance to take home any one of the magnificent prizes is make a donation between August 1-October 15, 2008 and for every $10 donation you send in your name will go into our art drawing TWICE.

Join the fun!
Make your money order donation out to Susan G. Komen for the cure
and mail it to Monica Magness PO Box 2206 Madison, AL 35758 where your name will be entered into our art drawing and your donation will be collected & sent in directly to our charity on October 15, 2008

or

PAYPAL your donation to MLMagness@aol.com
with "The Pink Artist Drawing" in the subject header (or see our Paypal donation button at top left of blog). Your name will go into our drawing and your "gift" will be forwarded to Susan G. Komen for the cure. (Sorry no personal checks, CASH sent at your own risk)

Please make sure your name and address are legible,
typed is best for accuracy. Your name & information
will not be sold or shared with any other party.

Thank you for your help in raising those funds for

Donations will be accepted up until October 15, 2008
which is the OFFICIAL day of the drawing.

Winners names will be announced on my blog on the evening of October 15th.

The month of October is as you know Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Together let's make this a fun & rewarding way to HELP BIG.

Artists such as Michelle Ward, Alma Stoller, Tim Holtz, Donna O'Brien, Cheryl Strait, Donna Engstrom, Patti Culea to name just a few, and Stampington & Company have teamed up with us to become pink artists, or have HELPED to offer art up, and/or have gotten the word out for us in flyers, newsletters & Postscript. Won't you join us?

Let's watch the DONATIONS grooooow as our fundraiser will be totaled weekly and shown in the upper left corner of my blog for ALL of us to see.

EDITED 8/2: Please take a moment to ENJOY LIFE TODAY! Do something special just for you & your loved ones! Below are photos of a candle vigil my family held last night at 6 pm to honor our loved one who passed from Pancreatic Cancer, Carlos Vallejo, the man who instilled in me THE POWER THAT ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE... from my sister and her family in Arizona, to my parents in Texas, to my brothers family in Pennsylvania, to my own family here in Alabama, we sent off heal-ium balloons, tucking in a note and letting it flyyyyy... fly away...up to the heavens... to spread our LOVE to my uncle who left this earth TOO SOON... and also held a prayer vigil in his honor.

Uncle, THANK YOU for guiding this project to its beginning and its end. I love you.

(my beautiful mom in TX)

(my awesome nieces & nephews in AZ)

I love you pink artists! You made my dreams come TRUE.

So, in the name of ART & FUN... let's RALLY TOGETHER bosom to bosom and HAVE OURSELVES A CELEBRATION!! we worked really hard for this moment and it's finally here!
xo, Monica

Catching Up, Mi Etsy & Craft Along Info.

What up Amigas?

I am trying to catch up here. Between work and being sick this weekend, I am muey behind in my bloggage and lurkage for that manner! I just wanted to put it out there that I finally managed to add some stuff on my etsy. Some of it is very "El Cheapo" and some of it, not so much. lol, but really, I got prices for every pocketbook. I will be adding more within the next couple of days, so be sure to check back often!

Here is a sample.


Etsy
Buy Handmade
SacredSnatch


I'd also like to give a shot out to My Sacramento Craft Mafia Seesters, for they are hosting another todo Madre Craft along! If you are in town, be sure to check it out and tell them your favorite "Snatchy" sent you!


Please come join the Sacramento Craft Mafia on Tuesday August 12th at the Java Lounge for a little coffee/tea...and a little crafting!

Stacey of Bouton Blue will be showing us how to make some cute elastic vintage button rings. She will be providing elastic and some buttons. You will want to bring the following supplies:
Sewing Needle (standard size that can fit in buttons holes)
Buttons (the kind with 2-4 holes in them)
Thread (White recommended)
If buttons are not your thing please don't hesitate to come out anyway.
Bring WHATEVER craft floats your boat...just come out and hang with us!
Java Lounge
2416 16th Street Sacramento
August 12, 2008
6:30pm-8pm

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Catch Some Sacredness This Saturday!







That is if I can get my butt over there and hang my arte! If you are in Sactown, this is a 2nd Saturday Art Walk highlight!




Sunday, August 3, 2008

Meet My Homegirl, Tami Snow

Yup it pays to have homegirls in high places, ya know? So much inspiration and knowledge at my fingertips. :D Tami is a real sweetheart and I am so happy and proud of her. She has been looking forward to this day for a long time. So do come out and help me support her on this special Thursday!

Upcoming Book Signing: Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow


Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow


Have Tamie Snow of Roxycraft sign your copy of Tiny Yarn Animals!

Borders Bookstore
2339 Fair Oaks Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95825
916.564.0168

This Thursday, August 7th at 7pm!