A Day of Frida, Shopping, Arte and Crafts Galore

Ok, pobrecita, Frida, I had no idea she wore butt huggers!

So last month, ( I can't believe it has almost been a month already) Krissi and I jetted on over to the MOMA in San Francisco to A, celebrate Krissi's 32nd birthday, ::cough, cough::(she is six months older than me. Trust me, she loves to point this out) and B, Go see our girl FRIDA!
I know, I know, I talk about her all the time, but hey, what can I say, she's tight like that.

Anyhoo, if you get a chance, that show is running through the end of September and it is so worth the visit. I am even more in love with her paintings and her humor! OMG, this woman knew how to get her clown on, mmmkay? She was sick and twisted just like me! Ayeeeeeeeee!

I tried to take some pictures, but trust me, they had regulators ALL over the place, and I wasn't about to get bounced out of there before getting my fair share of Frida. I did however gank a whole bunch of postcards and programs! :-).

Hey, I look at trash with a whole new perspective. I feel it is my small contribution to being green, because the Santos know I have done my share of waste and then some. I am working on being better though. I am forever sifting through my trash and telling my friends and neighbors to give me their empty pasta and cereal boxes. (Great for book covers and postcards)

Ok, back to our awesome dia.

After our tour de Frida, we went to the gift shop where we got suckered into buying all kinds of Frida gear. I walked out with postcards, Frida paper dolls, stickers, a children's Frida Coloring book and some cards. Krissi bought a gang of gear too.

From there, we were STARVING, so we headed out to the Mission. This is Krissi's old stomping ground and she took me on a serious stroll down memory lane. I got to see "her" Mission, lemme tell you, it was bright, colorful and beautiful. Reminded me of my days back in San Jo.

We got our grub on at this taqueria, and then we checked in an awesome bakery. Remember those horns, Girl? AWESOME.

We also peeped inside Dog Eared Books, one of my favorite stops, followed by visiting this this cool little shrine, voodoo store. (I forgot the name) I bought some resin incense. I love the smell of frankincense.

After a few more blocks, we headed back to Krissi's ride and drove to Berkeley, for a quicky stop at Paprus They have a great selection of hand dyed and specialty papers. I am telling you, we were on a roll. From there, Krissi took me on a cruise down Telegrah for some herbal brownies. I AM KIDDING!. haha. I told Krissi out of all the times I had been to Berkeley, I never took the time to check out the famed Telegraph Avenue. She told me that was a complete shame and took me out for a drive by. Thank you Krissi!

From there we started our descent back home, but of course, we spied a Michael's craft store on the way, and we just couldn't pass by without stopping, right? lol

I tell ya, we got our shop on and then some. We left at 9 am and didn't get home till about 10:30 pm. It was such a great day and I really wanted to share it all with you.

After all that Fridaliciousness, I became inspired and had a lot of swaps to complete. Guess what who I sent out to all my partners?.....................

Picture time.........

this was a card I made for Krissi's birthday. It was made of recycled materials, and alcohol inks. (My latest and current favorite medium)




This was a small matchbox shrine I made for my partner. It was an actual Frida themed project. I h

This is an oldie but goodie, I made this doll last year for a fundraiser. She is an altered doll, that I hand panted and dressed up. She even came with a back brace and her body cast was made out of polymer clay. I altered the box she came in to look like one of her rooms.
I made this ornament for a recycled project. I have to still give it to my partner and since she lives in town, I plan on delivering it to her. I used alcohol inks and recycled cd's, bottlecaps and beads and charms.
This was made for a altered CD swap. I learned these techniques from the wonderful Cyndi. She tought us this class on board the Crafty Chica Cruise earlier this year. By the way, the Cruise in happening next march. If you are looking for a quick retreat of Crafts, Chica's and good food, be sure to join us. I will be teaching a class on next year's cruise.

The next two pics are ATC's I made for another swap. (Yes, I am a swap addict)





This last picture is a Frida matchbox shrine paper doll I made for Cyndi of Santa Clarita Craft Lab. Good Gawd, wait till you see what she sent me. (stay tuned)
and that concludes your daily dose of Frida. hee. My next blog will be a few features, tutorials, and upcoming events. be sure to check back.

Orale Pues,

Yoli

Having fun with Fabric and My Sewing Machine

Lately, I have been having fun with my sewing machine. Thanks to Krissi and her patience, I have been giving it a whirl and have been having fun with small items. I am getting pretty good with the ATC's, Postcards and mini quilts. I have even made a few handbags and am currently working on two bags that I made the pattern from scratch! Those pics will be coming soon.
For now, I just wanted to share some of my sewing lessons with you, and although I have sooooooo much more to learn, I am having fun. I am even thinking of joining morsbags.com so I can do some drive by bag give aways! If you don't know about that website, check it out, it is really inspiring. I feel so ashamed to take bags from stores now, and find myself stuffing my handbag with items and saying no all together on paper or plastic!

My goal is to start making bags for myself and family, and hopefully in the process, will make bags good enough to pass out to random peeps!

But for now, here are a few pics for your review.

Salute,

Yoli


Springtime ATC Swap

Postcard Swap


A mini quilt I made a few weeks ago.



Clutch I made for Loan


Corozon fabric Postcard I mailed to a swap partner

La Virgen quilted postcard


These Postcards are so easy to make. I should do a tutorial!

Have a great week everyone!

Fridalicous!

Frida was reppin it hard in my casa last week. I started out with making a Frida clutch for my mother's birthday. I used a Frida fabric on the outside and a Caliente Chili Pepper fabric on the inside.
I put in a lil Santo at the side for good luck and to watch over mi Mama.

Well, you know the old saying, the more you give, the more you receive! Yep, I am a firm believer, and within the next two days, I received two awesome gifts! My Girl, Marcella came through and brought me these killer socks! lol, just when I thought I saw it all, BAM! I get a wonderful curve ball. Don't these rawk? I am thinking of making these into a coin purse or sock monkey. These are too cute to keep under my pant leg!




The following day, I opened my mail to find a wonderful fabric wall hanging from a swap I joined on Swap Bot. I was speechless. Number 1, the swap just opened and I haven't even begun to think about what I am going to send my partner, and number two, she sent me Frida! I have been carrying around this little gem for days and have been shoving it under everyone's nose! I just know they are jealous! hehe, and they should be! This lovely piece was made by the talented, Ms. June.


Isn't that sweet? Thank you so much June, I promise to take excellent care of her! Yes, she will finally be put to rest on my wall!

And that concludes our journey to the land of Frida. :D

From the Studio of Girl Gone Thread Wild

AKA, my homegirl, Monica............

Monica was the brainchild of this wonderful project. I humbly asked if I can contribute, and thankfully she accepted. In fact, I believe over 150 art squares have been donated! See these links for further info. (Trust me, this project is as beautiful as it is inspiring)

• what is "the pink artist"?
• About the charity
• PINK ARTIST Button
• Pink Artist parade of squares 1
• Pink Artist parade of squares 2
• Pink Artist parade of squares 3

On to the building of the doll...............

The Pink Artist Doll Project, page ONE

From start to finish here is

the journey of the collaborative art doll project

come to be known as Love Squared.

Page one.

...

It's been a fantastic break!

The past week flew by and I admit

I only dreamed of the squares ONCE

but it was grand that I did!

Pinpricked I made a new best friend

to keep me company while

stitching in the wee hours,

enjoying a continual pouring of tea,

movies, and phone calls

that kept me tied to reality.

...

I'm going back to the start for a moment.

It only makes sense to tell you

that the inspiration for the doll body

came from a long admired doll artist,

Patti Culea using upper torso patterns

from her book, Creative Cloth Doll Making.

I knew when taking on this project

that some part of this doll had to

have Patti written all over it.

...

Omitting of course the legs and

opting to alter the length so to fit

squares to skirt. Some of you have

seen the first few photos already

in post the joys of communal artistry

so I won't reiterate those steps, jumping

forward instead to the creation of the

skirt and the sewing on of the squares...

Choosing 2 cuts of decorator fabric in colors

blue and beige cut 72" by 54" and

folded in half twice to make a center,

a hole was cut and the layers were draped

over the waist of the doll and stitched in place.

An old lace piece is stitched down to doll

covering the uneven edges.

Not noticing earlier that the blue fabric already

had "square" shapes in the design (lol) I

took this as a sign and jumped right in

to begin there, pinning the first square.

I kid you not, there is a higher power

orchestrating this doll as I have been

stress-free from the beginning and

am remaining calm and overjoyed here-

I think I even sang OUT LOUD when

applying the first SQUARE. -laughs-

The squares were beginning to line up.

What I found happening was that it was easier

to NOT preplan anything, nor did I pull

more than 10-12 squares at one time from their shelter

(ie. storage tub). I didn't lay out the squares

ahead of time. These weren't color-coded

or grouped in any way whatsoever.

Really the only measurements being taken

were the actual size/shapes of the squares.

One by one, literally the squares came together.

Hand sewing each square with PINK thread.

What did happen is a metal tomato cage

for gardening was inserted under her skirt

to help keep shape.

I found myself talking to the squares

and remembering your notes, stories,

friends and family. I'd be lying if

I said I didn't choke up once or twice...

but it was HAPPY tears for this project.

It was NO accident that I signed online

ONCE to tell a gal her squares arrived

safe & sound from TURKEY and when

doing so read a note from one wise lady

who told me of the "threads of life"

and the first thread being the umbilical cord,

also while online that brief period I read

every comment you made during the last post.

Gerry!!! yours hit me especially...

mostly because you remarked how wonderful

tho sad this project is and well,

I didn't DO NOT want anyone remembering

this project as SAD so...

I immediately started to create a face for our doll.

Starting with a grey felted sweater scrap,

sewn on the machine to resemble

a round head shape, a wooly ball...

stuffed with polyester fiberfill,

punching away on the flesh colored

wool roving from Great Britain

found in a local Yarn shop I

just recently discovered during

my last visit to the Goodwill...
(taking breath)

There she was smiling up at me,

with those pink lips and light brown eyelashes,

and curvy eyebrows.

Now, that's a Kool-aid smile!

happy-happy-happy

I'd like to tell you that all squares are now

stitched to our dolls skirt, but I was just 12 shy

when making this post. In just a few minutes I'll

update our parade of squares, page 3 to include

two more artists squares making that the

last 12 squares to go on the doll.

My goal is to have our doll completed by April 1.

.....
Please excuse the lighting in the photos.

Most often the images were taken

around midnight and by myself.

I am sooooo not a photographer.

......
Also, THANK YOU to Donna O'Brien of the blog,

The Ribboned Crown
for mailing in this exquisite donation

for our doll.

From here my next post won't be until next Monday

as I have to play catch-up, but I am officially back online,

checking emails and keeping in touch with YOU!

Next post WILL be more progress made on our doll

wso be sure to check back in March 24. w

-Thanks again & again for your support & participation-

May this doll leave your heart filled with JOY

and a smile in your every step,

HAPPY EASTER!!!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY

wait, there is more............. here is a link to part two, where the doll's face, hair and limbs are formed.

Are you as flabbergasted as I am? I just had to share and if you haven't already, subscribe to her blogs! She is a super star blogger on blogspot and she is really a down a$$ ruca with a killer personality!