I pulled out one of my gelli plates this week and did some printing. It’d been awhile – I forgot how much I LOVE my gelli plates! I used my 8″ X 10″ Gelli Printing Plate this time – the perfect size for … Continue reading
April is turning out to be a creative month for me, and I’m loving it! I joined a 30 day challenge for the month – the Creative Sprint. You can follow along on social media by looking up the hashtag … Continue reading
I’ve been busy stitching up some new heart ornaments for both my Etsy shop and our website. 100% handmade, I used recycled fabrics and beautiful sheer ribbons, and embellishments like felt, mini crocheted flowers (made by my friend Annette), buttons, stamps, charms, vintage lace, and beads…
Hope you like them! Each is one-of-a-kind, and only $12 each, perfect for your special Valentine, bff, siblings, your child’s teacher – anyone!
’til next time…
new hand stitched ornaments available at http://www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com
New hand stitched heart ornaments in my Etsy shop…
A few days into 2015 and I find myself hit with a nasty cold…so while I sit here sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and rubbing my watery eyes, I thought I’d share a few photos of what’s been going on around here…
signing and varnishing my mini ornaments before sending to their new homes…
ready to kick things up a notch! ordered Artful Blogging by Stampington & Company…
beautiful sky, November 2014.
“El Corazon” nicho ornament, $12 in my Etsy shop.
www.susiecarranzastudio.etsy.com
doing some hand stitching while watching Gone With the Wind…
autumn in California: colorful leaves, 80 degree weather…
scent of blooming jasmine is here…
WIP: hand stitched skull fabric ornaments (thanks JoAnns for extra fabric!)
’til next time…
i love painting on wood. it provides a smooth surface for paint, and can take LOTS of it. and wood boxes? FUNCTIONAL art! 🙂
i came upon these boxes in my storage area, one already base coated in a beautiful turquoise, so i decided to finish them up…(forgive the photos; i mentioned previously that my digital camera stopped working, and i’ve been relying on my iPhone for photos.)
this 1987 Webster’s dictionary has been with me for years (obviously – 1987!). i love to write, and during my college years and several years after that, i wrote short stories and poetry. this dictionary helped me out, so i thought it would be cool to repurpose and upcycle it into my present-time creative work…
i love to fold and tear my papers, rather than always rely on scissors. it gives paper nice imperfect edges, and old paper is awesome for tearing this way!
Hard Coat Mod Podge from Plaid is the BEST for decoupaging, collaging, etc. i don’t remember when i first used it, but it’s what i always use now for these kinds of projects. it doesn’t have the tacky feeling that the regular mod podge leaves behind, and you can build up lots of coats for a more durable seal. works great on wood…
this box ate up lots of paint! it needed a few coats of paint, and there were drawers and crevices to deal with…(i’m using one of my FAVORITE colors: Americana Acrylics from DecoArt in Calypso Blue. LOVE!)
the colors on the flower in this photo are NOT true to life! this was taken late at night with the only light source being a table lamp…
i always paint the inside of my boxes, but this wood looked so pretty that i decided to just seal it as is and let the beautiful natural wood color show.
as soon as the boxes are finished, i’ll be posting them to either my Etsy shop or our website at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com – stay tuned!
’til next time…
here in California we’re FINALLY enjoying some rain!!! it’s funny how dramatic newscasters here are – other parts of the world are dealing with terrible weather, especially snow storms. here, as soon as ANY rain is in the forecast it’s “STORM WATCH!”
i’m embarrassed for us sometimes (lots of times)…
anyway, just wanted to share some of what’s been going on around here…
i’m a big fan of coffee (favorite: Nescafe!). i have lots of “good morning” pics on my instagram and facebook pages showing my first cup of coffee for the day…
one of my latest projects is a new collection of tote bags. i’m enjoying making my own fabric spray paints (love this blue!); can’t wait to see how they turn out! (stay tuned…)
latest sketchbook page. julie balzer is one of my favorite artists, and she came out recently with a line of face stencils. this was my first time using my stencil. i loved it (although i did feel like i was cheating somehow by not drawing the face myself)!
and finally – i’ve been adding LOTS of new items to my Etsy supply shop – so many new cool supplies for all my fellow creatives out there!
’til next time…
just wanted to share some of the heart/love inspired items i have in my Etsy shop –
and in our website Arte de Nuestro Corazon –
if you’re a creative soul, i have also been busy adding NEW items to my Etsy supply shop – my 2nd shop for destashing art & craft supplies –
i had planned on doing a blog post on what i’m currently working on – hand painting canvas tote bags, and more mixed media hearts – but my computer is giving me SO much trouble right now, especially when i’m doing any edits to my photographs. i’m hoping to get some help working out the kinks very soon…
til next time…
i’m not in a celebrating-the-holidays mood. losing my sister in october and losing my father-in-law in february did not leave me in a party mood. our thanksgiving here was a quiet meal with my parents, my brother, and my nephew. (my husband lawrence was with his mother.) it was quiet, peaceful, and simple. we also had a small cake for my mom; that day was also her 79th birthday.
lawrence and i did visit Huntington Library again a couple of weeks ago. (read my other post about the gorgeous library and botanical gardens here.) this visit was more about just clearing our heads and getting some exercise, so i was not concerned about taking too many photographs…
(i love how lawrence’s shadow looks in this photo!)
we watched some ducks for a while…
bridge in the japanese garden…
so – not many pictures to share this time, but we enjoyed the day. we even finally had lunch in the tea room: garlic shrimp spring rolls with jasmine tea. it was delicious!
i haven’t been painting as much as i should be, but i did start up again. funny thing – even though i don’t feeling much in the holiday spirit, i have been painting ornaments for my Etsy art shop – and enjoying it!
i added a pretty metal heart charm on sheer ribbon around the birds’ necks…
if you’d like to see what i’ve been adding to my Etsy shop, please check it out – hopefully you’ll find some holiday gifts you can check off your list! ♥
i’m back! from the Crafty Chica cruise, that is. actually, i’ve been back a week already. just wanted to share some of the many photos i took during the week…
we set sail on monday, april 22nd. i got to go on the cruise thanks to sylvia of Que Milagros Studio on etsy. her husband couldn’t make it at the last minute and she invited me to take his place! she called me on the 1 month anniversary of my father-in-law’s death, which was a very rough day around here. at the encouragement of my husband lawrence and my best friend annette, i told sylvia yes.
i’d never been on a cruise before, and let me tell you, the Carnival ship we were on – the Inspiration – was like Vegas! brightly lit, somewhat funky decor, clubs, bars, casinos…just one big party! hungry? thirsty? no problem – the Lido Deck offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, with a variety of delicious options. dinner in the Carnivale (yes, Carnival with an “e”) dining room was fun: i got to sit with a group of very cool and funny women, our waiters were a blast, even performing for us a couple of nights, and the food was pretty good (desserts were yummmmy!).
our schedule was docking in Catalina Island on Tuesday, and then Ensenada, Mexico on Wednesday. Thursday was all day on the boat; we returned to Long Beach, CA on Friday morning.
i’d never been to Catalina before and i thought it was beautiful. fresh air, lots of beautiful mosaic tile work on the sidewalks and buildings, and of course, lots of businesses to shop at. In Ensenada, we stuck to the downtown area and did a little shopping. my favorite stop was at Casa Ramirez – beautiful, authentic art pieces made by local artists, with friendly and knowledgeable staff more than happy to talk about the items in their shop. if you’re ever in the downtown Ensenada area, i strongly recommend you visit Casa Ramirez!
we did some crafting on the boat – my favorite workshops were the leather ring workshop, by Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo; the “La Chica Doll” workshop with Annette and Theresa Armas of CJ’s Angels; and the Sacred Heart workshop with Yoli Manzo of Sacred Yoli Designs.
i only completed the doll and the sacred heart workshops; i’ll share more about the workshops themselves in a later post. i want to finish up the projects i brought home.
oh – i won a Gelli Plate! have you guys heard about them? i first heard of them from Yoli on her facebook page. i’m so excited i got one and can’t wait to use it in my mixed media work!!! check out their site and see for yourself at Gelli Arts.
the best part of the cruise was running into old friends, meeting Facebook friends in real life, and meeting lots of new people. i even got to meet one of my favorite artists, Emily Costello.
on Thursday evening, our last night on the ship, we had a “mercado nite”, where we had a chance to sell our homemade items, artwork, etc. i made back a good chunk of what i spent during the week!
stay tuned for more about the projects i did on the cruise…
(btw, the last photo of the sunflowers: my mom bought them for me when i returned Friday. ♥)
