I always have a hard time with Easter. I've never been into cute chicks and bunnies, and my version of the pastel palette consists of hot pink, banana yellow and neon green. But that doesn't mean my Easter eggs have to suffer. This year, I'm being bold and teaching my kids a lesson in pop art.

I clicked over to Google images and found some Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and even Keith Haring images. The trick to the eggs is to color them as usual with traditional egg dye kits (I used Twinkling H20 watercolor paints) and then apply images printed on water slide decal paper. This is clear paper that has a protective backing that is most used in model car kits. After printing the image, soak it in water and the image separates from the backing. The result is a transparent background.

If you don't have time to buy the decal paper, you can decoupage the image on the eggs. Decal paper can be found locally at Hobby Bench and Arizona Art Supply locations. Available online at lazertran.com.

Pop Art Decal Eggs
Supplies:

1 package of InkJet Decal Paper or Lazertran Water Slide Decal Paper
Hard-boiled eggs
Watercolor paints, brush
Bowl with water
Scissors
Acrylic paints

Directions: Paint the eggs with the watercolors and let dry. There are two kinds of decal sheets - one for InkJet printers, and another for laser printers. If you use the latter, you'll have to print your images on a color laser printer at a local copy center. Using the high-resolution setting, print the images on the decal sheet. Cut them out and put in the bowl of water. After a few minutes, the image will separate from the paper backing. Carefully pick up the image and lay it on the painted egg. Use your finger to smooth out bubbles. Let dry. Use other paints or markers to add contrasting polka dots.

TIP: Keep your pictures small so they will lay flat against the egg. There will be crinkles around the edges of the decal because the egg is round, but you can smooth them out by carefully snipping the decal and sealing it down with water.
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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: Easter, food crafts, other holidays

Here is another project I did for Duncan using Aleene's Fabric Fusion. This is a new fabric adhesive that is not stringy and once you are done with your project, you can even wash or dry clean it! For this bag, I used one placemat, folded it in half and decked it out in fabric, gems and even paint.

Here are the directions from DuncanCrafts.com on how to make it. The fabric is from Alexandar Henry, available at St Theresa's Textile Trove.

I think this bag would be super sweet for going to a Latin dance night, or a reggae concert. Or a downtown coffeehouse, any place tropical and colorful. If you are going on vacation this spring or summer, you can make one just for the trip! You can also personalize it by making a fabric transfer of any photo you want and use Fabric Fusion to apply it to the placemat. It's also a spiffy way to use up fabric scraps.

I didn't include this in the directions, because I didn't want to overwhelm anyone - but the sun fabric? I dyed that! I like to buy vintage dishtowels and then dye them keep them for use with my collage projects. The dyeing part isn't as extreme as it sounds. You can pick up a bottle of Tulip Fashion Dye - it is a bottle that comes with colored powder at the bottom. You just fill it up with water, shake it and BAM! Squirt it on your fabric!!

I'll have a tutorial later on it. Next time I dye a batch of fabric, I'll video tape it and post it.

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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: fabric, multi-culti, wearable art

Altering photo albums and address books are my latest obsession thanks to Alyson at Duncan. Her mission for me was to create a project using Aleene's Paper Glaze. Can you imagine all the ideas that popped in my head? I couldn't pinpoint one, without changing my mind.

All I can say is thank goodness for grocery shopping! There I was at Fry's Marketplace, loading y cart with milk and other family staples when I cruised through the office supply section. I came across and a display of lonely looking address books. Who buys address books at the grocery store? Right at that moment I had a vision of this boring book tricked out in glitter, pictures and other shiny objects. My life hasn't been the same since. Not only did I make the above book, I've also been whipping out photo albums too (scroll down this blog to see the latest ones).

I think you need to make one too.
Here are the directions from DuncanCrafts.com!
Here is the link to buy the images I used from ArtChixStudio.com

See how happy I look with it? Ahhh, life is good...
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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

I blogged about this movie (The Namesake) a few months back. First off, it didn't take watching the trailer to know that I would love it. I'm a huge fan of the director, Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala) AND Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle). I even got to eat lunch with Kal one time, and he is such a wonderful, genuine person who cares so much about his craft, as well as his culture. Anyway, this film is about a traditional Indian couple living in the U.S., and their American born son who is having a hard time juggling both worlds.


The Namesake qualifies as a crafty cinema film because there is a scene of the mother making a batch of handmade holiday cards for her family and friends. Even though the scene was a short one, it has oodles of details. Her cards and art supplies are spread out all across the entire dining table - so ture, right? And then she decorates the cards with a handpainted elephant, and clusters of micro beads at the top. In honor of my appreciation for the film, I made this card (below) similiar to the one featured in the movie.



And I added in the movie trailer too!




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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: collage/paper, crafty cinema, multi-culti

This crafty chica is back in action!!! Thank you so much for all your awesome thoughts and support, I'm sending it right back at you 10 fold!!!

I hope you are as de-LIGHTed with this week's project as much as I am!

I like to knit and love to crochet, but hardly have time for either, yet that doesn't lessen my addiction to yarn. So when I came across the bewitching spinning skills of Austin, Texas, artist Amanda Jones, I was hooked. I used her yarn to make this frilly lampshade and you can too!

Jones' Hysterical Yarns start at $23.05 for 55 yards. To see more of her work, visit www.venusart.org or venusart.etsy.com.

Supplies:

Yarn
Fabric Fusion glue
Lampshade
Scissors

Directions: Work one section at a time on the lampshade. Coat a circle shape with the glue and snip a 15-inch piece of yarn. Lay it on the glue in a swirl pattern. Continue all over the lampshade. Trim the edges by going around and around.
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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: home decor, inside, lights

A few weeks back, I mentioned my love for crafty cinema. Well, you should know I'm also into "crafty lit" - juicy novels that have characters who paint, bead, knit or sew. I'm the nerdy type who always has a book on me and I utilize every pocket of time to take in a chapter.

These days, I'm toting around The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs (Putnam Adult, 2007, $22.95 hardback). I'll admit it took a few pages, but now, I'm hooked. Lots o' drama. The book centers on a small New York City knitting shop and the women who meet to knit and share their stories of woe. Look for a film version, starring Julia Roberts, in June 2008. Another crafty lit book I recently finished reading is The Interruption of Everything, by Terry McMillan (Signet, 2006, $9.99 paperback). Often hilarious and sentimental, our protagonist, a 40-something wife and mom, works at a craft store and questions her life decisions. But what she is sure of is her ability to make impressive crafts.

This project is dedicated to book lovers who like to share their finds. These pockets and bookmarks are a fun way to add spice to your library, and keep all the titles in order. If you belong to a book club, think about setting aside a meeting so the members can whip up a batch of these items. Supplies were purchased at Lucky 15 Paper Arts, 4216 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix, (602) 466-2736. Other local paper arts stores should have them as well.

Book Lover's Set


Pockets
Book pockets and insert cards (one for each book)
Rubber stamps
Embossing powder and inks
Watercolors
Tape writer and tape
Beads
Yarn
Double-sided adhesive tape

Magnetic bookmarks
Card stock
Paper embellishments
Micromagnets
Adhesive

Directions: To make the pockets, work on a flat open surface. Before you begin to decorate the book pocket, think about the theme of the book, so you can make a card to match. Use the stamps, embossing powder, watercolor paints, beads and anything else that inspires you. Do the same for the card insert, but make sure to list the name of the book, and leave room for the name of the lender. Use the double-sided adhesive tape to affix the pocket to the inside of the book.

To make the magnetic bookmark, cut a piece of card stock measuring 2 inches square. Fold it in half and use a bone folder or other tool to make a sharp crease. Embellish the outside of the card as desired. Use adhesive to apply a magnet to the bottom of each inner flap.

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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: crafty lit, paper

I'll admit this is not one of my favorite projects of all time. I've been a little stressed lately, and this project shows that! However, maybe there is something you can pick up from it. I like the concept, I just don't think I executed it the way I first sketched it out. This is colored tin that I cut into flames, underneath, I used yellow glass paint. This would be a cool idea to do on a bedroom mirror or window!

HERE ARE THE PRINTABLE DIRECTIONS

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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: lights