Guatemalan Paper Dolls!

I found a really cute activity book and bought one for Azucena (for when she's older) . I also purchased eight more for sale here, if any of you want to purchase one. It includes two paper dolls (boy and girl) each with four different indigenous outfits, as well as a variety of activities like coloring, drawing, puzzles, and weaving (the paper for the weaving activity is perforated, as it is for the paper dolls and clothes). The book is in Spanish, but several of the things are self-explanatory. Cover says 9-11 years, although I think it could be for kids younger than that.

UPDATE 10/08: I sent these back to the States with my husband, so if you are interested in these books, I can ship them in late December when we return to the US for good.

Some pictures:



$12 plus $1.50 shipping. If you're interested, please leave me a comment with an email address!

New Items

I've posted several new things in my Etsy shop. The first is a 11X15 watercolor with a fabric Quetzal sewn onto the paper. The second is an 8X10 piece of huipil circles sewn onto fleece. The third is a set of three huipil magnets.

Temporary Blanket

Reader M sent in this really cute picture of her little girl using her name piece as a blanket. It's going to be framed soon, though!

Check Out the Links!

I was featured on Cuteable today!

I also wrote my first article for Rayela's Fiber Focus blog. This one is an introductory post explaining how I got started making things from the Guatemalan textiles, but I plan to write others about the artisans who make the textiles in the first place. If you're interested in international textiles, check out her posts - There's a wide variety of topics from many cultures.

Items from the Last Week

I've been keeping busy with the sewing this week!

Red Lion (L) and Muted stripes mini-carpet (R - sold)

Flores on Blue (L) and Felipe, made from a Santa Catarina Palopo huipil (R)

Available in my Etsy shop!

Featured on Craft Gossip

I was excited to find that I'd been featured on Craft Gossip!

Check out their post about my huipil crafts, and then take a look around at the other recycled crafts. Lots of creative stuff!

A Muppet Haircut

Huipiles from Todos Santos feature very fine work. The designs are small and geometric with many different colors, often dark with pops of hot pink like those seen in places like San Juan Atitan and Santa Catarina Palopo. The collars are adorned with rick-rack.

I found some Todos Santos scraps last week and was amazed at how much yarn was on the back - It was like a thick layer of fur and must have made the huipil so hot to wear! Apparently the women often cut off the excess, but in this case it was still there. I cut it all off so I could use the fabric (the front!) for crafts.

The backs before their trim... and the pile of excess afterwards. Tell me that last picture doesn't look like a muppet just had a haircut! :)

More Cool Collars

This is one of my favorites: a collar I found last week on a huipil from Comalapa. Look at all the animals!

Here's another cute one:

My First Etsy Sale!

I want to announce a new option for buying huipil crafts: I opened a shop on etsy two weeks ago and had my first sale this afternoon! Please take a look around and let me know your thoughts!

http://lachapina.etsy.com/

To celebrate: If you refer a friend to my Etsy shop or to this blog, and they make a purchase between now and 6/1, have them tell me your name. I will give you $10 off your next order!

San Lucas Toliman Huipil

I really like the huipiles from San Lucas Toliman, too. The designs are so small and tight and feature abstract shapes in addition to animals. I bought this huipil used at the mercado in Chichicastenango several months ago.

Purple Collage

I hand-sewed this collage of huipiles from places like Quetzaltenango, Nahuala, and Tactic. The backing is fleece. One of my favorite things about huipil designs is the use of animals, and this one includes two deer and a bat. I love the bat! The pink flower in the upper left is appliqued over the purple piece, so it adds a bit of texture.

For this piece I chose huipiles with purple, hot pink, and various shades of green.

The design is 8" X 10" and the border is approx. 1.5 cm.

$53 plus $2 shipping. Please leave a comment with your email address if interested.

Order Info

John mailed half of the packages today and will mail the other half tomorrow, so be on the lookout for your items! Remember that name pieces may arrive a bit wrinkled from transit and you can safely use a warm iron to get them ready to frame.

Orders placed in the next couple weeks will be mailed the week of 6/11!

Santiago Atitlan Huipil

Santiago Atitlan has some of the most intricately hand-embroidered huipiles in Guatemala. They are frequently covered in birds of many different designs and colors. I bought this used huipil when I visted Santiago Atitlan with my husband and parents.

More Cards

There are three family birthdays coming up, so I decided to make some greeting cards. From left to right, the huipiles used are from Nahuala, San Juan Atitan, and Nebaj. Nebaj (along with nearby Chajul, which is similar) is one of my favorites in terms of design. I was happy to find a pretty significantly worn Nebaj huipil yesterday because it was a good price and there are plenty of good, useable bits on it.

New Mosaic

I made another mosaic yesterday. I find these quite relaxing to make, as long as I'm in not in a hurry! The design is 8X10" and is on 9X12 thick watercolor paper.

Cut-Outs

I made these three pieces yesterday and today. The huipiles, fajas (belts), and "accessories" are made from huipil fabric; the cortes (skirts) are from corte fabric; and the bodies are felt. All the pieces are fabric glued onto 8X10" thick watercolor paper.

The woman on the left has a tinaja (jug) and wears a yagual (piece of fabric rolled and folded into a ring) so that she can carry the jug on her head as she walks. The middle woman wears a perraje (fabric sling) with her baby on her back. The woman on the right has a canasta con manzanas (basket with apples).

I like the way all three look together, and for anyone interested, I will make a set of three (if still available, you can purchase this set; if not I will make one similar in style) for $49. Separately, these pieces are $18 each, and you can specify which "accessories" you want. Every piece will be unique!

These will look great placed in colorful mats and then framed :)

Update: Sold.

Just a Few More Days

My husband is going back to the US at the beginning of next week and will be shipping orders from there. If you want to order anything, please let me know by this Saturday so I can have a few days to make it and send it off with him.

I've also put together four more scrap samplers for sale.

Win $5 Off!

$5 off your next purchase, to the first person who can name the words for:

1. the skirt worn with a huipil
2. the belt worn with a huipil and skirt (for women) or pants (men)

Answers can be found within this blog!

Update: In Due Time got it right! The skirt is a corte and the belt is a faja.

Love This Collar

This collar is on a huipil from Quetzaltenango. I like collars with people on them because of the little details of their clothing. I also find it curious that the people are usually made of pink thread, when Guatemalan people are not pink.

Flores

The flowers and swirls on this pieces are cut from huipil scraps and hand-sewn onto fleece using metallic blue thread. The design is about 8" X 10" and there are several inches of fleece around it. It's a cheerful piece that would look great in a mat and frame!

$40 plus $2 shipping. SOLD

Pillow and Magnet Set

I've been doing a little experimenting, and over the past few days I've made a pillow and set of magnets.

The largest of the magnets is about 3 1/4" X 2 1/4". Materials are huipil fabric, fleece, embroidery thread, and magnets (attached with super glue). If you interested, the set of four is $14 plus $1 shipping. SOLD

The throw pillow I made is about 8" X 10". Materials are hot pink and light purple fleece, huipil fabric, embroidery thread, and polyfill. The design is kind of "planetary." It's $25 plus $2 shipping.