Peg Princess

I've seen so many cute peg dolls on Etsy, that I thought I'd try my hand making one with a Guatemalan twist. So I painted "Silvia's" face, hair, and bottom but used huipil fabric for her dress and added some crystals to form a flower in her hair.  The other Guatemalan aspects of this piece are the little ceramic butterfly charm behind her, and the embroidered ribbon I placed around the box. I think she came out really cute :)  so I'm going to experiment with a few more.

Kitschy Souvenir

I just got back from a two-week visit with my family and found something fitting the theme of Latin American crafts. Here's one of the items from my dad's "tacky souvenir collection", and it's from Costa del Sol. The women's clothing on the postcard features embroidered blouses and fabric skirts embellished with lace. What's Spanish for "kitschy"?

Huipil Collar Mirrors

Believe it or not, mirrors like these are the very first idea I had for the huipil collars, but I'm only now starting on them. The wood circles and 7" mirrors were things I couldn't seem to find in Antigua.

I've made two mirrors so far, using collars that I've been hanging on to for more than a year. A lot of the thick collars like these are cut from huipiles made in the town of Almolonga. I like how they're turning out... The collars are so vivid, they're just screaming to be used in craft projects!

This post featured on Fiber Arts Friday!

Craft Room Progress Part 2

About two weeks ago, I posted some progress pics of my newly-created craft room. Since then, my husband has put up two shelves spanning the length of one wall and installed closet doors, and I rearranged the room. I've still got several things to do before I'll consider it done, but it's very functional now. I put things in baskets and storage containers (which I already had) that used to be in plastic bags.

Still to go:

• Fill the nail holes and paint the window trim (we replaced the window in that room and haven't done the finishing details yet).
  
• Find or make window treatments.
• Get closet shelving (so that I can get the boxes out of the corner and organize shipping materials in the closet). My parents are giving me the wire shelving they took out of one of their closets.
  
• Put up a cork board so I can neatly display inspiration pictures and info I need readily accessible.
  
• Buy folders for storing receipts, etc.
  

"Last Chance" Items

I stocked up on lots and lots of beads and prints before I left Guatemala. Still, there are some designs for which I now only have one set or print remaining. So if there are items from my shop you've had your eye on, check out the "last chance" items and make sure you don't miss them :)

Just click here! At the time of this posting, I've got 10 items with the keyword "last".

Casa de Tesoros Guatemaltecos

I lost track of just how many hours I put into this piece! But I had a great time making it. I painted and varnished it before gluing pieces of huipil fabric (different huipil for every cubbyhole) in and attaching the tiny treasures. Some of these fun ceramic beads, I sell in my Etsy shop, but many I do not, preferring to save them for special projects like these. Some of my favorites here? The little woven basket, the mermaid wearing a Guatemalan blouse, and the tiny car!

First Bead Show

I went to my first bead show over the weekend, with two of my good friends. I like to find interesting and colorful beads to use with the cute ceramic Guatemalan beads/charms when I make jewelry for my shop. We went on the second day of the show, so there were good bargain bins in several of the booths. Digging through those areas was the most fun part for me! I got good deals on crystals in several colors, as well as some semi-precious stones like garnet and orange agate. My favorite buys were the colorful Czech glass in the "Picasso" finish... Really beautiful. I did see some lampwork cupcake beads that I adored (had seen similar ones on Etsy before, too), but I couldn't justify buying things for myself (as opposed to shop supplies) right now.

I look forward to the next show!

New Huipil Name Piece

I completed this custom order a few days ago - This has the flat adornment instead of worry dolls so it can be placed in a standard glass-covered frame. Some of the huipiles used in this piece are from Quetzaltenango, Almolonga, Coban/Tactic, and Tecpan.

Craft Room Progress

Now that we're back in the US, one of my first projects is setting up a room for crafting and shipping. The room was full of toys, tools, and other things that didn't have another place... and when we returned home last week, I added piles upon piles of textiles, bead containers, and other items to the mess! So it feels good to be organizing.

So far I've cleared everything out of the room, washed the floor, stacked all of the intact (and almost intact) huipiles on shelves, and begun to organize beads. I have a long way to go til it's done, but I now have our old dining room table in there (need to add the leaf) as a workspace, and I'm making use of a lot of the storage that I'd been using for my daughter's baby clothes.

The problem is, now I've got tons of other household stuff to sort through: either to find a new space for or to give away! For now it's clogging up our hallway :)

Before:


After about three hours of work:


After about six hours of work:


Stay Tuned!

We Are Back in the US!

After nearly two years in Guatemala, our family of three is back in the United States! We just arrived last night.

As for the future of La Chapina Crafts? Don't worry, I accumulated a LOT of textiles, beads, and other craft supplies and brought them all with me! We hardly brought any of our own clothing, household items, or books home... All the suitcases were packed full of items for crafting! (And we were verrry lucky that the guy at the counter let some of our bags through without charging us for the extra pounds!)

In the coming weeks I'll be adding a lot of new items, like beads, Claudia Tremblay prints, and huipiles I've never had in the shop before. Stay tuned :)

Shalom

I just finished this custom piece, which I made by hand sewing a used huipil collar and letters (which I also cut from used huipiles) onto fleece. I hadn't done any "wall art" recently, having been kind of focused on Christmas ornaments, nativities, and ceramic bead/charm jewelry in recent months. But it's nice to make a variety of things, and I've stashed away lots of collars for use in projects like these!

Featured On "Our Great Green Globe"

Check it out here :)