My Babies

I began this brand new 2011 by giving my cactus and succulent collection lots of love and affection :) If they're healthy & happy they provide me with endless inspiration.

Good Bye 2010

You were a pretty good one! And for that I am thankful :)

1. Lola's cover, 2. Pocket Planner Giveaway, 3. Wrapped, 4. New Flock, 5. Friends...finished!, 6. Window decals, 7. "Home is where the heart is", 8. Wall bird done!, 9. Autumn, 10. Plumeria, 11. Bird with potted flower, 12. Butterfly stone, 13. At dusk..., 14. Friends, 15. Desk with view, 16. Studio sneak peek, 17. Seaweed Prints, 18. Dogwood finished, 19. Iron-on Elephant, 20. 20 cent Bird, 21. New pages for June, 22. Corals, 23. Around the World, 24. Blue, 25. June page, 26. Un-pinked :), 27. Elephant, 28. Jubal's Kin CD design, 29. Vermillion Flycatcher, 30. Stamped Doily, 31. Embroidered Tea Towel, 32. Faux Specimen Display, 33. Jared Treasures, 34. The best mail day!, 35. Birdies on my mind & on my shelf., 36. New Journal for 2010

Happy New Year!

Big hug to each and every one of you!

Earlier Today

Music: "Cycling Trivialities" by José González

Meet Lola!

Lola is my beautiful new Singer sewing machine I got from Santa this Christmas!
I named her Lola because it's what I would've named a daughter if I had one ;)
My other machine died (R.I.P.) from a fall a few months ago.
She's the one on my blog banner.
The machine cover I had made for it didn't fit Lola so I'm making her a new one :)
I dyed a yard or so of natural canvas into a military green color that I love
mixing olive green, black & a little bit of brown store bought fabric dye.
I cut patchwork birds out of 100% wool felt and attached them by hand
using blanket stitch and a few french knots
with my favorite stash of vintage crewel wool I bought a few years ago
from my dear friend Carlene's Etsy Shop.
I might turn the old cover into a new pillow. I'm so happy to be sewing again :)

Feliz Navidad!

Luke 2:10-14 King James Version
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

We went for a tiny live tree this year :)
Merry Christmas from Manolo, Israel, Daniel, Turbo and me!
Thank you so much for your continued support of my work and this blog.
You guys make blogging a real joy for me!

Whoooo?

Whoooo got so excited to see the spectacular lunar eclipse
that she forgot to take out the camera & snap some cool pics at 1:45 am?
um... that would be me. Sorry!
Watercolor and acrylic in on Fabriano paper. 6" x 8"

La Luna

Will you be watching the lunar eclipse tonight?
La Luna was quite a show this afternoon when the sun was setting.
It promises to be a spectacular event. Wouldn't miss it for anything!

Sunset at La Casa Azul

Taken earlier this afternoon after a nice walk with Manolo and Turbo.

Pocket Planner Giveaway Winners!!!

From over 1000 participants!!! Congratulations!!!
Dorothy from North Carolina at O My Soap!
Fimo & Arames from Portugal.
Christine from France at Anecdotes
Thank you so much for playing along & for all the nice comments!
Each one of them was like an early Christmas gift for me :)

The cozy chipmunk was made for this special occasion
with watercolors & acrylic ink on paper.

Giveaway & 5th Bloggiversary!

♥ Thank you so much for all your lovely comments about this new project ♥
An hour after I had posted about the new planner my own copies arrived at my door! So I'm happy to tell you we'll have a giveaway today!!!
They're really beautiful in person! I'm over the moon happy :)

I inquired more information about international shipping and here's the deal:

- You can order the "Avian Friends Pocket Planner" (that's what it's called officially) directly from Galison by email at: sales@galison.com

- It will NOT be available through Amazon.com because the barcode is not featured on the outside...bummer! But the range of gift cards, magnetic pad, and thank you notes will be available through Amazon.com soon.

- I will have signed copies available at my shop when I re-open in 2011...yay!!!

But now let's move on to the giveaway!
***Please leave a comment in this post with your contact info.
I will choose a random name tomorrow night
and will announce the winner Saturday morning!
Have fun!

Oh! and I almost forgot! One of my most loyal readers and friend Pablo Acosta reminded me that it's my blog's 5th birthday today!!!
Gracias por recordármelo Pablo!
+++++Whoa!!! 1018 comments!!!+++++
Thank you SO much for all your lovely greetings :)
I will be giving away three Pocket Planners tomorrow instead of just one!
Comments are now closed. I will announce the winners tomorrow at noon.
You guys are the best!

Pretty Pocket Planner!

New Pocket Planner from Galison!
With my birdies and my own handwritting :)
This is the project I've been dying to tell you about for the past year...
It's a brand new project collaboration with Galison that I'm really thrilled about!
It will be available from Amazon soon for everyone outside the US!
This planner is fresh off the presses, as soon as I receive my own copies
I will have a giveaway for a chance to win one signed by me :)
Stay tuned!

From the Galison website:
Cute little birds illustrated by Geninne D. Zlatkis will keep you organized all year long--from winters in the south through summers in the tundra and all along the migration back!

Galison's Avian Friends pocket planner's interior pages have collage-like illustrations of birds combined with butterflies, vintage post cards, and ticket stubs on the interior pages. Quotations about birds are interspersed, and the message the birds are tweeting--in the old-fashioned way--is "write everyday".

Here's a great gift: a charming organizer that doesn't require an Internet connection or a battery! A Galison pocket planner is handy at the desk, on the go, or even in your laptop bag.

● Monthly and weekly layout pages
● Undated: fill in dates as you use it
● 192 pages including checklists, contacts, notes, etc.
● Measures 4-1/2 x 5-3/4" with pink elastic closure
● Gusseted pocket for cards and miscellany
● ISBN 9780735330726

Bird Ornament Tutorial

1- You can use oven baking polymer clay or DAS air drying clay to make the birdie. I used a little bit of FIMO clay I had left over from another project.

2-Knead the clay until it's soft and malleable.

3-Shape the clay into a round ball.

4-Turn the ball into a drop shape.

5- With the tips of your fingers pinch the chunky part of the drop
until you form the head of the bird.

6-Pinch the head of the birdie to form a beak
and flatten the pointy tip to make the tail.

7- Poke a hole through the back of the bird straight down until you see the tip of the toothpick in the bottom. This is where you'll thread the bird to hang as an ornament.

8- Poke the hole from the bottom with the toothpick to make a clean orifice.

9-Bake according to directions in the package or air dry if you used DAS.

10- The birdie is now ready to be painted! Use the toothpick to hold the bird while you paint it with acrylics.

11-Decorate the wings of the bird with snowflakes if you want a winter theme.
I used a piece of foam board to hold the bird in place and make it easier to paint.

12-Finish off all the details like the beak and the eyes and thread it with the string of your choice. I added a little wood felted bead I had laying around, but you can also use buttons or any kind of beads.

Now go and hang that cute birdie on your tree! :)

Fun Wall

A little collection of curiosities in the studio wall.

Quiet Sunday

It's such a nice & quiet Sunday here at home.
We have two new birdies living with us, aren't they adorable!
They're vintage spun cotton & real feathers.
Got them from Kim's beautiful shop Trampoline.

I recently changed the books on the shelf above the couch. Turbo approves :)

This cute Kingbird came to visit just outside our kitchen window this morning
with a very important message for everyone:
"Before you buy any gifts for Christmas this year I beg you to read this, this and this"

Christmas is Coming!

I pulled these old images from my archives to get inspired for this Christmas season.
I hope they'll inspire you too!
The last photo is of the gingerbread cookies Daniel and I baked yesterday,
the whole house smells like Christmas now :)