Inspiration in little packages.

Late October and I've written and saved so many drafts of blog posts but haven't actually posted any of them. Whoops!

This is just going to be a short one to get the momentum going again:

About 6 weeks ago I posted about Scarlett and the bday dress I made her. Well, I found a photo of her from her birthday party and thought I'd post it:



There's Scarlett, face covered in blue cupcake frosting, wearing the dress I made especially for her! How can you not smile after looking at this photo?

I wish people would send me more customer appreciation photos, they really make my year! I love seeing babies and toddlers in the clothing I create for them!

In other crafty news? I 'hearted' this item a while ago but found the shipping to be quite ridiculously expensive (it turns out the shipper uses Fed Ex) so I never bought it. I was going to go to the lumber yard and try to create my own.



My mother signed onto Etsy.com to look at my items and unknowingly came across the items in my favorites. She thought she was just browsing items on Etsy, not solely items I'd liked enough to 'heart'. She found the item I'd been fawning over and purchased it for me as a gift! Without even knowing that she was shopping things I'd chosen as things I like!



So I put it up and realized I need to purchase more thread. But look at how organized it is currently! I used to keep all my thread in two large jars from Ikea and inevitably always needed the color all the way at the bottom. This is SO MUCH EASIER!

Okay, time to get some sewing done!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Vejigantes (Inspiration Part II)

I don't know if I've mentioned this before...I was named after the "Taino" indians of Puerto Rico. They were a pre-Columbian tribe killed off by slavery and disease once the Spanish came. All that's left is the cave carvings and stone artifacts.

My mother is Puerto Rican, my father is Caucasian. I think my being drawn to the bright and bold prints in the fabric I choose is probably influenced by my month-long stay in Puerto Rico in 1996. Twelve years ago, and I can still envision the crystal turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the neon fish, the boldly painted houses...

I have been thinking about my Puerto Rican family a lot lately. Starting with attending the Puerto Rican Parade here in NYC earlier this month. My great aunt on my mother's side "Tia Fina" passed away last week.

As I've been battling anxiety and depression for months now, I cannot get the image of the vejigantes from the parade out of my mind.



A vejigante (pronounced "bay-hee-gahn-teh") is a horned character meant to scare away evil spirits.

And I want to paint them! I've been wanting to paint a series of vejigantes for a month now.

I have another etsy username: MiVidaLoca.etsy.com that I took in case I wanted to do only hispanic-themed items. I never set up shop, but it's there in case I want to set it up. Mi Vida Loca means "My Crazy Life". Which I think is perfect if I am making vejigantes to ward off evil spirits (like depression and anxiety).

My mom makes these great little mask pins and I've been dying to get her to make some for Etsy. I wonder if she'd be interested in this idea.

I wonder if anyone would want a vejigante pin, painting or fridge magnet. hrmmm... I looked them up and didn't find anything already on Etsy. If I can make a pillow today and post it, then I will reward myself by going to the store and buying canvas and some paints.

Love Always,
--Taina

Inspiration, Part I

I called out of work today. Sick. Truthfully? I STILL have a migraine, a day later. Behind my eyes. Yesterday was pretty miserable. I sat in front of my sewing machine and didn't do ANYTHING. So frustrating. I was just afraid I'd start sewing and make a huge mess.

Today my vision is almost completely back and the pain is subsiding, but I just needed another day to relax. My workplace is NOT fun when I'm not feeling 100%. I also got everything done on Thursday that I needed to do today, so I'm not feeling too guilty about not being there today.

PaperMenagerie wrote about her inspiration in her blog today. She's got some incredible cards that I've been eyeing for quite some time. I'm not sure if my Etsy penpal reads this, so I can't tell you which ones I plan to buy until after I've sent them. PaperMenagerie's blog on Inspiration has prompted me to do the same.

I wear mostly black clothing, I'm a New Yorker, as much as I hate stereotypes, my extended family jokes that they know when the New Yorkers have arrived at the family reunion because we're like a dark cloud. I have always liked colorful accents. Today? I have turquoise glass earrings on. They're about 2-2.5" long. I should have taken a photo of them. Sorry! I also have an amethyst bracelet and a red jade bracelet that never come off. No, my accents rarely match.

When I was at SVA getting my degree in illustration, I became known for my "weird sense of color." I guess it's not normal to see different colors in an orange bag or a cherry woodgrain, I always thought it was. It was a good thing, my peers and my instructors thought it was great (and probably a little cooky).

I haven't done anything with my BFA, I actually want to go back to school but for childhood education. I occasionally pull out my soft pastels and do a portrait. The last one was of Lady Day:



It was from a black and white photo.

I love putting colors where they normally wouldn't be. I think that's why I get so excited by a bright blue or hot pink fabric on the inside of a makeup bag. It really is a thrill everytime I open a bag up.

A great example is the pink bird coin purse I made a couple days ago. It's one of my favorite fabrics to work with because it's got the bright red, the maroon and the hot pink, so it's fun to match the zipper, felt tips and lining up with the print.

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So I guess my inspiration comes partly from the rainbow. I have a solar-powered rainbow maker that is currently creating dozens of dancing rainbows along my walls, floor and ceiling. I bought it from MoMA:



*As usual, click photos for more info.

Stay tuned for the rest of my inspiration.

<3 Always,
--Taina