valentine's day flashback

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it! Make has posted a flashback (circa 2011!) project I designed for them. It's a matchbook card/wall art piece that includes easy to follow instructions and a downloadable PDF. Check it out here!

Typically I don't like revisiting old work but this is a rare project that I still like very much. Enjoy!

do you want to start your own paper goods business?

After a whirlwind holiday season, I feel like I can breathe and actually post something coherent. I hope you been enjoying the last few weeks of the year (I'm still kind of in denial that it's actually coming to an end!).

On December 12th I had the honor to be invited as a guest to one of Kari Chapin's Creative Live classes called Fast Start Your Paper Goods Business. If you follow me on any of my social media feeds you surely caught me waiving a flag about it that the days leading up to the presentation and the day of.

For those of you that don't know, Creative Live classes are free when they are streaming live and once the class is over you can purchase any one of them for reasonable fees plus added bonuses.

If you'd like to start a paper goods business and you're struggling as to where to start off (or you've already started and can use a bit of a refresher) I highly recommend Kari's class and books. Her teaching style is very friendly, approachable and she makes even the most daunting business tasks seem manageable and doable.

I've been a long-time fan of Kari's work and her contribution to the crafting community as a whole. I own her books and I still open them up to make reference to either the inspiring stories her featured artists offer or for her sound advice about one or another business-y things I'm not really good at. It was a real treat to finally meet her, talk to her and be a tiny part of her work.

I also have to add that answering many of Kari's questions made me finally put into words why I do what I do. The conclusion: I still love it, I still want to do it and I can't wait for 2015. New ideas are brewing!

Thank you so much Kari and thank you to those of you that reached out during and after the class. I appreciate all your kind words. They made my day. No. My month!

To learn more about Kari, visit her at the following links:
Website  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook

do you want to start your own paper goods business?

After a whirlwind holiday season, I feel like I can breathe and actually post something coherent. I hope you been enjoying the last few weeks of the year (I'm still kind of in denial that it's actually coming to an end!).

On December 12th I had the honor to be invited as a guest to one of Kari Chapin's Creative Live classes called Fast Start Your Paper Goods Business. If you follow me on any of my social media feeds you surely caught me waiving a flag about it that the days leading up to the presentation and the day of.

For those of you that don't know, Creative Live classes are free when they are streaming live and once the class is over you can purchase any one of them for reasonable fees plus added bonuses.

If you'd like to start a paper goods business and you're struggling as to where to start off (or you've already started and can use a bit of a refresher) I highly recommend Kari's class and books. Her teaching style is very friendly, approachable and she makes even the most daunting business tasks seem manageable and doable.

I've been a long-time fan of Kari's work and her contribution to the crafting community as a whole. I own her books and I still open them up to make reference to either the inspiring stories her featured artists offer or for her sound advice about one or another business-y things I'm not really good at. It was a real treat to finally meet her, talk to her and be a tiny part of her work.

I also have to add that answering many of Kari's questions made me finally put into words why I do what I do. The conclusion: I still love it, I still want to do it and I can't wait for 2015. New ideas are brewing!

Thank you so much Kari and thank you to those of you that reached out during and after the class. I appreciate all your kind words. They made my day. No. My month!

To learn more about Kari, visit her at the following links:
Website  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook

made in paper

I'm very happy to share that a couple of my projects can be found in the latest issue of Made in Paper! This is the 4th issue of the magazine and I think this is my favorite so far. It's full of a lot of paper goodness, inspiration and easy to make projects.

The Apple Newsstand iPad edition is available today (you can order and see a preview here). It's available in the UK starting today and in about 4 weeks it should be in the US at Borders, Booksamillion and JoAnn's.

Thank you to Made in Paper for letting me join in the fun!

made in paper

I'm very happy to share that a couple of my projects can be found in the latest issue of Made in Paper! This is the 4th issue of the magazine and I think this is my favorite so far. It's full of a lot of paper goodness, inspiration and easy to make projects.

The Apple Newsstand iPad edition is available today (you can order and see a preview here). It's available in the UK starting today and in about 4 weeks it should be in the US at Borders, Booksamillion and JoAnn's.

Thank you to Made in Paper for letting me join in the fun!

featured in made in paper magazine

I just received my copy of the new Made In Paper magazine—a sister magazine Mollie Makes and The Simple Things (both gorgeous UK publications)—and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's such an honor to be included in this first issue which is so full of fantastic projects and inspirational images.



My interview is one of several that include other artists that I admire greatly. I'm so humbled to be in such great company (no spoilers so you can see them for yourselves!).

The templates for several projects are included in the back in the issue including the templates for the pink flower I created for this issue (shown below).



The magazine will be available in the US at Jo-Ann's and Barnes & Noble and at some point in digital format in the Apple Newsstand.

Since I'm someone that notices these things, I also have to mention that I love that it's larger than standard magazine format (so great!) and it's printed on beautiful paper (feels like it's between a magazine and a book).



Look at just a few of the beautiful paper ideas that are shared in the magazine (top and bottom photos). Every single page of this issue has something fun to be inspired by. 

Thank you so much to the editors of Made in Paper for including me!

Follow Made in Paper at:
- Facebook
- Twitter

paper cutting: contemporary artists / timeless craft

I know... another book. But this is one that I'm totally gushing over. I just got my first look at Paper Cutting Book: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft and I'm so honored to be included. If you have any interest in this type of art you really should get this book. It's so, so beautiful and full of inspiring work. To see my pieces among the artists that I admire so much is beyond anything that I could have dreamed of just a few years ago. It's so humbling.

There are examples of work by Rob Ryan, Peter Callesen, Heather Moore, Zoe Bradley, Nikki McClure, Yulia Brodskaya, Su Blackwell, Elsa Mora, Matthew Sporzynski, just to name a few.

Here are a couple more spreads for you to get a feel for the book.

Heather Moore

Matthew Spozynski

• • •

Speaking of books... Thank you to those of you that shared all your wonderful ideas of future projects on Friday's book giveaway post. I hope you get a chance to work on them. If you need a nudge, maybe yesterday's tips will help you.

I have two winners: Billy and Anne. Congratulations!

Have a great day everyone!

simplicity

All plans for work went right out the window this week. The kids are out of school on spring break so I've been focusing on them. I have no idea what I was thinking when I thought I'd get so much done this week. All self-imposed deadlines were way off. However, I did launch into a two day massive spring house cleaning job. I've been attacking our belongings with brutal honesty—"do we really need this?"—nine times out of ten the answer is no. Goodwill and the public library received many goodies in great condition and this morning the rest went out the door in trash bags. Frankly, it is so liberating to watch all of it just go. I recommend it! It's like free therapy and once you get started it gets easier to just keep going. If you need a little push here's a great article about identifying clutter.

I found this quote and I think it sums up my thought process of this week very nicely...

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~William Morris

It's as simple as that.

• • •

I'll be back in earnest on Monday. In the meantime, if you'd like to explore other wonderful crafty blogs check out this list. It is such an honor to be included and in such great company. Thank you to Babble and to all of those of you that visit—and thank you for the kindest messages and emails I've received in the past month or so (you know who you are! :)) I cherish every word.

I must go now because the Houston zoo awaits and my very patient children are eager and ready to go. Have a wonderful week everyone!

valentine's day matchbox card

If you're still looking for an idea for Valentine's Day check out my new project on Craft . It's not as difficult as it looks and you'll get some good practice with simple paper cutting.

This photo is a just a little teaser. But there is a little more than meets the eye. I'm fond of this project because it has several of the elements that I like to use:

- Using paper in 3D form
- Multi-layered work
- Trees. Of course!
- Multi-functional
- Can be customized (you'll see! - it's tiny)

There will be more of these soon and they will be available in SVG format in the shop.

Head on over to Craft to see the whole project, so you can make one yourself—and let me know what you think!

• • •

Welcome to those of you that are visiting from Craft or Lifehacker (memo holder feature)! If you'd like to see other DIY ideas please use the menu at the top above my blog banner.

It feels like it's going to be a very productive week. Happy Monday!

your million dollar dream

I am my own worst critic. I always feel like there is so much more I could be doing and ways in which I can improve. The funny thing is that just as I'm beating myself about one thing or another I have outside input that sets me straight. I am reminded of the fact that I am accomplishing a lot and that even though I still have a lot to learn I should feel free to pat myself on the back.

A few days ago I received an email that informed me that my blog was mentioned in a new book by Tamara Monosoff called, Your Million Dollar Dream: Regain Control & Be Your Own Boss, Create a Winning Business Plan, Turn Your Passion into Profit. My blog was on a list of five that she recommends. To say that I was surprised and flattered is a huge understatement. I purchased the book and sure enough there I am on page 163. Thank you so much to Ms. Monosoff for the mention and kind words.

I'm already half-way through the book and I keep wishing that I'd had something like this when I was starting my business years ago. It's a very easy read and although some chapters aren't quite relevant to my situation since I'm already established in those particular areas, I am finding the tips on marketing very helpful. The reminder about focusing on my goals and pressing forward in a determined fashion has also been good. I've enjoyed the stories she shares of other entrepreneurs and their experiences because they're so inspirational. I think this would be a great book for someone that is just starting out, specially since it's written from the perspective of our current global economy.

So... from where I stand today I think a little pat on the back is in order, right?

Give yourself one or several too. We all deserve it!

christmas traditions

Stephanie Levy was so kind to invite me to participate in her artist advent calendar. She has posts from artists around the world and they are sharing their Christmas traditions. She just posted my feature today—here. Take a minute to read all the other posts—they're all so interesting and different from one another. Thank you so much Stephanie!



I had to send her some old photos because we are still in the process of putting our Christmassy act together around here. We completed our pesebre as you can see above and now we need to tackle our tree.

Cutting it all a bit close but we're getting there.

drip dot swirl

I love great mail days. Today, I was giddy to get my copy of Drip.Dot.Swirl. by Von Glitschka. He is an illustrative designer that I admire very much. His talent is only equaled by his generosity and humor. The book is a must-have resource of 94+ diverse patterns that just seem to just pop off the pages. I can imagine using them in so many ways. I am guilty of not having Von's first book, Crumble.Crackle.Burn, but that will be corrected as soon as I head over and order it. I don't know what has taken me so long. He's working on his third book now and I'm sure it will be another must-have.

Drip.Dot.Swirl. includes examples of how the patterns where applied by ten designers and illustrators. I am flattered beyond belief that Von invited me to be part of the group and that I was able to add my small contribution. I took some pictures of a couple of spreads but they don't do the book justice. So, I'll just show you some old images that I believe I've posted before.

For more information regarding this book visit Vonster Books.

• • •

I've been a little MIA because we've been busy with the kids and I've been working on projects I can't show you just yet. It's so hard to keep quiet! I'll share when the time is right. Promise.

Admittedly, I've also been away from the Internet because of mental overload. Sometimes I just need to get away from it all—like I need to hit the reset button. I find that this creeps up when I'm concentrating on new work. I feel the need to simply absorb my own avenues of inspiration, be that through my sketches, my photographs or my surroundings. Do any of you go through this?

Tomorrow we're headed out on a short road trip to see how they make ice cream at Blue Bell. I hope it helps us put up with this insane heat. I can't even imagine what July and August are going to be like.

hgtv - that's clever

Today I found a DVD that hadn't seen the light of day in a long time. It's the one were we recorded my 2006 HGTV That's Clever appearance. It's so interesting to see how far my work has come.

The day before taping I had a severe case of laryngitis. I never loose my voice. Never. Not even after screaming my head off at some sporting event or concert (back in the day). But of course 24 hours before taping the show I had absolutely no sound coming out of my throat. Talk about panicking. Somehow, the morning the film crew was going to show up at the house, I got most of my voice back. Like my D said today, I still did sound 'weird but ok'.

The whole process took about 5 hours of continuous work. Most of the retakes occurred because I was laughing so hard about the cutesy lines they asked me to say. I felt completely out of my element and it was a long afternoon but it was a lot of fun. It felt like those tough experiences that you'd like to try again once you get past them.

Oh and our kitchen isn't that crazy yellow anymore. Yikes!

Patricia Zapata from Patricia Zapata on Vimeo.

everyone should take some days off

We got back from Cancun last night. Our two-hour flight back turned into a seven-hour ordeal with refueling in a different city. The bad weather here, kept our plane away for hours. Aside from that the trip was wonderful. We ate like kings, enjoyed every minute of the pampering and my brother married his lovely bride.



The wedding took place in this Catholic chapel right next to the beach.



Little C, while we all waited for the bride.



Married! They looked so happy and in love.



The day after - Bride, groom and friends (including Mr Z) playing a little beach volleyball.



I don't remember a time where I've eaten so much food or felt so spoiled. The hotel staff was extremely friendly. More importantly it was great having the whole family there.

The only time reality hit was when the best man told us about a message he got from a friend regarding the whole virus problem. We hadn't watched any TV so we had no idea what was going on. We were staying at a resort that is further south from Cancun and pretty isolated from the activities in the city. At this point none of us are sick. We certainly hope it stays that way.

Now it's back to the grind. The good news is that I feel like we were gone for two weeks instead of only 5 days.

• • •

Thank you so much to everyone that mentioned one or several of my projects during Earth Week. Thank you to Craft, Modish, The Crafty Crow, Scoutie Girl, Paper Shop Ink, All Things Paper, Folding Trees and of all places Discovery. Wow. I didn't realize the list would be so long until just now. If I forgot anyone I apologize. Thank you. Thank you.

when life gives you lemons

You cuddle, play Chutes & Ladders, draw, cuddle some more, make castles and towers and watch Mary Poppins for the 1000th time (little C's favorite).



I've had my little C with me all week. We're both coughing like never before and her fever is sending us on roller coaster rides of snuggling blankie time and running around play time. It hasn't been too bad but needless to say I've been all Mom this week. My Twitter friends have received the mundane details of my whining and random thoughts.

In a strange way I find that my body gives in when it's time for some time away from work. I'm still working a bit at night but the slow pace is nice. Next week I'm hoping I'll be able to show off some new things I have in the works.

To share something paper related, here is a custom piece that I made a few weeks ago. How I wish we were able to enjoy a walk outside. Just to add some insult to injury, the weather out here has been perfect - cloudless and sunny.



Thank you Apartment Therapy for featuring my magazine bowl project on their blog yesterday!

collaboration is always best

For a while, I've been wanting something made by the kids that wasn't just framed artwork. Printing my designs on fabric gave me the idea of making a pair of cushions for our room with fabric designed by little C & D. I didn't have a plan yet but the thought was pestering me.

Yesterday, as we were headed to the grocery store, little C was drawing on a pad (she carries paper and a pencil everywhere we go—I wonder where she got that from). She kept lifting up the pad for me to look at her drawings. Even if I'm driving I must look or else! This time she at least waited for a red light. It turns out she was drawing houses and the thought just clicked. I knew exactly what I wanted to do so I asked her to draw me 5 houses. I gave her no parameters. Just give me 5 houses. She drew one per page and added a sun, a moon and some birds to some of them. She drew these on the fly (in three minutes tops) while in a moving car. I absolutely love the birds!



I'm still fiddling with it but this is close to the pattern that I will be getting printed for the first of my cushions (maybe even placemats? gifts for grandparents?). Now to play with color. I want to keep it really simple.

I can't wait to see what D comes up with. I don't want to show him this yet so he's just as spontaneous and doesn't plan anything. I'll ask him to do the same - draw 5 things. That's it.

Before I leave (house chores are calling my name) a big thank you to:
- Nichole who posted three of my templates on her blog! Here, here and here.

- To Sew, Mama, Sew for including my to-do list holder in their list of gifts for multi-taskers.

- To Whip Up for including my magazine bowl in their list of boxes and containers tutorials.

Things that caught my eye recently:
- I LOVE this
- There are calendar round-ups popping up everywhere but this one in particular is really good.

The kids will be home next week for the Thanksgiving break so I don't know if I'll be around here much. For now, I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

gifts in the mail

After making something or coming up with what I think is a great idea, I'm the type that wants to share it right away. My fingers itch to get on my keyboard and blog away. Not being able to mention projects just about kills me! That's why the unveiling is so sweet.



This is the artwork that I produced for the Nov/Dec cover of Wild magazine (distributed on Frontier Airlines flights). It's the first time that I have one of my paper illustrations on the cover of a magazine and I feel so happy about it—giddy happy—jump up and down happy. Ok, you get the picture.

The timing of this project was terrible. Remember the hurricane? Well the sketches and production were all completed during the aftermath. Yeah, real fun. The motivation to finish it, and finish it well, was what really kept me going.



Today was a great mail day. Not only did I get the Wild magazines but I also got the first draft of the layout of my entire book! It looks great and I wish I could show it to you (10 months to go for that). I'm so excited to see Home, Paper, Scissors coming to life!

Another great surprise to share today - The wonderful Nicole Lecht of FreshlyBlended included me in an article she posted on VenusZine yesterday. I'm very flattered by being in such great company. All the blogs she mentions on her list are some of my favorites too. Thank you Nicole!

My One Month of Projects is coming along. I'll reveal a little more about what I'm doing tomorrow.

By the way, those of you that think that I've forgotten about my Crafty Synergy blog please hang in there. I'm still waiting and my hands are tied. For those of you that don't know, Blogger has a block placed on it for over a week now. I've submitted the formal review form and still have had no success. I don't know what else to do and I'm very frustrated about that. I'll keep you posted.

thank you craft!

In less than a couple of days I've been on the Craft blog in one way or another here, here and here. I hope you don't get sick of seeing me!

Everyone I've ever been in touch with at Craft has always been extremely nice and I consider them instrumental in getting the word out about my work. I am very appreciative of everything. Thank you. Thank you!

Welcome to those of you that are visiting because of their posts!

more talk about patterns

I made a small mention of this last week but I think it deserves a post of its own. This is my piece that will be in Von Glitschka's second book, which includes a CD and 94 patterns. It's called Drip.Drop.Swirl and will be published in March of 2009. To say that I was very flattered to be included is a huge understatement. I've always admired Von's work and to be asked to participate in his book was awesome. He assigned about a dozen designers and illustrators a specific pattern each and we were to create a piece using it. I wanted to do go the three-dimensional route (surprise!) and this is what I came up with Click on the image to see it a bit larger and a side view is here.



The framed piece consists of three layers of white and dark blue paper and a linen background. Several tries and Xacto blades later, I finally figured out what to cut and what to keep. It was like putting a puzzle together. The single white sheet in the background is my idea of showing a simpler application of the same idea. These are relatively small (the framed piece is an 8" square) but bigger panels, using any pattern and different materials (wood, acrylic, aluminum), can be made to be used as room dividers or hung as decorative wall panels. Can you see it?

What I'm really dying to see is how everyone else applied or used their pattern. Can't wait.
Thanks so much Von!

patterns

We can get our own patterns on fabric. What about on shoes? I played around today and ended up with these kid's shoes. I'm not buying them, but Little C would love her favorite colors on her feet. You can make your own here. (via Vonster)

'
Speaking of patterns, the uber talented Von Glitschka has completed Drip.Dot.Swirl. - a book that includes 94 illustrative patterns. Several designers will be featured and I'm very flattered that I was asked to participate and will be included. I will have the piece partially seen here included in the book. I can't wait to add this to my library!