More Bday Monsters

Apr, 15 2009
By juana
cakes
7 comments

It’s a tradition at the house to have a Very Special Cake for each of the boys’ birthdays ever since their very first bd. Even if we had no Party at all and only sang ‘Happy BD’ the special cake couldn’t be missed.

So… here are the sketches, illos and pics for the BD Party # 5 of my oldest. BD was last February and since then have had no time to post. Until now.

As I always do, I started designing the characters for the invitation. Then I laid out the card and continued with the design of cake. Christy from Vanlatte Custom Cakes in Mesa helped me again.

PLUG – If you ever need a baker that absolutely rocks in the Valley, you have to call her. She also helped me sculpting the cake # 3 for my youngest that I posted a year or so back.

Toys, toys, toys

Apr, 11 2009
By juana
random thoughts
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I’ve collected toys since I was a little girl. Here are some that live around my studio. Some came with me all the way from Peru. Some I got from my trips. Some I stole from my boys. *nodding*

Vintage doll from a swap meat in Sienna, Italia. El Subcomandante Marcos y La Ramona riding on a horse. I fell in love with this dolls in Chiapas. You can find the story behind Marcos and La Ramona here. Extremely interesting. Some vintage children’s books, some new.

All Italian imports. Tin box from Rome. Riding lady bug from Assisi, Italia. The illustration behind done in 30 minutes in a collage experiment two weeks before leaving for the Boot.

My most precious toy. Japanese bought in Lima. The one Christmas present that I got to pick. I was 12. The strawberry opens up and is a little RV with kitchen, bathroom, bunk beds, living area. Whomever designed it is a genius!

Dia de los Muertos find from… Target. Huaco from Peru. Crow etching from a Hispanic artist from the Central CA area. Awesome guy. Books from Mexico and Peru. Book ‘Los Independientes’ published some of my grandfather’s pieces.

Mousey that my maternal grandmother got me when I was 2. Habba toy, the first toy of my first son. I kept it :P The little bike I can’t remember where or how I got but it takes me everywhere.

‘Diary of Friday Kahlo,’ I got that book in my first trip to NY on 1996. A-a-a-a-a-h. Huaco from Peru. Rag dolls show a birth – absolutely gorgeous. Yo-yo from Barcelona.

Mafalda is my absolute favorite comic strip. I have them all. I got the wooden suitcase from my mom’s dad. I wrapped it with newspaper comic strips from Mafalda. Inside I keep all of my pictures from Peru – since I was born. I keep it closed so I don’t get wistful.

My closet had to have some toys, too. Those were also my boys’ but I stole them. They are European but can’t remember from where exactly. Grandma got them for them… or me.

My Comicons to show my love for design and minimalism. Awesome Design. The guy on the left has two heads, one on each end. The other side is demonic :)

The 3D versions of my illos for the bday cakes. I will continue collecting them from now on.

Llama is a puppet. The first toy I got for my son… 4 years before meeting his dad. Yeti was a Xstmas present from my baby bro. All handmade the old-fashioned way. Sheep – the very FIRST toy I got in this country. It was $20 and boy I needed that money for food at that time. No regrets. The sheep uses her own wool to knit her blankie. Mmmm…

Mousey’s corner in one of my bookshelves.

My loved Apron. My daddy got it for me in Colca, Arequipa in Peru. I use it everyday I do mixed media or oils. Habba toy. It lived above my son’s crib until I took it. Aren’t Germans amazing designers? Habba IS my favorite toy company. If you haven’t heard from them, look them up. They have toys, furniture and so much more. INCREDIBLE design!

Feliz Cumpleanhos, Baby – From Illo to Fondant

Sep, 27 2008
By juana
cakes
7 comments

Check out what this girl does for us. I send the sketches and illustrations and she makes them in fondant. She’s an artist!

- Color illustration below