.: Denise Cortez :.'s blog

.: Happy Spring Days :.

I love these Happy Spring Days :), the sun, the weather and the long days, perfect to try new crafts or work without having to turn on every light I have in the studio.

I've been working as always, I forgot to write an Easter Post, so Happy Easter! to all of you, I hope your dinner was a yummy as mine, we ate potato salad with ham, it was so good that they didn't let me take a picture, everyone was super hungry.

Green Apple Heart

Spring inspires everyone, I've been admiring wonderful photos on flickr, other thing to get all exited about are the new fabric collections from my favorite designers :) can't wait to see them at stores even if it means that I have to drop a pile of cash $_$

You may notice the green cute above, I carved it with an eraser, I don't want to waste my carving blocks so I've been practicing, I carved a nice heart for detail, carving is very addictive, I haven't done it in the last 3 days and I am dying to make another stamp.

Just to Day Hello!

I like this photo very much except for the light that wasn't very clear and white as always, This is what I feel doing every time i go to the post office, drop a card and a crocheted circle with a pin to a special friend just to say hello and wish her a nice day :), I've been playing with crocheted laces and circles, I with show them as soon as I take some pictures .

Shinzi Katoh -Elephant Postcard-

I just had to share this wonderful - Shinzi Katoh - Postcard with you, My friend LiLi always sends me the cutest postcards, Thanks a Bunch another one for my collection, One day I hope to frame them, they make excellent pieces of zakka art.

- Hello Kitty Sweets -

I love this bunny, don't you? this is another sweet surprise I recently got in the mail, a kawaii bunny that came to say hello from Taiwan, Thanks Joyce! he brought me the sweetest Hello kitty candy in apple,peach,orange and other yummy fruits.

.: Helpful Birdies :.

And finally let me show you these cute birdies that Maartje sent me, the flu all the way from the Netherlands along with a cute Russian doll fabric and other crafty goodies, I have more photos of her prepackage in my flickr if you are curious :)
Thanks Maartje!

Well I need to work now, I hope to update soon, Is hard to keep up with my journal duties when there's so much to do.

I hope you have a nice day
Smile!

- My First Carving -

Hi!

The day is sunny and warm over here, it's a good thing because It's been quite cold and I was starting to fell a little sick, but the Spring sun brings a smile to my face and makes me feel better.

.: First Carving :.

Like I mentioned in my precious email I had lots of things to show you, one of  those things are my first handmade stamps!!! Yes I was brave enough to give it a try, thanks to my dear Friend LiLi that inspired me to try it after seeing her cute creations. And I came up with these a envelope mail stamp a spring leaf and a WIP mushie that I am going to show you later.

Spring Leaf - Stamp-

Not bad for my first try right? I am very satisfied with these and I have many more on the works right now, I also need to get the proper tools, carving blocks and ink pads because I carved these on erasers I had on my desk, is a really cool feeling and I want to try and make some with real carving rubber.

Passing to other goodies, I will continue to post all the swap parcels I've received over the past month :), I've been reading many emails asking for the photos and finally here are some of them, I hope you like them as much as I did.

Fabric Swap - Private-

These are the wonderful fabrics I got form my private swap with Jen ^_^, she's great and she sent me the cutest card :), Thanks Jen I really enjoyed our swap, can't wait to swap again!

Sew - Hello Kitty -

 ohh and How I wish this little Sewing Machine was real :), it would look great real size don't you think? I finally have this cute machine after a year of searching and asking for it everywhere, I made a Private swap with Shi form Brazil, they had it over there and she was kind enough to send me one along with the cutest HK candies and goodies.

Sweet Apple

Like for example this little Hello Kitty :) she's a cutie and that apple is so practical, I wish I had more for the craft studio to organize little things while working. Thanks for everything Shi ~ THANKS A BUNCH!
I added more pictures of the goodies she sent at my Flickr :)

Well It's late and I better get back to work, I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Pineapple Hello Kitty Says Bye Bye!

Happy St. Patrick's ^_^

Happy St. Patric's Day!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post, time goes fast and I thought I had to make some time to post because then it gets super hard to catch up again :), I also felt kinda guilty of not posting all the wonderful swaps I've been receiving in the past weeks :), so If you sent me something, don't worry I will post it soon.

The reason for my absence is simple, I had to concentrate on what I've been doing, It's very hard for me to focus on one thing lately, my attention span  is getting worse and worse in the lat years, so in order to try and finish what I've started I had to keep myself away from my emails,Journal and Flick, I must admit that is hard and I really miss you, but I had to to what I had to do and It's been working :)

- US Customs X_X -

Well like a mentioned earlier, Ive been getting the coolest parcels! sadly US customs tend to take a peek on my International swaps and they always mess my pretty wrapped parcels :(

They don't take the time to close it again, most of the time the boxes are in pieces with the goodies falling out and It's hard to say if It's missing something X_X

FQ Swap Surprise !

In other swap news, I got these wonderful goodies in the Fat Quarter Fabric Swap for the month of February, this is the best parcel I've got form that group, lots of wonderful extras!

February - FQ Swap -

And look at the wonderful fabrics :), my partner Karen did a wonderful job choosing them and putting together this wonderful parcel!

Take a peek inside the kawaii organizer, is so cute, she sent me a purple pen and everything :), her sewing skills are wonderful and the fabric is so sweet and soft, you can check more of her goodies at her Etsy Store Here

March - FQ Swap SENT -

This is a peek of what I sent to my March FQ Swap Partner :), she's just starting quilting,so I hope she finds them useful, I added some of my red-white twine I wrapped over a wooden spool, these twines are a must on a sewing parcel.

FQ Swap Teas -Sent-

I also sent her some nice teas, that strawberry mango is so yummy and aromatic, I am a coffee person but I've been sampling lots of teas lately :)my favorites are the fruity sweet ones a very nice alternative from coffee.

Well I still have lots to tell you but to make it all short I'm going to say that I've been drawing,designing,reading,cutting,carving,writing over the past month and It's all about Paper and Coffee,  well a  - Paper Cafe - to be exact :), but I will tell you more and Show you something later.

In the meantime, Have Fun! don't' drink to much and
Have a Nice Day!

If you are expecting an email from me, don't worry I will reply soon! :)

See Ya!

.:: Happy Valentine's Day ::.

Happy!!

 Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you have lots of fun with friends and loved ones  :)

I know i don't talk much about this things often but I wanted to Thank You for all your sweet kind words, for your unconditional friendship and support, I am so lucky to have friends like YOU  ^_^

:: Funny Love ::

My favorite love story is the PUCCA and GARU - FUNNY LOVE-
A funny love story of the tomboy Pucca and her eternal love, Garu

I relate to her in a lot of ways lol ^_^

Have a Wonderful Day!!!

:: Pretty Containers ::

How are you doing?

I've been feeling a little better now :), I got some nice rest last night I went to bed early to catch up on my beauty rest lol

Today is Feb 13 - Scarlett's Birthday!!!  ^_^ She's 10 years old now, time pass so fast , I can't believe she's ten already, soon a teenager :( I love my baby so very much that I wish she would stay like she's today, but then again she's my best friend and I would love to hang out with her in coffee shops and other places were she can't go right now lol, that's the cool thing about being a young mother, I'm 26 and after I loose my baby I will gain a friend .. Cool!

- Mushroom Top -

I also wanted to talk about my endless obsession with pretty containers lol, Yes I love them, I like to collect them and see them all over the studio, I like boxes, tin cans, buckets,crates,metal and plastic tubs, wooden and paper trinket boxes are the best ^_^

- Beads and Goodies -

Here is a sample of my collection, my most recent addition are the - Decole anticca - mushroom tin canisters, these are great, I fill the red one with metal brads, beads and a needle case and the other one with bias tape,they are so pretty and useful :)

:: Decole Anticca Canisters ::

Scarlett and I are crazy for mushrooms, each time we go shopping, we find ourselves is a quest to find pretty mushrooms ^_^, It is hard but we had find  little items.

Heart - Tin Bucket -

We also find these heart buckets, I wanted to fill them with candy and send them to my friends but I run out of time :(, so I will save them for next year, I have this one on the high shelf of my desk at home with yummy candy.

.: A Drop of Flower :.

And finally this is a peek of the embroidery project I am currently working on :), I had this image in my mind and I had to draw it, I would like to work more on it to make a pattern and use it as background for my new site.

I'll show you more of my embroidery later :), I'm off to wrap presents :), I am not going to tell what because she might be reading my blog and I really want to surprise her, she's a sneaky girls and she always finds out one way or another, so I am taking security measures lol

I hope you have a great day
See ya tomorrow!

Don't Take My Photos X_X

Please, Please Don't take my personal material for your personal use :(

It is very sad to see that these things happen in the creative community, I have NO PROBLEM SHARING my Photos if you CREDIT ME or put link to my website or Flickr page.

It's not the first time I see my photos in other's websites, usually I sent an email and not post about it, but I think it's enough and If I don't post about it people will continue to take my photos, ideas and projects.

I found this website
http://papertoys.ru
And this LJ community
Papertoys

Using my milky paper toy photo
All of my photos are under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative License

You can learn and read more about the  Creative Commons License HERE

I Just received an email from them, they agreed to credit the photo, I suggest they do the same for the other material they have over there before the designers get mad.

LOVE is SHARING But Please, let me know you want to share some of my LOVE ^_^

Sorry but the post , but I had to take that of my chest
Have a nice day!!

- Urban Toys - from Berlin

Strawberry Head - HK -

Happy Thursday :)

I feel just like miss Hello Kitty over here, with a big strawberry head because I ate a big bowl of nice strawberries yesterday,  I felt really sick all week, my head hurt and I was getting a really nasty flu, I was craving lots of Vitamin C , I think strawberries and oranges will do the trick.

Hello Kitty - Pocky Back -

I love these Hello Kitty pocky boxes, I've been collecting them, how I wish I could understand this comic, it looks funny.
Anyway tomorrow is Paper Toy Friday and I don't have my toy ready, I've been wanting to post all week because I miss you guys :).

- Stick-A-Thing - Rad Pack Swap

I got this rad pack a few months ago, filled with urban Toys, stickers and buttons from Philipp Hahn but you may recognize him by Stick-a-Thing, he's an awesome Urban designer from Berlin, He makes the cutest pirate mushrooms among other goodies, check out his Flickr and you will see what I'm taking about.

Smugglebag + Sneakybag

I love Urban Art - Design as much as I adore Zakka and Kawaii goodies, there's something about all these characters that inspires me, lol must be because these have attitude :)

- Badges + Stickers -

StickyPhallus :: Invation ::

Well I work on some pending parcels now, I hope I can get the chance to post the toy I want tomorrow,because I am going to do some errands, I need to pick up lots of mail, can't wait to see witch swap packages I already received.

And look a -StickyPhallus- has taken over my Crafty Crate lol, I need those scissors to work on my toy, somebody help me!

Have a crafty day!

:: Indie Toy :: PTF

Friday at last!!

Yes Is finally Friday :) I had a nice but hard week, work work work trying to put everything together for the upcoming month, How was your week?

Well If you don't have big plans for this weekend, you should meet a pal of mine, We have been hanging around since Yesterday and He's really cool!

- Say Hello -

Say Hello to Indie Boy  
A cute fun paper toy pal that can keep you company when you have nothing else to do :) People say he looks like Harry Potter because of his glasses but he's missing the scar.

Indie Toy ::PTF::

Designed for pure fun by Daniel Coronel Indie Boy comes all the way from Brazil.

Using the original Paper Dude Template Daniel Drew and developed this character.
mmm... This Indie Toy, got me inspired to make a Harry Potter version but I need to find more time for that :)

Indie Toy Back ::PTF::

Indie Boy ::PTF::

A very simple model to work with, fast and easy, you will need 10 minutes max and you won't have trouble pasting his tabs, you will need a cutter knife to cut the lines to insert his head and arms but that's as complicated as it gets.

DOWNLOAD + PRINT + ASSEMBLE = HAVE FUN

Don't forget to make your own Indie Boy - Paper Toy Pal This weekend

YOU know what to do ^_^

DOWNLOAD + PRINT + ASSEMBLE = HAVE FUN

DOWNLOAD INDIE BOY - PAPER TOY - HERE

.: Mushrooms and More Mushrooms :.

Rain rain go away! I want to take some pictures today! lol
It's still kinda cold here, my fingers are ice cold and hard as bricks.

I stayed up late again, this time organizing my font archives , I had lots of duplicates and those were giving me trouble, I haven't finished, I need to install some new ones and delete lots of useless zip files, a very tedious job, but hopefully I will be able to breathe under the sea of folders.

.: Sleeping :.

I am sleepy like this guy over here :), I finished the little guys I showed you in my last post , some here for the - Lucky Parcel Swap - and the others for the mini stationery sets I've made.

Lucky Parcel - Bags -

Here are the Lucky Parcels, It was a mushroom theme and I got really exited, I wish I had more time to decorate the bags, but I was behind with stuff, I wanted to print a mushroom pattern I made the other day, bu I had no time for that and I pasted some Q-lia Mushies , they turned out fine, but I still want to make the other ones :)

Lucky Parcel - Mushrooms -

Here are the goodies contained in each little brown bag, mushie fabric,bias tape,buttons,rick rack,pipe cleaners,embroidery floss,ribbon,pins,thread among other goodies. I personally would love to receive one of these , imagine an anonymous parcel with all these goodies :), I'm dreaming now lol

- Gingham Mushroom -

Finally!!
I finally made my - Gingham Mushroom - Mini Stationery Set I had lots of fun putting these sets together, some were for the - 5 things Mushroom Swap- and the other ones to send to friends, I think I will have to make more to send as little Valentine Gifts, because they ended up looking cute.

Gingham Mushroom - mini stationery-

Just look at these guys :), I made the envelopes myself form kraft paper, It took me some time, but they are the perfect size for the paper sheet :), Scarlett loved the stickers, She requested a full sheet, The mushroom illustration was inspired by the mushroom plushies I made a while ago with Scarlett, we are drawing more versions, can't wait to male those.

:: Mushie Spool ::

And finally, look at my sleepy - Spool Mushroom - I have a bunch of these waiting to be coated and finished :), I will post them later, this was just a prototype and I am making me an army ♥

I off to eat something and then back to work work work, exiting things are coming and I better be prepared :)

Have a nice day! 

- White, Pinks and Reds -

How's your Monday going ?

Mine started a little lazy, it's cold and It's hard to get out of bed, lucky enough we had some Hot Mexican Chocolate from last night, so that game me a little more energy :)

I am still a little sleepy because I stayed up all night looking at my photo Archive C_C there's a lot to be done and tons of photos to post, I am trying to organize all my files because it's hard to work when you have a mess and I've been procrastinating on that for some time.

Now let me post some White, Pinks and Reds ^_^, I've been looking at these colors everywhere and I can help myself to be inspired.

White ,Pinks and Reds

Here's my ♥ Valentine Fabric Stash ♥ lots and lots of hearts in white, pink and red, too cute! some of these fabrics are from last year and I got 2 new ones this year, I want to make plushy hearts, can't wait.

.: Lovely Prototype :.

I just love Gingham Fabric, as soon as cut a small piece of it to make a YoYo I saw a little mushie friend telling me; .... make me .... Make ME!!! and I did, just look at him :) perfect for valentine charms , I am gonna make him some friends because he's all alone right now.

- Cuting Mushrooms -

:: Mushroom Workstation ::

Here's my - Crafty Mushie WorkStation - I've been thinking of doing these mushie items for so long, I have them all in my sketchbook waiting to be done, but sadly I hardly find time to make my ideas, Sometimes I feel very bad because I am dying to make new stuff, I have old projects from 3 years ago that I'm still thinking about, that's why I'm organizing everything, maybe if I have everything in the right place it won't be so difficult to start crafting in the middle of the night :) this remind me that i need to get me some new lamps because the desk lamp I have sucks and makes my eyes hurt.

- Vintage Stamps -

A sample of my - Stamp Collection - I love vintage used stamps, those are the best, here you will find some from Rome,Denmark and Austria :), I will keep posting more of these, they are a treat to look at!

Have to get back to work, Take Care and Have a Crafty Day!