Mano Bello ~ featured artisan

When I came across Mano Bello I immediately fell in love with these beautiful handcrafted  leather flowers. They look so soft and elegant in some of my favorite hues. The above brooch is a rich passionate red that would make any outfit look very romantic.

This belt in a muted cocoa color is also one of my favorites. Three roses attached to a long belt that can be wrapped around several times and tied in the back is a definite eye catcher !

Here is a close up of  a dusty taupe colored single rose necklace. You can clearly see the natural texture and suppleness of the flower. Doesn't it make you want to reach out and touch it's soft petals ?

This belt has a more rustic and relaxed look.  It has a wider distressed deep chocolate brown leather wrap around belt that is adorned with a large ruffled rust colored leather rose.

I highly recommend that you visit Mano Bello's shop on Etsy where you'll find beautiful handcrafted leather belts, handbags and accessories in an array of wonderful colors. There is also a blog : News from Mano Bello  http://manobello.blogspot.com

all pictures and links are clickable

La Buena Vida

La Buena Vida is a blog by Nicole Franzen about food, photography, travel and design. Nicole is a food/ lifestyle photographer based in Brooklyn New York who loves to travel and explore new places. She invites us to follow her on her photographic journey. There are so many wonderful recipes on her blog with great photographs, I hope to share many of these with you like todays :

Roasted Baby Artichokes

Ingredients
1-2 pounds of baby artichokes
1 lemon
parmesan
sea salt & pepper
olive oil

Method

Only buy very fresh artichokes, best when they are in season. To clean artichokes; remove outer tough leaves, using a peeler clean the stem if needed and cut in half. To keep artichokes a vibrant green color place in a water bath with lemon juice. Dry and place artichokes on a sheet pan. I find that the smaller artichokes dont have the spiky hairy center the way the larger ones do. So I didn't remove the center and just roasted them whole. If there seems to be that fuzzy center use a small spoon to scoop it out before baking. Drizzle artichokes with a little olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender, turning a few times to ensure even cooking. In a small bowl add the zest of one lemon, the juice of half and drizzle in olive oil. Season with a little salt. When artichokes are finished, leave to cool. Plate the artichokes and drizzle the vinaigrette, and top with shaved parmesan. The addition of fresh herbs is nice.

Take a moment to visit La Buena Vida blog HERE or click on the links or picture above : )

Vintage treasures from Peru

I'm always on the look out for beautiful vintage things from Peru. I love taking something neglected and forgotten and give it a new life, showing others the beauty that I see in it. I found two treasures recently that I have been working on. A sterling silver llama pin from Peru. It was made with remarkable detail, I could see the llama's eyes, nose, mouth and it's thick wool. I wanted to make these details really stand out so I carefully cleaned the vintage pin and then gave it a rich dark oxidized coloring.





Next I gave the bundle he carries on his back a brushed silver texture so it contrasts nicely against the dark color and then polished the pin. The final touch was to give the llama a beautiful fine silk ribbon in a vivid berry color. Not only does this give the llama an elegant look but is typical in the Andes. The Andean people mark their llamas with colorful tassels in their ears or pompoms around their necks so the owner can easily identify them. To the left is a picture I took in Arequipa of a llama in the Colca Canyon high up in in the Andes mountains of Peru so you can see their colorful accessories. This adorable little llama is now ready for his new home. If you would like to know more about this pin or would like to purchase him he is now available in my shop, click HERE or on any of the pictures.  I mentioned I found two treasures, the other one is also a brooch but I will save that one for another post : )

Imali ~ egg warmers

These
are too
cute !

I came across Imali's shop and was captivated by her adorable little hand knitted egg warmers. They come in a variety of lovely colors and make the eggs almost too cute to eat ! Imali is from Latvia with a wonderful collection of beautiful handmade things to see in her shop. To take a peek at Imali's shop click  HERE

*  all pictures and links are clickable : )

Naty Muñoz ~ designer

Naty Munoz is a wonderful designer from Peru that specializes in knit wear . Her beautiful  and unique designs are primarily done in Aplaca wool and Pima cotton. She has a wonderful bohemian style with great attention to detail.

What makes Naty exceptional as as a designer  is her dedication to preserving traditional textile techniques through out the Andes mountains of Peru. She is involved with many sustainable and socially conscious projects working with Andean women in artisanal workshops.

Visit Naty's website to see more photos of her exquisite work www.NatyMunoz.com

Kathy De Wit ~ El Debujo del Gato

Kathy De Wit is a wonderful artist that I found on THEY DRAW & COOK, a site where artists submit their recipe illustrations.  Not only was her recipe, Andean Rice with Drops of Gold, unusual but her beautiful illustration caught my eye immediately. It was of a young Andean woman with her baby on her back, both with long flowing braids and vibrant colors. A large wooden spoon adding the ingredients in to her big metal pot. To top it all off an excellent Inca wall with the recipe scrolled upon it. This drawing brought back wonderful memories of my visits to the Andes of Peru, I just had to find out more about this artist.

I clicked on her blog which was listed  below her artwork  and there I found out to my surprise that she wasn't Peruvian at all but was from Belgium. She had traveled to Peru where she had fallen in love with the Andes. Her cherished memories of her time there are an inspiration for many of her drawings. On her blog I saw a picture of the colorful recipe illustration made into a bookmark and searched high and low on her site to find out how to purchase one.

 
I did find a cotton shop where she sells pillows, napkins and aprons with her beautiful art work but no bookmark. So I decided to contact her through her blog. I'm happy to say not only was I able to order the delightful bookmark but also another  lovely drawing  of a dreaming woman with the Andes.  The package arrived so nicely decorated and wrapped I hated to open it but I was anxious to see my bookmark. It was more than I expected, it's large size, fine textured paper and elegant ribbon.

 

I had originally planned to use it in my The Art of Peruvian Cuisine recipe book (like Kathy uses pictured in her blog) but I could already imagine it getting dirty while I was cooking away and decided instead I would display it . Now I am a follower of Kathy's blog and looking forward to her opening a shop on Etsy very soon. I will keep you posted. To see Kathy's portfolio click HERE. To visit her blog click HERE

                                                                                                                                                             Gracias Kathy  ♥

Acai Chocolate Raspberry Earrings

Eco-friendly Acai earrings in a lush Chocolate and Raspberry color combination. For this earring design I used small acai seeds dyed a deep brown and paired them with larger seeds dyed a rich berry color. I then attached them with brown waxed cotton cord and sterling silver to hand formed small hoops and hand forged ear hooks. All metal is sterling silver that I obtain from a silver manufacturer that uses recycled materials.

I love the way this design turned out because it has both an ethnic and elegant feel. The fact that they are also eco-friendly just makes them that much more special. For more in formation about Acai seeds click HERE to read a previous post about why they are eco-friendly or click above on the Eco faqs tab. You can click on the pictures to see more info on this design or to purchase the Chocolate Raspberry earrings.

Peras al Vino Tinto ~ Pears in Red Wine

This delicious pear recipe comes from a wonderful Peruvian recipe site called Yanuq which in the language of Ancient Peru means the home and hearth. The website can be viewed in English and Spanish but not all recipes are available in English, like the one below, so today's recipe is for my bilingual readers. But do check out the site for a little history on Peruvian cuisine and the many great recipes that are available in English.

PERAS AL VINO TINTO

Ingredientes :

8 peras  (no muy  blandas) ¾ de taza de azúcar 1 taza de agua 2 ramas de canela ½ taza de vino tinto

Preparación:

Pelar las peras y dejarles el tallo en la parte superior. Colocar las peras peladas en una vasija con agua con limón para evitar que se oxiden. En una olla llevar a hervir el agua con el azúcar y la canela. Reducir el fuego, colocar las peras y cocinarlas a fuego lento en el almíbar hasta que se ablanden, aproximadamente 40 minutos. Verter el vino sobre las peras 5 minutos antes de que estén cocidas y mantenerlas en el fuego alrededor de 5 minutos más. Retirar las peras y la canela con una espumadera y colocarlas en una fuente con el borde ligeramente alto.Seguir hirviendo el almíbar hasta que espese y rociarlo sobre las peras. Servir.

Featured Artisan ~ Sue Hodgson

Sue Hodgson is a wonderful  jewelry artisan from the UK.  Her designs have a beautiful organic feel to them and I especially love the collections inspired by nature.  The pendant pictured above made of fine silver  is called "Water Lilies" and hangs from a sterling silver chain. It has a gorgeous deep purple blue patina and is one of my favorite pieces. Another necklace that has great patina colors is the one pictured below called "Midnight Poppies". The silvery illuminescent blues of these modern flowers are very eye catching.

Sue's collections of  flower necklaces with  patinas are my favorites but she has so many more designs like her popular Peas in a  Pod series. The picture below is of her peas in a pod cufflinks handcrafted in fine silver. The peas are also available as pendants and charms.  The peas can symbolize children or members of a family and are available as a single pea in a pod or in groups of up to five !

To see more of Sue's jewelry designs you can visit her website SomethingXtraSpecial  or her Etsy shop and there is also her blog. You can click on any of the pictures or links above that will take you directly to her sites.  Enjoy !

Eva Yerbabuena ~ flamenco artist

Have I mentioned that I love Flamenco ? Yes, I even took flamenco classes but I'm saving that for another post this time I'm sharing one of my favorite flamenco artists, Eva Yerbabuena. She's a petite fireball ! My husband and I saw her perform at the Zellerbach theater in Berkeley California, an outstanding show. Even my husband the sports enthusiast was in awe of her performance.

 It's amazing how so much power and passion can be contained in such a tiny frame. At one point in the show her feet moved so fast it looked as if she was gliding across the stage.  Below I've included two videos of her performing.

The first video is a clip from the documentary "Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey" directed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas 2002. The second clip is taken  from  "Hotel" directed by Mike Figgis 2001

For more information on Eva Yerbabuena you can click on any of the links or photos or visit her website EvaYerbabuena.com. You can also visit these websites to see her biography and all that is Flamenco :  Flamenco-world.com and esflamenco.com

Peruvian Connection packaging

,

In 2010 the Peruvian Connection clothing company was honored by ID Magazine in their Annual Design Review with a design distinction award for their retail packaging. The beautiful designs were a

blend of 1934 Peruvian portrait photos by Martin Chambi, floral patterning from a Peruvian Connection fabric, and antique etchings.  The rich warm and deep colors can be seen in the photos above and below of the different size shopping bags and clothing hangtags.

The exceptional photographs that were used are from Martin Chambi bringing to light a very important but little known figure in photography. Martin Chambi was born in 1891 in Puno, Peru.  He was one of the first well known indigenous Latin American photographer of his time.  It has been said that " His life and accomplishments represent a unique combination of historical, cultural and aesthetic considerations that are of unusual significance in regard to the history of photography in Latin America." To see more of his photographs click HERE to enter the Martin Chambi website.

*  The top photograph was taken by Martin Chambi in his Cuzco studio in 1934 and is titled "Indian woman and child"

A Little Paparazzi lover

 

On our recent trip to Oregon we found that we had a little neighbor sharing our yurt. I had left the doors to our car open which was parked in front of the yurt and before I knew it there was someone snooping around in there. My husband had left a bag of open peanuts in the front seat which I guess meant finders keepers!

 

 I grabbed my camera and carefully slipped into the back seat and started shooting away. Our furry friend was quite a ham and allowed me to snap as many pictures as I wanted.  He repeatedly stuffed his mouth full of peanuts and made several trips back and forth from the car to hide his stash under the yurt. He was making such a mess in the front seat I had to move the bag out side. We let him empty the bag so he would have a nice supply to keep him through winter, hopefully he'll share his stash with the other little guys at the Rogue River Campsite !

* to read more about yurts and the Valley of the Rogue campsite in Oregon read my previous post "Yurt Sweet Yurt"  Click  HERE

 

 

Peanuts anyone ?

Hello Kitty in Paris

Hello Kitty in Paris - this is a project my sister loved working on. My sister Aimee is an artist and while working for Tom Sachs she made the originals of these sculptures that were then cast in bronze and  are here on display in Paris. She loves the fact that here her work is in a public place where everyone can enjoy it. I'm very proud of  her, I think their beautiful !

♥  to learn more about Aimee's work click HERE

Acai Berry Fruit ~ Yummmmm

The Acai seed is an eco-friendly material that I love using in my work. Through out my blog you can see the jewelry I create using Brazilian Acai seeds. Below you can see a picture of the actual berries that look very much like blueberries. Up above is a delicious Acai breakfast recipe I came across, just click on the photo for the full recipe and click here if you'd like to read more about these eco-friendly seeds. You can also see my jewelry designs at : Tania Cavenecia Torres.com ~ eco-friendly jewelry

♥

La Tera ~ artisan Paula Ortega

Paula Ortega is the designer of La Tera ~ handmade contemporary jewelry. Paula is a self taught jewelry designer originally from Argentina and is now based in London. She creates beautiful modern jewelry using resin. I love her little square earrings pictured above, vibrant green threads encased in resin look like tiny blades of grass.  The purple cell ring is another one of my favorites with it's organic shape and purple pigment. The ring is made with sterling silver and is very light with a wonderful frosty satin finish.  Another pair of square earrings below capture fuchsia pink threads. Paula also makes a variety of modern pendant necklaces and bangles. Take a look at her website or Etsy shop.

for more information on any of the items above click on the pictures.

www.LaTera.com      www.latera.etsy.com