La Casa Loca: Latino Style Comes Home 45 Funky Craft Projects for Decorating & Entertaining [Paperback]

Kathy Cano-Murillo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Combining the explosive colours and iconography of latino style with pop art, this book offers an array of easy, inexpensive projects to liven up the interior and brighten the garden. It suggests how to use t-shirt fabric to make toss pillows with fringe or turn inexpensive soft-drink bottles into fabulous glittery vases; heighten the hues in any home with Margarita candles and campy terracotta patio lights; use a glue gun to transform an ordinary garen into a Mexicali masterpiece complete with a Bonita birdfeeder and Milagro tree ribbons; and ditch standard party fare for playful Loteria wine glass charms, spicy serving bowls and Frida Kahlo placemats.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathy Cano-Murillo was named one of the "10 Latinas to watch" by Latina magazine in July 2001. A well-known artist and journalist, she sells her pop art to over 300 galleries around the world, runs a top-rated Internet portal (www.chicanofolkart.com), and is a popular craft columnist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564969436
• ISBN-13: 978-1564969439
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

People most know Kathy Cano-Murillo as The Crafty Chica. She has been profiled for her art and crafts in The New York Times, USA Today and NPR.

Kathy has been a writer longer than she has been a crafter, inspired in grade school by Erma Bombeck and Judy Blume. As an adult, Kathy went on to have a 13-year newspaper career at The Arizona Republic as an entertainment reporter, all while running her award-winning web site, CraftyChica.com. She has authored seven books including Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul and Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing.

In 2004, Kathy pursued her dream of writing a novel and finished her first draft for National Novel Writing Month. She wrote from 10 pm-2 am every night while her family slept, a tradition she still carries on to this day. Her manuscript sold in 2007 in a three-way bidding war to Grand Central Publishing.

Kathy's debut novel, Waking Up in the Land of Glitter released in March 2010 and her second, Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing in March 2011. She is currently writing her third book.

Kathy designs her own Crafty Chica product line through iLoveToCreate, a Duncan Enterprises Company, and she is also the Crafts Editor for BlogHer.com

Kathy's mission with her novels is to share stories about contemporary Latinas living and working in the creative arts. She lives in Phoenix, AZ, with her husband, two kids and five Chihuahuas. Her motto for life is "Crafts, drama and glitter".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really great inspiring beautiful book., March 2, 2003

By 

"tcontesito" (Mesa, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Casa Loca: Latino Style Comes Home 45 Funky Craft Projects for Decorating & Entertaining (Paperback)

I'm not exactly the arts and crafts type but I am a collector of Mexican art and imports. I bought this book last weekend at the Latino book festival because I fell in love with all the gorgeous photos. It is so refreshing to see a new style of tounge in cheek Mexican art that is made with a lot of TLC. I think I am actually going to give some of these ideas a try because they all seem easy enough (I guess I'll have to break down and buy a glue gun). I would have never of thought of cutting up a shirt and making a toss pillow out of it or using the novelas for gift cards. Fun, fun, fun. Fantastic job on this book! I can hardly wait to share it with my friends and co-workers.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Funky, July 7, 2004

By 

K. J. Hackett (Huntington Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Casa Loca: Latino Style Comes Home 45 Funky Craft Projects for Decorating & Entertaining (Paperback)

My first Crafty Chica book was "The Crafty Diva's D. I. Y. Stylebook: A Grrrl's Guide to Cool Creations You Can Make, Show Off, and Share" and I loved it so much that before I even finished looking through the whole bookk, I had gone to the computer to order "La Casa Loca: Latino Style Comes Home 45 Funky Craft Projects for Decorating & Entertaining."

"La Casa Loca" has some amazing crafts inside. My head is literally spinning from all the ideas this book has inspired. Soon enough my ho-hum apartment will be turned into a super funky Latina inspired apartment. Best of all, it will be unique and cost effective!

Thank you Crafty Chica, you are an inspiration!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely FABULOUS!, May 16, 2004

By 

"gemgoddess75" (Phx Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Casa Loca: Latino Style Comes Home 45 Funky Craft Projects for Decorating & Entertaining (Paperback)

My cuz bought this book in Florida and loved it so she got me a copy too for my birthday. I love it so much too. Then I realized that the author is from my home town!!! Now I'm a fan of "crafty chica". This book is so much fun because it really puts a creative funky spin on Mexican/Latino art. Its all so different from anything I've seen. The ideas are so clever and unique. Everything is adorable but I will be making the Frida Kahlo shrine first. LOVE IT ALL!!!