Claudio Limon

We may be a wee bit obsessed with artist Claudio Limon's works. The pink Otomi mural he recently did for Hotel Matilda in San Miguel is leaving us swooning over his whimsical Mexican pop-art style. Check out some of our favorite insta pics of the hotel and a handful of his illustrations. See more of his works here and here!

{Photos & Illustrations}

New Arrivals at Casa Artelexia

Hand-embroidered cobalt blue Otomi

Corazones de Papel Greeting Cards

Peruvian Rugs

 Eat Mexico Cookbook by Lesley Tellez

Hand-sewn Frida Kahlo Dolls 

 Original Frida Kahlo Watercolor Paintings 

DIY: Holiday Giftwrap

If you feel like getting crafty with your Christmas gifts this year, we have a DIY for you–we've created our own holiday wrapping paper that can also be used for other occasions:

What you'll need:

-colorful acrylic paints (they dry quickest)
-brown butcher paper
-plastic stencil sheets (you can buy it in small sheets at Michaels)
-paintbrushes
-X-acto knife

What to do:

1. Draw your design on to your plastic stencil sheet with a pen (if you mess up, you can simply wipe off the pen with a wet paper towel).
2. Cut out the shape with an X-acto knife.

3. Lay out your butcher paper on a large flat surface.
4. Place your newly created stencil onto the butcher paper and begin painting inside the stencil. (We created Otomi stencils and used several different colors inside some figures, and a single color for others.)

5. Lift your stencil off of the butcher paper when you're done with your design and move on to the next.
6. Clean excess paint from your stencils (i.e. paint that has built up around the edges from using them over and over again) as you go.

Stocking Stuffers at Casa Artelexia: Under $30

1. Catrina Box:

2. Rose Alpaca Bracelet:

3. Painted Clay Heart:

4. Small Otomi Embroidered Square:

5. Frida Kahlo Cuff Bracelet:

Festive Folk Art Christmas Trees

Many of you have probably bought your Christmas trees already, but in case you haven't or need some unique tree decorating ideas, we've rounded up a few Christmas trees inspired by Mexican folk art and the like:

1. A bright Otomi inspired Christmas tree display by Anna Spiro of Absolutely Beautiful Things and artist Sue-Ching Lascelles:

2. Christmas trees full of tin, felt, and Day of the Dead ornaments, colorful paper mache hearts, and paper flowers (all available for purchase) here at Casa Artelexia:

3. Color gradient Christmas tree with an Otomi inspired tree skirt by Inspired by Charm:

4.Day of the Dead Christmas tree by Peachy Cheek:

5. Folksy Christmas Tree by The Book of Jimmy:

6.White Christmas Tree with Sombreros by Suzanne on Style:

DIY Otomi Fabric

Have you ever walked through Casa Artelexia and admired those colorful embroidered animals from our Otomi fabric…and then hung your head after looking at their price tags? Otomi fabric is highly sought after and appreciated as a finely crafted, traditional Mexican art: meaning no matter where you buy it, it’s super expensive!

If you aren’t familiar with Otomi fabric, it is typically white cotton fabric hand-embroidered with various brightly colored animals and flower motifs. The indigenous Otomi people of Mexico create these gorgeous fabrics using special embroidery techniques which involve using as little thread as possible.
 

It’s no wonder why Otomi fabric costs so much, but we know buying it can be difficult. So we’ve created our own faux Otomi fabric on a budget using only paint, fabric, and some fun Otomi inspired stencils: enjoy!

What you’ll need:

-1 yard or more of white fabric (we’ve used muslin)

-acrylic or fabric paint

-paintbrushes (or foam paintbrushes)

- Otomi stencils (the ones we bought can be found HERE, a free download of Otomi stencils can be found HERE)

-pencil

What to do:

1.     Prepare a large open space to lay your fabric flat. Tape the sides to the space so it doesn’t move around as you are tracing and painting.

2.     Think about how you would like your Otomi fabric to look: the composition of your shapes, how cluttered you want it to be, etc…

3.     Begin tracing your stencils onto your fabric with a pencil. Tape the stencils to the fabric so they won’t move around as you are tracing.

4.     After you’ve traced all of your shapes, begin painting them.

5.     When you’ve finished painting each shape, you will officially have your own faux Otomi fabric!