I Did It!

I managed to complete my page spread for January.  I used white embossing for a resist on the big tag and vaseline resist on the background.  I did some stenciling and stamping and included some die cuts.  Now to see what the suggested February techniques are.

January Tags

I signed up for an online journaling class.  I really didn't need another thing to do but I enjoy journaling and thought it would be an incentive to keep an art journal going.  This month's focus was on resist and the use of just two colors plus white and black.  The first tag used crayon resit, the second is a vaseline resist (which I'd never heard of), the third is white powder emobssing and the last one uses Glossy Accents.  The resist on that one isn't white because I added it to a tag that already had some color.  I've started an actual page spread but haven't finished it yet.  Since there's only one more day in the month, I better hustle to finish it.  Or maybe not.

Zipper Thanks

Ya gotta love dies.  This card uses one for the zipper panel on the front.  It "unzips" to reveal a yellow panel with the text.  I've discovered that I may need to give the perforation a little boost with a craft knife so it opens more easily but I think they are something different and fun.     And I'm into a yellow/gray/black mode so you may be seeing more of that color scheme.  Guess it reminds me of winter  - the frequent gray skies but with sunshine thrown into the mix.  Just need to add some snowflakes, though we have seen very few of those so far this year.  I think that's a good thing, especially since we've had moisture in the form of rain.

Calendar Cards

For many years I have sent cards out in January that include a mini calendar.  This year it was fun to make easel cards, especially since all of the work was done by a Sizzix easel (stand up) die cut.  The set includes 22 dies and that's a lot of pieces.  I only used two of the dies for this design.  The green border behind the calendar is a punch, as are the flower and leaf.  You is a die cut but from a different set.  I think I've already done more than 15 of these easy and fun easel cards and they weren't all calendar cards.  You may be seeing more designs in the coming months.

More Thanks

This is a variation of yesterday's card.  I added a textured panel created with an embossing folder and the hearts are die cut.

There's not much else to say.

Thanks

We're going to leave Peru for a few days and I'll show you some cards I made this month.  But not to worry, we will get back to Peru.

There's always a need for thank you cards after Christmas and I did a variation of this design.  The background paper is commercial and the butterfly and flowers are die cut.  The "thanks" is also die cut but I cut it again from black fun foam and adhered them together for both a shadow and 3-D effect.  The other text is stamped.

It's a great thing to have to send thank you cards because it means you received something nice from someone who thinks you are special.

Local Market

Outside the gates of the ruins there was a rather extensive market where many booths were set up and all sorts of items were for sale--carvings to weavings to silver items, and more.  And it seemed to be something of a social event for the women who conducted business there.

Across The Valley

Those light spots on the mountain across the valley from Ollantaytambo were significant.  They were storage buildings for grain and were used because the higher altitude meant cooler temperatures which kept the grain fresh longer.
We sure were there at a bad time of day as far as photography but you gotta take what you get.

Intricate Cutting

Throughout our visit we saw many examples of the detailed cutting on stones by the Inca people despite their strongest tools being made of tin.  They were determined and ingenious.

Another Section of Ollantaytambo

This massive section of the ruins sits to the right of the terracing I showed yesterday.  There were a series of buildings at ground level and a network of ditches for irrigation.

At the time of the Spanish Inquisition the Inca leader, Manco Inca Yupanqui, concentrated forces here which saved Machu Picchu from exposure.  The Incas were able to hold off the Spaniards but later felt vulnerable and abandoned the site.

Ollantaytambo Ruins

This site dates back to the 15th century when it was the royal estate of Inca Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region and built the town and a ceremonial center.  This is Temple Hill, built for religious purposes but also consisting of agricultural terraces made from cut and fitted stone.  The Sun Temple is located at the top with the Wall of Six Monoliths.  My husband and I climbed about halfway up and called it good enough.

Don't Freak Out

We enjoyed the food in Peru.  As we travel we always feel we should try the local cuisine even if it is unusual.  So we were game to try cuy, a common meat in Peru.  In the US we know it as guinea pig and we'd rather pet it than eat it. We thankfully had just a tiny piece (shown here as that dark spot under the white square of cheese in the upper  part of the plate) and mine was pretty bony but I'd say it tasted much like chicken.  Okay, I tried it.  But that doesn't mean I ever have to eat it again.  I've decided I don't do rodent.  I don't even want a guinea pig for a pet.  The white meat on my plate is chicken and there's also potato with corn, tortilla and sweet potato.  Not shown, but also served was seasoned quinoa, stuffed pepper and quinoa soup.  We never went hungry.

Weaving

The final step in use of the fleece was weaving.  This woman demonstrated the process of weaving on a backstrap loom.  I was surprised that the patterned, intricate design is done with just the fingers.  Would have liked to watch her longer but we had to be on our way.

Color, Color, Everywhere

There was a collection of fiber to show all of the possible colors.  It's no wonder the Peruvians like bright colors when they are able to produce them naturally and easily.  Of course, alpaca and llama fibers are much used, too, and even they come naturally in a variety of colors--but all neutral shades of brown, both light and dark.

Natural Dyes

This table contains the Peruvian plants used to dye wool.  The colors were very vibrant but there was no mention of the need for any other chemical to set and stabilize the color so I assume the color is quite permanent.

Below is the young lady who gave the demonstration.  She had excellent English and did a great job.  She even had a good sense of humor which kept us laughing.

Does this make me want to spin and dye wool again?  Not a chance.

Spinning Wool

The spinning process uses as basic equipment as the washing--a drop spindle.  I had one of these many years ago when I was a weaver (bet you didn't know that!) and they are really quite easy to use once you get the hang of it.  I saw ladies spinning as they walked down the street and while they stood in the field watching the animals.

There is, of course, some commercial spinning and weaving done in at least one of the larger cities but I'm guessing thousands of women are spinning their own in just this manner.  Peruvians live simple lives.

Washing Fleece

We had a nice lunch (more about that later) and then moved outside to a courtyard for a demonstration on how the fleece is cared for and used.  One of the steps is to wash the fiber and that's done with the help of a plant.  They use part of the plant (didn't catch which one) to create a soapy cleaner and it gets the wool very clean.  As you can see, the process of getting the soap from the plant is very simple using basic equipment.  Peruvians are very clever I think.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you have the sweetest day ever.

I used a Jennifer McGuire technique to create this card--faux intricate.  The heart is die cut and then other intricate die cuts added to the back.  With strategically placed pieces of foam tape it all pops up from the front of the card so there is some shadow effect.  I just added some pearls to the flower centers and also used some ribbon to soften it a bit.

We'll head back to Peru tomorrow.

From Lima to Urubamba

After two nights and a day in Lima we flew to Cusco and then had a two-hour bus ride to Urubamba.  This is a fairly typical view of the countryside which became more agricultural and hilly rather than mountainous, though we saw the Andes looming in the distance.  We were on a comfortable bus with 22 other passengers, a driver who stayed with us for most of the tour and, of course, our tour guide, Pavel.  In case I didn't mention it before, Pavel was excellent and he often reiterated that his middle name is "24/7" and we could call him at anytime on his cell.  He stayed in all of the motels with us, too.  On a few occasions we had a separate local guide and they were also very good.  I highly recommend the Gate 1 tours--affordable and very well executed.

Orientation

Perhaps it's time to orient you a bit on the map.  Peru is located in the northwest portion of South America, bordered by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.  It is 496,224 square miles in size.

The areas we visited were Lima (shown in the upper left portion of the closeup map), Cusco and Urubamba (located in about the middle of the map) and Puno (down in the lower left corner on the big lake).

That concludes your geography lesson for today.

Everyone Works

Our guides stressed that everyone in Peru works.  That said, only 60% have jobs that qualify them for government benefits like retirement.  It was common to see people out sweeping the sidewalks and sides of the streets and they are paid by the government to do so.  Check back to see how others earn a living.

Keeping In Touch

I'll probably include a photo of one of the newsstands which offered quite a few papers and magazines.  Election day was coming soon so perhaps there was a lot more political news than is "normal."  This fellow seemed to have ample time to devote to his reading.

Call Home

We don't see a lot of pay phones in the US these days but they were fairly common in Peru.  This one sat on a main street and looked quite new.  A lot of people have cell phones so I'm not sure why the pay phones are so abundant.  There's a little hole in my knowledge base of Peru.  Well, probably quite a few.

Gas Station

I find it interesting to compare between countries the things we have in common.  This gas station is an example.  I didn't determine how the price was calculated but this range was fairly typical in the various towns we visited.  I can report that one of their Soles was worth about 30 cents American currency.

A Touch of the US

Yes, you see them everywhere - McDonalds and Coca Cola.

And More Dancers

I had to include a photo of this dance because I was in awe of what they did.  That white "tail feather" on the male is something flammable (like paper) and the female is using a candle with an open flame to light it.  He kept moving to make it hard for her and she never did catch it on fire.  However, she also had a paper tail and he managed to light hers.  She shook her tutu as part of the dance and that seemed to first incite more flame with sparks flying in all directions and my danger alarm went higher.  But before too long the movement blew out all flames and all was well.  Couldn't imagine that would pass the fire department guidelines in the US.

Dancers

We went to a buffet dinner where we had an opportunity to try a lot of Peruvian dishes and I liked everything I put on my plate/s.  And I tried a little of a lot of them!  My favorite (not counting dessert) was a dish which had tuna stuffed in mashed potato.

Also included in the evening's festivities was some folk dancing.  There was a variety of types of dances, colorful costumes and lively steps.  I especially liked the skirt on this dress.  Glad I didn't have to sew it.

Tending The Sheep

As we traveled in the country we came upon two sheepherders.  This sheepherder had only sheep but it was quite a large herd.  He carried what he needed in his pack and it appeared that he had been out and about for several days.  They travel quite a number of miles in one day and appeared to be headed to Urubamba.

And A Surprise

When we got to the park in Lima we could see a lighthouse in the distance.  That was a really nice surprise because I love any lighthouse and we didn't even know it was there.  Don't know if it's a working lighthouse or not but I still like it.

Coastline

The mall sits at the top of a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.  The weather was nice (a little too hot actually) so we were able to walk near the edge of the cliff to "Love Park."  This is one of the views of the ocean that we encountered.  Not too shabby.

Modern Mall

As we were driven around Lima we noticed a variety in the architecture and overall ambience of various areas of the city which made the economic classes quite obvious.  Our hotel was in the Miraflores District which is quite commercial and, in keepinig with it's name, is abundant with flowers.

It was a short walk from the hotel to a modern mall which was all decked out in pink for Christmas.

I sometimes lament that we go from city to city in the US and the shopping opportunities are always the same.  Now I know that it's the same internationally, at least in the major cities.  We found TGIFridays, North Face, GAP, and Radio Shack to name a few.

Archbishop's Palace

Not to be outdone by the government, the Catholic Church also built a palace in the Mayor Square in Lima.  Seems fitting that it is white.  There's another section to the palace on the right but it didn't fit in the photo.

Things To Be Happy About

special holidays

international travel

Starbucks

new beginnings

smiles

train rides

winter sports

mandarin oranges

candy canes

electricity

We happened upon this Starbucks in Lima, Peru