Friday Frida Favs: Frida Book Review & GIVEAWAY

“Frida” by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Ana Juan was the first Frida Kahlo book I purchased. I got it to use it as a guest book for my Frida themed birthday party when I turned 31. When it arrived in the mail, I decided not to use it as a guest book. I couldn’t bare having the beautiful illustrations ruined by people’s writing. This book is not in Lily’s growing library. She does good with paperback books but sometimes she accidentally rips the pages. “Sorry, Sweetie! Not this one.”

Reading time after our morning walk/run. Lily loves Frida too!

My copy of “Frida” is in Spanish but also comes in English. The book begins with the birth of Frida. It mentions factual aspects of Frida’s life, her blue house, Coyoacan, Mexico (her birth place), the trolley accident, and much more. But most importantly it tells the reader how painting played a major role in her life. Diego is not mentioned in the story until the end, where a biography of Frida is included. 

The illustrations are handpainted with a mixture of color pencil, from what I can see. In the illustrations you’ll find very playful almost whimsical “imaginary” characters - a little red devil, a tiger like character, and one with an almost ghost like face, to describe a few. These characters interact with Frida’s real life environment and express the different emotions based on what is happening in Frida’s life. 

Lily counting how many Fridas she sees. 

Some of the illustrations are influenced by Frida’s actual work. There is one illustration of two little girls holding hands in the sky and they are both Frida. The illustration reminds me of Frida’s painting, “The Two Fridas.” In another, Frida, this time older after the trolley accident, is depicted wrapped in the branches of a tree. That one reminds me of her painting “The Dream” and “Roots/Raices.” The book’s text is placed in the open spaces among the illustrations or on banners, which is often seen in Frida’s paintings. On one page, a bird holds the banner in its mouth. 

What makes this book one of my favorites, other than the beautiful, sometimes very vibrant illustrations, is that it emphasizes on how art shaved Frida’s life. It helped her deal with all the pain and loneliness she so often felt. One of my favorite lines in the book is 

“Dibujar es como tener una amiga imaginaria. Esta presente cada vez que ella quiere. Le hace compania y le da fuerzas para no perder la esperanza.” 

Let me translate:
“Painting is like having an imaginary friend. She is present every time she needs her. She gives her company and the strength to not lose hope.”

I love this quote! What makes me realize how important it is is two reasons: One, in the beginning of the book before the quote above it given it says, “Frida has an imaginary friend named Frida” in Spanish of course. I have no idea if it is actually true. Two, my brain recalls one of Frida’s quotes: 

“I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.”

That’s when I had an aha moment. When Frida was lonely she painted herself, the subject she knew best. She painted her imaginary friend, Frida. A friend whom could related to her, someone who knew her pain and suffering, and she could bring her to life just with a stroke of a brush. 

It is difficult not to love Frida. In a situation were many would give up and lose hope, she found a way to fight through it, to make something positive out of it and share it with the world. On that note, I would like to share/give a copy of this amazing book, “Frida” to one lucky winner. It will be a Spanish version, like my own.

Giveaway Rules
Leave a comment below about this book review or anything about Frida Kahlo.
For extra entries share this giveaway on your social media accounts and leave the link/s in the comments below. 
Contest ends next Friday, June 17. 
Winner will be announced Saturday, June 18. 
Good Luck!

Also, don't forget to check out The Morose Bee to see what she has going on for Friday Frida Favs.

Friday Frida Favs: Free Frida Kahlo Printables & Patterns

Everyone that signed up for the Viva La Frida Craft Swap has been paired up and many have already started creating their Frida Kahlo inspired craft gift. While searching for some items for my swap project, I came upon many free Frida printable & patterns. These free downloads  are a great way to add a little extra something to your swap gift without going over budget. 

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My favorite freebie is this Frida Kahlo paper doll. Use crayons/colored pencils or any type of medium to add some vibrant festive hues to Frida. I would personally get it laminated before assembling it together. Cut out the pieces, punch in the holes, and assemble. Add a string and attach to a long wooden stick if desired, to make Frida move.

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These are free Frida Kahlo planner printables. They have multiple uses. You can use them as gift tags or even print them on sticker paper and give them to your swap partner as stickers. You can purchase sticker paper and your local office supply store like Staples.

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Free printable bottle cap images make great magnets using bottle caps. You can also make pins if you have a pin-back making machine or even into  Frida Kahlo earrings if you make jewelry. 

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Write a letter to your Viva La Frida Craft Swap partner on this free Frida Kahlo stationary. “Hola Swap Partner, Como estas?"

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Did you purchase or make a small Frida inspired nicknack? You got a printer, glue, scissors, and a toilet paper roll? I thought so! When done wrap your gift in tissue paper or in a small plastic bag with a ribbon tying it shut and insert it inside.


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For my cross stitchers out there, this one is for you. 


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Embroiderers, I didn't forget about you. Here, you go!

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We're almost half way through this year. Need a refresher on what your goals for this year are? Maybe, your swap partner does too. Send her this free motivational Frida printable.  Not your goals; their goals silly. 

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Another awesome Frida Kahlo doll made out of paper, but this one is three dimensional.
I wonder if you could use this one as a box too?

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 Make a coloring book for your swap partner (adult coloring is the new fad right now) or for their little one, starting with this coloring page. You can find more Frida Kahlo coloring pages on Pinterest for free. Don't forget to include crayons, markers, or color pencils. Better yet, if you sew make a color pencil pouch holder using some symbolic Frida Kahlo fabric.

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These free Frida Kahlo quote tickets are perfect for the swap partner that loves all of Frida's quotes. Make stickers to go with the free printable stationary above.

I'm looking forward to including one of these Frida freebies for my Viva La Frida Craft Swap gift.
Let me know if you will too.

Head over to The Morose Bee and see what Emily has featured for Friday Frida Favs for some more Frida Kahlo inspiration.

Have a happy FRIDay everyone.

Pinterest Cooking Academy: Beet Bread Recipe

My husband and I have never been beet eaters until Lily was born and I was going down the list of homemade baby food to make for her. I also didn’t cook much until she came along. But now, we love beets; this year we grew them in our garden. My firefighter pulled out the beets that actually took on Wednesday, May 1st from our garden. I cleaned them and prepped them and headed to Pinterest to see what I could make with them. 

I’ve made beet pesto pizza, beet muffins, beet apple sauce, beet hash, and beet bread that I will share with you today. I decided to make beet bread when I realized I still had pureed beets in the refrigerator and I didn’t want them going bad. Well, I doubt they would have gone bad. Lily loves eating beets even if nothing else is mixed in with them. See…

She asks for beets by name.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to save the beets for a beet vegan burger recipe, which I still haven’t tired, or the beet bread. I decided on the beet bread since I had my firefighter purchase cream cheese just in case I decided to make the bread. Late Saturday night on May 21st, I pulled up the Beet Bread With Cream Cheese And Dill Swirl recipe by 10thKitchen.com I had pinned on my Pinterest board and gave it a go. 

The only changes I made to the recipe was the fresh copped dill. I didn’t have any. I used dried instead, which we dehydrated last year from our garden. I look up on the “google machine” as my firefighter calls it, to see how you convert fresh dill to dry dill in recipes. I used one teaspoon of dried dill for one tablespoon of fresh dill. Danguole, the author of the beet bread recipe, suggested to add more cream cheese if desired. I went against it, trying to be good and not add any more than what the recipe originally suggested. Maybe, next time, I won’t be as good though. 

The beet bread was delicious, especially with the swirl of warm cream cheese inside. I split the bread in half, putting half in the refrigerator and half in the freezer. I’ve had a slice of beet bread on the side with my daily sautéed breakfast veggies and two over-easy eggs. You can't beat the extra veggies! I can't wait to try it along side with some warm soup.

Next, I hope to try a beet vegan burger recipe. I also plan to share the recipes I used for my beet pesto pizza, muffins, and apple sauce soon. Most of these recipes I found on Pinterest or what I like to call Pinterest Cooking Academy. I honestly wouldn’t know what I would do without Pinterest, especially when it comes to cooking for my family.

If you have any beet recipes you love, please do share.

Friday Frida Favs: Frida Kahlo Blythe Dolls

I’m obsessed with these stunning Frida Kahlo Blythe dolls. I think what makes them special is that they are one of a kind and hand manipulated by a talented artist. You can’t purchase them in a store, making them a rare find. 

Here are some of my favorite:

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The top four are from the same artist, known as Dr. Blythenstein. He calls his Frida Kahlo creations Frida Khalostein. Isn't she beautiful.

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I love how these Blythe dolls are all different, but they are all Frida depicted in various ways. They remind me of Frida Kahlo's self portraits. The same women with different expressions and in different attire. 

The top ones are my favorite. Which ones are yours?

I would love to start a small collection of handmade Frida Kahlo dolls; handcrafted dolls are the best. 

Friday Frida Favs: DIWM Frida Kahlo Handprint Portrait Tutorial

Hey (I currently say “Hey” instead of “Hi”) everyone! It’s me Lily! This is my first post on my mama’s booger, I mean blog on Creativity Lizette. Guess what? I’m creative too! I saw how much fun my Mama was having with Friday Frida Fav and I thought to myself, “No fair! I want to join in the Frida fun too!” Since I’m little, I asked my Mama for help with a Frida art project I had in mind. Today, my mama and I bring you this awesome Frida Kahlo handprint portrait tutorial or what I like to call Do It With Mama or Mommy (I call my mom, Mama) tutorial.

This is almost like finger painting (I love painting) only that your parent has some but not all control were the prints are going. This DIWM tutorial is not a one day project. Come on, I’m a toddler; I have a shot attention span and get easily distracted. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah! I tell my mama, “No more!” When I am done with what I am doing and want to move onto something new, like reading a book. It took my mama and I a couple of days to complete this Frida handprint portrait. Remember, time and patience is needed when working with a toddler. I should know, I’m a toddler! Without further ado, here’s my Mama. She’s going to take over while I go have a snack. “Mama, chip?”

This mother and daughter project was inspired by 1939’s French Vogue magazine cover of Frida Kahlo, taken by photographer Nickolas Muray.

Supplies (Not Pictured):
Green Paper (background), Paint needed is White (for face and ribbon on sacred heart), Brown (for hair), Yellow (inside of the flowers and middle flame above scared heart), Pink (flower pedals), Black (unibrow), Light Pink (cheeks), Blue (earrings), Red (Heart), orange (outter flames above sacred heart), paint brushes, water, paper towel, a plastic bag (this is were I pour the paint onto, a black pen, and of course a willing toddler and a patient parent.

Paso (Means Step) 1: For Frida’s face, I painted Lily’s palm white, not including the fingers, and pressed it onto the green paper. Make sure you leave enough space underneath for the sacred heart.

Paso 2: For Frida’s hair, I painted Lily’s left thumb brown and pressed it horizontally on the top, left part of Frida’s head. Then I did the same with her right thumb and pressed it on the opposite side of Frida’s head.

Paso 3: For the inside of the flowers, I painted the the tip of Lily’s pinky yellow and pressed it above Frida’s head. We did this four times leaving small gaps in between for the flower pedals. Let dry before you continue onto the next step.

Paso 4: For the flower pedals, I painted the tip of Lily’s middle finger pink and pressed it around the yellow finger print. Repeat until you make a flower pattern then move onto the next yellow circle. There is no need to wait for the flower pedals to dry since they are all the same color, unless you want the flowers to be different colors.



Paso 5: For Frida’s signature unibrows, I actually painted the outter side of Lily’s left pinky finger black  and pressed it horizontally on the left side of Frida’s head. I repeated the same step with her right finger and connected it to the left unibrow.

Paso 6: For Frida’s cheeks, I painted the tip of Lily’s left thumb pink and pressed it on the left side of were Frida’s cheek should be. I did the same thing with her right thumb on the opposite side were the first cheek got printed.

Paso 7: For Frida’s earrings, I painted the tip of Lily’s ring finger and pressed on the outter left middle part of Frida’s head. Repeat the same “paso” with the right finger on the opposite side.

Paso 8: You want to print the sacred heart below Frida’s head. I painted Lily’s index finger red and pressed it slightly side ways towards the left. Then I painted the same finger and overlapped it on the bottom of the last print pressing it slightly towards the right, creating the shape of a heart. Let dry.

Paso 9: For the flame above the sacred heart, I painted the tip of Lily’s picky finger orange and pressed it on the top middle part of the heart. Let dry.



Paso 10: I painted the tip of Lily’s ring finger yellow and pressed it on the left side of the orange flame print and then I painted the same finger again and pressed it on the right side of the orange flame print.

Paso 11:  For the ribbon over the sacred heart, I painted Lily’s picky finger white and pressed it across the heart. I wiped her finger off and painted the tip of her picky finger white and pressed it on the front but slightly over the front of the ribbon. Then, I painted the tip of the finger again and pressed it on the opposite just like the last print.

Paso 12: This is my favorite “paso” because it makes everything come together. Grab your black pen and outline the pedals making them look like flowers, create earrings for Frida, give Frida eyes, a nose, and a smile with lips, outline your sacred heart, draw flames, outline your ribbon, and write Frida’s name in the ribbon. Lily moved her hand a lot during this mommy and daughter collaboration; nonetheless, the quality time, memories, and finished project was well worth it. This is now framed and displayed on our fireplace.

Hey guys, I’m back! It's Lily! I hope you enjoyed this Do It With Mama tutorial that my mama and I put together for you. If you decide to make your own Frida Kahlo handprint portrait like mine, please share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #fridahandprintportrait or email us a picture to creativitylizette@yahoo.com Mama says sharing is good.

Mama says, “Don’t forget to sign up for Bee Creative Swaps’ Viva La Frida Craft Swap. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up.”

Happy FRIDAy from my Mama and me, Lily! “Mom, chip?”