heart wooden

Elias Garcia links two open hearts to represent love. Diminutive worry dolls in handwoven apparel stand shoulder to shoulder on a cheerful and unique double wreath; they are crafted by his sister of the Lopez Garcia family. Centering the hearts, a wooden plaque reads "Blessed." This charming design hangs from a golden cord.

According to Maya legend, the sun god gave princess Ixmucane the gift of solving people's problems. With time people started making dolls in Ixmucane's honor and they would tell her their woes, hoping she would solve them through the dolls. Many people whisper to the dolls, then place them under their pillows at night, hoping that the doll will provide a solution as they sleep.

These adorable dolls are here to bring some love into your home. Elias Garcia arranges them in two interlocking heart-shaped wreaths covered with colorful handloomed fabric and finished with a wooden plaque reading "Connected Heart to Heart." Each doll is handmade by Elias' sister, Aura, and she dresses each one in a unique handwoven dress.

Quitapenas or "worry dolls" represent Ixmucane, a princess who was gifted with infinite wisdom. Children are instructed to confide all of their worries to their quitapenas and then place them underneath their pillow at night. The dolls will impart their wisdom to them while they sleep and in the morning they'll wake up knowing what to do.

A jaguar feasts on a human heart, torn from the chest of a sacrificial victim. Etching the image into jade, Ruben and Gilda Perez depict an icon from the Platform of Eagles and Jaguars at Chichen Itza in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It is believed to refer to the fiercest of Maya fighting men, known as Jaguar Warriors.

The Guatemalan artisans display the plaque on a black pinewood base.