The pink crown is coming along!  It has been beaded all the way around at the top and mid-line.  I've attached the pink heart strings which I just love!  It makes wearing the crown extra fun!
A little more of this and that and she'll be finished!

Building a Portfolio

I've been working on the idea of visiting local galleries to present my work for consideration.  One idea that I'm leaning toward is putting my digital portfolio on a thumb drive to drop off with gallery owners.  It's an intimidating thing, putting yourself out there.

Are there dos and don'ts for approaching gallery folks? 

And, I generally use materials that I can get my hands on quickly and cheaply - Are there specific materials to avoid when searching out a professional venue?

I'd love to hear your feedback and ideas!

Fuzzy Chocolate Chip Cookie Flip Flops

Okay, think about it for a minute, but who wouldn't want to have chocolate chip cookies on their fluffy flip flops!

I knitted a scarf with this lovely eyelash yarn and just never used it, soooo...I used some of it on the pink crown (still in progress) and some of it was used on these shoes.  Why, you ask, would I do such a thing?  Well, these are a pair of Speedos that I bought a few years back when they were making the supports hard enought so they didn't flatten out.  They were awesome shoes that didn't hurt my back.  Yea!  But, the straps stretched and they were hard to keep on.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  I knew you would.
I wrapped the scarf around the straps.  Now, I didn't want them to look like slippers, so I sewed the cookie button on.  Unfortunately, the fluff was too long and hid the buttons.  They got a hair cut today and I think they are much better!  I don't know if I'm finished yet, though.  They may require some sparkle!

Lori Anderson Giveaway!

 
Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  Bead giveaway over on Lori Anderson's PrettyThingsBlog!  You must go check it out!   There's more than beads in this giveaway!  Hurry!  Go see!

They're here! The coffee cup sleeves that I designed for our local coffee shop chain are finally here!

       I've had wall shows at two of the shops and the owners approached me with the idea of designing the cup sleeves, coffee bag labels and a t-shirt. One of the owners, Suzie, bought the drawing below. It's called Matisse's Misbehaving Dogs. I was just thrilled that someone got my humor!    

  I was so excited! The sleeve is the first to go to print. My sister-in-law frequents one of the shops and has been dying to show her group what the sleeves were going to look like, but we held back sharing (yes, I've been dying to share it with you, too) until they were in the shops.  

 All of the drawings are done with opaque gel pens on black paper and coffee cups are a huge part of my designs!

 Our Lady of Lattes is one of my favorites. 

 I am over the moon!

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Cookie and Crystal Earrings

Who doesn't love cookies!  Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite and I use the images of cookies and tiny polymer clay cookies in all kinds of mixed media art and jewelry.  Exhibit A:  Pearl, Crystal & Cookie Earrings.

My daughter doesn't always like my jewelry, but she loved these!  It's just the right combination of elegance and kitsch, she says.  Booyah! is what I have to say.

What are YOU working on?  I want to see and hear all about it!

 candace@cool2craft.com

Around the World Inspired Crafts

The Cool2Craft TV show theme for this week is Around the World.  We're celebrating art and craft influences from all over!

My craft project this week is a super green craft!  It starts with paper coffee cups.  I cut off the rim, wrap it with fabric scraps and embellish it with bits of wire.
You can find the video and written tutorial on cool2craft.com.  Be sure to check out all the projects!  Do you have projects you'd like to share?  Check out our Linky Party each week for a new theme - you'll find the Linky Party button on cool2craft.com, too!  You can enter the party with a link tp a project.  Go on!  It's easy!
If you don't have a blog or website, just email me with high resolution photos and a story, so I can share it on our Creative Community Blog!
Happy crafting!