Inspired by a calendar!

I have one of those page a day calandars in my kitchen, you know the kind that you change the picture each day. This one is all shoes...I adore shoes, so every Christmas my husband and son buy me one of these shoe calendars. Well a few days ago, there was an amazing pair of shoes...actually a work of art, that really caught my attention! The artist is Marina Dempster. Check these out... the shoes are covered in tiny seed beads!

I loved the texture, and pattern, but most of all the color combination was stunning. The colors to me are tropical, retro, fun... what gorgeous colors for summer! So..... I have been inspired, and have started a bracelet, made entirely of vintage beads in the same color scheme as these shoes! I already have a name for it as well. Alas...I have run out of wire, so must wait to finish it until the wire order arrives. So stay tuned for my "CopaCobana" bracelet!
Please visit Marinas' website, for more information on her background, career, and current work. Here are some more pictures of this amazing artists' work:

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Animal Prints on Safari

Animal prints are found in fashion as well as home decor. They are certainly a classic, and never seem to go out of style. Adding something to your look or to your home, in an animal print, is sexy, exotic, daring.... a little bit wild! Animal prints were all the rage on the Spring and Summer catwalks, featuring spots and stripes, and by pairing them with hot bright colors such as lime green and fuchsia, you get a very trendy look. By limiting animal prints to accessories, like scarves, handbags, shoes and jewelry and by pairing these with black, grey, camel or denim, you get a very chic, glamorous look. In your home, a few cushions, a special chair or a lovely faux print rug adds timeless style with pizzaz.
One of my favourite pair of shoes are a leopard print kitten heel by Guess, that I love to wear with jeans .Oh yes, I am a bit of a shoe-a-holic!

Want to learn more about animal prints? Then please visit the Animal Print Essentials blog, where yours truly is currently featured as the guest artist!! Author, and interior designer, Maria DeGange, has some wonderful information on fashion, home interiors, art and Etsy crafters as well as food, such as cakes such as this one pictured here, done in animal prints! How cool is that?

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Closet organizing

With all this snowy weather and the fact that tomorrow my parents are arriving from England, for a visit, I have been doing a lot of spring cleaning. I have tackled our bedroom closet, and wound up with a full green garbage bag of clothes to donate to the Goodwill! More room now for new things! I really tried to stick with that rule "that if you have not worn an item of clothing in the last year, it is time to give it up". I also got rid of stained, worn T shirts, and turned them into rags for cleaning. I organized my shoes onto an old bookshelf, and an old coat stand made a great organizer for scarves, hats and belts. Then I purchased those nice sturdy wooden hangers (a great price at Ikea) and rehung all of our clothes onto them, hanging like items together and in color groups. OK, that is either the designer in me or I am just plain anal! Jeans worked best folded up on the closet shelves, and made more room for other items that had to be hung. Now it is easy to see our clothes and even easier to put an outfit together in record time. Now if only the weather would co-operate I could wear some of those nice shoes! Pin It