New Critters.........

I’m posting some new creations here……Shemer Art Center remodeled their gift shop and it is so nice and FRESH! I volunteered to help set up…come and see!! I also restocked my ponies for them, so now making many more!

Just an update to my critter pins at “The Store” gift shop at Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts. I have received no monies (which means no sales?) for the past year, so I returned there to request all my product back since I can definitely use them elsewhere. Found out from the Manager that they are all gone! This means I should have been paid my consignment fee for the sales. NO!! I am now trying to find out who is the leadership over that gift shop…. manager told me she had to fire an employee, she herself has been ill (shoulder surgery) and has had other complications. That is no excuse! She would not give me the outside contact for the company that does their checks. She promised to send me the email that requests them to pay me. NOPE! Not heard from her. If anyone out there is reading this, and has anything or info that would help, please let me know. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS SHOP. OTHER ARTISTS WERE PROBABLY STIFFED.

Made this for Mother’s Day :)

No on sale at Shemer

…now on sale at Shemer

Busy November, December and February!!!!

It was a whirlwind end of 2023 and a very busy February with street fairs and art shows. Now…..back to creating! Here are a few new creations this year. Working on new outlets for my critters. Check back soon!

Created for Shemer Furry Friends auction in February, 2024

Large lizard sculpture which can also be hung on a wall



Pretty cat pin……SOLD



Dog and horse pins

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS December Gift Guide

It was an honor to be a part of the Arizona Highways gift guide! I was informed that issues are arriving to subscribers last Saturday. I didn’t have mine yet, but one of the crafters in my Valley Presbyterian Church group did. She brought the copy in to our Mission Marketplace sale on Sunday and showed all of us….and to customers of our sale! I had pins for sale at the marketplace…proceeds going to missions of the church. I ended up selling many pins and requests for my autograph hahaha! A great donation to the church :)

To Be Featured in Arizona Highways Gift Guide!!!!

I was notified this week that one of my pins was chosen to be featured in the December Arizona Highways magazine!! The December issue will have a gift guide highlighting local artists and showcase red and turquoise gifts. I actually don’t know how they found me, but they did choose a pin from My Etsy Shop (Deserttones) . This pin is deactivated right now in that shop. AZ Highways is presently doing a photo shoot and will return the pin once it’s done.

I am hoping they will reference this website as communication for any orders. I have the “My Etsy Shop” button at the top to direct people to buy what I have available, and also I have the list of local stores where I have my pins and sculptures on consignment. You can find the list in the right sidebar if you are on a desktop, or all the way to the bottom if on mobile.

I had to drive 2.4 miles to get to their offices to drop off my pin…… HAHAHAHAHA!!



New Spirit Dudes.................

Just thought I would post a picture of my new Spirit Dudes I finished this week. I’m using a cactus wood display I bought at a thrift shop. They will be with me at the Desert Botanical Garden tonight from 6:30pm to 9:30pm at the Flashlight Nights Marketplace…….(indoors, of course!!!)

Flashlight Nights At Desert Botanical Garden

I will be a vendor at Desert Botanical Garden Flashlight Nights….Every Saturday evening from 6:30PM to 9:30PM through September 2nd and I’ll be located inside Dorrance Hall. So, I am busy making new pins each week! The first one was this past Saturday and it was alot of fun. There are alot of activities for kids and adults alike….music, food, games, looking for scorpions……so bring your flashlight. Oh, and I have some scorpion pins for sale…HAHA. (Also requested to make more owls, and snakes….so there you are!)

I must have made celebrity status !!!!! LOL

I periodically check Google to see where my name and/or my pins may appear. I see my photos I have posted in the past which show up often when clicking “Images” and some others may post to Pinterest. But I found 2 of my frog pins on “GoodwillFinds.com” . It was posted by a Goodwill in Washington State. They were some of my OLD ones….I thought GEEZ…..someone gave away MY pins to Goodwill???!! The more I ventured into this website, I found only good, quality, expensive items were posted from Goodwills from around the country. The title posted as “Jan Cooper. Jan Cooper Desert Tones Pins Figural Lot” Price was posted at $44.60 and SOLD…… “Handmade. Leap into color!” I tried to post the advertisement here, but that website wouldn’t let me. I sold these pins for $25 so it is close for 2 of them :) It also had “additional notes” posted as: “Assorted Tested Marks (Maker’s Marks) Desert Tones By Jan Cooper” I thought this was funny, but the pins were pictured on the original card I attach the pins to, stating my website, etc. which made them authenticated per the website. So, I figured it gave me some worth for my name, and also advertised my website LOL. Now I have celebrity status!!!! (I had to think of something positive to come out of this………)

NEW SHOPS!!..........

Just a note to tell you I am now in 2 additional stores in the Valley of the Sun. I have pins and sculptures at Made Art Boutique in downtown Phoenix and at Two Plates Full gift shop in Scottsdale. The addresses are at the right on this page or at the bottom of the page if you are on a mobile phone. I don’t have events/shows scheduled as of now since most of my inventory is now at these stores. I would love to also pick up a hotel/resort gift shop or hospital gift shop in the future……so, if you are reading this and have suggestions, please email me!!!! :)

I thought I would post a picture here of my shadow box I have hung on my hallway wall….all my personal pins I don’t want to sell….I guess you could call it my “Personal Collection.”

Busy creating since my last post!!

I have been so busy making creations, I haven’t even posted on my blog! This weekend is the busiest of the year so far. I thought I would share some pictures of some I have finished. I don’t post all of what I make, but will post my favorites :) Come out to Shemer tomorrow to see them all. It should be a nice day!

I don’t know if anyone reads my blog, but I hope you will come out and say “HI”!…….

Here is the raffle gift donation for Shemer tomorrow. Come by and buy some tickets to win Sky Horse.

It’s hard to get a good picture of little Blackie, but he is so cute! SOLD

This is a new one…..I am playing with appliques. He is now for sale at MADE Art Boutique. SOLD

I really like his eyelashes….

OK, so I had to post little donkey. He came out so cute….pin. SOLD

He is for sale at MADE Art Boutique.

See Right Panel for new shows coming up!!!

…Or if using a mobile phone, scroll to the bottom of this blog to see places I will be…..

I’ve been balancing my schedule and signing up for new shows. Please look in the margin on your right for Upcoming Events! It is a chore to decide which one to take…..this is a busy time of the year here in the Phoenix area, and also will be the first few months of 2023 (tourist season!). Many shows have come back since the pandemic, but many have not returned but I keep my fingers crossed. Shows in Florence, AZ were so much fun, but no sign of returning as of yet in 2022 or 2023. I have consigned some Christmas ornaments and pins for the United Methodist Church gift shop “Serendipities” in Paradise Valley. Their show is the same day as the Valley Presbyterian Church Mission Marketplace (I am the craft group coordinator) so I couldn’t attend. I continue to have some pins on Etsy, but am considering closing it. I much rather sell at shows so people can look and feel my creations, but many people wanted me to have an online site…..so that’s where Etsy came in so giving it a try! You can email me with any requests, too. Hope to see you soon!

Above are some ornaments and pins I have recently created.

New picture frame/shadow box!!

Love this new picture frame I ordered from Amazon. Each frame is deep enough to hold critters and Spirit Dudes, so I’m using it to display my creations. I had so much fun putting this together. The best place to take the picture was to hang it outside against the house brick. I can change out the critters as needed. Really love the idea for display. Other uses for pins:

  • on purses

  • on backpacks

  • on scarves

  • on hats

  • in plants

Upcoming Shows, Etsy and New Line........

On the right hand margin, I will be posting my upcoming shows for the fall here on the Blog. Right now I am doing a lot of planning and making! I have been making horses which I will be taking to Shemer Art Gallery for their gift shop. I’m not sure how much they will cost, but the Director will tell me since she has lots of experience. That is the hardest part of my hobby. I really enjoy finding new things to wrap and what to wrap them with. Always searching out thrift stores. Last week at Goodwill there was a rack in the aisle for employees to put away which was abandoned…..well, I couldn’t find anyone close by, but there were 2 bags of old toy horses just sitting there already priced. I took them and was so excited to find them! It’s the little things that excite me.

I started an Etsy shop which can be accessed on this site by clicking the tab. It will take you out of my site directly to deserttones (my Etsy shop). I just have 25 pins on there for now to see how it goes. It is free shipping.

Just this week I started making my Spirit Dudes line. These little guys are so cute and I have fun making them. They are slightly bendable and can stand on their own. I think they are too heavy as a pin. They can be displayed standing or in a cubby of a shadowbox. That is how I am going to display them myself at my shows. I may even start one for my wall at home to include my other critters in the cubbies. I had customers give me that idea instead of using them as pins. The cubby for the Spirit Dudes would have to measure about 4”x4” to display them the best. I am finding it hard to find shadow boxes, but may find a way to make them.

I’m still experimenting with these little guys, so stay tuned. I may tweek them a bit. They are about 3-1/2” high including the hair.

Here is another addition….He is about 2” high and a little heavy as a pin, so he can fit in a cubby/pocket of a shadow box.

The next 3 horses are new additions. Approximately 5” tall….

This little guy above is for sale at Shemer Art Center.

More and More........

Had a great show at the Superstition Mountain Museum Holiday Boutique 11/27 and 11/28. This was the first time I did a 2-day show. It was a long weekend, but I really did well! It started out very slow on Saturday but really picked up along the way. In fact, the Manager of the gift shop bought some pins of his choosing (I gave them a discount) to sell in their little shop! I was so excited and hope they will sell and they will ask for more….

I am adding more pictures and started to make horse pins, little bugs, birds and cactus pins. I always like to experiment. I make the bird pins out of polymer clay….I hand mold the bird from the clay, bake it and then wrap and decorate with my usual “doodads”….old jewelry, rhinestones, eyelets, bead caps, wire, metalic thread, beads, etc. and etc…….

More pictures and stuff......

Well, we are still at home. Fortunately, I have had 1 of the vaccines so far! Looking forward to getting back to some kind of normal soon.

I did pretty well prior to Christmas and I did a few outdoor shows……that were allowed :) Shemer’s Gift Shop Artist Showcase 12/5 turned out well and it was a beautiful venue and day out on their patio. They had a good turnout of customers and vendors.

I also did an “Art Crawl” 12/13 that was put on by the Coronado Neighborhood Assn. We displayed our “wares” out in our own yards, a map was emailed to the Assn. members and they took the “tour.” Wow, I did well and people came out on bikes, cars and walking their dogs. I hope they continue to do this every year. A great way to meet the neighbors, too! The previous art market they had in the fall was also a success for me which was held at the Coronado community garden.

I added a few pictures of the horse sculptures I created….something new but much more time-consuming to make. If anyone visits this website, please let me know what you think…………:)))))

I have contacted a few local gift shops regarding consignment, but no one is taking product due to the low sales right now. I think once this pandemic gets “better” people will venture out and start to make up for lost time………..

Dog Days of the Pandemic......

Here we all are….at home cleaning, working in the yard, tapping on our social media, talking to family next to us….and friends on the phone, reading, crafting, eating/snacking, and whatever other trouble we can find. I have done a lot of yard work this past couple weeks and now it is done. Did housework and actually dusted, which is the part of housework I hate. In January and February, I lost 2 stores that closed which was very sad. The economy has been bad and now it is even worse. I did have 2 good shows in the fall, at Merrill Ranch Florence and the Craftacular at Desert Botanical Garden, and in February at the Florence Women’s Club historic home tour event. Since I have tons of supplies and no excuses to NOT craft, I am making larger animals and pins. Even though I haven’t ventured out to a store (other than the grocery and Walgreens) or just can’t because nothing is open, I still was able to buy some spectacular ribbon yarn online.