Happy New Year 2026! And what a great year 2025!

Looking back, 2025 was the best year for me and my little business…mainly the last 3 months. For some reason, my pins and creations have done well and not sure why….maybe it is my new ideas I’ve incorporated in my wrapping projects, maybe the additional critters I now have…or maybe just more of an interest in pins and brooches.

Below is a picture of an idea I had to frame a pin…..for those not interested in pins, or a way of displaying them when not wearing. I had 5 on display at my last show, and by the end of the show I had 4 empty frames…haha people only wanted the pin and not the frame. I charged for the pin at the normal cost and the frame was an extra $10. So, now I will only have that idea as a sample on my table….. NOTE: the images below will be on show and for sale at my Shemer event on Saturday, 1/3, where I will answer questions and demonstrate my technique. Hope to see you there!

My shadow box idea. About 5”X5”, This will be on display at my Shemer’s Gift Shop Guest Artist event on 1/3/26 from 11am-1pm.

Dragonfly pin. The bottom has a dangling rhinestone when wearing.

Lizard pin, about 5.5 inches long.

Quail decor. About 7 inches across. Jewelry parts added to the ribbon yarn wrapped quail. Base is 1/4” wood.

Butterfly/moth decor. Ribbon yarn wrapped wood piece then decorated with jewelry parts. About 7” across.

Frog pin with added jewelry parts.

Bug pin. Bugs are very popular and I don’t have many…. finding the vinyl vintage toys are the problem!!

Frog pin

Hummingbird decor. Ribbon yarn wrapped 1/4” wood bird, decorated with jewelry parts and rhinestones. About 7” across.

Planning shows.....shows.....and more shows!!!

Please see my event page in the right column, or scroll down to the end of the Blog if you are on a mobile. I have been signing up for shows as they are announced. I’m really looking forward to the Festival in the Mountains event at the North Mountain Visitor’s Center. This will be their first annual event like this. There will be music, food and fun for kids, along with a large art show which will include a silent auction.

I have been delving into new projects and experimenting with new ideas. Along with my usual wrapping technique, I have been adding more vintage jewelry and jewelry parts to my projects. I have always loved jewelry and currently I volunteer at White Dove Thrift Shop in Phoenix which is a part of the Hospice of the Valley organization. Both my mom and dad were taken care of by HOV and they do wonderful work. I currently research and price jewelry that comes in through donations, and I work with another volunteer and the store manager. We get so many wonderful donations from families of patients and the public. The jewelry parts I use in my projects mostly come from other thrift stores or online shops and some are even given to me by friends and customers. I don’t get freebies from HOV!! My biggest project to date is a large turtle….he is approximately 8x6” and I use old watches and watchfaces I purchase at thrift stores and online thrift organizations. I have pictures below. I don’t think I will be selling him as yet! Still perfecting the right adhesive for large jewelry attachment!

Long Hot Summer!

The summer continues to be hot….. and humid…..thanks to the recent monsoon rains we got here in Phoenix. I took some time off to create and added to my volunteering opportunities. I also have been researching some events and vendor fairs that seem interesting. I have signed up for 2 so far…..Please see the sidebar to the right, or if you are on a moble phone, swipe to the end of the blog posts and see those events. Here are some critters I have been working on:

This is The Mad King Lizard that will be entered into the Arizona State Fair in September. He is about 17” long. Please see 3 more that will be entered. Latest note: won 1st place/BLUE RIBBON!!!

This butterfly is about 6” across. It is for hanging and has a looped wire on back. Latest Note: won 5th place

This Scottie dog is about 1-1/2” and is a pin.

The bottom one on right is the 4th entry in the State Fair. This is a pin. The large dragonfly is for hanging and is about 6” across. Latest Note: won 3rd place

This is another wrapped 6” butterfly. I am using old vintage jewelry parts, beads, wire, rhinestones and whatever doodads I have in my stash!! This one will be for sale at Shemer Arts Festival!

This extra large lizard I will give to Shemer during their Arts Festival scheduled the first of November. It will be a raffle gift! Cost: $100

This is an ornament I plan to give to Shemer Art Center to sell at Christmas. It is about 4” tall. More jewelry parts….

Wrapped tree with added jewelry parts. Another ornament I will give to Shemer to sell.

BYE BYE to Etsy.........................

Hi ALL!!! I made the decision to close my Etsy shop. I have had so few views and no orders for many months, so it is not worth keeping it open as of now. Please email me if you are interested in purchasing any of my critters. I still have the ones that were for sale on Etsy, and if interested in them, let me know. Thank you for those who love what I do :)

All in all, I had a wonderful February and March in all of my in-person shows. I do so much better selling in these in-person shows than anywhere else. And I so much enjoy sharing my craft and talking with all that visit my table. Due to the horrible economy right now, I am slowing down to see what will happen next. The economy created by the current president will soon be worse, so we are all waiting to see what will happen in the future.

Meanwhile, I have been doing other things and creating jewelry “critters”. I have the idea in my head, and as soon as I actually create one, I will share it here :). I’m still making my regular yarn-wrapped critters, so don’t dispair LOL. If you like any of my postings, please hit the “like” button so I know you are still checking in!

I am downloading a recent photo of jewelry trees I did for my church group which sold at our 11/24 boutique. The base is wood which is covered with upholstery material before jewelry parts are glued. So, imagine if these were yarn-wrapped (instead of using upholstery material) in the shape of critters? That is my idea and more to come 😊

Shemer Raffle gift complete................

I finished the raffle gift for the Shemer Furry Friends event on 2/22/25. Here is Fanciful Filley that will be raffled off at the event. This was the hardest horse I have ever made! Wow, it was so difficult wrapping this Barbie horse, and deciding the decorations. The main decoration is a vintage earring. Yes, it was a lone earring in a stash I purchased on the internet…….

New Year.......New Shows!

Update to my AZ State Fair entries: YAY! First Place went to the lizard pin and lizard sculpture; Second Place went to the Queen Bee…..which also sold for $40, so it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the horse sculpture was placed in the wrong category so nothing there. It appeared with the toy section, so the “upcycled” part of my description was overlooked. That’s OK since I may consider it for the raffle prize at the Furry Friends event at Shemer on 2/22. If anyone reads this, please let me know if you think I should do that! Please look at the side bar for my upcoming events. If you are on mobile, scroll down to the very bottom for events!!!

My 4th AZ State Fair Entry..................

Finally finished my 4th entry….a queen bee. See Pictures below. Now all I have to do is bring them in to the Coliseum on 9/13. We shall see how it goes 😊😊😊

Also, I posted some new events I signed up for Nov. and Dec. You can see them here on the right side panel. If you are on mobile, scroll to the end of my blog below to see them…..

Gift.....

I received the most wonderful, and heavy, box of vintage jewelry from a friend at church. She gave me her mother’s and grandmother’s jewelry that she didn’t want but wanted to give it to someone who could “use” it!! (She knows EXACTLY what I do with old jewelry😁). I spent 2 hours initially just going over everything she gave me….earrings, necklaces and bracelets. In fact, I’m going to hate to take any of it apart!! I told her I would make her something…..here is what I made out of an earring (the other one had beads missing, so I didn’t feel so bad.)

AZ State Fair Entries...so far............

This upcycled ribbon-yarn wrapped horse is about 12” long…..It was a well-loved Disney toy. This will be entered in the sculpture category at the AZ State Fair. It will be for sale for $100.

This lizard sculpture is about 17” long and will be entered in the AZ State Fair Home Arts show.

This lizard brooch will be entered into the AZ State Fair Home Arts category under craft jewelry.

New additions!

I have been working on new pins for the coming of our fall season here in the Phoenix area. It has been so hot here, going into my studio (air-conditioned garage :) has been the coolest place! Also working on entries for the Arizona State Fair Home Arts display. More on that later!!

This one is now on sale at my Etsy page…….deserttones

Display at Shemer

I did some volunteer hours at Shemer this past week and I thought I would post a quick picture to show you what my display looks like at Shemer. Very cool!!

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.

UPDATE: I sent a letter to the President of Scottsdale Arts, Gerd Wuestemann, and I received a very nice letter of apology. I received my monies quickly, but I decided not to continue to consign with them. Thank you, Mr. Wuestemann!

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!)