candiecooper, Author at Candie Cooper

The Weekend.

April 16, 2012 By candiecooper 1 Comment

Friday night was a big night at Dorothy Ilene's gallery. Us artists had a blast mingling and selling our wares. I even got to meet my on-line pal, Little Indiana. THANKS to EVERYBODY for all the love and support.

The next morning, Jean and I hit the ground running with my HOJALATA ("tin work" in Spanish) workshop at the FAME fest. We had pre-schoolers up to middle schoolers stop by to learn about the history of metalwork in Mexico and make a folk art magnet like these:

I used Sizzix dies to cut out tin shapes for embossing. The kids loved the permanent markers to color in their designs. Special thanks to Secondary Metals here in town for donating the aluminum background pieces that we textured with a chasing hammer.

Then Dad had the brilliant idea of taking us girls (who'd been working hard all day!) and Aaron to Anderson to the big casino buffet for all-you-can-eat crab legs. We never turn Dad down. So fun!

On Sunday, we had a huge breakfast (because we needed more food after the buffet dinner) and then went in search for a bike for Aaron. Found one and were on the bike trail by 2 o'clock. 11 miles later, 3 movies rented, tidied up the house and this for dinner:

IT WAS A GOOD WEEKEND!! Thanks to all that shared it with me. XOXO.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

FAME Fest Schedule

April 13, 2012 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

FAME Fest tomorrow at the Honeywell Center!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

DIY Easy Wrist Corsage for Prom

April 12, 2012 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

Yesterday was hair embellishments, today a twist on a wrist corsage. Instead of using the elastic findings, check out this cuff bracelet with filigree top. The filigree piece makes it easy to embellish it with whatever you like.

Some ideas are feathers, old clip on earrings, big silk flowers, and sparkle stems like I used in the hair piece yesterday.

You can make beaded loops with 22/24 g. wire and an old necklace or maybe some sparkly crystals with seed beads?

String a row of beads onto a wire. Determine how big you want the loop to be and then wrap the tail of wire around the opposite side of the beads to secure the loop.

You can add as many loops as you want. Use wire to attach the beaded loops to the filigree piece. Use hot glue to attach the feathers and flower. It's worth wrapping a bit of wire around the feather and flower pieces to insure they are attached really well (think crazy dance floor secure).

Remove the clip on the earring and glue to the center of the flower. This is just the beginning–you can add more bead loops and feathers like the one my friend Teri and I did a couple years ago:

The girl's dress was bright orange and green so we wanted the corsage to be full of energy too. Don't forget to save a couple pieces for the boutonniere —although I hear pocket squares are in right now too. I love the classic Fred Astaire look–he wore both. Go big…or go home, I guess.

SOURCES: 22/24g Wire by Beadalon (find it at any craft store), the cuff is by Plaid found at JoAnns in the Ring Bling line, as well as the flower from the Inspired Classics line.

Filed Under: Jewelry

DIY Hair Fascinator for Prom

April 11, 2012 By candiecooper 1 Comment

It's prom time! I secretly wish I could wear this little number. Anyone else? My studio is a few doors down from Ellen's dress shop. I've been enjoying their ever changing windows with all the different prom dresses, picking my favorite. Naturally I start thinking about accessories for these dresses (and my prom days, waiting for Seventeen magazine's special issue on the subject). My gram always made my flowers. My inner 17 year old self would have to have a foo foo hair fascinator this year. They are easy to make with a few supplies. Keep it simple or funky, embracing indivdual style.

You need: a cloth headband, big flower, feathers, a stem of sparkle stones, wire cutters, scissors, hot glue, basically. Just walk around the craft store, you'll find some fun stuff!

Arrange your pieces on the head band and hot glue as you go. It helps to work in front of a mirror so you can get an idea of where the pieces will actually be.

And there you go, Buttercup!

The sparkle stem is from Hobby Lobby by Prima and the silk flower is from JoAnn's by Plaid Enterprises. (Cue Footloose soundtrack)

Filed Under: Crafting, fabulous

Easter Brunch

April 10, 2012 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

I made two things for Easter Brunch.

Blueberry baked french toast that tasted wonderful thanks to the recipe from Allrecipes.com! This is the back-up batch–the first one had wayyyy more blueberries.

Second, your fav and mine, peanut butter eggs! This recipe yeilds 66 (and I didn't catch that when I started making them). Aaron and I rolled and patted out at least 50 and then I started dipping them in chocolate. By egg number 14, I was……. Let's just say I can cross chocolate dipper off my list of possible careers. Betty Crocker made the little chicks for the top. My Aunt Jane piped icing ring nests (and dipped some extra eggs–lifesaver) while I plopped the birds in. Aunt Jane also says I should've borrowed her special dipping tools. Noted.

It was a happy day filled with church and family time. I'm thankful for the beautiful day.

See the rest of the Easter photos here.

Filed Under: BAKING, Food and Drink

Gratitude

April 9, 2012 By candiecooper 1 Comment

My studio-mate brought me this lunch today. There is so much love in this studio that we've been in since January 1. I'm so grateful for her creative spirit. She constantly inspires random acts of kindness—that's a true friend.