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!)

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.”