Crafty Manolo

Reader Annie pointed me in the direction of this deeply cool gallery of art shoes. Unfortunately there isn’t any indication I can find of who made them, or even if they’re all by the same artist.

All the same, do go check them out. The inspirations range from children’s toys to birds to Madonna in the eighties. The two things they all have in common? They are high-heeled ladies’ shoes, and they freaking rock!

Thanks, Annie, for pointing me in their direction.

ETA: Sarah J informs me the artist is Kobi Levi and more of his work can be found on his blog here. Thanks, Sarah J!

I vividly remember Christmas day when I was nine. My great aunt gave me a fabulous salmon pink evening gown from the fifties with acres of rainbow tulle petticoats attached. Once I got it on, I never wanted to take it off again.

Sometimes a girl just needs a tutu more than she can possibly say.

I got that same giddy feeling of delight when I looked at the works of Etsy artist SewLovedBoutique. Just look at this adorable fairy princess costume! The wings aren’t actually included, but chances are the small child in your life will adore it as much as I do, wings or no. Oh, and it’s on sale! Regularly priced at $60.00, it’s marked down to $54.00 right now.

Contact the artist to learn about a custom tutu for your favorite baby, toddler, or child for this Halloween… but you’d better hurry. The witching hour is almost here!

That poor pooch!

Okay, I’m going to come right out and say this: I really, really dislike the practice of dressing up pets. I find it undignified. That’s my personal opinion, and I’m sticking by it. Your mileage may vary, and we won’t have a problem about that as long as you aren’t coming over to dress my cat up… not that you’d find him if you tried that. He’d be hiding and I would aid him in any way I could.

But even if you’re into dressing up the critturs in your life, would you really inflict this ‘Yoda’ costume on your pup? I wouldn’t. In fact, the expression on this poor, forlorn canine really sums up my feelings on the subject.

On the other hand, I have to admit I could see a use for the crocheted light saber rattles. Same artist, much cooler result. In fact, I have some terribly pro-creative friends who are huge Star Wars nerds, too. If they present the world with another tiny one, I know what to give as a baby present!

No, that’s not a costume from an avant garde production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s the handiwork of environmental artist Nicole Dextras. The title is Camellia Countess. It’s composed of: camellia flowers, lilac flowers, yucca leaves, laurel leaves, willow branches, and thorns. The thorns are how the piece is held together. No thread here!

Dextras makes her wearable art from the plants she finds in her own garden, as well as donations from others. She then photographs the pieces, some on models, some not, and then leaves them in the great outdoors to return to the soil.

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As some of you may be aware, Mardi Gras is one week from tomorrow. In honor of the occasion, reader Margot Silk Forest and her partner in crime, Destiny Carter of the Glitter Sweatshop, have created these rather fabulous boots as part of the San Luis Obispo Arts Organization’s Mardi Gras fundraser, Walk on the Wild Side. I think these definitely fulfill that promise and more!

If you want to see how it was done, just click through here to go to their page about it.

Fabulous, ladies!

Oh, and if you want instructions to make a King cake to go with those shoes or don’t know where to get beads, just check out this site.