Love Barbara's Feet!

Oh gosh, the first step is always admitting to it... I have a foot fetish!! There, I said it and I meant what I said.

The other day I came across the cutest little feet EVER (and then some!) on Barbara's new Etsy shop "Barbies Best", but she is not new to her craft at all. In fact, Barbara has done it all, sort of: sewing, candles, macrame, tole painting and pretty much whatever is popular at the time. In the 1970's, she even owned a shop in Ohio that sold local handcrafted items on consignment and taught some classes as well.

Barbara discovered polymer clay 3 years ago on a TV show. She finds the clay very soothing to play with. In the beginning she was covering everything she could find with the clay - eggs, vases, wine glasses, candle holders, bowls etc. After watching a show about beads, Barbara was hooked - "Instant gratification. I love the colors, shapes and feel of beads." The details in her creations show how much she loves her work. Like the Red Hat Charm above - love it!

Barbara sells her handmade creations in bead shops and thought she would give Etsy a try. This is how it all began, in her own words: "I was showing a friend some bracelets I had made with my beads and she suggested I take them to the local bead shop and ask if they would sell them for me. The regulars in the shop loved them so much that the owner instantly agreed to take them in on consignment. Every time I walk in the shop I am swarmed to see what's new. Since then I've showed them to other beads shops that now sell my beads. The gals who hang out at the bead shop give me most of my inspiration. I watch what they are making and they always have ideas for me. I also look at patterns on clothes, other jewelry and pictures of just about anything in magazines."

Barbara & I are practically neighbors. Well, sort of. I live near Lake Pleasant and she lives in Lake Havasu City, AZ - a "boating and tourist town where Flip Flops & sandals are the most common footwear as the summer temperatures are usually pushing 110."

I asked her how she came up with those adorable little sandal feet with the perfect little pedicures and here is a snippet of what she said: "One day last spring while I was hanging out at the bead shop I noticed one of the girls wearing a very cute pair of sandals and another one had on a T-shirt with flip flops on the front. The lite when on in my head." The rest is history. You have to see the variety of these adorable beads/charms! There are different sandal styles, colors, etc. She also has a variety of other fun handmade beads.

When she took her little feet to the bead shop, they sold like sunblock on a hot sunny day at the lake! A best seller. Her second most popular beads are the skulls with red rhinestone eyes. She plans on listing more of those soon. I cracked up when she told me what her hubby said: he "wants to know what I do with the rest of the body once I shrink the people and use their heads and feet." Guess only time will tell Barabara ;)

My name is Rocki. I'm a feetaholic and I don't want a cure. I love Barbara's feet!

Now run to her shop and pick up a pair for yourself.

Rocki