2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For Grandmas, girls and jewelry lovers all: tile keepsakes

EK2 Crafts is the brainchild of longtime Lake Highlands artist Elaine Glasscock. Her sea-colored or crystal dangling earrings dazzle, but her trademark Scrabble-tile pendants, she says, are her best sellers.

Necklaces made from the same tiny squares used in the Scrabble board game can be seen hanging around many neighborhood necks. (She showcases some sweet Scrabble-tile rings, too.) Some are emblazoned with school colors and tiny Wildcat paws. Others boast groovy graphic prints. Most popular, perhaps, are the custom photo tiles — for these, she uses a customer-submitted photo (specific dimensions and instructions can be found on her site) to create a glossy personalized jewel. Old black and whites make for a cool, vintage-looking piece.

She has even made tiles featuring children’s artwork. The custom-made baubles run about $14, and it takes about a week to turn around an order. Some of the pieces featuring more detail are $15-$17, and she features several school-spirit chains for $3.

Before getting into the jewelry biz, Glasscock worked 20 years at a corporate job. A little later than most, she says, she became a mom to Kylie, 4, and Erin, 7. The EK2 stands for Elaine-Kevin (her husband) and Erin-Kylie. Her creations went over so well at her first neighborhood craft show that she was inspired to pursue the EK2 project. You can shop her virtual store at etsy.com/shop/ek2crafts.

dGlasscock’s creations went over so well at her first neighborhood craft show that she was inspired to pursue the EK2 project.

For the furry ones: bandanas with bling

It’s tough to stay in style all the time. Choosing the right accessories and maintaining perfect polish is tough, especially if — due to your lack of hands or full-color vision — you can’t dress yourself.

Lake Highlands designer Susan Hill is here to make sure your pet is tastefully adorned. Hill has outfitted the entire animal population, six dogs, at C.C. Young retirement community in her bling-y bandanas (they can be seen in holiday bandanas these days, as they change clothes by season) and she also fashions bandanas for the pups at Dallas Pug Rescue.

Potential adoptive parents can’t resist a dog in a diva, leopard-printed, crystal-enhanced scarf. The enterprise started when Hill went seeking to sass up her own pets.

“We had four rescue animals, and I looked all over the place for cute bandanas for them,” she says, to no avail.

So she took a sewing class, turned a room of her home into a workshop and started creating her own — they’re reversible, adjustable with a strong tie and she will make them to order. Hill’s pieces work not only on doggie divas, but also on willing cats, and, she says, she recently had her first donkey client.

You won’t find Hill’s creations online yet, but you can peruse and purchase them at Dr. Melinda Berry’s veterinary office at 9661 Audelia, the UPS Store at Knox and Central, or at White Rock Coffee, while supplies last. Humans can contact her at pawprintsbandanas@gmail.com.