on sunday, we headed over to mike and sarah's house for crafting and wii... sarah is a master paper crafter (well, at least to me, because i have never done much with paper), and she taught me the ways as we made some christmas banners.  i was skeptical when she told me her idea, but i love how they turned out!
here's sarah hard at work:

our husbands , mike (left) and paul, spent their time playing madden football so we could craft in peace:

and i hung up the final product promptly when we got home.  i love it so much that i think i'll have to make some other year round banner to take it's place after christmas.  and it looks even better in person, imagine that!

i was so pumped to decorate for christmas yesterday.  i forced myself to wait until after thanksgiving, but then i had to get going.  i made this paper garland that i saw on a blog that has tons of holiday projects and the tutorials.  it was super easy to make and i love it.  i also put up this little tree on my wall with lights.  it was hard to get a good picture because of the lighting...

happy thanksgiving! 
isn't it great having a day off work?  i had so much time to make things today, including all of these things pictured below that i'll be posting on my etsy store this weekend.  also i am doing a free shipping sale on etsy this weekend from black friday through cyber monday.  feel free to stop in if you have some holiday shopping to do!

things i wish i made.....

isn't this incredible?  i found it at steampunk junq, a great little store on etsy where everything is made from recycled parts.  not only do i wish i made it, but i wish i owned it!

and i want to make these to put out on my patio, i saw them on etsy as well, but can't find the store where i first spotted them!

i think i've got those string earrings figured out like i want them.  i just listed the first pair on my etsy store!  i'm totally loving them, and i hope you are too!  they are pretty tricky to construct, but i think they're worth it. 

i have been wanting to try making some new pillows and have been loving any design with birds lately, so here is the pillow i just finished up.   i want to try a little tree design next and maybe an owl.  any other great ideas for what i could sew on?

i came up with this new design for some earrings, inspired by those awesome string earrings.  i reworked it and experimented and came up with a design i really like, but it was rather time consuming and i need to perfect it.  once i get them down, i'll put some up for sale at my etsy store.  what do you think?

the other day i saw a great tutorial to make a cute headband over on smile and wave, one of my favorite blogs.  i decided to make one because it was so easy to make and i had everything on hand... here's how it turned out, can't wait until my hair is just a little longer so i can make it work!

so, it's much harder to find time to make things and post now that i actually have to go back to work and class...  and i was sick again this week, on veteran's day which i had off.  ugh, so i managed to crank out a few more granny squares yesterday, but that's been the extent of my creative work as i lay on the couch watching daytime tv...
however, today i came home and made this necklace, and i rather like how it turned out.  posting it at my store on etsy to see if anyone else loves it like i do...

and the winner is:......
jennifer harris!
thanks for stopping in all of you- keep it up because i'm rather enjoying blogging!
sale at my store ends tomorrow if you haven't stopped in yet, please do.

and, i got these awesome prints today in the mail from an old friend who owns and runs djgdesign.com.  made my day, i  had been longing for that lamb for quite some time- it's made out of lawn clippings... so great.   and the dinos are a new design made out of fall leaves.  this guy uses the simplest things to create his art... 

i made my first granny square today and it was a lot easier than i expected!  which is good if i'm going to make a whole huge blanket with them.... here's my first attempt:

 

i have also been working on these little cards.  they are super easy to make- if you are interested, here's the template i made.  just trace, cut, and fold.  i think i'll use them for little gift tags or thank you cards this christmas.

so over my surprise week off, i hung out with my friend kate, who got me hooked on the show flight of the conchords.  and i spied a new project on the show.  i totally love this blanket and have been wanting to try some granny squares, but usually they are just a little too granny for me...  but this one is just right, so i'm going to start me a pile of squares while i watch season one of flight of the conchords when my netflix comes in.  can't wait to get going on it!

Giveaway Alert!

okay, i'm promoting my upcoming grand opening sale over at my etsy store by doing a little giveaway of these cute caterpillar earrings.  if you want to be entered in the drawing that will take place on monday, leave a comment for me below.  you will get an entry for commenting on my blog and you can get another entry if you post about my blog or store on your own blog.  my friend sarah already beat you all to the punch by posting on her blog.  thanks sarah!  the sale at my etsy store starts tomorrow and runs through november 11th and is a buy one get one half off sale.  

i have always loved those little scrabble tile necklaces, so i decided to try painting some today.  they didn't turn out as well as i wanted because i need to get a tinier brush.  what do you think?

i made this bracelet with some of those paper beads from yesterday.  i think i want to make one that is about twice as wide to make a great chunky cuff.

i also love these diwali pics, they're so colorful and i am dying to visit india.

i was ready to conquer the world today and i had great intentions when i woke up.  i went to the library, the grocery store, and failed at fixing the broken toilet.  i was going to make even more stuff, but by the time mid-afternoon rolled around, i was exhausted!  i think i'm not quite over the flu yet...

today i did make  some of these awesome paper beads:

i used this great tool that i got at an etsy shop:

now i just have to decide what to do with them.  any suggestions?

lucky for me, the school i teach at is closed down this week for the dark and ominous swine flu.  we're told we'll have to make it up later, but at the moment, i can't be bothered by that.  i'm a procrastinator in every way, so it suits me.  i decided since i have a surprise week off, that there is no better time to get this blog rolling.  here you will find me post about things i'm making, things i like, and anything else that i feel like rambling about.

today i made these:

i'll be getting them posted on my etsy shop very soon.  i love the ones on the left the best... they're like mystically indian earrings.  i might keep them.