one of my favorite blogs, slipcover your life, is doing a giveaway on her blog each day this week to launch her brand new etsy store.  i'm loving her super cute modern cross stitch.  who knew that cross stitch could look like this?! 

i had a lovely trip to paris last week and am a little bummed (and jet lagged) to be back at work.  however, the break refreshed me and i'm ready for my next trip!  where to next?
my pics are up on flickr.
 
here were a few of my favorite things:

crepes

the eiffel tower at night

the louvre

and notre dame

i am now so completely done with doing homework while staring at this:

yes, i love you macbook, but i am so over my master's class that finished this week.

and now this week, i am moving on to stare at this:

and this:

and hopefully this:

 
i'll link up some pictures when i get back.
au revoir!

my master's classes are slowing down, so i had time to make a few jewelry creations this week that are now in my etsy store.  a necklace i really like is in the works, but i keep taking it apart so i can get it just right.  hopefully i'll have it done by the end of the week...  this first necklace already sold, i love it, so vintage looking.   what do you think?

holy ukelele, sophie madeleine was blogged about on one of my favorite blogs, cakies and i checked her out on youtube, heard this song and was sold.  she's just so sweet and whimsical with that ukelele.  what do you think?  you can download her album here  for $5 minimum (name your price)

i am absolutely loving this gorgeous leather work i saw on etsy...

paul's parents were here this week and his mom brought this train wreck below for me to make wearable.  yes, that giant turquoise chunk is on the side of the necklace, asymmetrical jewelry at it's worst? 

paul's mom typically likes chunky pendants, so i made her this quick necklace with that gigantic turquoise bead.  reworking one piece of jewelry into something new is one of my favorite things to do.  do you have any jewelry that you need to be reworked?

it's the weekend.  a three day weekend in fact and i am almost finished with my homework!  i feel a profound sense of freedom as the sun is shining, my patio door is open, and the fresh air feels lovely.  i made a trip to the bead store and i have lots of ideas floating through my head....  but then i spotted this on etsy.

aren't they so very pretty?  and perhaps so very makeable?  i just got this great little ceramic cutter that i was planning on using to cut designs out of fabric, but i think i might try it for this to cut some pretty designs in paper...  and all i need is fabric and a hole punch, right?   hmmm....  if i get one made, i'll put up a tutorial....

i had a free night this week and made this necklace that i'd had in my head for quite some time.  it felt quite good to sit down and make something, so my hope is that this week i'll have some time to work on the next project on my list, that paper wreath in my last post.  what's your latest project?

i'm having a creative block and it's not because of lack of ideas, but because of lack of time to consider them!  i am much busier at the moment than i like to be and i haven't made a single thing since my last post.  class started back up for my master's degree and i'm either gone to class, working on homework, or at work all the time.  i'll stop complaining now... or i won't!  i will be posting less for awhile, which is probably fine for everyone but me.   and just keep in mind, that while i'd like to be making this:

or this:

 

or this:

i'll actually be reading this:

and this:

and this:

all of which are contributing to my genius... don't get me wrong.
have a great week!