One of my favorite seasons is almost here. Even though it is still in the 70s here, it is a welcome break from the 80s and 90s that we have been experiencing. I look forward to it being in the 50s again and I can snuggle up in different layers.

I have been thinking more about how I wrap items when I ship them and decided that I would buy a few paper punches. Some of them can be quite pricey, but while I was looking at TJMaxx and Marshall's this week, I spotted some for $3.99 each. Can you believe it? Two punches I purchased are for packaging edges in the shape of trees and branches. One of the ones I purchased is this lovely bat silhouette, featured in the shots above. You can purchase sets of 100 from my shop here.

Even though it's Labor Day, I will still be laboring today for half of it. I will go in this afternoon to my day job and try to crank out some paperwork before coming home again. It was nice to have the morning off at least. What are all of you up to today?

I made another pair of booties this week. I found this fabric when I purchased the fabric for the tree skirt and I just had to get some! I have a feeling that I will be making a few more pairs because it is just too cute. These little monsters will hopefully ward off those that typically live in closets. Safe, cute and warm. I have a couple other newer postings as well, including the Bianca scarf (a white version of the Brooklyn) and an upcycled polish star ornament.



Tater Tot has been a cuddlebug as of late. I think most of it has to do with the change in weather, but it could also be that she is at a point where she feels more comfortable with us. She has been snoozing in sleeping bags, on top of our coats, underneath the covers and anywhere she can get. I had extra fabric from the tree skirt and decided to make her a dog blanket. Now she is cuddled-up on the couch, wrapped in a sleeping bag and dog blanket. I need to take photos yet and when I do, I will post them.

Goodnight!

Yesterday, I had decided that I would make something new for my shop. Unfortunately, this is the day my sewing machine decided to jam and after a couple frustrating hours, I decided to leave it be. My next craft I tackled was much more successful.

From http://www.etsy.com/listing/61802441/natural-paper-star-urchin-christmas

From http://www.etsy.com/listing/59478142/paper-harvest-decoration-natural

I had been admiring these polish star/sea urchin ornaments for some time but could not quite justify the expense of buying one (let alone enough for my tree). I scoured the internet for directions to make my own. The first that I happened upon was from a Disney Fun site of which I could not make sense. I chalked it up to being a difficult craft. Then, I happened upon this YouTube video that explained it so well:


After watching this video, I successfully completed my first polish star ornament on Sunday.

After I had cut out 12 circles and cut 8 wedges out of each.

The stars after folding and gluing the segments around a pencil tip.

Stacked up

Pulled tight into an ornament.

They seem fabulous! I now have two of them and hope to make a third tonight.