... are the newest addition to the cast of characters that is creep mouse toys.  What do you think? 

In addition to faces I've also been testing the waters of stationary -- sort of. 

For the Summer High Noon Craftacular (June 28 in Madison!) swag bags (filled with goodies from vendors + others) are awarded to the first 50 customers at the door -- so for MY contribution my mom + I made these little "jot-it-down" journals.  They're a quarter-page in size and contain yellow legal pad paper.  I'm really happy with the way they turned out and am looking forward to continuing the stationary route a bit, as well as perhaps the addition of prints and such.  We'll see! 

Also I wanted to share this adorable book that I picked up at one of my (oh, three?) trips to Goodwill in the past 2 days I've been here... (I was at the doors yesterday when it opened, ha).  Anyway, it's called The Fire Cat by Esther Averell. 

(this next one is my favorite out of the whole book...)

Même que la France me manque (Even though I miss France)... I'm not ashamed to admit that I am so happy to be home for the sake of my fashion outlet opportunities.  Most all of my things are packed in boxes from moving home in December still, but here are my current favorite pair of kicks -- fresh with a new pair of laces from Montpellier. 

Well, now I'm off to a bleaching / dying party (new shorts!).  So, stay tuned and I'll be posting a special something dedicated to my wonderful dogs tomorrow as well as, what I find to be, an extremely exciting + recent purchase.  Good day!

This past Wednesday I had a conversation with my phonetics professor about crafts in France.  She was talking about how it used to be very à la mode to tricote (tricoter = knitting).  I mentioned that it was still in style, at least at home, then she became nostalgic and told me how Montpellier used to be full of yarn shops but now there's hardly 2 or 3, and that crafts are such an expensive hobby in France.  Which of course has been quite frustrating for me in my search for affordable supplies just to play around with, but also I was glad to hear that I hadn't been looking at only the super fancy craft stores--where polyester stuffing costs 13 euros for a bag I can get in the states for $3.50. 

Anyway!  I've recently been saved!  Yesterday I received almost my own weight in fabric from home (thanks so much, Mom!) and also ventured out and treated myself to a new, recycled-paper sketch book, some smooth-writing pens, and also a wooden embroidery hoop... as you can see.

My doodle (since it was actually during a class I don't think I can call it a sketch necessarily), and final product are pretty elementary but it was very rewarding to just MAKE something.

Due to a lousy stomach (+ lots of fabric) I'm going to spend the day lounging and sewing so more to be seen here soon! 

Bon week-end!