happy halloween

I was kind of looking forward to a fun and eventful Halloween this year, getting dressed up and all. However getting sick and trying to survive the week just took the energy right out of me. But I remained being in the spirit by doing our pumpkin carving ritual:


And we can't forget a treat:

chi-town

Earlier this month, me and some of the fam took a short weekend trip to Chicago to see my brother run in the marathon. We had a great time and it was a nice little break from school. This was me and the hub's first visit to the windy city so we had to try as many Chicago staples as we could. Like deep dish pizza! Cheese oveload is all I can say about that. Here are just a couple highlights:

Art Institute of Chicago

Grant Park on day of marathon

school take over

Back in August I was freaking out how busy my life was going to be once I started school, and boy was I right! The crazy part is that I'm not even in the thick of yet. I think my life will turn upside down once I begin student teaching in the spring. I also knew that my crafts would fall on my priority list. However I have found time (while sitting in front of the TV) to complete just a couple things, like these nifty crocheted earrings. And I'm also working on a couple of crocheted gifts for friends (I'll post pics). Don't worry, I'm not shutting down La Pistolera anytime soon. We're just on a little break.

beach time

I finally made it to the beach this summer! My favorite is Cocoa in FL, close to where my mom lives. The water is always the perfect temp, there's a cool breeze, it's not too crowded, and it's pretty clean. So relaxing! I can't believe summer is almost over. I'm looking forward to the fall as I'll be starting school, keeping busy with my crafts, and a whole lot more!

cuffs and stuff

I just realized that I didn't post any blogs in July...whoops! Well I'll make up for it now and start out right with August. The good news in July was that my Mexican Stripes Makeup Bag was featured on Etsy's blog The Storque....YAY! The post it was featured in was put together by Lucky Magazine where they picks their favorite "Beach Essentials." Check it out HERE. I've listed another one of the colorful bags in my shop so get it while it's hot!

I've also been spent some of the summer working on these beaded cuffs. I hand bead them and also crochet the clasp that I attached the bead strands to. I really love how these turned out.


This month is going be busy and fun with finishing up a few projects and taking a little trip to the beach. More on all this later!

Sun, where art thou?

As sit on my comfy sofa, looking out the window at this nonstop rain, I'm wondering when the pretty sunshine is going to come and stay for a while. It's June and it has still been feeling like April showers. The ironic part is I think the last time I experienced consecutive days of sunny bliss was when I was in Seattle a few weeks ago. Well, all I can do is daydream about the sun on my day off from work and share some lovely sun-inspired handmade goodies I came across on Etsy:

Silk Screen Birthday Card by phofun

Vintage Sun Sunrise Pendant Charm by oliviamoon

Sunny Sunflower Stoneware Bitty Bowls by kilngoddess

Sunny Sunshine Barrette by youscallywag

shout outs!

Check it out!

I was recently mentioned on a couple blogs. The Painting Libra gave some love to my Mexican Stripes Makeup Bag along with a couple other pretty Latin inspired bags.







And I have gone international on the Japanese fashion blog FrontStyle.com. This mention is from back in May when I participated in the Spring Handmade Cavalcade and my crocheted necklaces are featured. Sweet! Too bad I look a little tired in the picture. Hey, it was early on a Sunday morning. Anyway, I'm not sure what the article says, I used Babel Fish to translate but it didn't make much sense. Enjoy!