I would like to start out by apologizing an for no fore-warning of my week off last week, but everyone needs a vacation now and then.  I am back now and have lots of free time to make things and blog about them.  Now that that is out of the way, I had an excellent time in Curaçao and recommend it to anyone who likes to go places with beautiful diving opportunities, beaches, delicious food, and without many American tourists mucking it up.  The island is small and colorful, and I found some great stocking stuffers for my friends and family back home.  Every morning I would walk to the beach passing no one but bunnies and iguanas on my way.  Just what I needed.  

When I came back I realized I still had a few people that I wanted to get things for but going to malls this time of year is... hectic to say the least.  So, I went to some local shops around Houston (which caused me to get lost as I am not good with knowing my way around H-town), but it was worth it because I found this store that sold jewelry by 31 bits.  The jewelry is not only priced reasonably and beautiful but it also benefits women in Uganda who make it by hand.  The company buys the jewelry from the women there every month and that not only gives them a stable income but they also use some of their profits and use it to teach these women about financial planning, AIDS, and vocational training to help them expand beyond 31 bits. 

They are all made out of paper and locally sourced materials in Uganda.  I think that the face that they make the paper look this beautiful is really something special.  These are a few of my favorites from the website but my favorite that they were selling at the store is no longer online, I knew I should have bought it! I wouldn't mind fighting the traffic and maybe getting lost all over again to try and find some of these, but if you aren't in a hurry like I am, then you can just order online!