Sunday, March 15, 2009
New Banner!
I took an Adobe Illustrator CS3 class a couple of weeks ago. From Sandee Cohen, no less! And yes, she is insane. I am NO artist! But I played around and lookey what I made. See above. Cute! I was just goofing off and it probably won't stay up there for too long (until I create something else in AI). I think the bear is cute. Yeah, it's a bit amateurish ... but who cares ... I had fun and giggled while playing.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Hawaii Kai Sunset
On our way to my sister's house a couple of weeks ago, Greg and I had to pull over to marvel at the sunset. The rays were so distinct! It was unreal. I hadn't seen a sunset like this in a long time. We waited around for a few minutes to watch the sun sink lower and lower.
We've been getting lots of rainy weather the last few weeks. I guess that beats my sister-in-law in Oregon ... they just got more snow! Give me rainy Hawaii any day!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bad Blogger!
I've been MIA for a bit! Busy with life, I guess. Wish I was busy with crafting, but nope ... just work and home. And cruising some of my favorite blogs. Yes, I really need to update my list of what ... two blogs. Believe me, I read much more than what's listed over in the sidebar!
Speaking of which, I wish I could read and understand Portuguese! OMG, I just love maçã riscada. I stumbled on it one day and was blown away with the colorfulness of her shop and all the goodies in her window. Oh how I would love to visit. Hmm ... you know, I am Portuguese myself ... maybe one day! Unfortunately, all I can do is look at the photos; Portuguese or not, I can't understand one bit. I'll settle for just looking!
Okay, so I mentioned that I haven't been crafting. But at least someone else has! Thought I'd share this cutie! Made by Kalina, aka Aunty Kat. Her creations are unreal. Her stories are fun, too! You can only get her mini teddies on eBay (for now, anyway). Interested in her stuff? Go search for her username: aloha_cub. Or check out her Etsy shop!
Next time I'll have to post before her auction ends! And maybe get a better photo ... kind of looks weird. Click on it and see a better version in Flickr.
Speaking of which, I wish I could read and understand Portuguese! OMG, I just love maçã riscada. I stumbled on it one day and was blown away with the colorfulness of her shop and all the goodies in her window. Oh how I would love to visit. Hmm ... you know, I am Portuguese myself ... maybe one day! Unfortunately, all I can do is look at the photos; Portuguese or not, I can't understand one bit. I'll settle for just looking!
Okay, so I mentioned that I haven't been crafting. But at least someone else has! Thought I'd share this cutie! Made by Kalina, aka Aunty Kat. Her creations are unreal. Her stories are fun, too! You can only get her mini teddies on eBay (for now, anyway). Interested in her stuff? Go search for her username: aloha_cub. Or check out her Etsy shop!
Next time I'll have to post before her auction ends! And maybe get a better photo ... kind of looks weird. Click on it and see a better version in Flickr.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Japanese Fabric
My fabric collection continues to grow and lately, I've been drooling over lots of Japanese fabrics. Our local fabric shop has always carried Japanese fabrics, but she's been bringing in a bunch of whimsically cute prints. I actually asked to go in her store room to see some of the new fabrics! These fabrics can get addicting. My most recent purchase included this one:
and this one:
If you're looking to add some Japanese fabrics to your stash, go check out the contest listed at The Crafty Crow. Truthfully, I want to will ALL three certificates!
and this one:
If you're looking to add some Japanese fabrics to your stash, go check out the contest listed at The Crafty Crow. Truthfully, I want to will ALL three certificates!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wind Day!
Happy new year! I still can't believe we are well into 2009! My resolutions were thrown out the window on January 2nd! Haha!
So while the mainland is blanketed in snow, here in Hawaii, our winters are very mild. Well, surprise, surprise ... today was a wind day! Yeah, you know how there are snow days on the continent? Well, I've never experienced a snow day, but I have now officially experienced a wind day! Yep! Schools were closed today, as were state offices. So, non-essential UH workers got a day off. Winds are predicted to be about 60 miles an hour! While there's some wind in town, it's nothing near 60mph (which I guess is good)! The sky, however, is quite gray and bleak and it rained a bit. But the good news? Four day weekend ... woohoo!
So what am I up to? Absolutely nothing! I hope to get my Etsy shop open soon. But because the weather has been kind of ugly the last few weeks, I haven't had a good day to snap photos! So that will have to wait a bit longer. Once these funky weather fronts have passed, we should be good to go. I'll just have to find the energy then! But my dear aunt opened her shop just this week. Go check it out!
Here's another sneak peek of my future Etsy posting ... meet Bruno, another teddy bear waiting to be adopted!
So while the mainland is blanketed in snow, here in Hawaii, our winters are very mild. Well, surprise, surprise ... today was a wind day! Yeah, you know how there are snow days on the continent? Well, I've never experienced a snow day, but I have now officially experienced a wind day! Yep! Schools were closed today, as were state offices. So, non-essential UH workers got a day off. Winds are predicted to be about 60 miles an hour! While there's some wind in town, it's nothing near 60mph (which I guess is good)! The sky, however, is quite gray and bleak and it rained a bit. But the good news? Four day weekend ... woohoo!
So what am I up to? Absolutely nothing! I hope to get my Etsy shop open soon. But because the weather has been kind of ugly the last few weeks, I haven't had a good day to snap photos! So that will have to wait a bit longer. Once these funky weather fronts have passed, we should be good to go. I'll just have to find the energy then! But my dear aunt opened her shop just this week. Go check it out!
Here's another sneak peek of my future Etsy posting ... meet Bruno, another teddy bear waiting to be adopted!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Pillows!
I mentioned in this post that I had no photos of all the pillows my Grandma created and took to the craft fair. Thanks to Aunty Kathy, here are a few photos showing all the pillows my Grandma has created. Actually, this is just a fraction of the pillows that she's sewn. I can't even begin to count how many she's done.
A hundred pillows ... at least!
A close-up of the pillows.
The artist among her creations! Can you find her?
Unfortunately, these photos don't do the pillows justice. {Aunty Kat, you NEED a new digital camera! Or maybe just play with the settings on your ancient camera?} Next time I'm on Kauai, I will definitely take some close-up shots of my favorite ones ... the vintage, pin-up surfer girl ones!
A hundred pillows ... at least!
A close-up of the pillows.
The artist among her creations! Can you find her?
Unfortunately, these photos don't do the pillows justice. {Aunty Kat, you NEED a new digital camera! Or maybe just play with the settings on your ancient camera?} Next time I'm on Kauai, I will definitely take some close-up shots of my favorite ones ... the vintage, pin-up surfer girl ones!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Wishes
Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! Buone Feste Natalizie! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka!
May all your wishes come true on this most wonderful day of the year! God bless you and your loved ones!
(image from londonelicious)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Mini Craft Fair
In addition to the wedding that kept me stressed out and busy in October and November, I also participated in a mini craft fair on Kauai last weekend. It was a last minute thing that dear mom sprang on me two weeks prior. So right after the wedding, there I was trying to create a bunch of stuff!
The craft fair was part of the St. Theresa School Christmas program and also featured a Christmas play by the students (which had to be moved to the Waimea Theater because of the rain), a spaghetti dinner and a special visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus!! The craft fair was very small ... only 13 tables and we were the last to sign up and got stuck in a corner. The table and space around was shared by my mom, grandma, aunty and myself! It was a family thing. Thanks gramms, for sponsoring the table. We collectively sold a few things, but not much, probably because it wasn't advertised much, but more importantly, because it was raining cats and dogs! Kauai's westside is very dry and sees very little rain, even in the winter. But boy, did it storm. Later that night, while we were all tucked in bed, the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed. My baby sister swears her bed shook! So the rain kept the shoppers away. What to do with all these crafts? Etsy, maybe? I think so! Here's a peak a our table.
Handmade cards by Sister #3 (font of table), mom's embroidered pillows and pigs.
A basketful of raggedies by mom and me along with some cutesy, furry teddy bears!
Raggedies!
Mom's girl horse.
My goose.
A trio of friends.
Aunty Kathy's vintage suitcase of goodies. This picture does not do her creations justice!
Unfortunately, none of the photos show my grandma's stash of pillows. They were in front of the table in some baskets. When I say stash, I mean STASH. She must have had over 200 pillows. I'll have to find some photos to prove it. She's 83 years old and keeps cranking out these Hawaiian pieced pillows. She had some really cool ones!
Sew when's the next craft fair? Hmm ... what do you think Aunty Kat?
The craft fair was part of the St. Theresa School Christmas program and also featured a Christmas play by the students (which had to be moved to the Waimea Theater because of the rain), a spaghetti dinner and a special visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus!! The craft fair was very small ... only 13 tables and we were the last to sign up and got stuck in a corner. The table and space around was shared by my mom, grandma, aunty and myself! It was a family thing. Thanks gramms, for sponsoring the table. We collectively sold a few things, but not much, probably because it wasn't advertised much, but more importantly, because it was raining cats and dogs! Kauai's westside is very dry and sees very little rain, even in the winter. But boy, did it storm. Later that night, while we were all tucked in bed, the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed. My baby sister swears her bed shook! So the rain kept the shoppers away. What to do with all these crafts? Etsy, maybe? I think so! Here's a peak a our table.
Handmade cards by Sister #3 (font of table), mom's embroidered pillows and pigs.
A basketful of raggedies by mom and me along with some cutesy, furry teddy bears!
Raggedies!
Mom's girl horse.
My goose.
A trio of friends.
Aunty Kathy's vintage suitcase of goodies. This picture does not do her creations justice!
Unfortunately, none of the photos show my grandma's stash of pillows. They were in front of the table in some baskets. When I say stash, I mean STASH. She must have had over 200 pillows. I'll have to find some photos to prove it. She's 83 years old and keeps cranking out these Hawaiian pieced pillows. She had some really cool ones!
Sew when's the next craft fair? Hmm ... what do you think Aunty Kat?
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wedding bells!
Well, hello. Yes, it’s been a long silence on the Sew What’s Next blog. It was never my intention to take such a long break. But life happened ...
... beginning with my sister’s wedding in November. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, and by no means a reason for interrupting this fledgling blog, but when your sister gets married, well, you just have to jump right in and assist with all kinds of things! And since Greg and I were married in Rome (only us, no one else was invited), I never got to do all the wedding planning stuff. All the more reason to help out Sister #1.
And, after reading about Smitten Kitchen's adventures with a wedding cake, I go and offer to make her wedding cake! I mean, how hard can it be? All I’d need to do is bake a few test cakes to get the hang of it, and voila, a piece of cake. Umm … no! Most of September and October saw me in the kitchen on weekends concocting different cake and frosting combinations.
The cake we settled on was a Red Velvet (minus the red food coloring) with a White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. This cake was a labor of love. It was a bit on the sloppy side, but hey, it was my first wedding cake. I think it was also my last wedding cake. I used to dream about doing wedding cakes. Not anymore. Sister #2 is getting married in April … we’ll see who gets to do the cake. Let me say that I am just baked out … besides the cake, I did almost all of the desserts! I was up the entire night and didn’t go to bed until 4am the morning of the wedding … and I only slept 3 hours! So did Greg. Thanks, honey, for keeping that mouse from jumping on me!
I wish I was taking photos along the way to document all of this, but I think I was just too stressed over all the planning, prepping and execution. A lot of things were done at the very last minute. But everything worked out perfectly! Take a look. Oh, and thank you Jules for your awesome photos ... all 590 of them!
Centerpieces waiting to be taken outside:
One of the tables:
Dessert table:
Ta-da:
Oh-oh:
The happy couple:
The end ...
... beginning with my sister’s wedding in November. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, and by no means a reason for interrupting this fledgling blog, but when your sister gets married, well, you just have to jump right in and assist with all kinds of things! And since Greg and I were married in Rome (only us, no one else was invited), I never got to do all the wedding planning stuff. All the more reason to help out Sister #1.
And, after reading about Smitten Kitchen's adventures with a wedding cake, I go and offer to make her wedding cake! I mean, how hard can it be? All I’d need to do is bake a few test cakes to get the hang of it, and voila, a piece of cake. Umm … no! Most of September and October saw me in the kitchen on weekends concocting different cake and frosting combinations.
The cake we settled on was a Red Velvet (minus the red food coloring) with a White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. This cake was a labor of love. It was a bit on the sloppy side, but hey, it was my first wedding cake. I think it was also my last wedding cake. I used to dream about doing wedding cakes. Not anymore. Sister #2 is getting married in April … we’ll see who gets to do the cake. Let me say that I am just baked out … besides the cake, I did almost all of the desserts! I was up the entire night and didn’t go to bed until 4am the morning of the wedding … and I only slept 3 hours! So did Greg. Thanks, honey, for keeping that mouse from jumping on me!
I wish I was taking photos along the way to document all of this, but I think I was just too stressed over all the planning, prepping and execution. A lot of things were done at the very last minute. But everything worked out perfectly! Take a look. Oh, and thank you Jules for your awesome photos ... all 590 of them!
Centerpieces waiting to be taken outside:
One of the tables:
Dessert table:
Ta-da:
Oh-oh:
The happy couple:
The end ...
Monday, August 25, 2008
Blog interrupted
It's been a month since my last post. Sigh. I have been busy, busy, busy at work. Besides applying for, interviewing for and being offered a new job, I have been seriously busy with day-to-day stuff. We're down one staff member and guess who gets to pick up the work? Yours truly! Oh, and yes, my new job is in my same office ... it's a promotion to the number two spot in the office. Needless to say, my crafting has been put on the backburner. My home computer has been off for weeks! Oh, I need to get back into fun stuff.
I visited the KCC Farmer’s Market this past Saturday. Boy, was it packed. I mean, the parking lot was full! I only went for one thing: tomatoes. And tomatoes I got!
Yummy grape tomatoes (sorry, crappy pic). I love tomatoes. I tasted one of the golden tomatoes at the Ho Farms' stall ... I could have stood there all morning popping those lovely little morsels into my mouth. I immediately picked up 3 pints (I already had 2 containers from Nalo Farms, although I think the Ho tomatoes were so much better tasting). Anyway, I slow-roasted a bunch using Smitten Kitchen’s directions. Threw ‘em in pasta with broccoli, chicken, garlic and olive oil. Yum! I definitely have to visit the market again, this time taking my time at the various vendors. I'll have to try the fried green tomatoes again; the first time I had them, they were great! And I'll have to bring my camera next time! Hint, hint!
I visited the KCC Farmer’s Market this past Saturday. Boy, was it packed. I mean, the parking lot was full! I only went for one thing: tomatoes. And tomatoes I got!
Yummy grape tomatoes (sorry, crappy pic). I love tomatoes. I tasted one of the golden tomatoes at the Ho Farms' stall ... I could have stood there all morning popping those lovely little morsels into my mouth. I immediately picked up 3 pints (I already had 2 containers from Nalo Farms, although I think the Ho tomatoes were so much better tasting). Anyway, I slow-roasted a bunch using Smitten Kitchen’s directions. Threw ‘em in pasta with broccoli, chicken, garlic and olive oil. Yum! I definitely have to visit the market again, this time taking my time at the various vendors. I'll have to try the fried green tomatoes again; the first time I had them, they were great! And I'll have to bring my camera next time! Hint, hint!
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