Stitch Along

Well, it only took me two years to complete... but whoo hoo it's done!

Back in March of 2010, Amy hosted a fun stitch-along. She encouraged those of us who joined, to fill-in a one inch square each day for 39-40 days. I did pretty well for the first 30 days, then I made the mistake of putting it down.

Recently, I needed something to occupy my time on an airplane. It was the perfect project - flight time passed so quickly while I was busy stitching away.
Now, we'll see how long it takes me to frame it - ha!

My Kind Of Eatery

Planning a visit to Maui soon?
If so, you must make a stop at Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop.
Thanks to the awesome review from my cousin Jay and his wife Emily, we looked forward to checking it out ourselves.
I loved everything about this quaint eatery; the vintage industrial fixtures, old Hawaiiana photographs, reclaimed wood wall, the staff, and oh, the FOOD!

Last week, on our first visit we stopped primarily for pies - boy were they yummy!
We promptly added a return visit to our "must do" list - this time for a complete meal.
My hubby had their Club sandwich - he said it was the best he's ever had.

We ordered a variety of goodies off the menu.
My daddy ordered a hamburger and loved it!
My mommy ordered a BLT - the bread was so good it melted in her mouth.
Sydney had a keiki grilled cheese - ate every last bite.
Daphne ordered the keiki hot dog. She loved their house made bun!

Although I went in wanting their Chicken savory pot pie (they had sold out) I ordered the savory corn hand held pie and reuben lumpia instead. Oh my, both were fabulous!

(photo source)
By the time we arrived for dinner, the dessert case was pretty bare (not full like the picture below). We were fortunate enough that 3 (warm) sweet apple hand held pies became available for the 6 of us to share - Mmmmm!

(photo source)
One thing to note, if you want pies - you better get there earlier in the day. They sell out! We're only here for a few more days. I think another visit is in the cards.

Maui Coffee

We took a field trip today and checked out a coffee plantation here in Maui. I'm not a coffee connoisseur, so I have never paid attention to anything having to do with coffee.
I learned something new today!
I had no idea the process starts with these pretty flowers.

Which then turns into fruit which kinda looks like grapes.
Sometimes the fruit is dried (like in the picture below), and the beans are extracted. Though most often, the fruit goes through some type of water process that retrieves the beans.

If you're ever in Maui, it's worth a visit to the Maui Grown Coffee company store.
They offer free tasting!
Or, if you can't visit in person, check out their website here - they ship!
My mom says it's great coffee - I trust her opinion since she's an actual connoisseur. ;o)

Even though I don't have any interest in coffee, I did find some things to purchase.
I can't wait to make something fun with it, I mean them!

Homemade Valentine's

The girl's really enjoy creating the Valentine's that they give to their classmates.
With a little help from me, here is what we created this year.

Since I have more than enough felted sweater wool laying around, I always try to somehow incorporate it into our projects.

Their girl friends will receive a felted heart bookmark. . .

. . .and the boy's will receive bubble gum and a "Kiss".

The girl's will be missing their parties at school this year, and they're a little bummed about it...
Instead, we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day in Hawaii.
I'm not bummed about that, at all! ;o)

Yo-Yo Bracelets

My love affair with fabric yo yos has been going on, well... since forever!
It started way back.
Even waaayyy before I was lucky enough to receive this vintage beauty.

What I love about yo yos (besides their cuteness) is how versatile they are. One can use them for hundreds of projects! They are the ultimate embellishment.


A few months ago, I created some fun bracelets using yo yos.

They don't require a lot of material to make, so it's a great way to use up some of your scrap fabric.

For mine: I used old barkcloth, a vintage tablecloth, and an old linen napkin.
Each bracelet has five yo yos. I attached each yo yo to a 1" wide ribbon. You can either sew them to the ribbon, or hot glue - your preference. I made sure to form my yo yos into a cuff like shape as I put them together so I didn't get gaps between each one. (Does that make sense?)
For a few bracelets, I cut the ribbon 30" long so a bow could be made to tie around the wrist.
For others, I used a 7" piece of ribbon and sewed on a toggle clasp.
Either way is super cute.
Oh, and I also added old glass buttons to the center of each yo yo.

I truly admire the ladies who made thousands and thousands of yo yos by hand back in the old days, oh, and I'm sure there are some ladies that still do. But... if you're like me and have made just one by hand... you know how awesome any help would be.
So...if you don't have a yo yo maker, ya gotta get one. It's one of the best inventions ever! It'll save you so. much. time. Believe me!

Here's a list of supplies if you want to make your own:

fabric
buttons
ribbon
needle and thread
hot glue
toggle clasp
yo yo maker

Snowmageddon or Snowverreacting?

We're in the midst of an Arctic blast here in Western Washington. The news people are so funny to listen to. One minute we're going to have the most snow we've seen in 50 years and the next, they say something completely different. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

We have been enjoying the snow we have gotten so far. Sunday, the girls made a snow bear. And of course she is dressed in pink!

Vintage Valentine Heart Shaped Candy Boxes and Chocolate Tins

Happy New Year!
So hard to believe that we've begun another year, but so ready to, too...
Now that Christmas has been put away, it's time to pull out Valentine's Day stuff!
One of my favorites - vintage chocolate boxes.
I especially love any with roses.

Since I only have a few, I decided to make one of my own to display.

Want to make your own vintage inspired heart candy box too?
Here's how I made mine.

1. Reuse a chocolate box.

2. Cover the top. (I used old wall paper)
3. Next, I outlined the edge with a line of glue.
4. Cover the glue with glitter.
5. Martha Stewart glitter is awesome. It's so fine and sparkly!
6. Cover the bottom with more old wall paper.

7. Before I glued the paper to the bottom piece, I removed the inner heart.
8. Glue the inner heart back on the bottom.
9. Cover the rest of the box - sides of top and bottom with coordinating paper.
To finish: embellish the top.
(I used vintage millinery flowers, velvet ribbon, and lace)

I enjoyed making the one box, so I HAD to make another - ha!

Besides heart shaped chocolate boxes, I have a small collection of vintage chocolate tins.
Roses are a must on these too, and boy are they hard to find!

Have you gotten your Valentine decorations out yet?

Linking up to Romantic Homes Show and Tell Friday, here.