B a k e s h o p G o o d i e s

Here are some sneak peeks at recent items from the bakeshop... This was a layered dessert that was super yummy! Our new pastry chef put the pieces together for a party and I helped plate it all up and layer it up. The bottom layer is a crispy shortbread, then chocolate/cornflake crisp, caramel creme, caramelized banana, chocolate mousse, and a chocolate tuile. WOW. Yum! I love lots of layers...

Chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate covered macadamia nuts...

A beautiful cake put together by one of my colleagues....  I don't do wedding cakes, but I really want to learn!  I can do basic rounds, but have yet to tackle the square/tiered cake.

Boots & Kimo's in Kailua Town

I had a delicous breakfast yesterday at Boots and Kimo's in Kailua Town on the Windward Side.  I had the Boot's French Toast with whipped cream and strawberries.  Oh my oh my!  It was sooo good!  They are known for the Mac Nut Pancakes, but I have had too many of those, so I went with the French Toast. 

Usually the line and wait is unreasonably long, but we got lucky yesterday and only had to wait 10 minutes for a table.  The food comes out really fast and though the prices are a little steep, I'd say it is worth it every once and a while.  If you haven't been since they changed locations, you should give it a go.  It is across from HIC and Don Quijote in Kailua in the big new building on the corner.

This is a picture of our table

CONTACT AND HOURS::
(808) 263-7929
Mon - Fri:7:00 am - 2:00 pm
Sat:6:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sun:6:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Childhood Memories

Even as a baby I knew what was important in life (Food, Drink, and the Outdoors)

Going for a swim in the HOT TUB at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Sooo close to these guys!

The story of my life...

OH the fun!  And check out the slug bug in the back..

Destined for Hawaii...

All in for a ride!

These pictures make me smile.  I had so much fun being a kid! 

(Thanks for all the pics Karen)

New Items for the Shop

http://www.barefootbeadshawaii.etsy.com/

I had the day off today and have been beading for the past few hours.  I made some really unique and sassy pieces that I can't wait to put in my shop.  The bead show was a great hit yesterday and I am super happy with the additions to my stash.  I made a few pairs of earrings, a really hip bracelet, and a couple of pendant necklaces.  The pendant necklaces are with charms that I have engraved and stamped, then dapped so they are curved.  I love the results of a day of beading...   

Grow and Give Bracelet

Calm Necklace on Ruby Tone Leather

Stamped Silk Necklace 

Grow with a Lotus and Pink Coral Accent Bead 

 

Hip Chick Beads

I posted about the items I purchased from Hip Chick Beads at the Soft Flex Show, but I wanted to tell you a little more about the shop and introduce some of their products too.  They have great prices and really unique pieces.  If you want to take your jewelry to the next level or have a hard time getting inspired, look here.  http://www.hipchickbeads.com/  (They don't have everything on their site, so you should still try to go to a show, but there is a good selection for sure.) There are great inspiration pieces and all of the charms and metal pieces are so cool. 

There are still a few shows left this year, if you live in Wisconsin.  Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but either way you can shop on-line or in person!

03/27-28 Madison, WI

Art Glass and Bead Show Alliant Energy Center

06/10-13 Milwaukee, WI
Bead and Button Show Midwest Airlines Center
to see more info on the shows go to http://www.hipchickbeads.com/

Here is  a sample design from their site, the chain and charms and clasp are available from them.

One of their many fun charms.

By far one of my favorite tools.  This is a hole punch for metal, line it up and twist the handles.  No real force or effort on your part and you end up with a perfect circle!  http://www.hipchickbeads.com/

They even make custom logo charms!  I found this on their site and thought it was awesome.

"Q: I HAVE A LOGO; CAN YOU MAKE IT INTO A CHARM FOR ME?

A: But of course! We can do custom work and pledge to keep any designs we may produce for you, confidential and exclusive. To create a piece we need to know what the piece is to look like. We can take your logo and ideas and make some drawings, from which you can choose a design, or you can provide your own artwork "

Hip Chick Beads

http://www.hipchickbeads.com/

Soft Flex Bead Show Success!

I got off work today at 4 and zipped over to the Soft Flex Bead show in Ward Warehouse.  It was a total success!  I got there with a half an hour before they closed and I did some really great shopping.  I got a few strands of stones and a lot of metal.  Oh and some seriously cool tools!  Keep your eyes out for really crazy new projects soon with metal...

Here is one of my all time favorite booths, I spent the most money and time here today.  (And it was totally worth it!)  Go to her website for all kinds of cool stuff.  I got rodium chain, a ton of metal blanks, a lotus stamp, and an engraving tool.  Oh and a circle punch for metal.  SO much fun... Good thing I have the day off tomorrow.   

http://www.hipchickbeads.com/

http://www.hipchickbeads.com/

Hessonite Garnet, Citrine, and Amethyst stones from a few of the booths there.  Great prices and I love the shapes and facets.  I can't wait to make sassy earrings out of the Hessonite Garnet on the top...  I will post them when I finish them.  Probably tomorrow!

All in all in what another great show, and I probably didn't need to go any earlier or spend any more time, I got exactly what I wanted.  The show will be back in September so don't worry if you didn't get to go this time.  I will update you on the next one.  :)

Passing along the blogging spirit...

My mom started a blog today.  I helped her get it started, and while she hasn't added much, she will!  Check it out and mark it as one of your favorites because she has tons of great inspiring projects.  Her new blog name is polka dot palm tree.  That is going to be her new shop name on etsy too.  :) 

So here it is ...  http://www.polkadotpalmtree.blogspot.com/

Here is a photo of a bag she made at Christmas time.  Wowzas...

Lavender Sachets...

Good morning!  I have been sewing away the past few days and I will be adding some new items to my etsy shop soon.  Here is a sneak peek at my new lavender sachets.  I have a few sets made, but my favorite :: the birdies!  They are sewn with eco-felt and stuffed with lavender from California.  I found a lavender farm when I was there driving around near Neverland Ranch!

Spring Fling-set of 3 (sakura, bunnie, leaf)

Birdies-set of 3 (pink, blue, tan)

Showing love for Natalie Dee

http://www.nataliedee.com/

Go there and laugh... everyday to something new!

NATALIE DEE

http://www.nataliedee.com/

These are some of my favorites, now go pick your own!

And thanks again Natalie Dee for sharing so many lovely comics...

Oh the rain...

I woke up to a gloomy day of rain.  The sun is poking out, but it just keeps on coming, drizzling, misting, sprinkling down.  I'll take rain over a tsunami anyday, but still...  Rain can be inspiring...

Gotta love this cute robot in the rain by mleighdurgins at http://www.mleighdurgins.etsy.com/

Whoa! Inspiring... This makes me want to quilt and find beautiful fabrics, the rains not looking so bad now...

btaylorquilts at http://www.btaylorquilts.etsy.com/

Unique and totally fabulous!  These clouds could be rain or shine with these moveable fabric stickers from minimaestore at http://www.minimaestore.etsy.com/

Rain in a big city.  This is kind of how I felt when I thought I had to get on my moped at 7 this morning in the rain... DANGER...  Find this at http://www.kecky.etsy.com/  (kecky)

This girl is decked out for the rain, I am envious of her preparedness... She probably would have had a tsunami emergency kit yesterday...  :)  Unlike most of us, thanks geelizzie for sharing.  This would be a stunning pin for those rainy days.

http://www.geelizzie.etsy.com/

I leave you with one last rain inspired item...  If your dog doesn't need one of these, where do YOU live??  ;)

http://www.acmecouture.etsy.com/

Hawaii Tsunami Warning February 27, 2010

Last night when I went to bed I watched the news and heard about the massive earthquake in Chile, and that we were under a tsunami advisory.  I set my alarm to wake up early and check the news for tsunami updates/alerts.  At 5:30 my boyfriend's dad called from the mainland to tell us about what was going on-that we were under a tsunami advisory and that it would arrive around 11:15.  ! Yikes! 

I have lived in Hawaii for 8 years and have been lucky enough not to have experienced a hurricane, tsunami, or other major disaster.  So we started filling water bottles, packed our freezer with ice packs, showered, washed dishes, etc.

We don't live in an evacuation area, but we live on the other side of one.  (Pretty much right on the line...)  Eventually some of my neighbors decided to go up Diamond Head to see if they could see anything.  We decided to go up too to try and get some pictures or just get a view of the tsunami.

There were so many people at Diamond Head!  News crews, people who had evacuated, people drinking, laying out, everyone was just waiting...and waiting...and waiting.  People started double parking and triple parking so we decided to go back home.

We had a small surge in water levels, and Hilo experienced the river like rushing on it's shoreline, but nothing major. 

At 2:00 this afternoon, they called an all clear!  Yeay!  Disaster averted, Hawaii made it through without major damage/flooding.  I am relieved and happy that we won't have to deal with flooding and the mess that can be caused by a tsunami.  Here are some photos that I took while we were at Diamond Head today...

People lining up on the wall all the way down the lookout

The cars were 2-3 deep everwhere

All of the boats went out to sea to avoid damage

Watching the shoreline for changes...

Beautiful, but a strange site for Diamond Head...  Not a surfer in site, but hundreds of boats.

Softie Book Review

Invasion of the Plush Monsters:

This book is great if you need inspiration for faces, shapes, and really unique patterns.  There are patterns for slippers, cell phone cozies, a seriously amazing hat, and tons of other cute toys.  I used this book most for inspiration and ideas for shapes and face designs.  I would totally recommend this book for your plush library because of the variations of plush items that are included.

Cute Dolls:

If you have ever read any of these books by Aronzo Aranzi, this one is pretty much the same.  It has great pictures, amazingly detailed patterns, and easy to follow instructions.  This is a great book for first time softie makers and people who want to make dolls for infants/children as well.  Out of all the books I have looked through and used, this one has the best patterns.  They are easy to follow and are well labeled and organized.  If you have no clue where to start, start here, with this book.  You can't go wrong. 

Fun Dolls:

Fun Dolls is just that, a book of fun dolls.  Again, the patterns are fantastic, but between the two books, cute dolls is much better.  The patterns aren't as cute and there are a lot more "teddy" type toys.  (like the ones on the cover)  This would be a good book to purchase if you are making lots of toys for infants though as all of the parts are felt/material. 

Plush-o-rama:

Plush-o-rama is a great book for ideas and inspiration.  The patterns are not nearly as detailed, but they are workable.  I use this book when I get stuck and need help for shapes, mouths, or sizes.  This book is a great addition to any plush library for the pictures in the back of the book.  There are tons of pictures from the artists that contribute to the book/patterns and they share a lot fo awesome softies!