Hawaii: Oahu: North Shore Soap Company

What I remember the most about the North Shore Soap Company was that it smelled like a spa. I realized today that I never told you about the time my friend and I went exploring the North Shore of Oahu, knowing only that we had to stop at the historic Waialua Sugar Mill for what was touted as the best shaved ice on Oahu.

While we were on the sugar mill property, we noticed a silo (left over from the sugar production days) that has been converted into a soap making business and adjacent shop. It is rustic and small, but the soaps are just beautiful.  I would have loved to visit when they were cutting these beautiful slabs into bars. And look at these giant soap blocks - they are each the size of a toaster oven!

Remember when I made my first Bundt cake soap? I may not be a soap-maker, but I have fun dabbling when I have time.  I wonder if they offer classes?

Shopping at Home: A bit of Hawaii in my fabric stash

You can imagine the size of my photo library...thousands of images of crafts, travel, roses and cookies.  It's my job to delight, right?  When I see something beautiful I try to capture with my camera.  Not every image makes it into the blog, certainly, but I do my best to keep my posts fresh and interesting, inspiring and beautiful.  

When I am surfing my own tidal wave of images, I sometimes find one and say, "Oh, I forgot about that shop etc."  This photo is from the swap meet in Honolulu and I just remembered that I bought 2 yards of the kiwi green fabric on the bottom roll! It has hula girls silhouetted in deep purple and it spoke to me.  But where is it? I must go shopping in my own house and find this fabulous fabric.  Maybe it will become a table runner to brighten up the icy white month of January.  This month is all about making something new with the supplies I already have.  That knitting stash isn't going to knit-one-purl-two itself!

How did i stumble upon this particular photo? I lived in Hawaii for almost a month with a friend and her husband (they had moved to Oahu for a job opportunity) in January 2102.  We drove around the island seeing the sights, but we also shopped at the grocery store, grilled dinners and made jewelry.  it was really fun. Now that it is January again, I get nostalgic for that wonderful experience and think back on all of the neat things I saw.  

You can read my posts from that trip by clicking in the CITY SERIES section in the sidebar of the blog.  Choose Honolulu, Oahu and Hawaii to see a variety of posts. They are beautiful!

So today I am inspired by Hawaii and my tropical stash. Do you have something tucked away that you could craft or sew with this month?  It will feel great.

Shell Wall Art

If only I'd had my wits about me, I would have scooped up one of these beautiful shell screens when I was at the Aloha Stadium swap meet in Honolulu.  We went to this swap meet several times (fresh coconut, gorgeous pearls, ukuleles -I was in heaven!) and in the down-by-the-sea setting of Hawaii, I became numb to how unusual these shells screens were. Real shells have been drilled and hung from a rope lattice, making the prettiest grid possible.  Hindsight is 20/20 and I wish I had inquired about the screens and bought one for myself! 

I would love this beachy touch in many coastal living scenarios:

•  as art above a desk
•  as a screen between living spaces in a small cottage
•  on the wall of an outdoor shower

The possibilities are endless.  Do you remember when I was able to live with my friend in Hawaii for almost a month?  You can read more posts from that magical time in the blog sidebar - click "Honolulu" and "Hawaii" under City Series and all the posts labelled with that region will appear.  

I was invited to live with my friend and her husband and I took at leap and left the mainland for 3 1/2 weeks.  I loved it.  Calm breezes, tropical fruit and water in every direction.  Aloha!

Sea Glass Goddess

My friend Corinne is a Sea Glass Goddess.  The bounty you see here (carefully divided by size and color and stored in an empty organic egg carton) was found by her, one piece at a time on the shores of Oahu, Hawaii.

Sea glass makes her happy.  The quiet beach walks.  The thrill of finding a glint of color in the froth of waves and sand.  She has been making jewelry for almost a year now from these tiny treasures and her inner artist is coming out.  Her pieces of clean, beautiful jewelry speak for themselves.  And after giving her lovely necklaces and bracelets as gifts to family and friends (believe me, I am spoiled!), she is beginning to sell them.

If you love the sea, you might just need a piece of classic jewelry made by a sea glass goddess.  

Waialua Soda Works Pop Art Vases

Before I had even left for Hawaii (in January), I knew what I wanted to find, photograph and craft with.  The Waialua Soda Works had been on my radar for a while and I was so happy when I realized that they were located on Oahu, my destination!

I told Corinne (who I was going to visit) that I was hoping to find where they make this gourmet soda, tour the plant (if possible) and take a photo of the display case full of Waialua Soda.  Now you can see why traveling with me can be a bit of a challenge.  I had the whole thing worked out in my head.

Well, one day we drove all over North Shore looking for Waialua Soda with the help of our iPhones and Google Map, but we only found where they used to be located before their business grew.

I settled for a photo in the cooler of a local Hawaiian shop (doesn't it look pretty?) and bought a 4-pack of Pineapple, Lilikoi (Passion Fruit), Vanilla Creme and Mango to sample at home.  The soda is light and fizzy and exactly what you'd want in an artisanal soda.  Plus I now have beautiful vases!

Part of my grand plan was to "bejewel" some Waialua Soda Works bottles (and other Hawaiian specialty products) with sequins and turn them into vases.  I had to wait until my Veterans' Honor rose bloomed to be able to show you the results of my master plan.

This is what I call "Pop Art!"

Hawaii: Birds in Paradise

This little beauty is the Japanese White Eye (http://www.honoluluzoo.org/japanese_white-eye.htm) A yellow songbird that I have seen day after day flitting between the branches of the orchid trees here on Oahu. I love to investigate the flora and fauna of a new place and so far this bright yellow bird is my favorite find.

Oahu: Sunset and Surfers

We were on the North Shore of Oahu for a casual sunset dinner at "Jameson's by The Sea." Luckily my friends were patient with me, as I kept popping up out of my chair to run and take a picture. The sky was continually changing and I didn't want to miss a thing. I was rewarded with this shot of a surfer and his board crossing the breakwater. I feel confident when I say that this guy was having a good day.

Hawaii: Eating the Local Delights

Now this is a breakfast of champions! Fresh papaya (with a squeeze of lime juice), yogurt sweetened with Hawaiian sugar, fresh grilled pineapple, dried apple banana chips and the crunch of roasted macadamia nuts. Yep, Hawaii suits me.

When Corinne and I visited a friend of hers, I noticed a full size tree in the neighbors yard loaded with orange-colored fruit. I asked her if they could possibly be tangerines ripening on the tree. Oh yes, that tree is very productive, she said.

A few days later, Corinne dropped by her friend's without me and returned home with an armload of fruit! The neighbor had dropped off a bunch and she shared some with Corinne. So lately our "snack" has been fresh tangerines! Eating them somehow feels different because I know they weren't picked from a stack at the grocery store. They feel like a gift - true Hawaiian hospitality.

Honolulu: Ukelele Love

For the past few years, my mom has been keeping ukeleles on my mind. She shows me articles about the growing beach scene for young musicians who like to tote a less precious instrument with them to the beach to play. She's the one that got me to look up Jake Shimabukuro's ukelele version of "My Guitar Gently Weeps" (you can find it by searching on YouTube) - it's lovely. So...you can imagine that when I was invited to visit my friends in Hawaii, her eyes lit up. I am on a quest to bring her a ukulele from the source: Hawaii.

The ones you see here are gorgeous! I was perusing the wall, settling on my favorites, when I realized that most of these were $500-$1,000. Whoops! A little too much to spend on whimsy.

So the hunt continues. Wish me luck!

T-shirt Trend

You know how I like lavender...and coffee...and chocolate. My friend, Tracy, just returned from San Francisco and pointed me to a clothing line dyed with the natural pigments in food. 

It seems very innovative and I thought that I should share it with you. The brand I believe she was seeing all over is Crazy Shirts, a company that originated in Hawaii.