crafty discovery

spotted at the bookstore: the second issue of the very cool craft magazine with a cover story on how to hand stitch a hawaiian quilt. the step-by-step tutorial was penned by local quilter cissy serrao who has a rich quilting heritage in her ohana (her mom is a legendary quilt teacher & her dad is a respected designer of hawaiian quilt patterns).

this is the next best thing if taking one of the family's quilting classes is not in the stars. the magazine is a tad pricier than the competition, however if you have the soul of a renegade crafter it will be downright impossible not to be inspired to attempt a new project while flipping through each and every crafty page.

this is not your parents' prefab home

sunset breezehouse

our little family of two can definitely be described as nice modernists and we have been keeping tabs on the blossoming modern prefab movement for quite some time. this afternoon i learned that michelle kaufmann designs recently built a factory in washington and one of their service areas is hawaii (currently, there are three savvy folks building a mkd home in the islands - lucky, lucky)!

this is so exciting. it's pretty easy to spot a typical prefab home in hawaii (in fact, my fella grew up in a hicks home) but if you are not familiar with modern prefab design you should definitely take a look and see what has changed in the past 30 years (fab prefab is an excellent resource). the mkd houses have been designed with the environment in mind and feature sustainable materials like bamboo floors, on demand water heaters & non-toxic paints as well as eco-friendly options like recycled glass tiles & solar power.

unless you have been living under a rock you know that the housing crunch has forced island families who can afford it to raze & rebuild or add an extension to their existing home to house multiple generations so this is definitely an alternative to consider if your budget allows it. i can count three families in my own circle who have either built a new home, are in the process of adding an extension, or are seriously considering going down that road since home ownership costs are so out of reach for many twenty & thirtysomethings.

as for us, this gives us a little more hope that one day we will be able to build an eco-friendly modern dwelling when we finally move back home. of course, it will be a challenge to find a fee simple lot that we can afford but a girl can dream.

{mahalo jetson green!}

let's go under the sea

wee gallery undersea

blik (of the fabulous polynesia glass stiks) is at again with their new wee gallery line. i know it's meant for the kiddie set but the undersea design is seriously cute. the hand-drawn graphics feature turtles, seaweed, bubbles & more which you can arrange any way you please to float up, down and around your walls.

perfect for the nursery or transform your bath into a slightly irreverant ode to sea life à la the oceanarium. the stickers are repositionable and removeable so when your tot grows tired of sleeping with the fishes you can pull them off and move on to the next big thing.

chess club

playing chess seems to be growing in popularity in the islands so if your favorite someone loves the game here's an idea for the holidays: a hawaiian chess set which replaces standard chess pieces with icons from ancient hawaii.

of course, if they prefer to whittle their own pieces à la tim robbins in the shawshank redemption, you can always upgrade their board to one made of koa. and, for the truly old school gamer, a game table made from a single koa log by maui woodworker peter naramore.

be back a little later with a few more inspirations for the holidays . . .

wrap it up

 whimsy super lucky + s&g fronds

i'm gearing up for the holidays and have been searching for xmas cards and gift wrap ideas that are stylish &/or irreverent. my favorite gift wrap so far is this adorable super lucky pattern from whimsy press. it's not every day you find a lucky cat protecting your gift and i think it may bode well for the new year.

next up, a more minimal design from snow & graham. the taupe & white fronds design could double as abstract snowflakes and would look particularly elegant under the tree. even better, both designs are suitable all year long so you won't have to store oodles of gift wrap for different occasions.

iomoi palm beach tree + rsp palm tree

i am always on the hunt for pretty stationary and last year scored a good deal on pre-printed xmas cards from iomoi. this year, customization is king and iomoi has a nice selection of tropical designs for those with the budget to splurge on personalized holiday wishes. just remember that turnaround time is currently 7 business days so get your order in soon so you have enough time to get your cards in the post.

last but not least, i am loving the palm tree holiday card from rock scissor paper. they always have the coolest retro style designs and this card will definitely stand out amongst all the others that arrive in the mail.

now that i've exhausted all the modern resources, i'll be hunting for more traditional island style holiday ideas. check back in a few days for the scoop!