Frozen Yogurt Review

The last time I went back to Honolulu I went a little crazy trying all the frozen yogurt places! I just love frozen yogurt and am so glad to see their return after a couple of decades absence. When growing up, frozen yogurt was all the rage and Penguins was definitely my favorite! My BFF and I used to go to the Penguins in Kailua after school and would get our favorite combo- strawberry with cookies and cream scrapple. Yum! I was sad to see all the frozen yogurt places close, but was delighted to find that they've recently made a comeback! In the old days, the workers used to put on the toppings for you, but now they are smarter and let you do it yourself and charge you by weight.. Smart no? There are so many new frozen yogurt places in Honolulu- I don't know them all. I've only tried a handful of them and they all have their pros and cons. I guess it depends on your taste preference and geographic locations. I am hoping one of them will make their way to Hilo soon, but I'm not holding my breath (we don't have Costco or Genki Sushi yet, so I'm not optomistic). So, like everything else, I feel the need to overindulge myself in frozen yogurt every chance I get when I go home.... Looking forward to the next couple of weekends since I'll get my next fix! OK- so here are the frozen yogurt places I've tried so far... If you know of other good ones to try, please let me know the name and approximate location so I can try them out when I'm in the area. Yogurtland (University): This is the first one I heard of and now I know why all the buzz. The yogurt is very creamy and very Penguin's like. (Please note that I will be comparing them to my favorite Penguins!). They had a pretty good selection of topping and flavors to choose from. I went with my Aunty after a long day of craft shopping and it hit the spot! I had strawberry and coconut and cookies and cream. She had pistachio and a couple of other flavors that I forget, because the pistacio flavor stood out. If you get a chance, choose that one! Yogurtland was one of my favorites! Plus its conveniently located near all my scrapbook store stops when I go shopping. Perfect for a cool pick me up in the afternoon. The only junk thing for me was that I wanted to buy some to take to my BFF's house but they didn't have any that were pre-packed. You had to make it yourself- I guess that's not such a bad thing. The other downside is the lack of parking. If you go when its crowded, you may not find any. I have no idea if there are any other yogurtland shops- maybe Linda or Edward knows?? Menchies (Ward Warehouse): Menchies was recommended to me by my BFF. The location is good since there's lots of parking. This was actually the first frozen yogurt place I tried, so of course I thought it was awesome! Now that I've tried some other places, I think its fallen in ranking, but I'd still go if it was nearby. Its been awhile since I've gone there, so I can't remember what flavors I tried, but I remember it was not as creamy as some of the other yogurt places. They also have several workers there at a time, so I always got good service. Yogurt Mama (Kailua): This is my other favorite frozen yogurt place! Not only is it in my hometown, so its very close to mom's, it also has the cutest logo (made by TGF creator Marie). I must say that their yogurt is very creamy and yummy! The first time I went there, they had a toasted marshmallow flavor. I haven't seen it since but if you ever do, I highly recommend it! The only downside is the parking lot is small and shared by a bunch of businesses. We were always able to find parking though- so maybe its not that big an issue. Orange Tree (Kailua): This place just opened in Kailua, but I hear that they are all over the island. We stopped there after a hard day of cleaning the yard and before going to the Bon Jovi Concert. It was very refreshing, but the texture reminded me of Menchies. Still good, but not as creamy. I had the green tea, which was excellent- I would definitely get that flavor again if they have it! They have a parking lot in the back of the building, so you shouldn't have any problems finding parking. Overall, I am thrilled to have the option of having frozen yogurt again! It totally brings back good memories for me but has an updated flair. Can't wait to go back and have some more!! Please let me know what your favorite frozen yogurt place is so I can try them out too!

Hoaloha Annual Dinner

Every year our club has an Annual Dinner in February. Its a chance for us to cut loose and have some fun! This year our dinner was at the Imiloa Astronomy Center Sky Garden. The food was yummy and the company yummier! Look at these crazy ladies! Look at all the goodies we got! Thank you ladies! Here's our officers for this year.. Thanks for taking on another year!

What a great night! Can't wait till next year!

Lucky Me!

I was so stoked to win this blog candy from Amy (A Thousand Sheets of Paper). She is the artist for Sweet November Stamps, which are quickly becoming some of my favorites! I just loved her elves that came out for Christmas and were so excited to see them return for Easter! Guess Santa isn't the only one who has helpers! Not only did I win the new Spring Elves set, she also sent me the cute card sample and other goodies shown here. Thank you so much Amy!!! Can't wait to use them!

A Tisket A Tasket...

Don't know if you remember, but last Halloween I made this same box, but used black paper instead for a scarier effect. Since its springtime, decided to go with the white picket fence instead and used my icicles punch again to make grass. See how good I'm being? I really want the grass border punch, but I'm trying to be good and not spend money- so need to be more creative and find ways to get the same effect. Thank you to Cheryl of Life is Sweet, who did this same thing on an earlier project.

I was pretty excited to use my new Easter Anya stamp! She was available only in digi form last year when I wasn't into stamping that involved coloring. Now that I have my Copics, I'm hooked! Digi Easter Anya was only available for a limited time, so I was glad to see she is now in rubber form!

Here's a close up of this cutie...

Oh yah... Island Scrapbooking also sells these cute bunnies! Thought they would be a cute accent to this basket.

Supplies:

Easter Anya- TGF

Bunnies- Island Scrapbooking Laser Cuts

Icicle Punch- MS Crafts

Picket Fence Punch- MS Crafts

Cardstock- Bazzil

February OCS- A Card for Tia

I'm hoping that Tia received my card by now.... Here's the card I made for her. I just got my Lili of the Valley order in and could not wait to try them out! They are really really cute stamps and was drooling over the stamps Joy ordered from them. When I got home from Oahu, I was happy to find them waiting for me in my mailbox. :)

This little girl is so darn cute! I'm a sucker for cute girly stamps, so I couldn't pass this one up. I hope Tia likes them too!

Supplies:

Girl stamp- Lili of the Valley

DP- Doodlebug

Daisy border punch- MS Crafts

Dew Drops

Markers- Copics

Ribbon

Cardstock- Bazzil

Nutshell's Challenge #10- Shades of Green

Hello Everyone! I'm back for my last appearance as a Guest DT member for Nutcrafters. This week's challenge is to make a project using shades of green. Now that Valentine's Day is over, its time to get in the mood for St. Patrick's Day! Instead of making a card, I decided to make another gift bag using some Bo Bunny green paper. This paper has a subtle flower pattern that reminds me of shamrocks, so I thought it would be perfect for this challenge.

Since I didn't use Thankful Rae yet, I decided to ink her up to decorate the bag... Oh yah.. the tutorial for this bag can be found on Elena's blog. Its an origami bag that's fairly easy to make.

Back to Rae... I love that she's hugging her flowers- she's really enjoying them! One of my favorite color combos is green and pink, so I couldn't resist putting some pink in there with the different greens. Here's a close up of Rae...

If you would like to enter this challenge, please check out the Nutshell's blog here... Challenges run 2 weeks and you will need to leave a comment on their site with a link to your project. You can use any stamp that Nutcrafters sells, so you are not limited to the Nutshells line either- but they are so cute, you will want to use them in your project! Good Luck and can't wait to see all of your projects!

Supplies:

DP- Bo Bunny

Thankful Rae- Nutshells

Flowers- Prima

Flourish punch- Paper Shapers

Ribbon

brads- American Crafts

Circle and Scallop Circle punch- Marvy

February OCS

Greetings Everyone! Look at this gorgeous card from Tia! Tia doesn't have a blog yet but she should definitely start one to share all her cute projects! I love Flutter Anya and LOVE how she colored her wings! So cute! I'll have to try that one day. Thanks Tia!! I mailed out your card today (sorry so late!). I'll post my card to Tia at the end of the week.

Here's a close up of Flutter Anya...

Blogaversary Candy Winner!!!

Wow! Its been a crazy crazy year! I feel that I've really grown as a crafter and I owe it all to the wonderful world of blogging! I've learned so much over the past year from the blogs that I could have never found otherwise. Ok, Ok, enough gushing already... you guys want to know who won the blog candy right??? Here goes... ILuvnMama!!! Congrats! You won my custom made calendar! Please email me (see sidebar) with your preferences (color and theme). I can't wait to start crafting! Thank you to everyone who left me such nice blogaversary comments! I will see what else I can come up with for some more blog candy in the near future.

Nutshells Blog Hop Winner!

Did you enjoy the blog hop? It's time to annoucne the random winner that left a comment on my blog hop post! And the Winner is... Katie-Louise Oakley Congratulations Katie! Please go to the Nutcrafters blog for details on how to claim your prize! Thank you to all of you who left such sweet comments on my blog hop post! My term as the Guest DT member is coming to an end.. but I have one more project up my sleeve! Stay tuned on 3/24 for my last Nutshells Challenge as a Guest DT member.

Sugarberry Soaps

Sugarberry Soaps is my friend's daugther's business. They create cute novelty soaps that smell really good! I bought a whole bunch to give as little gifts to my friends and family. The response has been great! If you would like to see some of their cute stuff.. click on the link on my sidebar (or on the first words of this post) and it will take you to their website.

They are located in Hilo, like me!

Here's some photos of their soaps...

Nutshell's Blog Hop and New Releases!

Introducing... Cutie Pie Stamps from Nutshells! These sweeties are appropriately named, don't'cha think? There are six new releases available at the Nutcrafter's website- Birthday Girl Aster, Rae Shopping, Luna Fairy Princess (I previewed earlier this week so scroll down for a peek at her if you missed it), and Ballerina Aster- who I'm featuring today! There are two more cutie pies that are being revealed today- Luna Cupcake and Thankful Rae.

I chose Ballerina Aster because my DD dances Ballet. I was never one to enjoy the ballet, but once I was at the YWCA picking up swimming schedules for my DD and saw a ballet class in session. They were all about 3-4 years old and so adorable! After that, I asked my daughter if she wanted to dance and she was very excited about it! She's been dancing for over a year now and loves it! So you can guess how excited I was when I saw this cute ballerina?

In the above photo, the card is closed... I must admit that I was very excited to try out this new card! Brenda (Punch Queen) featured it on her blog and I was DYING to find out how to make it. She recently posted the instructions.. Thank you Brenda! You can find the instructions here... Its very similar to a Tri shutter card but I think its called a Double Display card.

Here's a close up of Ballerina Aster... isn't she sweet?

Da da da daaaaaaaaaa! Here's what it looks like when you open it! Cool yah? My trademark when making these types of cards is to dangle something from one of the top sections. I chose the ballet slippers that come in the stamp set.

This sentiment also comes with the stamp set- I know.. the slippers are blocking the words...

Here's a better view so you can see what the words say...

These new releases will be available on the Nutcrafter's Website on Monday 2/22/10. As a Guest DT member, I was so excited to be a part of Nutshell's first blog hop! Please check out the other DT member's blogs for more sneek peeks and an opportunity at EVERY stop to win prizes! One random hopper who visits ALL the blogs on the hop (and leaves comments on each blog) will win the entire collection of new Cutie Pie releases! How Awesome is that??? So don't forget to post on everyone's blog!

If you didn't start at beginning- hop on back to Cathy's blog so you can start from the beginning. If you are already in the middle of the hop- your next stop is Jacquie! Give Jacquie and the rest of the DT some love! Now get hoppin!

Blogaversary Candy

Don't forget to enter to win my blogaversary candy! Deadline to enter is February 22nd! Good Luck!

Please scroll down to see my other posts from today..

Nutshell's New Release Sneak Peek and Blog Hop Info

Did you notice my sidebar? Yes! The first Nutshell's blog hop is coming your way this Sunday, February 21st and I am so excited to be a part of it! Here's a sneak preview of one of their new stamps that will be available.. her name is Luna Fairy Princess. These new stamps are clear and stamp really good. I was very impressed with the image from these clear stamps because sometimes you don't get good images with other companies.

Just got this new DP and thought it matched perfectly with this princess! Here's a close up of Luna...

Be sure to join in the fun on February 21st! You can grab the button on my sidebar and add it to your blog to let others know about the hop too. The DT has previews all week to show you, so please check out their blogs to see some of the other releases. We have some surprises for you during the hop, including two super secret images to share with you! There will be prizes at each blog stop to be won, so make sure you visit every blog on the list. A random winner will be selected that posted comments on each stop on the hop to win the entire collection of new releases! For more information on the blog hop, check out the Nutshells blog here... Hope to see you at the hop!

Bon Jovi Rocks!

I'm pooped from this exciting weekend! It's Wednesday and I'm still recovering!! We flew up Thursday night after work and stayed in Honolulu till Monday night. After a hard day of cleaning mom's yard, we had some frozen yogurt since I'm on a frozen yogurt kick (which I will be reviewing in another post) and then headed to the BON JOVI concert!!!!!! Oh my god is Jon Bon Jovi still as cute as ever!! To quote the young girls behind me... "He is so hot!" This was such an awesome concert- we didn't have great seats, but the Blaisdell Arena is small enough that you still feel close enough to see the actual band and not just looking at the large screens.

I totally thought that we were going to be the oldest ones in the crowd, but I was wrong. There was a good mix of young and old at this concert and all enjoyed it! I'm just happy that they played almost all of my favorite songs- a good mix of oldies and new stuff. It was just awesome!

Ok- enough about Bon Jovi... Spent the next day craft shopping with Aunty Jan! We hit several of the Scrapbook stores in Honolulu, including J's Knicknacks. They had a sale that day, so if you brought in a red heart, you would get an extra 10% off of your entire purchase! Music to my ears! Saw Cheryl (Life is Sweet) there since she was doing a make 'n take. We were too late for the make 'n take, but got to talk story a bit in between shopping. Turns out she already knew who Aunty Jan was! Small world yah?

The next day was Valentine's Day and I already had plans to go to Teri's class. DH took Akemi to visit some friends and go to the Bishop Museum, while I attended Teri's class. I must apologize to Teri- I'm a horrible student! I don't listen to instructions and made several mistakes. Oh well! I had so much fun, I didn't care that my projects weren't perfect! Here's what we made... cute yah? Teri comes up with great projects!

Just wanted to show you the inside of the top note box... I love that there was a surprise message inside the box!

Got to see some fellow bloggers again like Linda (Simple and Sassy Creations), Joy D. (Tamikos), Janis (Creative Expressions) and Teri (Big Ideas From A Little Girl) and got to meet some new friends- Joy (A Place to Be Me) and Joni (Crafty Hula Hands). I also met Winnie and Myra, who also attended the class. it was so nice to make new friends who speak the same crafting language as me. Everyone is so nice and SO FUNNY! Hope I can attend another class again soon.

OK I have to confess something and apologize... I was so busy telling Linda about the Bon Jovi concert that I forgot to give Joy D. her RAK! Sorry Joy! I was wondering why I came home with an extra one! Duh! I'll be sending your RAK out soon. I'm so embarassed!

Here's the RAKs I got from some of the girls.... All of them came with CHOCOLATE! Most of that chocolate is gone!!!! The candy bar purse is from Linda. She also gave Akemi some HK goodies- which I really want to steal for myself! The cute card is from Joni H. See next photo to see how the card folds out. The awesome top note box was by Joy U and the Stella stamp (and other goodies) was from Janis. You ladies are so nice and generous! I was touched that you thought of me. Thank you!

Here's Joni's card opened up.. neat yah?

Can't wait for my next trip home...

You've Got Mail!

Here's more Valentine's Day projects that I found photos of. Made these "Happy Mail"boxes for the girls at Island Scrapbooking. I think I've mentioned it before, but I got this template from My Time Made Easy. Its really cute and not that hard to put together. Decorated them with heart punches since it was for Valentine's Day. Supplies: Happy Mail template- My Time Made Easy Heart punch- Marvy Lace Doily heart punch- MS Crafts Cardstock- Bazzil Pearl accents- Kaisercraft DP- Bo Bunny, Stampin Up

Two Scoops Rice Challenge- Altered Item

Hi Everyone!

Back with another Two Scoops Rice Challenge! This time Stephanie is our hostess and the challenge is to use an TSR image on an altered item! I chose to decorate one of the mailboxes I got from Oriental Trading Company. Just covered the mailbox with some DP from SU and chose to use one of the cute fairies from the Garden Fairies set. Since the DP was floral, I thought the fairies would match perfectly.

Here's a close up of the green fairy.

I also decorated the cover... Decided to use a variety of flowers to cover the front.

Here's the other side of the mailbox... Since this was a gift for Valentine's Day, I added the heart on the flag.

Check out the Two Scoops Rice Blog for more information on how to enter this challenge. You have two weeks to submit your entry (by February 27) and the prize is any 2 single stamps of your choice! I just got in some new Two Scoops Rice stamps in the mail, so I'll be posting more samples soon. Plus my blogging friend and fellow DT member, Enjoli gave me a couple of TSR stamps that I can't wait to ink up and make some cards with (Thanks Enoli!). Can't wait to see all the entries!

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Happy Valentine's Day and Kung Hee Fat Choy! I'm probably spelling that wrong... sorry I'm bad at spelling... Anyway, that's what we say for Chinese New Year. I have been searching high and low for a cute tiger image that I could use for Chinese New Year. I settled on Rintoo, who is the Tiger from Ni Hao Kailan. My nices in L.A. love Ni Hao Kailan, so I thought it would be awesome to combine their Valentine's Day gift with a Tiger for Chinese New Year (they are Chinese). I've heard so much about these little tin mailboxes that everyone got last year at Target, but I guess Target decided not to bring them in this year? At least not the Hawaii ones. My Aunty and Enjoli both tried looking for me (we have no Target in Hilo), without success. I ended up ordering a few on Oriental Trading. I later ordered the Happy Mail Template from My Time Made Easy (by Lauren Meader) which is really cute and a good replacement if you can't get these mailboxes. Happy Valentine's Day Sara and Haley! Hope you get the package soon- sorry its late! Supplies: Rintoo image- clip art from internet Heart punch- Paper shapers Scallop Heart punch- ek success DP- Best Creations and Maiboxes- Oriental Trading company

RAKs from Aunty

Aunty Jan sent Akemi some Valentine's Day goodies... Here's the cute card she made... I asked Akemi if I could have it and she said no! I snuck in photo while she was sleeping so I could show you how cute the card was.

She sent me this cute Chinese New Year card-She's so thoughtful! Thanks Aunty!

Nutty Nutshells Challenge #9- Valentine's Card

Hi Everyone!

You guessed it! Time for another Nutty Nutshell's Challenge. I was happy to be asked to stay on for another month as a Guest Designer for Nutshell's Challenge Blog. Did you get a chance to enter into the last challenge? Hope so!

This week, the challenge is to make a Valentine's Day card using any stamp or image available at Nutcrafters. They have a great selection of stamps to choose from and you can also purchase a digi so you can play right away! I know everyone's been busy making Valentine's Day cards, so this one should be of no extra effort at all to you!

Here's what I came up with... I really like this image. It was supposed to be for New Years as the girl was in a champagne glass. I just cut her out and put her on a heart instead. To create a pretty border, I used my new Martha Stewart heart punches. I just love her punch around the page corner and border punches. Its so nice to have punches that coordinate.

Here's a close up of the image...

For more information on the Challenge, click here. All you have to do is make a Valentine's Day card using a Nutcrafter's stamp or image and post a comment on the Challenge blog. Good Luck!

Supplies:

Girl- Nutshells digi

Heart punches- Martha Stewart

Ribbon

Cardstock- Bazzil

Stickles

Mom's Top Choice

OK- So you saw the calendar I originally made for my mom, with the Hello Kitties on almost every month... In addition to that one, she had asked me to make one that she could give to her friend at work, who also likes Hello Kitty. So I made her this calendar to give to her friend. My mother in law delivered the calendars for me, so I didn't get to see which one my mom liked.. you guessed it! She liked this one better! So much for all that extra work making all those kitties! She told me that she was going to give her friend first choice... I still don't know which one my mom ended up with.

Here's the months up close...

Supplies:

HK Dies- Spellbinders

Months- Quickutz

Washi- Hanko

Sakura punch- Carl Crafts

Crystals- Kaisercrafts