Lfundoo and Kiki's Epic Crafty Adventure Day 2: Downtown LA, Tamaya, and Downtown Disney

I was pretty excited about my haul from yesterday, so I wanted to post it to show you the goodies we got in downtown.  It's a little hard to see but it is basically costume jewelry (mostly rings and earrings) and hair clips. Managed to find a lot of HK stuff at that store!  Yay!

 



 

 

 

These butterfly rings really caught my eye. They are HUGE!  You will see how big in another photo of Linda.

 

 

If you go to Downtown LA, this is the store we got the bling from... Its in a scary part of town, but we got really good deals.  Sorry, not sure why it's posting sideways!

 

This next picture is Linda modeling the present I got for her... Earplugs!  See how huge that butterfly ring is?

First stop on Day 2 was breakfast!  I told Linda about Mimi's Café so I took her there for breakfast this morning.  Don't be fooled and go to the fake Mimi's (Millie's).  It's so not the same!  Mimi's is waaaay better! 

 Here's what I had for breakfast... Eggs benedict on potatoes instead of English muffins.  Yummy Yummy in my Tummy!  (Shout out to Craftyme83)

 

Then we headed back to Downtown LA to find flowers and trims.  I had to use my panoramic feature on my phone to get this shot!  We went to a store called Craft House on Los Angeles St.  They were very nice and had some unique items I've never seen before.

 Then we headed to Tamaya in Torrence.  Ohaijoy did a video on it once and I wanted to check it out because we don't have a San-x store in Hawaii.  They still had Xmas Rilakkuma but I didn't get them.  Will have to settle for just the photo.

I'm not gonna lie... I got quite a bit of Rilakkuma... just not xmas kind.  Some are to give away and some was a RAK from Linda.  Thanks girly!

After we checked out our loot, Linda reminded me I needed to do my goodie bags!  She helped me make the ones for the instructors for the classes while I made the ones for the girls we'll be meeting up with.

Later that evening, we met up with Leanne of Yumi & Fumi!  She was so nice to drive to Anaheim and pick us up for dinner.  Thank you so much Leanne!  Sorry you had to drive in traffic!!  We ended up going to Downtown Disney for dinner.  Stopped to take a photo in front of California Adventure.  Too bad the xmas stuff was down.

While on our way to Storyteller's Café, we walked through the Grand Californian Hotel lobby.  Stopped to take a photo with their Christmas tree!

 

 

And here's all the food we ordered!  I was ono for corn chowder so I was one happy camper that they had it!  Woo Hoo!  

 

 

 

We did a little shopping after dinner but had to hurry back to the shuttle before they stopped running.  Thanks again Leanne for a nice dinner!  Glad we got to meet up while we were here!



Lfundoo and Kiki's Epic Crafty Adventure!- Day 1: Travelto Anaheim and Downtown LA

About 6 months or so ago, I saw a post about Prima ArtVenture in Anaheim scheduled for January 2014.  I immediately thought.. this is my chance to go to ArtVenture!  Woo Hoo!  So I quickly told my BFF's Linda and Cami to see if they wanted to join me.  Unfortunately Cami couldn't make it, but Linda and I quickly signed up for an epic Crafty Adventure together!

 

Let me give you some funny background before I get into the actual adventure log.  We had been checking airfares once we decided to book our trip and ended up booking sometime in the fall.  Just before Christmas, Linda started connecting with some crafty ladies in the LA area to see if they wanted to meet up with us.  I guess I kept thinking to myself... I'll work on the trip planning after the holidays... but SURPRISE!  The trip is RIGHT AFTER New Years!!  So I double checked my flight itinerary and discovered that I didn't book my interisland from Hilo to Oahu in order to go to LA!??  Doh!

 

So then I had to figure out that flight.  Then I discovered another blunder!  When we fly back to Oahu, we get in AFTER the last flight back to Hilo!???  Another Doh!  So I had to ask for another day off before I booked my flight. 

 

Finally booked my interisland flight and finished up my trip planning.  Had to do most of it during the holidays after Christmas.  This is so not my norm!

 

So travel day finally arrived!  Woo Hoo!  I decided to fly in early on Sunday so I could hang out with mom until my flight later that night.  I guess everyone was finishing up their vacation and heading home.  Here's what the TSA line looked like in Hilo...  Took me 20 min to get through the line. By then they had opened up 2 sides.  In Hilo they don't have a shortcut line for Premier club members, only for TSA pre-check.  Guess I should look into that for future flights.

 

 

 

After getting through TSA, I headed for the lounge for a quick "breakfast".  Didn't have much time before my flight..  Ended up eating Paul's favorite snack!

 

 

 

 

Here's another funny story... as I was in the lounge eating my breakfast, I don't know why, but I thought that boarding was at 8:45, but it was really at 8:30.  Just so happened, I checked my time and then my ticket and discovered my mistake!!  Had to quickly clean up and run upstairs (good thing it was close by)... there was no line.  What?  How could the whole flight have boarded in just a few minutes?  When I got on the plane it was pretty full already.. People had hard time finding room in the overheads for their big bags. I was glad I only had my backpack that could fit under the seat.

 

After mom picked me up, we headed to Ala Moana for an early lunch and some window shopping.  She wanted to go to St. Germaine Bakery for some bread, which is where I saw this.....



 

 

 

I was FINALLY able to get a Cronut!  A croissant deep fried like a donut!  I wasn't hungry right then, so I took it home with me.  I had totally forgotten that St. Germaine was in two locations.  I always pass by the one by Old Navy, but this time we went to the one by Sanrio and I got lucky! Really need to try to bring this home one day.  It was pretty awesome.

So after catching up with mom, it was time to head to the airport and meet up with my BFF and epic adventure travel buddy- Linda! aka Lfundoo.  We finally made it onto the airplane!

 

 

After a short flight (we landed an hour ahead of schedule), we headed to get our rental car.  Well, that took a bit longer than expected. Apparently, there was no key for the car we picked out!  So they had to find us a new car.. Once we were settled, we were on our way to find the hotel.  All I can say is, thank goodness for the maps feature on my phone! 

 

 

We finally found our hotel and checked in at the Peacock Suites. The rooms are nice but the place is under construction right now. I'm sure it will be nicer once they finish.  Thanks Aunty for getting us this place!

 

 

We then tried the free breakfast and decided that we would pass in the future.  Then we headed to Target for some rations.  Got some water, tea, and snacks.  All set for the week!

 

Then we decided on our course of action... the LA Fashion District.  We have  heard so much about this area and the cheap craft supplies you can get, that it was definitely on our to do list.  So we set out on our first epic crafty adventure to find the goods.  Fast forward a few hours later, we were goods-less and getting tired.  Linda finally decided to break down and call our friends for some help.  Thanks to TryHeart and Creative Young Mama for their shopping tips!  We had to re-route and finally found what we were looking for.. costume jewelry bling!  Here's a sneaky peek of some of the goods I picked up.  Some for me, some to share.

 

 

The ring place was in a not so good neighborhood.  Creative Young Mama advised us to wear covered shoes so that no one pees on us.  WHAT!?  She was right, it was pretty shady.  I would not suggest going there alone.  But we did see something interesting... There was a bunch of shopping cart vendors on the street.  I guess they don't have enough money for a food truck, so they've improvised.  They build their hibachi in the metal shopping carts.  There's coals on the bottom, then they have the pan/grill on top and they cook right there on the sidewalk.  I managed to get a rogue shot while walking past them.

After buying our fill of costume jewelry, we met up with Ohaijoy in Little Tokyo, which is right nearby the Fashion District.  She took us to a ramen place for dinner... mmmmm.  Look how huge that bowl is?!  None of us could finish ours. It was nice and warm.

Proof that you can make friends on YouTube!!!  Here's Ohaijoy and Lfundoo!

After dinner, we went outside and I saw this statue... We were on Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Street.  How cool is that?

And then we asked the nice Security Guard to take our photo.  He took about a dozen and still had a hard time.  I think this was the best one... my eyes still closed. But he was very nice to do that for us.

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. Took us about an hour to get home in the traffic.  We laughed because we thought it was soooooo late but it was only 5:30 when we left Ohaijoy!!  We ended up crashing out as soon as our heads hit the pillow!

Thanks to Creative Young Mama and Try Heart for all your help navigating us through Downtown LA over the phone!  And thanks to Ohaijoy for taking us to dinner!  Looking forward to seeing you guys on Saturday!

Hello Kitty Wall Calendars

Back again with the Hello Kitty version of the hanging wall calendar.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on this Hello Kitty paper pad and chipboard pieces when they debuted at Michaels on the mainland earlier this year.  I like that HK is in kraft colors since it is a new twist on Miss Kitty!

Hmmm, do I have anything else to share?  I need to go check if I have any more photos.

Sister Stamps Wall Calenders

I guess you could say that these hanging wall calenders are my signature calender each year.  But as mentioned before, I try to change them up each time so that customers don't get bored of the same old thing.  This year I decided to make it so that the calender doesn't need to flip over as in year's past... So in order for it not to be too long, I included two months on each panel.  Here's some of my samples...

You get the idea right?  So, the ones below are pretty much the same except that they are not opened up.

Back soon with some Hello Kitty versions of this type of calendar.

Altered clipboards

Decided to try something new this year and alter some clipboards.  I got a good deal on these mini clipboards and decorated them with paper.  

Don't laugh but now I have an over abundance of 2014 mini calendars (after a panic of thinking I might not have enough), so I decided to add some to the clipboard along with a post it note pad.  Then added in an image like Hello Kitty or Sister Stamps images.

I think I might go back and add some flowers to the clip board, so they may look a bit different when you see them!

Sister Stamps 12x12 Calendars

Are you still with me?  Yes, I have lots more to share...

Need to thank my sister who really helped me out this year.. thanks sis!  I don't think I could've cranked out as many calendars this year if not for her.

So I also made some Sister Stamps 12x12 calendars too..  This one is my favorite.  I think it's cause it's a new design that will be released next year (she doesn't even have a name yet!).  For now I call her "crane girl".  Made this one for a special crafty friend who helps me a lot every year for my craft fair.

And here's some Taiko calendars.  Had to make more cause Paul showed them to his Taiko group.  Girl will be a new release for next year too.

Yoshimi is an old favorite, but do you see someone new?

Kiki makes an appearance too!  Miyoko is altered a bit from the original image. She used to be holding a cupcake, but now she's holding an umbrella.

We have another new image here along with Miyono.

Couldn't go without Kiyomi!

Even had some of the critters make an appearance.

Mei Lin is here too along with another newbie.

 If you are interested in these, hopefully you can make it to my fair on Saturday!

Hello Kitty Calendars!

Another new design that I came up with this year was a year-at-a-glance 12x12 calender. I like these a lot too since they are not that much work but people feel like they are getting a good deal.   What is pictured here is not all of the ones I made.. just a sampling.  I wasn't able to get photos of all of them since I sold a lot before I could take photos.  These are the Hello Kitty ones I made.  Love that I could bring them out of storage and give them some love!

Wow- is that enough?  Hoping I have some leftovers for Xmas gifts this year.  More 12x12s to come...

Kokeshi Calendars

As I told you earlier, I try to come up with new ideas each year so that my customers don't get bored (and me too).  While making the animal coaster calenders, I thought I really wanted to make some Japanese girl calenders using the same concepts.    Here's what I came up with...

I think these are my favorite new products this year!  I used coasters as the base and built up from there. It was easier making her into a kokeshi since I wouldn't need to make arms! :)

And here's more of the little girls in different colors.

Putting the finishing touches on all my stuff and getting ready for tomorrow!  Hope to see you there!