Why, Hello There!

Thanks for stopping by! 

I am alive and well, just been incredibly busy. I've been wanting to blog but every time I log on to do so I start thinking to myself,  "You really need to be sewing!" The other thing that prevented me from hopping on here is that I am a very chronological-thinking person. I didn't even want to publish my last post about voting in the DIY Halloween costumes (thank you to those that did, BTW!) because I hadn't blogged about my Halloween crafts! But at this rate I am never going to catch up....so there! I will let it go! (Well, for the most part. I haven't even put away all of our Halloween stuff because my intention has been to blog about it!)

So where do I start? How about I work backwards and start with the most recent project? Getting ready for Christmas! 

While there are 12 days left till Christmas (YIKES) there are only two more days of school left before Christmas vacation starts! What to get for the teachers? I really loved what I did last year for my daughter's teacher so why not do it again? I also made some for a dear friend:

Oh those dirty little kids!

Last year I made a set including one extra large bottle (hand sanitizer) and two small bottles (hand soap):

And then sets for friends: 

Truly fun and unique...and EASY to do! Want to know how to do it? Click on this link for instructions: Personalized Hand Sanitizer & Soap Bottles.

Whew. I did it. I blogged! Hoping to get back into the groove of it! Meanwhile don't forget, you can find me on Facebook under "Happy Hapa!" I check in there at least once a day!

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Check out Katie's Nesting Spot's "A Crafty Soiree" for fun, Christmas crafting ideas!

Have a great week!

Woof Woof!

And the pictures are in!

Remember the fleece dog jackets I made for my sister's dogs? The timing was perfect as my little nieces went to the snowy east coast for Christmas vacation. My sister sent me some action shots of the dogs sporting their Hawaiian style wear! Looks like they had tons of fun!  

 

Want more handmade gift ideas or inspiration? Check out "A Crafty Soiree" hosted by Katie's Nesting Spot!

Dirty Little Third Graders

*Sigh*

I am going to do my best to sound chipper here. For the last six days both of my kids (and now husband) have come down with some sort of stomach bug. Kailani has missed several days of school, but yesterday I saw a glimmer of hope - hope that she would return to school and I would get my life outside of a pukie house back. 

Long story short, no such luck. 

That's alright. Maybe she'll be ready to go back on Friday, the last day of school before Christmas break. That will give me all day today to get my (last minute) classroom crafting done. Just as I was thinking it Kailani says,

"Mom, I don't have school on Friday. The class Christmas party is on Thursday."

"SAY WHAT?!?"

Enter the super-sonic-crafting-trance (on top of taking care of a sick family!) I needed to give something to her teacher and her classmates and I really wanted to avoid candy or sweets of any kind.

So, her teacher first. I have been SO looking forward to this project ever since I saw it posted at "The Idea Room":

Personalized bottles of antibacterial sanitizer and liquid hand soap! I titled it, "Mr. Kodama's Dirty Little 3rd Graders" and I put all the kid's names on it. 

I doubt anybody else will be giving him the same present. :)

Wanna know how I did it? Click here.

Now for the classmates. We were going to make reindeer dust again this year but opted for something different. Instead we bought a bunch of bells and ribbon and made each of her classmates a bell necklace. I reused some cardboard and painted it and cut it out to look like gift tags:

Bell necklaces for the classmates - 30 of them!

Nothing special on back! Just tape!

Did you know that I found one of these bell necklaces selling for over $5.00 a piece?!? Seriously. When I add it all up it cost about $.60 per kid! Of course that's not incorporating the cost of labor....  

So the super-sonic-trance worked. I got them all made and delivered to her class TODAY. YES. GO ME. I did it. 

Now....to get the family feeling better so we can actually enjoy our Christmas break! 

Are you looking for more homemade Christmas gift ideas? Check out "A Crafty Soiree" over at Katie's Nesting Spot! You'll definitely find some inspirations! Click on the button: