what a wonderful whittle world

shave ice

oh my, how adorable are these wee handmade creations from whittle world? these are such a cute alternative to the plastic little people sets found in many childhood playrooms and you have to love the local twist of shave ice stands and surfers.

a host of whittles are ready to populate your little one's playtime compliments of nikole, the sahm who crafts each and every whittle, who started making the miniatures for her son and, with encouragement from friends and family, began selling them at island craft shows. the sets are made to order (with each painted detail done by hand) and have a sweet homespun charm missing from most mass manufactured toys.

 leilani's lei stand

little surfer

as someone who has blown out a few candles atop a star wars birthday cake (or two) back in the day, the mini r2-d2 and friends (crafted by special request for her son's sw collection and, alas, not for sale) definitely bring back memories of princess leia halloween costumes and standing in the endless queue winding around the cinerama waiting to behold the empire strikes back.

you can take a peek at all the wooden wonders inside the whittle world etsy shop, and, if you have a sweet spot for sesame street, be sure to click over to puppets and pals, nikole's other etsy outpost which is devoted to the world of puppetry.

p.s. there's also a whittle world blog to keep fans updated on all the latest (and one of a kind) creations.

keeping up with kinohi designs

quilted floral

the other day i dipped into my stationery stash happy to find a few remaining thank you cards left over from my wedding from way back when. while a graphic designer friend pitched in to create our invites, the thank you notes came from kinohi designs who was first on the scene with modern island wedding invites that i swooned over and coveted very much but, alas, were beyond my budget.

when i clicked over to see what's new with kinohi, i discovered that designer jennifer tanabe has quietly shuttered the custom paper goods side of her business to focus on other projects. luckily, she continues to offer her charming designs in a fresh mix of island motifs via wedding paper divas and tiny prints, an online print house that helps you craft semi-custom invites and announcements to celebrate life's big moments.

beach stones

baby fern * under the sea

all of the designs are digitally printed to keep the cards at an appealing price point for personalized stationery. and, if you find the perfect card but the sample text doesn't quite do it for you, just remember that a few clicks will allow you to tweak the wording to better reflect your event.

maneki neko roundup

the jumping off point for this little roundup of maneki neko were these amazing chocolate lucky cat confections from suedy's koo-ki sushi of california (via love notes). with maneki neko beckoning passersby all around hawaii, i dashed off to etsy to find a few crafty alternatives that put a twist on this island tradition in unexpected ways:

1 - homemade zen offers custom amigurumi creations or pick up your sticks and diy with a handy crochet pattern.

2 - i love the idea of a maneki neko wall sticker in place of the traditional ceramic statue (available in 60 colors from sweeetnothing).

3 - or perhaps a limited edition framed print by artist maeve donohue.

4 - take your luck mobile with a petite cell phone charm from bndesign.

5 - button boutique's maneki neko ponytail holders are a sweet accessory for your little one.

springtime at maui thing

aloha da

gather 'round for a peek at the freshly stocked springtime designs in maui thing's online shop!

to honor the annual whale migration to the islands, maui thing designed this happy whale tee (keiki style shown below, m's here) which reminds me of approaching monstro the whale's spooky opening that swallows up riders whole during pinocchio's daring journey at disneyland . . . albeit in a much friendlier package!

save the whales

doodle + flower tree

in other news, reservations are now available to host your very own maui thing party. it's another twist on the home party made famous by tupperware with the maui designed clothing collective bringing their goods to you along with light pupus for a private showing of their latest styles. and, because maui thing is all about doing good, 10% of sales will be donated to the non-profit organization of your choice.

click rewind to learn more about maui thing!

welcome to moopiland

aloha mousepad

this popped in my mailbox yesterday and i couldn't resist sharing a few sweet finds from moopiland. two words came to mind when i visited the website: so cute! moopiland is literally a mom & pop company homegrown in hawaii after the birth of the owners' little girl (who lended her nickname to the family biz).

upon the arrival of their little one, owners keiko and arne started to make clothing for their daughter which soon caught the attention of other parents. and so moopiland was born. innocent creatures from kittens to pandas mix with happy patterns which pepper all the handmade offerings created in moopiland. everything is adorable and the keiki dresses are custom made to order in sizes 2T to 6T.

and, grownups can join in on the fun with a handful of kawaii designs made just for them.

kitten dress

country gather bag

shasa emporium just kicked off a weeklong sale with 25% savings on their entire stock of moopiland goods. if you can't make it to the sale, moopiland's online shop is open 24/7 with orders over $100 shipped free to the states, guam & puerto rico.

• when: now - sun, apr 13th
• where: shasa emporium, kahala mall