happy happy new year!

i hope you have a safe and happy new year! i won't bore you with my reflections on 2009 but i will say that i have no idea what 2010 will bring. i'm kind of at a crossroad and i don't know what to do right now but i hope whatever it is, it's where i'm meant to go. i'm so incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported the toki cafe. i love crafting but it's you who keeps pushing me to be creative and try new things. i promise to be even craftier in 2010 and to make new cute things to share with you. eat lots of rice cake soup! wish many blessings upon your elders and elders, tell your youngins to study hard and be healthy. happy new year and here's to new adventures and a fresh start!!

2010 is gonna be a great year!! can you feel it??

merry christmas!

i wish everyone a very merry christmas and a wonderful holiday season! wherever you are, whatever holiday you celebrate, i hope you are warm, happy, and with people that you love.

beef & broccoli

i'm trying to be better about using new recipes. i get kind of lazy and end up rotating the same foods every few weeks. so, last week i saw this recipe from jaden's steamy kitchen (and her new cookbook!) on the pioneer woman's food blog and decided to give it a try. i'll pretty much try anything that the pioneer woman says is good. partly because she's usually right and partly because her pictures are so pretty. tah dah! my photos definitely aren't as pretty (have i mentioned yet that there is no such thing as natural light in my apartment?) but it was sooo tasty and easy to make. i was a little skeptical because the kind of beef and broccoli you get at your local sketchy chinese takeout place (the sketchier ones always taste better) is usually drowning in oily delicious gravy/sauce. i thought this would turn out dry and a little bland but i was completely wrong. everything is lightly coated in an incredibly flavorful sauce and since you don't have all that oily gravy/sauce, it feels much lighter and healthier. try it! and don't forget to chew while you're inhaling it :)

vacation

the toki cafe will be on vacation starting december 24-mid-january. the shop will be in vacation mode but feel free to convo me as i will be keeping tabs on my esty during this time. thank you and have a wonderful holiday!

a creative mint

i have a thing for colors. you might be able to trace it back my almost unhealthy obsession and love of this sesame street video. so when i discovered color me pretty over at decor8... it was love at first sight. color me pretty is a guest column written by leslie from a creative mint. leslie is amazing in every way possible. truly. her photos just make me so happy and each one packs in a ton of inspiration. i'll stop babbling and let her photos work their magic.

photos from a creative mint's flickr

photo from decor8

click on any of the photos to go to their source to see them in all their full sized glory. then spend the rest of your day swimming gleefully through a creative mint's flickr gallery and blog. laaaa!

i'm a rock star!

miss bee asked me for some rock band magnets for her brother and of course i said yes :) and then i looked at my rock band instruments and cried because i had no idea how i was going to get all those details in with acrylic felt. acrylic felt is great because it's sturdy and affordable (i dream of wool felt in my sleep) but when cut into teeny pieces, it tends to fall to bits and all your left with is a tiny pile of 1mm threads. it's just the nature of acrylic felt or any sort of fabric really . so for these magnets, i had to skip the sewing and use a bit more glue than i usually do. and mod podge... oh mod podge you totally saved the day. now, some rock band cuteness! i hope miss bee's brother likes them and doesn't think that they're too "cute" for his manly fridge!

i dream of pretty baker's twine

i'm seeing this everywhere in places like oh happy day and twig & thistle. good ol traditional baker's twine in blue and red make me dance around but when they come in candy colors...

photos from divine twine by whisker graphics

well that just knocks my socks off :) i'm going to go write a love letter to whisker graphics.