Aloha Everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA for the last month. Did you miss me?

I was busy planning our vacation to Hawaii. It's been a few years since we've gone on vacation and I just wanted everything to go as planned. But obviously, when you travel with kids, nothing ever goes as planned. I made lists of stuff I wanted to do but in the end, we just played it by ear.

It was stressful during the trip. You know, hauling around two kids on an island full of tourists. But now that I'm back home, I just wish I could be on that Waikiki Beach again.

Prior to going, I was asking my colleagues what I could do in Honolulu that is affordable, cheap, or free. The first thing they tell me, "Everything in Hawaii is expensive. Don't expect cheap anything!"

Well, guess what? We proved them wrong. Today, I'm going to share with you all the FREE stuff that we did (or had planned but never got to it because sometimes, the kids got in the way).

If you are planning a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii and reading this, make sure you pin this to Pinterest so you can find it later!

Hula Show at Ala Moana Centerstage

Torch Lighting & Hula Show at Kuhio Beach

O Nā Lani Sunset Stories at International Market Place

Hula Lessons at the Royal Hawaiian Center

Lei Making at International Market Place

Lei-Making Class at the Royal Hawaiian Center

Lauhala Weaving at Royal Hawaiian Center

Ukulele Classes at Royal Hawaiian Center

I didn't think much of Moana when I first saw the movie. But it definitely grows on you when your 3-year-old asks you to watch it with her three times a day. The movie is actually quite the masterpiece and the music is absolutely beautiful! I can listen to the soundtrack all day long!

We are heading on a family vacation to Hawaii this year and BB keeps saying that she wants to go look for the Heart of Te Fiti in Hawaii. I wish I knew where to look...?

She has been obsessed with little gems, rhinestones, and marbles for a long time now. So when there was a movie that centered around a glowing green rock, I am not surprised that she would ask for one. This girl just loves her bling!

Sadly, it's not exactly the easiest thing to find available commercially. But hey, I'm always up for a good DIY!


I found this material at Daiso called OYU-PLA (aka. Plastic Clay) in their craft section while browsing around one afternoon. They put them together with their other clay products.

The description says that it can be reshaped as many times as needed. So I thought, 2 bucks, what's the harm in trying it out.

Follow along to see how I turn this little bag of "plastic clay" into the Heart of Te Fiti!

Materials

### Most of these items can be purchased through our affiliate links. Purchasing items through these links will not cost you any extra money. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.

• Oyumaru (I got mine from Daiso)
• Pot of hot water
• Paper
• Scissors

Put the Oyumaru into a pot of water and bring it to a boil.

This package came with 3 pieces of clay. I only used one piece for this project, but if you prefer your Heart of Te Fiti to be larger, you can use more than one piece of clay. The instructions says that the piece of plastic clay has to be heated in some water that is 80 degrees C (176F) for 3 minutes.

Take out the Oyumaru with a pair of tongs.

Careful, it's HOT! Dry it off with a piece of paper towel. You can tell from the photo that it's already become soft.

Shape your Oyumaru.

Roll it into a ball and then gently press flat to shape like the Heart of Te Fiti from the movie Moana.

Stamping your Oyumaru.

I made the spiral on the Heart of Te Fiti with a piece of rolled up paper. Keep in mind that all this has to be done before the Oyumaru returns back to room temperature. You'll notice soon enough that the plastic clay gets harder as it cools down.

If you are not done applying the details onto your Oyumaru, you can always put it back in the boiling water to soften it again.


As you can see, BB didn't even let me get a second photo in before she pried it away from my hand. She hasn't let go of it since. Literally.

Hanson's first comment was that it looked like a green cinnamon bun - LOL! If you don't have a 3-year-old at home disrupting your "crafternoon," I'm sure you can probably make one that's much nicer and more detailed than mine!

Did you make your own Heart of Te Fiti? I'd love to see it! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.






This is an original tutorial written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this tutorial as your own. If you wish to share this tutorial, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell the tutorial or distribute it. 

When you hear 100% cotton yarn, you immediately think it should be lightweight, breathable, etc. What I didn't know was that there are different types of cotton yarn.

When I bought two large skeins of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton yarn, I was expecting my shawl to be lightweight and draped beautifully on my shoulders. Instead, it turned out to be stiff and heavy.

I thought that cotton yarn was just that: cotton yarn. I went ahead anyway and used a majority of the yarn to make and finished my shawl. But because it was so heavy, I rarely actually use it. On the other hand, it makes a great weighted blanket for the kids during the warmer weather.

I had some yarn left over and wondered what I should do with it. Many people suggested that Bernat Handicrafter yarn is a kitchen cotton type of yarn and that they make great dishcloths out of it. But I feel that's a lot of work for a dishcloth that's going to get all dirty. I'd prefer something that lasts a little longer.

I then started using it to explore different stitches and tried my hand at making a purse. Unfortunately, I think I was too ambitious, so let's start with something a little bit smaller - like a zippered pouch!

What You Need / Materials

### Most of these items can be purchased through our affiliate links. Purchasing items through these links will not cost you any extra money. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.

• Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn (I used the color, "salt and pepper")
• 4.0 mm crochet hook
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Zipper (9" or whatever size needed to cover the width of your pouch once finished)

Notes

Stitches & Abbreviations

• st/sts - stitch/stitches
• ch - chain
• sc - single crochet
• hbdc - herringbone double crochet

Pattern

• Base

Ch 11
Row 1: Sc into the second ch from the hook, sc across (10 sc)
Row 2-22: Ch 1, turn, sc across (10 sc)
Cut and fasten off.

• Side of Pouch

Row 1: Ch 5, sc into the corner of the base piece and across the long edge (22 sc), ch 7
Row 2: Hbdc into the second ch from the hook, hbdc into the next 4 ch, hbdc into the next 22 sc sts, hbdc into the last 5 ch (32 sts)
Row 3-13: Ch 2, turn, hbdc across (32 sts)
Cut and fasten off, do the same thing on the other side of the base.

Assembly

And there you have it! Your very own herringbone zipper pouch that you can use for everything including crochet hooks, makeup brushes, makeup, notions, etc.




Did you make your own Herringbone Zipper Pouch? I'd love to see it! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.






This is an original pattern written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell the pattern or distribute it. 

You may sell products made from this pattern, but please clearly credit the design to me, Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio and provide a link to my blog www.OnceUponaCheerio.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for understanding!

Recently I've been exploring some new stitches for projects and stuff. Then I came across the herringbone double crochet stitch. It's not just called the "Herringbone stitch" because there are actually two different types: herringbone double crochet, and herringbone half double crochet.

Today, I'm going to show you how to do the Herringbone Double Crochet (HBDC).


Herringbone Double Crochet stitch creates a fabric that has a distinct but subtle chevron look to it. The pattern is called herringbone because it resembles the skeleton of a herring fish. The great thing about this stitch is that it's reversible and looks the same on both front and back!

The chevron/arrow look of this stitch is created when these slanted stitches are worked in rows going back and forth. So this stitch does not work in rounds.

Personally, I like using a turning chain of 2 for this stitch to avoid having large holes/gaps. However, it's not uncommon to see some crocheters use a turning chain of 3.

Stitches & Abbreviations