The backdrop of Hawaii is overwhelming with inspiration. Colors are everywhere, and in full saturation. The sunsets are the exact reason why I brought my travel art kit. I've never painted in my life, but have been wanting to dip my toes in. We took our supplies down to the water's edge tonight to set about putting color to paper.

My uber talented husband Nat added a palette of simple watercolors to the art supplies. He sketched with the paint and black pen to render this pretty little painting.

I'm a novice, and so the clever watercolor crayons were a perfect introduction to the medium. I scribbled out the color, then blended it with the wet brush. It went from drawing to painting in an instant. I can't wait to play with the rest of my materials, including the sharpies and the oil pastels, to create a new sunset every night!

I'm on an island in Hawaii. And I can't stop eating macadamia nuts. Let's see, I've found macadamia nut icecream, macadamia nut chocolates, and pancakes with macadamia nuts. Now I've moved on to the pure stuff- raw, whole macadamias, of which I took some glamour shots just now for this post. I am loving the perfectly subtle butter flavor and a nut that I would consider crunchysmooth. The recipe for Macadamia and Ginger Stuffing that I just discovered on Epicurious seems amazing. It's got great ratings and despite the exotic flavors, the ingredients are easy to find. The recipe also notes that you can season the bird with some citrus juices and sesame oil to really bring together the theme between the bird and the stuffing. I won't be home for Thanksgiving, but I most definitely plan on making this at Christmas, to take my taste buds back to tropical paradise.

I'm leaving for a 3 week trip bright and early tomorrow morning, and in preparation, today I gathered the supplies for a fun travel art kit. I went to Art and Soul, my local arts and crafts shop in Sebastopol (where our Craft Intern Lindsey works!). I found some great things there. All the kit needs is water, and my creative energy. With just it, I can draw, color, paint, and blend. It's a simple and compact collection of tools, including: Moleskins, 6 shades of watercolor crayons, paintbrushes for blending, a fine point ink pen, and two very intersting pencils. One is a graphite pencil that blends with water, and the other is a blue ink pencil.

If you have a great travel art kit, share a list of the contents in the comment section! Bon Voyage!

Cathy Callahan pointed us to this great ABC Eye on LA video covering Crafty places in LA. The locations in the video also happen to be places Cathy covered in her Travel Crafty article in CRAFT: 09. We spotted our friends at Reform School, French General and Poketo!

Take your retired plates for one more trip around the block. License plates work great as a memo board because they already have two built-in holes to hang from. The rest is easy as cruise control.

Tip: There are two types of plates out there: aluminum and steel. Test yours with a magnet first to make sure your magnets will hold up. If yours is aluminum, you can always give it a quick coat of magnetic paint.

I find using my laptop on my actual lap to be very uncomfortable. For one, it gets really hot. For two, if I have anything plugged in to the ports on the side, I can't sit cross-legged for fear of bending the port or unplugging my external hard drive in the middle of an upload or video export. I find putting a pillow between my lap and the computer to alleviate some of the problems, but it's really not stiff enough to prevent wobbles. I've also been thinking it'd be nice to have a mousing surface while laptopping; the trackpad aggravates my carpal tunnel. I came up with this design for a laptop desk using a piece of stiff material (MDF, plywood, or even a few stiff layers of cardboard would work), some upholstery foam, and a fabric cover. Now I can use my laptop more easily while traveling away from my desk to motels, friends' houses, or even just my couch. Read on to see the plans for making your own.

Traveling Vine iCozy
By Vickie Howell

During these tough economic times the only traveling some of us get to do is across the world wide web. Thanks to cool gadgets like the iPhone, though, that internet trip can be taken anytime and anywhere! Every travel buddy clearly deserves proper attire — so if you've ever thought about journeying into the land of knitted lace, then this Traveling Vine iCozy's the project for you!

Going to Grandma's Laptop Case
By Jennifer Perkins

They just don't make suitcases like they used to. Remember the luggage of our youth with bright floral patterns and kitschy little slogans printed on the side that said things like "Going to Grandma's"? Well, you are going to hope that Grandma has wi-fi with this suitcase revamp, because it does not hold a week's worth of clean underwear — it holds your laptop!

When I traveled to Iran last, I had a chance to visit Yazd, one of the oldest cities in the world. Outside of Yazd is Maybod, also very ancient. One of the noted handicrafts of this region is the traditional porcelain. And Maybod Morvarid (morvarid means pearl in Farsi) is one of the oldest crafters of porcelain in Iran. I was lucky enough to get a tour of their workshop, which is just behind their sweet storefront (pictured above).

Come take a journey with me across the globe to a historic land. I offer you Maybod Morvarid as a photo essay.

What better way to celebrate summer then to hit the open road. If you're a constant crafter, such as myself, you look for every opportunity to take your projects on the go. On our last road trip, I was constantly fishing scissors and balls of yarn out from under my seat as they rolled off my lap. Hence, I came up with this Car Craft Caddy pattern. Feel free to customize the pattern to fit your crafting needs and supply requirements. I would recommend sitting in the car with a large piece of paper, pencil, and measuring tape. This way you can figure out the exact dimensions of your caddy.

The store just opened this past weekend and I'm curious to know if any CRAFT readers have been there. If so, leave a comment to this post. And if you are about to visit, please take some photos and add it to our CRAFT flickr pool.

Airplane rides can be really long and really boring. Make the most of your surroundings. Dig into the seat back in front of you, pull out the barf bag, and craft up a puppet to play with. The barf bag holds more fun than you might imagine. The puffer fish is covered in colorful spines. And when you fill the bag with air, he comes to life with a goofy smile.

Oh, and don't give TSA a reason to confiscate your tools. Be sure you only bring scissors with a blade less than 4" long.

For you traveling knitters and crocheters, there's an easy way to make your own project caddy for the car, train, bus (or other) trip. When you get a new set of sheets, save the vinyl zippered case they came in, and poke a few holes in the top, then pass through your yarn. The pockets come in handy for scissors, needles, hooks, and patterns. I used a piece of card stock to separate the two balls of yarn, but you could easily sew or glue in a permanent divider. Not only does this keep your project clean, dry, and self-contained, but you can see through the bag to spot your tools. Using center-pull balls will keep it extra tidy.

More:

• How-To: Wind a Center-Pull Ball of Yarn
• Acorn Travel Yarn Holder
  
• Ask CRAFT: The TSAs of Crafty Air Travel
  

Nkitnat writes:

When out, I used to breastfeed with a white cloth on my shoulder to hide naked skin but it often fell from there ... so to hold it tight I sewed a "two-sided" clip band that falls around my neck holding the cloth at the level of my chest.

Stockholm offers whatever you are looking for in craft, whether old, new, rustic, or conceptual. Traverse the city for amazing, unique supplies, objects d'art, and knitted graffiti.

(Photo: A basket of trim for sale at Folckers.)

All these Crafty Travel posts popping up here on the blog have made me think about my own travel habits — not to mention my packing methods! I love collecting cute bags and luggage to hold my clothing and toiletries, but when it comes to fitting in an extra pair of shoes I usually cram them in an old plastic bag and call it a day. I figured I could come up with a more stylish (not to mention reusable) way to pack and protect my shoes and keep my clothing footprint-free as well. Here's how I did it!

In 2007 my husband and I traveled to Iceland. It's a country that he has always wanted to visit, but I was less than convinced. I was thinking Fiji, or Hawaii, right? I couldn't have been more wrong. It was the best time of my life, and I did not want to leave. Our trip included hot springs, sheep, music, graffiti, wool, fashion, art galleries, and night clubs.

Craft and art are massive parts of the culture in Iceland, and so is wool. Downtown Reykjavik's tourist shops are packed with hand and machine-knit 100% Icelandic wool sweaters, scarves, socks, hats, blankets and more. Practically every other shop window in the heart of the the city features handcrafted fiber arts. Craft supply stores and art galleries are staffed with people who love wool and who love to knit. And these aren't bland, boring products for the average tourist — they are spectacular cutting-edge knitting designs from amazing designers.

Maya writes:

Everyone needs something soft and familiar to rest their weary heads upon... especially our children when they're far from home. This little travel pillow has a built in handle for easy toting or to clip onto a backpack when heading off to camp, a sleep over, or some other summer adventure.

Dark Chocolate Gelato
By Katie Goodman

I have a love affair with eating. I can think of no other place that I'd rather indulge that passion than in Italy — a place where eating is a treasured event and delicious food is abundant.

Many travelers remark at the wonders of Italian gelato, admitting to visiting the Gelateria twice (or more!) daily during their travels. That's an experience I long to enjoy, especially as summer temperatures continue to rise. Unfortunately during economic times like this, many aren't in a position to spend money on extravagant travels. That's where I take matters into my own hands — learning the art of Italian cooking at home.

Gelato is actually quite simple to make. As simple as it is to make, it's also easy to convince yourself that it's healthy. After all, gelato is made with milk, not cream, giving it a healthy dose of calcium and vitamin D with each serving, without the fat of its American counterpart. Flavors are only limited by how far your imagination can reach. From fruity, like this strawberry gelato, to nutty, like my favorite, pistachio, and everything in between. Feel free to push beyond the traditional flavors and explore something new.

If stateside travel is in your budget, consider planning a trip to Little Italy in New York for the chance to indulge in some authentic Italian treats at a fraction the cost of visiting our Mediterranean friends.