Deland Tiki - Custom Tiki Artistry |

Congratulations to our friends THE BLOODY JUG BAND!

After seeing this band several times in person and totally loving their work, we have taken every opportunity to participate in events with The Bloody Jug Band. Last fall it was their Jug-Ly Art event at the Peacock Room, and from that came a request to make a killer tip case to artistically suggest that if you want art, you  have to make sure the artists aren’t actually starving. (something we certainly can relate to). After a new record in over doing it, this is what we came up with for the guys (and one pretty lady!)

Achieving the look we wanted required a double thick piece of wood for the lid to really make it 3D while also allowing us to inset the “Tips Appreciated” in the inner lid. The blood dripping down the sides is all carved and it looks so real when you see it that your first instinct is to touch it. We could not have been happier with how it turned out especially knowing that they believe in our work enough to have it on stage every night.

Well it just so happens that today is the official debut of their new CD “Coffin up Blood” at Will’s Pub in Orlando. Every paid entry gets their own copy of the CD, which is a fantastic deal (because I wouldn’t question that the admission is a bargain just for the show!) We hate that work is keeping us away tonight but wish them only the best of luck and a fantastic crowd.

To accompany the album release they also did a fantastic video!

Take the time to peruse their website, with tons of links to their music and merchandise, including specialty merchandise made by us for the people that need some Jug-ly art in their lives- and if you are local come out and see them tonight, it will be a great show!

Our newest Bar Case!

After having our last one of these sell at the Revenge of the Tiki show last year, we are  pleased to have another Headhunter Bar Case in stock to come with us to Sin City, and we made this one as over the top as we thought prudent. It is a two sided case that we designed to look like a cohesive scene when opened…(and when you are doing your mixology behind it! )

New Items for Viva!

We are in the fast and furious stage of show preparation but we finally have learned to finish some of our new items early so there is time to preview them. We have been remiss in picture taking sometimes and then they sell before we ever get good documentation. Well not this show! We have many things planned for Vegas with some all new designs and returns of ones that we have not been able to restock since last summer! Here are two of our newest- Pink Elephants & Skullie Nesting Dolls, with details of a DeTiki special down at the bottom!

                                             After this next week of hustle, we are  hoping to come home from Viva with a fistful of orders, and we want to extend the offer to our blog readers too. From now until April 9th, you can reserve a purse and a place in our production que for just a $10 deposit! We are planning an exciting summers worth of shows and we want to stay busy every minute we aren’t on the road. If you need it a couple months down the line that is fine, we are just excited to be busy enough to have to block out time for our clients, and we plan on keeping it that way!

I look forward to sharing many more items this week as they get finished up, no sleep till Viva!

Frankenstein’s Monster

Frankenstein’s Monster Mask. 24 Inches, burned and grain and made of white pine. Hanger will allow it to be mounted flush to the wall.

A quest for a special sort of Luau

It has been quite a long time since there has been a blog post, but luckily for us we have been so immersed in creating neat things that there has been very little time to actually write about it. Over the weekend  I was tasked with creating a feast for many solely of my own recipes, and not to let this momentous occasion go undocumented it feels like  the right time to add  some content to our own little tiki side of the internet.

For as much as I cook on a daily basis, it took many hours of daydreaming to come up with a cohesive luau menu that would make sense and flow together, and also be mostly vegetarian, and  able to be timed so the cook could hit the cocktails during the party, and not afterwards in a limping mess next to a pile of dishes.  We invited our favorite people that also aren’t afraid to get their grub on, spent the day before busy assembling everything that would not be ruined by a night in the fridge, and managed to pull nearly everything together a clean half hour before the guests arrived.

Our meal comprised of three separate “courses”, an appetizer round, a full spread for dinner, and then a gut busting dessert. You can find all the recipes to everything here. I am not one to actually follow measurements, so writing the actual recipes is tough! Our appetizer course was a mix of veggie dumplings, deconstructed Spam and Sweet Potato sushi, and lots of pickled veggies. For dinner we had Sweet and Sour Lentils on Red Rice, a Singapore style Yam noodle, sweet chili coleslaw and a long smoked Pork sirloin that got a special marinade treatment overnight in the fridge. Desert was a overkill cauldron of White Chocolate Macadamia fondue with a coconut cake and chopped fruit. I can’t recall anyone ever saying they left our house hungry.

The time went by too fast on a beautiful windy February day. Thank goodness for the warm walls and tiki lights we had strung up  for an indoor luau.

Many thanks to the Fraternal Order of the Moai for a great excuse for a party, all of our guest for their contributions and company, and my children for being exceptionally good that day. They must have seen that we were in full court press when it came to party planning. There is nothing finer than cooking the food you love and seeing those you love enjoy it!

And in cased you missed it- link to the recipes!

Luau recipes to impress your friends and fill their bellies

When I had planned this luau I knew I wanted something slightly asian- hawaiian themed, but with it being almost totally vegetarian I would be using different grains and legumes to make it all come together. Nothing in the Trader Vic cook books included lentils. I do cook all day for the family , so it was not a stretch to make some things fancy enough for the luau. We tried out some components with other dishes the weeks prior, but otherwise we winged it. Luckily it all turned out tasty!

Appetizers

Veggie Dumplings

Dumpling Skins

Ground Tofu crumble

Carrots/Onions/Cabbage/Mushrooms

Fresh Ginger & Garlic, salt and pepper, soy sauce

Chop all the veggies and spices in a food processor, transfer to a bowl and fold in the tofu and the soy sauce. Season to taste but we err on the side of lots of ginger and garlic in this house! Put on some good music because you are going to be folding dumpling skins for a good hour. Let em rest on a cookie sheet before you deep fry them to golden.

Sweet Coconut Tempura Batter

1 cup flour

1 cup ice cold coconut soda

1tsp salt

1tsp baking powder

Panko to coat

Whisk everything together and get your spam and sweet potatoes ready. The coconut soda does make it just slightly sweeter than normal. Coat in the batter and then in the panko bread crumbs and fry!

Sushi Balls

Sushi rice, with seasoned vinegar. Rice molds help a lot. I garnished with soy wrappers but seaweed works just as good and is more traditional. Nothing like a pretty bed of rice to lay your spam on

Sweet Chili Mayo

1 cup Mayo

1/2 cup or more sweet chili

1/4 cup or more Apple cider vinegar

Soy Sauce, Onion flakes, pepper

Whisk all these together, testing for vinegar tolerance. We like a lot! There wasn’t any appetizers this sauce didn’t elevate.

Dinner

Singapore style Yam Noodles

1 package Yam Noodles

1/2 Can coconut milk

Napa cabbage, carrot, onions, celery

Fresh ginger & garlic

Curry powder, salt and pepper, coconut oil

Soak the Yam noodles in hot water till soft, drain rinse and toss in sesame oil. Heat the coconut oil in a pan, and add veggies in order of firmness. Add coconut milk, salt and pepper and tons of curry powder. Toss in the noodles and let the liquid cook off a little.

Sweet Chili Coleslaw

1/2 cup  Mayo

1/4 cup Sweet Chili

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Fresh Garlic and Ginger

Shredded Cabbage, onion and carrots

Sunflower seeds

Whisk together the dressing and add the veggies. Give it a an hour or so to soften. Toss in the sunflower seeds last thing.

Sweet and Sour Lentils

1 cup French Lentils

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

salt and pepper

onions, peppers

pineapple

fresh garlic and ginger

Add all ingredients and an extra 2 cups of water to the crock pot. Cook on high for about 3 hours. Serve over any rice, we chose red rice cooked with a little coconut oil and plenty of salt!

Sweet Cherry Marinated Pork

3 oz Sour Cherry Syrup

2 limes juiced

3 oz BG Reynolds Ginger Syrup

Marinade the pork overnight coated in marinade. Wrap in bacon and then smoke, and smoke, and then smoke it some more. Worry anxiously over it. Open it up to oohs and ahhs as people enter the party. Then about 12 hours after it hit the heat, watch it disappear in 5 minutes or less

Dessert

White Chocolate Macadamia Fondue

Two packages good quality white chocolate chips

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup toasted chopped macadamia nuts

You have to whisk this like a mad woman on a double boiler, and make sure your fondue pot is ready and the sterno is on. Have plenty of fondue forks for the chocolate hungry masses.

Coconut Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups Flour

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Cream the oil and sugar together, then add in the egg and milk, and lastly the dry ingredients. Bake at 400 for about a half hour. I let it cool off in the oven so it turned stiff enough to cube int fondue, but if you take it out right away it is a lovely coffee cake. Very subtle coconut. Good with chocolate or coffee!

Tall Ku Tiki & Volcano Bar Case

Bar Case with our Tall Ku design with a volcano in the background. Price varies on if design is on one or both sides. Vintage barware and mugs included although may vary from case to case. Lined in felt.

Hanging at the Cave

We broke away from a flurry of tiki activity last night for the monthly open house at the Cave, owned and hosted by the DeadBeat Motorcult, a local motorcycle club that even though we had many friends in common we only recently discovered their proximity and started hanging out. It does seem like the universe finds a way to bring like minded gear heads together.

The  night went long with tons of awesome people making their way in and out over the course of the evening, along with snacks, beers, feats of balance and skill, and tons of great conversations and laughs. Justin was a motorcycle guy way before we had any old cars, so hanging out in a shop full of cool bikes is sure to reignite that passion. Check out the Deadbeats blog with tons of photos of their events and projects, lots of cool stuff going down! Deadbeat Motorcult

New products in Sunny San Diego- that came and went!

We have been so busy that it feels like Tiki Oasis was just a minute ago, but we are coming onto 3 weeks so time to wrap up with a few pictures of what we had out there. We were so lucky to have such a warm reception from people that really love our work, especially enough to buy it. It is a thrill each time! We had a premium vend spot outside by the pool, and also in front of the Shag store, so we were guaranteed a chance to meet just about everyone. That is just the way we like it- we schlepp the purses a long way to show everyone!

I will be adding the new items into the online shop for an easy checkout right here on the blog. We can always change up colors and other details so if you see something in the photos you like but want to tweak it- let us know!

Many thanks to Baby Doe and Otto and all the other fine folks that put on Tiki Oasis. It is truly an event like no other and we are so grateful that we get to be a part of it. This week will be some new items, some re stocking, and many more addition to both the shop and the Etsy page. We are busy but always looking to get busier!

Tiki Oasis Car show

With our love of old cars I would feel remiss if I didn’t include a ton of photos of the Tiki Oasis Car show. It is the only tiki convention we go to that has one, and it being in California, the rides are top notch. They had the Hula Girls playing through out the day, so Justin and I both made it out there a couple times to check everything out.

Just one last post coming up about Tiki Oasis, because we already have more shows on the agenda to talk about! Lots of new product coming into the online store, and we will be working on some new designs for fall. Hard to believe it’s been 2 weeks since San Diego and we are back at it again with sawdust flying!