It's a Christmas miracle!

The MODKID "Potty Girls" have sprung to life, donned their holiday best and are here to wish you a holiday season filled with dreams, creativity and inspiration.



Thank you for your great support in 2009!

May you and your loved ones have health, happiness and prosperity in 2010.

Your friends at MODKID

Well, hello there!

So nice of you to pay us a visit. Please, please, come in. It's so cold outside.



Let me take your coats. It's really so nice to have you here in our home. What did you say about our tree? That you expected me to have one of those matchy-matchy Martha Stewart-like trees? Nope, not me. This is a big-ole eclectic tree with all sorts of ornaments we've collected through the years... anything goes, really.



We have our glittery ornaments, of course!



And some fun "smores" themed ornaments that the girls just adore (and me too)!







I truly treasure the handmade ones my kiddos have made for me. This is one of my favorites! Those snowmen are actually Sophie's fingerprints on the glass ball! Makes me smile every time. :)



And this is one Sydney made for me in pre-school:



And of course, our tree wouldn't be complete without some of our favorite characters:







OH, OK! You noticed that my gifts are matchy-matchy. I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with this wrapping paper I found at Hobby Lobby and just went crazy with it. The ribbons are from there too. I *heart* that store!



What, this? I just covered a large stretched canvas with some of my Fire Jester print from Andalucia. It coordinated so well with the wrapping paper... uh, there I go being all matchy-matchy again. Oh well.



Well, let's not stand in the entryway all day. Come on in and make yourself comfy by the fire. You can sit wherever you'd like.



Yeah, sure, you can sit closer to the fire if you're still a bit chilly. That's what it's there for. Oh, those are some gorgeous stockings my sweet Tia Olga made for my girls last year.



These? My girls love snowmen so I've decided to start a little whimsical collection for them. Yeah, I know, not much of a collection so far but you gotta start somewhere. By the time the girls are 18 we might need a whole room for these guys!



Awww... leaving so soon? Well it was so nice of you to stop by! Please come back anytime! And stay warm out there...

Here, let me get the door for you.



HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Giveaway Winners and 2010 Pattern Reveal!

WOW, what a week! First I want to thank each & every one of you for the well wishes, comments, emails and tweets regarding the procedure I had done last week. Your jokes, poems and funny stories had me smiling from ear to ear... THANK YOU! I must say that I'm floored at how many of you out there have experienced similar situations. I guess it's not the kind of thing everyone wants to talk openly about, but hey, it's life. I feel I need to clarify that I did not have a hysterectomy (VH), although I can see how some of you could have assumed that. I had a HydroThermal Ablation (HTA) also known as Endometrial Ablation. If you're not familiar with the procedure, you can click the links above to learn about it. I'm so thankful for modern medicine allowing options for women with my symptoms. Twenty years ago, there was really only one solution and I would've been bedridden for weeks. Time will only tell if this was the right choice. Who knows, I may have to go for the VH eventually, but for now, I'm feeling great... knock on wood.

OK, now on to the fun stuff! 260 of you commented on the pillow giveaway and and here are the lucky winners:




Hummingbird Patch Pillow:
SoBella Creations









Ragged Blossoms Pillow:
Debbie in South Carolina










Busy Bee Hive Pillow:
Amy Priddy :||: Priddy Creations





CONGRATULATIONS to each and every one of you! Please email me at info@modkidboutique.com to claim your prize. And thank you again to all who visited and commented!

We've been super busy here at the studio these past few weeks cranking out the next line of MODKID Sewing Patterns, due out in mid-January, 2010. Here's a preview:



A closer look and description of each:



HUMMINGBIRD QUILT, Item# MKSP011HQ
This dainty rag-style quilt packs a lot of punch yet it’s easy to make. Any beginner sewist can tackle this project in one afternoon. Our pattern comes with full size appliqué templates and detailed step-by-step instructions for constructing this beautiful hummingbird scene. Our 8-page full-color booklet comes loaded with inspiration photos and even includes a Quilting Glossary on the inside back page.



PILLOW TRIO, Item# MKSP012PT
This Pillow Trio pattern has something for every level of sewing expertise. A beginner sewist can start with our Ragged Blossoms pillow, which is a simple, easy-to-sew raw-edge appliqué project. Then move on to the Hummingbird Patch pillow which requires more cutting and piecing and finally tackle the more challenging Busy Bee Hive pillow. Our 12-page, full-color instruction booklet comes loaded with inspiration photos and even includes a Sewing Glossary on the inside back page.



MODKID DRESS BAGS, Item# MKSP013GB
Now that you’ve outfitted your girl and her dollies in the highest of MODKID fashion, it’s time to give her a truly boutique-style set of garment bags to store and carry her new matching wardrobes. These sweet dress bags are perfect for sleep-overs, traveling and those much-needed trips to grandma’s house! Includes full-size pattern pieces and detailed instructions for constructing two sizes of garment bags.



MINI-AVA, Item# MKSP014MA
A sweet two-piece set for your 18” or 15” doll with heirloom details galore. The halter-style top features a pintucked bodice and a pleated underskirt with a peek-a-boo overskirt panel. The drop-waist skirt features a series of pleats near the bottom edge and elasticized waist. When worn together Mini-Ava looks like a gorgeous multi-layer sundress with cascading pleats.



MINI-FRIDA, Item# MKSP015MF
Loosely inspired by a Mexican housedress, Mini-Frida is a feminine, comfy and fun 4-piece set for your 18” or 15” dolly. Pattern includes the tunic, dress, pants and headscarf. For a “Just Like Me” look, check out our child-size Frida pattern (sold separately). Fabrics used in this booklet are from Patty Young’s, Flora & Fauna fabric collection.



MINI-KYOKO, Item# MKSP016MK
Chic and sophisticated with an Asian-flair, Mini-Kyoko is a fun 4-piece set for your 18” or 15” dolly. Pattern includes the criss-cross shirt & dress, obi/sash and flare pants as seen on the front cover. For a “Just Like Me” look, check out our child-size Kyoko pattern (sold separately). Fabrics used in this booklet are from Patty Young’s Flora & Fauna fabric collection.

*********

All 6 patterns are currently with the testers and I've already been receiving lots of great feedback and gorgeous photos that I cannot wait to share! We are right on schedule for our January release. Jon is putting the finishing touches on our pre-order screens and e-newsletter so, once again, if you'd like to be added to our mailing list shoot Jon an email at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com

Eight!
(if you're looking for the giveaway post, click here)

My sweet little girl turned eight yesterday.

Dear Sophie,

It seems like just yesterday we brought you home, so tiny and frail, not quite six pounds, but with a bright tuft of red hair atop your head. We knew we had trouble on our hands! ;)



It's been an utter pleasure seeing you grow to such heights (literally... you'll be passing me in no time!) It's a good thing you got your daddy's genes in that department. And I've so enjoyed seeing your personality blossom from rambunctious toddler into a reserved young lady with great values and dreams.



Given the recent events in my own life I promise to cherish every day with you and your sister even more than before. I truly cannot wait to see what the future brings for you!



You are creative, thoughtful, generous, loving and kind.



May all your dreams come true, my sweet girl!

mama

Pillow Talk

I had surgery this morning. It was a relatively short procedure but its results are drastic and permanent. So as not to weird out any male readership I might have out there, I won't go into much detail. I'll just say that I've been having, uhm... "female problems" for several years, well pretty much ever since my last labor & delivery. These "problems" left me with severe iron deficiency and the anemia brought on a whole slew of new problems. Those of you who've been long time readers of my blog may recall this incident last year.

Well, I tried some temporary solutions that did not fix my problem but just left me with less than desirable side effects. I had had enough, so I did it. After this, I won't be able to bear children anymore, but don't feel sorry for me. I am totally at peace with this. Jon and I had decided, even before getting married 10 years ago, that we wanted 2 children. That was always the plan and we were both so happy that we felt the same way. See, we both came from small families (Jon has one brother, I have one sister) so we are used to, and comfortable with, the dynamics of a small family. This just feels right, like it was meant to be, you know?

So now it's done and I am recuperating. In preparation for today, I went out a couple days ago and bought myself a nice synthetic down pillow (nothing against the real stuff, I'm just deathly allergic to it). And I've surrounded myself with all my favorite "comfort items": my laptop, my iPhone, TV remote, 7-Up & crackers (just in case), pain meds (of course!), pictures of my kids (to make me smile) and even a vase full of fresh daisies to brighten up the room. I know it sounds weird that I would find comfort in my computer & cell phone, but I do... I would go absolutely batty without them.

So now I just sit.
And wait.
And heal. (kinda nice not doing anything for a change)


Another thing that always makes me feel better is to give gifts... especially when I know the recipient will totally and utterly love it! I know that anyone who reads my blog must love fabric. And pretty things. And pretty things made with fabric. And how about pretty things made with fabric by ME? Ahhh, I see I got your attention! ;)



So, let me tell you about these 3 pillows. I made these for my Quilt Market debut of Flora & Fauna and they were a huge hit. So much so, that our Australian distributor, Mac's Crafts, took them home with him, along with my Hummingbird Quilt and a few outfits, to display in his booth at the Australian Quilt Market. In the meantime, while my beloved pillows were Down Under, I decided to develop a sewing pattern for these but since I didn't have the originals in hand to photograph for the instruction booklet, I had to make them all again. I didn't mind, it was a labor of love.

Well, the pattern is done and off to the testers and then I got my pillows back from Australia and I did a double take... I have 2 of each now! haha! So, how would you like to win one of these? I'll give away the original pillows... the ones that traveled Down Under without me... lucky ducks!

Up for grabs we have Hummingbird Patch:



And Ragged Blossoms:



And Busy Bee Hive:



I will draw 3 winners, 1 for each pillow, one week from today. And since it is Gift Giving time, I won't be totally offended if you re-gift these. ;) Just leave me a comment below this post to enter. If you've experienced anything similar to what I did today, I'd love to hear of your experience. If not, you can tell me a funny story or a joke or a sweet poem to make me smile. Or just pop your head in and let me know you're here. :)

If you don't win, you can still grab the pattern, available in January 2010, along with 5 other brand new MODKID patterns. I'm super excited about this release... wait till you see all the fun stuff we have in store for you! I'll do a full reveal in a few days...



Retailers: this pattern along with the other 5, will be up for pre-order in about a week or so. Contact Jon at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com if you'd like to be added to our mailing list.

Dells' Angels
(title runner-ups for this blog post: What the Dell? and Where the Dell have we been?)

When it came time to plan Sophie's 8th Birthday celebration, I once again turned to my tweeps. They've always had great suggestions for me in the past and this time they did not disappoint. Sophie told me she just wanted to do something special with the family. My tweeps brought lots of suggestions to the table, but what won in Sophie's eyes was a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. She spent some time surfing through their website, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all their amenities... so off we went!

As soon as we entered the lobby, the Christmas spirit was in the air. It was so beautiful there! Sydney kept saying it looked like the North Pole.



The girls quickly found their favorite spot and chilled out with their dollies while daddy checked us in.



They squealed with delight when they saw their sleeping quarters. It was a little log cabin built inside our room complete with bunk beds, a flat-screen TV and a gaming system!





They had so much fun! There was even a third bed in there, so on our first night they invited me over for a slumber party. :) Fun, fun, girly fun!



The next morning, after breakfast, the girls were treated to a mani & pedi at the lodge's kid spa, called Scoops.





It was pampering to the max! All of their products were ice cream flavor scented...



They got sparkles on their fingernails and got to pick out their own princess tiara to keep...





The pedicure station looked like an ice cream sundae...



And all of their memorabilia was also ice cream themed...



All this talk of ice cream got them craving the real deal, so we headed directly to the lodge's ice cream parlor (which by the way, had a Starbucks too, so mama was happy!)



There was tons of swimming and playing in their incredibly HUGE indoor water park...





On Thanksgiving day, the girls put on their Holiday dresses and we made an attempt at shooting our Christmas card. Not sure if we succeeded, but it was still fun...





Sophie even shot a picture of us that is not half bad (those are very far & few between):



On Black Friday we did a little shopping and then headed to Chicago where we met Jon's family for a b-day dinner at Greek Islands. Sophie picked this restaurant because they serve grilled octopus... yup, that's my girl! Here she is eating her favorite dish:



Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday! This week I was thankful for having this special time to relax with my sweet family and for not having to cook & clean (I'm sure they were thankful for that too!) :)

Daaaad! Mom's playing with my dolls again!













I admit it: I've been getting in touch with my inner child lately. These mini-MODKID outfits have been so much fun to play with, but I can't take credit for them. You guys may remember Valerie Haberer, who threw that awesome Open House & sewing contest at her store, Sew Much More, back in September. Well, Val ended up sewing some samples for my Quilt Market booth and surprised me with a miniature version of my Ava pattern, which we immediately dubbed mini-me. We took her to Market (to sorta feel out the crowd) and the squeals of delight could be heard all through the convention floor!

So here is the deal: MODKID IS GROWING! No, I am NOT pregnant. But I have birthed 10 sewing patterns and 2 fabric collections in the past 9 months without as much as a day of maternity leave. Soooo, in order to grow the company while still keeping my sanity, Jon and I decided to hire our first ever licensed designer. Val brings many years of experience to the table, plus she is probably the only person I've met that rivals my creative OCD. She is creative, focused, meticulous and a perfectionist in every sense of the word.

Let's learn a little bit about Valerie:

"I've been sewing for as long as I can remember. I began making doll clothes out of Kleenex when I was a kid for that leggy fashion doll so popular! I started making dolly clothes for my youngest daughter over 12 years ago. And, even now, every time she comes home from college, I try to make dolly a new dress. Because dollies look sweet in just about everything, making clothes for them is creative and always puts a smile on my face! And, making matching dolly clothes from the Modkid patterns is way too much fun! Hopefully, you'll agree!"

We are so excited to add Val to our creative team. Just you wait, in addition to the mini-MODKID patterns she is also working on a few other super cool surprises to add to the MODKID line-up. I can't wait for you to see our January 2010 sewing pattern release!

And now that I'm talking about changes to the company, I should also mention another big change. You guys all know how much Jon (here he is modeling the bee tie I made for him) has helped me out pretty much since I started this crazy endeavor of mine. Not only is he an amazing source of moral support but he has also been there to help out with whatever I need, whether it's website updates, booth building, studio remodeling, heavy lifting, you name it!

But now that our company is growing exponentially, Jon has completely taken over our fulfillment department. He makes sure all orders go out in a timely manner and keeps our website up to date. This allows me more time to create and manage creative partners, which lately has become a full-time job. So, if any of you retail customers ever have a question regarding your order, need a list of distributors or would like your website link to be added to our textiles or patterns page, you can contact Jon directly at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com.

So, that's it for MODKID news right now. Stay tuned for the full pattern reveal coming soon! I'm also preparing a super fun giveaway before the Holidays, so please keep checking the blog.

Happy Turkey Day!!

And sometimes I keep my promises...

I bet you thought I was gonna keep that Halloween post up until Christmas, eh? Well, I fooled you. I've plunged back into full work mode after a few days of r&r following the madness of Quilt Market. Full work mode around here pretty much means very little sleep and infrequent blogging, tweeting or talking. I work late into the night, am crabby every morning until I have my caffeine infusion then I work, work, work till the kiddos come home... and then I work some more. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

But what prompted that silly title up there is all these post-market little flip cam videos of me that keep popping up here & there. I always cringe when these come up because, 1. I hate the way I sound on tape and 2. I never know what kind of crazy things I said or promised on video because it's usually all a blur for me.

Case in point, last Spring Market, Ms. Sandi did a quick little flip cam interview of me in which I apparently promised I would do a pattern or a tutorial or something on that lollipop quilt I had hanging up on my booth. Well, as you all probably know, that never happened. Between designing a new fabric line, a whole new slew of patterns, doing a little remodeling, and taking care of household duties it just got pushed aside. And to be perfectly honest, the pattern needed some major tweaking. I did those pinwheel shapes in a hurry and fudged with them until they were right (on fabric, not on paper) but I never really sat down to polish up the pattern and make it sew up right... so that's that.

So, as you can imagine, when this new flip cam video showed up on Boutique Cafe (shot by the lovely Bari J.) I watched with trepidation to see what kind of crazy things I promised this time. Well, I was so pleasantly surprised when I realized I am actually following through on all these promises!!! Yay me!

Check it out... I mentioned doing a pattern for the Hummingbird Quilt (DONE) and a pattern for a Pillow Trio (DONE) and even a pattern for the Mini-Ava (DONE, and more on that later!) All of these patterns and more are part of my January 2010 release. Most are on the way to the testers this week and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

So, see... sometimes I do keep my promises! ;)



Oh, I have so many new things to share with you! We've added a couple of new members to the MODKID team and I will be doing proper introductions here in the next couple of weeks. We've also added a whole new slew of pattern testers that are eager, willing and able (haha). Things are shaping up great for 2010!

And since I'm here now and don't know when I'll get another break to blog again, I thought I'd share some awesome findings from my MODKID Flickr Pool.

I spotted this adorable Nina set yesterday and the sewist, who happens to live in Malaysia, even blogged about it!



Loving these Frida and Sydney sets from Creative Works By Ann:







I seriously gasped when I saw this breathtaking version of my Kyoko pattern by NanaKidBoutique in Abu Dhabi! Add a ruffle here & there and... VOILA!





Mary Abreu of Flourishes posted this fun, colorful version of the Sydney Hooded Tunic modeled by the sweet Miss L.



And last, but certainly not least, check out this super fun Kyoko made by Melanie of Above All Fabric. LOVE IT!! Check out the pattern review she posted on her blog on this Kyoko and on her Sophie 3-Way Pants.



And there are tons and tons more where these came from. Check them out! And please post your own if you want to share with us. :)

Happy Halloween!

Sophie had a very specific request. She not only wanted to be a WITCH but she came to me with a design in hand and said (her words) "No ruffles. No sparkles. No frills!" She explained that she didn't want any pretty details or fancy fabrics... that she just wanted a plain ol' witch.



I headed out to our local fabric store to find the plainest black jersey I could find and resisted my urges to embellish. After all, this was her Halloween costume and I had to respect her wishes. She was really happy with the outcome... and so am I! :)



These are from the Halloween party at her school yesterday...



And the costume parade. Happy Sophie = Success!



When I approached Sydney about her Halloween costume, it was a totally different story. She said she wanted to be Tinkerbell. The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Do you want ruffles?"
Sydney: "YES!"
Me: "Do you want sparkles?"
Sydney: "YESSS!"
Me: "Do you want frills?"
Sydney: "Uhm. What are frills?"
Me: "Well, ya know, like lots of extra special things to make the costume extra pretty..."
Sydney: "YESSSSSSS!"

So here's what I came up with: (excuse the dead flowers... although right now they kinda fit the Haunted House mood! haha)



Sydney is thrilled with her costume! (SUCCESS x 2!)



And before you ask, nope, I didn't make the wings (although I have made some before). These are old wings I bought at Gymbo several years back.



Sparkly fairy shoes from Target...



Now off to get ready for trick-or-treating. I'll probably post more pics tomorrow. But I'll definitely be blog-surfing to see what you all are doing! Feel free to post a link in the comments section if you have something extra special you'd like to share! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Addendum...
Feeling a tad lazy and sugar-logged on this Sunday afternoon so rather than writing a whole new blog post, I'll just add the trick-or-treating pics down here...



LOVE this one!



After a couple of houses, I lost my precious natural light so this is the only good one I got of the actual trick-or-treating action...



Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!!!

Yup. It's definitely Autumn.



My favorite season of the year and it completely snuck up on me. I chaperoned a field trip for Sydney's pre-school class this morning to a local family-owned pumpkin farm. We all had a great time, despite the frustrating start of my day. If you follow me on Twitter you know that my SUV's keyless entry system decided to fail on me at the last minute and the car pretty much went on shut down mode. The alarm started blaring and all doors locked up. No matter what button I pushed, they would not open up. Finally it occurred to me to check the back/trunk door and it opened for me but that meant that I had to crawl through the back of the car while the alarm blared away in the parking lot of Sydney's school just to get to the ignition... good times!

After the field trip was over, I decided to drive straight to Jon's work to see if he could figure out what was the deal with this darn car but of course the car was at its best behavior in front of Jon. ARGH! Made me even more angry! Those of you who have ever worked in the corporate world will sympathize with me when I say that it was just like when your computer starts acting up and you call tech support but it acts perfectly fine when they show up. They always look at you like you're either dumb or crazy and mutter something under their breath like "user error"... blech!

But I digress, the field trip was such a wonderful experience for the kids. They got to watch a movie and munch on some popcorn...



We took a hay ride and saw a corn maze and a pumpkin field...



It cracks me up that every time I point the camera at Sydney she strikes a pose (I have her well trained, eh?!)





But actually my favorite pictures of her were the more candid ones...





They saw farm animals...



Played on the hay stacks...



And in the soy bean mounds...



Took a [very wind-blown] class picture...



And even got to take a pumpkin home... hmmm... which one should I choose?!



OK. This one!



Next up will be Halloween pictures. YIPPEE!! This year, after a very frustrating and unsuccessful trip to our local costume store where all we found was a bunch of poorly-made over-priced CRAP, I decided to make their costumes from scratch. Both girls had very specific and detailed requests (hmmm, I wonder who they get that from?) Sophie will be going as a witch and Sydney will be Tinkerbell. I didn't have time to make myself anything new so I'll just grab an old costume from the closet. Check back in a couple of days for pics!

What are you and/or your kids dressing up as this year?