I *heart* my Oilily Fabric!

And if you do too, go check out my 2 new listings on eBay. I had a little bit left-over of this amazing Oilily reprint fabric, from Stenzo, in both colourways (pink & teal) and I decided to create a couple of semi-custom sets that would be perfect for transitioning into Spring. The decoupage top and crochetted hat will come "as is" but I will adjust the pants (waist & length) to your desired measurements for a perfect fit.


Click HERE to view this auction.


Click HERE to view this auction.

I have a low starting bid and a BIN option for those who would like to snatch them up right away, so go take a peek. :)

Thanks for looking! :)

Busy with Craftiness...

Our dear friends, Todd and Paula, from Florida, had a baby boy in December and I knew immediately that I wanted to make something for them, a special gift that could be a keepsake of sorts. But since I don't do boy clothes -- and wouldn't even know where to begin -- I figured a baby blankie would be the best route to go in. As soon as I saw pictures of Everett's nursery, I knew right away what kind of blankie I would make. Well, fast forward a few weeks and VOILA! I was so pleased with the result that I just had to share...





Ooooh... and yes, my little appliqued animals have all sorts of stitching running through their ears, feet and what not to give them a puffy, quilted look. :)





I enjoyed making this so much that I wanted to keep it .. hee hee... but since I don't have an Everett around here, that would be kinda silly ... so I think I might make a few more to keep. :)

Secondly, I wanted to share a couple of "prizes" I recently completed for some MODKID contest winners. Last month I did a podcast interview with the lovely Daria from Boutique Café. Well, Daria ran a contest on her site and gave away one of my appliqued tees, and I ran one consecutively here on my blog. Cassi, of Tiger Lily Boutique, was the winner of the Boutique Cafe contest and Amber, of Emma Cakes, was the winner here on my blog.

I made this sweet tee using Oilily fabric in "decoupage" style and embellished with colorful decorative buttons for Cassie.



She has received it already and blogged about it. :) Check out the picture of her beautiful daughter, wearing her MODKID:

Then, I made this one for Amber's adorable baby daughter, Emma. She has decided to add a few extra pieces to the set, so I will be shipping it all together when it's all complete, but I wanted to share her tee which I finished a couple of days ago...



If you like the look of these funky-deco-Oilily tees, keep your eye out for a couple of new MODKID auctions going up this week on eBay. ;)

Pre-Owned MODKIDs

Seems this is the season for resells. If you want to catch a great deal on an E.U.C. MODKID, better head on over to eBay right now while they're still up. :)

The lovely Lisa, from bumble*bumble, is reselling her Andalucia 2-pc. set, her Felicity 2-pc. set and her Cordoba dress... all in size 18M and seen below modeled by the adorable Ava...


Click here for Andalucia.
Click here for Felicity.
Click here for Cordoba.

And for the "bigger girls" how about this Berry Parfait 2-pc. set in size 3T offered by Angie, of simply*sophia, among a few other custom boutique resells? Her lovely daughter, Sophie, did a fabulous job modeling her MODKID...


Click here for Berry Parfait.

But if these resells won't work for you, don't forget I still have 2 totally custom auctions running. One ends in less than 24 hrs. and the other one ends in a couple of days. Click HERE to view all MODKID auctions.

Cool Finds
Starting officially today, I will add this as a standard section in my blog where I will feature any "cool items" I find -- "boutique" or not, handmade or commercially produced -- so that my blog readers can check them out and enjoy as well... my way of "spreading the joy" or "sharing the wealth," so to speak. ;)

I have shared special finds here and most recently here, but from now on you'll be able to click on the tag labeled "Cool Finds" to see everything I have featured since the beginning of my blog. YAY!

So, for today I have 3 new "Cool Finds". First of all I'd like to share this amazing necklace that I ordered from Ann at swede-at-heart from eBay. I didn't get a chance to purchase anything from her at X-Mas time so I figured my mom's birthday was the perfect occasion to order some pretties from her store. Well... was I blown away when this arrived at my doorstep! Ann created the most gorgeous sterling silver necklace with the names of my mom's 3 granddaughters hand-stamped on it. My mom absolutely loved it but I couldn't share here earlier because it would have ruined the surprise. ;)



It came so beautifully wrapped too... we both just loved it and I cannot wait to order one for myself. Thanks, Ann!



My second featured item for today is my new set of MOO cards. I recently upgraded to a Flickr Pro account because I wanted to be able to have more than 6 sets and I wanted to be able to upload high res photos and what not. So, with my Pro membership came a pack of 10 FREE MOO cards, so I figured, what the heck? They're FREE. And OH MY GOODNESS, I am in love.



The image quality is superb, printing quality is excellent and they also came so beautifully wrapped. I just LOVE their "mod" packaging... it fits with my "image" just perfectly! ;)



I will be taking them up on their offer and ordering my pack of 100 cards for $19.99... what a deal! These will replace my current biz cards from Vista Print.

And last, but certainly not least, I will share... my lunch today. HA! I wish! (really, I wish I was eating this instead of pretty much anything I can find in my fridge right now!) I promised to take Sophie and Sydney to The Gingerbread House to pick out a couple of new educational toys. Sophie was being rewarded for making it to the next level in swim lessons and Sydney was being rewarded for putting up with one too many photo shoots for myself and Baby Gassy Gooma.



But, I digress... to my utter amazement they picked out these awesome fake food kits from a company called Small World Living. They were only $8.00 each (on sale) so I happily obliged (not only because of the affordable price but also because I couldn't wait to take them home myself and play with them! LOL!)

Sophie chose the sushi set. It came complete with a tray of the most delectable looking sushi & sashimi, some soy sauce, sticky rice, a pair of chopsticks and a little cup for your hot tea. It even has a little wasabi leaf. :) Soooo cute!



Sydney chose the dim-sum platter ... with the cutest little Chinese dumplings, wontons, egg rolls, white rice and even a fortune cookie that opens up to reveal a real fortune! This one also came with a take-out container and it's own set of chopsticks, tea cup and Soy Sauce. :)





Hope you enjoyed my "Cool Finds" of the day.

Like my photos? I sure do. I shot these with my "new/old" lens. I say "new/old" because I have actually had this lens for about 15 years (I got it as a gift from my parents when I first purchased my Pentax K-1000 film camera back in college) and I just didn't know if it was going to work with my digital SLR but ALAS it does! For you photo buffs out there: it is a Quantaray 28mm macro 1:2.8. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about... it means you can get really, really close to your subject... like I was literally 2 inches away from my subject for these pictures and you can still get amazing clarity and sharpness at your focal point and it'll blur the background beyond belief! Oooooh! I love it! :)

I also did apply one of my own Photoshop actions to these photos, so they are not straight off the camera, but pretty close. :)

And how does it do with people? Well, this is the only pic I got of Sydney before she ran off, but I was very pleased with the results. I think I'll keep it! ;)

Ahhhh... Springtime in Venice

Such a nice visual to daydream about when it's 12 degrees outside and there's about 12 inches of snow covering everything visible. This was the theme for a guest launch with the lovely ladies of VendeMia boutique on eBay. They were gracious enough to invite me to guest with them and I was thrilled to participate... after all, who doesn't love girly sets inspired by springtime flowers and gelato?



For this launch I created Part 2 of the Tutti Frutti Collection (from my Spring 2008 Line) seen below...



Click HERE to view this auction. This particular auction is for the capri pants, shirred peasant blouse and appliqued apron top seen below...





These 3 pieces will be custom made in any size between 12M and 6X. The pieces mix and match beautifully with the other pieces from the collection... check it out:



Click HERE to view all MODKID auctions.
And click HERE to see the rest of the VendeMia listings. There are lots of fabulous designs... not to be missed. :)

Thank you, VendeMia for inviting me to participate. I had a blast!

Happy Birthday, LIMEVINE!

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my eBay boutique group, LimeVine. Time sure flies when you're having fun! So, to celebrate this joyous occasion, and kick off the New Year with a bang, I have listed 3 sets on eBay!

First off, I have this adorable sister set that will be perfect for Valentines, Easter, birthday parties or a Spring/Summer wedding! :)



Click HERE to see this auction.

Secondly, I have decided to relist one of last year's most popular items... CORDOBA, a sweet Summer dress. Ready-Made in size 2T/3T...



Click HERE to see this auction.

And last, but certainly not least... a SPRING 2008 COLLECTION set (more coordinating pieces to come from this collection):


Click HERE to see this auction.

My fabulous and super talented group mates have some amazing things listed for this launch, so please hop on over to eBay and check out their listings...Click HERE to see all of LimeVine's JUBILEE listings.

Oh, and before I forget, my mom has listed a bunch of her purses again at some reduced prices, so if you need some Valentine's Day gifts or are shopping early for Mother's Day, here is your chance to own an original MARIELIZ Creations purse.

Click HERE to visit her purse auctions.

Thank you and... HAPPY SHOPPING! :)

Sophie's World

So... Sophie & Sydney are playing house this morning. Sophie says "I'll be the mom" and Sydney says "I'll be the dad." Then, Sophie starts laughing at her and tells her she's dumb. So, of course, I cut in and reprimanded Sophie and asked why she called her sister "dumb". This is what followed:


Well, dads have to go to work all day long and watch football in the weekends. YUK!

Moms get to stay home all day and do fun things like make clothes and play on the computer.


Of course, I am feeling my blood boiling inside of me. I want so badly to let her know that I am also a professional. That I have a college degree just like daddy and that I used to work full-time in an office just like daddy does and that her and her sister used to go to daycare until we figured out a way for me to stay home... for their benefit, not mine. I also want to ask her who she thinks cleans this house all day and does the grocery shopping and drives her around to school and swim lessons and playdates... And just as I'm feeling like a sad 1950's stereotype, she adds:


And moms get to pick what we're having for dinner and dads have to eat it even if they don't like it.


ROTFL!!!!!!! Needless to say, I lost my train of thought.

I've Got Tunes!

YAY! I finally got around to creating a playlist for my blog. These are some of my ultimate favorite songs... hope you like them!

I do not have the playlist on "autostart" because chances are most of my visitors won't like what I like and I get annoyed when I have to listen to stuff I don't like so I don't want to put you all through any unnecessary torture. You'll have to press the PLAY button on whichever song you want to hear... or just play the first one and the rest will follow automatically. :)

ENJOY! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Free to a Good Home...

I recently ran a bunch of auctions for my Baby Gassy Gooma modeling samples (off their current 2007-2008 Winter Collections) and this particular item did not sell. I don't know why, because I think it is TDF cute, but nevertheless I am feeling generous and will give it away to the first interested person who leaves a comment below this post, if they cover shipping + paypal charges ($5.00 for Priority Mail).

It is a White Cropped Corduroy Jacket with white fur trim around the collar and on the sleeve cuffs. It retails for $48.00! It is 18M size and it runs true to size. I do not have any pictures of Sydney actually modeling it because she was wearing 2Ts at the time they sent this to me and it was waaaay too small. But here is a picture of the lovely Chaislyn modeling the exact coat that I have here. Click HERE if you'd like to see more pictures. So, if your little one is wearing 18M (or 12 -18M or even 18-24M) this should fit perfectly!

And, no, I do not have ANY of the coordinating pieces for this line... literally EVERYTHING sold except for this lonely piece. But I think it would look fabulous with a plain white turtleneck and a pair of jeans... or over a cute red dress for V-Day. :)

***UPDATE: BGG Jacket is SOLD! But... If you are interested in any Gymbo clothes I do have A TON of EUC (pre-owned) pieces that I'd like to offload ... all in sizes 12-18M and 18-24M. I won't bore you all with all the pictures, but if anyone is interested, just leave a comment and I will contact you. :)***

A new year, a new tag...

I haven't been tagged in a while so I was pretty psyched when I received this one from Wendy.

4 jobs I have had:

1. Selling Concert T-Shirts at a local Flea Market (summer HS job)
2. Developing film and printing photos for my college newspaper
3. Digital Image Artist (editing & restoring old photographs)
4. Graphic Designer


4 films I could watch over and over:
1. Dangerous Liaisons
2. Trainspotting
3. Heathers
4. Pulp Fiction

4 Places I have lived:
1. Costa Rica
2. Puerto Rico
3. Netherlands
4. USA (Atlanta, Florida and Illinois)


4 Favorite TV shows:
1. Project Runway
2. The Office
3. Scrubs
4. My Name Is Earl


4 Favorite Foods:
1. Any and All Seafood! YUM!
2. Filet Mignon
3. Cuban Food
4. Vietnamese Food

4 Websites I visit everyday:
1. eBay
2. Facebook
3. Flickr
4. Modkidboutique


4 Places I would love to be:
1. Northern Spain
2. Italy
3. Greece
4. Sonoma/Wine Country

4 Favorite Colors:
1. pink
2. red
3. black
4. apple green

4 Names I love but would/could not use for my children:
1. Isabella
2. Penelope
3. Chloe
4. Emma

4 People I am tagging:
1. Kristen
2. Emily
3. Amber
4. Cree

Contest Winner, Customer Cuties and a
Cool Resell... oh my!

Thanks for all your sweet comments regarding my Boutique Cafe interview and your patience while I recovered from the Holiday madness and took my time selecting a winner. Since all of your comments were so great I couldn't bear to pick one myself, so I left it all up to technology & chance. I went to www.random.org and randomized the list and as you can see in the screen capture below, the winner is...


...Comment #12 which belongs to Amber. CONGRATULATIONS, Amber! Please contact me at your earliest convenience and we can chat about size, colors, styles, etc. for your custom-made appliquéd tee. :)

Next, I wanted to share some sweet pictures I received over the Holidays of the most beautiful customer cuties all decked out in their MODKID. And I feel I need to restate that this is my absolute favorite part of what I do. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing girls dressed in my designs and looking happy and "mod" ;) It somehow gives meaning to all the hard work I put into this little endeavor of mine. So, if any of you would like to share some pics with me, I would be absolutely delighted beyond words. :)

First off, we have one of my favorite customer cuties. This is Abigail and she is sporting a modified version of Copenhagen on the left picture and a modified version of Primavera on the right picture. Isn't she adorable?


Next, we have the gorgeous Ava celebrating Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, of all places, in her Copenhagen top & pants. She looks like she's having a blast, doesn't she?


And last, but definitely not least, is this adorable princess wearing her MODKID Princess dress at Disney World over the Holidays. Her mommy, Jenn, emailed me this sweet message that actually brought tears to my eyes: "I just have to tell you how much WE LOVED and everyone else that saw our girl LOVED your set. The pink print in her skirt actually matched Cinderella's blue print dress. When we went to the Castle for Breakfast and they took her picture it came out amazing! I used the photo on our Christmas cards."


Thanks to all you lovely ladies who sent photos of your girls in their MODKID. If you would like to share your MODKID with me, please email photos to info@modkidboutique.com and let me know if it is OK to share here on my blog. Thanks!

Finally, I wanted to share a resell of mine that is currently up on eBay. Cynthia of bellabebeco is reselling her ZEN dress at a really great price, so if you are interested, go check it out HERE.



Thanks for bearing with me through this incredibly long post. I just had soooo much to share! I guess that happens when you take a 2 week hiatus from blogging, LOL!

I wanted to end this post with some shots I did of my Sydney in our backyard last weekend. She is looking all posh in her new coat from Talbots Kids that she got for her birthday (courtesy of Uncle Sean & Alicia). :) Oh, and I have been having a blast lately creating my own actions in Photoshop... this one I call "Vintage-MODKID."

Enjoy:

Happy New Year!!

I had the absolute pleasure of hanging out with my entire family for the past 10 days. This includes all 4 of us, both of my parents plus my sister, her fiancé, and my niece. Boy, did we have a blast! It is so quiet now here at the house.

One of my X-Mas gifts from Jon was a new home studio flash kit. I was giddy beyond words because up until now I had been using make-shift lights clamped onto lamp poles and what not... not a pretty sight, plus it required TONS of post-production work just to get the photos looking halfway decent.

But, of course, as with any new piece of equipment, you have to get the hang of it through lots of trial & error. So, I used my family as "guinea pigs" on New Year's Eve and I wanted to share the progression with you guys. :)

This first photo was completely blown out! I had the lights too close and the aperture too wide open! This is my niece, Asja



In this one, I moved the lights farther apart and I closed the aperture by 1 stop but it is still blown out. This is my niece and my dad.



Brightness was a bit more under control in this photo... but still not perfect. I was also having some problems focusing. This is my sister, Cathy, and her fiancé, Jason.



I LOVE this picture of my parents, even though it is all blown out on the right side and too dark on the left.



This one of my sis and my niece is not too bad, but the focus is still a bit wacky. UGH! I have so far to go!



And finally, the cousins had so much fun posing with grandma. The focus is still wacky and the brightness is off but I still thought it was a fun shot. :)



OK, so that was New Years Eve... soon after that photo session ended, we put the little ones to bed and the adults rang in the new year with some yummy mimosas. The following day, New Years Day, we headed out to a little hill down the street from our house to let the "Floridians" have a try a sledding. Brrrrrrrr... it was 19 degrees out so we were all looking like Eskimos.... especially my sister! LOL!



At first she didn't want to partake in the Winter festivities, but after much teasing from all of us, she finally gave in...



Even my dad went down the hill a few times...



Jon and Jason had the "bright idea" that if they held hands they might be able to sled down the hill while standing up on the disks. They called it "snow surfing"... we called it "Brokeback Sledding" LOL!!!!



It didn't quite work out...



Oh, and yes, Sydney was there too, although she didn't participate in the activities. She just stood back and watched us in disbelief...



And where was I? Behind the camera, of course. ;)

I did get included in this little family pic we took in front of our house... just kidding! This is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, down in Springfield, Il. My dad is a HUGE fan of his, so we thought we would treat him with a tour of one of his house designs. It is gorgeous!



So, that's it! Thanks for bearing with me through my family photo album. I will be drawing a winner soon for the Boutique Cafe interview contest, so stay tuned!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!