Malibu Cross-Back Dress

(Quick links: Etsy / Craftsy)

It all started out with Sophie asking me to make her a simple dress for her end-of-year orchestra concert. This girl never asks me for this sort of stuff, so I had to jump on it. She had some pretty specific requests: it had to be a knit dress (because they are more comfy), sleeveless (because Summer is coming) and not too dressy (because she's just not the frilly type).  Our Hailey pattern was perfect for this, but she quickly reminded me that she wore that dress at last year's concert (ooops!). So, I set forth to design something new and exciting for her. I'd had this idea in my head for a cross-back dress for a while. The problem is that I had less than a day to complete this... oh, yes, did I forget to mention that? So, there was little to no time for error.

I made a quick & dirty prototype and that was what she ended up wearing to the concert. It wasn't perfect by any means... the back opening was too low for her comfort level, so she ended up wearing it with a sweater, and the high-low skirt curve wasn't very noticeable (it looked more like a straight mini skirt), so I knew I needed to go back to the drawing board and re-draft a couple of things. Oh, and did I mention that I had to make one for little sister Sydney too? Yup.

After I shared these pictures on social media, the comments started pouring in... Will this be a pattern? Please make a pattern for this dress! I want one in my size! and so on and so forth.

I went back to the drawing board... re-drafted the back bodice completely, made the high-low skirt curve more dramatic, added 2 more skirt lengths/styles, sewed up a couple more prototypes and, after I felt the shape and fit were perfect, I graded the final pattern from sizes 2T to 12.

Here is the final outcome:

The Malibu Cross-Back Dress pattern comes with three different skirt lengths/styles (click photo to enlarge):

It can be sewn with knits (which was my original intent) or with wovens! I was determined to make this pattern work for all types of fabrics. Check it out below, sewn in my Just My Type quilting cotton fabrics:

After pattern instructions and diagrams were complete, it was off to the testers, and boy did they have fun with this pattern! Here are a few of their pictures... I am in love!

Two of my testers loved it so much that they made multiple dresses! WOW! Every tester reported that they sewed this pattern in just about an hour and everyone was surprised at how easy and quickly it went together and how little fabric it uses for such a WOW effect. It's always a good day at MODKID when we get such positive feedback from our testers! :)

Of course, rigorous pattern testing always brings new challenges. We quickly found out that the maxi skirts sewn in wovens needed to be cut wider so that the girls didn't have to shorten their strides when walking. Done. We also discovered that the dress could be bound with fold-over elastic, double-fold bias tape or home-made binding, and that each method yielded a different look. We seriously could not be more thankful to our awesome pattern testers, who are always so helpful!

Check out tester Courtney Davis' pattern review here.

The MALIBU Cross-Back Dress can be purchased on Etsy or Craftsy.

To see the full inspiration gallery, click here.

Summertime

... and the living is easy.

You know you've been slacking on your social media when out of town relatives start asking what's going on because you haven't updated the blog in weeks! Ooops, sorry, everyone! But you know how it is... kids out of school, work, work and more work, then some fun stuff mixed in here and there.

This Summer we've decided not to enroll the girls in a Summer camp, so they've just been spending a lot of QT at MODKID HQ. It's not as bad as it sounds, though. Jon built them a little playroom in the back. It has books, a flat screen TV, a Wii game console with a ton of games and an art table. They go back & forth between reading, drawing and playing most of the day. Then at 3 p.m. every day (weather permitting) we go for a walk around the center square and visit all of our downtown neighbor stores. They've all gotten to know the girls quite well! ;) We usually end up coming back with some sort of trinket... or a smoothie!

Then every once in a while, we take little day trips here & there to break up the monotony...















On the work front, I do have some fun announcements coming up, but have just been waiting to tie some loose ends before I can reveal everything. So stay tuned, everyone! And have a fantastic Summer!!!

Squeezing...

...the last sweet and juicy drops out of the Summer before school starts, that's what we've been doing. Today I had a to-do list as long as the State of Illinois, but since we live here in the frigid Midwest and we know all too well that our days of galavanting in the sunshine are numbered I turned off my 'puter and spent the afternoon doing just so.

The girls donned their brand new swim gear in anticipation of their new season of swim lessons.



Sophie is an old pro, a regular fish underwater, just going back to hone her diving and backstroke skills.



Sydney on the other hand has always been a little too afraid of the water, so much so that she flunked her last swim placement test because she wouldn't even put her feet in the water. Well, not today. Not sure what came over her but the minute she put on that swim cap and goggles it was like she became someone else. Within 10 minutes she was swimming underwater like a cute little mermaid. She even begged me to take her to the deep end so she wouldn't accidentally touch the bottom (I seriously had to clear my ears because I wasn't sure I heard her correctly). And no, we didn't get any pictures of today's momentous event because I didn't want to chance my big camera getting splashed. In hindsight, I should've brought the point & shoot, but in my defense I never in a million years expected to be needing it for THIS!



Between you and me, this is what the power of sheer determination can do. She desperately wants to pass her next placement test so she can be accepted into Lane 1 with the other "big kids." If she flunks the swim test again, she has to go in a "nervous beginners" course with the "babies" (as she calls them, they are really kids of all ages, but she doesn't want any part of it). See. there's nothing wrong with a little pride and vanity every now & then. ;)

Oh, another good thing that happened today was that I finally got the chance to use my Sun & Surf Tote for what it was intended for, instead of traveling around with me on my WDTs. And... the girls brought their matching water bottle carriers along too.



Aren't these cool?! They were made for us by the über-talented Ariel Yoder. Get your own here. I personally think she charges too little for them, so you may want to take advantage before she changes her mind.

Free Tutorial Friday

It's Summer time and do I have a treat for you! The über talented Valerie Haberer of Sew Much More designed this super fun and easy-to-sew Summer Strip Quilt to go along with our Sun & Surf Tote pattern. And now that Playdate is in stores worldwide and our new patterns have shipped to all who pre-ordered, feel free to use this tutorial to saturate your Summer months with color!



Those of you who stopped by our Quilt Market booth last month may remember this adorable mini-quilt on our far left wall. It is the perfect compliment to our Sun & Surf Tote since it rolls up and fits inside snugly.



It's such a clever design where the strips are sewn right onto a standard bath towel.



You can embellish the towel with embroidery or applique to add an extra touch of whimsy.



Click on the image below to download the free PDF tutorial. The file is 4.3MB so if you have a slow connection, let me know and I can send you a low-res version. All tutorial links are also posted on our side bar... over there >>>



Enjoy!

(pssst... there's still time to enter my scraptastic giveaway... winners will be chosen on Sunday, June 2oth)

What's new on Cook It. Blog It!

First and foremost, we have a sponsor!! WOOHOOO! The fabulous Nikki from The Gourmet Mama Blog emailed me last week right before I went on vacation to pitch this idea to me and I thought it was fantastic. I would have jumped on it right away if I wasn't jumping on a plane instead, but alas, here we are. Better late than never, eh?



Click on the banner above to be taken to The Gourmet Mama's blog where you can find many, many healthy recipes and lots of inspiration even for us novice cooks. What I love about Nikki's blog is that she not only gives you clear instructions about how to prepare these meals but she also gives you the nutritional information for each meal. AWESOME! And check out her sidebar for loads of useful information including Cooking Measurements Conversions and even how to calculate your Weight Watcher points... doubly AWESOME!

Thank you, Nikki, for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us and as if that wasn't enough she has offered to add you to her blogroll if you use one of her recipes and blog about it. YAY!

So, what's going on in Cook It. Blog It! land? Well, we have 30 participants as of now and that is so amazing to me considering I just started this a couple of weeks ago. You guys have been busy cooking while I've been away, so I spent a little time this morning perusing your blogs and found a few favorites.

Today I am featuring SWEETS because I am missing my girls big time and I know how much they love their sweets.

First of all, my friend Eva makes a triumphant return to blogland with none other than a Blueberry Muffin recipe that is to die for. I just want to lick the screen because her pictures are always so amazing. I am dying to make this but I will have to wait until the girls get home or else I will triple my weight in no time! LOL! Thanks for joining us, Eva!

Next, I want to share this wonderful Berry Gallette recipe posted by fellow blogger, Amii. This dessert looks incredibly complicated to make but I don't feel intimidated because she has given us step-by-step photos (LOVE YA FOR THAT!)... and I mean, there are like 200 photos on this blog post... see for yourself! LOL! I need that many photos, though. Like I've mentioned before, I am a visual person, so this is the only way you are gonna get me to try something. ;) I like visiting Amii's blog because she has amazing photography and awesome music. Thanks so much for making me salivate all over my keyboard, Amii.

I can't talk about sweets without throwing some libations in the mix. I luuuurve me some sweet refreshing fruity drinks in the hot Summer months!

My friend Ash, from in.full.bloom, has posted a yummynumptuous Strawberry Margarita recipe, as part of yet another triumphant blogland return. heee heee... I just love how this club is bringing people out of lurkdom! ;) She calls it Love Potion No. 9 ... oooooh, kinky. And it uses one of my favorite flavors... lime. :)

Also, check out Amii's tropical concoction using L&A's Pineapple Coconut juice. YUMMMM! Add a little spiced rum to that mixture and I'm all set. ;) I think I might just walk around with a cup of that stuff for the next couple of weeks. LOL!!!

So, what's my contribution to Cook It. Blog It! ??? Hmmm... not much right now. I haven't been cooking up much since the girls have been gone. I've mostly been trying to find ways to make water appetizing. Yep, you read right. I don't like to drink water. And yes, my mother, and my doctor and my doctor's mother and my mother's doctor have told me all my life how important it is to drink water, but that is not the issue. I know I need to drink water... I just don't like it.

So, Eva told me to try the "cucumbers in water" idea. I think they call it Spa Water ??? It was pretty good... for water. And, yes, I know there's a ton of cucumbers in there, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

I did drink a couple of glasses of that stuff and it made it taste a little better but I think I enjoyed the Cucumber Sandwich I made even more. LOL! I just took the peel off the cucumbers, sliced them pretty thin, then put them on a couple slices of sourdough bread with some low-fat cream cheese. YUM!


I also tried putting some citrus in my water. I sliced some fresh lemons and limes and dumped them in. But I think I put so many in there, that it was almost a lemon-limeade. Oh well... I'm drinking water and that's what's important, right?!?!

Oh and as I was searching for some links on the internet, I found this recipe for Cucumber-Lemon Water...why didn't I think of that? ARGH! Oh well, tomorrow's another day. ;)

Am I the only weird one around here or do any of you have a water-drinking-problem?

MODKID 2nd Anniversary SALE!

OK, so our 2nd Anniversary was actually on May 20th but that was my first day back from Portland so I don't think I was in any shape or mood to do much but sleep. So, here we are... better late than never, eh?

I have decided to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary by having a HUGE SALE on our Etsy store. I just finished listing several ready-made items and I have priced them really low. But the catch is that once they're gone, they're gone and there's only 1 of each design in small & large sizes.

As of right now, I have 92 sales on Etsy and I've been told that hitting your 100th sale is a big deal over there, so what I am gonna do is reward the buyer of my 100th item with a special matching surprise item. Since I don't know which will be my 100th item sold, this surprise item will be custom-made after the sale, so please allow an extra couple days for completion. :)

And since I am feeling happy & generous, I will also reward one lucky blog reader with a surprise package in the mail from moi. Since I know some of you don't have small children (or girls), I will give the lucky winner their choice of: a sewing/crafting care package from my extensive collection of fabric/notions OR a custom-made MODKID surprise item.

All you have to do is leave a comment below this post and let me know what your plans are for this Summer. Are you traveling, hanging out at home, taking on a new project, learning a new skill, sleeping a lot??? Tell me, tell me, tell me.

I will draw the winner in 1 week.

My Own Ceviche

One of my resolutions for this Summer was to eat healthier and make more of my own food from scratch. I've never hidden the fact that I'm no Martha when it comes to cooking, baking or any other culinary arts. It's definitely not my forté. But I try. And I sure love to eat homemade food made from scratch.

So, since I had a little time on my hands I decided to jump right in and try to make my own ceviche without actually following one single recipe. I did look at a few different ones on the web but none of them sounded just right, so I took ideas from here & there and added my own twist and I must say that it turned out amazingly, mouthwateringly delicious... if it hadn't I wouldn't share my recipe with you all. ;)

Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

Here's what you will need:

1 lb. medium shrimp, raw, peeled & deveined
1 lb. small to medium scallops, raw and thawed
2 - 3 large lemons
3 - 4 limes
1 large orange
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Here's how to make it:
In a medium pot bring water to boil with a pinch of salt and a squirt of lemon. At the same time, heat the olive oil & salt in a large saucepan, on medium heat. Boil the shrimp and sautée the scallops no longer than 2 - 3 minutes. The shrimp should turn pink and the scallops should turn white, but if you cook either of them longer than that time, they will be rubbery.



While the shrimp & scallops are cooking, juice up the lemons, limes & orange and mix it all together. The idea is to have equal parts lemon juice, lime juice and orange juice ... so you can decide based on the size of the fruits how many of each to use.

After the shrimp have been boiling for 2 - 3 minutes (or until pink) remove them from the hot water and throw them in a bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. You can do the same with the scallops if you want. Then chop up the shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces and if the scallops are small enough you can leave them whole or half them.

Pour your citrus juice mix over the chopped shrimp & scallops and refrigerate, covered, for 1 hr.

While the seafood is marinating, proceed to chop up the onions, tomatoes, cucumber & cilantro and mix together. I chopped all of my veggies into small cubes... no bigger than 1/4". You may choose to chill these as well, but it's not necessary.

After the seafood mix has chilled for 1 hr., pour it over the chopped veggies in a large bowl, mix well, add salt to taste and VOILA!



Serve your homemade seafood ceviche immediately in a clear cup or bowl. Garnish with a whole shrimp or a sprig of cilantro and eat with tortilla chips, pita chips or toasted French bread.

There are many variations you can try with your ceviche. If you prefer the spicy variety, you can add hot chiles or cayenne peppers to your veggie mixture. I opted against it only because I knew my girls would be eating some and they wouldn't like the hot peppers in it. If you like the taste of bell peppers, you can add these as well. You can also try making it with fresh fish instead of shrimp & scallops. Red snapper would be divine in it!

Note: when they make it with fish they usually don't cook the fish first. They just let it marinate in lemon juice overnight to sort of "cure" it.

But whatever you do, there are 2 important keys to making the perfect ceviche:

1. Use fresh ingredients! Don't buy pre-cooked seafood or canned veggies. Freshness is the key.

2. Serve chilled! There's nothing yuckier than room temperature ceviche.

Enjoy! If you try this recipe, I'd love to hear about it. :)

Urban Jungle

I am hanging out on the bay this week with LimeVine and Friends for our first EVER Guest launch!

To celebrate this event, I have listed this sweet 3-piece custom set. I have been holding on to this amazing Lycra for over a year and I finally found the perfect opportunity to use it! The swim-cover up is made with 100% Organic Bamboo... YUMMY!

Check it out:



Search Boutique LLB on eBay this week to find the other ensembles listed by this AMAZING group of friends!

This item is NOT available in my Etsy store, but if you'd rather shop Etsy than eBay, click HERE to check out what items I have on there. :)

Thanks for looking! :)

My little Fishie

Just Listed

I just listed some ready-made sister sets for Summer (my last 2 Summer listings of the season!) :) These fabrics remind me of a candy shop with those rich chocolate browns mixed in with the pinks, oranges, green & blues... YUMMY!

The first one is a sweet Summer dress that is best fitted for 18M/2T but could easily fit a 3T (just a little shorter in the length). It has all sorts of nice details like pleats, decorative buttons, ric rac trimming, silver-tone clips and shirring.


Click Here To View This Auction

The second one is a 2-piece set best suited for 4T/5T/6. My Sophia is 5 1/2 and wears a 5/6 for reference. It has a sweet halter top with patchwork details and a cute pair of Bermuda shorts.


Click Here To View This Auction

To see all MODKID Boutique auctions, please click here.

I will be going on a much-needed vacation from July 3rd -10th and after I return I plan on working on some new Fall designs that will be offered in custom sizes. I apologize for listing so many ready-mades lately. I know some of you could not take advantage of my last few sets unless you had kids the same size as mine, LOL! But I promise that once I get all this work finished and my vacation over with, I will be offering a lot more customs! :)

The Perfect Day

Ever have one of those kinds of days where you look around you and everything seems to glow? Yesterday was like that for me. My day started out great: I completed a custom order in record time, drove to the post office and visited a couple of my favorite quilt shops in the morning. Then, after lunch, I surprised Sophie & Sydney with a new bucket of sidewalk chalk. I couldn't believe I found this for $1 but they acted like I handed them Disney World in a bucket. Gotta love kids! My friend, Kristen, told me earlier that if we got the chalk wet, we could get the most vibrant colors, and she was right! K, the girls thank you for that awesome tip! :)




We went outside to play and I cuddled up on my favorite lounge chair. The weather was perfect: sunny and just a little breezy, not too hot and not too cold. As the girls created their masterpiece (nice, but not as cool as this guy's work) I rinsed some berries so that I could prepare my family's new favorite Summer dessert: berry parfait. I cannot believe how often I find myself making these! And I love them & crave them so much that I even named one of my new Summer custom designs after it.

But as I sat outside staring at this shiny colander full of gorgeous, perfect berries, that weird "glowing" experience started to happen. The grass was glowing, the sidewalk art was glowing, my daylilies almost looked fake... like they were plugged in or something! Even the kids were glowing! I ran inside to grab my camera because I wanted to capture the glowing beauty.


Hmmm... maybe I should do a series of designs inspired by flowers...

Stay "Cool" this Summer!

Warm days, lazy afternoons, breezy nights... Flowers, beaches, color! I have taken inspiration from everything that surrounds us these days to create some fun, comfy & stylish new sets for Summer.

First off, I present an adorable little ensemble I've titled BISTRO (click on the picture to visit the auction)



Secondly, a happy little set that I designed & created for a sweet friend and her adorable daughter. It turned out so cute that I have decided to offer it up as a custom for all to enjoy!



And last, but no least, I have decided to offer up my ANDALUCIA dress as a ready-to-ship sample in size 2T/3T...



To see all MODKID Boutique auctions, please click here.