Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!

From the MODKID team to all of you!!

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This 'n That

I've been immersed in the studio working non-stop on some pretty exciting new projects that I hope to share with you soon. Was meaning to blog about First Fridays last week, but time got away from me. Funny how that happens around this time of the year. But then a couple more exciting things happened yesterday and today, so now this is going to be one of those hodge-podge kind of posts, like this one from a few months ago.

We were so thrilled to be featured in our local newspaper, The Pantagraph, yesterday. They did a two-page spread on Modkid HQ, myself, Jon and Emalee... pretty much everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about my life, background, how we started the company and how we make things work. If you're not local to Central Illinois, you can catch the article online here.

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It was in the MONEY section, so I hope that's a sign of good things to come. ;)

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There's Emalee with one of her designs and Jon showing off the ribbons in the warehouse.

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Then, this morning, I get a tweet from my good friends Kim and Kris, from The DIY Dish, saying that the segment we taped back in September at The Creative Connection Event is finally up on their site. I share a Holiday craft that has been a tradition in my home for a few years now. I hope you check it out. I am incredibly honored to be in the same segment with the amazingly talented Kim Stoegbauer and Susan Branch. (!!!)

Here's a link to the video on You Tube or you can go directly to The DIY Dish and watch it there.



Finally, I wanted to share some images I captured from our December First Fridays event, because it was beyond my wildest dreams... from the wonderful window display design to the adorable little girls modeling MODKID dresses and accessories to the swarms of visitors -- old friends and new faces -- who stopped by. It really was an awesome evening!

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So that the girls wouldn't get bored just standing up there with nothing to do, we gave them some glittery paper, funny-shaped scissors and had them cut snowflakes out. Boy, they LOVED this activity!

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Just look at the concentration! Love those faces! :)

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The girls waved at the passers-by and made everyone smile.

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As more little girls came to the studio, we'd throw a MODKID on them and let them stand up there with the others.

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The girls even got a surprise visit from their favorite jolly ol' man.

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They told him they were very nice this year. Hmmmm... we'll see if he believes them.

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Thank you to my sweet friends, Nikki Barr and Anna Snyder for letting their sweet and beautiful daughters be the MODKID Girls for that evening!

Up next.... book sneak peek #3! Stay tuned...
Sophie's Hogwarts Party

My baby turned double digits this weekend. She was thrilled to be officially a "tween". I was filled with nostalgia and mixed emotions over how fast she's growing. I tried to fight the tears by keeping myself occupied with turning our house into Hogwarts for Sophie's 10'th Birthday Celebration.

Earlier that day (before the party started) she opened the family's presents, a.k.a. The Purple Tower, because she was just way too excited to wait till the party that evening.

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Of course, she was way more pumped about some presents than others. ;)

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Then it was time for the celebration to begin. Here's a wide view of our main area...

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Let's take a closer look, shall we?

We had lots of candles and miscellaneous jars filled with curious objects...

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A very gothic-looking platform held various test tubes filled with Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (in reality they were regular jellybeans with funny names).

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Gummy worms of every color made their appearance and some very spooky 2-ft. gummy snakes slithered their way in and out of the test tubes...

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Favor boxes held pencils, lip glosses and some Harry-Potter themed gifts...

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On our kitchen island there were potions and mysterious fluids. Don't worry, we didn't give the kids any alcohol... these were just for ambience! ;)

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Although you wouldn't know it from this picture...

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The first activity of the evening was the Sorting Hat Ceremony (see the end of this post for sources). The kids were utterly amazed that the hat actually talked!

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Each girl was sorted into the four Houses...

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Then we moved into the kitchen where the girls got to use their magic wands to turn clear liquids into surprise new colors. Each color meant something different. Green meant you could switch houses, which made the Slitherin girls very happy! haha

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The Dining Hall was decorated in black and purple (Sophie's favorite colors) with candles and star-shaped confetti...

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After dinner they decorated their own cupcakes in some Hogwarts colors...

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Then it was time to open presents (again). I am always amazed at how much the kids enjoy this activity!

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Awwww... hugs all around!

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This little group of mischiefs was ready to watch a Harry Potter movie marathon....

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And... this is what the adults did while the kids were in the basement, a.k.a. The Dungeon, watching Harry Potter movies, in case you were wondering.

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Sources:
  • Test Tubes, favor boxes and bottle labels: Martha Stewart's Halloween Collection (bought the day after Halloween for 75% off)
  • Platform for test tubes: the styrofoam that held our flat screen TV inside its box, spray-painted black with holes cut into the top for the test tubes.
  • Jelly Beans, gummy worms and gummy snakes: we purchased these from our local Chocolatier, which happens to be right around the corner from MODKID HQ (lucky me, eh?)
  • Favor Box fillers, purple dinnerware and colored icing: Party City
  • Sorting Hat: purchased on Amazon with a small walkie-talkie inside of it so Jon could sort the kids into their "houses" from another room. To let him know when each girl was ready to be sorted, Jon's brother Sean would text him.
  • Color-changing drinks: squeeze 3-5 drops of food coloring onto the bottom of each cup and let it dry overnight. Before the game begins, fill each cup halfway with ice so the kids don't see the color drops. Give each kid a wand (drink stirrer) then fill the cups with a clear liquid (water, Sprite or 7-up). Tell them to use their wand to magically change their drink color.
  • Wands: cocktail stirrers from Party City (on the clearance rack -- 16 stirrers for 50-cents!)
WWC's 12 Days of Christmas

MODKID is thrilled to be participating in Where Women Create's 12 Days of Christmas for the third year in a row. Last year we donated a bunch of sewing goodies, but this year we decided to give away something that EVERYONE could enjoy, whether they sew or not... and what's better than one of our MEGAN purses, already sewn, packaged up and ready to ship?!

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This is the exact purse featured in the cover of our MEGAN pattern, designed by my mom and sewn here in the studio by Emalee using Grand Bazaar fabrics and ribbons. To enter the giveaway go HERE and leave a comment on the WWC Blog to be entered to win this and several other prizes donated by the wonderful women featured these 12 days.

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Best of luck, everyone! Stay tuned this week as we recap our busiest weekend of the season... including our December First Fridays event (you have to see these pictures!) and Sophie's Harry Potter Birthday Party (so much fun!!). See you soon!!
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