Liquid Paper

this is my favorite part

This weekend I finished up my patchwork swap package + a few little extras for my swap partner: Veronica of Walter + Veronica. I had been keeping my identity a secret, but, now that the end is drawing near and I'm a day late (ack!) mailing it off, I thought I'd offer a sneak peek + make first contact. I have to say that I was thrilled when I found out I'd gotten Veronica as my recipient. I recently discovered their blog + they run an adorable online shop! I really hope that she likes the patchwork item I made and the pile-o-scraps I collected for her. As soon as I know she's received everything, I'll post more revealing photos. But until then, you'll have to settle for these images:

gushing is certainly in order

Now I remember why I used to do so many swaps. I love it + it's deeply addicting. I'm on a mail-induced high from all of the goodies flooding into the apartment. Today I finally took the time to photograph them so that I could properly thank everyone. Dear readers, prepare yourselves for a whirlwind of swappy goodness!

First to arrive was this adorable card + a pile of lovely vintage fabrics. Thank you cathy!

Di's package was next to arrive. She spoiled me with fabrics + chocolate! Plus, these photos don't even include the amazing buttons I also received from her. Thank you so much!

Kim's package included these drool-worthy fabrics. Where in the world did you find that farm animal one? Ack! Thank you!

Paula's free-fabric-give-away package came next. Wow! Thank you so much dear girl! you sent more than I could have asked for + I love them all.

Brace yourselves friends, because here's the package of trims that Sarah sent me. So much cuteness! There's even some of her custom trim + those translucent glass pins I was looking for. Thank you Sarah!

Ahh, and last but definitely not least was this burst of color + pattern from Hillary. She even included a little magnetic decole mushroom -- my first decole! Thank you so much.

!

let's talk about the new studio

Okay, the new studio is really starting to take shape. In the picture below, you can see the work area. My space is to the left, along the wall, and Mark's is to the right. That way we each get a window. The room + ceiling are all going to be painted white. Mark didn't want a white room but I played the: "It's better for my photography" card. So he gave in. There will be a dark bamboo floor in both of our work areas and a chocolate/dark brown utilitarian carpet in the sitting/library area (there's better photo of that area here).

We have several Billy bookcases from IKEA in black-brown that will go in the sitting area side. We also have a 6' x 3' dark wood table that we'll put in the center of the work area. Then there are our desks, both from IKEA. (Can't find them on the website right now.) Mine has a white top and Mark's is a dark black-brown that matches the bookshelves. They're more like tables than desks. Very plain and not fussy. I also have one of these and these, in white, for storage. The only new items we've ordered so far are these pendant lights. We got three of them: one for the sitting area side and two for the work side.

There are more photos of the space over here at flickr. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the space (and I hope you do), please let us know!

it's the small things that matter most

His book, dedicated to me.

A very small project...

... with an even smaller accessory.

shop update

Due to a bit of camera trouble, the shop update will be at 2:00 PM CST today instead of at Noon.

The shop is now open! For this update I decided to give etsy a try. You'll find me there as Mod Dots on etsy. I'm not sure if I'll give up my own shop page yet. For now, I'm interested to see if I like using something different.

Have a great weekend!

details

I messed up the first puppy I made -- big time. I guess it has been a while since I'd last made one. This time, I decided to switch to 100% hand stitching. I can't tell you how happy I am about it. I love how much more control I have over the shape. And there's the added benefit of not having to pin it together first. Oh, how I loathed pinning those tiny pattern pieces. Now that I've made the first one by hand, I can't believe I waited this long to do it. I'll probabaly only have a couple of them for the shop update tomorrow. I'm also considering the move to etsy. I don't know, I'm not even sure if I want to throw it out there. I tend to waffle a lot on decisions, details, everything. So I keep a lot of things to myself for fear that people will think I'm unreliable. It sounds silly when I say it now. But those are the kind of things I think about. I am weird -- I also like "quirky" -- in many ways and my internal monologue goes to some odd places. Like right now, I'm feeling a little paranoid talking about it. So I'm stopping. If you made it this far, thanks for listening. Again. ♥

Shop update tomorrow Friday, October 12th at Noon CST. This guy will be there + one or two friends!

making | in short

Puppies are being made. | New fabric combinations are being used. | Different sewing techniques are being attempted. | A new material has arrived to be used for stuffing. | A new look is being designed for the shop. | A Mod Dots Shop update is scheduled for this Friday, October 12th at Noon CST.

how did i get to be so lucky

Wow! Thank you all so much for your helpful comments yesterday. I think I'm well on my way to getting some of those pins that I was pining over. If anyone else is looking for them too, you can do a search for crystal glass headed pins. I did one this morning and easily found several options including: amazon.com | keepsake quilting.com | joann.com

I also really appreciate feedback I received about the pincushion. Carmen, you are so right about the version 1.0 vs. 2.0 delimma!

***

SHOP UPDATE
What's that you say, a shop update? Why, yes! I've decided to get started on a few stuffed items for the shop. I don't know about you, but I'm a little tired of the current selection over there and think it's high time that I added a some life back into the inventory with some new... puppies! I hope to have a couple in the shop by the end of this week. Here's a peek at the first work-in-progress:

MAIL UPDATE
I'm pleased as punch to say that all of the vintage fabric swaps + the paper swap + shop orders are finished and ready for the Post Office today. Whatever will I do with myself now!

p.s. I made the "SWAP" stickers and my mailing labels using InDesign (but you could use Word) and paper that is sticky on one side. An easy-peasy way to customize any packaging.

shoulda, coulda, woulda

I shoulda waited until this book arrived before trying to make up my own pincushion pattern. Sure, in this photo it looks sorta good. Pictures make it easier to pretend that the way it turned out (flower instead of tomato-shaped) was how I'd planned for it to. Even if it is totally not the look I was going for -- at all.

Oh, and I coulda worked more carefully when sewing up one particular section. Going into it I knew that it would be tricky. I told myself to be careful not to accidentally catch the fabric from one section while sewing the next. But, I still did it.

If I’d heeded my own inner censor, I woulda spared myself a wonky flower-shaped pincushion with a big (though conveniently hidden) whoops! on the bottom. But I didn’t. And you know what, I’d do it all again. Who knows what I’ll end up with next time!

WANT AD
Does anyone know where I can find cute translucent pins like the ones on this pin cushion? I love 'em.

THANK YOU
Thank you so much to Angie of parentdish.com for posting my Pom Pom Pumpkin tutorial. You almost made me want to send you a pipe cleaner Santa for saying such incredibly nice things about me + liquid paper.

A SLIGHT DELAY
I meant to post pics of my new + in progress craft studio space, but by the time I remembered to take photos it was too dark to get a good shot. I’ll try again later this week.

pencils + patches

We're getting a new studio space so I'm going through a decorating crisis lately. It's on the third floor of our building and the space will serve as an office for both me and Mark. For the most part, we've been able to choose many of the important things, like paint and flooring. I love the process but on a bad day, like yesterday, it's a struggle. Argh. Lighting. Why is lighting so difficult. You find the perfect pendant lights and then, bam!, they're on backorder for months and you have to pick something else. Also, there's a small accent wall that divides the space and I'm not sure what to do with it. Maybe I should take some pictures and get your advice. Would you give me some feedback? I'd like that. How about we meet back here on Monday and I'll have something for you to look at, kay? Thanks, I think I feel a little better now.

Pencils as colorwheel. Inspiration for the new space.

Patchwork pieces. Possibly a gift for a swap. We'll see how it turns out.

THANK YOU!
I owe a great big thank you to Natalie at CRAFT blog for mentioning the Pom Pom Pumpkins yesterday!