Painted Toes = Classy Lady

I'm back! From where, you ask? A carpentry/motherhood/birthday party black hole that has left me not even one second to shower - shocking, I know - or God forbid, paint my toenails. I actually painted just two toenails on each foot the other night before heading to a party. That's actually not completely true. I painted said two toenails IN THE CAR on the way there. Those four toes were the only ones that showed through my strappy sandles. But then I did what I always do. Tell everyone I know when they said my toes looked nice, that I only painted the few that were visible.

Anyhow, I'm still crazy busy building and getting ready for Grace's "Build Your Own House For blah blah blah (see previous post)" that I'm sure to go underground again tomorrow. But rest assured this classy lady will be underground with toes painted. Well, less than half her toes painted.

Giraffe Keepsake Box

A new custom design for a wonderful client in Chicago...

Mother Daughter Bonding

Playing Barbies. Nope.
Singing songs and dancing in the living room. Nope.
Putting glitter lipstick on each other. Nope.

Cleaning up my workshop while my daughter giddily uses the shop vac to suck up every last bit of sawdust. YES!!!

She's SOOOO my daughter. We're both hopelessly messy but still crave intermittent moments of tidiness and order. She even likes to fold laundry with me but look at either of our drawers and you won't find even one folded shirt.

In my effort to wring everything out of my tidy-craving moment, I'll stop typing and go back to cleaning the kitchen. Tomorrow the feeling will be gone and Little G and I will be back to throwing saw dust and clothes on the floor.

Soldiering On to Birthday Mahem

(Taken last weekend in Solvang, CA, after a few tiny glasses of wine at wine tasting rooms)

How cool is this soldier box? It almost makes me want to make one of my own...maybe for Grace's Birthday Party which has nothing to do with soldiers. Last year, we made various junky carnival items to complete Grace's Carnival Birthday. It was such a hit, she's still asking for the popcorn stand this year. I, of course, said no way. Mainly because this year, we're using all of my scrap wood to have Grace's "Build Your Own House For A Stuffed Animal or Webkin So Long As It's Not a Big Stuffed Animal" Party. (No nails, just glue so no ER trips or mad parents.) I really should start cutting all those little house pieces now but I'll put it off and stress at the last minute. Just like every good mom does for their kids' birthday parties.

Kelly Osborne's Magazine Ready Home - Design Public

A Design Public customer (and a Mod Mom Furniture customer via Design Public) was interviewed for Design Public's blog because her house looks like something out of a magazine. It's amazing! And she says the Owyn Toy Box is her favorite Design Public piece!! Really, I didn't pay her to say that, honest! I'm thrilled and honored to know she's a Mod Mom Furniture fan. Very cool, indeed!!!

Click HERE for the link...

Check out these photos from the article...


Do you see the Owyn in the picture? On the right side?


Kelly and her gorgeous family


Thanks so much Kelly!

The Etsy Handmade For Kids Challenge Results!

What a big day in the Hathcock household! One of those days where you sorta wonder what's gonna go wrong since many things have gone right. No need to worry -- I've already cut all the wood today on my tablesaw so that possible tragedy is off the table. WHEW!

Anyhow, back to the results! Thanks for all who voted for the Owyn Toy Box as your favorite. All 2622..ok, 2621 (I voted for myself) of you made it happen -- and made it the WINNER of the Challenge!! YEAH!!

Go here for the results... ETSY HANDMADE FOR KIDS CHALLENGE RESULTS

Also, the Expert Panel announced their picks for favorite in each category today. Thanks to Carrie McBride of Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh site, the Owyn Toy Box received the Expert Panel Award of Excellence in the Furniture category.

I'm Published!

Isn't that what people say when they have something published? Although I think it means you've actually WRITTEN something that's published. Not me, no sir. Just have a few of my designs in a new book called Designed For Kids, by a British design writer. But I'm still freaking out about it! I won't pretend to be cool because I'm not. I'll be carrying that book with me until I die. Right there in my purse so when some stranger asks what time it is, I'll ask if they've seen the book I'm in...and then give them the time. :)

The book itself is so GREAT! It's a sourcebook for new moms and dads (or old moms and dads) that includes all the stuff a design-savvy parent would want. All the major design houses are included like Offi, Argington, Lego, and, oh....did I mention....MOD MOM FURNITURE! Ok, I'll stop that now.

If you're interested in purchasing the book, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both sell it. And it's cheaper than the MSRP. Is that a bad sign? Has my book already gotten knocked down a peg or two? It's too heavy and big to carry in my purse, anyways. :)

Here are some photos of the pages my stuff landed on...

Már megint itt van a szerelem!

Thanks to the person who runs this Hungarian blog and apparently wrote about the Noah Owl Box! He/she posted about my furniture a few months back too. I tried using the online translator but sadly, couldn't even understand the translated version. If anyone out there does, please let me know.

Fingers crossed he/she isn't saying this is the most ridiculous looking toy box ever.

Have a great weekend! I'm inches away from being done with two toy boxes. The same ones I'll have dreams about shipping tomorrow. :)

I Dream Of Shipping

I'm actually dreaming about shipping toy boxes. How sad is THAT? Really, how lame is my life that I apparently am stressed about getting toy boxes out. One dream I had of late involved me not being able to find the UPS store which meant I was driving like a mad woman in circles with three toy boxes in the back of my car. What does that mean?

Guess any idiot can interpret that I might be needing a tiny break - just one week where I don't have to build something. I should know better than to book myself solid but sometimes it happens. Like when we need to pay the crazy expensive electric bill. Or when a tv show comes a callin'. Who knows. Maybe tonight I'll dream about Ryan Gosling or I'll have that dream where I'm walking naked down the hallways of my high school. God, anything would be better than stupid dreams about UPS. (No offense to the fantastic staff at the UPS store in TOluca Lake.)

Cool Mom Picks Hearts The Noah Owl Box on My Birthday

YEAH for two things:

1. It's my birthday! Grace guessed I was 63 and I told her "close" and sometimes I feel 63 but I'm officially in my mid-30s now. The BIG 35!! WHOOHOO! Bring on the Botox!

2. Liz from Cool Mom Picks wrote a really nice write-up on the new Owl Toy Box today.

Tell Me One Good Thing That Happened....

When I pick my kids up from school, I ask them, in an annoying mother voice, "What's one good thing that happened to you at school today? And what's one bad thing?" So I'm turning the annoyingness on myself...

One GOOD thing that happened this weekend...
I got a message from the producer of Movie and A Makeover on TBS and they want to use The Bertie Box in the makeover portion of an upcoming show! WOOHOO! My box is going to be famous! That sounded so wrong in my sick little head! Thankfully, the box is an actual box.

One BAD thing that happened this weekend...
I mixed a prescription drug called Metformin (used to treat the PCOS I have) with wine and had a VIOLENT reaction. In all fairness to me, it only says to TAKE WITH FOOD on the outside of the pill bottle. Note to self and anyone else on this medication. Be very cautious when mixing the two - don't even think about going for that third glass! Unless it's a really good bottle of wine then ditch the pills and pour the vino!

Sign of a true craftsman...er woman

I looked down at my computer mouse to see it covered in a nice dark walnut stain. Some people would wash their hands after staining. But not me! I just dart in, check my email, and dart back out to finish.

You can only imagine what our cordless phones look like.

Crazy Builder Girl

I'm a crazy builder girl today and I'm going back out for more! I'll get back to posting tomorrow after I've had a nice shower and a glass of Red Zin. :)

Noah At Minor Details!

One of my absolute favorite design bloggers, Jenn from Minor Details, featured the Noah Owl Toy Box today on her site! Jenn finds the coolest child/baby gear from around the world. I really don't know where she finds it all but her site is a fantastic resource if you're trying to outfit a kid's room or playroom.

Here's the link: http://minordetails.typepad.com/md_weblog/2008/09/meet-noah.html

Etsy's Handmade For Kids Contest Finalist

Happy Labor Day!



I wanted to mention that the Owyn Toy Box was selected as a finalist in Etsy's Handmade For Kids Contest. Check it out here! Vote for your favorite items from the Handmade Kids Challenge and win one of fourteen $350 Etsy Shopping Sprees! Voting ends on September 8th so if you feel like you're in a voting mood, click the link and vote for your favorite item in several different categories. If you vote for Owyn, it (and I) thank you!