Still Thankful, Still Giving Event

Check out this cool charity event being hosted by Lauren Holly and Meridith Brooks that celebrates adoption and raises funds to help the orphans at Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage in Tijuana. Proceeds will also help fund the Jr. Sirens an opportunity to take a field trip to get hands on experience at volunteering at the orphanage, while seeing the positive impact they can make in the world.

I am donating a toy box for the event! The children in attendance will get to pick a prize out of the "treasure box" (my toy box) and it will later be auctioned off in the silent auction. Check out http://www.sirenssociety.org/stsg_event.html for all the details and ticket information.

I'm thrilled to have been asked to be a part of this great event!!

Playing Wood Shop

Grace is not in school today so she's hanging with me in the garage. I, as every good mom can attest, am trying to get her involved in something....chalk drawing....playing in the dirt....anything, really, so that she won't ask me 4 million questions JUST when I've measured and remeasured something only to be interrupted by a question. And remeasure again. Mom of the Year, right?

Anyhow, my attempts to get her involved in anything other than the workshop stuff failed so we played, like we do a lot, "wood shop" while I stained some furniture legs. She comes in asking for wood. I act like I'm selling her wood scraps and ask her questions like, "so what brings you here today, ma'am?" She always says she's building toy boxes and a bed for her babies. And when I ask if she does this for a living she says her company name, Mod Mom Furniture. (I always smile when she says that.) This time, I pressed further. "So Grace, who taught you how to do all that cool woodworking stuff?" I was waiting in anticipation and pride for her to say, "My mom taught me." You know what she said.

"Grandpa." "Grandpa taught me to build toy boxes."

(The photo is of Grandpa pushing the kids on the swings at Pismo Beach)

The Coffee Table/Building Blocks Table That's Sweeping Hollywood

Maybe not sweeping Hollywood, but it IS now sitting in really great, modern apartment in West LA inhabited by a very cool couple.

Here is the custom building blocks table/coffee table I mentioned a few posts back.

A few facts about it...

• I built the table custom to work with the colors in their living room and the height and width of their sofa. I also didn't adhere the lego boards to the table in case they didn't want to use it as a lego table at some point.


• Instead of building the cube chair for "playing," I, at the request of the owners, built a custom "drawer" with hand openings on both ends for housing magazines and what not. They can also pull the drawer out and place it somewhere else in the room, if they want.


• One side of the brown doors opens to reveal hidden storage.
• The containers are for lego storage on top. When not a building table, they could use the containers for anything, really. Candy. Plants. Remotes. An ashtray. Just kidding about, sort of. Do you remember when they use to produce built-in ash trays for chairs and sometimes side tables? Ahh, the good old days.
  

Drawer action...

Without the lego top.

The Little Monster Markets

I'm taking a tiny break from my garage to, well.. sit down for a minute. So it's the perfect opportunity to tell you all about the coolest craft market selling unique handmade kids' stuff. Two of them, actually.

My friend, Denise Love, founded the Little Monster Market (http://littlemonstermarket.com/) a little over a year ago. I met her through being a vendor at the first market and decided to partner with her on all things Monster Market. But back to Denise....she's an uber talented designer -- seriously one of the most talented people I've ever met -- who is now designing and making a really cool line of kids clothing called Eeny Meanie (http://www.eenymeanie.com/.) When she's not designing kids' clothes, she's doing all of the web design and marketing materials for the upcoming Monster Markets. Which leads me to.....

If you live in the LA area, check out http://www.littlemonstermarket.com/ for details on the

December 1st show in Studio City and the December 8th show in LA (down by the Beverly Center). Our unofficial tagline is "The Little Monster Market makes shopping with your kids fun....without wine or Paxil....really." We've arranged for activities/performances for the kids as well as yummy goodies to keep their tummies full while you shop. Nothing worse than shopping with your kids when they're (a.) not having fun and (b.) hungry. We've tried to solve both of those issues. Cuz we're both moms.

The one-day markets are featuring independent artists and designers, like myself, who make and sell handmade goods for kids. Even if you don't live in LA, check out the website anyways. There are links to all the vendors' webpages so you can shop from the comfort of your chair.

There's my hard sell. If you live here and make it to one of the shows, please stop by my booth and say hi. I'll be the one with the furniture...you can't miss me. :)

Some of Eeny Meanie's adorable clothing...

Exciting News!

Here are a few new photos (also on the Etsy site) of the Toddler/Twin Platform bed. I was in desperate need of new photos AND I received a call from a design writer in London wanting to include some of my furniture in a new book being published in England. HOW COOL IS THAT!?! I'm really excited and will share more details as the develop.

Toddler Bed.....

...to twin bed!

The New Mod Coffee Table

A new client of mine is doing the unexpected with the Noah Building Table.
He's using it as a coffee table! I just think it's the coolest thing!! He jokingly said he was going to wait to tell me he didn't have kids until about half-way through our conversation but he fessed up early on and I loved it! The dimensions will change a tad to better fit the couch but all in all it's the same. A fun, mod coffee table with built-in entertainment. And the seat will become a container that stores magazines and Mod Mom Furniture brochures :). Who knew?????

The Show Must Not Go On

It was a no-go on the big High School Musical dance number on Sunday. A good friend, and "cast member" was admitted into the hospital and we just couldn't do it without him. Sorry to disappoint those wanting to see a High School Musical-dancing carpenter.

Happy Almost Halloween

Slutty carpenter? Hot Nurse? French Maid? So many choices are offered for Halloween get-ups and all of them half-naked. Since last year (see above), I got to dress up real perty as Sammy Davis, Jr., this year I 'm going more salt-of-the-earth as Gabriella from High School Musical. Although I'm not going as far as to accidentally post photos of me sans clothing on the internet, my plan is to be quite convincing with brown-haired wig and sassy red dress. Scott (as Dean Martin above) is going as Troy, my High School Musical song and dance partner donning a fantastic blond/brown wig and basketball attire. AND THERE's GOING TO BE DANCING, too. We've recruited some friends to join us (they'll be two other cast members). We've been practicing our moves but I can't say anymore than that for fear we'll ruin the surprise.

What I can say is that my son is slightly embarrassed by the whole thing and my daughter couldn't be happier that we're going to be Troy and Gabriella.

Maybe we should march on down to Disney and show them what we've got! Although I think they'll mistake us for the 20 Year High School Musical Reunion cast. Now there's an idea!!!!!

I'll post photos (or even the video) after the party on Sunday.

Happy Halloween!

The Fires

I just came back in from the garage -- building an Owyn Toy Box -- and I'm hacking and coughing more than usual after sanding without a mask. (I know, I know. I'll use one soon.) As I walked into my house I looked up to see a very strange somewhat blue but mostly smokey looking sky. We're not in immediate danger of the many fires still burning out here (Thank God) but I'm reminded of how close we are to all those communities lost to the fire.

I can't even imagine what all the evacuees and those who have already lost homes must be going through right now. My husband Blackberried (is this a word?) me from his business trip to offer a list of things we should take if we're ever evacuated -- computer hardrive, photos, kids clothes, that sort of thing. Sure makes having the stomach flu and worrying about getting toy boxes finished on time seem really silly and insignificant.

The Stomach Flu Is Not Good For Business

My thumb hurts from flipping channels on the remote the ENTIRE day while I laid in bed breathing through stomach cramps. What glorious day! It got me thinking how when I was working full-time outside of the home, I could take sick days and somehow not feel such an overwhelming sense of needing to be working. I laid in bed while my hubby delivered Sprite and saltines and took care of the kids and I kept counting in my head the number of toy boxes or tables and chairs I need to build: 8.

8.8.8.8.8. Pretty much all day, I was thinking 8. That, and how I haven't showered in two days (see previous post). And that I was a little appalled at myself for getting scared while watching back to back Children of The Corn movies on AMC's Spooky Movie Week. I'm so glad we don't live near a corn field.

Tomorrow I'll be back full-force -- with my sense of humor revived -- building toy boxes and taking care of puking kids. Cuz you KNOW that comes next, right??