Ice Cream and Monsters... yes, please! I was so honored to create Kentlee's 1st birthday bash with a mash up of these two really fun elements. I got to work with the sweetest and most creative mom who had so many awesome ideas. Narrowing down the assortment was challenging because it was hard to give some things up. Good thing she was open to suggestions and some new ideas.

It all started with the monster. This little guy was so fun to sketch. Seeing him come to life was a real treat. I was lucky enough to team up with a great artist. Vern from Nerv's Screen Printing studio who was kind enough to lend me his studio. He was so generous and even taught me how to screen print. Can you believe this it's my 1st lesson? Vern has really sick graphics. He's such a superb designer with a unique hand and intricate details. You guys should check him out for his cool cool graphic tees.

Concept & Styling is one of my favorite things to create. Especially when I get to work with Grace from Sweets by Grace. She's always my go to person when it comes to these delicious confections. The delicate hand cut sprinkles and the painted stripes on the horn makes the little guys so lively.

The backdrop was filled with happy little ice cream pinatas. I haven't created papier mache art since I was in grade school. I'm so grateful the camp I attended hosted afternoon arts and crafts sessions. They would be proud to see what I created. And of course monsters eras are a must. What kind of monster would you be without these furry/ fluffy little ears. I think the adults enjoyed them a bit more than the kids.

How cool is this? My super duper talented mama friend created this awesome sprinkle pit for the kids. It was hours of fun for them as the adults got a chance to mingle and eat.

Let me know what you think. If you like what you see please leave me a comment and feel free to give me a thumbs up.

​Did some bunny say milk & cookies? Let's have a little fun with food this Easter. Another fun collab with Sweets by Grace.

We created these fun interactive milk bunny cups. I brushed on the face while Sweets by Grace created these artisanal sugar cookie bunny ears.

Everything is crafted by hand so quantities are limited. We will be taking orders until Friday, March 18th or until we are sold out. Shipments will be sent out on March 21st to ensure that everyone gets their packages by Easter. Thank you! - Jane & Grace
http://goo.gl/forms/ot6nRKVPi7

Here's a peak of what went on behind the scenes of Mr. Milky's first birthday. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends. They all came together to pitch in with the execution. Knowing that I would be crazed the day of the party. I wouldn't have pulled it all together if it wasn't for them. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts!!! For all your endless support and love that you show our family.

I decorated these 40" mylar balloons with cut out paper and acrylic paint. Inspired by Flynt's milky stashes. It made me laugh as I was painting on the details.

I had so much fun collaborating with Sweets by Grace. Honored to say that Grace is one of my talented cousins. I guess it runs in the family, wink* I messaged her one evening with this bogus idea of creating a unique treat for my guest. A Mr. Milky Nutella mousse filled cakelet with his signature face. Of course I had to choose the most challenging design and most delicate of ingredients. I fell in love with Kawaii Sweet World's bomb cake. This girl makes the cutest desserts. ​

The brainstorming session happen within moments after the message went out . We were both so excited and up for the challenge. I was jumping with joy when she invited me into her astonishing chef kitchen. I got a chance to bake with Grace herself and create the look from scratch. What a dream! ​

I always cherished this Korean traditional ritual called Doljanchi. During the child's first birthday there are 5 objects placed in front of them. Depending on which object they choose will determine their aspirations for their future. 
1 origami bill folded into a shirt and tie symbolizing finance
2 brush for an artist
3 eagle globe and anchor for the Marine Corps following in daddy's footstep
4 pencil as a scholar or journalist
5 foam mic as an entertainer 

Here's a little video I put together. Enjoy!!! 

Many of you have been wondering what's in the Mr. Milky milk carton that I designed. Surprise items are always so much fun to receive. Especially when the kids get to unwrap something. The cartons contain various objects and I also had the challenge of age appropriate gifts.

For the younger kids::
1 Wind up light torch:: Kids gets to learn about energy with this toy. The coolest thing is when the kids charges up the torch by squeezing the handle. The energy is stored and batteries are not required. 
2 Temporary tattoos:: I had a hard time finding images that I wanted to share with my guest. So I decided to print my own. There was a mixture of images that I created as well as a collection of images borrowed from pinterest. I used photoshop to create a layout. Each kid got to take a sheet home. I also had some random ones cut out and placed on the table at the restaurant so that the guest could entertain themselves. It was a hit!

How Mr. Milky came to life::
When Flynt was born the nurses rushed him over to the warming lamp. The first thing I notice when I turned around was his oversized mouth. Letting the world know that he's arrived. The first thing that came out of my mouth was "Wow, he has such a large mouth." Throughout his first year I've really grown to love that face. That initial moment when he's about to cry. His mouth widens in silence before the tears start to roll down his round little cheeks. That's the signature Mr. Milky face. With his wide mouth full of teeth. ​He love's his bottle and the best part is when he leaves a milk stash or a beard or little freckles of milk traces all over his face. ​

I give it to those polymer clay experts. They make it look so easy. Maybe because I decided to challenge myself by adding flush magnets to the back side to make them more useful. Sculpting cylinders, balls & cone shaped pieces was fine but blending them together was more difficult then I anticipated. None the less I'm quite happy with the results. You can tell they're not some cookie cutter figurine. Each with their own variation from size, shape & symmetry. Giving each one of them a unique personality.

Stay tuned, tutorial to follow!

Music: http://www.bensound.com

​Here's my story::
Two Wednesdays ago I was called into my VP's office. She told me that the company  
needs to be more efficient and productive in how they run their business. Part of the process is to realigning their resources for more simplified decision making. 

"I'm sorry they are eliminating your position as senior designer..."
​
In my mind:: I was still thinking of all the work that still had to get done. What about my team? Our Holiday'16 collection isn't even fully designed yet. What are they thinking? I was planning on going to the print show this afternoon but there's no need for that now.  We don't have to go over the budget chart anymore? A couple seconds later I started feeling relieved. All the corporate politics can be put behind me now. I started to finally think about myself. YES!!! This is the opportunity I've been waiting for. I needed this push. I can really focus on the business that I've been dreaming about now. What should I start on first?

​Am I nervous? YES! Who wouldn't be when you don't know what's ahead of you. Scared that I will get too comfortable and not be productive. I will need to work extra hard. It feels so strange not to have a 40 hour work week. A decade of corporate life designing baby apparel has programmed my mind to an office routine. Get up. Get ready. Make breakfast. Catch my train. Work. Rush home. Mommy duties. Sleep. Repeat. It's a new mindset now that I'm not tied down to that set schedule. 

I​'m super excited about spending more time with Flynt. I need to start looking for mommy and me classes. Maybe swimming lessons? I also can't wait for Spring to come around so we can do more outdoor activities.

Please wish me luck on my new adventure. I know many of you have encouraged me to take this leap early on. If you have any advice or supportive words I would love to hear them. I need your strength to guide my dreams into reality as I venture into this new unknown world of entrepreneurship.

​I'M ENERGIZED & READY TO GO!!!

Such a large gift to wrap. What should I do? I had a roll of brown kraft paper laying around which I thought would be fun to decorate. The shape of the quilt reminded me of a giant marshmallow. I pulled out my acrylic paints, brushes and paint palette and went right at it. I had so much fun putting this together. Domo was large enough to keep me company for the rest of the afternoon. She really did make my day shine a little brighter.

First wrap the quilt. Slash the ends to help fold a nice rounded edge. Tape accordingly. Cut a circle for the top to hide the ends.

Let’s add a splash of color onto the neutral ground. I made Domo a crown and added some tinsel. What’s a celebration without something shiny?

Well, Hello there!

7-8 hours of sleep sounds mighty good to me. But I always find it difficult to crawl into bed early enough to fulfill those hours. Especially when my mind is churning so quickly with new ideas for my next project.
This sleeping mask will be a good reminder to work 24 hours a week 7 days a month and take frequent cat naps. My new creations was made for the recent slumber party with my girlfriend. If you’re ready for a challenge here’s the step by step instructions below.

​Supplies needed:
Poplin- 1/4 yd multi print stacks from Purl Patchwork
Silk- 1/2 yd lining fabric from Mood Fabrics
Quilt batting- 1/4 yd from Daytona Trims
1 yard of flat metallic soutache
Metallic lamé
Framed glasses
Pencil
Ruler
Scissor
Satin pins
Iron
Fusible
Magna tac
Safety pin
Needle and thread
Sewing machine

​1 Create a pattern
A- Create pattern for the front. Trace around frame of glasses for your guideline of the width and the length of mask. Fold paper in half, around the arch of the nose. Sketch 1/2 of the mask. Then transfer to other side with a light-box or against a lite window. Add 1/4″ seam allowance around edge of pattern. If you understand pattern making you can create different sections for contrasting fabrics to create a patch work look.
B- Create lining pattern. If your front pattern is just one piece you do not need to recreate another pattern. If not, create one pattern then add 1/4″ seam allowance around edges.
C- Create separate pattern for the interfacing; quilt batting. This is essentially the same as the lining but without seam allowance.
D- Create a pattern for eyelash and ears,no seam allowance necessary.
E- Lable all pattern pieces so you know what you’re working with and how many you’ll need to cut with each specific fabric.
2 Tada …were done! j/k
We’re at lease done with the patterns.

2 Choose fabrics. Poplin for the front and silk for the lining. If you’re going with the challenging patchwork look choose two contrasting fabrics that will sit well together. If not, one will be just fine.
3 Take poplin, lining & lamé fabric and iron on fusible to the back of the fabrics. Use a scrap piece of fabric between iron and fusible to prevent adhesive from melting onto iron. Fused fabric will give your fabric more body, control and stability. (Note: Adhesive on fusible is the rough side of the fabric. Which should iron on to the back side of the fabrics.)
4 Place patterns on fabric. Pin and cut out.
A- Floral printed fabric for front of mask.
B- Silk for lining, so it’ll be smooth when mask is against your face.
C- Lamé for eyelashes and ears.
5 Use Magna Tac and glue eye lashes on to pattern.
6 If your front printed mask has multiple patterns, piece them together either by hand stitch or by machine and iron the seams flat.
7 Place cut pattern of polyfill onto back side of the patterned poplin fabric. Center the polyfill leaving the seam allowance of the patterned fabric exposed.8 Pin polyfill in place.
9 Pencil in a couple of  lines on the polyfill. These lines will be hand stitched. Using a blind stitch technique. This will hold the polyfill in place. If you have seams from the front of themask.You can blind stitch in the crack of the seams.
10Take your yard of flat metallic soutache and cut in half.
11 Looking at the front of the mask. Place1/2 the soutache at both sides of the midway point (Fullness of soutache s/b in the inside of the mask.) I coiled the excess and safety pinned it in place.
12 Hand stitch the soutache in place. Stitch onto the seam allowance of the front mask.
13 Place lining and front of mask together (right sides facing each other.)
14 Sew together with sewing machine. Leave about 3″ unsewn on top of mask.
15 Flip mask inside out and hand stitch the remaining closed with the blind stitch technique.
16 Use iron and steam the mask so that the edges will look nice and crisp.
17 Use Magna Tac and glue on Lamé ears.
18 If this wasn’t enough you can decorate the ends of the soutache with gold tassels.