Monthly Archives: March 2011

Meet Miss Q! Our Weekly Kiddo

Weekly Kiddos

I try not to play favorites with our Weekly Kiddo. You know I truly love them all! But I have to say that this week’s kiddo is OFF THE CHARTS FABULOUS. Meet the amazing Q. This child has such an eclectic and quirky style. Her mama is Maia Chavez Larkin, a children’s fashion illustrator and designer. She is a style maven herself, so it’s no wonder that little Q is so stylish. Q was adopted from China at the age of eleven months. Now a leggy three and a half years old, she is a fulltime joy machine! You will notice that the sassy Miss Q is a super model in the making, her mama tells us she is in the 98th percentile in height which makes her quite a bit taller and gives her the appearance of being a little older. Her American name is Flynn, which I love almost as much as “Q”!


Dress / Rose La Biche
Sweater / Le Vestiaire de Jeanne
Silver Leggings / American Apparel
Pink Clog Shoes / Target
Socks / Old Navy
Bow tie / Old Navy St Patrick’s Day

Ahhhhh! Am I right?  I love the silver leggings and that gigantic bow is MAJOR. So fantastic. Maia says that Q usually dislikes hair accessories and barrettes but was smitten with this splashy St. Patrick’s Day bow tie. Hilarious AND fabulous!


As an aside, Q lives in Colorado and apparently the weather fluctuates wildly. On this day it was extremely warm—even though there was still a bit of snow on the ground! (sounds suspiciously like our San Francisco weather….)


+ Hoodie / GapKids
+ Polkadot Dress / CrewCuts
+ Leggings / GapKids
+ Boots / Emu


+ Sundress / Liberty of London for Target
+ Hat / Studio Bini


+ Overalls / Suvi Ainoa
+ Hat / Le Vestiaire de Jeanne
+ Shirt / Old Navy


+ White dress / L’atelier de Marie et Rose-Alice
+ Pendant necklace / vintage


+ Dress / Made In Mommy
+ Hat / LollyTots


+ Dress / Le Vestiaire de Jeanne
+ Parasol / Pearl River Mart


+ Dress / Le Vestiaire de Jeanne
+ Trike / vintage


+ Tunic / secondhand
+ Leggings / Old Navy
+ Boots / Emu


+ Military jacket / Stella McCartney for Gap
+ Leggings / Target
+ Shoes / GapKids
+ Hat / LollyTots

Ahhhhhhh! Pretty amazing huh? I wouldn’t lie to you peeps. I told you this was a special girl. While she may look high-maintenance with her chic ensembles, appearances are deceptive! Her mama told us:

“Q is a dyed-in-the-wool tomboy who would be happier running around like Mowgli of the jungle. She loves basketball, ice hockey, rock climbing, and really any sport that comes along. She has never met a sport she doesn’t adore. She loves trips to the museum and also loves to rock out with one of her play guitars. She can often be heard chanting “Hey! Ho! Let’s GO!” from the Ramone’s anthem Blitzkrieg Bop. We have an eclectic household, and she is definitely a product of her environment! She is much-loved by many via our blog, Une Envie de Sel. Her daddy is a journalist, and mommy is a children’s fashion illustrator…hence the rest of the wardrobe!”

Speaking of her mama, I had to include this sweet photo. You can see how adorable this pair is—and clearly Q inherited her mama’s fashion sense. Thank you so much Maia for sharing this amazing little one with us! Be sure to stop by Maia’s shop, The Voyager, to see more of her lovely work!

Do *you* have a stylish kiddo you’d like to show off? Send ’em our way! You can find submission details here. We love all kinds of kiddos….vintage and thrift loving liddles, modern grooviness wearing tots and simply sweet, down-to-earth kiddos. I’ll see you this afternoon with a few more posts!

Dottie’s Kraft Korner :: The Peach’s Upcycled Sweater.

Crafts + DIY, Dottie's Kraft Korner, ,

I used to be a knitter. A hard core uber knitter who would drool over yarn and patterns and spend hours knitting dear sweaters for friends’ babies. But right around when I had my own little baby, my RSI kicked in hard core and ended my once fruitful knitting career.

So, I’ve been supplementing her knitted wardrobe with vintage sweaters I buy from Etsy or Ebay. And a few very dear friends even gave me the sweaters I knit for their children for the Peach. But I still have the desire to have my little cutie wear something cozy made my me.  Each time I read Knitty Kitty nearly sends me into a knitting frenzy and a goal to make a sweater for my Peach. But why not spare my arms so grief and try upcycling an old sweater into a new one for the Peach thanks to some Etsy inspiration?

A year ago at an estate sale I bought a lovely plain JCrew cashmere sweater (size small) that was what I like to call the perfect pink–somewhere between ballet pink and champagne pink and oh so cozy and soft and yummy.  That beloved color looks like death on me, but grand on the Peach, so I thought it would perfect for my upcycling sweater project.

With the help of a friend, I cut apart the sweater and used this pattern from New Conceptions and four hours later had a lovely little pink sweater tipped with brown velvet for the Peach.

I must admit I relied a lot more on my friend’s confident sewing than my own–the sweater fabric was very stretchy and I was such a nervous nelly about cutting and making mistakes when really–there was no need.  It’s just a sweater! It cost me $2.50!  That is less than what I spend on white muslin.  I’ve always said the best thing for sewing is a fearless attitude.

And I’m very happy with the final result.

And the Peach loves it.

“Cozy” she said, which is kinda her word for when she is very happy with the way something makes her feel. I couldn’t agree more, little girl.

Oh and that Cinderella plastic thing off to the side was a “gift” from the X ray technician that Miss Peach met yesterday for her yearly dye test review for her recurring UTI, which involves a catheter and some serious grief for the Peach.  The X ray technician had cancer of the eye as a little boy and was so struck by his own experiences under X ray machines that he decided to make it his career on helping little kids get through their X rays.  What a great guy! And the Peach loves it, of course!

Have you ever upcycled sweaters? What was your experience?

Party Down :: Do the Robot!

Kiddo Parties, ,

Robots seem to be all the rage right now, although I think they are a classic childhood bit of brilliancy.  What kid hasn’t dreamed of owning a robot to do their chores and hang out with? Or as their best friend who can kick the bullies tushies! Two words–Iron Giant–amirite?

And it makes for a great party theme.  Check out Autumn Kimball’s quite brilliant take on the robot party theme for her gorgeous identical quadruplets that she posted on her blog, The Kimball Herd.

Not only did she make these genius robot cakes, but the stands as well. Each kiddo got to pick his own flavor cake.   How wonderful!

She also involved her dear boys in making the party decor–they boys made the pom poms.

Autumn also drew these robot posters for the kids to paint.  Lady, you are one talented mama!

Autumn shows that robots might be programmed the same way, but they are all individuals–just like her terrific “herd” or kiddos!

BTW, the cake stands are also available on her Etsy shop along with her terrific artwork including these AMAZING family portrait ornaments.

Seeing the Past in the Present :: Amazing Photos

Vintage Kiddo Photos

Being a vintage lover, I’m expecially fond of old photographs. I’ve posted them on here many times—found images from old photo albums, estate sale goodies and thrift store scores. Part of the fun, I think, is examining them for details….like the clothes the people are wearing, the furniture and knick knacks in the background or cars on the street. I recently stumbled upon a really cool take on the “old meets new” photo I’ve been dying to share with you! Maybe you’ve seen them before, but these were all new to me when I discovered the Looking into the Past Flickr group. You take an old photograph, go back to the location where it was first taken and line up the perspective…..snap a new photo that shows the old in a modern context. It sounds complicated the way I’m describing it, but it’s very simple. Take a look! I think it’s utterly fascinating. Some photos require a second look….


image: amy cox


image: jasonepowell


image: haunted snowfort


image: ohdarling


image: katie artzner


image: Edward Barnieha


image: jasonepowell


image: katie artzner


image: haunted snowfort

Pretty cool huh. There is something so beautifully nostalgic and poignant about the images. I can’t wait to dig through my old photo albums and try this out myself!

Kiddo Bookshelf :: The Big Book of 60s Fairytales

Kiddo Bookshelf, Vintage Books, ,



Well hello! It’s time for another visit to the Vintage Bookshelf. Today’s is especially appropriate because Dottie and I are Guest Curator’s over on ETSY today! I have to tell ya it was so much fun. We used vintage kid’s books as our inspiration and the collections are really playful, if I do say so myself! Oh and HELLLLLO Etsy peeps, if you found us via our post! We’re so glad to have you stop by!

OK, back to our featured illustrator. I’ve already showed you one of my favorite Art Seiden books (The Romper Room Book of Manners, doncha know) and this one is equally as fabulous—but the characters are a little less “young” in style. Less rounded. A little more classic storybook. Which is very appropriate, seeing as this is a book of fairytales! Take a look:

All aboard the S.S. Fairyland! Incredibly cute….

I’ve always been amused by Puss in Boots (long before Shrek, of course) and this little guy doesn’t disappoint.

The story is integrated into the image, which makes for a lovely experience.

Talk about dainty footies!

So there you have it! Don’t forget to stop by Etsy today to check out the Modern Kiddo Guest Curator column….I have one more post for today, so I’ll see ya’ll this afternoon!