Category Archives: Art + Design

Say cheese, baby—awesome infant photography.

Art + Design, Widdle Wednesdays


Oh baby baby. Taking photos of teeny littles is a true art form. They squirm. They squiggle. They are easily distracted. But when you nail that shot….man oh man! Ain’t nuttin’ cuter! So when I discovered the work of Janet and Lisa of JL Photografia, whoooo weee was I ever smitten! These two fun lovin’ Northern California ladies clearly have an amazing eye. Their forte happens to be weddings, but their childrens photography is totally outstanding. They blend contemporary and photojournalistic styles with amazing results. Just you wait people. If you’re not saying “Awww!” by the end of this post then you, my friend, have a heart of stone! Let us begin…

Little Baby Emerson…..she is just so lullaby sweet.





Honestly. How sweet can you get?? The photo with Sydney the doggie is amazing, but that little arm hanging down in sheer relaxed, sleepy-time bliss just makes my heart sing!

Baby Siena. The ladies describe this little cutie as being “cheeky-licious” and I couldn’t agree more! I especially love how Janet and Lisa have captured Siena’s awesome expressions!




Would ya look at that widdle mug?? Tee hee.

Next we have Baby Quin, this young man is pure chewy goodness.


I loooove little baby feet (don’t tell anyone but I still love and smooch Wolfie’s kindergarten sized footsies to this day!).  Look how chewey that little fella is up there. Nommie nom nom. You just wanna blow a raspberry on that belly, huh!

And finally…we start where we began. Remember sweet baby Emerson from the very first photo? Well she’s actually a little older now. And wowza she’s a beauty! Behold the sweet baby blues of a slightly older Miss Emerson:


All together now….”Awwwww!”  What a gorgeous child, huh. Sigh. Don’t those ladies at JL Photographia have an amazing eye??  I swear these babies make mah ovaries tingle!

Now technically this is all about the babies, but you must pop over to the JL Photografia blog and check out the sweet engagement photos on their latest entry. Sooo loverly! And if you live in California, get in touch with these two lovely ladies about takin’ some photos. Thank you Janet and Lisa for blowing our minds with your amazing talent!

All Images: JL Photografia.

2-4-6-8, Donna Wilson's really great!

Art + Design, Crafts + DIY, Kiddo Rooms, ,

Hello pals! So today I have something a little bit different. It’s not really a children’s brand, per se, but I think after you take one look at British designer Donna Wilson‘s fantastical creations you’ll agree they will appeal to kiddos of all ages. I know I fell head over heels! Donna began her career creating an amazing wonderland of stitched and knitted monsters that celebrated fun and quirky characteristics: some have extra long legs or extra big heads, some have two heads, some are grumpy or shy and all are not what they seem. She has also branched out to produce groovy pillows, cozy blankets, felted doilies, pom pom rugs and crazily charming kitchenware. Trust me. You’re gonna love these!





How cute is that little orange slice “barrette” on the little plate?? I love how all of these items would be equally at home in a cool couple’s flat or a sweet kid’s room. And wait til you see Donna herself. She is as cute as her designs are whimsical! Take a gander at this little sunshine gal:

When asked to talk a little bit about her work, Donna had this to say!

“When people ask me what I do I always say I make weird knitted creatures with two heads and angry faces, I love the reaction I get!! Most people look a bit confused and some just think I’m mad. My work is playful, tactile and bright, inspired by the everyday oddities and deformities of life. I like to think of each of my creations as a character in my very own wonderland…where everything is made of soft wool, trees are knitted and instead of growing leaves, pom poms sprout out, strange knitted creatures eat cup cakes and doughnuts sprinkled with stitching.”


So what do you think? Pretty fun stuff huh.
Get yer mitts on Donna’s goodies (ermm, that doesn’t sound quite right…) at these stores in the US:
the future perfect (new york)
Eden&Eden (san francisco)
Eli-phant (portland)
For international stores, check out Donna Wilson’s site here.

images from Donna Wilson.com

Modern Kiddo Giveaway: Black Apple Alphabet Print

Art + Design, Giveaways

We have a most delicious giveaway to offer our wonderful readers today–a limited edition alphabet print from Etsy seller extraordinaire, Emily Martin!

This is one of 50 prints Ms. Martin made, a giclee on textured Watercolor stock in red inks.  She sold them at the SF Renegade fair, where I picked one up saving it for a special person and that person is you, dear reader.  It is numbered 48 out of 50 and has a beautiful texture with rounded edges.  She sells a reproduction of this in other colors on her Etsy site, but this one is the special collectors edition.

What I adore about it is Emily’s very clever choice of words–all very cozy cozy and perfect for your little one’s room.  Q is for quilt. T is for toast. Y is for yawn.  Does it get more snuggly than that? I think not!

I hope you are familiar with Emily’s highly addictive blog, Inside a Black Apple. And her fabulously fashionable blog, Some Girls Wander where she combines vintage goodies with other pieces to create a wonderful look that is all her own.  If not, well, go grab a cup of tea and check them out.  You’ll be bookmarking them within ten seconds.

How To Enter :

1. Become a follower of Modern Kiddo via our blog (on the lefthand side just click “follow”) and leave a comment.

2. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook and tells us your favorite letter and a clever word for it (ex: @Modernkiddo V is for Vespa!)

Contest will close next Friday, April 2nd at noon.

Oooh la la! I love zis art!

Art + Design

I have to say, nothing makes me smile more than seeing colorful, quirky and whimsical art hanging on the walls of a child’s room.

When I first started to browse French site L’Affiche Moderne, I was positively drooling at the work! Their fabulous e-gallery showcases a really lovely collection of work from young photographers, graphic designers and illustrators (including the amazingly talented Sarah Jane who was at Alt Summit and is just about the cutest, sweetest thing ever!). The prints are produced in limited edition quantities of 300 editions and come in a variety of options: mounted canvas, framed, no frame etc. Take a gander at some of these lovelies:

Ingela P Arrhenius, Friends in Tree

Marion Billet, Transports

Matilou, Fawn in winter

Sarah Jane, Goodnight Friend!

Franck Juery, Marie-Kong

Mathilde Aubier, En face

Can you handle the cuteness?? They update their work frequently and it’s always fab. Whether you’re drawn to the retro-inspired prints, sweetly soothing illustrations or even fanciful photographs, I think you’ll definitely find something swell for your kiddo’s walls.

Oooh, and get this! From January 26 thru February 11, 2010,  Modern Kiddo readers can save 30% off their entire catalog of limited edition art prints when you use code 01012010.

Whoo hoo, L’Affiche Moderne! Shoot, that’s almost enough to make me want to start calling this here lil bloggie Kiddo Moderne. Almost.

Images: L’Affiche Moderne

Smock it Up!

Art + Design, , , , ,

I love art class in elementary school.  My art teacher sent everyone home with a note asking parents to send along an old button down shirt from Dad’s closet to be used as a smock.

Of course, today’s kids are far too fabulous to wear something as humdrum as that! Particularly when there are so many good options for keeping your little kiddo’s fancy duds paint-free?

Lindsay over at The Good Ship Lollipop has one of the sweetest little smocks I’ve ever seen made out of gingham and floral oilcloths.  If this doesn’t inspire your little Georgia O’Keefe, I don’t know what will!

And check out the back view–it’s as pretty as the front. She also offers buyers a chance to choose their own oilcloth.  These are almost too cute to to wear only for arts and crafts.  Hmmm…  I wonder if  I could get away with putting the Peach in this as a dress…

Your little one will be craving Cray-Pas wearing this fun eco-friendly smock from 3 Sprouts.  If you aren’t keen on the frog, they also have a moo cow and monkey!

Land of Nod has a great selection of apron smocks that come in a great selection of prints from girly girly pink to manly plaid to dots dots dots.

And for the truly virtuous crafty people out there, I present you with this very clever tutorial to make your own smock from the fine folks at Prudent Baby, one of my favorite blogs out there!

But of course you can always use an extra large button down shirt…