Category Archives: Widdle Wednesdays

Kiddo Rooms: Dotty’s Polka Dotted Rainbow Room

Kiddo Rooms, Widdle Wednesdays, ,

Since ya’ll seemed to be so tickled with those Vintage Bedrooms yesterday, I thought it would be fun to show off a super cute modern day rendition of the Retro Bedroom! One of my online besties is the fabulous Jenny frecklewonder. Her little girl Dorothy Bird (aka Dotty) has an amazingly fun space. Bold, colorful, sweet and modern. I think you’re going to love it. Jenny and I had a little chitty chat and she gave me the low down!

ALIX: Jenny!!!! OK, so I’m soooo happy to feature Dorothy Bird’s room. Can you tell us a little bit about your “vision” (ooh lala!) for this sweet space?

JENNY: Well, since i’m always in the thrifts, and always on the lookout for fun, colorful vintage kiddo stuff. I actually decided to go with white walls and a white crib for the room. I wanted to keep things pretty simple and let the vintage treasures sort of ‘pop’ and stand out on their own.

ALIX: I love that about this room—it keeps it looking clean but still really playful and fun! I find some modern nurseries are so fussy and over done. Was there any “must have” that you knew you wanted?

JENNY: The only thing I was really set on from the get go were red + white, jumbo polka dotted curtains. I had this vision in my mind of Pee Wee Herman’s gunny sack (in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, a favorite movie in our house!) and i just couldn’t let it go. I combed the internet like a crazy woman and nothing! So finally, about 2 weeks before she was born, I just decided to make the curtains myself. And actually, believe it or not, when she came home from the hospital, those curtains were the only thing in her room as far as decoration. It was just white walls, her crib and those curtains!

JENNY: Of course slowly but surely I’ve added things and tweaked things, and I’m sure I’ll be adding and tweaking ’til the cows come home! That’s sort of how I roll…

ALIX: I spy some awesome vintage fisher price toys on the shelves….I loooove that Scandinavian rainbow wall hanging too. What’s the story behind that?

JENNY: The rainbow Marushka wall hanging was an amazing dollar score at the thrift! The other paintings in the room I scored at an antique mall for $5 a piece! (down from $20, it pays to wait + stalk just a bit!)

ALIX: Aw look at the wonderful framed artwork from Big Bro Henry! That’s one of my favorite things to do for decoration too. Nothing beats a sweet hand-drawn picture from your little cutie. What else can you tell us about this sweet room?

JENNY: The yellow dresser was an antique store find! It was actually green when i got it, and it spent some time in dotty’s big brother Henry’s room when he was younger before we switched it over into her room.

ALIX Oooh, how about that little floral chair I see peeking out on the left over there? The fabric looks amazing. Where the heck did you find that??

JENNY: Oh, the floral chair was also a thrift score— it was originally upholstered in a dark brown and i recovered it in that vintage floral print. You can see it a little better here in the living room:

ALIX: It’s amazing, you clever girl, but I’m totally distracted by the amazingness of baby Dotty!! Look how widdle she was!! OK, back to the room. I love the mix of modern toys and vintage. To me it’s all about balance. I’m dying over that blue vintage flower clothes hamper.

JENNY: I love it too and yep, it’s another thrift score. I do love to mix it up. Vintage is a fave but I also love supporting indie artists and found some really amazing stuffed cuddlers. Check these guys out:

The super cute kitty is from Jane Foster. The red and green floral creature is a Cotton Monster and the adorable elephant is from My Favourite Dress.

ALIX: Talk to me about those rustic looking wooden shelves. They’re great!

JENNY: Yep! They’re from IKEA. They were the perfect height for storing Dotty’s toys but gave her easy access to everything. We got several pieces from IKEA….Dotty’s crib (super cheap!) and the white display shelving.

ALIX: This next photo features one of my favorite things (besides Dotty, of course!). The little vintage dressies you have hanging from the wall. I think you know where I’m going with this…c’mon girl . Let’s give the Modern Kiddo’s a peek into that closet!!

JENNY: Oh my. Well, you asked for it. Here she is in all her glory! As soon as I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, I went nutso and just really had the best thrifting luck e-v-e-r.

ALIX: Ooooh there’s my favorite clothes hamper again. So I guess it’s safe to say that little Dotty has a pretty sweet collection of vintage?? [I’m totally leading the witness here…I know full well that Jenny has amazing taste and boatloads of vintage kiddo clothes. heh]

JENNY: Hah! Yes it’s true. Her closet is chock full of fabulous girl’s dresses from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Most of them are toddler sizes but a few of them won’t fit her till the year 2020 or so! But can you blame me? Who knows if she’ll be interested in wearing them past, say, the age of 5 or 6… she may think i’m crazy!

ALIX: OK people. Take a gander at this beautiful maddness! I’m in loooooove:




I die! How adorable are all of those dresses??? Jenny, thank you ever so much for sharing this amazing room with us. But truly, the most adorable item you’ll find in that room is the wee little lassie who lives there. I have to share with you some “hot off the presses” pictures of this gorgeous girlie.

YAY Miss Dotty! We love you! That’s it for Widdle Wednesday, but check back this afternoon as we have a special Guest Post that you’re going to lerve fo sho! In the mean time, be sure to swing by Frecklewonder Vintage for a peek at more vintage kiddo goodies!

PS  Do you have a fun kiddo room to share? Email me at Alix [at] modern kiddo.com!

Widdle Wednesdays: Kiddo's First Birthday

Kiddo Parties, Widdle Wednesdays, , , , ,


If you’ve been around Camp Kiddo for a while, then you already know all about our conflicted stance on The First Birthday. On the one hand….your child is ONE, my friends. Will they reeeeeally remember (or even care?) that you personally captured marzipan owls from the sugar plum forest and handcrafted 73 different types of petit fours to replicate an authentic Parisian patisserie for the dessert table? Mmm. Prolly not.

Then again, HALLELUJAH sistah! you made it past the first year raising your beloved child and YOU DESERVE TO HAVE AN AWESOME BLOWOUT TO COMMEMORATE A YEAR OF NO SLEEP AND POOPY DIAPERS! We like to think of the First Year Birthday Party as more an homage to the parents. And frankly, I can’t resist a good party…soooooo guess what? We’re going to check out some awesome little parties today. Whoo hoo!

First up? Sebastian’s Spectacular Sailor birthday. I feel like parent’s of boys need to be even more creative than girls when it comes to parties. For some reason most people think little boys are all about dump trucks and dinosaurs and little girls get most of the sassy SWAG. That’s why I was totally head over heels when I saw this little man’s gorgeous fete over at Twig and Thistle.


Sebastian’s mother is graphic designer extraordinaire, Katie Phipps. I thought this little crafty invite was just amazing.

Ahoy matey….the lovely Katie made all the decorations herself. I love the nautical flag banners and thought the simple newspaper hats were  crazy charming (and who doesn’t love to wear a fun paper hat, I ask ya?).

Hand crafted pom pom tissue flowers add lots of color—and are really fun-n-easy to make.

Mmmmm. I love Swedish fish and these made a super cute cupcake topped—I think I might even like them better than the fancy shark! But of course the best part was little Sebastian himself, in his vintage sailor suit.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet Sebastian! Yer mama did ya proud! To see even more of this adorable party, please swing by Twig and Thistle.

OK, next up we have something completely different:

Aubrey’s Milk and Cookies Birthday Party
Everyone knows cupcakes are hot, but really nothing beats the most basic, delectable cookie. I’m really loving the new trend of throwing Milk & Cookie Parties and I was completely taken with Anne Power’s amazing First Birthday for her little girl Aubrey.

I thought this was an especially clever idea: the party favours were little mini Frappuccino bottles, turned into milk jugs—served on ice, of course. Also, can we please discuss how awesome Baby Aubrey’s mock-cookie “Smash Cake” is??

Anne explains:

“The favor bottles were re-purposed Frappuccino bottles. I washed them and removed the labels. The lids were kind of tricky to get completely clean – some elbow grease needed for sure. I printed new labels for both the side and lid. I used 1% milk for 1st birthday – get it!? I also used the bigger side label to thank the guests for coming. Attached to the bottles were little bags of cookies and a brown and white pattern straw.”

Anne offers up this great tip: LAMINATE all your bottle signage! When you’re tucking bottles into ice, the condensation will turn your labels to mush in no time.

Mmmm. Is it wrong that when looking at all these pictures I just want to holler, “MMMMmmm COOKIE, cookie cookie cookie cookie!!!!” in a Cookie Monster voice??

Such a sweet day….and I have to say Anne’s little girl Aubrey is crazy cute—check her out in her little polka dot dressie!

I think what I love best about this party is that you can go as fancy or as simple as you like. Sure the cake and all those details were spectacular, but you could easily create a totally delicious simple cookie bar with a big tub of mini milk cartons too. Have you thrown (or been to) any creative kiddo birthday parties lately? Please let us know!

To see more of Anne’s fun designs, and get even more details on this party, be sure to swing by her blog A Party Style. Thank you Anne for sharing sweet Aubrey’s day with us.

OH and PS…..don’t forget that this whole post is coming from the woman who SKIPPED HER SON’S BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR. Yes, poor Wolfie never had a party this year, so I’m officially giving you license to not do much of anything when that first birthday rolls around. I promise you, your bebe will NEVER remember….and when you tell him or her that you rented a flying dragon/unicorn for their first birthday, Dottie and I will TOTALLY back you up.

Widdle Wednesdays: Sassy Swimsuits for Babies.

Widdle Wednesdays, ,

Yes, my friends, it is that special time of the week:

I know we are already in swimsuit season, but I’m always looking for a good sale in July before the stock goes way down and can be enjoyed throughout the summer.

There is something so cuddly and cute about these  vintage styled swimsuit from May Oleon or should I say “Modern Kiddo Heaven”.  They have quite a few charmers like this one to choose from at Meme du Pariel.

A is for apple–but I think in this darling swimsuit I think it stands for awesome! And the fact that it comes with a matching swim cap.  Well, excuse me for a moment while I buy this one. From My Rocking Wardrobe.

You gotta love Old Navy for combining great style with great prices. And in the swimwear department they do not disappoint.

I’ve written about the extreme cuteness of Pink Chicken swimsuits in the past, but I haven’t written about them being on sale at ChiChi Bean.

With the name Dottie, you know I got a thing for polkadots, so when I saw this little dotty gem from Banana Cabana I had to giggle with delight and include it in our round up. And TuttiBella has them on sweet sweet sale to boot!

Quicksilver is a great brand for boys swim trunks and I’m totally crushing on this lightly tiki inspired goodies that are now on sale at Honey & Heroes.

Although I’ve been passing some of the cutest swimsuits ever at Target, I’m happy to say, they still have a grand selection and at great prices too.  For boys and girls!

These  koi trunks from Moster Republic will have Daddio wanting a pair in his size. Too bad–all this cool fashion is for the under one set.  And on sale right now at ArtBebe.

My friend Meredith calls  her sweet fair-skinned little one her sweet little piece of chalk.  For these little ones, coverage is key.  Fortunately idat has these terrific sunsuits that keep little ones skin safe from the harsh rays of the sun.

And Euro favorite, Boden is having a sale on some sweet baby swimwear too–like these great lobster swim trunks and these button koot swim pants. With the ruffle. And a full belly.

Even the most pristine penny pincher needs to splurge every now and then–so why not on one of these swimsuits from Floatimini.  I just can’t resist a ruffly bottom. Can you?

What is your little  wearing when they hop in the pool this summer? Do you know of any good baby swimwear sales?

Threadless Kids luv

Widdle Wednesdays,

Threadless has always been one of the coolest site’s around for getting rockin’ tees—designers submit illustrations and then the community votes for their favorite designs and the top picks are produced each week. It’s an endless rotation of cool, fun, graphic shirts. Sooooo you can imagine how deeeelighted I was when I discovered the sassy spawn of Threadless: Threadless Kids. If you are lucky enough to live in Wicker Park, Chicago you can hit their actual store front, but for the rest of us we’ll have to shop online. And great news, they’re having a HUGE SALE and all onesies, tees and hoodsies (a onesie with a hood, doncha know!) are $9 clams. YEOWZA! Methinks we’re gonna have some totally groovy arty bebe’s out there after this post!











There are TONS more styles (and they have sizes up to 6-8 for bigger kiddos) so swing by Threadless Kids to check ’em out!

UPDATE: Thanks to our sweet reader Esther who reminded me that Threadless tees run SMALLLLL. I would recommend sizing up just to be safe!

Pretty Little Mobiles

Etsy Love, Widdle Wednesdays

Oh Wednesday, I love you so because it’s time for:

And let’s spend some time in the nursery today, shall we?  What is a nursery without a sweet little mobile for baby to stare up at in wonder? And there are soooo many good ones out there that you can find the perfect one to match your nursery decor.  And did you know that mobiles are good for your baby? Not only can they helplittle ones’ eyes to focus, but it keeps them on their backs, which is believed to help prevent SIDS. See—design can save lives!

So, let’s take a look at some of the mobile marvels out there today!

You just can’t help but love a good modern mobile. It’s a great investment that extends past the toddler years to college and beyond. Especially if it is a gorg as this wooden one of abstract birds from Bookhou.

The Peach is obsessed with kitties. But wouldn’t any baby be if they had this glorious kitty cat mobile made by Modern Kiddo fav klt:works? Nuff said. Actually I have more to say. I love how Kristien (the K of klt:works) uses her sewing machine stitching as cat whiskers. It’s purrfect! (Sorry, I couldn’t help mahself!)

You all are familiar with the wonderful Bla bla plushies like the owl, the mermaid or even the little kitty.  Well, take a gander at this bit of Blabla awesomeness: the Blabla Grand Chicken mobile. This is just so deliciously cozy and yummy and oh, I love it!

It’s just too much. One chicken has a scarf on.  Another a little hat. Hey wait, is that chicken wearing a headscarf? Be still my heart. Would it be wrong to buy this for myself and hang it in my office at work?

Petit collage mobiles are hugely popular especially the owl one. But check out this wonderful folk farm friends mobile by our friends at Petit Collage. I particularly love the Swedish horse.

Let your little ones have dreams of little bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest with this dear bunny mobile. The different grays are just wonderful and add a little bit of the abstract into something so sweet.

That bunny mobile is a Flensted, a Danish brand that has been around for 50 plus years and is considered by many to be the grand dame of mobiles (after Calder, natch!) Check out these popular Flensted mobiles. The fish is a classic that would look great anywhere in your house as well as in the nursery.  I love the chicken one too.  You can purchase these Flensted mobiles at BabyGeared.

I love Plan Toys and was delighted to hear that the company has a great wooden mobile that continues the company’s goal of creating beautiful toys made of  natural, chemical free recycled rubberwood and finished with non-toxic water based dye.  And the primary colors are just the ticket to keep your little one staring up.

Portland artist, Heather Frasier makes these floaty bits of goodness using cut shapes that are strung on clear, sturdy string and hang from a thin, clear acrylic disc so they just float over the baby’s head. You can find these  Heather Frasier mobiles here.

As you know we love Etsy something fierce here at Modern Kiddo—and they didn’t disappoint when I went mobile hunting. Like this great bird mobile that uses real branches for the wee cloth birds to sit on.

Tissue pom pom mobiles are wonderful above the crib. They add this great otherworldly feeling and are a good choice for nervous mamas that don’t like to hang anything remotely heavy over their little one’s cribs.

I love this mod trees mobile.  The Etsy seller, Molly Anne Make also created a matching set of goodies that could extend the cuteness of the mod trees throughout the nursery.

But of course this is the tip of the iceberg for mobiles.  I used a vintage Irmi one and it broke my heart when I found the Peach standing in her crib manhandling the heck out of it. Naughty girl!  Sigh. I still might hang it over her bed because I love it so.