LazerBaby | Baby and Toddler Vintage

baby sleep and baby teeth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:05:00 +0000

Ivy and I had a bit of a rough morning. She didn't want to follow her usual morning nap routine and got very cranky. I finally got her to nap by 1pm and we had to abandon our plans to go to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) to see the Picasso show. I had lovely visions of Ivy napping in the stroller while I sipped an Americano in the cafe on the 5th floor contemporary gallery, looking out over Grange Park and downtown. Phooey. A clingy, crying baby is SO EXHAUSTING! My brain and eyes are sore and my head is feeling the approaching thunder storm. I'm hoping the skies open up tonight and Joe and I will sit on the front porch with some wine and watch the rain.

(The pillowcase in the photo above features a print of Toronto's CN Tower breaking apart by my friend Jennifer Castle.)

I came across this image today on Pinterest of a child's skull with both the baby and adult sets of teeth. Just looking at those humungo teeth hovering up in the jaw brings me back to the pain of my wisdom teeth trying to grow horizontally in my jaw. I would dream of teeth all night long and have a painful, clenched jaw when I woke up.

Ivy's bottom teeth poked through when she was about 8 weeks ago. The drool-fest hasn't started again yet to signal the impending arrival of her two top front teeth.

bye 4 now

drooling over these ssssssuculent succulents

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2012 02:04:00 +0000

I spied this photo on Pinterest tonight. Can you believe how big these succulents are? I love how sculptural they are, their weightiness. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Then again, living in Canada our succulents die off in the fall and regrow every spring, so they stay fairly small. It didn't occur to me that they could keep growing endlessly! Gorgeous!

This photo is from the website of a succulent farm in California called Succulent Gardens. They grow over 400 varieties of succulents!

Succulent Gardens sells these succulent wall hanging kits for DIRT CHEAP. For a 12x12 kit that comes with the frame and over 100 cuttings, it's only $106. Whaaaat? Crazy cheap, eh? I have to do my research about how well these bad boys will overwinter inside the house.

Here's a gorgeous succulent wall selling on Etsy for $500

This next one is a little weirdo...

Succulent dog made by floral artist Holly Vesecky for the grand re-opening gala for Los Angeles County's Natural History Museum's Beaux Arts Building.

bye for now...

losing my sh*t over these ceramics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:58:00 +0000

I've been making/learning/doing ceramics for the past couple of years at Central Tech high school's adult night program. The school has an amazing ceramics studio with a huge and wicked high fire gas-powered kiln and great 70s glazes. The classes are more like a 3-hour open studio. Amazing for me because I love to tune out and work with my hands.

I have only been hand-building up until recently. If you don't know ceramics, you either work on a wheel or you don't, and when you're not using a pottery wheel that's called hand-building. I've literally got boxes of hand-built ceramics I've made, a lot of it OK and some of it I really like. I'm making a vow right now to post some photos of my ceramic work this week!

I've dedicated the 9-week session I'm currently doing to learning how to throw on the wheel. Damn, is it challenging. But, I love how messy it can be (think the scene from Ghost) and how much concentration it requires. No idle chit chat with the other students (who almost all happen to be 70 year old ladies!). I've decided to let go and not focus on producing actual work and just concentrate on technique and learning. I find the physicality of throwing and the intense concentration required to be very relaxing in a way, especially after a baby-oriented day.

Back to the topic of this post. (I sure as heck am not losing my sh*t over my own ceramics. haha)

Tonight I stumbled upon the Vitrified Studios shop on Etsy. WOWZERS. I am in love. Such simple shapes, contrast between flat and glossy surfaces and beautiful repetition.

Nesting tray set made from black clay. The exterior is unglazed and the interior has a glossy black glaze.
These would look great with succulent arrangements.

black clay jars with cork stoppers.

Porcelein jars, again with the mix of flat and glossy glazes.

This series is beautiful. The mix of dark clay and glossy white interior is blowing my mind.

Bye for now. I'm going to go in a corner to pout because I am so jealous.

Poop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:18:00 +0000

So, I'm sure you're wondering about the title of this post. I had a post about my trip to the Aberfoyle Antique market yesterday (and my first full day away from Ivy...) but I saw this print of a little ice cream cone pooping in the I Love Doodle shop on Etsy.

(... i should probably add that I just downed a big glass of wine on an empty stomach while watching a very emotional episode of Coronation Street...)

Everybody Poops print from I Love Doodle shop.

As anyone that spends a lot of time with babies knows, poop is a constant topic of conversation. Well... perhaps for some people with babies it isn't, but in my house it is... (as with a lot of scatological humor)...This may be too much information (tmi) for some, or relatable for others, but Joe and I often let each other know the details of Ivy's poop. You can tell a lot about the wellbeing of a baby (or anyone, for that matter) by the look of their poop!

When Ivy was first born, I had some breastfeeding issues/milk supply issues, so our midwives were paying close attention to Ivy's pee and poop output. We were filling out a little chart, detailing her little black tar poops. Then, for a few days, no poop! Our midwives were worried, and of course, so were we. We checked each dirty diaper with anticipation, crossing out finger we'd find some poop. A few days passed and we were so worried. And then she finally pooped! While Joe and I were sitting on the couch together, staring and cooing at wee little Ivy, she pooped all over us!

I am elated that Ivy finally pooped!

Joe is also very excited. Yeah for Ivy!

Why am I telling you this...? Oh yeah, so after seeing that cute little ice cream cone pooping, and downing a big glass of wine on an empty stomach, and thinking about Ivy's poops, I decided to searched "poop" on Etsy and found this:

Unicorn poop

A balloon dog pooping

A crochet pattern for a big poop

Rainbow poop charms

I am a little confused by this one. Someone is selling a Coprolite pendant
and apparently coprelite is agatized dinosaur poop?

Gotta run. Dill pickle chips are calling my name...

wondering what my kid will look like....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:38:00 +0000

When I was pregnant I think a part of me was so nervous about everything being okay with Ivy that I didn't really picture what she would look like. I remember showing my mom my 20 week ultrasound and her first reaction was that she had my nose. Looking at Ivy's side profile in that ultrasound pic now I totally see how she looks so much like me.

Now I spend so much time staring at Ivy, wondering what she's going to look like. Like most babies, she was born looking like her dad (nature's way of preventing dad's from rejecting their young?), and now I feel like she's really morphing into a little mini-me.

When I first saw this little American Apparel model, I immediately thought this little lady was Ivy's doppelganger. What do you think?

American Apparel kiddo

I am constantly looking at toddlers and trying to picture Ivy running around, talking, playing with other kids. Snot running down her face, drooling, stomping on adult's feet... toddlers are so punk rock... doing it their way. I love it.

Here are some other toddler models that I find hilarious.

Vintage shorts by Oh Sydney

Floral dress form Salvage House

Cute ketchup and mustard top from Salvage House

Dress from Little Vintage Me

No Kidding summer collection

Another outfit from the No Kidding summer collection

Ivy's hand-me-down and handmade nursery tour

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:17:00 +0000

My dad made our crib! So talented...

Three generations... photos of my nana, my mom and me as little girls.
The mocassins on the right were made for Ivy by my friend Allison and the little white mocassins were my sis-in-law Julie's when she was a baby.

Ivy adores this geometric mobile from Artecnica.

She also loves this fisher-price wind-up musical TV.

This dresser was in my room when I was a kid.

This activity centre thing was in Joe's crib when he was a wee babe.

I started collecting these big-eyes kid pictures when I was a teenager and I have a huge collection of them.

I love these ones because I like to think they look like Joe and I.

This rocker belonged to my Papa, who died about 10 years ago. It was the chair he sat in every night. I recovered the cushions with fabric I found at Ikea. This rocker is the perfect breastfeeding chair. The quilt over the back was made for Ivy by my Nana.

Ikea wall-mounted spice rack as front-facing bookshelves. The dog and cat embroidery was made by my mom and hung in my room as a kid. My dad made the frame.

I went to a huge kids garage sale last weekend and found this awesome dinosaur dress. I can't decide whether to keep it for Ivy or sell it in the shop.

I also bought these barrettes. Now Ivy just has to grow some hair!

Found these little rain boots too.

My nana's friend gave us this kiddie set of two chairs and a table. Awesome, eh?

SLEEP!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:56:00 +0000

I have never felt so consistently tired in MY LIFE than I have in the past week.

Ivy has decided to completely abandon her well established and amazing sleep routine of sleeping 5-7 hours straight each night (for a few months it was even 8 straight hours). For the past two weeks or so she has been waking up EVERY HOUR!!!

I haven't made a post for days because my brain has been sleeping while my body has been walking around like a zombie. My limbs hurt, and so do the back of my eyes.

But she always wakes up with a huge smile, and then beams all day long. Oh Ivy....

I put up some new listings today...

Boys collarless denim shirt
4-5T

Red and white gingham dress
1-2T

Handmade royal blue cardigan sweater with plaid buttons
6-12 months

80s swimsuit
12-24 months

BABY LEGGINGS! (and shop update)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:31:00 +0000

Baby leggings are where it's at. I like these ones--->

Hand printed leggings from Thief and Bandit

Hand printed gold ink on rust colour leggings, from Thief and Bandit

Snake Pyramid leggings from Thief and Bandit

Peace sign leggings from Topshop Mini

"Aztec" leggings from Topshp mini

Why not make your own baby leggings! You can use t-shirts you already have, or you can go to a thrift store and find a shirt with a fun, interesting print. Actually, any stretchy fabric will do. I'm definitely going to make a few pairs of plain old black leggings for Ivy, because while black leggings for women are a dime a dozen, they're hard to find for babies.

Here's a fabulous, very easy to follow, DIY baby legging tutorial from the blog Make it and Love it.

LAZERBABY SHOP UPDATE:

Kiddie fanny pack

Geometric safari shirt for toddler

Tropical tank/crop top

Japanese baby sweater with embroidered fish with neon eyes

Sailor outfit

body politics: pregnancy weight gain and postpartum recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Hi friends,

Tomorrow Ivy will be 7 months old! Yeah Ivy!

Ivy modelling this psychedelic romper this morning

Ivy modelling this corduroy romper

It was a slow journey, but my body is starting to feel like it's back to normal... I'm about the same weight, all my pre-pregnancy clothes fit and I no longer feel like my internal organs are floating randomly around in my torso. They are back to their original locations.

However, I am surprised at how little I basked in the glory of being able to do up my jeans again after months of pure leggings wearing, at how quickly my internal dialogue reverted right back to my pre-pregnancy mindset of wanting to just lose 5 pounds. Arghh! I spent what felt like 5 minutes feeling relieved and excited that my body was returning to normal before I went right back to being dissatisfied.

Despite gaining more than the recommended weight during my pregnancy, I was able to resist the pressure from others to obsess over my weight gain. I felt great and I loved my pregnant body. During my pregnancy and after Ivy was born I would look at photos of my pre-pregnancy self and curse myself for not appreciating my body. I swore to myself that I would not let my self-image get so distorted again.

I thought maybe I had turned a corner in my life and was over the whole body hate thing.

me at 35 weeks

38 weeks preggo

And of course, I have no photos of myself. I have no time, or interest, in taking photos of myself when Ivy's around.

bye for now...

LazerBaby shop update: from the nautical to the psychedelic

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:48:00 +0000

Neon crocheted afghan

Vintage mint green quilt with bears

Yellow crocheted cardigan
3-6 months

Button up wool sweater
2-3T

Hot pink cherries printed bathing suit
6-12 months

Nautical onesie
0-3 months

Psychedelic baby romper
6 months

Koala print romper
6-18 months

My friend Amy is about to come over to babysit while Joe and I go out for TACOS and beers... wooo!!

Happy weekend to all!

"to touch is to learn"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:51:00 +0000

I discovered Couchy via Kidlolly.com, a kid-themed Pinterest-like website.

Although the website is very vague, it seems like Couchy is a design project with the goal of providing kids with soft, playful and wacky furniture to flop on and interact with. Their creations are made with different textures and shapes to inspire creative play and exploration. So fun and unlike anything I've ever seen.

"What one understands with the body can be deeply understood with the mind, leading to the extension of that understanding into the imagined and the visualized. Thus, creativity and freedom can be rooted in a three dimensional, gravitational, rhythmic understanding of our world." from the Couchy Empire Manifesto

Shelter 1, A.K.A. Frank

Otto-men 4, A.K.A. Cloudy Forest Day

Otto-men 2, A.K.A Nubsy

Roule, The Series

photo from the Couchy blog

amazing and kind of dirty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:06:00 +0000

I took Ivy on the subway for the first time yesterday. It's taken me almost 7 months because it is next to impossible to take a stroller on the subway without help. There are so few elevators, and of course the one closest to our house doesn't have one. I plopped her in the carrier and off we went to the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics.

I love contemporary ceramics and the Greg Payce show didn't disappoint. I took a guided tour of the show, it was the super cute 60ish year old woman guide, a 60ish unkempt man and Ivy and I. I breastfed through most of the tour while the guide used many euphemisms for the words "penis" and "erection" to describe Payce's work below. It was pretty funny!

bye for now...

Some nice songs and new listings.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:43:00 +0000

I am sitting in my dark house, working on getting some new listings up in my shop with iTunes on shuffle and Wilco's On and On and On came on... and I remembered this amazing video made by high school students I saw back in the summer that uses a mix of old family videos and hand drawn animation. I think it's beautiful.

Then Cass McCombs song County Line came on. I'm a total sucker for that sad, nostalgic, rhythm.

Oh yeah, and I put up some new pieces up on my shop today.

Pink frilly and floral romper with little bows on the pockets.
0-4 months

Another pink romper, with a cute/weird print
6-12 months

Minty green hand crocheted sweater with hood
0-3 months

Knit overalls with embroidered duck riding a scooter
6-12 months

Weirdo pot holders

Bye for now

Pint-sized vintage chairs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Hi friends,

I disappeared from the Interweb for the past few days. I took a much needed holiday from the Internet (although I admit I cheated a few times to check my email). Between opening the Etsy shop, this blog and other social media, I've been feeling overloaded, overwhelmed and my mind has been spinning too fast. I wanted to concentrate on my family this weekend... and eating and relaxing to the max... and eating. I had two big family dinners and stuffed myself silly and now I feel pretty gross. I went from sugar free (mostly) for Jan-Feb to just stuffing my face with cadbury mini-eggs non stop. For the past few months I've been smelling mini-eggs being made at the cadbury factory I walk past on my daily walks with Ivy around my neighbourhood and it's been driving me bonkers... It took all my willpower to resist buying minieggs or a creme egg every afternoon. I think I are enough mini-eggs for a year.

Anyhoo...

A lot of my Internet time last week was spent cruising around Etsy. It actually blows my mind how much great vintage there is on Etsy.

Here are some fabulous vintage kiddie chairs I've spied. They are from this Etsy treasurey list I made. Which one do you like the best?

I love the poppy red colour of this one.

These chairs are my fave. I love the minimal design and open space in the back of the chair. The curved edge on the front of the chair (looks sort of like a bum!) is a nice touch.

The following chairs are from an French website called Edmond that sells vintage furniture, among other things. They have an unbelieably beautiful collection of pint-sized chairs for kids. I love all of them, but I especially love the last three rattan chairs.

Bye for now...

Dino sweater, sailor outfit and more... another shop update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:46:00 +0000

neon dino sweater
2-3 years

little Oshkosh puffy short overalls
3-6 months

you may remember this pic. Ivy's crazy surprise face.

handmade red sweater with white hearts
2-3 years

Sailor outfit
3-6 months

LazerBaby Shop update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Just a quick post. I've added a new item to the shop, and hope to add a handful more items later this afternoon. I would looooove to have this sweater. It's made from a soft wool, so it's cozy, but the colour is bright and cheery for the spring. The checkered pattern along the waist is awesome.

Teal boat neck sweater for a 2 year old...

Bye for now...

Another LazerBaby photo sesh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +0000

I'll be listing a whole bunch of new pieces in the LazerBaby shop in the next few days.

Mini Rodini - wicked clothes and insanely hip kiddie models

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Check out these wicked poses.

At first glace this sweater looks like it has stripes, but the dark blue stripes are frills

Heart overalls

Dark denim baby jeans... I love a baby in black

Zebra striped dress. This model looks so much like my friend Chloe, of Seripop fame (who has a wicked new blog called Scroungy Glamour)

Mustard colour slim cords

Short-sleeve onesie with matching hat

more vintage treasurez from yesterday's hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:25:00 +0000

TGIF, baby!!!

bye for now...

I (heart) hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:25:00 +0000

Phew! The babe is finally napping. We're both tired after a sleepless night. Ivy was sleeping in our bed, tossing and turning... (well, not exactly turning as she isn't flipping over yet) Every time I opened my eyes she was wide awake staring at me.

What was I thinking with this crazy outfit? At least the plum stains on her pants match her onesie.

Today I found two handmade beauties today, this cute little sweater and this little summer shirt:

These finds inspired me to make my first treasury list on Etsy, called I (heart) Hearts. Here are some of the pieces I included. I would wear all of these things if they came in adult sizes... especially the puffy sleeved 80s/early 90s sweaters. Come to think of it, I had a white unicorn and heart puffy sleeved sweater in my adult years...

From Funkoma Vintage

From Little Wooden Hangers

From Sweetshop Vintage

From Gnarly Numeggers

from Beehive Babies

From Pirates B00ty

Call Me Anytime vintage shop

Bye for now...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 01:37:00 +0000

This is going to be a quick post, I'm busy making baby food. Mmmm.... sweet potato and red lentils.

Oh yeah, and I added two more pieces to my Etsy shop.

Blue and white sneakers

Handmade in Portugal for a 3 year old. Check out the beautiful embroidery

I also made my first sale, this cute tumbling bear t-shirt dress, within an hour or so of opening.

The LazerBaby Vintage Etsy shop is officially OPEN!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:54:00 +0000

Hi friends!

The LazerBaby Vintage shop is now open! I have 15 items up, with many more to come.

Here is a sneak peak at a few pieces:

(with my 6 month old babe modelling)

How can anyone resist this nautical-inspired summer romper. ADORABLE!
4-12 months

Another nautical/sailor themed piece.
0-3 months

Adorable red and white gingham dress with ruffled capped sleeves.
6-12 months

Tiger sweatshirt!
18 months - 2 years

80s motocycle-style jean jacket with winged sleeves and lace and ribbon details.
Look at that popped collar. So badass!
18 months

Take a look at my Etsy shop for more pieces. I'll let you know when I add more pieces, which I'm hoping will be in the next week. I've got more summer stuff, including a very awesome 80s swimsuit for a toddler wee girly and a few nautical rompers.

Life is awesome.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:34:00 +0000

My Etsy store will be open later today!

Yeehaw!

Adorable! Vintage animal-themed and NKOTB sweaters.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:31:00 +0000

I officially can no longer write posts while breastfeeding since Ivy bit me a few days ago... drawing blood. Yes, her newly sprouted bottom teeth are mighty sharp. I was talking to my mom on the phone and I think Ivy may have been upset/bored/irritated because I wasn't focussing on her, as I should be when nursing. She bit me again the next day. I'm hoping that cutting out the multitasking will prevent the biting from becoming a regular habit.

Has anyone else dealt with your bebe biting while nursing?

Anyways.... Here are some uber-cute animal-themed vintage sweaters I thought would be fun to share...

This is one I bought form my neighbourhood friend, Morgan, at a garage sale last summer. Morgan's mom had given her a whole bunch of clothes Morgan wore as a kid, and I bought a bunch of pieces from her, and after the garage sale Morgan dropped off everything she didn't sell to me. What an awesome lady! Now I run into her in the neughbourhood with Ivy wearing her childhood clothes.

Hunting dog sweater from Rose Goldaline Vintage

A horsey sweater from Cut and So vintage

From Tangerine Boutique

Snoopy sweater from Puppy Love Vintage

From Corner Mouse House

I couldn't help but include these awesome homemade NKTOB sweaters, as seen on the Craft Magazine blog.

I've changed my baby... and mama activism

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Hi friends,

I stopped by Mercer Union gallery to see Jill Miller's Milk Truck yesterday. You can read more on the Milk Truck website. In short, it's a breast feeding advocacy project where you can call the truck if you need a safe/comfortable/supportive space to breastfeed if you are somewhere where you need to feed your baby where breastfeeding isn't welcomed as it should be. The truck will show up and the restaurant or store that is making you feel unwelcome or harassing you for breastfeeding will be shamed by the presence of the Milk Truck with its huge, blinking boobie! Too bad there's only one truck and it's in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there when the truck was actually open for use inside. I really wanted to breastfeed Ivy in the truck. :(

The Milk Truck parked on Bloor Street

While reading about the Milk Truck yesterday I came across another humourous project drawing attention to difficulties of being out in the world with a baby. The project is a series of photos called "I've Changed My Baby..." that document the wide variety of places this mother has had to change her baby, from inconvenient places, like her lap in a tiny washroom staff, to various washroom floors. Argh! She (I can't seem to find her name anywhere on her blog) is an advocate for clean, convenient places to change diapers in public washrooms. Here are some photos from this project. Please visit her blog to read her hilarious captions that accompany her photos.

the floor of a bakery washroom

This one really irks me! The washroom of a medical centre doesn't have a change table! I've also experienced this.

In a subway station