Damian Lidgard is one of those creative people, he is a photographer that calls Halifax, Nova Scotia home. By day Damian is a biologist and so he gets to travel through this beautiful province and sometimes his jobs takes him to places that many of us will never get to see in person.  One of these places is Sable Island, Nova Scotia.  Sable Island is a natural untouched landscape where wild horses roam, seals play, birds dance in the air and the wind can blow through your hair.  Doesn’t this sound like a magnificent place?  To visit, you must obtain permission from the Canadian Coast guard, so as I said before, it’s not everyone that gets to go.

I met with Damian in person and was able to get a good understanding of his photography.  I could see right away the passion he had for his masterpieces.  He spoke of each piece with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.  Each photo, had a story, a memory, a time and a place.  Like all good artists I could see the passion Damian had for all his photos.  Damian takes advantage of the places he gets to go.  He captures a moment rather than trying to create one.

Damian gave me a beautiful picture to review, a simple picture, but it says so much.  A small sparrow on awire on an early winter (nearly spring) morning.  How do I know it’s almost spring?  There is a small droplet of frozen rain on the wire just about to drip off.  Time is captured in this picture.  This is one of my favourite pieces of photography I have seen in a very long time.  So simple, and so beautiful.  The background is a crisp white which contrasts with the dark sparrow and wire.

Damian’s photos are not always your traditional 8×10 or 5×7, he takes the pictures based on what he thinks need to be in the picture.  Once again, he doesn’t create a scene, but rather lets it unfold naturally, and he captures the beauty.  The picture I received was 8×12 including the mat, I loved the panoramic look, but was nervous about finding a frame.  I went to Michael’s and to my surprise, they make frames that size and they were on sale for only $14!  This should be motivation enough to buy a picture that is not your average size. There is also an explanation of time and place on the back of each of Damian‘s photos, so you will always have a little note on the back that says a little something special about the photo.

Damian enjoys photography and he wants everyone to be able to enjoy his photography as well.  Many artists that travel to extravagant places charge astronomical prices for their photography.  Lidgard Photography makes his pieces affordable for everyone.  A framed matted photo for only $20 can really enhance the look in any room.  Damian also gives discounts for purchasing three or more photos.

If you are looking for something larger or perhaps a little more special, Lidgard Photography also creates pieces on canvas which are as big as 20×30 and can go larger, and limited edition work.  Damian showed me two of his limited edition pieces.  The first was of two horses printed on fine art paper that provided a strong textural quality; you can see and feel the thickness of the horses mane. The second was a photo of the ocean and skyline taken at dusk with a slow shutter speed such that the waves blur into one another; once again the texture of the fine art paper brought out the caps in the waves and the horizon.  Both were absolutely amazing.

If you are looking for something a little smaller, Lidgard Photography also has greeting cards.  Heplaces his photography inside the card and creates a border which makes the picture look matted.  The inside of the cards are blank for you to write a personal note to that special someone.  You or your special someone could then frame the card as the photography is already matted and ready to go.  What a special way to send someone a note.  I have never received a Hallmark card that makes it into a frame yet.  I can guarantee your receiver will appreciate and frame your special note.  By the way, the price of the note card is the same as a Hallmark card!

Damian Lidgard is a very talented photographer.  He enjoys his hobby and is very fortunate that his job takes him to places that many of us would like to be able to see in person.  For those of us who can’t, we can still see the beauty of those places through Dimian Lidgard’s Photography.  If you have been to Nova Scotia and want something to remember the beauty of Nova Scotia, Damian’s art will make you remember why you came here, and make you want to come back.

Buy it:

To order Damian Lidgard’s photography, visit his online store, email him at dclidgard@eastlink.ca, or visit him at the Farmers’ Market in Halifax on Saturday mornings.

Giveaway:

Damian Lidgard has offered one of My Wee View readers three photographic greeting cards.  You could frame these cards, or give them to someone special.

To Enter:

Visit Damian Lidgard’s photography and comment here what your favourite photo is.

Other ways to Enter:

- Write a little story about your favourite picture.

- Blog about this giveaway

- Post about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter

- Link My Wee View to your website

- Grab my button.

- Subscribe and/or follow my blog.

Contest ends March 20th 11:59pm PST. Winner will be drawn March 21st.

This is not your ordinary knitted hat from Granny, this is from Granny’s Garden.  Rona is a Granny from Halifax, Nova Scotia and knits these beautiful hats.  All the hats she makes are taken from ideas like strawberries, cupcakes, and even berry pies!  Her creative designs and life like creations even look good enough to eat.

Granny Rona gave us a strawberry hat to test out.  I knew I could expect a few good reactions from people,  but I did not expect the attention we received.  Everyone noticed her hat, moms, dads, kids, even teenagers, everywhere we go people comment on her hat.  Some of the comments are “Oh My, that is a strawberry on her head”, or “that is the cutest thing I have ever seen”.  It is really cute and it looks really good on my baby’s head.

Granny’s Garden doesn’t stop at at just making food hats, she also makes Souwesters, which is a traditional Maritime hat, and aviator hats too.  You can also customize your hat.  I would love the aviator in pink, how cute would that be?  These hats aren’t just for girls, if you look in the custom section on Granny’s Garden website, you can see how talented  Rona is, she makes frogs, bears, even hockey team hats.  Whatever you see on the site, she can make for you in any colour you like. A personalizd hat from Granny.

Like I mentioned before, my mother doesn’t sew or knit, so everything I have for our baby girl is manufactured.  It feels so nice to have her wear something that you know was made by hand and made with love. Rona’s work is exceptional, even the inside of her knitting looks perfessional.  My grandmother who can no longer knit gave it her seal of approval!

The hat that I received from Granny Rona was a little big for our baby, but I just took a safety pin rolled the top and  voila, it fit prefectly.  Rona will exchange any hat you have if it’s too big  or too small, but I just love this hat it so much, I wanted it a bit big so baby would be able to wear it for a long time.

I met with Rona at her house and enjoyed spending time with her going through all her great creations.  She is very friendly and has a very upbeat spunky personality which shines through in each of her beautiful hats. For a grandmother she has a lot of energy and really enjoys her retirement.  She takes pride in her work and you will be getting a quality piece of art from her.

Granny Rona’s creations don’t even stop there, she also makes matching booties, can you imagine the Wicked Witch of the West Hat and booties?  Or a bumblebee? How perfect is that for Halloween?  Keep your kids warm and looking great, what a great idea!

I know I put a lot of pictures in this post, but I just really want everyone to see how diverse and creative these hats and booties are.  If you have something you would like and don’t see it on Granny’s Garden website, contact Rona.  I’m sure she will be able to whip something up for you.

Buy it:

If you want something extra special for your little one, or big one, get a hat from Granny’s Garden, you wont  be disapointed. Check out Granny’s Garden on the internet, shes got a great website which really shows how spectacular her work is.

Granny’s Garden is at the farmers market in Halifax every Saturday morning, please visit her!  She will also ship her items to Canada and the US for only $3.00!

Giveaway:

Granny’s Garden has offered one of My Wee View readers one of her hats from her collection.

To Enter:

Visit Granny’s Garden and write a comment on which hat you would pick if you won.

Other Entries:

-  If you have purchased something from Granny’s Garden, write your own review

- Blog about this giveaway

- Post about this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter

- Link My Wee View to your website

- Grab my button.

- Subscribe and/or follow my blog.

Contest closes March 17th at 11:59 Pm PST.  Winner will be drawn on March 18th.

Giveaway is closed, but please write a review for Baby Inbetween Onesie extenders if you have some!

If you only buy one thing reviewed on this site, buy the Baby Inbewteen Onesie Extender, but don’t just buy one, buy two! The Onesie extender is just about the greatest invention out there! It extends the life of your babies clothes, and we all know how quick babies grow out of their clothes.

The Onesie Extender is about 3 inches of material that snaps onto your current onesie to make it bigger. I noticed on my little girl, that she could no longer wear many of her onesies because she was getting too long, not because her arms were too long or her head was too big! Thankfully, I have been able to take out some of her beautiful onesies again and they fit. I’m so happy to see her in her cutest outfits. I especially like to see her in some of those onesies that are from designer stores that I probably spent too much money on! for just $6, she can wear them a few more months.

This is also good for getting use out of those seasonal clothes. Did you ever notice that as gifts you receive short sleeve onesies in the winter and long sleeve ones in the summer? Once the summer or winter comes rolling around, your baby is too big to fit into the onesie, well the onesie extender comes to the rescue and your baby will fit into that onesie during the right time of year.

I cloth diaper my baby which makes her tushie a little bit larger than a baby wearing disposables, so although my baby is only 5 months old, she has been wearing 6 – 9 month onesies for over a month already. With the Onesie Extender, I have been able to pull out the 3 – 6 month onesies and even some 0 – 3 month ones! It feels great to get good use out of her clothes!

The package includes 3 Onesie Extenders, all with different sized snaps which will accommodate MOST onesies. I have one onesie that has plastic snaps which did not work with the Onesie Extender. I also have a onesie that has only 2 snaps, the onesie extender worked on this one fine, it just looks a little lobsided with some extra material on one side. I took a random sample of 20 onesies and I was able to extend 16 of them perfectly. The other 4 almost fit the snaps, but weren’t quite tight enough and would easily unsnap with little movement. But 80% is really good considering I was unable to use any before the Onesie Extender!

These are super easy to wash, just leave them clipped on to one of the onesies and throw it in the wash. It comes out clean and ready to go again.

These would make a GREAT gift for a baby shower, because you are not giving just one onesie, but you are giving the gift of extending the life of all the babies onesies! I will be giving these out at showers.

To order go to www.babyinbetweens.com. Carrie and her Aunt make these Onesie Extenders themselves and are located in Sackville, Nova Scotia. She will ship out your package quickly for only $3.50 and you will be very happy with the package you receive in the mail. The packaging and business card are very professional. If you live in Nova Scotia, you can pick up the Onesie Extender at Bump, Baby & Beyond, in Bedford Commons, or On The Grow, in Bayers Lake.

Giveaway:

Carrie from Baby Inbewteen has offered a free package of Onesie Extenders to one of our readers!

To Enter:

Visit http://babyinbetweens.com and post a comment about what colours you would like.

Other ways to enter:

Write your own review on the Onesie extender in the comment section.

Blog about My Wee View & Baby Inbetween Onesie Extenders, come back to My Wee View and comment about your blog. 5 Entries

Make a post on Facebook about My Wee View & Baby Inbetween Onesie Extender, come back to My Wee View and comment about your post.

Make a link on your website to My Wee View, come back to My Moms view and comment about your link. 5 Entires

Make a post about My Wee View on any website you visit, come back to My Wee View and comment about your post.

Subscribe and/or follow my blog. 2 Entries

Contest closes March 6th at 11:59 Pm PST.  Winner will be drawn on March 7th.

Giveaway is closed, but please write a review for Super Duper Diapers in the comments if you have purchased items from them!

Before I write a reaview on the wetbag, I would love to make an overall comment on Super Duper Diapers.  If you are planning on using cloth diapers for your baby and are overwhelmed by all the lingo – prefolds, wraps, All in ones, bucket, washing, Malou at Super Duper Diapers will make everything easy for you.  You can order a whole entire kit with everything included.  Leave out the guess work, she even explains how to store and wash everything.  If you live in the Halifax area she will walk you through everything in person as well.  This one kit should be all the diapers you need for your baby from birth to potty trainning.  If a whole kit seems like too much, you can also order individual diapers as well in bamboo, cloth, over nights, or for swimming.  If you are planning on cloth diapering your baby, look no further, Super Duper Diapers will make it a breeze!

Now on to the review….

Let me start this review by saying “I use this wetbag as my diaper bag I love it so much and it is so roomy.”

The diaper bag I originally bought and used was so huge it wouldn’t fit in the pouch under my stroller, and I have a BIG stroller.  When I received my wetbag from Malou at Super Duper Diapers, I thought this could be a very good alternative to my huge diaper bag.

The wetbag is made out of a waterproof material but the outside is a very stylish green, so it doesn’t look like plastic.  The bag is big enough to fit a few cloth diapers and cream and wipes and even a receiving blanket.  But it’s not so huge that it is hard to carry around.  It fits perfectly under my stroller with room to spare for my shopping bags!  There is also a little clip on the outside of the bag that you can use to tie your bag on to whatever you may like to.  It could be used to clip onto your stroller handle.  It is very sturdy and does not look like it would break.

The wetbag works great for its original purpose as well.  Dirty diapers are tucked away securely in a waterproof bag, and it does not leak.  The nice green colour is also great for my husband to carry around without feeling too feminine.  The best part is, it is less than $10 to purchase.  This is a GREAT price for such a great product!  Shipping is also free, you can’t get better than that.

Malou is a great business woman, just starting out herself.  She uses all these products, and is located in Nova Scotia.  I met Malou at her house.  If you are in the Halifax area, she will give you a great demonstration of all her products and you will leave feeling very confident.  She is also bilingual so she can give a demonstration in French as well.

Overall, I am very pleased with my new “diaper bag”, but if you have a REAL diaper bag and would like me to review it, please send it my way.

Please make sure to view my other reviews for Super Duper Diapers

Bamboo Diaper

Cloth Diaper

Diaper Cover

Giveaway:

Malou of Super Duper Diapers is going to give one of our lucky readers a wet diaper bag of their choice.

To Enter:

Visit SuperDuperDiapers.com and tell me what products you would like to try out.

There are 6 other ways to enter.

1. Write your own review for Super Duper Diapers in the comment section.

2. Blog about My Wee View & Super Duper Diapers, come back to My Wee View and comment about your blog.

3. Make a post on Facebook about My Wee View & Super Duper Diapers, come back to My Wee View and comment about your post.

4. Make a link on your website to My Wee View, come back to My Moms view and comment about your link.

5. Make a post about My Wee View on any website you visit, come back to My Wee View and comment about your post.

6.  Subscribe to my blog

That’s right 7 enteries per person

Please make sure to include your email address in your post so I can contact you if you win.  I will be using Random.org to pick a winner on February 24th.

This diaper wrap from Super Duper Diapers is very smart.  It grows with your baby.   It does not have velcro, so it doesn’t bunch up around the legs and the tummy.  It has snaps!  There are 2 sizes of snaps around the legs and the tummy so as your baby gets bigger, you can make the wrap bigger too.

The wrap fits very snugly around babies legs and tummy.  Many other wraps are not tight around waist and so when baby pees, it leaks along the top of the diaper leaving your baby wet around the waist.  This diaper cover fits so well around the waist.  The diaper is not exposed at all so there is not place for moisture to escape and leave your baby wet.

Another great thing about this wrap, is that there is a little place for air to get through, so you are not left with a soaked diaper.  Along the sides, between the legs snaps and the waist snaps, there is a little gap where air can get in.  The diaper is still fully covered, so no leaks can get out, but there is space to let air in to dry the diaper a little bit.

My husband finds the wrap fits a little too sung around the waist as there is a little elastic ring left around baby’s belly after each use.  The same happens with all of her diapers (even disposables) around her legs and stomach.  I think because the elastics are thin (which makes them fit so well) also makes the indents in her tummy look worse.  I’m not too worried about it!  The main part is, shes dry.  I think she would be more upset with wet clothes than a few little indents!

The great thing about these wraps is that you only need a few.  You can use the same wrap a few times with diaper changes.   There is also no cloth on this diaper cover.  On some other diaper covers I have there is a little bit of cloth along the legs, and if baby explodes through the side it leaves the diaper cover a little yellow even after washing.  If any poop makes its way to this Super duper diaper cover, it will ALL clean out because there is no cloth for the stain to stick to.

When washing these diapers, just throw them in a load with clothes, and to make sure they stay waterproof, do not put them in the drier!  I have to admit, sometimes I forget to take them out and stick them in the drier, but they are still just as waterproof as the day I received them.  I suppose over time it could make a difference.  But once in a while it should be okay.

These wraps are about the same price as those commercial brands, but they are made in Canada and keep baby drier.  If you are looking to be an eco-friendly parent and cloth diaper your baby, please contact Malou at Super Duper Diapers.  She will help with any questions you may have and make cloth diapering a breeze.  Remember shipping is free.

Remember to go here to enter the contest for the free wetbag.

Thanks for everything Malou, your products are great!

www.superduperdiapers.com

If you have used these wraps, please write your own review in the comment section.

This is the first bamboo diaper I have ever used.  I had heard a lot of great things from other moms about Bamboo diapers, so I was very glad to be able to receive one for myself to try it out.

Upon first receiving the bamboo diaper from Malou at Super Duper Diapers, I noticed how thin it was, even including the insert.  How could something so thin keep my baby dry?  Sure enough, last night I put the diaper on my 4 month old, with only 1 insert. This morning I could not believe my eyes (or hands) my baby’s bottom and jammies were dry as can be.  Not even a little tiny bit of dampness, she was completely dry.  I specifically save this diaper to use it over night now.

The great thing about the diaper being thin, is that my baby can wear jeans and other bottoms without her bum looking super big.  In this diaper she can wear clothes her size 3 – 6 months.  In some other diapers, she is already in 9 month old pants!

Another thing I noticed when I first receive the diaper from Malou is the clever design and velcro so the diaper can fit babies as small as 8 pounds, but up to 32 pounds.  I didn’t see how this could be, but when Malou showed me herself how to use the diaper, I thought WOW this is genius, and it would fit a very small and a very big baby.

There are 3 different rows of velcro, the smallest size is simply putting the two velcro ends together, and folding the remainder over top.  For a Medium fit, put the velcro tabs along the 1st row of velcro and fold the remainder down.  For Large, put the velcro tabs on the top layer.  (In these pictures, I folded the extra faric behind so you can see the velcro)

When my husband first put the diaper on, he was a little confused, he thought the diaper was going to be way too big!  Once I showed him how small the diaper could get, he realized that our girl already had to be on the 1st row of velcro.  She is 14 pounds right now, we have to fold down the excess cloth over the top row of velcro, but this also acts as another layer to soak up the moisture.

This diaper does need a wrap over top.  It is not very much more work to put a wrap on top.  True cloth diapers can last longer than All In Ones (AIO) because when washed, there is no outer waterproof layer that slowly loses its ability to keep moisture in over time.  Also, when washed true cloth diapers do become cleaner as the water and soap can clean the diaper on both sides, where AIO have one side that is waterproof so water only cleans one side.

This diaper did shrink in the wash, I contacted Malou to see if this was normal, and she assured me it was.  The diaper still fits my little girl just fine (maybe even better around the legs now).  We have had no poop leaks out the sides or the back, everything stays inside!

Although the initial price of these diapers seems steep, you would only need to make one investment for as many children as you have.  Most babies that are using cloth diaper potty train easier as well, so the 32 pound limit should be fine!

Bamboo makes for a great diaper and it is super soft on babies bum.  These diapers will be a great investment for you and for baby!

Contact Malou, in French or English to purchase these diapers.  You can purchase each one individually or you can order a package, with diapers, covers, swimmers and a wetbag.  A great way to save some money.  Also Shipping is free – you can’t beat that!

Superduperdiapers.com to purchase.

Remember, Malou is giving away a wetbag to one of our readers, please click here to enter.

If you have used these bamboo diapers, please make your own review in the comment section!