Showcasing Local - Alimrose

With the arrival of her little sister imminent, I wanted to find something special for Bug to be a gift for her from the new baby.  Ideally it would be something beautiful, something timeless, a keepsake, a treasure, but also something age appropriate (she'll be 19mnths if Bebe is on time), something she can play with and enjoy.  I didn't have to look far.

I've brought gifts from Alimrose before. The dolls are beautiful, unique and well made. I have a select few go-to sources for new baby gifts and Alimrose squeakers are one of the chosen few.  I love that the range includes Princesses, Poppets, Pirates and Super heroes. 

The brainchild of  of two mums who couldn't find dolls to suit the needs of their minis, Alimrose aims have changed over time but they are still giving back to NSW children's hospitals, Bear Cottage children's hospice and save the children (read more here).  You'd be hard pressed to find a product with more love bundled up into it that that!

Facts and Figures

Starting at $13.95 for bibs, to $59.95 for a large rag doll, with something to suit every budget in between. 

Not available to purchase on the Alimrose website, but there is a large list of stockists here. I have used both Button Baby and Birdsnest to buy products.

Appropriate for all minis, newborn and up.  All the dolls I've brought have stitched eyes and are very well finished with no loose threads or ribbons, but of course one should never leave mini-minis playing alone, or sleeping, with any toys.

Some of the above Images are from Alimrose, please give credit where credits due and link back where possible. Thanks

Painting Play

The warm days are slowly fading, as is Bugs time as our one and only. To take advantage of both I decided to play about with some home made paint. I used this recipe from Learn Play Imagine, which uses flour, dish washing liquid and food colouring.

I liked that it's 'toodler made'. And Bug had fun squishing the bag, although I think I should of given it a good squish after because it was a bit lumpy.  Bug didn't seem to mind though, the texture was thick and gloppy which is pretty appealing for eighteen month old. 

We used blue and red food colours, but I decided to use turmeric for the yellow, just to experiment with natural dye options. It worked quite well and makes a lovely yellow speckled subtly with rusty orange.  I'll have to do some more natural colour experiments soon. 

Arg! Little toes, always so cute! 

With the dish washing liquid as a main ingredient cleanup was easy and fun (bubbles). I think Bug may have preferred the cleaning up part more than the painting part but whatever keeps them happy right? 

This is a close-up of our finished work a few weeks later, I love that retains it's texture when dry.

Facts and figures:

While its homemade, the dish-washing liquid makes it uneatable (although non toxic if they do sample a bit) so this is definitely a toddler recipe and not for babies.

Can be whipped up in less than 5mins and costs next to nothing. 

Clean up is quick and easy and just as fun as the painting. We got a 2 lukewarm buckets of water, and under her painting smock Bug was just in a nappy and singlet so she could get as wet as she wanted. Once she'd given everything a good rinse in the first bucket we washed them again in the second bucket, then I checked all our brushes and plastic plates to make sure all the paint was off, I let everything dry before packing away for future painting use. There is a warning on 'Learn Play Imagine' not to put the paint dishes straight into the dishwasher as you may get bubble overload.

I didn't keep the paint but Allison says that if kept in an airtight container it should keep for a couple of weeks. 

We found a great set of painting sponges and rollers from spotlight.  Don't restrict yourself to just paintbrushes - sponges, corks, even leaves can make fun and interesting alternatives for spreading paint about. 

 

Have fun!

 

*K*

Getting our Art On at McClelland Gallery

When I first moved to Melbourne I got a job at the Cafe at the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park in Langwarrin. As a uni major in Art history and anthropology it was both a beautiful and inspiring place to work. 
 

Funnily enough Bug and I visit the Gallery now far more than I ever went before my mini mite came along. taking Bug gives me a completely different appreciation for the sculpture park. She loves the colours and reflective services of many of the sculptures, that I previously may have barely considered. 

She can interact with a lot of them too, walking around them, touching the surfaces and feeling the different textures.  This week the abstract Red Yellow and Black, 2002, Peter D Cole, (above), and the flock of silver sheep (below) (Sheep Miracle, 2005, Yvonne Kendall) were particular favourites of hers.

Whereas I have a soft spot for the white stone balls (which I didn't get the details for, oh dear! shocking for an arts graduate!!). When the girls are older I imagine them having a ball (haha) playing throughout this brilliantly, but simply, interactive sculpture. I think you could get some amazing black and white photos taken too. 

(Reflective Simulations, 2012, Gregor Kreger)

I love how she reminds me that Art can be engaging, playful, fun as well as inspiring, thought provoking and beautiful (not always in the classical sense of attractive).  I love seeing her little imagination develop the the way she approaches, reacts, and interacts with various sculptures. I love that she will run excitedly towards works that capture her attention. Even in the inside galleries she is often quite engaged by the works.  

And if your mini isn't that enamoured by the swirly stone labyrinth or apocalyptic street corner (complete with functioning traffic lights) emerging from native bush, and can't be distracted by the icy figurative sculptures photographed inside (Martin Hills Watershed exhibition is currently on, breathtaking!), you can always just turn your visit into a leaf collecting, stone clambering, stick doodling nature walk, or you can take a break by the lake and hangout with the ducks! 

Facts and Figures

About 50mins drive from Melbourne central.

Open Tuesday till Sunday

Free entry unless there's a specific event or exhibit on (donations appreciated, and bug loves dropping coins into the box).

Information about exhibitions (the three exhibition spaces inside the gallery change regularly), and events (including guided tours, art chats and children's activities), can be found on the Gallery's website.

The Cafe opens for brunch and lunch. They do lovely food, but if I'm really honest I wouldn't bother taking my dad here (he's more of a pie, or fish and chips kinda guy), however it's a great place to meet up with girlfriends for coffee or lunch. The menus small and seasonal and includes kiddie offerings ($9), main meals ($12-$21) and there's coffee, a variety of teas, sweet treats, soft drinks, beer and wine on offer too.  High chairs are available.

You can, of course, bypass the cafe all together and bring your own picnic.

Dogs welcome if on lead. You must clean up after them and take their rubbish with you.

Not all artwork can be touched or clambered upon. Please keep an eye on your minis, and respect the signs. 

I've taken my pram here several times (Bug walks mostly now) and most of the track is accessible but an off road pram is defiantly better.

Loads of parking available

This week

This week we:

Made - this lemon meringue pie to say thanks to my MIL for her help with Bug. (Easy, but read the comments, I accidentally put the full amount of sugar into the lemon filling, and it was still quite sour so use less lemon),

Banana Bread to keep in the freezer (I turned mine into muffins, didn't bother with the topping, eliminated the sugar and used 1/3 C maple syrup, and extra banana instead... just cause). 

A Super easy mobile

Visited - the Springvale Markets, where we brought dragon fruit, super fresh salmon and pork belly.   Having never cooked pork belly I used this recipe, amazing! 

And the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park (more detailed post to follow).

Learnt-  how lucky I am to have the health system we do in Australia when it comes to new life. 

How brave my daughter is, she barely flinched with her 18 month injections. She's so amazing (and she gives the best squeezy cuddles! Mwah!)

Am waiting expectantly for both my mum (8 days!) and second daughter to arrive

Have a great weekend

*K*

Cruisey Crafting: easy cloud mobile

I wish I was one of those crazy super talented crafty people (see here, and sigh with jealousy). I want to be. I have 100s of ideas I want to try, projects I plan to accomplish, but I'm usually too ambitious, and I tend to be a bit impatient and gung-ho when it comes to completing something.  At the moment, creating in snatches of time between the demands of family means well it kinda doesn't happen all that much. And yet I still doodle my ideas and dreams into sketch books and think one day... Well this little mobile is something I successfully whipped up in about 10mins, it cost next to nothing, and best of all it looks pretty good.

Step one. Choose some paper and cut in half. 

Step 2: draw a cloud shape and cut through booth halves of the paper

Ideally run a strip of double-sided tape along the bottom of one cloud. Begin at the middle attaching different lengths of ribbon to your cloud.  If you can't remember where you put your double-sided tape (baby brain!), or don't have any just stick each ribbon individually. Try and keep your spaces as even as possible. 

When you've completed attaching ribbons to one cloud swirl on some glue and stick the second cloud on top. Hold down with a heavy book for a few minutes. Then leave to dry. 

Use a hole punch to put a hole in the mobile at the top and thread with a ribbon, or some embroidery thread, or bakers twine. 

Hang.  

*K*

Berry picking, nibbling, and discovering

We went berry picking on Monday (Labour weekend). There's a wealth of places throughout Victoria to do this, and  The Bramble Farm is not far from home. I used to drive past everyday when I was working, we finally called in today. I think Bug was in heaven, (she is a berry fiend). She loved picking the berries herself, and had a great time playing peekaboo between the rows of fruit and running madly between Bwb and myself.

Taking your kids to places like berry farms or growing your own vegetable gardens (a project I've been putting off but MUST begin this spring), or both, is so important when you live in suburbia. It connects children with the earth and seasons, teaches them where their food comes from, and shows them the time and effort involved in producing food. Not only that, but eating fresh and seasonally means the food tastes better too. I grew up in an orange orchard, and I can't buy oranges from the supermarket because I know I will just be disappointed. They are picked too early, stored too long, and just don't taste as sweet and delicious as they should.  It's sad because people believe that's what an orange tastes like, when it shouldn't. Anyway.. 

With our scrummy haul in hand we traipsed back to the little stall to pay. (Passed the horses too which really made Bugs day)

The lady was lovely and super enthusiastic, and she let Bug taste some of the frozen berry's available, which are freshly frozen in season (the blackberries don't start until November) chemical free and so much better than the imported supermarket ones I have to admit to having in my freezer, but no more, we'll be popping back here regularly now.  You've got to support places like this so that they don't die off. 

Anyway with my 3-weeks-to-go belly (always a conversation starter) the lady pointed out that their Raspberry extract (raspberry juice boiled down with a touch of lemon juice and sugar added), has all these amazing health benefits, including helping your uterus shrink down after childbirth.  Its also supposed to be good for gastro, IBS and other stomach/ digestive issues, and has anticancer benefits. Further research suggested it may work similarly to raspberry leaf tea, shortening and easing labour.  Considering its so natural - and derived from things I eat anyway, it certainly cant hurt to try.  She also mentioned they've had customers who have used it successfully to treat infants reflux and colic.  Now I wouldn't be giving anything herbal, natural or otherwise to babies without consulting a doctor, midwife,  natropath or other health professional, but I am intrigued (I would much rather give my child raspberry juice than colic medicine with god-knows-what in it), and would love to know more.

If you've had success with Raspberry, or any other berry extracts (blackberries for coughs, heart and circulation, blueberries for Alzheimer's, kidney issues etc) I would love to hear your stories.

Facts and Figures

The Bramble Farm is located in Langwarrin, about 40mins from the city, which I can highly recommend. The farm is clean and well organized, the staff are friendly, and its very well priced. You can get a pre-frozen family pack 1kg each blueberries, blackberries and raspberries for $50.  PYO is done by the weight of the fruit you pick, and there is  a wide selection of jams, preserves and honeys available also.
The signage on Cranbourne Frankston Rd is good but look out for the sign at the gate, we missed it and had to drive back, and it is a dirt road so don't wash your car right before you go - like we did!

If your on the other side of the city or looking for other pick your own options, you can find a whole list of farms here.

Our breakfast this morning, cheats bircher muesli and fresh raspberries. Yum

*K*

Baby Hands, Simple Decorations and Keepsakes

Little handprints are the cutest things, but they can be super hard to capture. While I find it really hard to get Bug hold her hand flat in order to get a clear print, and yet my mirrors have beautifully clear little prints all over (sigh). I have found, though that she thinks getting her  hand traced is pretty cool. Yeah she still wiggles her fingers a bit, but you can edit the print (filling in gap's, straightening out wobbly bits) afterwards.

The beauty of tracing is you can cut the prints out from basic white card and use them as a template to make as many sets as you want. You also don't have to worry about where on the original paper your child puts her hand because your cutting the prints out anyway, so even if some overlap or are upside down it doesn't matter, just choose the best ones to cut out at the end.

I traced the template onto pretty paper giving me an instant grandma pressie, (I hope to mount on white card, along with Bebe's hands (when she arrives), date and frame).  Another set will also make a great addition to Bugs photo album. There's loads of simple potential projects. A hand wreath, or bunting would be cute. And at Christmas time you could make simple, but effective gift tags.

But my main project became Bugs gift for Bebe. While on the Dolls in Dolls website I found a blank wobble toy (it has a little bell inside, Bug loves shaking it about), and decided it would make a great project. My problem tends to be settling on a particular theme or idea. I get overloaded with potential concepts and find it hard to settle on one. But eventually I decided on black and white and red themed based upon the theory that those are the colours babies see best. After using two coats of black acrylic I used a thick layer of gloss varnish to stick two of Bugs hand prints on. 

Due to the pear shape of the doll the hand wrinkled a bit. Decoupage instructions suggest a damp sponge can smooth out bubbles and wrinkles but I think little nicks in the paper to accommodate the folds would have been a better plan. Over the next few days I applied several more layers of varnish, and I'm actually quite happy with finished result. 

A word of warning though, now almost every time we colour I'm expected to trace around her hands, and once, her feet. Are you sure you don't want me to draw a cat I ask, no she replies, hand! OK Bugelicious you win... 

The Facts and Figures

Costs: Depends on the project. For Bebe's gift, I used black acrylic and varnish I already had, same with the spotty wrapping paper, so it cost me $9.95 for the blank wobble doll. It might cost $15-$20 if you needed all the supplies. 

Gift tags and paper bunting would be super cheap if you already have a craft stash of paper and ribbons. 

I was thinking preschoolers would enjoy tracing the hands of each family member, and choosing paper to represent each person. Then after mum or any other adult helper has cut out the prints they can be sorted into size order or other patterns. They can be mounted and dated as a alternative snapshot of 'my family'. 

Let me know if you come up with any other fun handy projects. 

*K*