Messy Shaving Cream Painting

Today was our mums group Messy Play Day in the park. We had lots of messy fun playing with water play, making spaghetti pictures, doing bubbles with fly swats (I really must blog about this!), having a go at eye dropper painting and the messiest of all......shaving cream painting.

While dads off in the shed you can find his can of shaving cream and enjoy this fun, tactile experience with the kids. Even better, get dad involved in the fun!

Shaving Cream Painting

You will need....

A can of saving cream - I use a plain brand cream

Plastic cover for the table

Powder paint

NB You may need to be careful with kids who have skin allergies when doing this activity. Supervision is needed for all children as shaving cream is not good to snack on .

Simply squirt some shaving cream on to the table, sprinkle a tiny bit of powder paint on top (or not) and let your kids be creative by finger painting in it. The cream will feel great and should smell good too.

You can let the kids go with the shaving cream just like this or take a print at the end by laying a piece of white easel paper on top, rubbing the back of it and then seeing what kind of print is hidden underneath.

Now that I've shared a messy play idea with you I guess I better be off to clean up the mess!

You could extend this activity by...

• adding two different sprinkles of colour and see what colour they make.
• add some glitter to make it sparkly.

Bouncy Outside Balls and Apricot Balls

This morning has been fun. After a weekend away with family it was just nice to spend time at home. We didn't have anywhere we had to be except in the garden PLAYING! I love it when we all seem content just to enjoy our home space and the things we have.

Outside we played with the balls, bouncing them on the wall. A great gross motor skill to work on! We also played with blue coloured water in the water trough, fly swat bubble blowing (I'll post a blog on this another time), bikes and scooter riding, trampoline games, chalk drawing and small coloured balls in the baby bath. This kept us busy for a long time as we played together in the shade but what a hot day it was so eventually we came inside and made a lovely batch of apricot balls together.

From a very young age Miss M has loved eating apricot balls for morning or afternoon teas but when we've bought them from the supermarket we've found that we don't get too many, they come in a lot of packaging and cost a bit too. I decided a long time ago that I would hunt down a recipe and start making them myself. This recipe is great! We have used it ever since Miss M was little and now Miss H (aged 1) loves it also. It makes stacks of apricot balls, they keep well in the freezer and are delicious. Let me share the recipe with you.

Apricot Balls

You will need...

1 1/2 cups apricots (finely chopped)

1/2 cup condensed milk

1 cup of dessicated coconut + some extra for rolling

Put the apricots through a food processor until they are finely chopped.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Using clean hands, roll the mixture into little balls and dip in the coconut until they are coated.

Best step of all - EAT!

You won't want to stop at one, as Miss M could tell you. These apricot balls make fantastic additions to kindy or school lunches, as long as they are accompanied by an ice-brick. Both my girls are able to help with this recipe because it is simple to do. You may have an older primary school aged child and they should be able to do most of the steps by themselves. (except for using the food processor)

Enjoy using this recipe.

Curly Girls Hair Tie + Clip Competition

I've been busy creating lots more hair ties and clips so I thought it might be fun to give some away. There are two packs to be won!

• 8 cute handmade ribbon hair clips.


• 5 cute handmade covered button hair ties.

Both packs have been lovingly made for someones little girl/s to enjoy wearing. If you would like to win a Curly Girls pack, leave a comment telling me what you love about your little girl. The competition is open to Australian readers and entries will close on Friday, February 19 at 9pm when a random name will be drawn to reveal the winner.

Congratulations goes to....

• Debbie from www.aspiringmum.blogspot.com who has won the 8 cute handmade ribbon hair clips.


• Hannah from www.countmyblessings123.blogspot.com who has won the 5 cute handmade covered button hair ties.

I hope your gorgeous girls have fun wearing them. Enjoy!

Little Hair Clips For Little Girls

A while ago I came across another gorgeous idea for hair accessories but couldn't find the clips to make them so I gave up for the time being. My beautiful mummy friend who also has a little girl happened to find the clips so I've finally started creating cute hair clips which are easy to make and can look adorable. The ideas for making them are endless. It's just up to your creativity as to what your clips will look like.

You will need...

Sectioning clips - we found them at Price Attack .

Strong glue - Helmar Tiger Grip glue is fantastic. It is strong and works well with metal and fabric.

9mm Ribbon - the best ribbon to use seems to be grosgrain ribbon because it is thicker and more durable than the others. It has to cover the clip well.

Check out www.ribbonsgalore.com.au for the best ribbons ever. What an easy way to shop without your littlies and they say no order is too big or too small! There are so many designs to choose from too. That's the stop I will make for my next ribbon shop!

Take the ribbon you wish to use and cut it to length. Just under 10cms is good.

Carefully spread glue on the under side of the ribbon. I use a thin paintbrush to make sure the glue is spread evenly. It won't look good if the glue seeps through.

Start just under the top of the clip and begin to lay the ribbon along the clip.

Hold the ribbon in place at the top using a peg or another clip until the glue dries.

Open the clip up and continue to stick the ribbon to the top half of the clip. You'll have to work quickly until the top side and under it is completely covered .

Close the clip and allow the glue to dry.

You can leave your clip as it is or get even more creative by adding fancy decorations. e.g butterflies, flowers, animals or jewels . These can be found at craft stores, scrapbooking stores, cheap shops etc. I keep my eye out for interesting things when I'm out shopping but I am also finding decorations in my nick-knack box which have been great to use too.

To make these bow clips....

Cut another 10cm length of ribbon in the same or a contrasting ribbon.

Glue both ends together and add a dob of glue to the middle to stick both sides together.

Run a small piece of ribbon around the centre and glue it at the back.

Glue the bow to the middle of the top of your hair clip and hold it together with a peg until it dries.

Beautiful - a clip that any little girlie girl would love!

Maybe you'd like to give these clips a go. If you do, why not post them on your site and let everyone know back here at www.busybrissymum.blogspot.com so we can all see your girlie clip creations. Have fun!

While travelling to a baby shower on Saturday, Miss M asked, "Is there going to be any showers at the baby shower?"

The Button Bug

I absolutely love my two little curly girls. Who would have thought that I would be a mum to two curly haired girls, one with brown hair like mine and one with red hair like her father. (I have straight hair) It's so much fun finding girlie hair accessories to match their delightful outfits and keep their curly hair tidy.

Through reading various other blogs and websites I have come across a most enjoyable way to make my very own hair ties and clips for the girls and it is so simple to do, you just won't believe it! Yes, I caught the button bug! Covered button hair ties are all the rage right now and the best place to pick up everything you need to make them is to head to www.jackobindi.com.au

Kerrie from www.jackobindi.com.au sent me a lovely package in the mail - a 10 button hair tie kit which included 10 button shells, 10 button backs (with shanks), 10 different and interesting circle fabrics to cover the buttons (cut to size), a threading wire, 10 colourful hair tie elastics, a button covering tool set and this all came with very clear instructions to follow.

It really is a very easy process to create your very own hair ties.

To make a covered button...

Put the base of the tool on a hard surface. (the bigger piece of the tool)

Turn a fabric circle over so the pattern/ picture faces downward.

Hold a button shell in place over the fabric and press both into the tool base.

Trim the fabric but still allow enough to fold into the shell.

Fold the fabric into the shell and pop a back in using the blue tool piece. (shank facing out) The back should snap into place.

Take the button out and you should have one very cute covered button.

To add the elastic...

Thread the wire through the elastic and hold both ends of the wire together.

Thread the wire through the shank of the button, taking the elastic with it.

Once the elastic is through the shank, remove the wire.

Hold one end of the elastic together and thread it through the opposite end of the elastic. Pull it through until it is tight on the shank. You should now have a covered button hair tie.

How easy is that! I had so much fun making the button hair ties from the 10 piece kit that I have purchased another 25 buttons to make plenty more. The kit was a GREAT place to start. This time however I will use some fabric pieces I have around the house and some cute ones I will find at the haberdashery. The great thing is I can make hair ties to suit all the girls outfits. (and mine!)

Check out www.jackobindi.com.au for all the covered button fun you can find. You can start making these cute hair ties or make hair clips, magnets and thumb tacks. Maybe you'll catch the button bug too!

Back to Blogging

It's been a crazy couple of weeks moving in to our new (very old reno) home and now that the computer is back up and running I can start blogging once again. I've missed sharing with you all but have some new ideas ready to go for 2010. Be sure to catch the next two posts as I've found a new love which I just have to share with you.

The photo is us saying goodbye to the old home we lived in for 5 years - lots of great memories to keep.