Five Creative Ideas with Cookie Cutters

We collect cookie cutters. Sometimes we find a few when we go on treasure hunts and add them to our container and I have some great ones I have been given as gifts or have purchased over the years. Here are five creative things that can be done with cookie cutters....

1 + Play with play dough +

There is nothing better than having a big blob of play dough kept in the fridge ready for use at any time. We use all kinds of different things with our dough but I like to have the cookie cutters available for a spur of the moment play dough play. This recipe is perfect for play with cutters.

2 + Bake some biscuits +

Here's an easy peasy recipe we like to use for baking biscuits and here it is being used with cutters. Cookie cutters are great for little hands that like to help with cooking.

3 + Print on paper +

Printing with cookie cutters is easy to do and the effect is so wonderful you can use what you create to make wrapping paper. Put some acrylic paint (we use washable) onto trays or disposable plates. Dip the cookie cutters into the paint and print onto sheets of paper. We like the effect of printing on brown paper. Any size paper will work. Why not try making some beautiful gift cards.

4 + Trace around +

With this activity we took three sheets of crisp white easel paper and joined them together with tape. I tipped the cookie cutters out and the girls used felt pens to trace around the shapes. This was a good activity to do while I cooked the dinner. The girls were kept busy creating.

5 + Sandwich shapes +

Making sandwich shapes from cookie cutters is as simple as buttering the bread, adding the filling and making shapes in the bread using cutters. I find the best bread for this is the bread you can purchase at the supermarket. As lovely as fresh bread from the bakery is, the bread shape doesn't allow for many cutter shapes and you want to try and get the most out of the bread without wastage. Of course there isn't any wastage in this house as I'm happy to eat the in-between bits, especially when it's fairy bread!!

For an even prettier shape you can use tiny cutters to cut the centre out of the top shape which will reveal the spread. Jam looks particularly good. If only I could put my hands on our tiny cutters after our move!

We play games with our sandwich shapes. We count them and talk about their shapes. We sing songs and guess which ones are the odd ones out. I enjoy presenting the girls lunch creatively, the girls learn something in amongst the fun and hopefully the sandwiches look good enough to eat. Cookie cutter lunches don't just have to be reserved for party time.

Playing Along - X Marks the Spot With Our Play!

The girls and I are joining in the play fun over at Childhood 101's We Play today.

My "treasure bug" has become a little unstoppable of late. We've had a brilliant time rummaging through "treasure shops" and shopping at the local school fetes to find new (to us) pre-loved play items. Have you ever gone treasure hunting like this? It's such a buzz to bring home your treasures and set them up for play. These treasures have provided new and very different play opportunities for my girls.

We've read our new books before bed, in the waiting room at the doctors, outside on the blue chair, in the morning on mummy and daddy's bed and wherever or whenever we've liked. Cost 50c - $1.00 a book. $10 for all the books.

We've built tall towers and small buildings, then crashed them down again. Cost - $3 - $5 per set of blocks. Some sets are worth over $50 new.

We've taken turns and laughed as the bees tumble down. Cost - $5

We've joined pieces together and had races as we watched our marbles roll to the bottom. Cost - Fill a bag for $2.

We've repeatedly played dominoes and matching games till mummy says it's time to put them away. Cost - $2 or fill a bag for $2.

We've welcomed Billy the horse into our home. He's pretty easy to keep as he doesn't eat much. Cost - $6 (I think).

We've made patterns and pictures and sorted colours. Cost $2 - $3 a set.

We've had quiet cups of tea and played camping. Cost - $3 for the tent/ play house.

We've set up and interacted and taken our new little friends for a ride. Cost - $25 for dolls house. $3 for bus. $2 for bag of Little People.

We've had lots of play fun!

Some of these toys came in damaged boxes which I just traded for spiffy new ones and some were perfect. It's worth keeping an eye out for educational treasures. You just never know what you're going to come across. All the above toys and books were discovered over the last year or so.

In my past life, before children, I worked in child care (many many moons ago!) and then also as the children's worker at one of Brisbane's bigger churches. Just looking through the educational toy catalogues used to get me excited however the prices never did. Now I pick up the same kinds of play fun for a smidgen of the price.

Do you like to hunt for toy "treasures"? What great toy and book treasures have you found?

Come play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up.

We Love Pre-loved!

This week has almost been like show and tell here at Busy Brissy Mum. To finish off the week I must show you my latest treasures found. It has been a long time since I've shared with you what the girls and I have discovered. More to come next week!

Tuesday was a special morning out with my girl friends and their sweet girlies. To end the time together we ventured to Cradles2Crayons to see if there were some bargains begging to be purchased. This store is a gem! It has a large selection of pre-loved children's clothing and a rack of maternity wear. I needed a few little bits of pieces for Miss M who has recently grown out of her clothes and being the middle of Winter it was great to find some things second hand but in brilliant condition. If you live in Brissy, especially on the north side, Cradles2Crayons is worth visiting.

You''ll find Cradles2Crayons at Shop 3/290 Dawson Parade, Arana Hills.

Here's what we found.

Casual jacket (great for park play), casual shirt, pinafore dress (to wear over pants), flower print top

Let's Get Ready to RUMMAGE!

It's no secret that I love to rummage through the second hand toys in "treasure shops" (Op Shops). I've found countless treasures - puzzles, ABC or ELC games, construction sets like the ones found at kindys and pretty dolls with their accessories. I'm keen to find educational toys in great condition but sometimes I find things that are not so educational but still a great treasure all the same.

Today's treasure find was a Fisher Price Drop and Roll Dinosaur. What a treasure! We've borrowed this toy from the toy library before. It's good to encourage hand/eye co-ordination for littlies but mostly it's just a lot of fun. They have have a great deal of fun posting roll-a-round balls, watching the lights, listening to music and seeing where the balls pop out. Miss M loved this toy when she was little so now it's Miss H's turn but we now have one of our own and all for $7. As you can see it's quite filthy but part of finding treasures is seeing what lies beneath. This treasure isn't broken however I will take some time to clean it up before we have some fun with it.

Here are a few tips to finding good second hand toy treasures in treasure shops....

• Look on a Monday or Tuesday after people have done their weekend donation drop-offs.


• Check inside damaged boxes to see what is within - I've found some of our greatest treasures this way. eg construction sets, matching games in cardboard boxes.


• Buy new plastic boxes to house your treasures and throw away the damaged boxes.


• Go with a budget - I like to have a few coins ready so I don't spend too much.


• Keep an eye on the toy catalogues to see what the new prices are. You'll know if you are getting a bargain. Some Op Shops charge a lot for old goods. Get to know the brand names.


• Clean marked toys with 'Gumption' which you can find in the cleaning aisle of your supermarket or to do a general surface clean and disinfect wipe over with 'Milton' (also found in the cleaning aisle). It is safe for the toys and ok when kids chew on them. This product is used for sterilising baby bottles.


• I choose not to buy stuffed toys but if you do, throw them in the wash and hang them out to dry before play. We have way too many of them already.

Off I go to clean up our exciting dinosaur treasure. It will go perfectly with the roll-a-around balls we already have so I must go and find them too. What I like about this toy is that it will encourage Miss M and Miss H to play together. Miss M can show Miss H how it works while she is still little. When they are done with it and all the other treasures we have we can bless someone else with them or return them to the treasure shops.

Do you like to shop for treasures in treasure shops? What great treasures have you found?

Playing, Shopping and Eating

We're experiencing a week of catch-ups with friends which means lots of lovely outings, which also means lots to blog about! (busy, busy) Yesterday was a day full of surprises. The friends we were meeting live on the other side of town so it was great to be part of their little corner of the world for the day.

Our play date began at the John Rigby Swim School which is found at 983 South Pine Rd, Everton Hills. You might be thinking that we were there to swim but we actually went for a morning play in the swim school's play centre. Miss M was happy all morning trying out the amazing play equipment with her friend Miss E. The swim school has a padded play area which has a ball pit, huge foam blocks and a jumping castle amongst lots of other fun. It is $7 entry, allows BYO food and has the usual play centre rules of parent supervision and wearing sock while playing.

A great start to the day!

Our next stop was a children's store which I couldn't wait to tell you about. This shop has beautiful designer labels and other brands too but what was so wonderful is that it is all second hand, all clean and in excellent condition. I love the concept of this store as it is not always easy to afford clothes for kids when you're a family with one income. You would never know that the items purchased at this store were pre-loved. The two "treasures" (pictured) I picked up for Miss H cost me $4.50 each and they didn't even look worn. There were heaps of wonderful clothes to buy but I thought I better leave some there for you! Cradles-to-Crayons is found at 3/290 Dawson Parade, Arana Hills. (next to Domino's Pizza) It also stocks pre-loved toys, equipment and furniture.

After our play and little bit of shopping we returned to our friends house for a very yummy scrummy pumpkin soup lunch together. What a really lovely way to spend the day. I wonder if the rest of our week will be just as fun?

Three Little Treasures

Hunting for treasure in "treasure shops" (Op Shops) is loads of fun for Miss M and I. We find so many interesting things. Some things we just look at and other things we bring home to our own treasure chest to keep. One day I'm going to share with you a photo or two of all the wonderful things we have found on our treasure hunts. I get so excited talking about them but for today here are the three treasures we've dug up this week.

• An Ariel head for my beautiful niece Miss L who "adores" Ariel and pretends to be her. To see Miss L swim around on the floor like Ariel in the sea is something very special.
• A set of Pet Pals still in their packet.
• A fairy torch still in it's packet. (For 50c)

Already the torch has brought great joy and we can't wait to show it to Daddy when he gets home. It will be wonderful to use at story time tonight. As for the Ariel head, I just know Miss L is going to LOVE it and I wish I could see her face when she finds it. We dropped it off at Miss L's house today to surprise her upon her return from Kindy. That was after a big clean up. She needed a bit of a bath but now she sparkles.