Sunday, December 26, 2010

Bus Rolls By Holly and Eddie

 

These delightful Bus Scrolls from online store Holly&Eddie are the perfect New Years gift or baby shower present. They sell different types, in different colours, frame and unframed.
We love anything that inspires kids to live out their dreams and be the best they can be and we believe these bus scrolls can do just that. 

 

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas from the Brisbane Kids Family

Hi Brisbane Mums, Dads and Carers

This is a repeat of our newsletter for those that arent subscribers. We simply want to thank you for all your support, your emails, your input and your encouragement. Brisbane Kids has come a long way in the last 6 months.

  • We have reinvented ourselves. From our creation 4 years ago, to our remodel 6 months ago, we are now becoming recognised as the site for Kids in Brisbane. Infact there are a number of media outlets who now use us a resource in their articles. 
  •  We went from 0 to almost 2400 friends  on facebook in less than 6 months. This is incredible growth for a brand that is targeted to a local city and to an almost singular demographic
  • We now list over 300 activities and other adventures you can do with Kids in Brisbane.
  • We have created an incedibly popular blog whose readership and following surprised even us. BananaHeadKids was created on a whim, its name chosen because all kids are monkey bum bananaheads.
  • We have become known for our value and as a genuine promotional platform. We sincerely want our child friendly businesses to succeed, so that we succeed. We have built many genuine relationships with some of the best child friendly businesses in Brisbane.
  • We also continue to seek original quality ideas and information, manually entering everything ourselves, refusing to surrender to the copy-paste syndrome. Our team is made up of stay at home mums and a dad who do this because we really really want to :)

So thats where we have come from. So where to from here.. Well not to give too much away, but we have some big plans. That said, we dont want to lose our local feel or ever lose site of our vision. We are committed to making you happy by giving you ideas to make the most of Brisbane with your kids. We will never lose sight of that.

So thanks for reading the rambling.. if you got this far.. and thank you again for your support. From all the team ,we wish you a safe Christmas full of love and laughter and a New Year where all your dreams come true.

xxxNgaire & the Team at http://www.brisbanekids.com.au

Monday, December 20, 2010

Cuckoo for Coco

 

Cuckoo for Coco is a childrens boutique that takes handmade to a whole new level. They stock the most divine kids’ accessories like hairpieces, mobiles, decor and other delightful one off pieces.
Our personal favourites are their cuddly character creations that are lovingly given names like Lulu, Lily & Ava. You will find them on lots of different handmade focussed websites like madeit.com    




Sunday, December 19, 2010

GOMA- for Kids- 21st Century Art Exhibition in Brisbane- A Must SEE

21st Century Art at the Gallery of Modern Art is an exhibition especially for families & kids- I expected it to be good- but I was  not prepared time-wise for how much there was and how kid friendly it was. It is a little hard to navigate and find everyone but I think the adventure is half the fun- my only advice is, if you can take two adults do- it would make it easier for everyone.
Firstly Goma opens at 10am- we arrived a little early and had breakfast and watched the world go by, no loss, infact the whole area around GOMA makes my kids excited.
The Slide
When we got inside our  first stop was obviously the slide- because the exit of the slides are right there as you enter. You need to be 1.1 metres to have a go- sadly not within my sons height range. However, even watching it was thrilling- honestly- my 3 year old stood at the exit in anticipation watching them down.



 

The Bird Room
This is a room full of coathangers suspended from the ceiling and real live birds- AMAZING




The Balloon Room
I went in here by myself with a toddler and carrying an 18mth old- it was exciting to me, and them, hard to describe, my advice- go here first so you can be in there by yourself.  (this is not a kids display- but was totally kid friendly)



The Lego table
Think a 20metre table all white lego and half built buildings- an interactive display- my son is a lego maniac- I thought he was going to bust a foofoo valve when he saw it.







The Ribbon Wall
A Wall of ribbons with wishes that you can take and put around your wrist or write your own and the artist will consider putting it on the list next year- My son chose “ I want to see dinosaurs”
DIY bird making
Tables of craft stuff to make birds that are being suspended from the ceiling





Alien Induction
I didn’t do this one- BUT it was about answering questions and being inducted into an alien race, I spoke to some girls who did and they said it was hilarious- for older kids
The Elephant and animals
See for yourself. My son was a little disturbed by the ‘dead elephant’- but it was still magnificent


Animal Computers
Windows of animals and interactive games to have kids guess animals. My 3yr old loved it




On top of this there were various drawing and craft areas throughout, grassed alcoves and displays that while not necessarily designed for kids, thrilled my none the less.

You can park underneath for $15 all day- it is free to enter and participate, and my advice is get there at 10am- skip the slide and do all the other things first- if you can get away with it. I managed to complete it in 2 hours but we were rushing- I had no idea how great this would be. My recommendation is to GO..GO ..did i say GO!!!!- make a day of it- spend the morning at GOMA- and the afternoon at the State Library Kids section, the Museum, South Bank or a CITY CAT ride- Well done GOMA.

***oh- i didnt mention i forgot the pool- i didnt get to see it because it had sprung a leak BUT apparently you can walk on its water- sounds amazing!***




(all photos on this blog remain the property of Brisbane Kids Creative and http://www.brisbanekids.com.au/ - They are not permitted to be copied without permission)

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Birthday Room- Shopping for the Kids


Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? You need to check out the birthday room. This Australian website, which is only 4 weeks old caters for every type of kid and classifies according to exactly that! Well priced, incredible variety and unique gifts that you are unlikely to find in massive department stores. You can also find them on facebook under the Birthday Room. So many Melissa and Doug puzzles to choose from!! 
http://www.birthdayroom.com.au/              
  

Friday, December 10, 2010

The Coolest Dollhouses, for boys.. and girls

My to be 4 year old son loves role play and all things pretend. We were at a friends place the other day and he had a great time playing with his dinosaurs on a girls dollhouse. Granted it mostly consisted of dinosaurs throwing each other down the stairs, but there was also some great relationship building between the dinosaurs. So that’s when I decided I would like to get a dollhouse.
(Now I know, sexist smshmexist blah blah blah.. but truly my boy would prefer a castle to a barbie house- right or wrong- please dont judge me)
MY husband initially freaked, but being a builder, I responded with a suggestion he could build an elaborate castle. Needless to say, after not much interest  in that direction- I began the hunt. This blog is about what I found.
To ensure balance I have also included a couple of cool girly ones. Can I just say.. they aren’t cheap, and I for one am not necessarily into expensive presents- BUT this could be something a whole family could go in on, like a trampoline. (Mmmm trampoline or dollhouse.. not a qn to ask my husband)
So this is the first one I came across- You can find this at Bubba Bling- and its made by Kid Kraft (as are a lot of the coolest toys)

Totally Boy Friendly


Then we have the farm themes- You can find them at Metro Mum. Farms appeal because obviously there a lot of animal obsessed boys out there, and this is a way to extend on their play.
 


















This one made by Maxim
Then we have these scandanavian designed treehouses which are just CRAZY amazing



This one from Metro Mum- made by Plan Toys





 
There are also kits you can get- on ebay (where I found this one) but you can them from all sorts of places-

http://wooden-dollhouse.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
There are also guides online about how to build and choose the perfect dollhouse- One example of this is a blog that goes through step by step about how to select the size, the type - step by step- here is one of their end results-
















And the pretty picture perfect dollhouses (if I have a girl someday- I am so getting one)




You can get this one at Urban Harmony Coorparoo


Then- and this is awesome- the (if I won lotto sort of house)


You can get this one from Thinking Toys at Samford
And finally - and maybe the best - The Rocket. It comes with a working elevator, space vehicles, aliens, glow in the dark moon bits AWESOME!!!


This is another KidKraft creation- found this one on ebay -awesome :)


There is a whole crazy world out there of dollhouses and the crazy accessories that come with them.
My advice is if you want a dollhouse- google- cool boys/ or cool girls dollhouses and search under images only- it saves you a lot of time and shows you the best. Also check Ebay because there are heaps available on their as well.
Finally.. dont be afraid of buying a boy a dollhouse- they open up so many opportunities for relationship role plays, talking about feelings and throwing dinosaurs down the stairs.

Have a great school holiday beginning
xxNgaire


Friday, December 3, 2010

Make your own Bon Bons with Be a Fun Mum

Okay..so  this blog came about because I wanted to make my own bon bons- because I hate the fact that you go thru all the fanfare of pulling a bonbon - it even gives you an explosion- and then you get some silly throw away plastic nonsense, and that makes me sad. 
My craft abilities.. are in infancy, so I consulted another mum expert- Kelly from Be a Fun Mum. She is best known for her world famous blog- check it out and you will see why its so popular- its real, funny, sad, practical, helpful and joyful. She provides a new appreciation of motherhood- and I love her blog. We hope this will be the beginning of some very
cool guest blogging in the future- xxngaire
So over to Kelly>

Say goodbye to tacky plastic Bon Bon favours. Making your own Bon Bons is easy.  Like really easy.  And I’m not just saying that.  Let me show you how.
  
You will need:
Craft knife
Craft Board
Tape
Bon Bon Rolls (or use an empty paper towel roll)
Cracker String (available from Spotlight)
Ribbon
Favours of choice
Joke Template
Scrapbooking 12” 150 gsm paper (each sheet makes 2 bon-bons)
Make you own party hats if desired.  Tutorial here.
Instructions:

1.       Turn the paper wrong side up and lay the roll in the middle.  Draw a line either side of the roll.

2.       Draw another line each side 4cm apart from the original line.

3.       Using a craft knife and board, cut lines, approximately 1 cm apart between the lines.  This DOES not have to be perfect.

4.       As you can see from the picture (4), my lines are rough.
5.       Fill roll with favours and place tape over the end to ensure the contents don’t fall out.
6.       Place cracker along the roll.
7.       Wrap paper around roll and fasten with tape.
8.       Tie a ribbon around each end.
9.       Done!


Kelly Burstow writes at Be A Fun Mum.  The Be A Fun Mum Blog is all about reclaiming the joy of motherhood in a fast-paced world. It’s about loving the little moments which are like pieces of a puzzle, together creating a beautiful masterpiece.  Kelly lives in Queensland with her husband, four children and far too many guinea pigs.