Eye spy.... A morning ritual

I confess there is no morning ritual at our place.
We all sleep together, we all get up at different times, some mornings the following happens:
*we cry because we woke up all wrong
*we play in bed until we need to go to the toilet
*we sneak out of bed and let others stay sleeping (my favourite!)
*we have milo in sipper cups
*we watch a movie in the lounge room (or in bed if daddy hasn't taken his laptop away...)
*we eagerly wait for daddy to come inside from the studio to give us morning kisses and cuddles
*we jump into the shower and wake up

Who can tell what we will do tomorrow morning?
Perhaps THIS is our 'ritual'... to wake up and embrace a new day in a different way!
Well, what do you know.



Thank you 3 Red Buttons for this weeks theme.
Head on over to Bug And Pop's for more morning rituals..... hopefully they'll all have some!

Snailblazer Swap package arrived today!!!

Feeling a bit low today and this really cheered me up......
About a month or so ago I signed up to participate in the mega hand made swap that is the Snailblazer Swap. I had to make 10 of the same item, send them off to Cass from Snailblazer. I'd be put into a group with 10 other people doing the same thing and therefore get 10 different items back! Very exciting stuff!!
Here's what I got in my parcel today:

Headband by Suzanne @ Pobies Productions
Diary/Pen holder by Sarah @ Charge Family Files
Tissue holder by Natasha @ Tashalou Creations
Phone cozy by Bec @ Becky Et Al
Cards by Jo @ Everything Is Rosy And Grey
Zippered purse by Danielle @ An Ordinary Life
Brooch by Sophie @ Her Heart My Hands
Make-up purse by Kat @ Kat Creative Adventures
Bird hair tie travel case by Kylie @ A Little Red Dress
Knitted wash cloth by Leah @ Puggle Logic

Thanks gals for a wonderful pic-me-up! I'm not sharing anything!! hehehe
Now to show you what I made....

10 knitted necklace/hanging chains in purple, pink or black.
There are buttons, a bell and felt roll on each one.
Here's Chai wearing her one as a necklace! (She couldn't get it off me fast enough!!)

Winner of Monstar Kids onesie is......

This flower onesie by Monstar Kids is going out to Bec!
(Mr bpab shouted out a random number to me and that's how we drew the winner)
Thank you everyone who entered and for spreading the love around cyberland.
For those who entered this give away, I'll be giving you a discount code on these sweet little onesies........ talk to you soon. x
You can find Monstar Kids clothing at bpab. (lots of it too!)

Who feels like take away tonight?

Papoose have added fast food to their felt range of play things.... and we love it!
Servings for one:

Hot dog $13.00

Fish & Chips $25.00
Sandwich $25.00

And to share with the whole family:

Pizza $49.00

All sets come in recycled hard paper boxes, for safe keeping, and are made by hand in Nepal under Fair Trade conditions. So really, it's Fair Trade food! Hooray!!

Yunginz $20 off coupon code

Use coupon code at check out: yunginz20off & get $20 off when you buy 2 pairs of shoes!
Take me shoe shopping!

Want a stylish but playful nappy hold all?

Poss Bloss have you covered!
We've got a few new nappy wallet styles in at bpab. A bit more elegant, but funky for the more fashion conscious bottom cleaner (was going to say 'mummy', but everyone gets to change the nappies these days don't they??).
Not only for nappies, but great for swimming togs, organising bag contents or holding make up and jewelery for those quick (non-frequent) get-a-ways!
Hand made in the Dandenongs (Vic) by one clever mumma.

Oh yeah, we've also got the popular Poss Bloss red spot apron back in stock too! Time to make some mess...

Eye Spy... green

Here's to 5 years of 'green' parenting!
Chai and La (with mum and dad). Enjoy!

Thanks to TrashCan for this weeks theme.
Visit Bug and Pop for more Eye Spy green stuff. (Do a search for eye spy on her blog)
(My head is throbbing from this horrible cold..... will add descriptions another day....)

Quack! Quack!

Hand knitted and fair trade made..... these little duckie slippers by Lark are the sweetest toe warmers I've seen in a long time! Totally old school. Available in 2 sizes: 6 months and 18 months (which by the way fits my 2 yr old). $24.95 a pair.

Monstar Kids Winter = onesies, crochet & more elephants!

This is the first round of Monstar Kids clothing and we've got ONESIES!! So very cute!



Boyish offerings for the moment include these funky daks and the ever popular elephant applique in a long sleeve top. My little girls love the elephant top! Elephants rule!

It's all about folksy crochet for the girls this season. Denim, buttons and screen prints are all part of the Monstar look - with a crochet print flavour. How sweet are those pants??

Lots of the range mix well with previous season's wear still in store... that's the beauty of this label: things work nicely together! Hooray!

To celebrate the arrival of Monstar Kids onesies, I'm going to give 1 away to 1 lucky monstar!
All you have to do to enter is:
1. Leave a comment telling me which onesie you'd love to win (choose from the 3 above) and how you found out about this post (or who told you) AND
2. Tell someone else about this post.
You will get an extra entry every time someone mentions your name in their comments. (because you told them!)
Give away closes Wed. 27th May (2 weeks). Winner drawn 28th may.

Eye Spy.... What I'm reading

I've just finished reading this book last night.
I went through a big Irvine Welsh thing years ago and collected all his novels.
Lots of weird stories, mainly about drug taking and Edinburgh lads (they're written the way they talk) ....... if you've read or seen Trainspotting, you'll get the gist.
Was going to give them all away recently, but Mr bpab stopped me as he wants to read them 'one day'. So they are still in our book case. The covers are all bright and great looking!
Anyway, I always need something to read before I go to sleep at night and I found this on my bed - so I read it. Still a good read.

But if you want a great read... laughs, country living, getting away from it all and falling in love with another mum's life (as she tries to live the bohemian lifestyle and feels pathetic, but you love her 'cause you can really relate to her.....)- then this next book is for you!
I love it and Raffaella Barker's writting style is fantastic. Really gets you in and lets you enjoy a fun story. I'm a serial Author collector..... once I find a great book, I keep looking for more from the same author. So yeah, I've got all her books too! Waiting for her to write something new actually, so I can stop re-reading......

Thanks to A Glass Half Full for this great theme.
Click on the Eye Spy link on the left side to join in and say Hi to Cindy while you're there.

I've been given an awe-summmm award!

Gosh! Thank you to Stephanie over at A Pocket Full Of Buttons for this lovely award!
I must say, I don't feel very awe-summmm.... maybe I've used too many m's. I do like m's though.

The rules:

* List 7 things that make you Awe-Summ and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.

* Make sure to tag your recipients and let them know they have won!

* Also link back to the Queen that tagged you.

My list of Awe-Summm'ness:
1. I have two kids who like to hang around me!
2. I run my own business.
3. I can sew very well (professionally actually!).
4. I've hooked a nice guy who likes me back.
5. I can tell funny jokes and be very silly.
6. I can sing in tune.
7. It's hard to embarrass me... how awe-summm!

I now award the following for their awe-summmness.... I think they deserve it:
1. You SEW girl
2. Poss Bloss
3. Little Bubble And Tree
4. My Poppet
5. Lilli Boo
6. Her Heart My Hands
7. Bugandpop

Phew! All done.... x

Red Chalk clothing size chart

We are proud to stock Red Chalk clothing for kids!
This is their size chart.........

Eye Spy.... my new favourite blog

I must admit that I don't have a NEW favourite blog.
But the ones I love to click on often would be these two:
(bpab stocks both labels.... very handy to keep tabs on things when suppliers have blogs!! Plus you can build a better relationship with them too.)

The Lark
Alison always as lovely posts on the quaint life she leads in Daylesford... I love Daylesford (plus there's always vintage / op-shop stuff to drool over).

Poss Bloss - What's new
Jodie is a great supporter of all women in business and I like to keep an eye out on what's new with Poss Bloss.

Thanks to One Red Robin for this week's theme.
Join Eye Spy by clicking on the picture link on your left.

Step-by-step: Tissue Paper Flowers

Especially for the mummy in your life!!

You'll need:
tissue paper in different colours - about 3 full sheets (why not use the ones you save from presents and flowers)
pipe cleaner for each flower you make
scissors
ruler

1. Measure and cut 10 pieces of tissue paper into A4 sizes or 24cm x 30cm.
Lay them on top of each other.

2. Fold all the layers of paper over by about 3cm and make a crease.
Continue to fold the paper until the whole thing looks like a concertina (or a fan).

3. Take a large pipe cleaner and twist it around the middle of the paper strips. (This is the stem)

4. Cut both ends of the strip into either a curved petal shape or pointy petal shape.

5. Spread out one side of the fan.

6. Carefully pull each layer of paper out to form the petals.

7. Do the same to the other side.
You can find a stick and wrap the pipe cleaner around it to form a sturdy stem if you like.
Then you are done!

Big fat blooms for you or as a beautiful present! Hooray!

Why not show off your completed flowers on our Facebook page? Just email me a photo of your lovely bloom, along with the name and age of who made it. Everyone who contributes will get $10 worth of shopping points to spend at bpab for their efforts!
Email to: info[at]beyondpinkandblue[dot]com

Besties Marker Pack WINNER is...

That's KATIE.... she's getting a pack of Micador BARNYARD Besties ! Yay for her!!

Thank you so much for everyone who entered and blogged about this give away (scoring an extra entry for your efforts too!).
If you entered, and missed out on winning, but would love to get your hands on your favourite Besties set..... purchase a pack and I'll throw in an A6 scribble pad with your order. Offer ends next Friday 7th May.

More give aways coming your way....