I'm talking GIANT here!

These huge grey lead pencils arrived today and are bigger than I expected them to be!
But it's bigger is better in this case, unless you are a petite little fairy.... they ARE rather big.
And you won't be able to use them to do your homework either (bummer!) as you won't be able to write between those tiny lines. So it looks like drawing and big letters to Santa are in order.
6 bright colours to choose from, $3.50 each.

Rainbow Comfort Packs..... what to do?

Just a short note to let you all know that we are still handing out packs time to time.
I've stacked all the boxes of donated goodies up against one wall in my garage come shop come warehouse, so I can claim some floor space.... ahhh, cool concrete....
There are about 150 packs that can still be made up and given out to those in need.
I'm thinking that it would be glorious to give out packs as Christmas treats to the less fortunate.
I need to know what YOU, who have donated time and goods to this project, think would be the best thing to do with these remaining packs.
Do we keep it all for Fire victims.... find those in other states (than Vic) and send them there?
Or open the doors to other kids in need, in other circumstances, in the Melbourne area?
I'm really thinking of this Christmas now......

Please leave me a comment about your view on what to do with the remaining packs.
Please read the comments before yours and if you agree with an idea, please say so.
Thanks for your help. x

Theme Shopping: Handmade

1. Textured fresh letter canvas by Alphalfabeetroot $30.00 (choose your letter!)
2. Birdy mobile by Little Soursob $45.00
3. Carrot skirt in Red by Red Chalk $36.00 (available in grey)
4. Gus sock monster by Moon Monsters $28.00
5. Matilda party invitations by Poppies For Grace $24.50 (set of 15)
6. Dinosaur roar messenger bag by Mee A Bee $32.00
7. Jersey heart dress by Monstar Kids $42.50
8. Orange navy stripe art smock by Poss Bloss $29.95
9. Cute creatures organic soaps by Lark $11.95 each
10. Green crochet backpack by Polka Dot Panda $80.00 (available in red and purple too)
11. Natural knitted cat rattle by Memi Designs $29.00
12. Red & navy cot quilt by Cinti Does Vintage $120.00
13. Orange band-it 3/4 pants by Hussh! $35.00 (in other colours as well)
14. Nessie the giant owl by Pram Outings $60.00 (1 other available)
15. Birds wall art by Look At The Wall $99.00

Perfect match!

I do love it when a look comes together!
Chai is wearing Monstar Kids Fancy Bird tee and Lemon Lace skirt, with her favorite footwear of the moment, Yunginz Princess Of Hearts sandals. (click on the link and scroll to the bottom of page to view the other products in this shot.)
So sweet!
The Lace skirt also comes in a gentle pink version.

More Monstar Kids arrived this week and are now on the virtual shelves. Can you spot them?
There are over 70 different pieces of this brand at bpab.... surely something for you!

Welcome Mee A Bee + giveaway!

Mee A Bee kids messenger bags have traveled all the way from quirky and colourful Japan to bring some extra fun to the bpab shop!
Jacqui, who is actually from New Zealand, is a mother of 2 young boys and the delightful creator of Mee A Bee. She has hand made each treasured messenger bag you see here. They are adorable and will last the distance. Each bag in this range has been chosen especially for bpab. I'm pretty stoked with what Jacqui has done and am thinking you will be too!

Chai loves her Dotty Ladybird bag!
Want one for your little one?
Well thanks to Mee A Bee, we are giving 1 away and you get to pick your fave style from our range! Yippie!!
How to enter:
1. Either follow this blog (bpab's rainbow) or become a fan of Mee A Bee on Facebook . (If you already follow me, then choose Mee A Bee and visa versa okay?)
2. Leave a comment here stating which you're following and what design you will choose if you win. I will need to contact you if you win, so make sure I can do that too.
1x extra entry for doing any of the following: tweeting, blogging, any social networking basically, mentioning this giveaway and linking back to this blog.
Please leave a link comment here to get your extra entry.

Giveaway winner will be drawn on Tuesday 1st December 2009.
Now show me some love!

Not just MOTHER's little helper

Brand new on our virtual shelves is Mother's Little Helper by New Zealand brand Nudey! Rudey!. We are loving this sweet tin of goodness - rubbing it on our dry elbows and knees, cracked hands, sore bottoms (not mine!) and using it as lip balm. The girls love putting it on their lips as they are into pretend make up and jump at the chance to use something real. (And I don't mind them using this balm either - so we are all happy!)
It's certified organic and has the healing properties of Manuka & Harekeke, both from New Zealand.
Now I knew about Manuka as we have been having teaspoons of Manuka honey all through Winter to ward off colds and sore throats. (The girls love it, so it's a great and easy natural medicine to dish out!) You can find it in the health section of supermarkets or your local health store.
I had never heard of Harekeke, so had to look it up on Wikipedia (hehehe) and found it's also a sweetener and has strong medicinal properties too. (There are various uses for it, so click on the link for more info!)


Anyway, Mother's Little Helper balm will be a great addition to your bag or bathroom, as the whole family can use it. PLUS when you purchase a tin, $2 will be donated to our fave charity Project18. Nudey! Rudey! and bpab will donate $1 each.
Another way to shop for yourself and support others at the same time!

Eye Spy... adventures

I'm going to choose my funnest (and often silly) adventure, dating back to 1998 (before digital cameras!), where my best friend and I packed her parents camper van up and traveled from Geelong (Vic) up the east coast for 3 months. We started late September..... had the time of our lives!
We had a business called B'zerk Objects! and were selling off our products at markets along the way for extra money. Photo above is us at Albert Park in Brisbane on market day for radio 3zzz.fm. We had been up all night enjoying the night life of Fortitude Valley and met a guy from the radio station who told us about the market day on the next day and the next thing you know we had a stall set up!

This was our ever faithful van "Noggie" (number plates were NOG....), who, as you can see, had many uses! We're at Gympie market here. We did a stint of zucchini picking in Gympie and sorry to say will never return to that town again!

It was not all work... we did do stacks of exploring and seeing the touristy spots as well. (This shot is in Mount Warning N.P. and that's me) Some of our 'highlights' were:
* Me crashing the van at the start of the journey (we were fine, Noggie would have to be put down after our travels though...)
* Doing the 900 steps of the Giant Stairway in the Blue Mountains
* Discovering fave spots like Glebe, Byron Bay area (inc. Nimbin and Bangalow)
* Freebie nights (saying in the van somewhere public) and getting caught in the morning! (Noosa)
* Helpful neighbour thinking we found a snake in our van, when all it was just a spider, ready to get it out (Grafton Park)
* A tick in a neck.... freaky experience for those not use to ticks! (Thanks Tea Tree Plantation, Ballina)
* Playing pool (billiards) OUTSIDE at the pub! (Nth Straddie Island)
* Feeding dolphins (Tin Can Bay)
* Sawing coconuts in half and drinking cocktails on the beach, while sitting on a broken blow up bed (Inskip Point)
* Commando Kev (!) our tour 'guide' on Frazer Island (and the Island itself)
* Scuba diving lessons at Lake McKenzie
* Hot chips with chilli sour cream (Railway Hotel, Byron)
* Tasting different rums (Bunderburg).
I'm sure there was lots more, but these ones seem to stand out.

Ahhh, the days of freedom, where all you had to worry about was yourself! Anyway.....

Thanks to Weezie's Woolies for this theme, was a good one for flipping through photo albums!
Head over to Bug and Pop's for more adventures.

Theme Shopping: Pirates (Aarrr!)

1. Pirate play set by Kaper Kidz $16.50 (everything you need to play Pirates matey!)
2. Pirate and his treasure puzzle by Djeco $28.00
3. Pirate stickers by Djeco $4.95 (Having a partee me harties?)
4. Pirate cone puppet by Kaper Kidz $7.00

A bit puzzled about Djeco!

Have been stocking a tiny bit of Djeco for a while now, planning to introduce a larger range of their fantastic products as the months go on..... FINALLY have done so!
This round is mainly to work the mind of little ones - in the form of peg puzzles (like the one above) for the smallest of hands.....

... including 4 and 9 cube picture puzzles (this one is titled "The Nap" - where every animals is taking their nap!)Then there are the traditional puzzles for older kids, like this one above, The Queen of Hearts. Every puzzle is beautifully illustrated and comes in a great shaped box - looks good on display!

One of my favourites - the Geoform box set. Endless magnetic picture fun here! I might ask Santa for this......


Lastly, not a puzzle, but cool sticker packs! We've got 3 designs so far. Little Juliette is too sweet - you can stick her body some where and then dress her with other stickers.... oooooohh, maybe I want this instead?

Check out the rest of Djeco products at bpab. Your Christmas list has just gotten a little bit longer....

Sydney to Melbourne ride for Macular Degeneration

Do you bike ride?
We sometimes go as a family for a ride along the tracks near our house. It's enjoyable, a bit of hard work at times (esp. for me as I don't do it much!) and we always have a child sitting in front of us to talk to (thanks to the Weeride).
We once rode from Balwyn North to Melbourne CDB along the tracks. It took about 4 hours and the thought of riding back home again almost bought 3 of us to tears. (So we took the train home and rode from the station.)
Mat rides all the time and wants to ride to Frankston along the Eastlink track soon. I won't be his companion! Lucky our brother-in-law wants to do it too...

Okay, now, who has ridden the stretch along the coast from Sydney to Melbourne (or the other way around)? It's over 1200 km long.
Well the two guys pictured above have departed today (at 7am from the Sydney Opera House) to do just that. So what you say? Well one of them is legally blind!

Matt Formston has 5% vision. At the age of 5 he was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration.
My awesome friend Scott Williamson is riding with Matt to act as his verbal guide to obstacles on the road that Matt may not see (pot holes, changes of road surface, up coming hills or sharp bends... that sort of thing).
The team aim to ride along the coast and end their amazing journey at Federation Square in Melbourne on 24th November.
They are raising funds for Macular Degeneration. Please consider giving a donation to this worthy cause, even if it's to just show these two guys your support.
Find out more about their journey (there's photos, a blog) or to learn about Macular Degeneration on the official site.
Become a fan on their Facebook page.

I know they can do it and wish them a safe and beautiful journey.

Theme Shopping: Fruit

1. Cherry denim swap pocket mirror by Lark $4.95 (lots of other designs too)
2. Felt Apple Pear Orange by Papoose $13.95 for the set
3. Knitted Watermelon Rattle by Lark $14.95
4. Fruity Orange Easy Wash Paint by Micador $6.95 (there are 5 other colours too)
5. Pink Apple Hoodie by Monstar Kids $38.00 (comes in grey with yellow apple too)
6. Alfred Berry Card by Poppies For Grace $6.50
7. Knitted Strawberry Rattle by Lark $14.95
8. Knitted Blue Cherry Cupcake Rattle by Lark $14.95 (comes in pink too)
9. Knitted Strawberry Ice Cream Rattle by Lark $14.95 (there are 3 other flavours too)
10. Green Cherry Tee by Monstar Kids $29.00 (comes in red tee with white cherries too)

Playing in Peekaboo magazine

A new FREE glossy magazine has hit the streets of Brisbane (QLD) and in letterboxes beyond!
It's Peekaboo and we're in it... in the play section. The breakfast set, pencil set and animal bell ring rattles make an appearance.
We are also giving away a Smoothies and Juices book, as just one of the tons of freebies you could win in this first issue.
The mag. is set to be released every quarter and is a brilliant addition to every Queensland parents coffee table or baby bag - with a map of local child hot spots (shops, parks, cafes...) plus a list of markets in the area too.
If you are not in the Brisbane area, you can subscribe to Peekaboo and have it delivered to your door anywhere in Australia. There's a cooking corner, on-line shopping goodies, lots of give-aways to enter plus articles on travel, fashion, food....
Download the first issue of Peekaboo magazine and tell me what you think.

Project18 video

This video was made as a response to the Australia Zoo competition.

They've won 2nd place, which shows how great their efforts are.

Please take the time to look into the Project18 cause and spread the word around. (website not launched at time of writing this)

beyond pink and blue will be an active participant in Project18 fundraising this coming year, as they will be our chosen charity for 2010.

There is a widget on the right hand side of this blog for you to make a donation to Project18 anytime you feel the urge to give and click on the 'info' symbol to read more.

I will be unveiling more of bpab efforts soon.

Eye Spy... shoes

These are my favourite shoes for Summer.... or when ever I can wear them! I got them a couple of Christmas' ago from my girls (they have great taste!).

These are my fancy shoes, for special outings and when I want to tower over Mat. So they don't get used very often.... well, not by me anyway! (The girls LOVE playing with all my shoes and have no problem strutting around in heels either.)

I was looking at my (small) collection of shoes for this eye spy and noticed I have a lot of red shoes and black shoes. The ones I wear the most are either pink or red!

If I could fit into any of my girls shoes, I'd be wearing these ones that Chai is wearing (all the time at the moment)! They are so fun and seem to go with anything.... my kinda shoe! You can buy them here at bpab.... by the way.... (hehehehe)

Thanks to Anastasia Drawing and Dreaming for the theme this week.
Head over to Bug and Pop for more shoes during this week.