Play Dough Cupcake Island

Yeserday while preparing for a dinner party, I needed something to distract priya for half an hour while we did dome delicate food preparation. I got some play dough out of the fridge and grabbed whatever was handy in my craft tub. This was the result.

And incase you are interested in how the dinner party went, our guests were both horrified and delighted to witness my husband take a bite out of what they thought was just a simple table decoration. He was eating one of our 'flower pot desserts'. If you would like to see how they were made you can have a look on hubby's blog.

Awesome Parenting Tip #1

If you keep expensive art materials in the house, don't leave them where little hands can reach, even for a moment. Budding artists can't resist the temptation to touch and you may not be happy with the results.

"Mummy draw, Pia draw." - Priya 24 months.

Autumn Leaves

Daddies can play too. Priya's is very fortunate to have a daddy who studies from home which gives them a lot of opportunities to play. They cook together every evening and Daddy is usually the one to get the play dough out. Yesterday I was sick and bed ridden for most of the day but the play went on without me. It looks like they had a pile of fun!

Body Art - My 27 Week Bump

My daughter is going to grow up thinking that painting people is normal. Is it? It has become a common place activity for us anyway as we have been doing monthly belly paintings lately. I have to encourage any other pregnant ladies out there (or maybe not pregnant?) to give body art a go. It really has been a lovely bonding experience for us.

Of course Priya wanted her tummy painted too (it was bound to happen sooner or later).

Thanks agin to Aunty Rebekah from Just For Daisy for helping document and celebrate this pregnancy by taking some lovely photographs again. Only three paintings to go until this bundle arrives!

Painted toast

Ever wanted to do some edible art? We made some colourful toast this morning and it was lots of fun.

I must admit, I didn't come up with this idea myself. I spotted it while flicking through Trish Kuffner's 350+ Free Activities for Toddlers at the library last week. 

We used a couple of drops of food colouring added to a little bit of milk, whole-meal bread, a clean paint brush and a medicine dropper. My sister-in-law Rebekah suggested we try using a medicine dropper for painting and I thought bread would make a great surface to experiment on.

We decorated our bread with the milk mixture using the paintbrush and medicine dropper.  When we were done we popped it in the toaster and waited in anticipation...

 

And voila, we had a tasty treat to eat!

Bubble Art

Recently Priya got her first easel. She hasn't had much opportunity to use it yet so I thought we'd try to get a bit creative. My idea was that we would blow bubbles using bubble liquid with a few drops of food colouring onto a sheet of paper clipped to the easel. Unfortunately the bubbles went everywhere except  where we wanted them to so we accidentally invented a bubble catching game. One of us blew bubbles while the other ran around and 'caught' them with a sheet of paper. The results were not at all what I expected. 

I wish I was able to get some photos of our new game but with all the bubble blowing and catching there were no hands free for happy snaps. Once we (or I) grew tired of running around, we sat in the shade and made some bubble prints with the left over mixture.

Balloon Kite

As I predicted some more balloon fun did make it's way into our week. We decorated a balloon in stickers, tied on some string and ribbons and it became a kite.

A Party and Some Rock Painting

Yesterday was our little lady's 2nd birthday. We had a small morning tea celebration with a few girlfriends. I am so glad we kept things a simple and limited the guest list. Priya, who can be intimidated by large groups, seemed relaxed and able to enjoy her day. Finger painting is her favorite activity so we painted some rocks before cake and morning tea.

Deflating Balloon Drawings

This morning we made use of some balloons left over from yesterday's party. We inflated them one at a time without tying them off and drew a picture on the smooth surface in permanent marker. Once our drawing was complete we slowly released the air out of the balloon and watched our artwork shrink.

Even I had a turn and I have to say, it was quite fun.

Our attention then turned to decorating some of the hundreds of leaves that  made their way into our patio area overnight. 

There is a high probability that we will be having more balloon fun this week. Time to put my thinking cap on!

String Painting

This morning before Mother's Day lunch we experimented with some string painting. I have to thank my friend Jane for suggesting this one.

We cut a piece of string and tied it to a peg to use as a handle. Into the paint it went and onto the paper in an up and down printing motion. The string did get flicked and dragged around the paper a bit too.

The initial piece of string I cut was too long for Priya to maneuver comfortably. A shorter piece was much easier for her to handle. Like all of our painting exercises, this did become a finger painting opportunity. In the end we had some very nice gifts to hand out at lunch.

An African/Australian Toy Safari

Last week I found myself approximately 3000km from home at the Katherine Tip Shop. Whilst rummaging through used lawn mowers, door handles and other odds and ends, I happened upon some small plastic animals. The plane trip over was long and arduous and I was on the lookout for more activities to occupy Priya on the flight home. I gladly paid $1 for my selection and bundled them up in my hat, pleased to be buying something secondhand.

Our new little friends came in handy ahead of schedule and we ended up having an African safari in the Australian bush. They did make an appearance on the plane too, of course. Daddy and daughter were both thoroughly entertained.

Body Art on My 23 Week Bump

I suppose anybody could get outside and do some body painting but Priya and I have been decorating my tummy regularly for the purpose of celebrating and documenting this pregnancy. Last Sunday was a warm Autumn day, making it the perfect time to get outside. Big thanks to Aunty Bek for taking some photos for us. I doubt Daddy would have put in such an effort so I am very greatful that Rebekah took time out of her busy weekend to help. She has taken some beautiful photographs of some other pregnant bellies in recent months, so if admiring 'baby bumps' is your thing, head over to 'Just For Daisy' and have a look.