my creative space: a baby bouquet tutorial

I've always loved the baby bouquets you can buy to give as a gifts for a baby shower or a new baby- however they are pretty expensive and I wanted to choose what to put in the bouquet so I thought I would try making one myself. I found this Martha Stewart tutorial but it was a bit complicated so I just made one up myself! 

1. First I bought a merino nightie, a pair of merino socks and a bib from JK's (they have a sale on at the mo too BTW). 
2. Then I found a round cardboard box I had kept from a gift (it was one of those Kaloo boxes that had a teddy in it -Spotlight also has a good selection of boxes).  I rolled up the nightie, socks and bib tightly and tied a skinny ribbon around each one to keep it together.  
3. For the crepe paper flowers I used a couple I had made for my three year olds birthday party- there are lots of tutorials online like this one.
4. Then I scrunched up some green tissue paper in the box, popped in the clothing items and the flowers, then cut some leaves out of green felt and arranged them in the box. 
5. To finish I tied a ribbon around the outside of the box and gave to the mum of one very beautiful little baby girl ♥

And 'Our Creative Spaces' has moved  - Kirsty from Kootoyoo is still running it but it is now being hosted at the fab website Kidspot- check it out here

Megan x

Ben's tomato and olive pasta

This is my hubby's recipe for a delicious, easy pasta meal - its a great meal to make when there's not much else in the pantry or fridge (and a good one for Make Do May!)  The girls and Jack like this meal too which is a bonus. 

Penne pasta- enough for 4

2 rashers of bacon chopped into pieces (optional)

1 diced onion
1 clove finely chopped garlic
Chopped veges- beans, carrots, capsicum, courgette, broccoli
2 Tins crushed tomatoes
Kalamata olives-as many as you would like!

1. In a pot put water on to boil for the pasta.  Add pasta when water is boiling. When the pasta is cooked drain and set aside until adding to the pan with tomatoes and olives.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a wide based saucepan fry the bacon.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook until clear
5. Add your veges and stir fry until cooked (you can add a dash of water to the pan if the veges starts drying out and sticking to the pan)
6. Add tins of tomatoes and olives and your cooked pasta
7. Simmer for 5 minutes

For more meal ideas read my Meal Planning post here :)
Megan x

lunchboxes

Like most mums I have tried everything in regards to things like baby bottles, sippy cups, drink bottles, nappy bags, lunchboxes in the quest to find a really good one (I was going to say perfect but I really hate that word!!) With Amelie starting school it was time to find a really good lunchbox and drink bottle - she used to have 'lunchbox Tuesdays' but doing a lunchbox every day is a whole different ball game!
The lunchbox I've found for her is the one I like the best so far out of all the lunchboxes I've used over the years so I thought I'd share it with you, and the pro's and con's of the other lunchboxes if you are looking to get one for your kids. (Of course it's just my opinion and this isn't a sponsored post or anything!) I do like the other lunchboxes, but for school and for fitting into a school bag I like the Nude one the best.

This is the one I'm using for school and is my favourite- The Nude Food Mover Mini.  I bought it from Plastic Box but you can buy them online from Yum Yum Kids. There is also a larger Nude Food Mover but it is pretty huge!

Nude Food Mover Mini

Pro's

• not too bulky or long so easily fits in her bag along with her book bag and jacket
• easily fits a sandwich, muffin or other treat, raisins, babybel in the main compartment (I don't use the sandwich 'seatbelt') that comes with the lunchbox
• the two pod containers are great for things like pretzels, popcorn, crackers, cheese and carrot sticks, grapes, yoghurt...
• can take out one of the pod containers and put a small apple in the space

Con's

• The only con I can think of is your child losing the lids or the whole containers from the pod compartments so I've labelled the lids and the containers as well.
• and it can't fit a banana

Tupperware lunchbox

Pro's

• lots of compartments so don't need any extra containers which is great

Con's

• can't fit an apple as it isn't very high
• can be quite difficult for kids to open
• I find it a bit too long when stuffing it in a school bag with everything else in there!

Penny Scallan style lunchboxes

Pro's

• look very cute and the kids love the look of them too
• insulated lining
• fits an apple or a banana

Con's

• I found it quite bulky and difficult to fit in a school bag with everything else
• have to use gladwrap, snack bags or a lot of little plastic containers if like me you are not a fan of gladwrap!

Sistema lunchbox 'Quaddie'

Pro's

• compartments on top plus a compartment for small water bottle that comes with the lunchbox so no need for separate containers

Con's

• another one I found just too bulky to easily fit into a schoolbag
• the lid is quite heavy and actually takes up a lot of space in the main lunchbox compartment
• I could just see my 4 year old forgetting to shut the lids on the top compartments properly and then opening up the main lid and anything left in there tipping out everywhere. Maybe not but highly likely!

For her drink bottle I went with this Sistema one I bought from Plastic Box as well. It was only about $5 and is small, light and BPA free (I was looking for a small one as school bags can be heavy enough without a large, heavy drink bottle as well, and there's water fountains at her school too) and it's easy to open and close.

So there you go, my two cents worth on kids lunchboxes...

And here's a couple of tips from a really great blog post I read last year that had heaps of lunchbox tips and ideas but I can't for the life of me remember where I read it (if you have written a kids lunchbox type post let me know!) 

• buy two of the same lunch boxes and drink bottles so you've always got one ready to pack
• freeze a whole lot of muffins and mini muffins so you've got something to grab from the freezer. 

Any more lunchbox tips gratefully appreciated!

Megan x