Foosball table

Ahh who doesn't love a good game of Foosball? Well we have found a rather nice version of this iconic boys game by Plan Toys. Made to sit on your table top with practical rubber strips to avoid any slippage or damage to any surface, it has specially designed handles, suitable for younger soccer fans as well as older brothers. It helps develop hand eye coordination, counting (a scoreboard is included) and the whole fun part of winning and losing!! It's also reasonably priced which is why we like it so much. For more, visit the Plan Toy website here

Original Oregon

Willowbaus shares the pleasure of also mothering two little boys, and after a career making children's accessories, she now enjoys creating at home for her shop, Tweet by Willowbaus on Etsy. Based in Portland Oregon, her pieces are lovingly made to order and shipped worldwide. We just love her wooden sail boats and wanderley wagons of the Old West! There are lots of great printed sails, mobiles and garlands, so go on take a look!

Made by Joel

The blogs that I follow are 99.9% written by women, so it was quite refreshing to come across that of artist Joel Henriques. His crafting blog is primarily dedicated to creating fun things for his kids. Wow, what a super-cool Daddy! Being a fan of all things paper, I just love what he produced after simply doodling on the train one Saturday. He has kindly shared his Paper City with everyone and you can download his templates here and here, colour the characters and match the buildings to suit your imagination. Have fun!

All images are courtesy of www.madebyjoel.blogspot.com

Monstar Kids

You may have noticed we're having a monster obsession of late. So it comes as no surprise that my eyes lit up when I came across Monstar Kids. Designed and manufactured in Australia, (and available almost worldwide) this clothing range is more Star than Monster. The quality T's and hoodies for boys have been produced in bright, strong colours, no namby pamby tones in sight. With an affordable price tag and great bike, robot and muscle car graphics, they are just the ticket for your boy racers.

From top, 

Muscle Car hoody in Ink/Yellow

Robot Buddy long sleeved T in Grass/White

Race Bike long sleeved T in Dusk/Ink

Earth Day

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Make sure you turn off the TV and talk to your kids about what you are doing to help maintain our precious planet.


For the budding scientist, astronomer, astrophysicist and dreamer why not invest in an Earth Ball from our pals at Monkeytail and Wellington. It's an amazing way to teach children about the planet they call home. The 16” (40cm) inflatable Earth Ball features the latest generation of NASA satellite imagery and is the most visually authentic globe available in the world. Not only a beautiful sight during daylight, it also features “NightGlow Cities”, each city centre glows in the dark!

If you're feeling crafty then try your hand at making your very own planet Earth. You can find it here on the fabulous Kaboose website

Sewing the Seeds

For anyone not already aware of Seedling, may I please introduce them to you...
When Phoebe Hayman couldn't find a meaningful or inspiring children's gift, she yearned for a good old-fashioned experience rather than a mass produced piece of plastic. Sound familiar? Designed, developed and created on a small farm in good old Auckland, New Zealand, Seedling was born in 2006. It now has a thriving team who inject pure passion into their products, allowing children to work with real materials and tools, giving them a sense of mastery and achievement whilst also having fun and engaging with adults..brilliant! From mask making, worm farming, kaleidoscope creating to yo yo building, there is little that Seedling hasn't thought of. If you're lucky enough to live in Auckland, go along to one of their three very own stores, Otherwise, the range is available all around NZ, Australia, Japan and Canada and will be in Europe this (European) summer. Do visit their website, as they also have an online store.

The Iron Giant

One could say we are quite spoilt with all there is to see and enjoy in the cinema these days, particularly with the ever increasing option of 3D/Stereoscopic and all it's bells and whistles. For those of you who have not yet experienced donning the slightly nerdy, blind man style of eye wear for a couple of hours, I would highly recommend it. However, no matter how far we advance in the world of special effects, it brings me much joy to know that a good story, no matter how simply produced, will still entertain and have your boys (and you!) glued to the screen.
The Iron Giant, released just over 10 years ago, is a wonderful example of classic 2D animation, with an intelligent and thought-provoking story. Based on a 1968 novella by British poet Ted Hughes, The Iron Giant tells the tale of Hogarth Hughes, a headstrong nine-year-old boy who meets a giant iron robot hurtled to Earth from outer space. While the 50-foot iron giant is terrifying at first, Hogarth gives him a chance and learns that he is actually quite innocent, with a childlike curiosity and thirst for knowledge, not to mention a ravenous hunger for metal! Hogarth finds himself tied to protecting the Iron Giant from a paranoid US Government agent and, in doing so, saves his town from the prejudices and fears its people cling to.
Directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles and Ratatouille), The Iron Giant has been praised for presenting complex morals and big, tough subjects in a non-preachy way. This film brings up issues that parents can talk about with their children, whilst beautifully and lucidly capturing the giddy yet magical quest for boyhood adventure.

The Iron Giant is available on DVD or can be watched on You Tube (in lots of installments!)

Skittle Zoo

One of the best presents my sister brought from the UK was a set of wooden animal skittles from Habitat. Not only are they great fun to knock over but they have prompted us to explore each animal and test the boys knowledge of the various sounds they make (highly amusing). These versions are very reasonably priced, but sadly not available to us all down here. So if you like the look of these, then try here for an alternative.

From top: Skittles from Habitat and Ruby and the Dodo's range online.

Modern Kids

If I was in London this weekend,  I would be rallying the troupes and making a beeline to Kids.Modern at Dulwich College. It is THE place to go if you are interested in cleverly designed furniture, wallpaper, lighting, accessories, toys and fashion. With special offers and loads of Make-And -Do workshops, entertainment and creative fizz, the show is celebrating it's third year with the likes of Belle and Boo, Creative Charlie, Made with Love from Mrs Booth, and Name Studios. Ohhhh, where's a virtual transporter when you need one?

From top:

My Paper Plane print, from Belle and Boo

Rainy Day Craft Box from Creative Charlie

Playtime Primer counting and colouring book from Mrs Booth

Organic and Fair Trade graphic T's from Name Studios

Monster Magnets

I can't help myself. Now that I've lifted the lid on the world of monsters, they seem to be coming out from everywhere! This week I found these terrific monster magnets sets from Goblin-Fish Press. There are over 40 monster parts to mix and match, with a choice of haunted houses or alien planets to create your spooky scene.

Spinning a Yarn...

Musical stories were a mainstay of my youth on the sunday morning children's radio show and also on records. Now that vinyl is making a resurgence, many people are either dusting off their record players or investing in new ones and for parents this can be entertaining for both themselves and their boys. Peter Pan in particular made many classic records with a soundtrack and accompanying book to flick through. So when you are next passing that antique store or second hand record shop, take a minute to flick through the dusty bins and for next to nothing you can relive your childhood and open up a new world to your own kids.

Much Agoo about Something

After a wintry day trip to Hartz Mountains National Park today, I wished I'd had some Agoo clothing for the boys to wear! Founded with a desire to provide exceptional clothing for kids with active lifestyles, Agoo's philosophy is for children to wear clothing that provides the same important features found in adult wear. So you'll find moisture repellent, anti bacterial 4-way stretch fabrics for all kinds of play, which are 50+ UV protected, super soft and comfy enough to suit even the most sensitive skins. AND they doesn't cost the earth! So what are you waiting for, go visit their website and invest in some clever comfort for your boys. Oh and there's a sale on too!

Housekeeping

We've been reviewing certain elements of our layout and made a few improvements as well as simplifying a few things too. We've added a new slideshow called Look What You Made, so we can share what our readers have been inspired to make. We have also replaced the list of categories to focus on our lovely contributors. If you need to find an older post, just click on the archive or use the search engine provided, located down there on the right column.
Please let us know what you think, what we could do better or what you want to see more of. Don't be shy!
Either comment or email us at jen@brotherstrimm.com

Urban Lego Loving

I have just come across the loveliest of art projects. Led by artist Jan Vormann, and accompanied by volunteers of all ages, the Dispatchwork project was created as a social art experience. Using lego, young and old alike, volunteer their time to filling in the cavities and cracks of urban buildings right across the globe. From Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, crumbling blocks are refreshed with bursts of the classic colour bricks. With an invitation to create your own little piece of lego love wherever you are, why not join the mailing list and follow the journey.

Letter Glider

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No it's a postcard plane! The creative gurus at Suck UK have created a great incentive for kids to get back to good old fashioned letter writing. With the Postcard Aeroplane, all you need to do is create a personal message on the balsa wood card, which includes a pop out aeroplane ready to receive and create. Perfect for penpals, cousins, uncles or Grandad's to share! Available online and in selected stores internationally

Bedtime Buddy

Down in Tasmania, Autumn is in full swing and we have been adding a few extra layers to beds and bodies, particularly at night. If you too are finding it a little chillier, why not send your little men to bed with these super cute hot water bottles from Peter Alexander. With six designs to choose from, we are rather partial to the chirpy garden gnome and his nut munching friend Squirrel. Both water bottle and cover are included and their mini size makes them a cosy bedtime buddy.

Images by Peter Alexander

Happy Easter

If Easter baskets just aren't your boys 'thing' this year, here's an alternative crafty egg collector. Lier, the clever Mum at ikat bag has come up with another Brothers Trimm cardboard hero. There's a pattern template provided if you think these look a little tricky. So go on, give it a go. And if you've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia, these Dawn Treaders are sure to win you some major brownie points.

April Fools Antics

Watch out, it's April Fool's Day! Need some ammunition for your trickster boys today? Here's a couple that are sure to entertain...

Flavoured Milk? 

This is a harmless but funny prank. Put a few drops of food colouring in the milk to turn it any colour you wish. When the kids go to pour milk on their cereal or in a glass, they’ll be in for a bit of a surprise

Make jelly look like juice! 

Pour your favourite jelly flavour into drinking glasses and insert a straw in each glass. Let them set in the fridge and wait for your kids to say “what the?!”

Jelly joke and images from Living Locurto