Slipper Sweetness

Ok, so I completely melted when I found these little beauties from WoolyBaby. I mean, hello, on the adorable scale, they are off the chart!! These little lambswool slippers are made from upcycled sweaters. Slippers with a conscience, cosy comfort!

Timeless Toys

If you are looking for a little something extra special for your boys, then take a look at the offerings from Moulin Roty. Only the French can create such exquisite, timeless toys. The finish is perfection and you'd need to own a very neat and tidy fellow to look after one of these gorgeous things. Oh well that rules our two out!

Work bench, made of beech

Night Shadows - just in time for Halloween

Tool box for the budding carpenter 

Tree-ific

While gushing over the sublime Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A last week, I picked up this mindful little birdhouse for the boys. Foldable, weatherproofed and best of all, made of recyclable cardboard, this DIY home can be decorated with markers, stickers, or even paint.
We have just added ours to our back garden Silver Birch and have begun our daily patrol for any little visitors. We'll let you know if anything happens!

Time for some fun

If your little 'brother' is heading towards 8 then perhaps he is ready for his first watch. I remember it was about that time that I got my very own. I still treasure it, a teeny gold face with black leather strap, my prize possession for many years, with the added responsibility of the daily wind. 

If I had been given the choice between my modest wristwatch or the TKO Orlogi 'Slappers' watch, though, I think my poor little gold number would have been instantly ditched. Part Swatch style, part slap-on wristband, these versatile, interchangeable bright sparks are sure to have a big following. Not only for the under 10's, but all of us still young at heart. 

Just before I left...

A package arrived from London. As if she didn't have enough to think about, my soon to be wedded sister sent me this fabulous vintage book - The Modern Book for Boys. How perfectly Brothers Trimm. Maybe we should bring these books back, 21st century style? They are just so dandy I'm feeling inspired. I'll add that to my list of travel thoughts I think! Toodlepips...

Taking a break

I'm off to foreign lands this week, travelling to London and Latvia to celebrate our Reel Time contributor Julie's, much anticipated wedding! As this trip will be a whirlwind of celebrations and plane rides, The Brothers Trimm will be taking a rest until I return at the end of the month.
In the meantime, take the time to enjoy some previous posts, and make sure you haven't missed any of our great Make and Do's or reviews on the latest international animation. Need some sound advice? Well just ask Chris!
Congratulations to Julie and Janis, we all wish you a beautiful day and very fun and loving life together.
See you lovely people bright eyed and bushy tailed, back at the Brothers Trimm HQ in October!

Cuteness Alert!!

Uh oh, look what I've just found. Is this possibly the cutest Ace Apparel post yet! If you're looking for dress ups that aren't all pirates and sheriffs,then I think I've found you just the thing. Sweet Mama of two boys, Carlee from Zoodies has hit the jackpot. Sick of outfits with negative nylon, she has created hoodies with cute animal themes. Horses, dinosaurs, skunks and even koalas are all available from babies to big boys. Go on, check them out, they really are super sweet!

Watch out, Shark, Shark!

The cutest Koala

Daring Dino!

Boys Only Market

Calling all Sydney-siders. Those clever people over at Baby & Kids Market are back with yet another BOYS ONLY market this Sunday. Not a patch of pink to be seen, go for a bargain and I bet you'll leave with a lot more!

Thanks Polli for the tip off!

Simple Steps

It's good to see there's such an abundant market for environmental kids
literature. With parents taking a vested interest in their children's future,
many books are filling the shelves in the hope that the next generation
will be nourished with sustainable wisdom. Simple Steps: Toward a 
Healthier Earth is one such guide that provides more than 55
planet-protecting activites for the whole family, plus loads of useful
stickers.Reduce waste and make your home, school, and neighbourhood
more environmentally friendly, one step at a time.

Photo: Copyright © Ian MacPherson 2010.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street

Did you know that the world's most favourite neighbourhood is 40 this year? To celebrate this milestone, Sesame Street has teamed up with American Apparel to create a super cute range of onesies, tees and undies. I know we don't advocate commercialism on the Brothers Trimm, but sometimes I just can't deny the power of Elmo!

Make and Do: A model of the Solar System

The space theme continues and so for our next Make and Do the boys decided they wanted to make some planets. We made a model of the Solar System with the planets orbiting the sun.



Materials:
10 styrofoam balls (1 very big for the Sun, 2 large for Jupiter and Saturn, 4 medium for Uranus, Neptune, Venus and Earth, 3 small for Pluto, Mars and Mercury),
a small hoop,
little picture hooks,
wire/fishing line,
a small piece of cardboard to make Saturn's ring and paint.

Creating the Solar System:
Our first task was to make Saturn's ring. We traced two circles onto cardboard, using the styrofoam ball to measure the inner circle. Cut the inside of the smaller circle out, making a donut. We then pushed the ball into the hole to make Saturn:






The pirates astronauts were then set to work painting the planets. The Captain now has as an extensive collection of space books so we loosely based our colour choices on how the planets were depicted in the books:

I helped out with painting Earth:

We stuck tiny framing hooks straight into the top of each planet for hanging:

And then used framing wire (fishing line would have been better in retrospect though) to hang the planets. I cut 10 roughly equal lengths for each planet:

I strung two pieces of framing wire to make a cross in the centre of the hoop. From the centre of the cross we then hung the sun:

On the criss-crossed bits of wire we then hung Mercury (closest to the sun), Venus (second planet from the sun), Earth (third planet) and Mars (fourth planet). On the hoop itself we hung Saturn (sixth planet), Uranus (seventh planet) Neptune (eighth planet) and Pluto (furthest from the sun and also the smallest).

The mysterious 11th planet that you might be able to see hanging there is actually the moon, the astronauts insisted that it be included:

Tell me a Story

After the frightfully wet and dreary weekend we've just had, these Story Cubes would have come in very handy...Go on, start the week by exercising your imagination

Task-tastic

I absolutely must get our house a stack of these. Armed with these fabulous tea towels I know I will have the boys drying dishes in no time. You know what they say, embrace drudgery with a happy heart.

Ma Cacabane

You gotta love the French. They can put style into just about everything. If like us you're going through the toilet training saga then the Cacabane will give you a giggle if nothing else. Does your little one need a little privacy? Are they finding public peeing just a little personal? Well this little invention is just what you need!