Markets, Blogiversaries & a Giveaway!

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Thanks so much for all of your encouraging comments for my first ever real market last Saturday.  I had such a great time!  It was such a buzz that we’ve booked in to do another!  Thanks to all the people who came to say hi!  So awesome to meet some bloggy buddies IRL* as well!
On another note, over the Easter holidays this little blog turned two!  Life has since continued on at it’s usual rapid rate and the blog quietly slid into it’s third year with me barely finding time to scratch together a post, but I really wanted a chance to thank you all so much for making this blogging caper such an invaluable part of my journey.

Fortuitously, post market, I now have a nice little handful of goodies that I’d love to give away to one lovely Frog, Goose & Bear reader as a way of saying thanks!

In this ‘Frog, Goose & Bear Giveaway Pack’ you’ll find……


One rainbow cloud vertical garland**, one mini map bunting, one clay birdie, two fabric covered cards, one origami bunting card and two fabric covered hairties.

Simply comment on this post to go into the draw.***  While you’re there you might like to share what you would like to see in a ‘Frog Goose & Bear’ etsy/madeit store if there was ever to be one.

Entries close next Friday (18 May).  
A winner will be randomly selected sometime next weekend.  








* in real life
** 2m in length (unlike the one pictured).
*** If you don’t have a blog, you can enter too!  Just make sure that your email address is included in your comment so that I can contact you! 

Made ‘n’ Thornbury Market

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This Saturday my friend Candy and I are going to have a little stall at the Made ‘n’ Thornbury Mother’s Day Market.  Just for fun.  It’s a great little community market and advantageously, for the weather forecast for the weekend, it is indoors!

For my half of the stall I’ve made some fabric covered cards, bunting cards, paper garlands & mini map bunting, little clay birdies and some wheat bags if I actually get around to making them.

If you are in the area – please drop in and say hi!  

Another Weekend in the Country…

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We seem to have enjoyed quite a few weekends away lately.  It is so good spending time outdoors.
Last weekend we were with my extended family in southern NSW on one of my favourite properties.   My parents no longer own the farm where I grew up, so being able to share with my own kids, a space where I spent quite a bit of time in my own childhood was pretty special.


 The gastro that slowly passed from one family member to the other on our return home was not so special.  Amazing how much kids really can fend for themselves!  It was my turn on Tuesday and thank goodness Goose was home from school as she managed to get breakfast, lunch (sandwiches) and dinner (baked beans) for all.  I couldn’t have been more grateful or proud.  Four movies later and they are still sporting fake tattoos all over their bodies (the crab on Bear’s forehead is my particular favourite) but they survived just fine!  

How gorgeous is this property.  I could easily live here permanently.

21 adults and 8 kids, tents, tennis, long lunches on the lawn, dessert making competitions, kids style party games for Mr FGB’s birthday, bagpipes, food fights, the annual Australian poetry competition to win the prized golden rabbit trap…
but for the kids, catching yabbies was by far the favourite activity of the weekend.
Do you have a favourite place from your childhood where you love to take your own kids?

Mini Aussie S’mores

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Ever since tasting my first S’more in Cranberry, Pennsylvania, USA 17 years ago I have been lamenting the lack of the Australian equivalent.  However, it seems that all this time I have been living unaware that there actually was one!

After being introduced to the answer a few weeks ago, I was keen to try it out on our Easter camping weekend.  

Instead of the American Graham Crackers, here in Australia Arnott’s Chocolate Wheatens or McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives serve the same delicious purpose.  After coming across some bags of mini chocolate digestives in the supermarket, I thought it would be fun to make a mini bite sized version of the classic camping treat using mini marshmallows!
MINI AUSSIE S’MORES

Place 2 mini marshmallows onto the perfect marshmallow stick that you have scavenged somewhere on the ground* and cook them to your liking in the coals** of a campfire.

Place a mini chocolate wheaten on your lap***, chocolate side up.  Then place your marshmallows, still on the stick, on top.  Then on top of your marshmallows, still on the stick, place another mini chocolate wheaten, chocolate side down.

Slide your marshmallow stick out, leaving the marshmallow behind so that you have a delicious marshmallowy, chocolatey biscuit sandwich.

Indulge in the mini bite sized moreish treat!


Of course we also made the other classic campfire dessert choc bananas wrapped in foil.  I think we might be adding Aussie S’mores to the camping repertoire from now on!


Do you have a favourite camping treat?

* who knows where it’s been?!
** coals really are the best for cooking marshmallows.  I’m sure you’re all aware of this.  There are those who do like a charred marshmallow, I am not one of them.
*** Also filthy from a days worth of chocolate and fun outdoors with children.
I was always taught that a bit of dirt is good for the immune system…..although this recipe would no doubt work deliciously well, and more hygenically on a gas stove.

A Creative Camping Weekend

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We had such a lovely time camping over the Easter long weekend.  Four nights with my Mum, sisters, their husbands & kids.  7 adults & 5 children.  The weather was perfect.  It started to rain as we were driving out of the camping ground.  Timing.


There is a strong creative influence in our family, so we got up to quite a bit of camp ‘art & craft’ over the weekend with not one of them organised by me!  Going camping with  aunts & uncles who are artists, sculptors, builders & crafty mamas can be quite a bonus!  So much creative fun to be had outside with nature!

They made their own paint from dirt, charcoal & leaves.


They made their own charcoal in fire, using sticks, foil & coals


and did some sneaky grafitti…

They carved sculptures using rocks (children) 



and knives (the sculptor uncle) 


and even chainsaws (the builder uncle)
 This cricket set below was made with the chainsaw, freehand!

Climbed cubby houses.


 Rubbed paper with crayons to discover the secrets beneath.


Children waking at the crack of dawn and long days meant that there was still plenty of time for other non-creative pursuits …

firewood collecting

reading in the hammock

climbing trees

nature collecting

eating potatoes overcooked in foil in the fire

Sack races
making even more easter baskets and hunting for easter eggs

Eating too many easter eggs
Some Bear Grylls re-enacting

and lots of precious quality time 

spent with those we love


and the absolute highlight – learning to ride on two wheels for the very first time!

I love my little family, I really do.  Now I’m home.  Never more keen to have a shower!    Exhausted and doing load upon load of dirt encrusted washing!

What did you get up to over the Easter long weekend?

Are you a little addicted to taking photos like me?  I took over 500 photos….(!?!)


More Free Easter Printables

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It seems that my Free Easter Printables post from last year is getting a quite few hits!  
I’ve noticed a few fresh ones out this year that I rather like…
Three fun & free (say that really fast) printable collections from Mooo which includes the one pictured above.

Retro Egg Carton from Funkytime.

Cute little egg people printables from mrprintables.

Easter Tag from the ever favourite eatdrinkchic.

A beautiful reflection on the Easter Story over here using plastic eggs.

Happy Easter my friends,


And even more easter eggs…

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It’s become a tradition over the last four years for us to make these cute little birds nests each Easter. 
They are lots of fun & easy for kids to make. 



For the recipe head over to last year’s post.

I gave Red Tulip’s ‘Birds Eggs’ a try this year, as well as the usual jelly beans.  I think they look rather cute and they taste delicious!!  They’d look great with Cadbury’s Mini Eggs too.  Here’s a tutorial on how to make larger easter nest baskets using small foil wrapped eggs.

They make for another cute little easter gift too.  
However, I must warn you that they are made with peanut butter, so you’d have to make sure that the gift recipient had no allergies.  For this reason I had a try this year at making some with gluten free noodles & a peanut butter substitute.  Unfortunately it just tasted awful – sorry!  


If you’re looking for more simple & easy recipes, that look great without much effort, then you might like to check out FGB’s easy peasy recipes page.  Or for more Easter crafts, FGB’s kids crafts page.

RAINBOW TOES & BLUE TONGUES

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This post is for Annie.
Frog, Goose, Bear & myself, all with rainbow toes.  


Annie is a beautiful, creative, mother of five and she had her left breast removed yesterday, after finding a lump only two short weeks ago.  She painted rainbows on her toes before surgery as a sign of hope & courage.  There are friends everywhere painting their toes in rainbow colours as a sign of support.  If you know Annie, or even if you don’t – join in!

About a month ago, Annie posted a photo of her dinner…. baked blue tongue on her blog.  We have a blue tongue lizard who lives in our shed.  We’ve named him Bluey.  So, of course, I had to give baked blue tongue a try!  Not quite as perfect as Annie’s, but it is now the most requested meal here at FGB headquarters.  You’ll notice, Annie, that I even followed your advice of making an individual blue tongue for each child.  

We haven’t seen Bluey for quite a few weeks and I was beginning to wonder if he was OK.  Just before taking the pic of our rainbow toes this afternoon, Bluey showed up right in the middle of the shed floor in a much more bold position than ever before.  Annie, it must be a sign.

My Creative Space… bringing back the 80′s!

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When I was in high school I loved scrunchies.  I remember making scrunchie upon scrunchie on my mothers sewing machine using her fabric scraps.  They were cool once and I have been itching to make some more for ages and give them a come back!

 I don’t think I’m the first. I have seen them around.  When I eventually got around to making them, I was surprised how much the girls loved them.  Goose was wearing hers every day to school and refusing to wear anything else, so I thought I’d make one to match her school uniform!

I found a second-hand dress at the school uniform shop for only $2 and used it to make a scrunchie and some fabric covered hairties.
 As you can see in this pic, in true 80′s style Goose is wearing her ponytail on the side as well!  

These would make another great handmade gift for girls. 
If you’d like me to write up a tutorial, let me know.
Do you find the comeback of 80′s fashion a little disturbing?  
Or are you embracing it?

Joining in again this week with our creative space – an inspiring collection of creativeness.

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