In the past few months I have attended three baby showers...one of those babies has arrived and two are still to come. Baby Showers mean baby gifts and I love the idea of taking something new; something recycled (I love that word, don't you? - it sounds so much better than "old"); and something home-made. One of my favourite home-made gift ideas is an Eye-Spy Bottle.
I first saw this idea over at Silly Eagle Books and really loved it. I have made quite a few of these and I think I enjoy playing with it as much as the children do. For the baby it's a great noisy toy; it's stimulating and interesting; and it rolls nicely when you are giving baby tummy time. For the toddler it becomes a nice eye-spy toy, with an educational bonus - depending on what you put into your bottle, you can practice things like colours and counting. For the slightly older child, you can add an eye-spy spy photo card /or hand drawn card and ask them to search for the specific items in the bottle. For a grown-up - you can make one as a bit of a stress-release toy. I had one on my desk for awhile and couldn't resist shaking the bottle gently and moving the rice and small objects around - something about it is very relaxing :).
With babies on my mind, I decided that we need to have some Baby Fun and I'll be sharing our fun in the next few posts. I also created a special board Baby Showers and Gifts on Pinterest to collect my favourite ideas.
I have another lovely friend who lives across the seas and who is also expecting a baby very soon...she happens to also be having some Baby Fun posts at the moment. Do pop over and visit.
PS. To see a photo card version, pop over to Pink and Green Mama to see her awesome rainbow eye-spy bottle.
Reading this with a BIG smile, since I just happen to be the blessed Mama whose baby was the recipient of this sweet little gift! (Thanks again, Georgia!!)
ReplyDeleteJust something you should be aware of: I made one of these for my older two about a year ago - I used a large, clear plastic spaghetti bottle with a screw on lid and they have played with it many, many times since(you can see it here: http://joyfulmamasplace.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-spy-jar.html) Since we're moving to our new house in two weeks' time, I've started packing their toys, and discovered that the rice in their I Spy Jar was infested with weevils *eeeuuuwww!!* (I've had the same experience with some lentils we had used for a sensory bin and then stored in a plastic container to be used again later.)
I'm not sure how to combat this - maybe there is something one could add to the rice to keep creepy crawlies out? Would love to hear if anyone has an idea!!
How sweet, Georgia! I love the little baby charms inside. I read the comment above--I don't know what weevils are, but they sound bad!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and special gift!!!!! I think your idea of giving something new and something handcrafted is just perfect. Xoxoxoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and special gift!!!!! I think your idea of giving something new and something handcrafted is just perfect. Xoxoxoxoxoxo
ReplyDeletevery very cute!!! I love this idea!!
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