DIY :: A Busy Bag Exchange



A friend of mine recently set up a Busy Bag Exchange for the little tots in our life. While my boys are, for the most part, way beyond Busy Bags, I have a new niece who will need a few in the future. I was pleased the Mommies with littles let me take part; in fact, I had a really great time making my Busy Bags and playing with all the ones they made!

For those new to the Busy Bag concept - A Busy Bag is a small project, puzzle, craft, etc. which captures the attention and fosters learning and creativity of a child. They can be made for any age range, however, I've mainly seen them for the 5 and under group. These items are kept in a gallon sized plastic bag and are brought out throughout the day or on special occasions to help keep a child busy while the caregiver is focused on housework or schooling older children.

How do you host a Busy Bag Exchange? It's simple, really!

First, ask a group of Moms, Aunts, Grandmothers, Sisters, etc. to be a part. My friend used our Church Facebook play group as her inviting forum. She gave us about two weeks to get our bags in order, which was plenty of time.

Have each attendee decide on what kind of Busy Bag they will be making and bringing to the exchange. It's a good idea to let the group know exactly what you are making to reduce duplication.

Keep your group to under 10 people. You can always have another exchange and incorporate new participants, as well as bag ideas.

If you don't have any ideas for Busy Bags, check out Pinterest or Simple Organized Living. The Busy Bag I created was about cupcake decorating. The template for it can be found at Money Saving Mom.

We each made 8 bags for this exchange, with one going to the Church welcome desk for new families to use during the ceremony. We traded out bags with one another one morning at the church.

I came home with some super adorable things - Pop the Popsicle, Stuff it In, Felt Fishing, Eye Spy Bottles, and a wonderfully bound and laminated Play-Doh mat set.

I can't wait to see my niece play with all these items. My youngest has enjoyed giving them the initial playability test!

If you've made a Busy Bag in the past - which has been your child's favorite?

What I Did Wednesday :: Cupcakes & Buttercream Recipe

I'm thinking each Wednesday, I'll share a little bit about what I did throughout the day or at least one main accomplishment! Today, I made simple cupcakes with buttercream icing for a friend's church fundraiser; I made a few extra for my family, too!

The recipe I used is based off of one of the best buttercream recipes I've ever found. I've altered only a couple of minor things from the original, but it is still a fabulous buttercream.

Buttercream Icing

1 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup butter (can use salted or unsalted) - softened
1/3 cup luke warm water
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp clear vanilla
1 tsp butter extract
2 lb. bag of powder sugar

This is best used with a Kitchen-Aide Mixer or an equivalent stand mixer.

Cream together the butter and Crisco until nice and fluffy. Speed 6 on the Kitchen Aide is quite sufficient.

Place the luke warm water in a small bowl, adding the kosher salt. Stir until dissolved. Then, add the flavorings, and stir to mix well.

Turn your mixer speed to the lowest possible setting and add in the powdered sugar slowly. Alternate back and forth with the water mixture.Keep the mixer on low until all liquid and powdered sugar are combined.

Once combined, turn the mixer up a speed level and mix well. Approximately 2-3 minutes.

At this point, you can add color accordingly, if you choose too. This yields a thin to medium icing consistency (great for frosting and borders). If you need thicker icing, simply add less water.

You can also change out the flavorings, depending on your preferences.
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To frost these cupcakes, load a bag using a 2D tip from Wilton.

For the rosettes, start in the middle and gently squeeze and rotate the bag counter clockwise until you've covered the top of the cupcake.

For the hydrangeas, hold the tip slightly above the cupcake, at either a 45 or 90 degree angle, depending on the position of each petal. Give a quick squeeze while lifting off the cupcake and stop squeezing to finish the petal. This might take just a second to get the hang of, so practice on a paper towel first (It's very easy, though).