• Win a Fingerlings Baby Monkey
    competition - toy review

    Fingerlings Baby Monkey review and giveaway

    July 28, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe the first week of the summer holidays is nearly over. We’ve been so busy but still had time to review the very cute Fingerlings from WooWee. Fingerlings Baby Monkeys love hanging onto your finger and know when they’re being touched, spoken to, and even hung upside down! These perfect primate pets come to life with 40 ways to play and 50 sounds to let you know how they are feeling. They are really adorable. To see what I mean take a look at this: You’ll fall in love with these sweet and sometimes silly critters with their realistic…

  • Tuff spot mud kitchen play
    crafts

    Tuff spot mud kitchen play

    July 28, 2017 - By 

    The weather has been a real mixed bag this week. There have been some moments when it felt like summer, but mostly it has felt really autumnal. On one lovely and sunny afternoon I set up the tuff spot with an invitation to play – a tuff spot mud kitchen. We have a much-loved homemade mud kitchen. It is well used but I thought that setting up a mud kitchen in the tuff spot would inspire my children to do things differently. Whilst they were out at camp I set up the tuff spot, filling it with baking trays, colanders,…

  • Five minute felt superhero masks
    crafts - sewing

    Five minute felt superhero masks

    July 27, 2017 - By 

    My 5 year old loves playing super heroes. A few weeks ago her friends came over and it was funny watching them all dress up in whatever we had – which mainly consisted of a Captain America shield and helmet, Iron Man hands and lots of Star Wars lightsabers…. I really wanted to have a go at making simple felt superhero masks so whipped some up using different coloured felt. I used the template from the Duck Tape masks I made a while ago. Five minute felt superhero masks I used paper mask template sheets of coloured felt elastic basic…

  • How to make a Summer Smash Book for kids
    crafts - holidays - Summer

    How to make a Summer Smash Book for kids

    July 26, 2017 - By 

    My children got brilliant school reports this year. I am so proud of them and all the hard work they do at school. With the 6 week school holidays I do worry a little about them losing some of the skills they have learned. I’m not a pushy mum (honest!) but I’ve introduced a few things to make sure their learning doesn’t slide over the holidays. For the last few years we’ve taken part in the Summer Reading Challenge run through our local library. This is as simple as reading 6 books during the school holidays for which they are…

  • 5 ways to use Lego tape
    crafts - Lego

    5 ways to use Lego tape

    July 25, 2017 - By 

    Ages ago an advert for Lego tape kept appearing in my Facebook feed. I am so easy to market too as after a few days I got so fed up of seeing the advert that I bought some tape! Since it arrived it has been sitting and looking at me as I had no idea what to do with it. Today I thought we should finally use it. The children kept picking it up but they didn’t really know what to do with it either. It’s expensive enough that I don’t want them to just peel the backing paper off…

  • DIY miniature wagon for Sylvanian Families
    crafts - Friends of Sylvanian Families

    DIY miniature wagon for Sylvanian Families

    July 25, 2017 - By 

    Our Sylvanian Families collection has pretty much been out and covering the floor for the last few weeks.It’s one of their favourite toys and I thought it might be fun to add to their collection with some homemade additions. Last week we made the cutest little miniature wagon for our Sylvanian Families which was upcycled from an old sweetie tin. I thought I would share it as a tutorial in case anyone else wants to make one. Miniature wagon supplies Small sweetie tin Balsa wood Dowel Acrylic paint Hair pin How to make a miniature wagon for Sylvanian Families I…

  • Noddy gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Noddy inspired gingerbread biscuits

    July 24, 2017 - By 

    Created by Enid Blyton in 1949, Noddy is one of the most beloved children’s characters, having entertained families for generations with stories set in the colourful world of Toyland. Have you seen that Noddy has been given a bit of a makeover by DreamWorks? Yep, Noddy the Toyland Detective reimagines him in the role of investigator; exploring mysteries and searching for clues in Toyland while encouraging children to explore and make discoveries in their own world. I love a craft inspired by a book or children’s character so I couldn’t resist turning Noddy into some delicious gingerbread treats for my…

  • last day of term
    homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy Things {Week 147}

    July 24, 2017 - By 

    Last week was a strange one. It felt so long as we ticked all the *last* things off our to do list. There was the last Street dance and Beavers session, last karate class and I bought home bags of workbooks and art from school. My 7 year old had a sick day which I couldn’t believe and I just about managed to persuade my 5 year old to go school. I think they were both over tired and feeling a little emotional about the end of the school year. I felt sad too and took so many photos of…

  • Lion Guard Rise of Scar playset
    parenting - toy review

    Lion Guard Rise of Scar playset

    July 23, 2017 - By 

    Growing up I loved Disney so it’s probably no surprise that my children do too. I remember The Lion King coming out and going to see it at the cinema with some friends. I had all the Disney soundtracks! I was so excited when I first heard about The Lion Guard animated series. As a fan of the 1994 original I knew this would be something worth tuning in to with my children. My 5 year old loves The Lion Guard and is a pretty big fan of Bunga. I was recently able to get her a Bunga jumper from…