• The Westbury White Horse and Bratton Camp
    days out - holidays - parenting

    The Westbury White Horse and Bratton Camp

    July 8, 2017 - By 

    In all the years we’ve been visiting family in Wiltshire I don’t think I’ve ever written about the Westbury White Horse and Bratton Camp. Both are managed by English Heritage and are free to visit. They are open all year round and are our go-to place when we need to burn off some energy. The Westbury White Horse The White Horse is visible from afar and is a famous local landmark. The kids spend most of our journey to Wiltshire looking for it and they always know we are nearly there when they can see it. Local records suggest the…

  • 9 ways to re-use Scrabble tiles
    crafts - handmade - Handmade gifts - upcycling - vintage

    9 ways to re-use Scrabble tiles

    July 7, 2017 - By 

    I love searching for vintage toys and games in charity shops, especially when the pieces can be upcycled into something else. Scrabble and other letter games are brilliant for upcycling and I’ve made quite a lot with vintage Scrabble tiles. With the end of term fast approaching some of these items could easily be made as handmade thank you gifts for teachers too. Here are 9 ways to re-use Scrabble tiles or things to make inspired by Scrabble tiles: Personalised Scrabble wall art Scrabble tile Father’s Day coaster Scrabble tile badges DIY Scrabble tile dishwasher magnet  DIY magnetic Scrabble board…

  • Upcycled jigsaw puzzle magnets
    crafts - upcycling - vintage

    Upcycled jigsaw puzzle magnets {A-Z Play at Home}

    July 7, 2017 - By 

    Each week I’ve been taking part in the A-Z Play at Home blog hop. This weeks’ letter was J and for once I kew exactly what to make. My children love spotting birds in our little back garden. We have quite a large tree which we’ve hung with bird feeders and the children love nothing better than sitting at the table and spotting the birds. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen robins, starlings, blue tits and goldfinches. We invested in a pair of binoculars so we could easily see them. Upcycled jigsaw puzzle magnets We have a gorgeous vintage…

  • Win with HarperCollins Summer Reads Book Tour!
    book review - competition - crafts

    Win with HarperCollins Summer Reads Book Tour!

    July 6, 2017 - By 

    You can’t beat a big old pile of books to read, especially with the Summer holidays coming up. We love reading all year around but we make a special effort to keep up with our reading so we don’t fall victim to that infamous Summer slide. Both my children love books so we’re so excited to have teamed up with HarperCollins Children’s for an awesome Summer Reads giveaway! Follow #HCSummerReads this July for reviews, activities, exclusive interviews and awesome prizes! HarperCollins Summer Reads Book Tour! HarperCollins Children’s sent us an awesome pile of books which my children were so excited to…

  • homestyle - Lego - subscription box

    The BrickBox subscription box for brick fans

    July 5, 2017 - By 

    As fans of all things brick we were delighted to hear about a new subscription box for Lego fans called BrickBox. This is a monthly subscription box and we recently received the June box and made a little unboxing video of the contents: The BrickBox theme for this month was: Lego Jungle from the Lego City range which we were really excited about as we had spotted some sets in our local toy shop at the weekend and thought they looked brilliant. This BrickBox contained three Lego sets – the Lego Jungle Starters Set, the Lego Jungle Buggy and a Lego Jungle…

  • book review - homestyle - What I'm reading

    The Creative Family Manifesto by Amanda Blake Soule

    July 4, 2017 - By 

    Amanda Blake Soule was one of the first bloggers I discovered and enjoyed reading back in 2005 (when I first started my own blog too!). She is a mother of five, blog and book writer, magazine editor, and maker of all kinds of things. On her blog, Soulemama, she shares tales of her family homesteading adventures from her old farmhouse in Western Maine. She is the author of three books: The Creative Family, Handmade Home, and The Rhythm of Family. I have the first two and I admit they have influenced how I play with my own children. So I…

  • Tuff spot fairy garden play
    crafts - Fairy garden crafts - Nature crafts

    Tuff spot fairy garden play

    July 4, 2017 - By 

    I think a tuff pot must be one of the best products I ever bought. It gets used a lot, especially in the warmer months, and is the perfect size for both my children to use together. At the weekend my children got out their Fairy Busy Box for some small world play. The weather was lovely and warm and it was great to see them setting up the tuff spot for some fairy garden play. Our Fairy Busy Box is actually overflowing (like every other toy box) but this meant they had plenty to keep them busy. It contains…

  • competition - parenting

    Talking about intimate health {£50 Amazon voucher giveaway}

    July 3, 2017 - By 

    I love my children but the one conversation I’m not looking forward to is any of the grown up ones! Both my children are inquisitive little people and I like and encourage that. I always tell them there’s no such thing as a silly question and if I don’t know the answer I can help them find it. However I know that soon my children will enter the period known as the ‘tween’ years, those troublesome pre-teenager years. I know that I will need to be able to equip them with everything they need to know to navigate those awkward…

  • sewing machines at Liberty London
    days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List - Orla Kiely

    Monday Happy Things {Week 144}

    July 3, 2017 - By 

    We are definitely feeling that the end of term is coming. Every thing is finishing which is kind of satisfying but also scary because that means the summer holidays! My son has handed in his school library book for the last time, finished his handwriting book and had his last Gardening Club session. Only 3 weeks left and still so much to squeeze in! It’s time for my Monday Happy Things post – the 5 things which made me really happy in the last 7 days. My to do list is always long but I’ve excelled myself by buying some uniform…