• days out - holidays - parenting - Wiltshire

    Barton Farm Country Park

    October 1, 2016 - By 

    Just to prove that we don’t sit indoors and spend all our time crafting a few weeks ago we spent the morning at Barton Farm Country Park near the pretty town of Bradford-on-Avon. Every time we visit we find something new and this time was no exception. When we arrived we headed straight for the ancient tithe barn. The weather was threatening to rain and we knew we could hide away inside if necessary. It’s a spectacular 14th century monastic stone barn, 51 metres long, with an amazing timber cruck roof. The tithe barn is part of a complex of…

  • Egg carton ghosts craft for kids
    crafts - Halloween crafts

    Egg carton ghosts craft for kids

    October 1, 2016 - By 

    Now it’s October I feel like I can start telling you about the Halloween crafts we’ve been making. I plan my blog posts about 2 months in advance and as Halloween is perfect for crafting we have plenty to share. We love seasonal crafts and my children and I have lots of fun at this time of year. Today I’m sharing our egg carton ghosts craft for kids. The tutorial is from a new book for Kindle called 30 Halloween Crafts for Kids by Kate at Crafts on Sea, more of that a little later. Egg carton ghosts craft for…

  • Lalaloopsy Glitter Hair Dough Doll
    parenting - playing - toy review

    Lalaloopsy Glitter Hair Dough Doll {Twist Tress ‘N’ Braid}

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    My little 4 year old is adjusting really well to her new school routine. She is completely knackered after school, which isn’t surprising, but we’ve been keeping busy with nice and simple activities. She loves playing with play dough which is perfect for developing her fine motor skills. Recently our play dough has taken a sparkly turn thanks to the Lalaloopsy Glitter Hair Dough Doll. Lalaloopsy have just launched their new Autumn/Winter range which includes the Potty Surprise doll, Princess Style N Swap range and Glitter Hair Dough Doll. We were sent the Lalaloopsy Glitter Hair Dough Doll to review.…

  • Print & Make workshop with Nikki McWilliams
    crafts - Local Review - London

    Print & Make workshop with Nikki McWilliams at West Elm

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Earlier this month I bought myself a ticket to the Print & Make workshop with Nikki McWilliams at West Elm. I’m sure you’ve heard of Nikki McWilliams but just in case you haven’t, she is a cool designer who creates all things biscuit-y. I first heard about her when I saw her Tunnocks’ inspired cushions. The workshop was to learn how to craft your own Biscuit Clutch bag which sounded intriguing. I waited for my husband to come home from work before handing over the kids and taking the  tube into the West End. I love a trip into town…

  • flush-windows
    homestyle

    The benefits of using a local window company

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    Last week our new kitchen was fitted. I’m not sure why it took me so long to realise that it would require time and effort (and money) to make our 1990s house bearable. We both loved our Edwardian terraced house. I loved our neighbours, our street and our proximity to central London. The area was showing signs of gentrification when we lived there but this month they got their first Pret which caused a bit of an outcry and meant Wood Green hit the headlines. It’s fair to say Wood Green has finally arrived – just not in time for…

  • Hand print leaf craft for kids
    Autumn - crafts

    Hand print leaf craft for kids

    September 28, 2016 - By 

    You can’t have missed the fact that Autumn has arrived in the northern hemisphere. Last week we celebrated the Autumn Equinox and went on a walk to see how many different leaves we could find. I love Autumn and nothing beats going for a walk, kicking leaves and spotting signs of nature changing all around us. Over the last few days my daughter has filled the basket on her scooter with leaves and conkers. We have a nature table at home which was over flowing so decided to use some of the leaves we had found. Hand print Autumn leaf…

  • DIY constellation pin badge holder
    crafts - homestyle - upcycling

    DIY constellation pin badge holder

    September 27, 2016 - By 

    It can’t have escaped your notice that pins are really popular at the moment. My collection has been growing steadily for weeks, thanks to my Lucky Box subscription and Instagram. I can’t help but see a pretty pin and have to follow the trail until I have it for my collection! My enamel pin badge collection is getting out of control. Two of my favourites are the Custard Cream enamel pin by Nicki McWilliams which I picked up at one of her workshops, and my seam ripper No Regrets enamel pin badge from Colette. I do have a few more…

  • The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep
    book review - competition - parenting

    Win a copy of The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    Last year The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep became a ground-breaking best-seller – and a bedtime saviour – as parents across the globe extolled the success of the book in helping their children to fall asleep at night. This new story, The Little Elephant Who Wants to Fall Asleep, will be another welcome solution to help turn the often-trying bedtime routine into a special end-of-day ritual. The Little Elephant, features an all-new cast of lovable characters, but has been created with the same objective of helping children fall asleep. Written by behavioural scientist and parent, Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin, the…

  • days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List – Week 105

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    This past week has been a strange one. I’m still adjusting to both my children being at school. There was no time to relax at home though as our new kitchen was installed. We ordered it through Wickes and they had a cancellation which meant we were offered a really early slot or had the option of waiting another 6 weeks. We went for the cancellation slot so spent last weekend packing away our kitchen in the spare room. It was interesting watching our new kitchen being installed and it’s looking quite good with just a few snags. We still…