• Bottersnikes & Gumbles
    book review - competition - What I'm reading

    Win a copy of The Adventures of Bottersnikes and Gumbles

    July 30, 2016 - By 

    This week Bottersnikes & Gumbles – the award-winning kids’ CGI animation show – premiered on CBBC, airing at 6pm every week day (with a repeat the following day at 3.30pm). The series brings to screen the much-loved 1970s classic children’s books by Australian author S.A. Wakefield and illustrated by Desmond Digby. In a far away forgotten valley, heaped with long abandoned junk, a timeless battle rages between good and evil… and also between squashy and scaly, happy and grumpy, clever and wily… cute and plain old ugly. This is the land of Bottersnikes and Gumbles. Each episode features the charming…

  • POPPIT POP 'N' DISPLAY BAKERY PLAYSET
    playing - toy review - UKMums.TV Preferred Blogger

    Poppit Pop ‘n’ Display Bakery review

    July 30, 2016 - By 

    My two children love to craft. We’ve made a few things with air drying clay and the children were keen to try more. Lucky for them they received the new Poppit Pop ‘n’ Display Bakery Playset to review. The Poppit Pop ‘n’ Display Bakery makes 12 creations with air dry clay and comes with numerous moulds and 4 clay colours. Both my children love craft activities and small, collectible toys so they really wanted to try this playset. I was a little apprehensive but it’s aimed at 5+ so I knew they could have a good go at it. With…

  • Ikea chocolate biscuits
    Christmas - homestyle

    Learning the art of tablescaping with Ikea

    July 30, 2016 - By 

    On what felt like the hottest night of the year so far I was given a late pass to head into Soho for a fabulous evening with Ikea. I’ve always loved Ikea and every room in our house has something from there. I love the clean lines, contemporary Swedish design, and of course, excellent value for money. I joined some other fantastic creative bloggers and were shown to the top floor of a gorgeous old building. It was decorated for Christmas which I admit did feel slightly odd given the warm weather. But soon the Christmassy smells got me in…

  • Schleich Horse Club Riding Centre
    playing - toy review - UKMums.TV Preferred Blogger

    Schleich Horse Club – Riding Centre with rider, horses and accessories

    July 29, 2016 - By 

    My children love their Schleich toys for small world play so were overjoyed to receive the amazing new Horse Club Riding Centre with rider, horses and accessories, part of the Schleich Horse club range. The brand new, colourful “Riding centre with rider and horses” playset comes with lots of accessories (including horses, a rider, blanket, riding gear, food and brushes) and offers many different functions guaranteed to provide hours of fun. There is also a sheet of stickers to decorate the stables and add your horses names. Schleich Horse Club Riding Centre This is a large toy which comes in…

  • vintage playing card bookmarks
    crafts - Kids crafts - Paper craft - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    DIY paper clip bookmarks

    July 29, 2016 - By 

    We really enjoy taking part in the monthly Project: recycle and create blog hop as it gives us the chance to try different things. This month the theme was Scrap Paper and we decided to make bookmarks. Both children are taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge so this was a fun craft for them to make their own bookmarks. Equipment to make DIY paper clip bookmarks: Large paper clips Scrap paper Scissors Sticky tape How to make DIY paper clip bookmarks: We have lots of scrap paper from magazines, old games as well as vintage papers I’ve found in…

  • crafting on the floor
    homestyle

    Why there’s no need to cry over spilt milk again

    July 28, 2016 - By 

    As a mum of two young children I have an ongoing battle to keep our house clean and tidy. Our current house has wooden floors in the living areas which makes it nice and easy to keep clean. Whilst the children are young we have invested in a few rugs to both muffle the sound of their noisy toys on the floor and to also give them something nice and soft to sit on. Thinking about it, we ask quite a lot from our poor old rug! They know they are not to have any drinks or snacks on our…

  • I Can Make My Own Accessories book
    book review - crafts - sewing - What I'm reading

    I Can Make My Own Accessories review

    July 28, 2016 - By 

    I love craft books and it seems my enthusiasm has passed to my children too. Every time they hear the sound of the postman dropping a book through the letterbox they rush to open it.  Next month sees the publication of I Can Make My Own Accessories, a follow-on from the popular I Can Make Dolls’ Clothes – both from Thames & Hudson. Written by former head of Children’s Wear Design at Liberty of London Louise Scott-Smith, and graphic designer Georgia Vaux, I Can Make My Own Accessories features on-trend pieces such as a festival garland and brooch. With easy-to-follow guides, this creative book teaches children aged…

  • DIY gold winners trophies craft
    crafts - Olympics - Sports crafts

    DIY gold winners trophies

    July 27, 2016 - By 

    My children are so sporty and I really don’t know where they get it from (clearly not me!). This week they are having fun at Super Camp and it sounds like they are playing all sorts of different games which have inspired me to make these DIY gold winners trophies. I’m really hoping they will want to sit and watch some of the Olympics with me when it starts. I enjoy watching sports and I’m quite enjoying the summer of sports and it’s definitely influencing our crafting. The warm weather has been perfect for our latest craft which I wanted…

  • i-SPY books
    book review - competition

    Win 2 i-SPY activity books for kids

    July 27, 2016 - By 

    Do you remember the i-SPY books? I had a few when I was little and loved looking through them, ticking things off as I spotted them. The books have been around for 60 years and I’m pleased to say that HarperCollins have recently relaunched the series and they’re better than ever. You can still collect points to send off for a certificate! If you haven’t heard of them before, then each i-SPY activity book encourages children to discover the world around them. With photographs of each feature to look out for, and details of where to spot them, it won’t be…