• Lego Friends Emma's Creative Workshop
    book review - family - mindfulness - parenting

    Monday Happy List – week 82

    April 18, 2016 - By 

    Last week I had a job interview. It felt good to put some nice clothes on and talk about my career pre-children. Unfortunately I didn’t get the job but the interview experience was really useful so I’m feeling positive about getting a job soon. With my youngest starting Reception in September I really feel like it is time to get my working life back on track. I love this time of year. The sun actually has some heat to it and I’ve been wearing sandals 🙂 The children have been enjoying the longer days and have both been in shorts…

  • Clangers, Bagpuss and Co at the Museum of childhood
    days out - Local Review - London - museum - parenting

    Clangers, Bagpuss and Co at the Museum of Childhood

    April 17, 2016 - By 

    My 6 year old adores The Clangers and I have pretty fond memories of them from my own childhood. So when I heard the Clangers were coming to the Museum of Childhood I knew we would have to go. Yesterday we packed our own little Clangers and headed off to the Underground. The Museum of Childhood is a lovely place to visit. It’s in an historic building and there is lots of room to explore the exhibits and displays. The Clangers, Bagpuss & Co. display is just inside the entrance of the museum and consists of display cases, a place…

  • Duck Tape notebook and pencil case
    crafts - Duck Tape crafts

    Unicorn Duck Tape pencil case

    April 16, 2016 - By 

    I can’t resist a shiny new roll of Duck Tape. A trip to my local craft store is always dangerous as I can’t help but see if there are any new colours or patterns. On my last visit I picked up a roll of pink Unicorn Dream Duck Tape. I didn’t have a plan for it but my 4 year old loves unicorns so I bought it for a rainy day. Yesterday was a rainy day! I am on a major decluttering drive at the moment and came across a clear pencil case and large notebook. I knew these would be…

  • Gingerbread Wonderland by Mimi Sinclair
    competition - gingerbread - homestyle

    Win a copy of Gingerbread Wonderland by Mima Sinclair

    April 16, 2016 - By 

    In our house gingerbread is a treat all year round. There’s something about the smell and taste which I find very comforting. I’m always happy to mix up some dough and spend a happy afternoon cutting out shapes, I think gingerbread makes the best after school treat! Ages ago I discovered Gingerbread Wonderland by Mima Sinclair. I’ve tried a few of the recipes and the light and dark gingerbread doughs are lovely. I used the light gingerbread dough to make Clangers and Iron Golem biscuits, both of which were a success. The book contains many more ideas than two different…

  • paper plate BFG ears
    crafts - Kids crafts - Roald Dahl crafts - World Book Day ideas

    How to make The BFG’s ears

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    Today we’re taking part in the April Kid Craft Challenge. The theme was a favourite childhood character, ours is definitely The BFG at the moment! So far we’ve made The BFG’s Grobswitchy cake and Frobscottle. Today we’re sharing our tutorial for making The BFG’s ears, this would be a perfect addition to an outfit for World Book Day or Roald Dahl Day! You will need the following: Paper plates Pink paint Scissors Hairband Sticky tape How to make The BFG’s ears First paint your paper plates with the pink paint. Make sure they are evenly covered then set aside to dry.…

  • dreamcatcher luminary
    crafts - die cutting - homemade - homestyle - Sizzix crafts - tutorial

    Dreamcatcher luminary tutorial

    April 15, 2016 - By 

    Earlier this week I received a wonderful selection of new Sizzix dies to craft with. I love opening this kind of parcel as you never know what you are going to find. This time there were quite a few Thinlits dies. These are really versatile dies, chemically etched, and offer intricate designs for creative papercrafting projects. Dream Away immediately caught my eye and I know I will be using this a lot over the coming weeks and months to create some fun dream catcher projects. Today I made a little home decor project using the die and a glass jar. You can…

  • baking - birthday - crafts - Kids crafts

    10 crafts to celebrate the Queens 90th birthday

    April 14, 2016 - By 

    Next week Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her 90th birthday (April 21st 2016). She will be in Windsor on her birthday and in the evening she will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 900 beacons across the country and worldwide. More events will be taking place in May including The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration (a 90-minute long extravaganza with 900 horses and more than 1,500 riders and performers, held every evening from May 12 to 15, with the Queen attending on the final evening); National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral; The Queen’s Birthday Parade on Horse…

  • kids portrait of the Queen
    Baker Ross Blogger Network - birthday - crafts - Kids crafts

    Drawing the Queen on her 90th birthday

    April 14, 2016 - By 

    This week we received another super box of craft supplies from Baker Ross. Included was a pack of Baker Ross Self Portrait blanks which are perfect for drawing friends, family or your favourite story book character. With Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday next week, I challenged my children to draw a picture of the Queen. First they used pens to add her features and clothes. They glued on white hair, “just like Nanny!” they said. Then they added a gold crown. They accessorised with sparkly jewellery and they were finished. My 6 year old asked if we were going to send…

  • making frobscottle
    crafts - Kids crafts - Roald Dahl crafts

    Recipe for The BFGs Frobscottle drink

    April 13, 2016 - By 

    I think it’s fair to say my 6 year old is enjoying reading The BFG. We’ve been reading a couple of chapters every night and we both look forward to it. Last week we made Grobswitchy cake which was delicious. Today we made the drink Frobscottle, also from The BFG, the only drink available in Giant Country. “It’s glummy!’ he cried ‘I love it!'” We used lemonade, cream soda, drinking yoghurt, lime juice, kiwis and a fizzy Vitamin C tablet. So if you read that list of ingredients you would probably think the Frobscottle wasn’t going to taste good, but…