The weather in London has been quite poor for the last few weeks of the school holidays. Instead of playing outside we have spent more time indoors than we would have liked. My lucky children have been the latest residents of DreamTown as the proud owners of Rose Petal Cottage. This traditional playhouse has been designed to inspire the excitement and imagination of role play games. Rose Petal Cottage from DreamTown is a beautiful indoor playhouse, built to last for years and inspire children to explore the freedom and excitement of imaginative role play. It is packed with interactive features,…
-
-
Now my son is safely back at school and enjoying the challenges of Year 1 I’ve had a little more time to myself to indulge in my passion of baking. I’ve been enjoying reading the recipe book Bake in Black: music inspired baking. This lovingly created cook book is a music –themed collection of more than 60 sweet indulgences. Bake in Black started life as a blog from a kitchen in East London and was written by a musician and food journalist. They took a rock or heavy metal song or an album title which then inspired them to create…
-
A while ago I bought a cute vintage wooden 3 legged stool. I painted it with some Annie Sloan paint, didn’t like it and packed it away on the loft. My 3 year old is starting a new nursery later this month so we’re trying to make a fuss of her and give her bedroom an inexpensive makeover. DIY Miffy stool Guess what I made my un-loved vintage 3 legged stool into? A fantastically cool Miffy stool and my daughter loves it. At 3 years old her bedroom is rocking the pink look so I have made a subtle stool in…
-
I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to discover Okido magazine but I recently came across an issue and we’re all hooked. It is so different from the magazines the children pester me from whilst we food shopping, and in a really good way. Each issue is themed and helps your child learn through the stories, activities and games which stimulate creativity and inspires scientific interest. The lovable monster called Messy is to feature in his own comedy adventure, science-educational show called ‘Messy goes to Okido’. The BBC has acquired the animation series, the first episode will air…
-
Earlier in the Summer I started reading chapter books with my 5 year old. He’s reading really well and I thought the style and humour of Roald Dahl’s books would give him extra encouragement to learn more words and improve his reading. The first book we read was George’s Marvellous Medicine, then The Magic Finger and we’re currently reading James and the Giant Peach. We have The Twits lined up for our next book. Can you tell I’m enjoying re-reading the books with him? Some of Roald Dahl’s most famous books are James and the Giant Peach; Charlie and the…
-
Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone. My son goes back to school this week so we have been making the most of the holidays. My Monday happy things this week are: Tomorrow we are taking part in a fun Bob the Builder Twitter frenzy from 6.30am until 7.45am. Bob the Builder has been given his biggest re-vamp in the show’s history with a modern look and feel and the new CGI-animated series is launching on Channel 5’s Milkshake from tomorrow (1st September 2015) at 7.20am. Follow the #Bobthebuilderon5 to join in the fun and for your chance to win some fab…
-
Growing up I loved to play board games with my family. My favourite was Monopoly and I’ve picked up a couple of vintage sets on recent charity shopping trips. Did you know that the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity? Yep, it’s not just a fun board game, it actually reinforces the idea that wealth creation is a good thing. You may not believe in the ideas behind Monopoly but I’m hoping my children will enjoy playing it one day. I think it’s a useful way to learn about…
-
I’m sure you are well aware that the Rugby World Cup is hosted by England this year. It’s taking place between the 18th September and 31st October and we’re looking forward to watching England play their first match against Fiji. We had fun with our Rugby World Cup craft and thought we would share it here. As you know we’re part of the Baker Ross Blogger Network and we were sent some of their brand new Rugby Foam Stickers to craft with. You can buy them in packs of 120 and they feature 40 different designs including rugby balls, a…
-
We’re big fans of trying lots of different crafts. If my children can make something with minimum input from me then they’re pretty happy. We’ve crafted with Aquabeads before so were pleased to be sent the new Aquabeads Bracelet Set. This is a Refill Set which means it only comes with beads and the card templates, you will also need the Aquabeads layout tray and sprayer. The Aquabeads Bracelet Set contains over 500 jewel and solid beads in a variety of colours, 4 x template sheets, instructions and a bracelet. We opened up the packs of beads and Little Sis…
