• how to build a fairy house - the gingerbread house
    Fairy garden crafts - Kids crafts - Nature crafts - tutorial

    How to build a fairy house

    March 12, 2015 - By 

    I’m really feeling Spring is on its way lately. The back door has been open letting some much needed fresh air in. We’ve packed our winter coats away and I’m really hoping the sunshine and warmer weather will stick around. The warmer weather means outdoor play! The children love to be outside after school and have been collecting all sorts of things for our Spring nature table. Today I’m joining in with Building Blocks and Acorns’ Outdoor Play Challenge. Every day in March a parent blogger is publishing their idea for a different way of playing outdoors. My 3 year…

  • Vintage Playmobil figure badge
    Crafts for adults - Handmade gifts - Pinned it made it - upcycling

    Vintage Playmobil figure badge

    March 11, 2015 - By 

    Ages ago I bought a bag of vintage Playmobil figures from eBay. They were mainly from the 1970s and I really wanted to craft with them and bring them back to life. You may remember the Playmobil clock and the Playmobil jar toppers I’ve made. I thought it would be fun to see if I could make some badges from a collection of vintage toys and game pieces so collected some badge backs and epoxy glue and a very old tablecloth and got to work. How to make a vintage Playmobil figure badge: Collect your materials. I used an epoxy…

  • playing - toy review

    Doc McStuffins Specialist Dentist Dottie Doll

    March 11, 2015 - By 

    The other day I told you how much my 3 year old loves Doc McStuffins, so much so that she dressed up as Doc McStuffins on World Book Day. Last week Little Sis was pretty lucky to open a package containing the new Doc McStuffins Specialist Dentist Dottie Doll from Flair which she was sent to review. In case you haven’t heard, Dottie ‘Doc’ McStuffins, is a six year old girl who ‘fixes’ toys, with a little help from her stuffed animal friends, Stuffy, Hallie, Lambie and Chilly. My 3 year old loved the look of the new Doc McStuffins…

  • book review - competition

    Win a copy of The Giant of Jum

    March 10, 2015 - By 

    I have a lovely book giveaway to share with you today, a brand new picture book called The Giant of Jum by by Elli Woollard and Benji Davies, published by Macmillan Children’s Books. A hungry giant meets a boy called Jack . . . “Fee!” he said, and “Fi!” he said, and “Fo!” he said and “Fum!” Look out children, the Giant of Jum is grumpy and hungry and he’s off in search of a tasty snack. And the tastiest of all is a boy known as Jack! But Jack and his friends don’t see a scary giant, they see…

  • air dry clay egg decoration
    Easter - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Air drying clay Easter egg decorations

    March 10, 2015 - By 

    I saw a fab tutorial on the Hobbycraft blog for an Air Drying Clay Castle. We love working with play dough and salt dough but we’ve never tried air dry clay before. We were inspired to make mini gingerbread houses but you can probably tell from the title of this post that things didn’t go to plan!   We used: Hobbycraft White Air Drying Clay 1kg rolling pin greaseproof paper knife What we did: We rolled out the Air Drying Clay as to the instructions on the packet. We rolled it on top of a large sheet of greaseproof paper…

  • days out - sewing - vintage

    Monday happy things

    March 9, 2015 - By 

    We had the busiest weekend in a long time so my Monday happies are just going to be photos from our week: Bacon sarnies cooked in the back of the vintage Camper Van we rented for the weekend. Art Deco lovely-ness in deepest South London Signs of Spring at Bekonscot Model Village Re-visiting a discarded project Lusting over retro typography at Brooklands Museum

  • Jenny Makes Mollie Makes cross stitch jewellery kit
    crafts - handmade - Mollie Makes crafts - sewing - tutorial

    Jenny Makes Mollie Makes cross stitch jewellery kit

    March 8, 2015 - By 

    I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Mollie Makes cross stitch jewellery kit from issue 51. I enjoy cross stitch and have made a couple of things with these wooden pendants before. Jenny Makes Mollie Makes cross stitch jewellery kit The kit contained two pendants which could be made into a brooch and necklace as well as a page of patterns. I made up one of the patterns from Mollie Makes. It was a really quick little make and I enjoyed using the colourful threads provided. The second pendant I made my own design of a simple heart.…

  • book review - handmade - What I'm reading

    What I’m reading: Jane Foster Creative Craft with Kids

    March 8, 2015 - By 

    A few weeks ago I treated myself to a copy of Jane Foster’s latest book – Creative Craft with Kids. I’m a big fan of Jane Foster’s style (she loves Miffy as much as I do!) and I really enjoyed her first book. Creative Craft With Kids is the second book from Jane Foster and includes fun projects for parents to make with and for children to encourage creativity and experimentation. There are 15 creative projects to make with children which include felt-faced toys, customized T-shirts and a patchwork quilt. Some of the projects require some simple sewing skills, but…

  • 15 Thomas & Friends crafts for kids - the gingerbread house
    Kids crafts - tutorial

    15 Thomas and Friends crafts for kids

    March 7, 2015 - By 

    Did you know that this year is the 70th anniversary of Thomas the Tank Engine? It’s an idealised world created by the Reverend W. Awdry, where trains are powered by steam… and they talk! With a strong community ethos typified by a universal willingness to help, practice good manners and hard work, Thomas and his friends continue to inspire and entertain children. My 4 year old has always enjoyed reading and watching the adventures of Thomas and his friends. He has plenty of engines and track to play with but sometimes it’s good to craft too. Today I’m sharing 15…