Today I wanted to share two new parenting titles from Scribe with you. They aim to help parents solve two of the most commented on, despaired over and debated about parenting dilemmas: sleep and discipline using Mindful discipline The Happy Sleeper by sleep experts Julie Wright and Heather Turgeon offers an alternative sleep training method to ‘cry it out’ or ‘attachment parenting’. Using an approach rooted in making children feel safe, secure and happy in their bedtime routines, The Happy Sleeper offers practical advice for parents wanting to create good sleeping habits, or undo poor ones. The fantastic thing about…
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I have to admit that we don’t celebrate Chinese New Year but that doesn’t stop us having fun with crafting around the theme. We’ve already made a Chinese lantern sun catcher but did you know that 2015 is the Year of the Sheep? We thought we’d make a sheep sun catcher. Our windows are full but there’s always room for one more, right? Materials needed to make a sheep sun catcher: Black paper Contact paper White tissue paper Scissors How to make a sheep sun catcher: I drew a sheep on a piece of paper and used this as a…
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As much as my children love their toys I’ve found we can often have just as much fun with toys which cost pennies. This week my 4 year old has spent hours on his cardboard box city and today I wanted to share our no sew bean bags with you. Materials needed to make no sew bean bags: Duck or duct tape Craft seal-able bags Lentils Scissors How to make no sew bean bags: I bought a bag of lentils from my local health shop and divided it into three craft bags. I did this just in case my no…
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Everyone knows how important play is. My 3 and 4 year old love to play games and this year Father Christmas brought them a few good ones, ones they can play on their own, with each other or together as a family. One of their favourites is the Peppa Pig Hide and Seek Game. The Peppa Pig Interactive Hide and Seek Game is great for even the youngest of Peppa fans. This fantastic interactive game for 1 – 4 players of varying ages – means that every fan of Peppa Pig can enjoy it. The game includes a ‘talking’…
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My 3 year old has a tendency to stamp her foot and shout “I’m not happy” when she’s not getting her own way. Sometimes both my children need to take a step back. My Pinterest boards are full of calm down jars and I thought they looked fun to make and worth a try. This is kid-friendly, a great activity for re-using old glass jars and the other art supplies for kids are easily available. Materials needed to make a Valentine calm down jar: Red glitter glue Empty jar with the label removed Warm water Selection of heart shaped buttons…
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My children love to make sun catchers. They are so quick and easy to set up and they are my go to craft if one of them asks to make something and I don’t want to think about it too much. With Chinese New Year around the corner I set up a sweet Chinese lantern sun catcher activity for my 3 year old daughter yesterday. Material needed to make a Chinese lantern sun catcher: Paper Scissors Cellophane squares Contact paper How to make a Chinese lantern sun catcher: First draw your Chinese lantern. I drew mine with a black Sharpie…
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The weather has been a little wet and wild lately which means I’m thankful I write this weekly post to remind myself of the good things that have happened. I bought the latest copy of Pretty Patches. Although I resolved to buy less magazines in 2015 and stop my expensive subscriptions I saw a few projects I would like to try in this issue. I’ve added a new limited edition Orla Kiely print jute shopper from Tesco to my collection. Now, I definitely didn’t need another shopping bag but I really like this print. The bags are strong, I have…
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I’m not a huge fan of parenting manuals. You can probably tell from the books I share here that I love my craft books and the odd piece of fiction. At the end of last year HarperCollins asked if I wanted to take part in in their 31 days of inspiration and ‘live a book’ in January. This month they are bringing 31 of their inspiring books together covering areas such as; professional development, parenting tips, health, exercise and general well-being. Some of the ideas in these books involve a complete overhaul, whilst others require small changes to effect positive…
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Every week I try to bake at least one new recipe, something to fill the cake tin. This weeks’ effort was lemon meringue cupcakes. I love this combination but had never made meringue before – it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I made cupcakes using Kerrygold butter, you may remember I mentioned they’d been given a little Orla Kiely makeover. I used my fancy corer (one of those Lakeland purchases you buy and never use until this recipe) to remove a small amount of the cupcake and added in a teaspoon of lemon curd. Then I added a twirl…
