From award-winning author Jane Bull, Crafty Creatures offers 30 adorable animal projects to knit or stitch. Style your own Knitten (knitted kitten), dress up the Bunny girls, and meet the Minimals – tiny animal friends that fit in a matchbox. This is a lovely craft book for children and mine really enjoyed looking through it with me. They love small toys so we chose to make the cute Minimals. The children chose from the eight Minimal templates, helped me pick the colours and I got to work on them. They were easy to whip up whilst watching Bake Off! The children love them…
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I’ve noticed that Halloween seems to be more commercial every year and colourful images are already creeping onto Pinterest. Halloween Crafts: 35 spooky projects to make and bake has recently been published and is packed full of fun projects to fill your home this Halloween. My children are just getting interested in Halloween. The last few years I’ve dressed them up and we’ve carved a pumpkin but this year I think we will be doing a lot more. This book gives you some great inspiration, from spooky decorations to creepy costumes and scarily sweet treats. There are a couple of…
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I’m on a bit of a roll lately, reading books for pleasure! I have to point out that this doesn’t mean I have more spare time, I’m just forcing myself to read books rather than hang around on Pinterest! I was sent a copy of GI Brides: the wartime girls who crossed the Atlantic for love, by the authors who wrote The Sugar Girls which I reviewed earlier this year. The ‘friendly invasion’ of Britain by over a million American GIs caused a sensation amongst a generation of young women deprived of male company during the Second World War. But American…
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You all know how much I love sewing with felt so it’s probably no surprise that I have been eagerly awaiting the second book by Laura Howard who blogs at bugsandfishes. Super Cute Felt Animals features 35 bright and appealing animals from the land, sea and air, to make. I packed the book to take with us on our weekend away and I really enjoyed looking through it. As you can see I took enough supplies so I was able to make some animals when the children finally went to sleep. Woodland creatures include a crafty fox and her cute cubs, a…
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In this fun and quirky book, complete with step-by-step photos, Smita Srivastava shares her innovative and highly effective way of making food far more enjoyable for reluctant little gourmets. Worrying about her own little picky eater, Smita applied her creative background to the meals she was serving. Fashioning food into animals, and other charming characters, she successfully persuaded her daughter to eat what was put in front of her. In fact, Smita’s delightful food designs worked so well that she started her food blog, Little Food Junction, which has received an overwhelming response from desperate parents around the world. Since…
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I was recently sent a brilliant craft book called Origami Farm by Mario Ono to review. The books shows you how to make 35 farmyard favourites in an instant. Make a barn full of amazing animals with this fun collection of projects based around farmyard animals and crops. There’s a sheep dog, chicken, lamb, pig and rabbit to fold from the animals section, then apples, corn, pumpkins and tomatoes that are grown in the fields. Also included is a scarecrow to keep your crops safe, plus a farmhouse for the farmer to live in. Every project comes with simple instructions…
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A couple of days before we left for a holiday I received a personalised case for my iPad mini from Photobox. I had designed the case myself and chose a collage of my favourite images of the children. I loved the case but must admit it left my iPad mini a little battered over our holiday. The shell clipped on the back which left the front vulnerable to getting scratched and as it’s mainly used by the children it didn’t give it much protection. Note to self- must invest in a screen protector! We also made an 8×6 photo block…
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It’s summertime and the reading is easy! We were recently given the opportunity to design and make a personalised book from love2read. Designed for the under-sixes, these fabulous books are an ideal way to use some of your precious digital photos and make a book to remember. I made an I Love…book for my toddler by choosing my favourite photos and adding simple captions. The toddler loved seeing himself in print and following the words on each page, a great way to encourage him to start learning his letters. He’s been taking his new book everywhere and loves to sit…
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We’ve all been a little excited by the arrival of Prince George this week. I thought the rolling 24 hours news coverage was a little over the top and I hope the new family will now be left alone to enjoy those lovely first days together. I doubt we’ll buy any souvenirs to commemorate the Royal baby but we were very happy to receive a copy of This Royal Baby, by Zita Newcome, to review. Perfect for your little prince or princess! This royal baby wears a crown — but it giggles, cries and plays just like every other baby…