• Gingerbread house painted rocks tutorial
    Christmas - Crafts for kids - gingerbread - Handmade gifts - Painted rocks

    Gingerbread house painted rocks

    November 17, 2018 - By 

    We love making and hiding painted rocks around the town where we live. It’s something we’ve done for a while and really enjoy. We didn’t find any painted rocks on our most recent rock hunting trip so we knew it was time to decorate some for others to find. With Christmas coming up we thought we would try decorating some seasonal gingerbread house painted rocks. Equipment to decorate your own painted rocks Bag of smooth pebbles or rocks (we like these – Amazon affiliate link) 8 pack of Uni Posca paint pens with Ultra fine 1mm nib (we like these…

  • Elf cupcake liner craft for kids to make from the gingerbread house blog
    Christmas - Crafts for kids - Elf on the Shelf

    Elf cupcake liner craft for kids to make

    November 15, 2018 - By 

    It’s nearly time to find our two elves and bring them out of their hiding place (at the bottom of my wardrobe). I love December 1st even though it means a pretty manic 24 days of elf antics. I can’t resist an elf craft and it’s definitely time to share our cute elf cupcake liner craft. Equipment to make our Elf cupcake liner craft White cupcake liners Tan craft paint Red, white and brown paper Blue and black marker Cotton balls Scissors Paint brush Elf cupcake liner craft 1. First flatten the cupcake liner, paint it with tan craft paint…

  • PUMPKIN BIRD FEEDER nature craft for kids
    Autumn - Crafts for kids - STEM activity

    Turn your pumpkin into a bird feeder

    November 14, 2018 - By 

    This year we carved a few pumpkins to decorate the house over Halloween. I also bought a selection of gourds and munchkins to display. I didn’t want to just put them in the food waste bin when Halloween was over. I’m trying so hard to reduce our food waste and pumpkins can be quite wasteful. So this year we upcycled our pumpkins, making them into simple, natural bird feeders. It’s a really fun STEM craft to make with kids and it reduces waste too. Equipment needed to turn your pumpkin into a bird feeder Carved pumpkin Skewer String Bird seed…

  • ginger fudge recipe
    Christmas - Crafts for kids

    Homemade ginger fudge recipe

    November 13, 2018 - By 

    Today I’m taking part in the Kid-Made Christmas Gift series organised by Teach Me Mommy. I couldn’t wait to sign up as we love making and giving handmade gifts. I think it’s important that my children enjoy can think of others, especially at Christmas time, so have been planning what we can give this year. We wanted to try something edible and thought ginger fudge would be fun to make and well received. Homemade ginger fudge ingredients 340g can of condensed milk 385g granulated sugar 43g unsalted butter 100ml water 2.5 tbsp ginger syrup (from a jar of stem ginger)…

  • Easy child-friendly poppy wreath for Remembrance Day
    Crafts for kids - Remembrance Day crafts

    Easy child-friendly poppy wreath for Remembrance Day

    November 8, 2018 - By 

    Both my children have been obsessed with the items they could purchase as part of the Poppy Appeal at their schools this week. Both were allowed to take in money to buy poppy themed rubbers, rulers, pencils and poppies to mark Remembrance Day and the Centenary of the end of the First World War. I am more than happy to donate money to the Poppy Appeal but I have been a little miffed that my children appeared more excited about buying a new rubber than the idea of Remembrance Day. Thankfully they are both part of the Scouting movement so…

  • Nature Month-by-Month A Children’s Almanac for 2019
    book review - Crafts for kids

    Nature Month-by-Month {A Children’s Almanac for 2019}

    November 1, 2018 - By 

    We love celebrating the seasons here at the gingerbread house. We can’t resist a beautiful new book for children so were delighted to receive a copy of Nature Month-by-Month. This is a lovely book which takes you on an inspirational month-by-month journey through the seasons. Nature Month-by-Month {A Children’s Almanac for 2019} Beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout by Elly Jahnz and written by nature-lover and wild swimmer Anna Wilson, this fantastic guide to the year includes nature spotter and animal behaviour guides, indoor and outdoor craft and activity ideas, seasonal recipes, and celebrations of religious festivals and special days…

  • Making Halloween squishies with Duck Tape
    Crafts for kids - Duck Tape crafts - Halloween crafts

    Making Halloween squishies with Duck Tape

    October 29, 2018 - By 

    We’ve been to some really fun craft workshops for kids at our local Hobbycraft. They are always affordable and the staff have been lovely and helpful. This weekend we popped along to our local store to make Duck Tape Halloween squishies. I could tell from the picture that they would be fun so booked places and went along. Making Halloween squishies with Duck Tape We’ve made some squishies before. They are so simple to make and don’t require many materials. For our Duck Tape squishies we needed Duck Tape, Supersoft Toy Filling, Clear cellophane bags and a black permanent pen.…

  • Review and giveaway: 10 Step Drawing: Animals by Heather Kilgour
    book review - competition - crafts - Crafts for adults - Crafts for kids

    Review and giveaway: 10 Step Drawing: Animals by Heather Kilgour

    October 28, 2018 - By 

    With two creative children I need a constant stream of ideas to keep them occupied. Having exhausted our crafting cupboard and my patience I was so thankful when a copy of 10 Step Drawing: Animals landed on our doormat over half term. Both my children love to draw and have endless notebooks full of their scribbles. It was time to take their drawing to the next level and 10 Step Drawing: Animals has been a great introduction for us all. The books aims to help you learn to draw 75 different creatures in an illustrated style, in 10 simple visual steps. 10…

  • Paper plate ghosts for Halloween from the gingerbread house blog
    Crafts for kids - Halloween crafts

    Paper plate ghosts for Halloween

    October 25, 2018 - By 

    Today we went to see the huge Harry Potter wands which have been placed between St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge. There were 7 huge wands (one from each of the main characters from Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts). It was super busy but the atmosphere was great. The wands are switched on every evening at 6.45 so do pop down if you are in the area. This felt like a very Halloween-y thing to do in London today. Our house is decorated, sweets have been bought for the Trick or Treaters, and we are in the mood for…