• The Greatest Showman activities for kids
    Crafts for kids - Family Life - Maped Helix Blogger Ambassador - mindfulness

    The Greatest Showman activities for kids

    August 30, 2018 - By 

    I have a feeling I might just be the past person in the country to have watched The Greatest Showman. Yesterday I went and watched it with my children and some school friends at a Movies for Juniors screening at our local cinema. The Greatest Showman The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and the sense of wonder we feel when dreams come to life. Inspired by the ambition and imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman tells the story of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a mesmerizing spectacle that became…

  • Filling pencil cases with Maped Helix
    Crafts for kids - Maped Helix Blogger Ambassador

    Filling pencil cases with Maped Helix

    August 29, 2018 - By 

    This year I’m delighted to be working with Maped Helix, purveyors of the finest school stationery. They sent us a bundle of their latest craft products to keep the children busy and stuff their pencil cases with as they head back to school next week. Filling pencil cases with Maped Helix The school uniform is bought, the school clothes have been labelled. Yesterday was all about filling pencil cases. My lovely 8 year old is going into Year 4 and is very excited about the chance to buy new stationery. Fortunately we were sent a lovely selection of products from…

  • 4 ways to play with pebbles at the beach
    Crafts for kids - Family Life - Nature crafts - Summer

    4 ways to play with pebbles at the beach

    August 27, 2018 - By 

    We’ve been fortunate to spend a few days at the beach over the summer holidays. The children just love the beach, much more than I do! They are happy to play and don’t really need anything special such as swimming clothes or toys. They seem happy with the sand, sea and stones – as long as I have a towel to dry off wet hands and feet. Over the weekend we visited the beautiful beach at Dawlish in Devon. We’ve holidayed there a lot and love to scour Dawlish Town beach for sea glass, shells and smooth pebbles. It’s become…

  • Win a copy of the Rock Art Handbook
    competition - Crafts for adults - Crafts for kids

    Win a copy of the Rock Art Handbook

    August 24, 2018 - By 

    We’ve decorated a lot of painted rocks over the summer holidays. We’re all addicted to making them and we’ve ended up with such a huge stash that we’ve been hiding them wherever we go! I love learning new techniques so was excited to receive a copy of the Rock Art Handbook: Techniques and Projects for Painting, Coloring, and Transforming Stones by Samantha Sarles. Rock art is showing up everywhere – on Etsy, at craft shows, online and on hidden rocks around your neighbourhood. Painting and hiding rocks has become hugely popular in the last 12 months, as adults and kids decorate stones…

  • The Kitchen Science Cookbook
    Craft book review - Crafts for kids - STEM activity

    The Kitchen Science Cookbook

    August 23, 2018 - By 

    We love a craft book and were lucky to receive a copy of The Kitchen Science Cookbook: Edible Science from solar cookie oven to colour changing noodles by Dr Michelle Dickinson to review. I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Michelle Dickinson, but she is a British author and award-winning nano-scientist who is making science fun and accessible for children. Michelle is a regular on TV in New Zealand (apparently she she is their equivalent of Brian Cox!) but also tours schools and festivals with her fun science shows. The Kitchen Science Cookbook The Kitchen Science Cookbook combines science and…

  • DIY Emoji Pen Pots
    Back to school crafts - Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - Crafts for kids

    DIY Emoji Pen Pots {Back to School craft}

    August 21, 2018 - By 

    Earlier this month we had fun with our Duck Tape bookmarks so we thought it was time to share another Back to School craft with you. My 6 year old is starting Year 2 in a few weeks. This is going to be a big change for her and I’m really hoping she will settle in well. A new school year means time to update the desk in her bedroom where she does her homework so we thought a little homemade DIY would brighten it up. She loves emojis so came up with our Emoji Pen Pots. How to make…

  • Back to School Duck Tape bookmarks
    Back to school crafts - Crafts for kids - Duck Tape crafts

    Back to School Duck Tape bookmarks

    August 16, 2018 - By 

    The Summer holidays are passing so very quickly and I can’t help but begin to think of the start of the new term. We still have lots to look forward to but I know I have to get school uniform up together (I’ve already done a lot of this thanks to M&S), label everything and pick up new stationery for my 8 year old. My son takes a reading book to school and we had fun crafting him some new Duck Tape bookmarks to use. They were so simple that I thought I would share them as Duck Tape crafts…

  • polar bear painted rock
    Craft book review - Crafts for kids - Painted rocks

    Pebble Pets: 50 Animal Rock Art Projects by Denise Scicluna

    August 15, 2018 - By 

    You all know how much my children and I love creating painted rocks. We’ve hidden quite a few over the summer holidays so were keen to make some new ones. We were kindly sent a copy of Pebble Pets to review, this features over 50 adorable animal rock art designs for the ultimate stress-free family menagerie! Pebble Pets: 50 Animal Rock Art Projects by Denise Scicluna Pebble Pets is authored by Denise Scicluna, who also wrote Rock Art. Pebble Pets is a great guide to creating cute and characterful animal rock art projects in a variety of styles. We love decorating rocks…

  • James and the Giant Peach story stones
    Crafts for kids - Painted rocks - Roald Dahl crafts

    James and the Giant Peach story stones

    August 14, 2018 - By 

    We love making story stones and decorating rocks. We have built up quite a stash so have been taking a few out with us every day and hiding them around the neighbourhood. It’s been so lovely to see friends finding them and posting them on our local painted rocks Facebook page. It definitely encourages us to make more. We recently told you about the theme for the 2018 Roald Dahl Day celebrations – James and the Giant Peach. A few years ago my son and I worked our way through all of Roald Dahl’s stories. When I mentioned James and…