• Duck Tape pirate hat - the gingerbread house
    crafts - Duck Tape crafts - tutorial

    Duck Tape pirate hat and beard

    September 20, 2014 - By 

    Did you know that September 19th was Talk Like a Pirate Day? My 2 year old is currently obsessed with pirates and loves dressing up so it seemed like a great time to make her a pirate hat, beard and eye patch. A couple of weeks ago I told you how I was introduced to Duck Tape as a new tool for crafting. I knew it would be the perfect material to use. Equipment you will need to make a Duck Tape pirate hat: 2 x A4 sheets of plain paper Roll of Duck Tape Scissors Self healing cutting map Scalpel/Stanley…

  • crafts

    Hama time

    September 18, 2014 - By 

    I’ve been obsessed with pinning projects using hama beads lately. Hama beads come in three sizes and can be arranged on peg boards to make patterns. My toddler has been experimenting with Hama maxi beads (which are twice the size of normal beads) and that’s made me want to make my own things with the smaller midi beads. I haven’t used them since I was much younger but it’s fun! My Pinterest board is filling up nicely and I’ve already tried a few things. First of all I made a cute little Snow White for my daughter who’s just starting…

  • birthday - crafts - Kids crafts

    5 essential items for a Frozen birthday party

    September 2, 2014 - By 

    I mentioned the other day that I’ve been planning my daughter’s birthday party which will have a Frozen theme. She’s absolutely obsessed, to the point she has to wear her Frozen tshirts and jumpers every day! Fortunatley for her, Tiger Feet Party were able to send us some items for her Frozen birthday party – we have a Frozen branded tablecloth, cups, napkins and plates too. I haven’t shown her yet as I want her party to be a surprise but the items are perfect and she will love them. We also have pink and blue balloons to match the…

  • crafts - Kids crafts

    Afternoon crafting with the kids

    August 31, 2014 - By 

    We spent much of the afternoon crafting. My 4 year old loves to craft and he’s currently interested in making cards for everyone we know. Fortunately for him he was sent a little stencil kit from Meadow Kids which helped him create the perfect cards. He used the stencils, colouring pencils and paper to make some pictures of animals. The stencils were quite small but perfect for his hands. He was able to hold them down and draw inside them. Then we made cards using the paper and envelopes. Little Sis wanted to do the same as her brother so…

  • Experimenting with fabric dye
    crafts - Crafts for adults - Dunelm Mill Blogger

    Experimenting with fabric dye

    August 29, 2014 - By 

    One of my Summer projects was to have some fun with DYLON dye. Dyeing is a great way to give your textiles a new lease of life, especially if you want to be on trend with the latest colours. These days it couldn’t be easier, all you need is some packets of fabric dye, salt, a bucket and your fabric. Experimenting with fabric dye I was looking back through my archives and it’s been a while since I dyed anything. Some of my favourite projects include dyeing a blanket for Little Sis and dyeing vintage wool blankets. I’ve used the…

  • Christmas - crafts - days out

    Our Summer holiday round up – Week 5

    August 27, 2014 - By 

    Week 5 has gone past in a bit of a flash, we’ve enjoyed entertaining the family but unfortunately been ill too. An extra pair of hands with the children meant I was able to go to Camden for the DryNites Mums crafting event with Tamara Melvin and parenting expert Emma Kenny which was fab. I still need to put my upcycled lamp together and share it with you. My husband and I had a rare date night at our local Miller & Carter restaurant. I’ve been spending loads of time making things with the children which we love doing. It’s…

  • crafts - days out - handmade - London

    A good nights sleep with DryNites

    August 21, 2014 - By 

    This week I was invited to a really fun crafting event with former Great British Sewing Bee finalist Tamara Melvin. She has been working with DryNites to create a series of craft projects to bring some grown-up touches to kids’ bedrooms. She is aiming to help parents through the bedwetting stage of their child’s development by highlighting the importance of age-appropriate influences at night time. Created on behalf of DryNites, and with support from child psychologist Emma Kenny, Tamara wants to provide a fun way to normalise this phase, which affects almost 600,000 children every year. We met at Tea…

  • crafts - days out - handmade - Knitting and Stitching Show - Local Review - London - sewing

    A trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show

    August 17, 2014 - By 

    This time of year (distinctly Autumnal!) makes me think of the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally. I’ve been every year since 2007 and I started blogging about my purchases from the Show. As there are just so many lovely to things to buy I have to be strict with myself so I blog my purchases and what I make to justify my purchases. In 2010 I bought a Clothkits doll cushion, Advent calendar printed panel, gingerbread man cross stitch and Union flag quilt pattern. I made everything except the Union flag quilt as I couldn’t find the jelly…

  • Back to school crafts - Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - crafts - handmade - tutorial

    Back to school no-sew shoe bag

    August 12, 2014 - By 

    My son starts Reception in a couple of weeks. We’ve been keeping busy to prevent the dreaded Summer holiday brain-loss and have been working our way through basic phonics and puzzles. We started a holiday journal too where we add a photograph for eachday and he writes a little about what we’ve done. I’m feeling super organised as we’ve bought most of his uniform. This year he needs a PE kit so I thought I would make a shoe bag for him to keep his plimsolls in. I wanted it to be as easy as possible so today I’m sharing…