• PLAYMOBIL CLOCK - the gingerbread house
    crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    Pinned it, made it – Playmobil Clock

    August 12, 2013 - By 

    I have a very special make to show you today, I’m quite proud of this one! The toddler is really interested in telling the time and we bought him his first digital watch last week. We’re in the process of re-decorating his room so when I saw a colourful clock made with Playmobil people on Pinterest (pinned here) I knew I had to try making it myself. Equipment needed to make a Playmobil clock: Vintage Playmobil figures pegboard painted white clock mechanism glue gun and glue How to make an upcycled Playmobil clock Playmobil is very popular in our house…

  • My first hama maxi beads
    crafts - handmade

    Crafting with Hama beads

    August 6, 2013 - By 

    Sometimes the toddler really surprises me. He was recently sent some Hama beads from DKL to play with. Hama beads are multicoloured, soft plastic beads which can be placed on pegged plates to form all kinds of designs and shapes. I love this photo of the toddler with his My first hama maxi beads set! I did ask him to smile but he said he couldn’t! Crafting with Hama beads Despite the face he really enjoyed himself. The box was visually very appealing to him and he couldn’t wait to open it. There were a few patterns on it and he…

  • crafts - handmade - sewing

    Cushion with a pocket

    July 29, 2013 - By 

    Following on from my success at the cushion-making course I attended a couple of months ago, I’ve made another one! I’m finally getting to grips with my Janome so felt ready to tackle some home furnishings fabric. As the last cushion was made for my daughter I decided to make something for my son. He loves his vehicles so I chose a brilliant fabric which features campervans in different shades and a co-ordinating spot print in rose. There are lots of different ways to use the fabric for the cushion but I played it safe. I cut my fabric to…

  • easy hand print cars
    crafts - handmade

    Hand print cars

    July 26, 2013 - By 

    My toddler loves anything that moves. Yesterday we found an old Tonka Super Crane Truck to add to his collection so you can imagine the fun he’s been having driving it around the floor! Hand print cars We also like to make our own cars, mainly with Lego as the toddler can add petrol stations and garages too. We have quite a collection of car crafts to try from the toddlers Pinterest board so today we tried hand print cars. We made a couple of hand prints in different colours of paint and left them to dry. Later we added…

  • competition - crafts - handmade - sewing

    Win a £50 Amazon voucher

    July 23, 2013 - By 

    In the UK we’ve just seen the longest prolonged heatwave in seven years. In fact yesterday was the hottest day since July 2006. It’s been pretty tough keeping the children happy and out of the sun but we’ve kept busy with lots of crafts. I even managed to sew these fun felt ice lollies, slightly less calories than the ones we have been indulging in! To celebrate Summer I have a fantastic giveaway for all my lovely readers. Today you have the chance to win an amazing £50 Amazon voucher. You can spend it on whatever you wish. You all…

  • competition - crafts - handmade

    Win a copy of My first knitting book

    July 15, 2013 - By 

    My nan taught me to knit when I was younger. She used to make me an unlimited supply of clothes for my dolls but I must admit she was so quick and never dropped a stitch that I didn’t keep it up. Children who love colourful yarn and being creative will love the 35 great projects in My First Knitting Book. The book is aimed at 7 years and over and helps  explore the different areas of knitting through four chapters. Each project has a level of difficulty from 1 to 3 which is perfect for develop your knitting skills.…

  • book review - crafts - handmade

    Summer Love Books Exchange: Aliens love Underpants

    July 12, 2013 - By 

    We recently took part in the 2013 Summer Love Books Exchange organised by The Educators’ Spin On It. We had never taken part in a book exchange before but I thought it was a great way of discovering new books, crafts and blogs.   We were paired up with Hannah from makingboysmen.com as our children are of a similar age. There are lots of books I would recommend to other people but we finally decided on Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers. The book features a boy and a penguin and has a central theme of friendship and adventure. I…

  • crafts - handmade

    Sticky fingers

    July 10, 2013 - By 

    I love using felt and I had an idea of creating a no-sew map of Greater London in felt. I was recently sent the two new Scotch Super Glue Precision Applicators from 3M and I thought this would be the perfect project to try them out. I found a map of Greater London showing the 32 London boroughs plus the City of London and printed it out. I then cut out each borough individually to make a paper template, before cutting out each borough from felt sheets. As you can see I ended up grouping some of the boroughs together…

  • upcycled pallet wooden planter
    being green - crafts - garden crafts - handmade - upcycling

    How to upcycle a pallet into a planter

    July 8, 2013 - By 

    I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. A couple of weeks ago we were left with a wooden pallet after the children’s playhouse was delivered. I knew I wanted to keep it and upcycle it and, after a quick search on Pinterest, I decided on upcycling the pallet into a planter for the garden. We have a lovely garden but there are no flower beds. I’m not particularly green-fingered but I thought it would be fun to…