• crafts - Crafts for adults - Halloween crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    No-Carve Pumpkin ideas

    As much as I love Halloween I never actually want to spend my time pumpkin carving. This year we’ve done things a little differently. We purchased our pumpkin from Waitrose along with a couple of cute munchkins (mini pumpkins) and they make a great display on our dining room table. The toddler has been going on and on about carving the pumpkin but instead of reaching for the knife I grabbed my washi tape collection instead. Easy No-Carve Pumpkin ideas How about using washi tape for a no carve pumpkin? No mess and you can change the expression as often…

  • crafts - Halloween crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Spooky Halloween sun catchers

    We like to make sun catchers for our windows so thought we’d make something fun for Halloween. We already have munchkins on the mantlepiece and a Happy Halloween banner. The toddler has made Lego pumpkins and ghosts but there are still so many things to make and do! I cut out some spooky houses from black paper using a self healing mat and scalpel. I did this the evening before as I didn’t fancy using a scalpel with the children around. The children tore out pieces of coloured tissue paper and stuck them to the houses with glue. The tissue…

  • crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade

    Feed the birds, tuppence a bag

    Did you know it’s Feed the Birds Day on October 24th? How about making a simple bird feeder and giving them a tasty treat? All you need is a cardboard tube, bird feed, peanut butter and string. Spread peanut butter all over the cardboard tube and roll it in the bird feed. We poured the bird feed into a plastic container so the seed didn’t go everywhere. Then we cut a length of string and threaded it through the tube and tied a knot in the two ends. Then we headed out to the garden and  hung it on a…

  • book review - crafts - handmade - sewing

    Super cute felt animals

    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…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - tutorial

    How to make a Cozy Cone Motel

    My 3 year old has been a huge fan of the Disney Cars films for a while now. He still loves Thomas & Friends but he loves to play with all his cars and watch the films if we’ve had a busy day. I’ve been on the look out for some simple crafts to enhance his playing and found a great idea on Pinterest to recreate Sally Carrera’s Cozy Cone Motel in Radiator Springs. Easy Cozy Cone Motel This was a really simple craft. I spotted a couple of orange cones in a charity shop and when I got them…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - tutorial - vintage

    Things to do with Scrabble tiles – Scrabble bathroom sign

    I can often be found scouring my local charity shops for vintage Scrabble sets. I don’t collect them to play Scrabble, which is a shame as it’s a great game, but I use the Scrabble tiles for crafting! Take a look at my latest post about Scrabble tiles over on PinAddicts if you need some inspiration. I thought it was about time I actually made something with them, other than my Scrabble-inspired tile biscuits. When we moved into our house the most noticeable thing was the number of empty picture hooks around each room. The place had been covered with…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Playmobil Playologist

    Crafting with Playmobil

    I’m pretty delighted to tell you that I’ve been featured by Mammasaurus as part of the weekly Parenting Pin It Party. I’m all about having fun with a glue gun and my Playmobil clock is one of my favourite projects so far. I have more Playmobil fun for you today as I just can’t resist those colourful little plastic people! You know I love to hang around on Pinterest and I’m sure you’ve all seen the animal topped glass jars which have been spray painted one colour. How to make Playmobil jar toppers I thought it would be fun to…

  • crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade

    How to make a melted hama bead bowl

    I’ve been having lots of fun crafting with hama beads, it’s the perfect craft to pick up in the quieter moments. My hama bead love Pinterest board is bursting with inspiration and I’ve been trying to make things a little out of the ordinary. I love the idea of hama bead bunting, a letter garland, ear-rings, necklaces, coasters and hair clips. You can make pretty much anything from hama beads. I’ve already written about some of the things I’ve made over on Pinaddicts, as well as some of the mistakes I’ve made! I probably shouldn’t have tried melting beads whilst…

  • being green - crafts - Fairy garden crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    How to make a happy fairy

    Our house has one little girl who has recently discovered the magical world of fairies. We don’t get to do much crafting thanks to her older, louder brother, so I thought it would be fun to make something together. We had some cardboard clothes cartons leftover from our house move so flattened one to use the cardboard. Little Sis lay down and we drew a rough shape round her for wings. We cut them out and painted them with red paint. Whilst the paint was drying we made a very special fairy wand. We raided the craft cupboard for corrugated…