• girl making plaster
    Bandai STEM Ambassador - Crafts for kids - STEM activity - Uncategorized

    Build Your Own Volcano {STEM at home}

    June 30, 2019 - By 

    We’ve been working with Bandai to review some of their fun STEM kits. My children love the STEM subjects and I’m always keen to encourage them at home. We were recently #gifted the Build Your Own Volcano National Geographic STEM kit to try. Build Your Own Volcano {STEM at home} The Build Your Own Volcano kit lets you create an eruption with the National Geographic volcano science kit. Your child will get to cast their own volcano (plaster and mould included), paint it (paint and brush provided), and then make it erupt (includes eruption powder). You can also learn about…

  • Roald Dahl's Billy and the Minpins
    book review - homestyle - Roald Dahl crafts - Uncategorized

    Roald Dahl’s Billy and the Minpins

    August 19, 2017 - By 

    Children’s books are so special. I read with my children every night and I enjoy choosing books as much as they do. My 7 year old loves Roald Dahl so we were delighted to receive a copy of Billy and the Minpins, which we had never read before. Billy and the Minpins is a new interpretation of Roald Dahl’s very last story and for the first time has been illustrated by the wonderful Quentin Blake. This means that fans will be able to complete their collections in time for Roald Dahl Day 2017 – celebrated annually on 13th September. Publishing in…

  • Reindeer nose ornaments for kids to make
    Christmas - crafts - handmade - Uncategorized

    Reindeer nose ornaments for kids to make

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    My children have all kinds of fun ideas for Christmas crafts at the moment. I am trying to rein them back a little as we still have a few weeks to go but I love the fact they are excited for Christmas (I am too!). We picked up some really fun fillable baubles from our local craft shop and I knew they would be perfect for making our own hanging ornaments. We used them for Reindeer nose ornaments! Equipment to make Reindeer nose ornaments: Fillable baubles, ours are from Hobbycraft Chocolate malt calls Bostik Glu Dots Red pom poms Googly…

  • crafts - handmade - mindfulness - Uncategorized

    Draw Your Way to a Younger Brain by Anastasia Catris

    January 29, 2016 - By 

    Adult colouring books were definitely the big thing in 2015. I have a shelf of them myself and a lovely collection of colouring pens, which the children know they are not allowed to touch! It looks like the trend will be continuing this year and I’m excited to share three new books and a new art therapy series from Anastasia Catris, the creator of #ColourMeMindful. Misplacing your wallet, forgetting where you parked your car, or getting your friend’s birthday wrong: these are just some of the many common memory slips we all experience from time to time. And such cognitive…

  • Uncategorized

    Monday happy things

    July 27, 2015 - By 

    I’m a little late with my weekly Monday happy things due to the Summer holidays. Anyone else feel as exhausted as I do already? I had a wonderful child-free weekend in Europe with my husband. We stayed in Antwerp and enjoyed sampling Belgian beers, waffles, and admiring lots of paintings by Reubens. We also caught the train to Utrecht to see the Miffy exhibition at the Centraal Museum and spot some of the statues from the Miffy art parade. I’ve had a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas and cream roses brightening up our living room this week. The latest craft book…

  • Uncategorized

    Monday happy things

    July 20, 2015 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone, hope you had a great weekend. Our weekend started with a trip to the cinema to see the new Thomas and Friends film and ended with another classmates birthday party for my son. It was a busy weekend but luckily there are only 3 days left of school before the holidays start 🙂 I’m giving advance notice that I’m taking part in a Tatty Teddy Twitter party on Tuesday 21st July between 4 and 5 pm. It will be a fun Twitter party and I want to know what you’ll be celebrating this summer. Make sure you…

  • baking - Uncategorized - upcycling - vintage

    Monday happy things

    February 2, 2015 - By 

    Monday again, where did the weekend go? – I’ve been having a huge de-clutter and tidy which is ongoing and never ending. During the week I finished tidying our bedroom. You can finally see the floor and it feels like a lovely place to fall asleep – the Tempur mattress probably helps 🙂 Over the weekend I managed to read 4 years’ worth of Mollie Makes magazine. I took out any projects I want to make and have stored all the free cover gifts in a box – I think I’ve only ever made one! This has given me a…

  • birthday - Uncategorized

    Little Sis turns 3

    November 30, 2014 - By 

    On Friday my beautiful daughter turned 3. The day went by in a bit of a whizz, that’s an understatement, I didn’t sit down til about 8pm. I wanted to document her day as my blog is as much about my children as it is about me any more! After a small lie-in she woke to find a Frozen balloon tied to her bed. We went downstairs where she discovered piles of presents from the Birthday Bunny. She carefully re-arranged them according to the paper they were wrapped in which I thought was funny. She loved opening everything, even her…

  • baking - handmade - Uncategorized

    Heart inside a cupcake

    February 8, 2013 - By 

    I’ve tried to make something a little different this week with Whitworths sugars – I’ve baked a heart inside a cupcake. I used a favourite recipe to make a chocolate cake batter which I cooked in a square tin. When it had baked and cooled I cut out small hearts using a cookie cutter. I then placed each heart in a cupcake case and added a generous dollop of vanilla cake mixture around each one. When they were baked and cooled I iced each one with yummy vanilla buttercream. A delicious surprise in each one and perfect for your Valentine!…