• 10 Step Drawing books
    competition - What I'm reading

    {Giveaway} 10 Step Drawing: Nature

    February 16, 2020 - By 

    My 8 year old loves to draw and paint. He’s been attending extra-curricular art classes for a while and he absolutely loves learning new things. He has already told me he would go to more art classes if he could! I love encouraging his hobbies and was excited to be gifted two new books from Search Press: 10 Step Drawing Nature and 10 Step Drawing People. You may remember we previously reviewed 10 Step Drawing: Animals so we were excited to see these. 10 Step Drawing: People by Justine Lecouffe, draw 30 people in 10 easy steps This is a…

  • A new location for The Handmade Festival
    Crafts for adults

    The Handmade Festival With Kirstie Allsopp

    February 15, 2020 - By 

    September update – sadly The Handmade Festival has been cancelled due to the current situation. Workshops will be help online instead. Find out more on their website. Living in London I’m surrounded by amazing craft events and workshops. I’m pretty picky about the ones I will go to though and spend my hard earned cash on. Location is really important for me though and last year I only went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally. I really wanted to go to the Handmade Festival, what was the Handmade Fair, but trains weren’t running to Hampton Court and…

  • Baking with the Lidl gingerbread dough kit
    baking - gingerbread

    Baking with the Lidl gingerbread dough kit

    February 13, 2020 - By 

    I love having a cheeky walk though Lidl when I can. They always seem to have some nice products I can’t find on my normal shop. On a recent visit I picked up a gingerbread dough kit. I love baking but will always cut corners if I can, a packet mix or ready made dough is fine with me. I decided to make some biscuits for the kids to come home to, who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked gingerbread? Baking with the Lidl gingerbread dough kit The Lidl gingerbread dough kit contained a block of ready made gingerbread…

  • Valentine paper crafting
    Crafts for adults - Paper cut art - subscription box - Valentines Day crafts

    Valentine paper crafting {Love Paper Box from MakeBox + Co}

    February 12, 2020 - By 

    I always feel that Valentine’s Day should be celebrated but simply. It feels like I’m still paying off the excesses of Christmas in February and I want Valentine’s Day to be meaningful more than anything else. My daughter has already asked when she’s getting for Valentine’s Day so I’ve been emphasising the handmade nature of our gifts this year. The children have been busy making cards and have bought small chocolate gifts for their friends. I love that my 8 year old made a card for her boyfriend, I really hope she gets one back. Love Paper Box from MakeBox…

  • Win a Sylvanian Families Gingerbread Playhouse
    competition - Family Life - Friends of Sylvanian Families

    Win a Sylvanian Families Gingerbread Playhouse

    February 11, 2020 - By 

    My daughter has always loved playing with her Sylvanian Families collection, especially the baby figures. When I spotted the Sylvanian Families Gingerbread Playhouse in our local toy shop I knew I had to buy it for her. Sylvanian Families Gingerbread Playhouse The Sylvanian Families Gingerbread Playhouse contains a baby figure dressed in a cute Santa costume and a delicious-looking Gingerbread house and a little cookie sleigh. The Gingerbread Playhouse set includes a Marshmallow Mouse Baby Santa that can go down the chimney of the cabin-like Gingerbread Playhouse and ride the cookie sleigh. The limited edition Gingerbread Playhouse and sleigh are…

  • 13 week old Bichon Frise
    Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 278}

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    I love to start the week by writing the Monday Happy List. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I love to write. Monday Happy List {Week 278} Did you survive Storm Ciara intact? Luckily we didn’t have any damage to our house and managed to do a few things and keep busy. Our poor little pup hated the wind and just didn’t want to go out in it (which resulted in a…

  • My Mindful Journal and My Feelings Journal
    Family Life

    Mindful journals for kids

    February 9, 2020 - By 

    Upside Down Books is the brand-new children’s imprint of independent publisher Trigger Publishing. Upside Down publishes fiction and non-fiction books for children which encourage conversation around mental health and wellbeing. Their titles promote positivity, emotional intelligence and mindfulness for children, whilst being beautiful, age-appropriate and, most of all…enjoyable! What is mindfulness? So what is mindfulness? It’s something that we love to practise and has a positive effect on our lives. It involves paying more attention to the present moment – to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you – all of which can improve your mental…

  • Love Hearts inspired painted rocks
    Crafts for kids - Painted rocks - Valentines Day crafts

    Love Hearts inspired painted rocks

    February 5, 2020 - By 

    We love making our own painted rocks. They are such a simple but fun craft that anyone can do With Valentine’s Day coming up next week, why not make a few Love Hearts inspired painted rocks? These are a calorie-free treat which everyone will love to find! We used: Bag of smooth pebbles or rocks Selection of posca pens Varnish to seal the painted rocks (we use Wilko Gloss Yacht Varnish) How to make Love Hearts inspired painted rocks First we washed our rocks in warm soapy water and left them to dry. Then we raided our craft supplies for…

  • Bichon Frise puppy 12 weeks
    Monday Happy List

    Monday Happy List {Week 277}

    February 3, 2020 - By 

    I love to start the week by writing the Monday Happy List. It’s a chance for me to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I love to write. Monday Happy List {Week 277} Last week we attended a puppy induction talk/Dog School at our local Dog’s Trust. It was a really interesting talk and we are looking forward to starting our proper classes (with our pup!) in a few weeks. Our little puppy turned 12 weeks and what…