• {Free printable} Valentine's pencil topper from the gingerbread house
    Crafts for kids - free printables - Valentines Day crafts

    {Free printable} Valentine’s pencil topper

    February 10, 2019 - By 

    With Valentine’s Day fast approaching next week, we have been busy making handmade Valentine’s Day cards for family. I love that the children enjoy making cards and this year they have been raiding my stash of washi tape to decorate theirs. For the first time my daughter has bought an edible gift for the boy she likes in her class – why is my baby growing up so quickly!? I love the idea of giving out gifts to all their classmates so am sharing my free printable Valentine’s pencil topper activity. It is quick and easy to make and makes the…

  • How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World toys
    Family Life

    How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World dragon toys review

    February 9, 2019 - By 

    A few weeks ago we were lucky to be invited to an immersive screening of the How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World film. We had so much fun and loved the film. Have you seen it yet? It’s a lovely film. The sudden appearance of a female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat the village of Berk has ever faced. Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they’ve known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destines are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together-to the very ends of…

  • lamps for a childs bedroom
    Family Life

    AD | Top tips for optimising your child’s bedroom

    February 8, 2019 - By 

    Image credit Over the past few months I’ve noticed that my children are asking to spend more time in their bedrooms. Part of me is pleased as we’ve spent a lot of time on their bedrooms, the other part of me is sad that the living floor is no longer constantly covered in Lego bricks. I think it’s so important that our children have bedrooms which are optimised for both play and sleep. One of the reasons we moved house was so that they could each have a decent sized room as they were growing up. Today I wanted to…

  • Shamrock Paper Wreath from the gingerbread house blog
    Crafts for kids - St Patrick's Day crafts

    Shamrock Paper Wreath {St. Patrick’s Day Craft}

    February 7, 2019 - By 

    Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17th March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. As we have Irish heritage we love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and this year have a few new craft ideas to share with you. Today we are going to share a fun St. Patrick’s Day craft for kids – a shamrock paper wreath craft. Shamrock paper wreath supplies: A4 cardstock paper A4 coloured craft or tissue paper Scissors Craft glue shamrock wreath template How to make a Shamrock…

  • Hey! That's my fish!
    Blogger Board Game Club - Family Life

    Blogger Board Game Club review: Hey! That’s My Fish

    February 6, 2019 - By 

    Is anyone else glad that January is over? It felt like a long month, one that we got through by playing copious games and finishing off the Christmas chocolates. We’ve been members of the Blogger Board Game Club for a while and were delighted to be sent a bundle of family board games. We love to play family games, especially at the weekend, and we can’t wait to tell you more over the coming weeks. The first game we are going to tell you about is Hey! That’s My Fish. Hey! That’s My Fish Hey, That’s My Fish! is an…

  • Honey Bee Valentine craft for kids to make from the gingerbread house
    Crafts for kids - Valentines Day crafts - World Bee Day

    DIY paper Honey Bee Valentine’s Day craft for kids

    February 5, 2019 - By 

    Have you started thinking about Valentines Day yet? I am super organised this year. I have cards and small chocolate hearts ready to leave out for my children. I find Valentine’s Day too commercialised so like to keep things simple. We decorate with handmade Valentine decorations and make cards for family. We have lots of Valentine crafts for you to have fun with but today I wanted to share one more, our DIY paper Honey Bee Valentine’s Day craft for kids. DIY paper Honey Bee Valentine’s Day craft for kids supplies: Colourful cardstock paper Scissors Pencil Markers Paper glue Googly…

  • Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Five Happy Things {week 226}

    February 4, 2019 - By 

    Monday morning again. Hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the snow if you had any. I love to start the week by writing Five Happy Things. 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 always enjoy writing. Five happy things {Week 226} Did you have snow last week? We waited so long for the snow to arrive. We didn’t get nearly as much as was forecast. We were all hoping for…

  • mindful embroidery
    Crafts for adults - Mollie Makes crafts

    Mindful mini pennant decor

    February 3, 2019 - By 

    Regular readers will know that every month I challenge myself to make the Mollie Makes magazine cover gift. I’ve subscribed since it first came out and have had a drawer full of unopened kits – but no more! I’ve been making more time for grown up crafting and I love to make the kits and hopefully try something new. Mindful mini pennant decor Mollie Makes issue 101 included a cute mini pennant craft kit: embroidery thread, yarn, printed fabric, needle and dowel. The printed fabric made this a quick and easy project (although it seemed to take me a few days to make…

  • The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies
    What I'm reading

    The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies

    February 2, 2019 - By 

    Image credit I’m not sure what has happened to me lately but I just can’t stop reading books! It may have something to do with working in a secondary school, as we have set aside time for personal reading each week. I also signed up to a reading challenge on GoodReads which is keeping me motivated. Anyway, I was delighted to receive a copy of Dinah Jefferies’ latest book, The Missing Sister, to review via NetGalley. I’m a huge fan of Dinah Jefferies so was excited to find more about her latest book. The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies A stolen sister.…