• Family Life - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    November 19, 2018 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend. Each week I start off by writing my Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things blog post. It’s a great chance to 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. Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things I’d like to think we had a quiet week after our adventure-packed weekend in Oxford last weekend. However, like most weeks, it’s been super busy at work and at home. Did you notice I have…

  • Disney's Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 review
    Family Life - film review

    Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 review

    November 18, 2018 - By 

    This afternoon we were invited to go and see a preview of the highly anticipated sequel to Wreck-It Ralph that sees Ralph (John C. Reilly) and his racing driver best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) leave the arcade world behind to explore the uncharted and thrilling world of the internet on a quest to save Vanellope’s racing game! We just loved Wreck-It Ralph. Can you believe it came out on 2012? In the first film arcade-game character Wreck-It Ralph is tired of always being the “bad guy” and losing to his “good guy” opponent, Fix-It Felix. Finally, after decades of seeing…

  • Carnival Games on Nintendo Switch
    Family Life - Tech!

    Carnival Games on Nintendo Switch

    November 17, 2018 - By 

    My 8 year old loves playing computer games. I limit his screen time but it’s his favourite thing, after playing with his Lego. We were kindly sent a copy of Carnival Games for the whole family to try. Carnival Games was released earlier this month priced at £34.99 and available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Carnival Games on Nintendo Switch My children love to go to the Fair and play on the games and rides. Carnival Games brings the Carnival home and the whole family is invited. There are 20 total mini-games to play – hit home runs,…

  • Gingerbread house painted rocks tutorial
    Christmas - Crafts for kids - gingerbread - Handmade gifts - Painted rocks

    Gingerbread house painted rocks

    November 17, 2018 - By 

    We love making and hiding painted rocks around the town where we live. It’s something we’ve done for a while and really enjoy. We didn’t find any painted rocks on our most recent rock hunting trip so we knew it was time to decorate some for others to find. With Christmas coming up we thought we would try decorating some seasonal gingerbread house painted rocks. Equipment to decorate your own painted rocks Bag of smooth pebbles or rocks (we like these – Amazon affiliate link) 8 pack of Uni Posca paint pens with Ultra fine 1mm nib (we like these…

  • Barbican Conservatory inspired botanical paper cut
    Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - Crafts for adults - Paper craft - Paper cut art

    Barbican Conservatory inspired botanical paper cut

    November 16, 2018 - By 

    A few weeks ago now I had a morning to myself as I had booked on a papercutting workshop. I hadn’t cut anything in a while so I was hoping that the Barbican Conservatory inspired workshop would encourage me to start getting creative again. I love the Barbican, having worked next to it for nearly 10 years. It’s such an interesting part of London and I was very happy to be back for the workshop. I arrived and our small group was told more about the Barbican Conservatory inspired papercut we were going to work on. Barbican Conservatory inspired botanical…

  • Elf cupcake liner craft for kids to make from the gingerbread house blog
    Christmas - Crafts for kids - Elf on the Shelf

    Elf cupcake liner craft for kids to make

    November 15, 2018 - By 

    It’s nearly time to find our two elves and bring them out of their hiding place (at the bottom of my wardrobe). I love December 1st even though it means a pretty manic 24 days of elf antics. I can’t resist an elf craft and it’s definitely time to share our cute elf cupcake liner craft. Equipment to make our Elf cupcake liner craft White cupcake liners Tan craft paint Red, white and brown paper Blue and black marker Cotton balls Scissors Paint brush Elf cupcake liner craft 1. First flatten the cupcake liner, paint it with tan craft paint…

  • PUMPKIN BIRD FEEDER nature craft for kids
    Autumn - Crafts for kids - STEM activity

    Turn your pumpkin into a bird feeder

    November 14, 2018 - By 

    This year we carved a few pumpkins to decorate the house over Halloween. I also bought a selection of gourds and munchkins to display. I didn’t want to just put them in the food waste bin when Halloween was over. I’m trying so hard to reduce our food waste and pumpkins can be quite wasteful. So this year we upcycled our pumpkins, making them into simple, natural bird feeders. It’s a really fun STEM craft to make with kids and it reduces waste too. Equipment needed to turn your pumpkin into a bird feeder Carved pumpkin Skewer String Bird seed…

  • competition - Family Life

    Win a copy of Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Monster

    November 14, 2018 - By 

    I love reading a book with my children, especially at bedtime. My daughter loves picture books and I couldn’t wait to share Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Monster with her. From the team behind Ten Minutes to Bed Little Unicorn, it’s all about a little monster who would rather do anything but sleep. . . sound familiar? I have a sleep thief, her mind is just so active from a day at school that it can be hard to calm her down and get her ready for sleep. Ten Minutes to Bed: Little Monster is a lovely picture book and a perfect…

  • Blogger Board Game Club review: Carcassonne
    Blogger Board Game Club - Family Life

    Blogger Board Game Club review: Carcassonne

    November 13, 2018 - By 

    A few weeks ago we were kindly sent a copy of Carcassonne to play and review. The game was first launched in 2001. The idea is simple: Carcassonne is a clever tile-laying game based on the southern French city of Carcassonne, famous for its unique Roman and Medieval fortifications. Players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters, and in the fields while creating a perfect city landscape. Blogger Board Game Club review: Carcassonne As members of the Blogger Board Game Club we were sent this copy of Carcassonne to review.…