• book review - competition - crafts - Crafts for adults - Crafts for kids

    Review and giveaway: 10 Step Drawing: Animals by Heather Kilgour

    With two creative children I need a constant stream of ideas to keep them occupied. Having exhausted our crafting cupboard and my patience I was so thankful when a copy of 10 Step Drawing: Animals landed on our doormat over half term. Both my children love to draw and have endless notebooks full of their scribbles. It was time to take their drawing to the next level and 10 Step Drawing: Animals has been a great introduction for us all. The books aims to help you learn to draw 75 different creatures in an illustrated style, in 10 simple visual steps. 10…

  • Autumn - Crafts for adults

    Seasonal adventures in needle felting

    I’ve been on a bit of a roll the last few days. Not only did I finish a 3D Spooky House papercut but I also made a kit I treated myself to at the Knitting and Stitching Show earlier this month. I’ve always wanted to try needle felting and I’ve bought a few kits over the years. I have to admit to not really getting much further than opening them and putting them away again! I’m always so scared to try new things, I’m not really sure why. However, this year I’m challenging myself to try new things so I…

  • Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - Crafts for adults - Halloween crafts - Paper craft - Paper cut art

    3D Spooky House papercut Halloween decoration

    You all know I love papercutting but don’t get nearly enough time to do it. Obviously the kids are on half term this week but I am too! Since I now work in a school I have been looking forward to some ‘me’ time (laughable I know!) this half term. Today I finally got it. We had a ridiculously early start to drop my car at the garage at 8, followed by a trip to the dentist at 9. This meant we were back at home and ready to relax mid-morning. We still had a list of jobs to do…

  • Family Life

    Poopsie Surprise Unicorn {Oopsie Starlight unboxing}

    My 6 year old just loves slime at the moment. Her birthday is next month and all she is asking for is slime. I think she might be a little disappointed if she only had a tub of slime to open. Thankfully there are some amazing toys for children who love to make and play with slime and I’m so excited to tell you about the brand new toy for children who love slime … and unicorns – the Poopsie Unicorn Slime Surprise is made just for them. You may remember we reviewed the super cute Poopsie Slime Surprise last…

  • Crafts for kids - Halloween crafts

    Paper plate ghosts for Halloween

    Today we went to see the huge Harry Potter wands which have been placed between St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge. There were 7 huge wands (one from each of the main characters from Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts). It was super busy but the atmosphere was great. The wands are switched on every evening at 6.45 so do pop down if you are in the area. This felt like a very Halloween-y thing to do in London today. Our house is decorated, sweets have been bought for the Trick or Treaters, and we are in the mood for…

  • Family Life - London

    Subway, lead sponsor of the NFL London Games and the NFL Flag School Programme, are encouraging kids to try sport

    A few weeks ago, we attended a really fun free event at Piccadilly in the West End. Much of the street was closed for the NFL Kickoff which took over Piccadilly for the launch of the season. NFL is the biggest sport in the United States with more than 160 million people watching the Super Bowl each year. Did you know that the NFL is now among the fastest-growing sports in the UK and Ireland? More than 23 million people tuned in throughout 2016/17 to watch the games and 40,000 people now play the sport in England alone. NFL Kickoff at Piccadilly NFL…

  • competition - Family Life

    Win a bundle of Gross Smashers Series 2 collectibles

    Earlier this year we had so much fun unboxing the new Smashers from Zuru. The first series featured a brand new sports-themed collectible toy. They came in a red Smashball which you smashed to reveal the collectible toy inside. The 2nd Series has recently launched just in time for Halloween. Gross Smashers Series 2 collectibles from Zuru My children loved the first series but the second series is even better. Each smashball is decorated to look like a spooky eyeball! What’s more, hidden inside each smashball is a GROSS character which is soooo appealing to my icky children. We were sent…

  • Christmas - Crafts for kids - Dr Seuss Day craft - Grinchmas crafts

    Dr Seuss’s The Grinch and Max paper plate craft for kids

    I love this time of year, especially when I have the time off work to enjoy it! We are really enjoying some time together at home to relax and craft. A few weeks ago we watched the trailer for the upcoming Grinch film. Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it’s something we can’t wait to watch as the book has been a staple of our festive Book Advent for the last few years. In case you’re not familiar with it: The Grinch hatches a scheme, with his trusted canine Max, to ruin Christmas when the residents of Whoville…

  • Crafts for kids - Halloween crafts

    How to Make a Halloween Friendship Bracelet

    This is a guest post from our friends at Mrs Mactivity, who make creative learning resources to download and print, for parents and teachers. Download the Halloween Friendship Bracelet template here. Halloween is such a fun seasonal event! There’s pumpkin soup to make, costumes to prepare, trick or treating, parties, fun and excited children! It’s a sort of second place Christmas – after your own birthday of course. It’s also a really good opportunity to involve children in crafting and creative activities, to help them develop fine motor skills and above all, to have fun and spend quality time together…