• 5 Minecraft treats for your Minecraft party bag
    birthday - Crafts for adults - Minecraft crafts

    5 Minecraft treats for your Minecraft party bag

    June 21, 2018 - By 

    Earlier this year we threw a Minecraft themed party for my son. He just adores Minecraft, as do his friends, so this seemed like a great way to celebrate him turning another year older. He enjoyed helping me plan his Minecraft birthday party. Thankfully we found lots of ideas we could adapt on Pinterest. 5 Minecraft treats for your Minecraft party bag It’s not a party without some kind of party bag and I had great fun putting together Minecraft party bags for our guests. Inside each bag I placed a bottle of Creeper Juice and a piece of Minecraft…

  • Fantastic Gymnastics Vaulting Challenge from Hasbro Gaming
    Family Life - Hasbro Toy Tribe

    Fantastic Gymnastics Vaulting Challenge from Hasbro Gaming

    June 21, 2018 - By 

    With so many sporting events going on over the next few weeks we were excited to receive the Fantastic Gymnastics Vaulting Challenge from Hasbro Gaming to try out. My children love playing games together and this one looked really fun. Fantastic Gymnastics Vaulting Challenge from Hasbro Gaming The Fantastic Gymnastics Vaulting Challenge Game includes a gymnast figure, vault track, vault base, landing mat, and instructions. It requires a little assembly which was something my 8 year old was able to do. Once the game was assembled they were ready to go. The idea is pretty simple. Players time their speed and rhythm…

  • card making subscription box
    Crafts for adults - subscription box

    My Greeting Box {subscription box review}

    June 20, 2018 - By 

    I love receiving happy mail, especially when I get the chance to try something new. I was recently contacted about My Greeting Box which is a monthly package of card making supplies delivered straight to your door. I love making my own cards and couldn’t wait to try out this new crafty subscription box. My Greeting Box -a subscription box review My Greeting Box is a monthly package of card making supplies, delivered straight to your door. Each month you will receive everything you need to make fun and special cards including supplies, tools, technique tutorials and inspirational designs. Everything…

  • Family Life - parenting

    Top tips for saving money and protecting your finances when you have kids

    June 20, 2018 - By 

    As I said in a previous post, I’m always looking for ways to save money.  If you google the cost of raising a child in the UK, the figure that you get is an incredibly scary £230,000.  OK, that’s to the age of twenty-one and it does include the cost of sending them to university, but even so, how do any of us ever manage to do it?  No wonder that money is always tight.  It makes you realise just how important it is to protect your family financially, so here are my suggestions for making your money go as…

  • Janet Clare's Village Embroidery Kit
    Crafts for adults - sewing

    My 2018 Craft Goals {6 month update}

    June 19, 2018 - By 

    At the start of this year I had huge plans to tidy up my craft stash. My 2018 Craft Goals included sorting out my craft books, fabric stash and pile of WIP’s which were out of control and needed reining in. We’re almost half way through the year so it seems like a good time to write a little update here on my blog. My 2018 Craft Goals {6 month update} I have stitched a few of my WIPs, not as many as I wanted to, but still. At least I have been sewing more. I finished the sashiko stitching…

  • How the Light Gets In
    book review - Family Life - London

    How the Light Gets In {book review}

    June 19, 2018 - By 

    How the Light Gets In is the exciting new book from award winning short story writer and novelist, Clare Fisher. You may remember that I reviewed her debut novel All the Good Things last year. From the publishers that brought you Attrib and Other Stories by Eley Williams, How the Light Gets In is another spellbinding short story collection. How the Light Gets In by Clare Fisher A book of very short stories that explores the spaces between light and dark and how we find our way from one to the other. From buffering Skype chats and the truth about beards, to fried chicken shops and the…

  • Places for outdoor swimming or water play in west London
    Family Life - Local Review - London

    Places for outdoor swimming or water play in west London

    June 18, 2018 - By 

    With the Summer holidays looming here in the UK I have everything crossed for lots of sunny days. I like my children to get plenty of fresh air as it really helps to tire them out. Nothing beats water play in the open air but there are actually very few places you can go near where we live in West London. I thought I would share our favourite places for outdoor swimming or water play in west London. Places for outdoor swimming or water play in west London Ruislip Lido Our favourite place was water play is Ruislip Lido in the London Borough…

  • Family Life - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    June 18, 2018 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend. It was our first weekend at home for a month and so lovely to relax and just go out for lunch and to the park. I love starting off each week 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 My poor Year 3 son survived Assessment Week. He…

  • Mud and Bloom: a nature and gardening subscription box for kids
    Crafts for kids - Nature crafts - subscription box

    Mud and Bloom: a nature and gardening subscription box for kids

    June 17, 2018 - By 

    The other day I mentioned that I’ve been trying out subscription boxes for my children. As much as I enjoy crafting at home I also love a subscription box, which does all the hard work for you! Both my children love to make and create so as I bought my daughter the Unicorns & Rainbows box, I sent off for a Mud and Bloom box for my son. Mud and Bloom: a nature and gardening subscription box for kids My 8 year old is really creative and loves the garden which is why I picked the Mud and Bloom box.…