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A few years ago I picked up a vintage foot stool at a car boot sale. I wanted to re-cover it with some lovely Orla Kiely fabric. I think the foot stool may have sat in the spare room for about 6 years until I recently found it again. You know that 2018 is the year of tackling those little projects I stashed away. So this is what it looked like before I upcycled it. There were two parts to it – the wooden base and top. The top was embroidered over a foam pad (although we didn’t know this…
You know when you see something on Pinterest and you just have to make it? Well just before Christmas I came across a puff pastry Nutella Christmas tree and knew I wanted to try it. We made it for breakfast just before Christmas and it was a bit fiddly but worth the effort. It made for a really lovely breakfast. With Valentine’s Day coming up we thought we would try a special heart version, the method is exactly the same. Puff pastry Nutella heart There are loads of recipes and tutorials for making a puff pastry Nutella Christmas tree. They…
One of the crafts products I recently came across during my big de-stash was packs of rubber carving blocks for making your own stamps. I’ve tried making my own with limited success so I’m not sure why I bought so many packs. I thought I’d give it another try with Valentine’s Day coming up. I had bought kits from Flying Tiger which contained rubber sheets, coloured ink pads and a cutting tool. The rubber sheets were quite big, definitely big enough to make at least four stamps from each one. I roughly drew my design onto the rubber. Then I…
From the UK’s best-selling author, Julia Donaldson, The Highway Rat arrives on DVD. This beautifully animated film, seen on BBC1 this Christmas is a swashbuckling adventure of bandits and biscuits which is now available to take home and own on DVD from today, courtesy of Entertainment One. From Magic Light Pictures, Oscar© nominated creators of the hugely successful The Gruffalo and Stick Man, The Highway Rat is a delightful story based on the richly imaginative book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The Highway Rat tells the tale of a ravenous rat who craves buns, biscuits and…
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. Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things We started the week with my daughter gaining her first Beaver badge! She was awarded the Disability Awareness badge for learning about people with Disabilities. She’s settled in really well at Beavers so I’m hoping she’ll stick with it longer than she did Rainbows, especially as I’ve been sewing badges on her Beavers blanket for what seems like forever. My…
We’ve enjoyed a few long car journeys over the summer holidays. As my children have got older they need different things to keep them busy. Gone are the days of a dummy and a cuddly toy. Now my 6 and 7 year olds demand iPads and endless snacks. We’ve always said they can only have screen time in moderation so we balance the use of iPads with other things. With half term in sight I thought it was a good time to pull together my 7 travel essentials for car journeys with kids. 7 travel essentials for car journeys with kids…
I’ve mentioned before how much I love the stories of Beatrix Potter. My sister and I shared a beautiful set of her stories which we still have, although I have to admit a few of the pages might have our scribbles on them. We both loved the stories and have re-read them with our own children, and we have 5 between us. The books are simply magical, and the illustrations really bring each character to life. Now, did you know that Peter Rabbit is the oldest licensed character in the world? Beatrix Potter registered him at the Patent Office in…
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. Issue 89 landed on my doormat earlier this week and for the first time ever, I finished the free cover gift on the day I received it. Mollie Makes cross stitch wooden banner Issue 89 of Mollie Makes included a sweet Cross Stitch…
My son absolutely loves his Nerf blasters. He has quite a few now and I think they’re a really fun toy. Of course we gave it a lot of thought about whether Nerf was appropriate for our children. I’m pleased to say it’s one of their favourite toy brands. Nerf N-Strike Elite SurgeFire blaster from Hasbro We have a few other Nerf blasters and my children really enjoy blasting each other (and me) with the foam bullets. The Nerf N-Strike Elite SurgeFire blaster is the latest in the range and my son was delighted to try it out. Slam the competition…