• How to make Gingerbread Rocky Road
    baking - Christmas - Crafts for adults - gingerbread - gingerbread house - Handmade gifts

    How to make Gingerbread Rocky Road

    December 21, 2017 - By 

    I have wanted to make Gingerbread Rocky Road for a long time. With things slowing down for Christmas I finally got round to it. I love Rocky Road anyway, it’s a kind of cake, containing a mixture of marshmallows, chocolate, and nuts. I’ve adapted my recipe from Nigella’s Christmas Rocky Road recipe. Ingredients to make Gingerbread Rocky Road 250 grams dark chocolate 150 grams milk chocolate 175 grams soft butter 4 tablespoons golden syrup 200 grams broken gingerbread house (I used part of a gingerbread house kit from Flying Tiger) 150 grams brazil nuts 150 grams red glace cherries 125…

  • Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine
    Family Life - STEM activity - toy review

    Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine Kit

    December 20, 2017 - By 

    With my children now finished school for the holidays I have been planning how to keep them busy. They are so excited about Christmas Day so we’ve planned a few trips to the park, crafts and bakes to keep them busy. Today we had fun building the Haynes Internal Combustion Engine kit. Haynes Publishing is the home of car, motorcycle, scooter and ATV manuals, as well as a range of other specialist topics in print and digital formats. They also have the rather fabulous International Motor Museum which we visited this summer. Haynes Build Your Own Internal Combustion Engine We recently…

  • Kikki.K Christmas
    Craft book review - Crafts for adults - Family Life

    Enjoying a Kikki.K Christmas

    December 20, 2017 - By 

    A few weeks ago I popped into the Kikki.K store at St Pancras Station for a browse. I love stationery and have a very healthy addiction to list making, which means I need a lot of writing pads. There were some gorgeous products in Kikki.K so I treated myself to a little pre-Christmas haul. Have you heard of Kikki.K before? It’s a Swedish stationery brand with a few shops dotted around London. I just love all things Scandinavian, especially at Christmas time. This year their Christmas range features all my favourite things – black and white, gingerbread, candy canes and…

  • Craft book review

    Looking for a bit of creativity this Christmas?

    December 19, 2017 - By 

    I can’t believe I’ve run out of time to produce the Christmas Gift Guide I was planning. Time has just run away from me this December! I had been hoping to produce a little guide, especially as my husband is always clueless about the things I would like. I have a Pinterest board but I know he never looks there. I received a lovely gift from Ebury which I’m going to share today. They are the perfect gifts for crafty peeps like me – and my readers too! You can make your own cards, invitations, partyware and presents with some…

  • Baby Annabell Learns to Walk
    Family Life - toy review

    Challenging childhood milestones with Baby Annabell

    December 18, 2017 - By 

    We were recently sent a Baby Annabell Learns to Walk doll to review at home. This is a lovely 3 in 1 doll and with very realistic movements. You can place her on her tummy for tummy time and watch her crawl, she can be sat up and then take her first steps! My daughter has always loved playing with her dolls. The Baby Annabell range focuses on all the caring and nurturing aspects of being a mummy or daddy making it ideal for introducing little ones to the idea of a younger sibling coming along. Playing with dolls is also…

  • Star Wars porg paper craft
    Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    December 18, 2017 - By 

    Morning everyone. Time for my weekly post called Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things from the previous week. It was such a busy week with work, Christmas performances and parties. It all felt a little crazy busy until my poor daughter came down with a bug and everything slowed down. Fortunately she was able to take part in her Christmas play, and watched her brother perform too. She’s great company so it was actually really nice to spend a few quiet days at home, watching our favourite films. Last week I was notified that I made the Vuelio Top 10…

  • Paper plate fan to celebrate Chinese New Year
    Chinese New Year crafts - Crafts for kids

    Paper plate fan to celebrate Chinese New Year

    December 17, 2017 - By 

    I know we haven’t even had Christmas yet but my thoughts have been turning to 2018 and all the lovely things we will be making next year. Did you know that in 2018 Chinese New Year falls on February 16th? In Chinese astrology, each year is related to a Chinese zodiac animal according to the 12-year cycle, and 2018 will be the Year of the Dog. My children love learning about different cultures so I thought it would be fun to make something at home. We have tried a lot of crafts to celebrate Chinese New Year. This year we made…

  • The Children's Meditations In My Heart
    competition

    Win a copy of The Children’s Meditations In My Heart

    December 17, 2017 - By 

    From “Hygge” to parenting, the Danish way of doing things is often widely talked about and one of Denmark’s latest exports is no exception. “The Children’s Meditations In My Heart” by emerging Danish author Gitte Winter Graugaard, enables children to fall asleep within minutes. Now available in three different languages, it is beginning to change bedtime routines the world over. The Children’s Meditations In My Heart by Gitte Winter Graugaard A collection of four meditations for parents to read to their children, Graugaard’s book shows parents how to teach their child the importance of self-esteem and self-love, enabling them to drift off…

  • The Slime Book cover
    Craft book review - Crafts for adults - STEM activity

    The Slime Book

    December 16, 2017 - By 

    Over the summer the children wanted to make endless slime and goo. On the good days we used our tuff spot outside and the kids had so much fun making and playing with slime. We even made a video of one of our attempts. Making and playing with slime is a cool STEM activity so I was excited to receive a copy of The Slime Book to review. The Slime Book Play, poke, push and pull the gloopiest, gooiest slime with The Slime Book – perfect for some family fun or a slime-fest with friends. With more than 30 easy-to-follow recipes,…