• Personalised Christmas Letter Bunting
    Adobe Partner - homestyle - Photoshop Elements 2018

    Personalised Christmas Letter Bunting {using Photoshop Elements 2018}

    December 8, 2017 - By 

    Now that the countdown to Christmas has begun (we only start celebrating from the 1st of December!) today seemed like the perfect day to share a tutorial on how to make personalised Christmas letter bunting using Photoshop Elements 2018. I love making handmade decorations and this is a great way to use some of your favourite seasonal photographs at Christmas time. This is a sponsored post on behalf of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 We don’t put our Christmas tree up until the middle of the month, but smaller decorations make an appearance, along with our advent calendars. This year I…

  • Sashiko stitching kit
    crafts

    Looking forward to 2018 {and finishing off my WIPs}

    December 8, 2017 - By 

    This year has whizzed past for me. I can’t believe my children are now in Year 3 and Year 1, progressing through karate lessons and gaining new Beaver badges every week. Life is very full with two young children. Next year I have decided to focus a little more on myself. I say it every year but I don’t give myself as much time as I want to spend on my own hobbies. I love blogging but I also love paper cutting and sewing. I bought a few things this year which I never got round to making so I’m…

  • parenting

    Writing letters to Father Christmas {2017 edition!}

    December 7, 2017 - By 

    Every year my mum organises for the children to receive the NSPCC Letters from Father Christmas. These are sweet personalised letters, and the money goes to a great charity. This year she was super organised and the letters arrived before we had written ours! So yesterday I sat the children down to write their letters to Father Christmas. Writing letters to Father Christmas I would love to tell you I was super organised but I’m not. I had to do a quick search on Pinterest to find a suitable free printable. I really wanted one which included “something I want,…

  • 10 Homemade gifts to give teachers
    crafts - Handmade gifts - Kids crafts - tutorial

    10 Homemade gifts to give teachers

    December 7, 2017 - By 

    Ah, that time of year when we have to give grateful thanks to teachers, Teaching Assistants, karate teachers, Beaver Scout leaders and every other adult who comes into contact with your child. I’m not a huge fan of donating money to every Christmas present fund doing the rounds at Christmas. In fact this year our emphasis is on giving handmade gifts. I’m not sure how teachers feel about receiving gift vouchers or boxes of chocolate at this time of the year. My mum was a teacher and I remember her coming home with a stack of gift-wrapped soaps and chocolates…

  • DisneyStore magic
    Christmas - parenting

    Giving #GiftMagic this Christmas with the Disney Store

    December 5, 2017 - By 

    My children are so excited for Christmas. I feel a huge amount of responsibility to make it truly magical for them, without making them into spoilt children along the way. I thought this year might be the year that my son discovered that Father Christmas wasn’t real. Thankfully he is still a 100% believer and has been so excited to come downstairs every day, open his Advent calendars and see where our naughty Elf has moved to. Of course Christmas can be magical whether you believe in Father Christmas or not. Christmas is my most favourite time of the year,…

  • Advent Candle Suncatcher tutorial
    Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Advent Candle Suncatcher

    December 5, 2017 - By 

    As well as all the chocolate and books, Advent is about something much simpler, which often gets overlooked. The word Advent loosely means “coming” and is the time of waiting and preparing for the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent was actually Sunday 3rd December and we marked it with a lovely Advent Candle Suncatcher craft. We love making suncatchers throughout the year. I couldn’t find that we had ever made one for Advent so today we’re going to share the Advent candle suncatcher we made. Suncatchers are so simple to make, and lovely to look…

  • crafts

    The Highway Rat story stones

    December 4, 2017 - By 

    This Christmas we are really looking forward to watching The Highway Rat, a 30-minute animation of the popular children’s story by Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler. It’s made by the same people who produced the Stick Man, Magic Light Pictures, so I think we’re in for a real treat. The Highway Rat The Highway Rat is a brilliant story. In case you haven’t read it recently: ‘Give me your buns and your biscuits! Give me your chocolate eclairs! For I am the Rat of the highway, and the Rat Thief never shares!’ Life is not safe for the other animals, as the…

  • Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things
    homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    December 4, 2017 - By 

    Last week was super busy getting ready for my daughter’s 6th birthday as well as the start of Advent. I love the 1st December, but it requires a lot of effort to make sure the kids have their favourite Advent Calendars and everything is wrapped and ready for them. Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things The highlight of last week definitely has to be my daughter turning 6. Her birthday felt very spread out as she had her birthday party a few weeks before. She received some lovely gifts – lots of PJ Masks and Sylvanian Families toys – and…

  • Win a copy of The Emoji Movie DVD
    competition - film review - parenting

    Win a copy of The Emoji Movie DVD

    December 3, 2017 - By 

    On November 27th Sony Pictures Animation’s The Emoji Movie was released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Little Sis and I watched The Emoji Movie in the summer and we absolutely loved it (see what we thought of it here), so we couldn’t wait until we could watch it again at home. The animated comedy unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favourite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only…