• 6 handmade gift ideas for Valentine's Day
    crafts - handmade - Handmade gifts - Valentines Day crafts

    6 handmade gift ideas for Valentine’s Day

    February 6, 2017 - By 

    With Valentine’s Day now just over a week away I thought I would pull together some of my favourite handmade card, decorations and gifts in case you are looking for ideas. I love Valentine’s Day. Not for the overblown gestures, but the simple message that lies at the heart of it all – sharing and showing how much we love. There is so much bad stuff going on in the world that I think it’s important to send a homemade card or gift and remind our loved ones that we appreciate them. 6 handmade gift ideas for Valentine’s Day With…

  • papercutting handmade gifts
    days out - Monday Happy List - Paper craft

    Monday happy things – week 123

    February 6, 2017 - By 

    I am so glad to see the back of January. We’ve had nothing but illness and last week both my children were off sick, on different days of course. They had completely different illnesses, my poor son has a lingering cough from the chicken pox he had a few weeks ago. He’s been coughing non-stop but unfortunately the doctor wasn’t able to give him anything for it. The broken nights have left me feeling like I’ve got a newborn again and I’m just hoping it clears before we all go away for half term! Monday happy things – week 123…

  • Ronald the Rhino book from Twinkl
    parenting - Twinkl Blogger

    Twinkl’s new eBook, Ronald the Rhino

    February 5, 2017 - By 

    I love taking an interest in my children’s education and help reinforce what they are learning at school at home. I have been helping with Active Reading for the past few months, which I love, so was delighted to hear about Twinkl’s new eBook, Ronald the Rhino. Twinkl provide instant access to a complete range of award-winning teacher-created, engaging and inspiring teaching, planning and assessment materials. These are not just for teachers however, are are also great for parents, childminders and home educators. Ronald the Rhino Twinkl are always bringing out great new products and the latest is the Ronald the…

  • The Lego Batman Movie souvenir photograph
    days out - film review - Lego - London

    The Lego Batman Movie

    February 5, 2017 - By 

    Last weekend we were fortunate to be invited to a very special preview of the new The Lego Batman Movie in Leicester Square. My son loves Lego so off we went to the West End for a day out together. Before the preview started there were lots of things to do at the cinema. My son got a Batman logo painted on his hand (which he insisted on not washing off all day), we enjoyed some special Lego biscuits and he played Lego Dimensions with the new Batman Movie Story Pack.  It was a great way to spend a morning…

  • Mollie Makes Creativity bookazine
    Craft book review - crafts - handmade - Mollie Makes crafts - Paper craft

    Mollie Makes Creativity bookazine

    February 4, 2017 - By 

    A few weeks ago I saw an advert for Mollie Makes Creativity bookazine. I have a few of the MM bookazines and overall they are pretty good value, although I do find they recycle some of their features from the monthly issues. The last few months have been all about exploring paper craft and paper cutting. I am so happy to have discovered papercutting and the best thing is – it hardly takes up any room! Over the years I have explored sewing, embroidery, patchwork and quilting and I have a *lot* of supplies. Papercutting requires a cutting mat and scalpel and…

  • Valentine heart stone craft for kids
    Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network - crafts - handmade - Painted rocks - Sizzix crafts - Valentines Day crafts

    Valentine heart stone craft for kids

    February 3, 2017 - By 

    We are excited to work with Bostik again this year to produce some family friendly crafts. We are huge fans of Bostik products and today we’re sharing a really fun Valentine craft. We were sent a wonderful box of craft products including Bostik White Glu and Glu Dots. These products are staple for our craft cupboard and are so useful. Recently I’ve been experimenting with some heart-shaped dies and the children were keep to use the cut outs. We combined them with some beautiful smooth pebbles to make a fun Valentine heart stone craft for kids which also doubles as…

  • wb-lego-greatest-movies
    competition - film review

    6 films for the perfect Lego movie night in

    February 1, 2017 - By 

    Last weekend my son and I were lucky to attend the premiere of the new LEGO Batman Movie. It was brilliant and we absolutely loved it and can’t wait to see it again when it comes out in cinemas on the 10th February. Lego films are always fun and it inspired us to plan our own Lego-themed movie night in with the whole family. First of all there will be snacks. Luckily I’ve had some practice making Lego themed food. Everyone loves lego biscuits and simple Lego cupcakes. I’ve also had fun experimenting with Easy Lego Bento ideas, so we have plenty of…

  • Layered swan papercut for Valentine's Day
    crafts - handmade - Paper craft - Paper cut art

    Layered swan papercut for Valentine’s Day

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    I wasn’t very impressed with the art of macrame from the latest issue of Mollie Makes but I quickly fell in love with the layered swan papercut from the same issue. I love paper cutting and have been working my way through Cut It Out! book and my monthly Embellish Box. Issue 75 of Mollie Makes had a gorgeous pattern for the perfect handmade Valentine gift. The papercut was by Sarah Louise Matthews and consisted of 6 pieces of coloured card with various chunks cut out. I’m really enjoying trying new things and this was only my second layered papercut. I…

  • Mincemeat and marzipan loaf {a brilliant way to use up mincemeat}
    baking - Christmas - homestyle

    Mincemeat and marzipan loaf {a brilliant way to use up mincemeat}

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    We can’t be the only family who still has a freezer full of leftovers after Christmas. Yep, we still have some homemade sausage rolls and mince pies in the freezer! Not to mention all the boxes of chocolates… Every time I open the fridge I saw a massive jar of mincemeat which I was meaning to use up. We didn’t need any more mince pies but I knew it would go really well in a cake. Today I’m sharing my mincemeat and marzipan recipe which is perfect for using up leftover mincemeat. Mincemeat and marzipan loaf ingredients: 8ozs Self Raising…