• London Model Engineering Exhibition
    days out - London - parenting

    A family day out at the London Model Engineering Exhibition

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    On Saturday the whole family went to the London Model Engineering Exhibition at Alexandra Palace. This isn’t usually my idea of a fun day out but we used to live in the area and I was really keen to go back to re-visit some old haunts. The London Model Engineering Exhibition is in it’s 21st year and Ally Pally is a great venue for it. It’s a huge and very old entertainment complex built at the top of a hill. It houses a pub and ice rink as well as huge exhibition halls and we’ve seen Keane perform there as…

  • London Model Engineering Exhibition at Ally Pally
    Lego - Monday Happy List - Orla Kiely

    Monday happy things – week 121

    January 23, 2017 - By 

    Hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was filled with parties and swimming lessons as usual. Every Monday I write a post about the five things which have made me happy in the previous week – imaginatively titled Monday happy things. My son was off sick most of last week with chicken pox. He is pretty good company and I enjoyed spending time with him. When he was feeling a little better we managed to get out and he found a huge Chewbacca figure in a charity shop. He was so excited to add it to his Star Wars…

  • Win brand new DC Super Hero Girls books
    book review - competition

    Win brand new DC Super Hero Girls books

    January 22, 2017 - By 

    Last year we reviewed some of the new DC Super Hero Girls figures from the DC Super Hero Girls animation. They’ve been a big hit with my daughter so we were excited to see the first three books in a super exciting super hero franchise, launched by the new ‘golden trio’ – Puffin Books, Warner Bros. and DC Comics! Puffin have launched three fun new books based on the DC Super Hero Girls, the all-new child friendly comic universe from DC, in which the world’s most iconic female Super Heroes inspire and empower children of all ages, genders and levels of geekiness! Wonder Woman at Super…

  • Winter fairy garden play activity for kids
    Fairy garden crafts - parenting - playing - Winter

    Winter fairy garden play

    January 21, 2017 - By 

    We’ve had a run of beautiful but cold days recently. These are my favourite winter days and we’ve all wanted to be outside before coming back in to warm up with a hot chocolate! Over the weekend we spent a bit of time cleaning out our mud kitchen which was looking so sad and neglected. All the pots were full of muddy, frozen water and it needed a good clean up. The children helped clear out the old pinecones and acorns we had collected and sweep away the sand and dust. We left it looking so much cleaner, all ready…

  • Lion Guard Hyena Hideout Playset
    parenting - playing - toy review

    Lion Guard Hyena Hideout Playset

    January 20, 2017 - By 

    We already have some lovely Lion Guard toys. These include the Lion Guard Collectible Figure Set and Defend the Pride Lands play set. My daughter loves these toys and they are pretty much always out. Both children love to watch The Lion Guard so were so excited to receive the Lion Guard Hyena Hideout Playset. This is a new playset from Flair and promises hours of fun to be had, recreating Lion Guard scenes from the show! Lion Guard Hyena Hideout Playset The playset may be mini but the adventures are big at this creepy Hyena Hide Out! It comes…

  • washi tape Valentine heart bookmark
    crafts - Crafts for kids - Handmade gifts - Valentines Day crafts

    Washi tape Valentine heart bookmarks

    January 20, 2017 - By 

    We love crafting with washi tape. A few years ago I went crazy buying it and we still have so much of it. The good thing is that it is still sticky and perfect for crafting with. It’s especially fun for the children as they can just tear the tape with their fingers, no need for scissors! With Valentine’s Day coming up it is a great time to start on handmade Valentine’s Day cards and gifts. We always make them for the family and this year have made simple washi tape Valentine hearts bookmarks. We used: Heart-shaped cookie cutter Washi…

  • The Art of Stone Painting: 30 Designs to Spark Your Creativity
    book review - Craft book review - crafts - handmade - Painted rocks

    The Art of Stone Painting book review

    January 19, 2017 - By 

    We love crafting with stones. They are easy to get hold of, a very tactile material and pretty easy to re-use again and again. I was pretty excited when I heard about  a new book called The Art of Stone Painting. I’ve seen some lovely stone crafts on Pinterest and wanted to find out more about creating them myself. I kindly received a copy of The Art of Stone Painting: 30 Designs to Spark Your Creativity by F. Sehnaz Bac through NetGalley. This books aims to help you transform ordinary stones into colourful works of art with this easy-to-follow guide. The Art of Stone…

  • How to make a winter pomander
    Christmas - crafts - Handmade gifts - Winter

    How to make a winter pomander

    January 18, 2017 - By 

    I had forgotten how much I love January. We are still in deepest, darkest winter and we’ve had some beautiful blue skies recently. We’ve never made many Winter crafts but this year we are fully embracing it! So far we’ve made a really fun winter ice lamp, mistletoe and holly and berries sun catchers. Today we’re sharing how to make a winter pomander. We bought a large orange and used the ribbon and cloves which came in our recent hygge-in-a-box box. I also found a metal skewer which helped with the cloves. How to make a winter pomander A pomander…

  • A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart
    book review

    A Boy Made of Blocks book review

    January 18, 2017 - By 

    Today I’m taking part in a book blog tour for A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart which has recently been published in paperback. I heard about this book when it came out last year and was so excited to get my hands on a copy. A bit about A Boy Made of Blocks: MEET THIRTY SOMETHING DAD, ALEX… He loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn’t understand him. Something has to change. And he needs to start with himself. MEET EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SAM… To him the world is a…