• Win a Wilton 7-Piece Christmas Cookie Cutter Set
    baking - Christmas - competition

    Win a Wilton 7-Piece Assorted Christmas Cookie Cutter Set

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    Back in the Summer I was lucky to visit the Hobbycraft Autumn/Winter press show. Gosh that does feel like a long time ago. I love going to press shows and Hobbycraft is one of my favourites. They had some lovely displays featuring  some wonderful Advent calendar blanks. Look at how this one was decorated! I tried making my own gingerbread house advent calendar last year and it was really fun. They also had cake supplies, craft supplies and a wonderful foiling machine which I totally fell in love with. You can use it to embellish your own cards which sounds…

  • Easy upcycled pallet Christmas tree
    Christmas - crafts - Pinty Plus Ambassador

    Easy upcycled pallet Christmas tree

    November 29, 2016 - By 

    I’m delighted to announce that I’m a Pinty Plus Ambassador. Pinty Plus Chalk Paint is a manufactured in Spain by Novasol Spray and sold in the UK exclusively by novasolspray.co.uk. Although the product is well established in the European market, it has yet to take off in the UK largely because it is still relatively unknown within the market. It’s a versatile product which can be applied to melamine, wood, plastic, glass, canvas, metal, cardboard and polystyrene. For my first project I wanted to try something quite simple. I love upycling pallets, we’ve already made a fun pallet mud kitchen and pallet…

  • Star Wars Rogue One Interactive Imperial Stormtrooper figure
    Hasbro Toy Tribe - playing - toy review

    Star Wars Rogue One Interactive Imperial Stormtrooper figure

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    We’re counting down the days until the latest Star Wars film is released at the cinema. The Force Awakens was the first Star Wars film my son watched at the cinema and he was pretty well hooked on all things Star Wars since then. He has been watching the new trailers and we can’t wait to go and see it when it comes out. Star Wars toys feature pretty highly on his Christmas list and I have been looking forward to seeing what came out. He is obsessive about Lego Star Wars so I was interested to see what he…

  • our new entertainment centre
    Monday Happy List - parenting

    Monday Happy List – week 114

    November 28, 2016 - By 

    This time of year seems crazy busy, so it’s fitting that I barely sat down last week. Here are my 5 favourite things from the previous week – my Monday Happy List. We painted our cavernous living room cum dining room in white which has made it feel much more clean and modern. We also bought and built a huge media/entertainment unit which now houses our tv and has lots of hidden storage. We have a modern house so it suits the room perfectly. The living room feels instantly more grown up although I’m still getting used to not having…

  • A visit to Father Christmas at the Playmobil Christmas Grotto at Intu Watford
    Christmas - days out - Local Review

    A visit to Father Christmas at the Playmobil Christmas Grotto at Intu Watford

    November 27, 2016 - By 

    December is so busy for us and all our weekends are double and triple booked, so today found us visiting Father Christmas in his special magical discovery lodge at Intu Watford. Did you know that Playmobil have teamed up with the shopping centre chain and some of them are hosting special Santa’s Grotto’s in association with Playmobil? I bought our tickets online and we managed to keep our visit a secret until we got to the shopping centre. Then I gave them their golden ticket and we headed to the grotto. The children both love Playmobil so were very excited.…

  • A Christmas Carol adult colouring book
    Christmas - competition

    Win a copy of A Christmas Carol adult colouring book

    November 26, 2016 - By 

    I have a lovely festive giveaway to share with you today. I’ve recently been having a clear out of my adult colouring books. It’s one of my favourite hobbies but I’ve finished a lot of books! If you love adult colouring books then you will want to know all about the latest adult colouring book from Little Tiger Press which is perfect for the festive season –A Christmas Carol. I’m also hosting a giveaway to win a copy of A Christmas Carol adult colouring book so make sure you read to the end of my post. A Christmas Carol: A…

  • elf in operation sign
    Christmas - Elf on the Shelf - homestyle

    Embracing my inner Elf

    November 25, 2016 - By 

    Love it or loathe it but the Elf on the Shelf will be landing in T-5 days. I bought one a few years ago and the children love seeing what he gets up to every day in December. I clearly made a rod for my own back and spend most of December trying to think of new places to hide him, usually at about 11.30 at night! This year I am being super organised and have planned my activities. A few months ago I set up a secret Pinterest board and have been Pinning Elf on the Shelf ideas. I…

  • Festive Tunnocks Teacakes baubles
    Christmas - crafts - homestyle - tutorial

    Festive Tunnocks Teacakes baubles

    November 25, 2016 - By 

    I can’t believe it’s time for my last crafty post as part of the Project: recycle & create. I’ve really enjoyed the monthly challenge organised by Teach Me Mommy. This month we are all about the polystyrene. We don’t seem to get too much polystyrene packing but we do have plenty of the round balls which I’m using today. Since living in Scotland for 5 years I’ve been a big fans of Tunnocks, I was even a member of the Tunnocks’ Caramel Wafer Appreciation Society, so today I’m sharing my tutorial for super easy Tunnocks baubles. This is a lovely craft…

  • Top tips for gift wrapping from M&S
    Christmas - homestyle

    Top tips for gift wrapping from M&S

    November 24, 2016 - By 

    This is a commissioned post in collaboration with M&S. I absolutely love Christmas and my preparations start early so I can really enjoy December and all the fun events leading up to Christmas Day with my family. Because I love Christmas I am happy to do as much of the planning and shopping as I can (much to my husband’s relief!). I love to experiment with my wrapping so was delighted to be invited to an M&S Christmas wrapping event a few weeks ago. One evening I found myself outside a gorgeous old house in Soho Square, knocking on a…