• Real Construction from Jakks Pacific review
    playing - STEM activity - toy review

    Real Construction from Jakks Pacific {toy review}

    December 1, 2016 - By 

    If you’re looking for something a little different you my be interested in our latest review of Real Construction. These exciting sets combine tools and wood-like material, allowing your children to safely get creative and saw, nail, screw and build new designs. We received the Real Construction Starter Set (RRP: £9.99) and the Real Construction Deluxe Work Shop set (RRP: £24.99), to try out at home. My son loves to make things and be creative so was pretty excited to see these toys. Real Construction Starter Set (RRP £9.99) The perfect set for the beginner craftsman! The Real Construction Starter set…

  • Rudolph Reindeer Decoration Sewing Kits
    Baker Ross Blogger Network - Christmas - crafts

    Simple Christmas crafts for kids

    December 1, 2016 - By 

    A few weeks ago we received a wonderful parcel containing Christmas crafts for kids from Baker Ross. Here’s what we thought of them. Both my children are interested in sewing so loved the Rudolph Reindeer Decoration Sewing Kits. There are 3 assorted colours and each kit includes pre-cut felt shapes, self-adhesive felt pieces, yarn, stuffing, wiggle-eyes, ribbon and plastic needle. My 5 year old made this one and it was her first sewing project! I thought it was perfect for her and she was so happy with the finished reindeer. Our house always receives a visit from the Elf on…

  • Leapfrog Leapband Activity Tracker
    playing - toy review

    Leapfrog Leapband Activity Tracker

    December 1, 2016 - By 

    Over the last few weeks my 5 year old has been trying out the Leapfrog Leapband Activity Tracker. This is a cute little watch that holds a wealth of activities and games suitable for kids. The activity tracker encourages active play and healthy habits through 50 fun challenges. Kids can get active with a customisable pet pal as they play games and complete challenges together. Earn points and unlock rewards for being active, caring for a pet pal, and completing challenges. My daughter chose the monkey and this is the picture you see when the screen is locked but there are…

  • Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}
    Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - upcycling

    Wooden Advent tree {Ikea hack}

    November 30, 2016 - By 

    Earlier in the summer I attended a tablescaping event as part of the Ikea Autumn/Winter press show. I saw some great Christmas products and knew I would be going to buy some in store. We went to Ikea in October and I was so happy to see they had set up their Christmas displays. I bought quite a few new decorations, a gingerbread house and a lovely wooden tree. The tree was quite a simple design with 28 branches, each with a small hole at the end to hang a decoration. I thought this would make a great wooden Advent…

  • 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.…