Today I’m taking part in a bloggy book tour for the latest novel from Dinah Jefferies – The Silk Merchant’s Daughter. Last year I absolutely devoured The Tea Planter’s Wife so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her new book. 1952, French Indochina. Since her mother’s death, eighteen-year-old half-French, half-Vietnamese Nicole has been living in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Sylvie. When Sylvie is handed control of the family silk business, Nicole is given an abandoned silk shop in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi. But the area is teeming with militant rebels who want to end…
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Before Christmas I told you about itty bittys from Hallmark, they are a collectable plush toy in a huge range of characters which appeal to both children and adults. Each plush measures just 4″ and new characters are always being launched, from recently released films as well as figures from some of the most recognisable and popular film and TV shows. The Wizard of Oz itty bittys I loved reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the sequels when I was younger. The story of Dorothy Gale, who is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks…
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I recently shared our shamrock sun catcher craft for St Patrick’s Day but I am back with another sun catcher craft today! As I mentioned last week, I have started writing and designing projects for the Sizzix blog. My children were intrigued with the Sizzix Big Shot Plus and all the dies I have been experimenting with. I was showing them how it worked which inspired my first project. I used the Sizzix Bigz Die – Heartfelt by Tim Holtz to make an easy heart sun catcher. I think this would make a great Mother’s Day craft. Why not pop…
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Last year we told you about Schleich’s new range of prehistoric animals and shared a fun craft idea, DIY dinosaur fossils using the Schleich mini dinosaurs from the range. We love our Schleich toys so were pleased to be sent the new dinosaurs from Schleich’s The First Dinosaurs range. For 2016, Schleich has gone back to the era when prehistoric creatures first walked our planet with the introduction of ‘The First Dinosaurs’. The collection includes five of the first well-known dinosaurs, each of which come complete with moving jaw and educational booklet which contains facts about each dinosaur. The species…
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As much as we’re enjoying the half term holiday I admit to raiding our craft stash. My children love to wind down by making something and, with Mother’s Day coming up on 6th March, they have been working their way through some of the great Mother’s Day craft kits we were sent from Baker Ross. Heart Lantern Kits They loved the Heart Lantern kits, which contained 4 assorted colours and designs. Each kit included a card lantern template and coloured tissue paper. they were easy to assemble using a glue stick or glue dots. The kit costs £3.49 for a…
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It’s been a while since we made any sun catchers to brighten the room, but with St Patrick’s Day coming up next month, it seemed the perfect time. We have Irish ancestry but I admit we don’t go all out to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Shamrock sun catcher craft The shamrock is symbol of Christianity in Ireland and associated with St Patrick. Our paper plate shamrock sun catcher is a simple craft activity for children. I traced a shamrock onto a paper plate and cut it out. My 4 year old cut a sheet of green cellophane into small pieces. I…
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We have a slight obsession with fairy houses here at the gingerbread house blog. I’m not quite sure how it started but I’m pleased to say that not only is our own house and garden fairy friendly, but it seems that our little village is too. We’d been living here for a couple of months when a friend pointed out a fairy door on a nearby tree. We stopped to visit on a trip to the sweetie shop. There was no where to leave a note but we saw lots of people stopping to look. Then we heard rumours of…
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I’ve been really enjoying using my Life Planner this year. I know we’re only a few weeks into 2016 but I’ve been pretty good at using it every day and keeping on top of my to do list. Now I have a Planner I seem to be more addicted to stationery than usual. Over the last few weeks I’ve been buying lots of stationery from Hema and Kikki.K so I thought I would try a Brimbles Stationery Box. Brimbles Stationery subscription box There are lots of options available to purchase but I chose the Brimbles Stationery Box. I only wanted…
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Yay, we made it to half term! I’m writing my weekly post about the things that have made me happy before I get back to the important task of enjoying being with the kids. I stitched a cute little mini quilt inspired by love hearts. I totally meant to hand stitch some messages on each one but didn’t have time. I gave my children boxes of Love Hearts yesterday and was surprised by the modern sayings on them. I think I prefer the ones I grew up with. Last week I had the termly Parents’ Evening for both children. I’m lucky…