Christmas is my favourite time of year so you probably won’t be surprised to hear I’ve started planning where we’re going to be, the presents an how we’ll decorate the house. I was excited to review a copy of The New Christmas Tree: 24 Dazzling Trees and Over 100 Handcrafted Projects for an Inspired Holiday by Carrie Brown, published by Artisan Books on 6th October 2015. The New Christmas Tree by Carrie Brown is a beautiful book. I love the concept and the photography and am completely inspired for the holiday season. This Christmas, consider everyday objects from a new…
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Great British Bake Off is one of my favourite programmes but I have to admit my bakes are usually gingerbread or vintage cake recipes, I’m not really one for creating a show stopper in my spare time. I have two junior bakers who love to help out in the kitchen too. We love to bake biscuits and cakes together and have even tried our hand at pizza and bread too. We were sent three new fun food craft products from the John Adams range so my children could join in the Great British John Adams Bake Off fun at home.…
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After a busy weekend it’s so lovely to sit and take stock of the last week.My 5 Monday happy things post is my favourite post of the week. I framed the horoscope papercut I made at the Handmade Fair in a simple glass frame which looks great but was impossible to photograph! It currently has pride of place on my mantelpiece although my children are itching to cover it in Halloween decorations. I enjoyed a delicious Gingerbread cupcake from our local farmers market My son discovered a pad of sticky notes and quickly used up a whole pad. I did…
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I’m always keen for my children to have a range of toys. As much as they love their tv or film tie-in toys I also love the fact they have other toys which encourage free play such as Schleich handpainted toy figurines and accessories. We have a collection of mainly animals which are fun for encouraging small world play, learning about animals and simple play where instructions are not necessary. We received a selection of toys from the World of Nature/Wild Life/Ocean range including the Schleich Ocean set (41407), a Blue Whale (14696), Killer whale (14697), Dolphin (14699), Blue shark…
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Today my sister and I spent a day at The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court. We had been looking forward to it for ages as it was a strictly *mums only* event, the children were left at home with daddy for the day. The sun shone and we headed to Hampton Court for our day of crafting and shopping. Our tickets included a Grand Make, Skills Workshop and a Super Theater session. Our first event was a Grand Make and we had chose Tibetan Poetry Bunting. We were given a ready made prayer flag and craft supplies to embellish it.…
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A couple of weeks ago my 3 year old reviewed the Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Bag playset, which ties in with the new Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Clinic episodes. Doc has expanded her practice and now looks after pet friends too. We were excited to be sent the new Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Find and Fetch Findo to share with you. Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Find & Fetch Findo Findo is Doc’s cute animatronic toy dog from the TV show. The playset included an interactive Findo, lead, bone and hairbrush. First you need to insert 2 x AAA which are…
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Now my son is back at school Little Sis has been taking an interest in her own toys again. During the holidays she was happy to be directed by her older brother but I’m pleased to see her going back to her own toys now. This week she has been playing Sylvanian Families a lot so I though it would be fun to go on an autumn scavenger hunt and have some nature play. There are plenty of outdoor spaces near us so every day we have looked for conkers, acorns and different leaves. The leaves are changing colour really…
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Owls are always popular on stationery and fabric so we were delighted to be sent a box of 4 plain owl porcelain plates from Baker Ross to craft with. We previously received a set of their porcelain pens so we were able to decorate them straight away. The porcelain pens are easy to use, just give them a shake, take off the lid and press down gently to release the ink. The porcelain owl plates have pre-defined shapes on them which makes them easy to decorate, outlining owls and feathers. We found the ink ran slightly creating some interesting colour…
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Over the summer holidays we had some fun with Staedtler products as members of their Try-it tribe. Well we were excited to receive a further parcel of products to keep us busy through Autumn. Our latest challenge was to make and create with FIMO kids moulds. We were sent a pack of kid-friendly FIMO and 6 colourful plastic moulds. I find after school the perfect time for trying new craft products. My children love to wind down by crafting and it means I can ask my 5 year old all about his day without his typical response of “I can’t…