• parenting - potty training

    Operation Big Girl

    Little Sis is almost two and a half and I find myself caught between wanting her to attend nursery for a few more hours a week (!) and not wanting her to grow up. She is very independent and hates being told what to do (not sure where she gets that from) and I need to let her grow up a little. We recently ditched the dummy which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and she barely wants a noo noo any more. She used to always have a dummy and noo noo (a muslin) but she…

  • crafts - Crafts for kids

    Butterfly craft: The Very Hungry Butterfly

    A few weeks ago we were reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and made a caterpillar from bottle tops. He’s been sitting in a jar ever since and my  4 year old keeps looking at the jar and telling me how disappointed he is that the caterpillar hasn’t changed into a butterfly. I thought we would make a colourful butterfly and hopefully make my son happy. You will need: cardboard tube bubble wrap double sided sticky tape paint and paint brush tray or large lid paper I covered the cardboard tube with a layer of bubble wrap which was held in…

  • competition - crafts - handmade - sewing

    Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

    To celebrate my love of sewing and craft I’m joining in with Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew. Like many areas in my life I always have a couple of projects on the go. At the moment I’m working on a ticker tape doll quilt, a Union Flag cot quilt, Wild Olive’s Spring Stitching Club quilt and trying out a project from Little Quilts by Sarah Fielke and Amy Lobsiger which I was sent to review. I forgot, I’m also supposed to be making my 4 year old a ladybird costume for nursery! Sewing has always been one of my…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - decorating - interiors - tutorial - upcycling - vintage

    How to make a vintage board game display

    A couple of days ago I wrote about my collection of vintage board games, all picked up at local charity shops for a few pounds. The game tokens will go into my Etsy shop as soon as I have time to list them and this weekend I finally persuaded my husband to let me hang them on the wall. Last weekend was spent painting and decorating our bedroom and we just have a few final touches to make. We obviously got bitten by the bug as we also went out and bought the things needed to decorate my daughter’s room…

  • crafts - free printables

    Mum’s Survival Kit {Printable}

    Hi It’s Fiona here from Imogen’s Angels located in Perth, Western Australia. I’m excited to be sharing this blog post with Jenny from The Gingerbread House organised by Tots 100 and Digital Parents for the International blog swap. This Sunday in Australia it’s is Mother’s Day ! I thought it would be great to share with you a neat little printable mum survival kit that would make a great topper on a present or a simple idea to use at daycare or school. I have also included a ‘Happy Birthday’ and You’re Awesome! printable options for the mum survival kits.…

  • crafts - gingerbread - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    Gingerbread playdough recipe

    It’s pretty obvious from the name of my blog that I love gingerbread. Mmmm, so many happy memories are associated with the very smell! My children adore playdough, it’s probably one of their top 3 favourite activities, so I thought I would make them some gingerbread playdough. We often make our own playdough as it’s cheap and lasts a long time. If you’re looking for ideas on how to play with playdough, take a look at our free printable gingerbread playdough mats. This is my tried and tested no-cook playdough recipe: 150g plain flour 100g salt 2 tsp. cream of…

  • Kids crafts - tutorial

    How to make a Jolly Jar

    My son started nursery this academic year and we have been introduced to all kinds of new experiences. His nursery is attached to the local Primary School which means he is very much a part of school life. He wears the school uniform, takes a book bag to school and comes home with two books to read at home every week. He absolutely adores being part of the school community and I’m happy that he is happy. It has been a learning curve for me too. I do the school run, chat with the other mums at drop off and…

  • Family Life - playing - toy review

    A classic tale brought to life

    I was delighted to tune in to CBeebies recently and see the Peter Rabbit animated series. The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the first books I remember from my childhood. The stories of Peter Rabbit and his friends are timeless and I think they have translated really well into a programme that my children love to sit and watch. My sister and I had a library of Beatrix Potter books when we were little and I’ve been buying them for my own children whenever I see them in charity shops. There’s something very comforting about reading these simple stories…

  • Gingerbread house finds - housekeeping - upcycling - vintage

    Gingerbread house finds: vintage board games

    I’ve been obsessed with vintage board games for a while now. Part of it is trying to re-create the games my grandparents kept in their wardrobe which we were allowed to play with when we visited. They had a great collection which included Tell Me, a metal wind up car racing game made in East Germany, a magnetic fishing and more, all stored in a green enamel bread bin. When they died I really wanted to take all of those with me, just to preserve the memories, but I couldn’t and I suppose I’ve regretted it ever since. What a…