• how to make a melted hama bead bowl
    crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade

    How to make a melted hama bead bowl

    August 18, 2013 - By 

    I’ve been having lots of fun crafting with hama beads, it’s the perfect craft to pick up in the quieter moments. My hama bead love Pinterest board is bursting with inspiration and I’ve been trying to make things a little out of the ordinary. I love the idea of hama bead bunting, a letter garland, ear-rings, necklaces, coasters and hair clips. You can make pretty much anything from hama beads. I’ve already written about some of the things I’ve made over on Pinaddicts, as well as some of the mistakes I’ve made! I probably shouldn’t have tried melting beads whilst…

  • pushchairs

    Out and about in London with the Bugaboo Bee

    August 17, 2013 - By 

    A couple of weeks ago I was offered a Bugaboo Bee to help us complete our Summer Bucket List. You may remember I had a much-loved Bugaboo Cameleon so I was delighted to try the Bee. Although we haven’t been very successful in ticking things off our Summer Bucket List we have been out and about every day with the Bugaboo Bee. We’ve been on the tube. We’ve been on the bus. We’ve pounded the local streets and loaded it down with some fab vintage finds. We’ve been to the park, visited friends, and slept. And slept some more. It’s…

  • baby products - competition

    Win with Natures Purest – perfect products for little ones

    August 16, 2013 - By 

    This week I’ve teamed up with Natures Purest, who sell naturally coloured cotton products, to offer you a fabulous giveaway. They sell the perfect little luxuries to treat a new bundle of joy, from baby clothing, toys, gifts and bedding. Suitable for babies from 0-12 months, many are made using organically grown, naturally-coloured cotton.   The products are free from pesticides, chemical and dyes, and the 100% natural products are designed with a baby’s sensitive skin in mind. I’ve written before about my children’s allergies so I know how important it is to give your child the best start in…

  • being green - crafts - Fairy garden crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial

    How to make a happy fairy

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    Our house has one little girl who has recently discovered the magical world of fairies. We don’t get to do much crafting thanks to her older, louder brother, so I thought it would be fun to make something together. We had some cardboard clothes cartons leftover from our house move so flattened one to use the cardboard. Little Sis lay down and we drew a rough shape round her for wings. We cut them out and painted them with red paint. Whilst the paint was drying we made a very special fairy wand. We raided the craft cupboard for corrugated…

  • baking

    Easy ice cream cone cupcakes

    August 13, 2013 - By 

    When we were gripped by the horrible heatwave I really didn’t feel like baking. However, now it’s a little cooler I have been very happy to get back in my kitchen and bake! This morning I had a good look through my favourite baking recipes and decided to make ice cream cone cupcakes. We’ve been eating plenty of ice creams so I used left over cones, flat-bottomed for ease of baking 🙂 I whipped up some cake mixture using my favourite vanilla cupcake recipe and had lots of help from my two little helpers. We then added an equal amount…

  • PLAYMOBIL CLOCK - the gingerbread house
    crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    Pinned it, made it – Playmobil Clock

    August 12, 2013 - By 

    I have a very special make to show you today, I’m quite proud of this one! The toddler is really interested in telling the time and we bought him his first digital watch last week. We’re in the process of re-decorating his room so when I saw a colourful clock made with Playmobil people on Pinterest (pinned here) I knew I had to try making it myself. Equipment needed to make a Playmobil clock: Vintage Playmobil figures pegboard painted white clock mechanism glue gun and glue How to make an upcycled Playmobil clock Playmobil is very popular in our house…

  • Cath Kidston - handmade - sewing

    Pretty purchases

    August 8, 2013 - By 

    I had a very small splurge in Cath Kidston whilst we were in Marlborough the other week. The shop is in a beautiful historic building on the High Street and I was drooling over the way it was decorated. I really loved the framed vintage fabrics and tea towels in the shop. There was also a display of five vintage bevelled mirrors hung in a row at the top of a wall. It reminded me of the way this blogger has displayed her collection down her staircase, she was clearly trend-setting the whole thing back in 2010! We’re still deciding…

  • My first hama maxi beads
    crafts - handmade

    Crafting with Hama beads

    August 6, 2013 - By 

    Sometimes the toddler really surprises me. He was recently sent some Hama beads from DKL to play with. Hama beads are multicoloured, soft plastic beads which can be placed on pegged plates to form all kinds of designs and shapes. I love this photo of the toddler with his My first hama maxi beads set! I did ask him to smile but he said he couldn’t! Crafting with Hama beads Despite the face he really enjoyed himself. The box was visually very appealing to him and he couldn’t wait to open it. There were a few patterns on it and he…

  • book review

    Summer holiday fun

    August 3, 2013 - By 

    A couple of days before we left for a holiday I received a personalised case for my iPad mini from Photobox. I had designed the case myself and chose a collage of my favourite images of the children. I loved the case but must admit it left my iPad mini a little battered over our holiday. The shell clipped on the back which left the front vulnerable to getting scratched and as it’s mainly used by the children it didn’t give it much protection. Note to self- must invest in a screen protector! We also made an 8×6 photo block…