A couple of weeks ago my children were sent a selection of sticker books which were so fun they haven’t stopped talking about them! Yes, Star Paws is back, and it’s better than ever! This brilliantly funny, silly and utterly addictive sticker book series is taking the world by storm! Perfect for all ages, all animal lovers, and anyone with a sense of humour! STAR PAWS is packed with over 250 stickers and more daft jokes than you can count, for dressing your animals up ready for fashion shows, medieval battles, festive fun or even a mission to the moon!…
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Today is Halloween and we’ll be celebrating by having a small party, with some ghostly treats. For one day only we’re calling ourselves the gingerdead house! We’ve had loads of fun making decorations so I thought I’d share some of them with you. We’ve been really busy over the last month and some of our favourites are: no carve pumpkins, pinecone spider, mummy candle, ghost ice cubes, Halloween sun catchers and toilet roll mummies. As well as crafting we’ve made some spooky snacks, from gingerdead men with black treacle to wriggly jelly worms. We’ve also tasted some yummy pickled onion…
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A new book recently landed on my doormat which combines my love of upcycling and home-making. Creating the Vintage Look by Ellie Laycock encourages you to discover how to make unusual and unique homeware through 35 gorgeous step-by-step projects. What I’m reading: Creating the Vintage Look Upcycling is about taking something old, vintage, treasured, or possibly even broken and giving it a new lease of life by trying it into something new. It’s a thrifty way of decorating and enhancing your home that avoids waste, but is also stylish, and Ellie Laycock shows you how you can make truly beautiful…
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I’d love to know how an idea is developed for pre-schoolers. My children absolutely love Woolly and Tig, the series about a little girl and her pet spider (stuffed, not real). If you haven’t seen it before, each episode features Tig and her cuddly toy spider Woolly, as they explore the feelings that children have when faced with new experiences, such as going to the dentist or the first day at nursery. The children were sent one of the new series of first-experience picture books based on the smash-hit CBeebies show as well as an activity book, the Let’s Play!…
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As you know we love to read so are excited to be sharing with you Discover the Savage World which is the third book in the bestselling ‘Discover the World’ series, produced in association with Discovery ChannelTM. It tackles ‘savage’ subjects through six brutal-themed sections, covering Earth, nature, people, history, science and technology. It really appealed to my nearly 4 year old. He liked the way the book was laid out as there is so much to see on each page. In fact he’s been enjoying the book so much he’s been choosing sections to read at bedtime, although how…
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I don’t know about you but I couldn’t help but keep a list of the ridiculous things my children say after seeing Greg Pembroke’s Tumblr, Reasons My Son is Crying, which went viral earlier this year. It all started when he posted pictures online of his three-year-old son, mid-tantrum, alongside the reason he was crying: He had broken his bit of cheese in half. In one month, the blog had received over 5 million hits – it is predicted to reach 14.5 million visits this year! As soon as I started reading his posts I completely empathised with him as my children have…
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You all know that I love to visit charity shops and upcycle the things I find in them. When I heard about a new book produced by The Children’s Air Ambulance it sounded absolutely written for me and I had to share it with you. The book is called New Wings for Old Things: Sew, Stick, Splatter and Salvage and includes over 20 projects to change preloved pieces into vintage visions for your wardrobe, home and garden. The ethos behind it is encouraging people of all levels of crafting experience to upcycle preloved (or just unloved!) items knocking about at home or in…
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I know I shared a book review with you yesterday but it’s time for another – Spaghetti with the Yeti by Adam and Charlotte Guillain. “Hurrah!” shouted George, “At last it is you. I’ve been looking so hard for the Yeti.” The monster looked down with a horrible howl… “Are you bonkers? My name is Netty!” Join George, a young and courageous explorer, determined to track down the elusive Yeti against all the odds. With only a map, a woolly hat and a tin of spaghetti in his rucksack, George sets off on his quest up the steep mountain path…
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From award-winning author Jane Bull, Crafty Creatures offers 30 adorable animal projects to knit or stitch. Style your own Knitten (knitted kitten), dress up the Bunny girls, and meet the Minimals – tiny animal friends that fit in a matchbox. This is a lovely craft book for children and mine really enjoyed looking through it with me. They love small toys so we chose to make the cute Minimals. The children chose from the eight Minimal templates, helped me pick the colours and I got to work on them. They were easy to whip up whilst watching Bake Off! The children love them…