• Easy Star Wars snowflakes for kids or adults to make
    Christmas - Crafts for adults - handmade - Paper craft - Star Wars crafts

    Star Wars snowflakes {Christmas decorations}

    November 18, 2016 - By 

    Both my husband  and son love Star Wars. I’ve mentioned before that my 6 year old is obsessed with Star Wars and his Christmas list is pretty much all Star Wars lego sets, and new Rogue One toys. I wanted to introduce some Star Wars Christmas decorations this year and found some really fun Star Wars snowflakes on Pinterest. I followed the link to this site where Star Wars snowflake designs have been produced for the last few years. Paper cutting is my latest obsession and I’ve pretty much finished the Cut It Out book I bought a few weeks…

  • An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers
    Advent crafts - book review - Christmas

    An Advent calendar of picture books for little readers

    November 17, 2016 - By 

    Every November I like to plan our annual Book Advent. I started this Christmas tradition a few years ago and the children love it. On the 1st December quite a few things happen so I have to be super organised at this time of year. Advent traditions Most importantly our Elf arrives all the way from the North Pole. This is another tradition we started a few years ago. I know not everyone likes the Elf on a Shelf but my children do so he’ll be coming back again this year and making sure my children behave themselves in the…

  • Mollie Makes Christmas
    book review - Christmas

    Mollie Makes Christmas {festive bedside reading}

    November 16, 2016 - By 

    I have been so slack with my crafting lately. Real life is pretty busy so my blogging and crafting time is squeezed more than ever. This makes me sad as I have some sweet little crafty projects I want to make for Christmas but no time to make them. I haven’t even made the last few Mollie Makes cover gifts. I am a non-crafting crafty blogger. Anyway, on my bedside table is Mollie Makes Christmas. I’ve treated myself to this for the last few years and really enjoy reading it cover to cover. The 2016 edition features 110 gorgeous gift…

  • Advent crafts - Christmas - crafts - upcycling

    Our homemade wooden sleigh {Book Advent planning}

    November 15, 2016 - By 

    Last year I really wanted a way to display our Book Advent. A pile of 24 books takes up quite a lot of room but I wanted them to be accessible and not look out of place amongst the Christmas decorations. In previous years I’ve experimented with wrapping them up. One year they were covered in simple brown paper and string, this year they are wrapped in festive red and white paper. You can add numbers to each packet or let your children have a lucky dip every day. Anyway, we had a wooden crate made with plywood which I…

  • Playmobil Advent Calendar {Pirate Treasure Island}
    Christmas - Playmobil Playologist

    Playmobil Advent Calendar {Pirate Treasure Island}

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    It’s definitely the time of year to be planning Advent treats for my children. Playmobil is a top manufacturer within preschool toys. We’ve been Playmobil Playologists for a while now and were lucky to receive the Playmobil Advent Calendar to review. In 2013 we reviewed the Playmobil Pirates Treasure Cove advent calendar, in 2014 we reviewed the Playmobil Santa’s Workshop Advent Calendar and last year we reviewed the Playmobil Advent Calendar Fire Rescue Operation with Card Game so I was interested to see how the pirate theme had been updated. Playmobil Advent Calendar {Pirate Treasure Island} I have to admit that I haven’t opened the Pirate Treasure…

  • paper cutting in progress
    Christmas - Monday Happy List - Paper craft

    Monday Happy List – Week 112

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    This week we sat down and wrote letters to Father Christmas. I don’t think we’ve ever done this before but the children always receive the NSPCC personalised letters from Santa (which my mum organises for them). I found a free printable via Pinterest and they both enjoyed writing their letters. My son took it a little too seriously and started looking up everything he wanted on Amazon so he could be sure to get the name right. As we’ve now finished our kitchen renovations we’ve started on the living room. As if this time of year isn’t busy enough we’re…

  • Win a bundle of Fat Quarter festive fabrics
    Christmas - competition - crafts - sewing

    Win a bundle of Fat Quarter festive fabrics

    November 11, 2016 - By 

    Have you started your Christmas crafting yet? I’ve been planning some projects for a while and find November is the perfect month to start sewing. Overdale Fabrics recently got in touch and asked if I would like to try some of their Christmas range. They sell some lovely festive Fat Quarter bundles, so of course I said yes please! I’ve always enjoyed the Scandi influence. I have no idea why the colours red and white are known as Scandi but they go so well together, especially at this time of year. We honeymooned across Denmark, Sweden and Norway so we’re…

  • fabric gingerbread cookies for kids to play with
    Christmas - gingerbread - handmade - playing - sewing

    Cookies for Santa {Wild Olive fabric cookies}

    November 9, 2016 - By 

    You know how much I love anything gingerbread so I’m warning you that I have a few more posts planned over the next few weeks. Last year I bought some gorgeous fabric from Spoonflower. I’ve mentioned Spoonflower before, it’s a great place to discover fabric, wall paper and gift wrap. I knew that my children weren’t going to be short of toys last year but I couldn’t resist making them a plate of pretend cookies for their play kitchen. Wild Olive fabric cookies {Cookies for Santa Ornament Panel} I’m made a few Wild Olive patterns before so when Mollie mentioned she had…

  • Wooden Fairy Lights Wreath from create gift love
    Christmas - handmade - homestyle

    Wooden Fairy Lights Wreath from create gift love

    November 8, 2016 - By 

    I love picking up a few special decorations every year to add to our Christmas box. The children pretty much dictate the decorations and the tree but I like to add a few grown up pieces too. I love planning the colour scheme and can spend hours looking around shops as well as online to find new things I love. Wooden Fairy Lights Wreath Wooden decorations also appeal to me so I was delighted to discover Create Gift Love, who make personalised, beautiful and unique gifts for every occasion. All their products are handmade for your loved-ones in the New Forest,…