• spring daffodil craft for kids
    crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade - Kids crafts - Spring - tutorial

    Paper daffodil bunting

    February 18, 2013 - By 

    It’s been sunny and my thoughts are firmly on Spring. Our house has a beautiful bay window in the lounge which is absolutely perfect for our home-made sun catchers and bunting. We thought it would be fun to make paper daffodils and some extras to hang in the window. The toddler enjoyed this as it involved his favourite items from the craft box – scissors and glue! You will need: Selection of yellow and orange papers Craft sticks Glue Scissors Green marker pen Star cookie cutter We traced round the star cookie cutter on sheets of yellow and orange paper…

  • book review - crafts - handmade

    Sock Puppet Madness

    February 12, 2013 - By 

    It’s been a long time since I did anything with my socks, except wear them. The one and only time I’ve made a sock monkey was back in 2008 but they are still very much in vogue. Sock Puppet Madness Take Bawston the ornery cat puppet, for example. He’s a baseball fan with a questionable temper, so watch what you say to him. A more friendly guy is Sebastian Metaphor. He may seem aloof with his hipster appearance but behind those sleepy eyes lies a heart of gold. If you are a sophisticated sort why not have a crack at…

  • handmade Valentine's Day paper
    crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade - Valentines Day crafts

    Handmade Valentine wrapping paper

    February 11, 2013 - By 

    Along with our handmade Valentine’s Day cards I thought it would be fun to make our own wrapping paper too. I love using brown paper as it is so easy to personalise with washi tape, stickers or paint. I saw packs of heart stickers in my local Tiger store, which is where I buy most of my craft supplies. I knew these would be perfect to make our own paper to wrap our Valentine’s Day gift. Handmade Valentine wrapping paper supplies: brown paper, red heart stickers Handmade Valentine wrapping paper The toddler adores stickers so enjoyed this little project. I…

  • hand print bunnies
    crafts - Easter - handmade - Kids crafts - Spring - toddler - tutorial

    Hand print bunnies

    February 4, 2013 - By 

    If you ever ask the toddler what he wants to do he’ll answer painting. He absolutely loves sticking paper to the table, choosing a pot of paint and being creative. Hand print and thumb print animals are his current obsession so what better than hand print Easter bunnies for Easter gifts? You will need: paper, paint, black and red marker pen First of all stick your paper to the table, we use washi tape, to ensure the corners stay down. Choose which hand you want to use and sponge paint over the palm and fingers. Carefully press down the palm…

  • crafts - handmade

    Cross stitch Valentine card

    February 3, 2013 - By 

    For some reason I decided I wasn’t busy enough and challenged myself to try 10 different craft projects this year. I’m really bad at falling in love with a picture in a magazine, buying supplies and never getting round to making it. No more! This year I am working my way through my stash of projects and trying really, really hard to not buy craft books, fabric or anything else. I’ll admit I’ve failed terribly at this and have some amazing craft books to tell you about 🙂 Anyway, so far I’ve tried my hand at applique houses which was…

  • crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - tutorial - Valentines Day crafts

    Valentine sun catchers

    January 29, 2013 - By 

    We love making sun catchers. Our sitting room faces south which means we get a lot of lovely sun light on the window – perfect for handmade sun catchers! After the success of the ones we made last year we thought we’d make some for Valentines Day too. Easy Valentine sun catchers You will need: card, scissors, coloured pieces of cellophane (we used sweetie wrappers), sticky tape and bakers twine. We drew round cookie cutters to make heart and circles shapes.  This meant they were all the same shape and size. Then we carefully cut out the middle of each…

  • book review - crafts - handmade - Orla Kiely

    Tinkered Treasures

    January 27, 2013 - By 

    I’m a huge fan of Elyse Major’s blog, Tinkered Treasures, so was very happy to be sent a copy of her new book to review. Adding charm to the everyday is the concept behind Elyse Major’s first book, Tinkered Treasures. It features more than 35 projects, each craft is designed for beginners and can easily be elaborated with, according to your own skill level. Tinkering is the name given by Elyse to the transformation of everyday items. Through  you can pick up some great ideas for embellishing, repurposing and altering using items you’ll already have. The projects are split into…

  • crafts - handmade

    Handmade heart stamps

    January 17, 2013 - By 

    We’re already thinking about Valentines Day for the family. I saw a brilliant tutorial from Rust & Sunshine which I knew would be perfect for the toddler – heart stamps. Handmade heart stamps The instructions were quite simple – take a toilet roll, slightly flatten it so it creases on both sides then invert one side to form a heart, dip in red paint and get painting. Couldn’t be simpler? The toddler loves painting, it’s his favourite thing to do so I knew he would enjoy this. He was very patient and made lots of heart stamps on a sheet…

  • Christmas - competition - crafts - handmade

    Mollie Makes giveaway

    January 14, 2013 - By 

    I’m a bit late in reviewing Mollie Makes Christmas but it’s a lovely book and well worth getting hold of. I’ve long been a fan of Mollie Makes and Mollie Makes Christmas brings together a collection of different projects from Mollie Makes magazine’s favourite designers. Perfect for those who love to make their own decorations and gifts, the book features over 20 projects to knit, crochet, fold, stitch and sew. I recognised some of the names of the contributors but many were new to me and I love discovering new designers. The book appeals to me on lots of levels;…