• How to make Gingerbread Rocky Road
    baking - Christmas - Crafts for adults - gingerbread - gingerbread house - Handmade gifts

    How to make Gingerbread Rocky Road

    December 21, 2017 - By 

    I have wanted to make Gingerbread Rocky Road for a long time. With things slowing down for Christmas I finally got round to it. I love Rocky Road anyway, it’s a kind of cake, containing a mixture of marshmallows, chocolate, and nuts. I’ve adapted my recipe from Nigella’s Christmas Rocky Road recipe. Ingredients to make Gingerbread Rocky Road 250 grams dark chocolate 150 grams milk chocolate 175 grams soft butter 4 tablespoons golden syrup 200 grams broken gingerbread house (I used part of a gingerbread house kit from Flying Tiger) 150 grams brazil nuts 150 grams red glace cherries 125…

  • 10 Homemade gifts to give teachers
    crafts - Handmade gifts - Kids crafts - tutorial

    10 Homemade gifts to give teachers

    December 7, 2017 - By 

    Ah, that time of year when we have to give grateful thanks to teachers, Teaching Assistants, karate teachers, Beaver Scout leaders and every other adult who comes into contact with your child. I’m not a huge fan of donating money to every Christmas present fund doing the rounds at Christmas. In fact this year our emphasis is on giving handmade gifts. I’m not sure how teachers feel about receiving gift vouchers or boxes of chocolate at this time of the year. My mum was a teacher and I remember her coming home with a stack of gift-wrapped soaps and chocolates…

  • Minecraft in a jar
    Christmas - crafts - Handmade gifts

    Kid made gifts in a jar {Minecraft in a jar}

    November 3, 2017 - By 

    My children take a jar filled with toys or sweets into school every Christmas for their Christmas Fair contribution. The whole school does this and in return the kids get to wear their own clothes to school. The filled jars are then sold at the Fair and raise money for school. It’s a great way to raise funds for school and my children have always enjoyed filling and decorating their jars. Our “Jolly Jars” are traditionally filled with sweets (usually leftover from Halloween!) but a filled jar also makes a great handmade gift at Christmas. It’s something that’s really easy…

  • Sylvanian Families painted rocks
    crafts - Friends of Sylvanian Families - Painted rocks - Pinty Plus Ambassador - tutorial

    Sylvanian Families painted rocks

    October 8, 2017 - By 

    My children are both going through a Sylvanian Families stage at the moment. It’s not hard to see why, the toys are super cute and perfect for open-ended play. Following our trip to the Sylvanian Families Shop in London a few weeks ago I have been on the look out for simple Sylvanian Families crafts we can do at home. As they also like decorating rocks we came up with our very own Sylvanian Families painted rocks! Equipment to make Sylvanian Families painted rocks smooth stones (we bought ours from the local garden centre) Chalkola Chalk Paint pens Black permanent pen…

  • Personalised Father's Day frame
    crafts - Father's Day - Handmade gifts

    Personalised Father’s Day frame

    June 13, 2017 - By 

    You know how much we love making handmade gifts. We love to come up with our own ideas but sometimes it is nice to be inspired by someone else’s idea. Hobbycraft is our go-to show when we want to pick up some craft supplies but did you know they have some fantastic tutorials on their site too? We saw a fabulous instructions for making a Framed Family Tree and were delighted when then sent us the supplies to make our own version. Both children love to make things but I made this with my 7 year old whilst my daughter…

  • Superhero bookmark for Fathers Day
    crafts - Father's Day - Handmade gifts

    Superhero bookmark for Fathers Day

    June 6, 2017 - By 

    Both the children were off school yesterday thanks to an Inset Day. We used our time to make a fun Father’s Day craft as my children love surprising their Dad with homemade gifts and cards. We used: Craft sticks Felt Cardboard Colouring pens Googly eyes Glue stick How to make a Superhero bookmark for Father’s Day This little bookmark was my daughter’s idea so we had to follow her instructions. The first step was the children going through our felt supplies and choosing their favourite colours. Then they cut a rough triangle from their chosen colour for their superheroes cape. They…

  • Easy Lego Men Soaps
    crafts - Handmade gifts - Lego

    Easy Lego Men Soaps {a handmade gift}

    April 14, 2017 - By 

    A few weeks ago I was trying to gather some ideas for my son’s party bags. I quite enjoy putting them together, I’ve definitely had enough practice over the last few years. The theme was Emoji but I couldn’t resist making some Lego men soaps too. I quite like making my own soap and I thought these Lego men soaps would appeal to the boys. To make your own Lego Men Soaps you will need: disposable plastic container or glass jar soap base and colour wooden stirrer Lego Men mould How to make easy Lego Men Soaps First melt your…

  • Recipe for chocolate Easter bark
    baking - Easter - Handmade gifts

    How to make chocolate Easter bark {recipe}

    April 7, 2017 - By 

    I’ve wanted to try making our own chocolate bark for ages and finally got round to it whilst the children were on holiday. It was actually really simple with endless possibilities for different seasons and flavours. A basic chocolate bark is a really simple sheet of melted, tempered chocolate, usually covered with nuts, dried fruit or sweets. You can make it look pretty professional if you mix two types of chocolate, such as dark and white, and giving it a marbled effect. And in case you’re wondering, it’s called bark because it looks a little like the texture of a…

  • easy fabric tissue holder tutorial
    crafts - Handmade gifts - sewing

    Fabric tissue holder tutorial {a Mother’s Day gift}

    March 13, 2017 - By 

    With Mother’s Day coming up soon I thought I should make a head start on some handmade gifts to give the ladies in our family. A couple of weeks ago I visited the Spring Knitting & Knitting Show where I picked up some gorgeous pieces of Liberty Lawn fabric. At the time I didn’t have a project in mind but the fabrics were too good to stay hidden in my fabric cupboard. In fact they didn’t even get put away as I’ve already used them to make some sweet fabric tissue holders. To make your own you will need: Self…