• book review - crafts - handmade - sewing

    Super cute felt animals

    You all know how much I love sewing with felt so it’s probably no surprise that I have been eagerly awaiting the second book by Laura Howard who blogs at bugsandfishes. Super Cute Felt Animals features 35 bright and appealing animals from the land, sea and air, to make. I packed the book to take with us on our weekend away and I really enjoyed looking through it. As you can see I took enough supplies so I was able to make some animals when the children finally went to sleep. Woodland creatures include a crafty fox and her cute cubs, a…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - tutorial

    How to make a Cozy Cone Motel

    My 3 year old has been a huge fan of the Disney Cars films for a while now. He still loves Thomas & Friends but he loves to play with all his cars and watch the films if we’ve had a busy day. I’ve been on the look out for some simple crafts to enhance his playing and found a great idea on Pinterest to recreate Sally Carrera’s Cozy Cone Motel in Radiator Springs. Easy Cozy Cone Motel This was a really simple craft. I spotted a couple of orange cones in a charity shop and when I got them…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - tutorial - vintage

    Things to do with Scrabble tiles – Scrabble bathroom sign

    I can often be found scouring my local charity shops for vintage Scrabble sets. I don’t collect them to play Scrabble, which is a shame as it’s a great game, but I use the Scrabble tiles for crafting! Take a look at my latest post about Scrabble tiles over on PinAddicts if you need some inspiration. I thought it was about time I actually made something with them, other than my Scrabble-inspired tile biscuits. When we moved into our house the most noticeable thing was the number of empty picture hooks around each room. The place had been covered with…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Playmobil Playologist

    Crafting with Playmobil

    I’m pretty delighted to tell you that I’ve been featured by Mammasaurus as part of the weekly Parenting Pin It Party. I’m all about having fun with a glue gun and my Playmobil clock is one of my favourite projects so far. I have more Playmobil fun for you today as I just can’t resist those colourful little plastic people! You know I love to hang around on Pinterest and I’m sure you’ve all seen the animal topped glass jars which have been spray painted one colour. How to make Playmobil jar toppers I thought it would be fun to…

  • crafts - Crafts for kids - handmade

    How to make a melted hama bead bowl

    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…

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

    How to make a happy fairy

    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…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    Pinned it, made it – Playmobil Clock

    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

    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…

  • crafts - handmade

    Crafting with Hama beads

    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…