Ben and Holly's Little kingdom Were Ambassadors!

You might have noticed on the side of my blog we have a brand new shiny badge - if you haven't have a scroll down, were so happy to announce that we are now officially brand ambassadors for Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom, We absolutely love the television program especially Adam, apart from big bad Barry the fish if you haven't seen the show he is pretty scary you know well at least Adam thinks so anyhow  - I will tell you about that in another post though.

You may be wondering what it means to be a brand ambassador - well it means we will be bringing you news ideas for recipes crafts and games, you can join in if you want to with it all of course with the Ben and Holly theme so if your little one loves them as much as mine do its worth watching out for the weekly posts.


So with Autumn being here Halloween, bonfire night and Christmas just around the corner what better time of the year to have a party and that's exactly what Ben and Holly will be doing this month, you can join in by downloading your very own Ben and holly party elf and fairy party pack from the Website Here 

The pack includes recipes, colouring activities, decorations and your very own make them yourself invitations, love this idea it just gives them a bit more personality!

There is also a fantastic chance to win a selection of elf and fairy goodies over on the website!

This time next week we will be holding our very own elf and fairy party celebrations so do come back to join us and see what we have been up to in the mean time why not tweet your own pictures and opinions, don't forget to use the hash tag #ElfandFairyparty.

  

     

Easter with Baker Ross

Around a month ago I posted our Spring make and creates from Baker Ross, This month for Easter we were sent another huge box of creative delights.

The boys really love creating things getting messy with glue and paint so over Easter with more than a few rainy days - we have been stuck in so we set to work and making some beautiful crafts with our box of goodies from Baker Ross.

We started the morning off by making some Easter bags the boys decided they were going to keep these once made so the Easter bunny would fill them with eggs for them for Easter. The Rabbit bags were really simple to make all the bits you need are in the bag you just need to add some extra glue to the parts that haven't got a sticky back side.

The bags took the boys around half hour to make, the sticky backs can be a little bit fiddly but they managed it, next we made some Easter pots they,re so cute we really enjoyed making them.

The boys love making these, again the concept is very simple and all of the parts come inside the packet you just need a small bit of glue in places.

They make great boxes to put eggs into as an added little treat for Easter like this bunny that I made with the help of Adam and Liam.

There are so many quirky and fabulous gift and craft ideas available from Baker Ross at great prices you could fill an afternoon of making and creating with your children for under £20 its definitely a fantastic website I would recommend going over and having a look at all of there crafts their is a huge variety, they have certainly kept my boys busy this easter!

We were sent these lovely craft gift sets for the purpose of this review all opinions remain honest and my own 

A simple Easter Bonnet for a boy!

Having looked around online, and in shops for an Easter Bonnet for Liam - all of them seem to be for girls pretty straw hats and fluffy bunnies not much out there that seems to be aimed at boys so with some inspiration from my mum and some super gluing efforts from Liam we came up with and made our own simple to make Easter bonnet.

What you need,

• Around ten sheets of tissue paper - yellow (depending on the hat size)
• 2-4 sheets of orange tissue paper 
• PVA glue
• A plastic hat with a peak at the front or a helmet
• some cardboard
• some white paper and a black felt tip pen

First of all cut a triangle out of the card bored and secure it to the hat, I used glue but it still felt loose so I popped a bit of sellotape on the underside if you are using a plastic hat with a peak skip this step!

 
Then Start screwing all the yellow tissue paper into balls not to tight, then apply the PVA glue to the hat or helmet simply work your way around the hat making sure all is covered but the peak of the hat or the triangle that you have just attached.

Once you have covered the hat, start screwing up the orange tissue paper and cover the triangle or the peak of the hat, once you have done this, the bonnet is nearly complete.

I was lucky with our hat it already has eyes on it but to make the eyes just cut out some pieces of white paper into an oval shape and draw on the pupils then just affix them on with some PVA glue.

The Bonnet principle of making this hat could be used to make a Rabbit fixing on white ears and white tissue paper, or a sheep, cow, and you could even make a duck! the possibility are endless we loved making our hat and Liam cant wait to wear it to his parade on Wednesday.

Watching the spring bloom, We get creative!

This time of year is one of my favorites, watching the flowers and wildlife coming to life again after everywhere has looked naked throughout the winter months it is always guaranteed to put a smile on my face alongside the fact that the sunshine is brightening up the days, I think it always makes people feel better and it certainly lifts the mood.

This Month myself and the boys have been flower spotting and discussing the spring a lot, as well as looking at some of the insects that are beginning to appear - I am not such a big fan of creepy crawleys but the boys love to explore anything that moves or is brightly colored everywhere we have been they have been pointing out flowers that they can see and anything else that looks pretty.

Liam has been learning lots about the spring this month at nursery so this fits in really well that Center parks have set a challenge this month to show off your painting skills and creativity skills to re-create some of the natural beauty that is appearing everywhere you go at this time of year.

 these are some of the flowers we have spotted on our travel.

So we have been getting creative at home to reinforce the boys learning skills, by using this and the help of Center Parcs top creativity tips from Emma Hill (creativity Crafter) we have , the boys have really got creative and have given there impression of what they think the flowers look like.

This is the tip we used from Center Parcs this month,

"Find materials around the house to add to the painting, giving it a 3D effect. Why not paint an old bottle cap and stick it in the centre of a flower, really bringing your painting to life?"

So this is what we have been doing, we have made some 3D effect flowers from some old artificial flowers, that I thought had seen better days combined them with lollipop sticks, stickers and some tissue paper to make there impression of a spring flower, Liam and Adam had a great time getting creative (with a little help!).

The boys loved making the 3D flowers, Adam is young still at the age of two, had, had enough after his flower making, he was tired, so off he went for his afternoon nap, which left me and Liam some fabulous quality time to paint together and to talk about spring, Liam is like a sponge he seems to remember everything you tell him but gets the words mixed up! he decided he wanted to paint some "dandy- dills" which made me laugh realising what he had said he corrected himself to daffodils, Liam loves to paint he used the brush and his fingers to create his lovely picture.

The last picture on the end is my attempt at painting some flowers, I think the boys ideas win hands down!

It has been really fun getting out and about this month, looking at flowers and watching little bits of nature appearing, the boys have really enjoyed being outside learning and then trying to re-create the flowers they have seen, I personally love daffodils at this time of year!

 ‘This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots 100 February challenge. If I’m chosen, I would like to visit Sherwood forest’

Mothers day gifts for the craft lover - Bergere de France #Review

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and that means it’s time to start racking your brains for the perfect gift to say thank you. Sometimes it can be really hard to choose something for mum that is individual and different, why not step away from the flower aisle and back away from the chocolates as much as mums love chocolate most will be thinking about there figures, eat now moan later that's usually my trick!

Whether your Mum is focused on fashion or loves bringing new life into the home, Bergere de France - renowned French-based manufacturer of fine yarns and inspirational design catalogues- has the perfect gift for every crafty woman!

Does your Mum love creating unique pieces for the home? Why not help her spruce up the living room with a gorgeous crochet cushion kit, bring life to an old dining table with a homemade table cloth or add a unique touch to her bedroom lampshade with a gorgeous knitted cover the there is loads to choose from this mothers day for the crafty loving mum!

From beginner’s kits such as the knitted magazine rack to more intricate designs like the knitted mug cosy, there is a kit to suit every mum from those new to knitting to the crochet expert.

I have been sent one of there lovely And pretty laced crochet make your own cushion cover set, presented in a cute gift box. The set comes with a detailed guide of how to make the beautiful cushion cover, the instructions are really easy to follow, the box also contains two high quality yarns so that you have all the right ingredients to make up the pretty cushion cover design.

I haven't actually made up the set because I don't have the right crochet hook - this is the only down side to the set, that it doesn't come with the crochet hook, However I have read through the instructions and the guide and like I said previously it is really easy to follow, the set is practically perfect for the crafty loving mum or just a mum that likes to sit down and try something different.

This lovely set is priced at £9.07, So if your looking for a mothers day gift on a budget this set is a great price. The cushion cover once made up is 40 x 30cm, and it is available in several different colours.

Over all I love this pretty gift set - as a mum I would be very happy if someone bought me this, I find craft time is very therapeutic, and this little set is simple yet very pretty. 

The company has recently launched its latest magazines for Spring/Summer 2014. Magazines 172 and 173 provide a range of contemporary and inspirational patterns and designs for infants and women, so you’re mum can create gorgeous pieces of clothing that will turn her friends green with envy!

For more information and to see the other beautiful sets and ideas they have available you can simply pop over and visit there website www.bergeredefrance.co.uk

Indoor Fun At Half Term

Lets face it the weather has been pretty awful in the last few weeks and this week isn't any exception. The half term is here and with the weather being rain virtually all of the time, we practically have no choice but to stay at home, when we do venture out it is usually to visit friends or relatives, however this still means most of our time is being spent indoors. With two very lively boys this can be quite a challenge for me and very boring for them.

Center Parcs have set a challenge this month, to get creative with your children and to make a game to have some indoor fun. Now I am not the most creative mummy and I am certainly no Picasso - But I am partial to a bit of quieter time and laughter which making, creating and playing always seems to bring. 

Taking inspiration from Lisa's tips on indoor family time, Center Parcs challenge, Lisa's tip is;

"Screw up some old newspaper and stick it together to make a ball. Decorate it, grab some empty toilet roll holders and make your own indoor ten pin bowling alley". 

I hadn't got any empty toilet roll holders so we put our own spin on the game. Using plastic cups we made an in-door's skittle set, I got the boys to paint the cups in a colour of their choice, Liam choose blue, Adam Purple they really enjoyed painting each cup it took a little while for us to get through them, but the boys concentration and creativity really shone through they love to paint, we put the cups to one side so they had time to dry before we played skittles.

Whilst our new lovely skittles game was drying out, We moved onto a different task I gave the boys both a medium sized box each, with my help we cut out a mouth shaped semi-circle on the box, then I drew on the boxes two circles for what looked like eyes and they both painted the eyes on there boxes. The boxes eyes dried pretty quickly - quite a good job because there concentration with the creative side of making was beginning to waver slightly. My idea was to take it in turns to roll balls along the floor into the hole, The boys had very different ideas they decided to fetch all there push along cars line them up and take it in turns rolling the cars into the hole.

Even though the hole was quite big they still managed to role the cars around the boxes, but they had great fun, laughing and giggling no squabbling over anything and they played this all evening until it was time for a bath and bed.

I thought they would be fed up when they got up the next morning or have lost interest, much to my surprise they went back to the boxes again, bruming, zooming and whooshing cars and anything else they could find with wheels into the box, in which they have called "Robot" it was lovely to see them playing and most importantly using something that had cost nothing, that they had helped to create.

Of course later that afternoon the boxes were quickly losing their novelty, we fetched out the skittles/plastic cups that had dried out, again the boys wanted to use there cars to knock them down, it was great they were using there imaginations, saying "I am winning" and playing together as a team.

The games were really simple to make all that was used was,

• Plastic Cups (left over from a Party)
• paint
• Cardboard boxes (picked up from a supermarket)

 

The two games kept a two and a three year old very happy. For the cost of virtually nothing they were both really simple, but really effective, it just shows a little bit of imagination and some bits lying around the home can lead to a fun filled afternoon for children. The indoors can be just as fun as out.

‘This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots 100 February challenge. If I’m chosen, I would like to visit Sherwood forest’

Crazy House Crayons #Review and #competition

As Christmas is fast approaching, we are all looking for something different I know for my boys I am always looking for a little extra or something different that is going to fun and which they will love!

So I am introducing to you Crazy House Crayons

This is a fantastic brand new innovative company, they have taken your average boring crayons and have turned them into an exciting array of brightly coloured shapes, designs and characters that will keep your little one entertained for hours, if you cant see the design that you like, you can request for your own design or personalisation to be made. These crayons can be as plain or imaginative as you would like them to be!

Let me show you just a few of the designs that are available,

 

Crazy House Letters great for teaching your child the alphabet, or for learning there name and what great Crayons to get creative with.

How about some Crazy House Crayons In a Lego shape they're simply amazing and would make a fab gift for anyone especially a Lego fanatic!

We were sent a selection of Crazy House crayons to review this is what we sent,

• Christmas pack 
• A butterfly and dragonfly two different colours
• and three crown princess crayons

The detail on these crayons are amazing and the colours are really bright and fun, they will definitely keep children entertained for hours, all the crayons work really well and the chunky ones are great for little ones that are just learning to hold a crayon for the first time, My boys absolutely loved these not only were they being creative and colouring with them they were using their imaginations and playing with them like a toy!

All the Crayons are made from crayola and they're 100% non toxic they are suitable from 12 months+

Overall these products are absolutely wonderful and fun what a great idea they would be for a stocking filler, birthday present, party bag filler, I can even imagine having a little bag of these on the table for children like favours if you were getting married, The ideas and options are endless I cant rate them high enough!

to find out more about Crazy house Crayons you can contact them through there Facebook page or there Twitter page

Crazy House Crayons Have been very generous and are giving you the chance to win some Crayons in time for Christmas and what a great little extra stocking filler or gift they would make

Simply enter the competition through the rafflecopter form below and good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to UK residents only 

Entries will be verified incomplete entries will be removed

Persil Small and Mighty bio #Review

Product discription:    

Ground-breaking NEW Persil small and mighty is here to help with whatever life throws at you. Its Innovative Triple cleaning system formulation and stain earaser ball with its simple

 "Pour, Pop, Rub" 
 function has been specially designed with mums in mind NEW Persil small and mighty shifts even the toughest stains, Letting kids get active and make a mess with out having to worry about the stains left on clothing .

Recently I was asked if I would like review Persil small and mighty in their campaign to help children to have fun and enjoy the outside, however the weather has been so miserable with the continuous rain playing outside just hasn't been practical for the boys but we decided to make the most of the goodie box sent to us from the living room.

In the box we have paints some string and a magnifying glass, Persil really want mums to put there new 3X cleaning system in Persil small & mighty to the test.

The top ten stains mums find hardest to remove are

• Pasta Sauce
• Grass
• Pen ink
• Mud/soil
• Chocholate
• Paint
• Ice-cream
• Fruit
• Juice
• Ketchup

Myself and the boys had great fun with this. I found two T-shirts that are white, first of all I drew on them some pen just a normal Biro some shapes for them to paint on, next I added some of the products from the list of worst stains to a paint palette.
In it I put chocolate, pasta sauce, jam, ketchup, paint and we used juice to dip the paint brushes in.
The boys painted away they really had great fun Adam finished his creation off by tipping the juice all over the T-shirt, we did try the Tye-dye effect with the string but the boys couldn't quite get the hang of what I wanted them to do do but they had a fantastic time.

 

This was the end master piece

 

But of course I couldn't leave the T-shirts like this as the boys would love to paint them again, so the idea is to pop the little ball type jug out of the center pour over the small and mighty and rub with the stain eraser ball.
Which is exactly what I did I followed the instructions on the back of the bottle I used the larger amount of solution recommended poured it into the little jug up to the second fill line and then poured it over the two T-shirts, I used the under side of the ball/jug to rub in the solution once it was fully covered on the most stained areas I filled the ball/jug again and placed it on top of the clothes inside the washing machine. I left them to wash only on a 40C wash cycle, to be honest looking at the lovely designs the boys had created above I wasn't holding out much hope for the product because its rare to come across a product that does what it says on the bottle.

The result;

Add caption

This is actually the same T-shirts that the boys painted I cant believe it I have to say I am shocked at how white they are, you cant see from this picture but there are still some marks around the neck and at the bottom but you have to look really closely to see them, I think though these are left because I missed some of the T-shirt when using the jug/ball

Overall this product is amazing I cant believe it actually does what it says on the bottle, it means that when the boys get food down themselves or role in the mud and grass as boys do, I don't have to think well that's going to be ruined now and throw it away just "Pour, Pop, Rub" some small and mighty Persil on and were sorted!

I would absolutely recommend this product its well worth the money. The price of the product is 

1. 525ml- 15 washes- £4.69
2. 875ml-25 washes- £6.79
3. 1400ml- 40 washes- £9.99
4. 2100ml- 60 washes- £13

The price is around average for a clothes washing products which is great! this is an excellent product that all parents are going to love.

To find out more about this product you can visit there website www.persil.co.uk or you can find them on Facebook and Twitter

Pirate costume its a pirates life for me!

Liam came home with instructions on Friday that he needed a pirates outfit for school for a
"Pirates Party"
I cant understand why schools do that? Only give you a short while to organise something. So I went in to a bit of mummy panic mode on Friday how am i going to get him a costume for Tuesday I didn't want to spend a lot as I know he will never want to wear it again so this is what I came up with.

I found an old pair of jogging bottoms of Liam's that he only wears to play in.

I cut the bottoms off both the legs of the trousers

It didn't have to be straight as most pirates are quite rugged.

Then I simply chopped them it into the frayed look

I had to make them look like he had been at sea for a month!

Now I did cheat with the rest a bit I had an old stripy t-shirt for him to wear for his top, I bought him an eye patch and I had a bandanna with a skull on from a different occasion, so all in all the outfit cost around £3 that was just for the eye patch but If I hadn't of had the bandanna I would have just used an old tea towel for the head dress.

 

The earring is just a clip on earring with a gold curtain type ring attached to it

This is the end product, not to bad to say everything he has on is what I found around the house apart from the eye patch. I wanted to draw on his face and give him a scar but he wouldn't let me. Liam being Liam, but he went to his "Pirates party" he actually kept his hat on and he has had a fabulous time and all for very little cost! I would say win win all round.