Sometimes when doing crafts with children you just need something that is dead simple and that's exactly what I hope this paper plate ladybird is. We've been busy re-reading some of our old picture books lately and Lucy Ladybird has once again become a firm favourite. A school trip to the woods, combined with the new CBeebies series Mini-Beast Adventure, means that the interest in bugs, insects and creepy-crawlies has gone through the roof. Little Miss C was convinced that she wanted to "craft a ladybird" so that's exactly what we did. All you need for this is: A paper plate Red ... read more
Bunny Loves to Learn – Peter Bently, Emma Foster and Deborah Melmon
Now that Little Miss C knows that she's got a school place at the same school where she currently attends pre-school we're starting to prepare her for what it will be like to go to Reception in September and therefore the arrival of Bunny Loves to Learn couldn't have come at a better time. Peter Bently has also been responsible for a couple of other books that we've reviewed (Meet the Parents and Underpants Wonderpants) so it was also interesting to explain to LMC the concept of people writing many books and comparing them. Buster Bunny's teacher has announced that all the children in the ... read more
Growing the giant crochet granny square
Wow - it's been quite a couple of weeks here and thanks to problems behind the scenes I am completely behind in blogging about any of it. There's a whole list of posts in my head that need writing up, but I've also had to move my blog over from one hosting platform to another, so I'm having to learn about a whole new interface to be able to do so. So, what to do at a time like this? Reach for the crochet and stick my head in the sand of course! If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my giant crochet granny square in progress, but I don't think it's made an appearance here on the blog ... read more
Crafting for Spring, Mum and Granny
There was much excitement here last week when I opened the front door to a postman holding a brown box with a Craft Merrily label very clearly displayed on it. After an initial panic that I'd done a spot of drunken late night craft buying online and then forgotten all about it I realised that in fact I was looking at the next box of crafting goodies as part of our role on the Bostik Family Craft Bloggers network. Yippee! There is just so much in this pack that Little Miss C and I have managed to spend all afternoon using it to make thing and yet there is still loads that we haven't ... read more
A Stationery Addicts Dream – Smiggle
I can still remember the first time that I had stationery envy. I was about 7 years old and had gone on a playdate to Lucie's house. I think most of the girls in my class were slightly in awe of Lucie as she had an older sister, and in those days an older sister meant that you knew and understood what was on trend at the time - and back then fancy stationery was THE thing to have. I clearly remember Lucie showing me her new pencil case and the new pens, pencils, ruler, rubber and pencil sharpener that she had inside. Ever since that day I have just loved stationery. There's part of me ... read more
An afternoon’s crafting
When an email arrived with a subject line of "Crafty fun at 'Sew Over It' sewing cafe" I have to admit that I let out a little squeal of excitement without even reading the contents. I've read about So Over It many times before online and always dreamt of being able to escape there one afternoon to properly indulge myself. I've even seen the founder Lisa Comfort on Channel 4's Kirstie's Vintage Home. The idea of actually going there, for a "mums" afternoon was an amazing one. So much so that if I'm honest it took two reads of the email before I ... read more
Valentines Crafting with Bostik
I was delighted to hear recently that we'd been selected as part of the Bostik Family Craft Bloggers Network. We do a lot of crafting here as a family, but the thing we're probably a bit rubbish at is doing seasonal crafts - instead I'm more inclined to go with what Little Miss C wants. The idea behind the Bostik network is that we're sent a package of craft goodies every other month and challenged to come up with something seasonal and to blog about how we made them. Perfect for directing some of our crafting mojo. The January package was themed for Valentines day with lots ... read more
Take a seat workshop
Back on what I think was the last day I felt vaguely normal before taking to my sick bed I had an amazing child-free day cashing in my birthday present from Mr C. Rather than buying things I asked for an experience gift and he came up trumps by paying for me to attend a workshop at local shop Lavender Blue. The workshop I chose was one in which you take an old chair, very much like this one... ... and then use Annie Sloan paints and fabric to turn it into something quite special. Before attending the workshop I'd got visions that much of my day would be spent sandpaper in hand ... read more
Post-it Note Pumpkin
Please note that the Post It Note Pumpkin has moved to Penny Blogs. You can find it here. Happy Halloween! ... read more
Making Red Ted Art’s Halloween Jam Jar Lanterns
It may not happen as often as I'd like it to, but the days on which I'm organised enough to do some proper crafting with Little Miss C are days that I do just love. Nothing beats her excitement in seeing something being created in front of her eyes, and when it actually looks like the picture in the book or on my laptop then she's jumping up and down fit to burst. There are so many great blogs featuring kids' craft projects, but the one I go back to time and time again is Red Ted Art. I've blogged before about the book version of Red Ted Art and this is what I turned ... read more