Isn't he a cutie? Ralph is here to brighten up any desk, either at home, work or even at school and he's a Scotch Magic Tape dispenser making him super useful too! Little Miss C has recently developed a love for sticking things with tape and I've found that Scotch Magic Tape is by far the easiest for her to use when she's doing some crafting. It doesn't get all scrunched up in the way that other tape does and it also keeps its flat shape better, making it easier for little hands to deal with. Previously she was trying to get it out of one of the standard clear plastic ... read more
Egg Carton Hair Clip and Bobble Storage
When it comes to children's craft activities it's easy to get stuck in a bit of a rut and find yourself really lacking inspiration. When that happens I have to admit that my favourite place to go and rejuvinate my crafting mojo has to be Red Ted Art as the site is just packed with wonderful things to try at home. When I came across their AMAZING Egg Carton Crafts a few weeks ago I just knew that we'd be trying similar soon. Please do go and have a look at the fantastic treasure chests that they've created from egg boxes as they are brilliant. Little ... read more
Crafty Fox Box Purse
I bought myself an Easter gift this year in the form of the March Crafty Fox Box as put together by the lovely Emily of The Startup Wife fame. I've known Emily for a couple of years now and know what a keen crafter she is, so was delighted when I heard about her latest venture. My box arrived last week and it was a lovely treat once I'd put the kids to bed one evening to unpack it and start thinking about making things from its contents. I'm not going to share everything yet, but spending time with my sewing machine on Saturday made me itch to do more. So I managed to make the time ... read more
Slow and steady
There might not be much to see yet, but slow and steady progress is being made with Jemima Puddleduck. Whether or not I make the self-imposed Christmas deadline is yet to be seen though. The majority of my progress was made whilst I was at my knitting group last week (I know sewing at a knitting group, but still...) as Master C slept through the whole session in his buggy. Unfortunately I'm going to miss the next two session though due to hospital appointments, so I need to find some extra sewing time whilst Master C sleeps. Maybe less time blogging and more time sewing is the answer... ... read more
Return of the missing mojo
I seem to recall that after Little Miss C was born it took me a while to regain my craft mojo, and the same seems to be the case after Master C's birth. Obviously there have been plenty of other things going on here too this time round (including having a toddler to entertain) but this last week or so the need to create has returned. Before I can start any new projects though there are so many around the house that need finishing off. My plan, certainly for the next 6 months or so, is that I'm not allowed to buy anything for any new craft projects and instead need to concentrate on ... read more
Three hours
I'm sure I can't be the only person who gets to the end of the day and wonders what I've actually acheived that day. When you're at home with little ones it can be quite easy to just concentrate on "surviving" and it can be easy to lose track of what has kept you busy all day. Realistically though, stay at home parents usually acheive loads, but they simply don't have the time to step back and take stock of just what they have done. This morning Mr C went out to a first aid course so I thought I'd keep track of just what I got up to in that time - admitedly, ... read more
First adventures with Hama Beads
I must have seen Hama Beads mentioned on loads of parenting and craft blogs in the last year or so, but somehow I still hadn't quite worked out what they were - that may well tell you something about how poor my speed reading skills are! I had always assumed that they were something for slightly older children than Little Miss C, but then Merry from Craft Merrily told me about Maxi Hama Beads that are designed for children ages three and up and I realised that it was time to take a closer look. LMC has recently spent hours playing with a box of buttons, arranging them into colours ... read more
A nature butterfly
On Sunday afternoon we headed down to the annual family day at our local nature reserve here in St Albans. Mr C and I have been involved there for years helping to run things, but it's only now that Little Miss C is getting a bit older that we are getting involved more as members than volunteers. Whilst the bug hunt and pond dipping were of interest to her today, but she's not yet ready to properly try her hand at either. We also unfortunately missed the start of the storytelling session which was much more for her age range, but we were in time for the craft ... read more
Button Caterpillar
As soon as I saw a tweet linking to the instructions to make this Button Caterpillar on the Baker Ross blog I just knew we had to make him. Completely adorable and all you need to do so is a supply of buttons, a couple of pipe cleaners and a small circle of cardboard. The original design also includes some beads and some small googly eyes, but seeing as I didn't have either that were suitable I just made do without. Little Miss C was just able to thread some of the bigger buttons on to the pipe cleaner, whilst I did the smaller fiddly ones and also finished it all off. Older ... read more
Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids – Jenny Doh
Some days things just work out right. Little Miss C goes down for her nap without any problems and just as you're about to sit down with your feet up and a cuppa the postman appears with some perfectly timed reading material. That's exactly what happened when my review copy of Hand in Hand arrived. I'd been eying this up on amazon for a while and it was already on my wish list, so being asked to review it was an added bonus. As soon as I opened the book I just knew I was going to love it. The simple reason being that the first section is written by Amanda Blake Soule whose SouleMama blog ... read more