DIY: Personalised Class of... School T-Shirt Tutorial

Our children grow up way too fast; the saying 'the days are long, but the years are short' couldn't be more true when it comes to life as a parent. The years fly by and before you know it you're baby isn't a baby anymore. Capturing those years can be so special, especially to look back on altogether in years to come. The traditional 'first day of school' and 'last day of school' comparison photographs are such a perfect way to see quite how much our children grow up within a year of school. As my eldest child finishes her first year at primary school I really wanted to capture her growth throughout primary school in a slightly different way. 

CHILDREN: 140 Indoor Activities for Hours of Entertainment

There are so many reasons why we may need to stay indoors with our children, whether it be wet weather, a cosy weekend, illness or the current pandemic of Coronavirus. The idea of staying indoors with children for a prolonged period of time can be quite a daunting prospect, but in an aim to help parents I have put together 140 ideas for indoor activities. These will keep you busy for hours, days, if not weeks and can easily be combined with more educational activities too. There are opportunities to practice fine motor skills, be creative, learn new skills and simply have fun, which is really important for children, but especially with the current concerns, unknowns and changes.

HANDMADE GIFTS: Felt Biscuit Play Gift Set for Children

Taking the time to make your own gifts, whether it be for Christmas, birthday or any other special occasion, is always such a thoughtful and appreciated thing to do. When it comes to gifts for children the options are endless, but why not take the time to make your own this year? Felt is the perfect material for making play sets for children because it is affordable, relatively hardwearing and is available in lots of different colours. I tend to buy a lot of the felt I use for crafting from Hobbycraft, but there are lots of options on places like eBay and amazon too. When it comes to making a felt play gift set you can really let your imagination run wild; this tutorial is for making a biscuit play kit, which can be made in a surprisingly short amount of time. Baking biscuits is a well loved activity for many children, so this mess-free version is the perfect addition to any play kitchen.

DIY PROJECT: A very Easy Floral Hoop Tutorial for any Occasion

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Floral hoops have been around for a while now and their beauty, versatility and stylish touch has always made them appeal to me. I wish I had been aware of them when we got married almost five years ago because I would have had them hanging from anywhere and everywhere! I have many boards on Pinterest filled with Flower/Floral hoop inspiration, however up until recently had never really considered trying to make one myself. They look so intricate and detailed, with the positioning of the flowers being so important to the finished look. I presumed the craft was best left to skilled florists or artists. However, I couldn't have been more wrong and with a little help from a glue gun and all of artificial flowers I have created an array of floral hoops suitable for any occasion.

CRAFT: How to make Pom Pom Ice Cream Bunting for less than £3

I can't believe Isabella and Poppy's birthday was already so long ago, but summer is finally here and this Pom Pom Ice-Cream bunting is perfect for putting up at garden parties or as a summery addition to children's bedrooms. Since receiving a pack of pom pom makers at Christmas I have really enjoyed making a variety of pom pom related things, such as these hair accessories. Unless you've made pom poms before you won't believe quite how quick and easy they are to make; we're talking minutes and that's with an eager child trying to help. So when it came to planning the girl's joint birthday party I knew I had to make something ice-cream related. 

CRAFT: Pom Pom Hair Accessories for Children

Now that I have two daughters it is about time I improve my hairstyling skills because I'm useless. Since having Isabella I have taught myself how to do a French plait, but other than that my 'skills' are beyond basic. But I have a secret....hair accessories. Bows, hair clips and hair bands are all perfect at transforming an otherwise below average hair style into a much prettier one. Recently I had a go at making a few pom pom hair accessories, after I was given a pom pom making kit for Christmas. 

CRAFT ACTIVITY: Ice Cream DIY Party Bags

Party bags are one of those things I really love putting together on the run up to a party because I know how excited Isabella gets when we are handed one at the end of other children's parties. That exciting moment you glance inside to see what goodies the bag holds; a classic childhood memory. As their party was going to be ice-cream themed I had a look around to see if there were any party bags already on the market that would fit the theme. I came across a few different 'sprinkles' ones, but nothing that caught my eye too much so I decided we'd have a go at the DIY approach instead.

CRAFT: Felt Vegetable Garden

Creating a felt vegetable garden is something I had wanted to do for Isabella for such a long time, after spending hours pinning ideas and inspiration on Pinterest. I thought my very basic sewing skills would make it difficult to make, but as you can see I somehow managed to make Isabella a little felt vegetable garden. If you're looking for a detailed tutorial on how to make one then there are probably more informative posts out there, but if you're after basic instructions (ideal for a complete sewing novice) then this is the post for you. I picked up almost all of the things you'll need from Hobbycraft and everything else was recycled from around our house. 

DIY PROJECT: Personalised Wooden Name Blocks Tutorial

As I was putting together this wishlist for our second baby I fell in love with the idea of having our children's names on wooden blocks. At the time we hadn't decided on a name for our second little girl, so I thought I'd see if I could recreate something similar for Isabella's new bedroom. At £5 for each letter block buying them was a more expensive option, especially as Isabella has such a long name! Don't get me wrong there are lots of advantages to buying personalised wooden name blocks, including the use of high quality toy safe paint and the fact that someone else will make them for you. But I like a good old DIY project and if it means saving pennies at the same time then surely it's win, win?

TODDLER ACTIVITY: Leaf Puppet People

Autumn is just the perfect time of year for crafting activities with toddlers due to the (what feel like) endless rainy days and variety of goods nature has to offer. As the leaves fall from the trees, as do a whole host of other beautiful parts of nature, including acorns, conkers and pine cones. All of these free gifts from nature can be used to create pieces of 'art', within games or as toys. This time last year I was in the early months of pregnancy and life was not all about crafting, in fact it was spent curled up in a ball of sickness and headaches. I have therefore really been looking forward to doing some autumnal crafts with Isabella this year, especially as she really understands now. Luckily, she's a pretty tidy/clean crafter so the mess created in kept to a minimal. 

DIY PROJECT: Painted Seagrass Basket

On the run up to Poppy being born we were busy renovating and decorating our spare room for Isabella to move into. It wasn't a simple paint job (nothing ever is with old houses it seems!), a new ceiling had to be put in, whole room wallpapered, window repaired, holes filled, new carpet put in and the standard wall/wood work painted too. Of course, this could have been done at a leisurely rate but the impending birth of our Poppy meant there was no such luxury. As I was pretty useless when it came to getting involved (large baby bumps make almost everything DIY related an impossible task), so I turned my attention to much smaller crafty DIY projects I actually could do.

DIY PROJECT: Felt Cloud and Star Bunting Tutorial

As maternity leave started and the time came to set up the Babybay Bedside Cot I began to think about how to make the area next to my bed a bit prettier. As the Babybay is a co-sleeper it replaced my bedside table and all the little ornaments I had on there. I wanted to make the area a bit more baby focused and popped onto Pinterest for inspiration (check out my Nursery Inspiration board for lots of ideas). Something that I kept being drawn to were the endless photos of felt bunting hanging behind cots, under shelves etc. Such a simple idea, yet so effective. Instead of buying one, though there are so many beautiful ones out there, I decided to have a go at making one.

TODDLER ACTIVITY: Personalised Canvas Painting

This craft activity would be ideal as a special gift for any family member or friend and luckily it is simple, effective and takes minutes to make. There's also minimal mess made in the process. What's not to like? By using stickers you can create an image or word/phrase that will stand out once your child has done some painting. I've used a similar method before to create a daffodil out of masking tape, which worked really well.

CRAFT: DIY Story Telling Character Sticks

If your child is anything like mine then they'll love 'reading' books and having books read to them. Isabella really enjoys looking at the pictures, telling me what various things are and listening to us reading. A fun way of bringing books alive for children is to make these character sticks. They're easy and cheap to make, while being fun and educational. Though Isabella can't speak properly yet, she isn't far off and has really started to join in with familiar songs. It won't be long before she'll be able to join in with traditional stories and these character sticks are perfect for supporting that skill.

TODDLER CRAFT: Play Food for Pennies

Play food can be expensive, but is often enjoyed for many hours by toddlers and children alike. If you're looking at buying some play food then why not try this quick DIY craft activity first? Your children can get involved in making them and they are ready to play with within a few hours. Salt dough is widely used over the festive period for Christmas decorations or capturing little ones hand/footprints. However, salt dough is a brilliantly cheap way of making items for children to play with too. A bag of plain flour is around 40p and table salt is only 29p (prices from ASDA), therefore you can make salt dough play food for pennies!

CHRISTMAS: Parents-to-be Gift Guide 2016

The 'parent-to-be' bracket of life is full of all the excitement and anticipation of what is to come. How life will change and as a parent already I know the importance of products that make life easier. If you have parents-to-be to buy for this Christmas, or you are one yourself and are on the look out for wishlist ideas then this is the gift guide for you!

TODDLER CRAFT: Egg Carton Flowers

Now that we're into winter flowers are depleted in numbers, that is until we all get our toddlers to make egg carton ones! This craft activity is a fun one for a rainy day - I've got into the habit of saving all toilet/kitchen roll tubes, egg boxes etc. so no rainy day is left without resources. You could make a few of these to create a bunch of flowers or use them to collect natural objects outside when the sun shines again. Isabella loved filled the sections with little pebbles, but then again that girl loves little pebbles.

TODDLER CRAFT: Masking Tape Painting

As Isabella grows older I am really enjoying doing more craft activities with her, though they aren't completely stress free. In fact if I don't prepare correctly they can be one of the most stressful activities to do...yet I like doing them. Why? As long as there is a messy mat down, plenty of space and protective clothing we are good to go with a painting activity. One that has been a success recently was masking tape painting - so simple yet effective. The paintings would make lovely gifts or sent with a special message to a Grandparent/friend/family member.

DIY: Special Day Keepsake Journal

Remembering special days over years and years can be difficult, a lot of us don't have time to look through photo albums to find certain photos and reflect on the days that mean so much to you. This year was my first Mother's Day as a mummy, so I really wanted to capture it. As a parent, time is limited so I wanted to create a journal I could quickly add to each year. I love the idea of recording every single Mother's Day all in one place, but this could be done for any other special day that happens yearly (birthdays/Christmas etc).

DIY: Floral Number or Letter Tutorial

 

Floral numbers or letters make the perfect addition to baby showers, weddings, birthday parties or special occasions. It's actually surprisingly easy, though it is quite time consuming arranging the flowers so make sure you have plenty of time for that part. I had seen floral number ones all over the internet and looked into where I could buy one. It became apparent that they are not only hard to source, but also very expensive due to the fresh flowers and time consuming elements. During a trip to Hobbycraft I spotted this cardboard one and thought I'd had a go at creating my own, always looking to save some pennies!