Gelentines Valentines Craft with Gel-A-Peel

We love a craft project in our house and we are forever looking for new ideas for things to do. We were sent some of the new kits from Gel-A-Peel. If you are a regular reader you will see we have worked with Gel-A-Peel before and quite frankly we love it.

 With it being the month of love the kids were asked to make some Valentine's cards for friends and lovers. The gel sets into a hard texture with creates a 3D effect to a card. We were using some new sets that we haven't used before. We were using the fuzzy kit which comes with a pot of fuzz that you add to the Gel to give a different effect when dried. The other set

If you have not heard of Gel a Peel its a lot of fun. It comes in different coloured tubes and you can use it to make jewellery or as we done crafting. The wonderful thing is when it dries it becomes like a rubbery texture. Each set comes with different shaped nozzles that attach on the Gel a Peel tubes to create different shales and textures. The set comes with moulds that you can use to stick on your designs or make into creations themselves.

 The Sets that we were using comes with 16 different templates which can be moulded into different shapes. It's very easy to use and my children love using the mould. It's very easy to use and comes with a squeegee to scrape away excess gel. It's best to do the moulds the day before as they take some time to dry. 

The sets are easy to use and even Son Son who is 4 was easily able to use the sets without much help. We even managed to get Asti involved who usually never goes near craft. He mainly enjoyed making the moulds into jewellery.

 This set retails at £19.99 and is perfect for crafting onto cards. I say the results came out much better than I originally thought. Why not get  Gel-A-Peel set and have a go yourself.

Craft with Gel-A-Peel - Design a Diary

When it comes to the new year it's almost refreshing to start thinking and dreaming of the year ahead. A whole 365 of brand new starts and new beginnings. With this, we were sent a Diary to design with our much loved Gel-A-Peel. We have used Gel-A-Peel for multiple craft projects and there is nothing my children love more than decorating things. 

Gel-A-Peel is perfect for using for designing things as it comes with lots of different options. You can go wild and go free hand. You do need a steady hand though but perfect if you love creating little pretty things. The pack comes with 5 different Gel tips that can be used to create different effects from solid lines to star. The tips can be changed to different colours to create a blend effect colour. 

The Set that we were using comes with 16 different templates which can be moulded into different shapes. It's very easy to use and my children love using the mould. It's very easy to use and comes with a squeegee to scrape away excess gel. It's best to do the moulds the day before as they take some time to dry. 

Ami had great fun designing a Diary. She mainly went freehand and drew lots of flowers on the diary whilst Son Son used to moulds as he wanted to make a bracelet. All in all, we love using Gel-A-Peel it creates a wonderful texture to craft projects. Although don't get it on the table you will be cleaning for weeks. 

The Gel-A-Peel sets retail from £19.99 and now come in different colours and even glow in the dark which we are yet to try out. 

Crafting with Gel A Peel

There is something so magical about Christmas, maybe its all the excess booze and twinkling lights. I just think its such a wonderful time of year for family and to remember that Jesus was born and what a wonderful story that was. We love to craft in our house and in the lead up to Christmas we have been making lots of decorations and basically anything with glitter. We were lucky enough to be sent some decorations from Gel A Peel in which we cracked on with straight away.

If you have not heard of Gel a Peel its a lot of fun. It comes in different coloured tubes and you can use it to make jewellery or as we done crafting. The wonderful thing is when it dries it becomes like a rubbery texture. Each set comes with different shaped nozzles that attach on the Gel a Peel tubes to create different shales and textures. The set comes with moulds that you can use to stick on your designs or make into creations themselves.

 The Gel takes a few hours to fully dry so we found it was best making the moulds the night before and sticking on the next day. Although Ami is 5 she can be impatient at times. Son Son also got involved and had quite a bit of fun making Christmas characters. He mainly liked trying the different nozzles like he was decorating a cupcake. For us I found creating a design on something is the best thing we have done with the sets. The finished product is different to a coloured in it adds a different 3D edge to the design. 

Ami's friend Harry come over and loved creating all the different Christmas characters. He had never used it before but enjoyed using something a bit different. 

This set retails at £19.99 and is perfect for crafting onto cards. I say the results came out much better than I originally thought. Why not get  Gel-A-Peel set and have a go yourself.

Making Mothers day Cards with Gel-A-Peel

Did you know its mothers day on Sunday? It comes round so quick every year and what doesn't a mum love the most... Home made cards! I personally would rather a homemade card anyway over a shop brought one. I love the effort my little ones put into making them just as much as the card it self.  My eldest Son wasn't too impressed he said "why isn't there a kids day?" I did tell him everyday is a kids day!!

We were recently sent a set from Gel-A-Peel with the incentive of getting the children to make some cards using the set. We had seen the set advertised on the telly and did not even think to use it to make cards with. We were sent the Pearly Pastels range which consisted with 3 tubes of the Gel and interchangeable nozzles that you can use to make different effects of the Gel.

We had not used the Gel-A-Peel before but before long they were seasoned pros creating colourful designs on there cards. In the pack also contained Gel tray where you can put the Gel into moulds to create beautiful flowers and other designs. The Gel sets and creates a beautiful 3D effect which they enjoyed touching when dry.

All my children made a card from ages 3 to 10 all with ease and not requiring some help. My eldest son  Asti even had a go at making some jewelry. This set contains some stencils to help you make bracelets too. Although the end results they needed another go to perfect the opening clasp!!

All in all I was very pleased with the cards, they let me have a quick glimpse before they hid them for Mothers day.

This set retails at £19.99 and is perfect for crafting onto cards. I say the results came out much better than I originally thought. Why mot get  Gel-A-Peel set and have a go yourself.

Yogurts and Rocket Building - #magicsquaresplaydate

My little ones love yogurt and have it every day so when I got some Petits Filous Magic Squares they were over the moon. Ami was amazed that the yogurt was shaped like squares. She first tried to eat just the one side but had no joy and ended up mixing all the flavours together, where as the boys just ate the yogurt with no comments. 

After a early tea time we decided to mix up the usual watching tv till bedtime by being creative and getting the children to use their imaginations.  Many ideas where thrown into the mix, Ami wanted to make a princess castle and Son Son was confused to why there was no more yogurt in the pots. First Asti placed the pots on a lego house he had built but I said he had to put a bit more effort into it, where he had made his mind up to make a rocket and him and Ami both went of to find a little person to place in the rocket, Ami a happyland character and Asti he had iron man.

I left Asti building the rocket and I had the job of stopping the toddlers stealing the tape from him. He stuck all the pots together in the shape of a rocket (to me it looked a little bit rude). Thankfully I found some tissue paper and he stuck it in the rocket to look like fire. The magic came by us pretending the rocket was real and using our imaginations. Ami joined in by doing a count down to blast off. 

He then stuck some string on it and flew it around the front room. Actually didnt look to bad, I think because the yogurt pots host such wonderful design on the outside the rocket actually looked rather cool. You know what they say another mans junk is another mans treasure. We stuck it to the ceiling in Asti's Room soon to be knocked down when the toddlers can reach. A little something after dinner rather than watching the tv turned out to be a lot of fun. Its great to encourage your children to be creative and watch them make something out of nothing.

Great yogurts and great fun always nice for a change. We should do junk building more often Asti loved it. Mixing up after dinner time proved to be more successful we shall deffo do it more often. 

“This post is an entry for BritMums #MagicSquaresPlaydates Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous.”

Messy play for beginners - part 3 dreaded painting

With my first child I was always scared of painting more got on the floor and walls than on the paper and because of that I have avoided it until more recently. I decided to face my fear and do some painting at home. I got all the paint ready and the approns out and was ready to go. My eldest was far too cool to join in so it was just me and the toddlers. 

Ami loved it she is used to doing painting at nursery and was very neat washing the brush between each use and keeping it all on the paper. She painted a fish and many similar shapes and painted 10 pictures. She stuck to mainly red and pink and experimented with mixing the colours.

Son son enjoyed using th rush and his fingers to completely cover the picture, himself and the high chair too. He used what ever he could get on the paper and ever painted it with water. He enjoyed eating the paint too, obviously not something we encourage. He had green hands for the rest of the day as he refused to let me give them a good clean the little monkey. 

They both enjoyed the painting and it was a success. There wasn't too much to clear up or really set up. They made minimal mess and because we painted in the kitchen it was easily cleaned up if it went on the floor. I think next time we use paints we will experiment with using stamps and using other textures to create patterns. 

An easy messy play activity and they painted for about 20 minutes before getting bored. Good fun alol round and mummy didn't find it too stressful eithe

Easter Crafts with the kids

We love Easter in our house, time to reflect and be thankful. I love craft and my daughter is the same, it has taken 7 years and finally my son sat down and made something on his own accord. We borrowed the leftovers from our toddler group for something to do whilst my husband is away. We made two things Easter cards and Easter baskets ready for out annual hunt! 

 Ami loved gluing and sticking all the cute little pieces on the card. She was really concentrating on what she was doing and sat there for a good half an hour making her card. She also enjoyed taking the pieces of too

  then putting them back on again.

The Easter baskets were already made so all Pants had to do was decorate it. He chose to put tissue paper in and some little eggs. I let him do what he wanted and the end result was lovely he was distracted by the tv as tangled was on and even though to him its a girl film he really wanted to watch it!

 So there we are some little Easter crafts we have many more to do so watch this space! I do love sitting with them to do craft I often find my time is spent looking after the baby it can be hard to spend quality time with them. We still have the rest of the holidays so when we get back from spring harvest I will let pants choose the next craft.

Getting Crafty for Mothers Day with Cuticura

Recently I got sent a lovely package from Cuticura with a card and mug for my children to decorate for Mothers day. My daughter absolutely loves drawing, sticking and generally anything that involves getting messy. My son it has taken 7 years to get him to want to do any sort of craft. For him sitting down is a waste of energy but he was so pleased to decorate a mug for his mum. Research shows that making things can help with all areas of learning. Then princes foundation state that Engaging with art from a young age can really contribute to gaining nurturing skills, improving self esteem, confidence and communication. 

So with all that we got stuck in, neither wanted any help and got on with it my daughter desperately wanting to paint but managed to keep her satisfied with crayons and stickers for a bit. My son which is a huge break through sat for ages perfecting a little heart that he painted on the mug. That kind of thing speaks more than words, he didn't want me to see and wanted to hide it for Mothers day (I found it in his bedroom to take a photo of it). 

Homemade gifts from your children really are the best gifts, they mean so much more than any brought item. I love that my children have thought and shown how much I mean to them through making somthing. My mum used to keep all the stuff we made and I loved to see that.

Lovely gifts ready for Mothering Sunday, I'm glad as a couple of years ago my husband forgot to get a card for my son to give me I wasn't impressed! below is some other lovely bits I got from Cuticura which is great, I didn't even know they made soaps so why not check them out your self at their facebook page. 

Guest Blog: 3 great ways to keep your kids happy indoors this winter

As the mum of two very active toddlers the winter months frankly scare me. Especially when I’m trying to juggle launching a business – www.cahootsy.com  - and keep them happy and entertained at the same time and away from Cbeebies. So here are a few activities I’ve found that let us enjoy our time together, minimise cleaning up, and lets their imaginations go wild – indoors!

Way 1: Construct a Den

What you need: kingsize sheet or quilt, large Winged clothes horse, wooden pegs, cushions & little stool, pirate or fairy hat or flag for entrance, torch.

This is a great way to while away the afternoon and gets the kids really proactive in scouring the house for ways to kit out their den. The trick is to let them select the spot and help build it with you. Once you put the clothes horse up you’re ready to go with placing the sheet over it, using pegs to hold it in place and for adding the odd accessory. Make sure you leave a bit of cloth for the door flap as half the fun is sitting in the dark with a torch on.

If you need a ‘winged’ clothes horse (had no idea that’s what I had!) here’s a link http://fave.co/1gyzFAm

Alternatively Ikea has a great range of quick assemble and affordable tents for under £20. Check here http://fave.co/1gyzXas

Way 2: Make an enormous batch of Lalo’s famous cookies
(more like a granola bar than chocolate chip cookies. Healthy and very addictive).
Warning: has almonds.

I’m a terrible cook with very little time. Since having kids I’ve had to learn a lot – from the early days of understanding what a great combo squash and blueberries are for a baby (via ice cube trays), to how to present food in exciting new ways and shapes (broccoli “trees”, pots of “gold treasure” sweetcorn or “wriggly worm” cabbage) so that it’s eaten without fuss.

This is one recipe no one can fail to master. Few ingredients, healthy and so much fun to make together. Put them in a glass jar once cooled and they keep nicely.

Lalo’s Famous Cookies  (from MY FATHER’s DAUGHTER by Gwyneth Paltrow) http://fave.co/1gyAoS3

What you need
 Aprons, hair-tie, giant bowl, medium wooden spoon, large baking tray, baking sheet and these - Preheat the oven to 350°F.

4 cups barley flour,  3 cups raw whole almonds crushed in a food processor (about ten 2-second bursts), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup canola oil (also known as Rapeseed oil – I never knew), 1 cup maple syrup, jam (Strawberry, Blueberry, Apricot)

Get the kids to mix all the ingredients, except the jam, in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. My little one uses her fingers to mash it all up which is fine by me (gets a bit messy but entertaining and means two or three kids can all work on it at the same time).

Ask them to roll the mixture into little tablespoon balls and space evenly on baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper. Get the eldest to use their thumb to make an indentation and fill each cookie with a small amount of jam. Bake until cookies are evenly browned, about 20 minutes.

Way 3: Make your own simple Mister Maker bus panel

My kids are mesmerised by Mr Maker and the stuff he can create. If you’re like me you’ll have tons of little boxes and pouches of paints, craft paper, cardboard, pompoms, etc but its always a pain to get them all out and re-pack them.  So a friend who has 3 kids suggested re-creating the Mr Maker bus side out of a quilt.

Here’s how.

Ingredients – large quilt or thick colourful sheet, PVA glue (polyvinyl acetate), large vinyl sheet or plastic pouches, cutter or scissors.  All your arts and craft material from around the house organised just as you’d like it.  You can label each pouch and the kids get very good at remembering exactly where everything goes back when it’s finished with.

If you’re an arts and crafts free household here’s a handy kit to get you started - http://fave.co/1isSVUh

I use PVA glue to stick the vinyl to the fabric – again, very little time! If you like to get more creative here’s a useful blog from another mum, Ashley, that explains exactly how to get sewing and make it look professional http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/08/tip-for-sewing-with-vinyl-it-sticks-making-clear-vinyl-pouches.html

Bio:

Tarika Marshall is mum of two energetic toddlers aged 2 and 4 and COO at Cahootsy, a Q&A site dedicated to products for parents, launching in the UK, and co-founded by her and her husband Paul. Be sure to check out their blog (http://blog.cahootsy.com/wp/) or facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Cahootsy ) to follow their story as they prepare to beta launch next week.

Rainy After school fun - sewing puppets

I love the sunshine so much, it changes my mood makes me happy. I hate rain but not as much as wind, those to together make me miserable. I seen our forecast is rain for a month! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I just cant deal with that! Ok I can and I will, we will try and find ways to be entertained indoors in the dry with tea and cake. This week we have been making puppets not sure what for maybe we can do a show with them one day..!

My son Pants who is now 7 has finally got to the stage where he is happy to sit and do a task for a long time! Something I am so not used to, for 5/6 years getting Pants to sit still for more than 5 mins was nothing more than a miracle, so recently he has been asking me to but him crafting stuff. Which is all new for me, I love crafty stuff so i am trying to pass that on to Pants.

He wanted to learn to sew so I brought him a kit to help him make a puppet, he sat for over half an hour sewing quietly only asking for help when the wool came of the needle. So whilst he was busy Me and Ami attempted to make a little puppet, a little bit ambitious for an active 14 month year old. She loves sticking things and says pat pat when doing so but she just wanted to eat the puppet, so I let her do some drawing with her dog crayons. She was happy to be joining in and seeing what me and Pants were up to. 

It was lovely to help and chat with Pants he enjoys that time, he sure is a chatterbox so was rambling on away mainly about what he wants for Christmas. I love to see how much he is coming on, I love this little pictures he draws. He is really creative and its good for him to have an outlet to do so. I must try to do more and become a bit more relaxed about craft activities, they enjoy it that's what counts! He must have been proud as he showed my husband as soon as he came in what he had made!

How to make a Birthday Chalkboard

Its such a special time celebrating a baby's first birthday! What better way to remember than to make a sign to remind you of all the things they do and like. I had seen some on pinterest and was desperate to have a go! It took about two hours to complete and I am Happy with how it came out! Maybe next time would take it out side to a lovely tree or country side in the background! 

To Make all you need is:

• large Chalkboard/ Card (I actually used Black Foam)
• Coloured Chalks ( I got mine from Early Learning Centre, they ended up being a bit too bulky) 
• Pencil For outline 
• Good Rubber
• Plenty of Patience 

To start of Make sure you are sure what you want to put on the board, I looked at many different designs and decided on one that I liked and used a similar format. I wrote a list of stuff that Ami liked and made sure I knew her weights.  I made sure that the pencil was sharp so I could draw out the layout before I got involved with the chalks. Then when I was happy with the design I got the chalks out, I am extremely clumsy and knew because it was made of foam I didn't have a lot of room for error so had to be neat! I would recommend spraying with hairspray when finished to keep the design as it is.  The hardest part was getting Amelie to sit next to the sign when it was finished!! she enjoyed whacking it but did not want to sit or stand still when there was too much excitement around! Great picture to treasure were not sure what to do with the sign maybe turn it around she can use it as a chalkboard!! 

Shower of Love, Baby Mobile

I love to make stuff, i often start then a few weeks later realise i started it and carry on! This took me two months to complete!! Just because i was busy doing everything else.Some friends of mine where having a baby and i was thinking what i could get them that was special, they recently moved away and we miss having them around alot (we miss the football banter too!) . So i had seen this on Etsy and thought it looked awesome but didnt want to pay £50 for something i could attempt to make, and the best thing i had loads of Cath Kidston Swatches and fabric so it didnt cost me a penny! Just would take time as sewing by hand does. I also broke a tooth after trying to pull a needle through the fabric with my teeth! I loved the idea of a shower of love as thats what we do we shower our children with love!

The most time consuming thing was sewing all the hearts! then it was plain sailing making a cloud and adding the extras! I left it out when it was completed and the kids pulled hearts of within 5 mins of getting up so had to make sure everything was safe for a baby! Im really pleased on how it turned out, I hope they like it! One day I will make one for my Little Ami and baby number 3!

  

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Superscimper Sara! Heart craft

A finished heart

So its back on our screens.... Superscimpers! i love it! i love to save money where ever i can so its defo a must watch if your keeping your purse strings tight! it also has many tips for household cleaning (not my area) craft (thats more like it) and ideas for frugal cooking (huzzah)! Mrs money penny gives plently of good advice too! :)


on a recent series there was an idea for a hanging decoration! it was a heart and i loved it looked very smart! it was dead easy to make! just needed an old book and fortunately i have a few books lying around unread and un loved a stapler and some string! i used them at christmas to hang cards and because i liked them so much they have stayed up now hosting cards we are given and wedding invites!

my organised paper (not)

all make all you need is to cut the pages from the book into three sizes:
-2cm wide 10 cm long
-2cm wide 12 cm long
-2cm wide 14 cm long


you grab to bits of paper of each size arranging the two smallest in the middle and the bigger sizes on the outside! grab a bit of string and staple it, then grab the other size and staple that together and there you are simple heart design!
easy to make!


Thanks superscrimpers!

finished  hearts!

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