Get Crafty With Cubby Kit - A Review

We love arts and crafts in this house and while we might not be the most gifted in this area, we try our best. Every Thursday afternoon, Poppy(aged 3 1/2)  and I enjoy some quality Mummy/ Poppy time where we have a go at making all sorts. We were therefore thrilled to be given the opportunity to try the new Cubby Kit.

In case you haven't heard about these, they are a kind of craft equivalent of a veggy box. Each month a box is delivered to your door with all sorts of arts and crafts ideas and materials needed to make your creations. As well as getting crafty, you will also be fuelling their imagination and getting scientific too.

Poppy was really excited when ours arrived addressed to her:

Inside you will find everything you need to get crafty right down to scissors and crayons if required. Each activity has its own brown paper envelope with everything you need so its easy to find and get organised.

This month had an Outer Space theme and Poppy couldn't wait to make these mushy Martians.

Whoops.... what did we do wrong? The mix was green but once we added the flour they faded. I think they look more like potatoes than Martians. I have a feeling its something we did rather than our Cubby Kit. I didn't have any more green food colouring in either or I might have been able to rescue them.

First we had to make our own play dough which we have been meaning to try to do but have not got around to doing. It was so easy to do, we will definitely make it more often. Everything we needed was included, from the flour to the wiggly eyes.

Poppy had great fun and even though they didn't look quite right, she was happy enough.

I was surprised to hear that she wanted to get on and try the next activity straight away too... her attention span is usually short lived but I let her. We therefore went on to make this super cool 3D rocket picture:

There is still plenty more left for us to do and I am looking forward to seeing how she  gets on with the rest of it.

This is a brilliant idea and we would recommend to you all.

Karen x

A Lovely Afternoon - Bike Rides & Crafty Stuff

As usual Thursday afternoons are special Mummy/Poppy time. Rosie sleeps for a good 3 hours which means Poppy and I get to play and spend some quality time together.

Today we have made the most of the good weather and took the bike out on the hill outside the back of the house. I had the baby monitor with me and could see the front door so knew Rosie was okay:

After that we came in and did some painting. Poppy and her Daddy made a little clay pot the other day and it needed painting so we did that and decorated it with little gems. Poppy had great fun and was thrilled with the result:

Finally we sat back and relaxed. me on my laptop and Poppy on Daddy's ipad ssshhh don't tell him:

Once Rosie got up she joined in and painted her little pot:

And then we all made some cakes:

What a lovely afternoon!

Karen x

Home Made gifts To Make Gramps Smile

Its Thursday afternoon again and Poppy and I have been enjoying some quality Mummy/Poppy time.

My Dad (Poppy's Gramps) is due to go into Hospital for an operation next week and Poppy wanted to make him something special to make him smile.  This afternoon we kept ourselves busy by making some gorgeous little....

Chocolate Truffles.

They were so easy to make Poppy aged 3 1/2 did most of it by herself.

To Make you will need:

4 oz chocolate (we used 2 ozs milk and 2 ozs white)

3 tsp double cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 oz butter

2 tbsp cocoa powder (we used Cadbury instant hot chocolate ans that's all we had)

2 tbsp coconut

1. Snap the chocolate into a bowl. Add the cream, vanilla and butter. We used 2 bowls as used 2 different types of chocolate and split the rest of the ingredients between them.

2. Put the bowls over a pan of simmering water to melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally

3. Let the chocolate mixture cool and then place in the freezer. Stir every 5 minutes or so until the mixture is thick and fudgy.

4.  For each truffle, roll a teaspoon of the fudge mixture into a ball in your hands (quickly so it doesn't melt).  Then roll it in cocoa powder or coconut.

As ours are for a present we gift wrapped 6 of them to send off in the post:

I hope they get there safely. We placed them on  piece of card that Poppy decorated and coloured in and then wrapped in cellophane. We finished it off with  a little red ribbon. I let Poppy choose the colours so it does look a little girly but i'm sure Gramps wont mind.

She also enjoyed getting all the craft stuff out and made him this card.

Hope it likes them all.

Karen x

A Lazy Sunday and Trip To The Toy Shop

Today I needed to nip out to Sainburys to get a few bits so took Poppy with me.  Husband stayed at home to look after Rosie whilst she napped so it gave Poppy and I a bit of time to ourselves.

First we got the bits we needed including plenty of supplies to do some baking next week.

Next we headed off for refreshments. Poppy had a smoothie whilst I had this very naughty looking hot chocolate:

Poppy looked at it and said "wow Mummy, That is the biggest babyccino I have ever seen". It did made me giggle.

Next we dawdled around Dartmouth for a bit browsing the shops and ended up in our favourite toy shop.  Poppy had been so good I decided to spoil her and treated her to this gorgeous little jewellery box. She has been after one for ages and this one was adorable:

Of course you cant buy for one and not the other so Rosie was treated to this gorgeous soft rabbit, much to her delight when she woke up:

The day was topped off with a lovely roast dinner cooked by Husband.

All in all another lovely Sunday.

Karen x

More Ballet fun & Babyccinos

Poppy and I enjoyed a lovely morning this morning. First I took her to ballet lesson which she loves. She has  been reading lots of ballerina stories lately and has really got interested in it, telling anyone who will listen she is going to be a Prima Ballerina and she practises really hard.

To make her feel even more like a real ballerina I treated her to this gorgeous new tutu this week:

Move Dancewear

She felt very pretty and couldn't wait to show off her twirling.

I also took a little video of her too:

She is such a cutie.

After her lesson we needed to stop at Sainsburys where Poppy asked for a babyccino, she has been so good recently I thought it was a lovely idea so we had a quick stop. I enjoyed a coffee too and we shared a blueberry muffin....yummy!

What a lovely morning. We are all off out in a bit for the afternoon so watch out for lots more photos later.

Karen x

Fun And Games This Afternoon

Thursday afternoons are officially Mummy/Poppy time. With no Preschool or toddler groups, Poppy is home and little Rosie has a nice long nap for about 3 hours. This means we have lots of time to play!

Traditionally these afternoons are messy and we usually end up baking or painting and gluing. Today however, Poppy was not feeling 100% (she is a bit run down and has a bit of a cold ). Instead of doing the usual activities, she chose to get some games out that are usually hidden away when her Sister is around!

One of her favourite games is Family Lacing a fantastic wooden threading toy from Djeco. We brought it as a Christmas present from Toyjeanius and it has brought hours of fun. We would definitley reccomend it to others and she couldn't wait to get it out.

Basically the set includes 16 colourful wooden pieces, 4 bright coloured laces and 12 cards. The aim is that you copy the designs on the pictures.  It is aimed at 3+ and Poppy is able to do it pretty well. The pieces are a good size for little hands and fingers and the the holes are wide enough for them to thread the lace through. She grasped the idea quickly and easily and has great fun with it.

Here she is today:

Another great wooden Toy that gets the thumbs up from this house.

We also played with several other games and puzzles and Poppy enjoyed a lovely afternoon. She is lapping up the attention from this designated special time with me. I do play with her everyday but just knowing she has special time with me alone seems to be making all the difference.

Karen x