Let It Snow With Bostik

Amongst the hectic activity, the lights and the surfeit of sugar, it's good to take a few moments to chill with your kids.

Everyone benefits from a few moments of peace and there's something quite mindful about crafting isn't there?

It's always fascinating to see how your kids interpret the world and crafting is a great way to discover what is occupying them at the time.

This month's theme from the Bostik-meisters was snow.  We rarely see snow here in Dinas Powys and when it does come it usually appears at the oddest time of year - the end of March and even early April being a favourite.

But there will always be something magical about a white Christmas.

Caitlin decided to create her own snow scene which featured (obviously), glitter and stars.  I'm very tempted to declare 2017 the official year of glitter to see if it makes it a bit more, well, sparkly than 2016 which for many of us has been unremittingly grey.

This time we had a new weapon in our arsenal as well as Bostik's trusty White Glue - the Bostik Fine And Wide Glu Pen .

It's a clear gel adhesive that can be applied in a thick or thin line. The fine applicator is great for precise and intricate work whilst the wide applicator is perfect for covering large areas quickly and efficiently.

You can use it for arts and craft, school projects, scrapbooking, photos, paper, card and even as a temporary hold for fabric  It's also washable and safe for kids as it's non toxic and acid free.

Caitlin's final creation is a cute snow scene featuring a snowman and some rather sinister brown figures.  I'm proud to say the pond is all my own work.  (I'm a natural).

Wouldn't it be magical if we actually had a white Christmas this year?

I suspect, as Bing would sing, we might have to settle for "merry and bright' instead.

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Making The Most Of Christmas With Fun Family Festivities

Christmas can be one of the most joyful times of the year. However, it can also be one of the most stressful times. There’s so much pressure to buy the right gifts, cook the perfect meal and be the perfect hostess.

Image credit: Pexels

All of this is hard to live up to, so we go into overdrive and a frenzy of Christmas shopping and preparations. The flipside of this is that some of the magic of the season is lost.

Don’t spend the rest of the run-up and the holiday itself in a state of panic. Stop for a moment, take stock and remember the important things about this time of year.

If you’re still dashing around trying to find gifts, let the internet take some of the strain. Many online shops deliver right up to Christmas Eve. Shops like Who's It For? provide a range of gifts categorised into recipients, to make it even easier. This will free you up to make the most of the festivities before the New Year begins.

1. Visit The Christmas Markets

Take the whole family and visit the Christmas markets. Many large towns host these now, and stallholders from Europe travel miles to sell their wares. You don’t have to buy lots of stuff. It’s enough to soak up the sights, sounds, and wonderful smells. Try a cup of mulled wine, or hot chocolate if you’re driving. Sample some of the European delights.

2. Christmas Films

Make the wrapping a little less dull by watching a Christmas film. Pick up a copy of the Radio Times and take a look at what’s coming up. Or, find some festive films on Netflix.

Image credit: Unsplash

3. Carol Concert

Check your local newspaper listings for carol concerts in your area. It’s a heartwarming event for the whole family and if this doesn’t get you in the Christmas spirit, nothing will.

4. Give Something Back

Do you have any neighbours who you suspect may be spending Christmas alone? Make sure you call in and take them a little something. It needn’t be an expensive gift, just something to show you’re thinking of them. If you can, invite them to your home to spend some time with your family. Or, find community events that they can join.

If you have time, offer to volunteer with a local charity. Many of them need extra help at this time of year.

Image credit: Pexels

5. Bake Off

The Christmas Day meal can sometimes be a bit of a frantic affair. There’s so much to do, and everything has to be timed. But prior to this, a little seasonal baking can be fun and is something you can do with the kids. Plus, it provides you with something to offer visitors.

6. Christmas Crafting

When the kids have broken up from school, and you’re at a loss as to what to do with them, try an afternoon of crafting. Take out the glitter, glue, and paints and make some Christmas pictures or decorations. You can find lots of kid-friendly projects online.

In all the hurry and last minute preparations, it’s easy to lose sight of the meaning of Christmas. Recapture some of that childhood wonder and magic by setting time aside for some festive fun.

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Cosy Christmas crafting with the kids

There's no better way of spending a chilly Sunday afternoon than with a bit of crafting with the kids. I am actually starting to find it quite relaxing, even though I am the enfant terrible of Christmas decoration creation.

We were challenged by Wynsors World Of Shoes to see how cosy and creative we could get by sending us an enormous box of crafting supplies and some lovely snuggly slippers for Caitlin and Ieuan.

Ieuan chose some cute tigers whilst Caitlin was swayed by some booties with pompoms

Bracing ourselves against incoming glitter of many hues, the Husband and I duly mucked in to create some Hobbis family Christmas decorations.  Why did we not have coloured pompoms when I was a child?

I do remember happily coating my hands in PVA glue in the school craft room, leaving it to set and then peeling it off like a second skin.  Hours of amusement, and probably a waste of Council glue funds.

Art is a series business

Actually, it's good to put the iPads down and crafting is a lot cheaper than going to the cinema, isn't it?  Plus, if you wrap the kids up and keep their feet warm, you can get away with turning the heating down a bit.

I think I heard the phrase "get something on your feet" every day when I was growing up.  My parents were convinced walking around slipperless was a quick route to catching something nasty, like a chest cold or the Black Death.

And, as we all know, parents are always right, aren't they?

You can find a great range of slippers (and shoes) at www.wynsors.com with free click & reserve, free click & collect and free UK delivery over £15.

*We were sent two pairs of slippers and a box of crafting supplies for the purpose of this post.  No pompoms were harmed in the creation of the wreath.
  

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Unleashing The Colour With Chalkola Markers

Chalkola Markers are a fun range of pretty unique markers that you can use on non porous surfaces. If you're bored with just colouring on paper and card and want to decorate some different materials, these are a great way to do it.

The kind of non porous surfaces we're taking about are chalkboards, whiteboards, glass, plastic, windows and mirrors.

Why non-porous surfaces?  Because porus surfaces have small holes in them which can absorb the liquid chalk ink and it can be difficult to completely erase your work of art.

It's possible to leave subtle messages for your other half

In any case, it's always best to test the surface you're about to decorate just in case and it's worth noting that, although the markers can be used on chalkboard paint, paint tends to make the surface porous and absorb the ink so be careful there.

Chalkola Markers contain high density chalk ink and you do have to prep each marker by shaking it thoroughly for 2 to 3 minutes and them pumping the nib until the ink starts to flow.

My subtle reminder to Caitlin that she needs to drink more water.

The colours are well worth the effort.  We tested the Chalkola Premium Wet Wipe Markers in 10 party colours with a 6mm bullet tip and the Chalkola Earth Color Series Set of 8 Earthy Colours with a 5.5mm tip.

We tested on a variety of surfaces which the kids found enormous fun, not least because it felt a little like graffiti - still it's OK for Banksy, isn't it?

The markers are very versatile and we tested them on plastic, ceramics (a mug and a plate) and a mirror.

So much fun - but I wouldn't unleash your kids without supervision!

Best of all, once you are tired of your creation, a damp cloth wipes it all away (or you could use a window or glass cleaner).

Caitlin's favourite artwork was her plate which I am now under strict orders to put on show in a cabinet somewhere.

If you would like to try the markers, you can save 20% on the cost of the markers by using the coupon code below.  This applies to all Chalkola products.

Coupon Code - 20OFFSTR

You can find out more at Chalkola.com.

Caitlin's finished masterpiece

We're planning to decorate more plates and some ceramic pots.  I'm hoping Caitlin will be the next Orla Kiely or Cath Kidston!

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Christmas Crafting With Bostik

Despite the fact that it's only the end of November, the kids have gone full on "Christmas".  Caitlin and Ieuan have already recorded their Christmas song in school (reindeer antlers obligatory).

This year it's Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody and I have already had to reassure the pair of them several times that, yes, Noddy Holder really is still alive.

This month, in our role as "Bostik Bloggers"  (I'm not sure they know what they've let themselves in for), we were sent another box of gorgeous crafting supplies and trusty Bostik Glue Dots and Glitter Pens.  The theme this month is, not surprisingly, Christmas.

Ieuan's approach to crafting is very serious (slightly worrying shades of Kanye West). He knows what he wants to do and that's it.

Caitlin, on the other hand is like a magpie, playing with colours, textures and anything glittery.

Luckily with Bostik products, there's no mess to clear up afterwards.  We used Bostik White Glue as well because it's strong enough to cope with paper crafting and quicker than using the Glue Dots.

While you're crafting you might like to create your ideal Christmas playlist on Spotify or iTunes.

Ieuan's masterpiece

Here's my top ten - and I'm sure there will be no surprises.

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
2. Merry Christmas Everybody, Slade
3. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues / Kirsty McColl

4. Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie / Bing Crosby
5. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
6. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard

Caitlin's Christmas Card

7. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney
8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Jackson 5
9. Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
10. Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes

As an extra plus, all that music tends to drown out the sound of sibling bickering.

Happy Christmas crafting!

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I Got My Bright Little Sparks Crafting For Bonfire Night

On dreary autumn afternoons, a family crafting session is a great way to spend some quality time together. We love the colours of autumn and it's fun to bring back beautifully coloured leaves or shiny brown conkers from our walks.  The reds, browns and oranges make us feel all warm and cosy!

And of course these are the colours both of Halloween Pumpkins and the dancing flames of a bonfire on November 5th - which this year is on a Saturday so we can all go to our local firework display.

Armed with a box of gorgeous crafting supplies and our trusty Bostik White Glue, Glue Dots and Glitter Pens, I challenged Caitlin and Ieuan to create a firework display scene and they've been arguing about who's is the 'sparkliest' ever since!

Caitlin's bonfire features crisp autumn leaves whereas it looks suspiciously like Ieuan's sacrificed a chicken but I've learned not to challenge their artistic integrity for the sake of peace and quiet.

What I love about the Bostik products is there's no mess to clear up afterwards and the glue is strong enough to cope with paper crafting.

Glue Dots are a genius alternative to glue for little ones - simply peel off the backing and leave a blob of glue exactly where you need it.

I love autumn because you are surrounded by fabulous crafting materials - apples, pine cones, nuts and seeds, hedgerow plants like Old Man's Beard, cinnamon sticks - the list is as wide as your imagination.

And for those of you swamped by your children's craft projects and too sentimental to throw any of them away?  Simply photograph them and upload them to iCloud, Dropbox or Onedrive so you've always got a record of your kids' artistic genius, without sinking slowly under paper, card and glitter.

Happy crafting!

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Transform Your Home Into Halloween Party Central

We love Halloween.  In fact, apart from Christmas, it's my absolute favourite time and we make sure the house is fully decorated.  Last year, the Husband gave up resisting and even donned a vampire cape and some fangs.

I usually stick things to walls and any other surface I think needs it with blu-tack or white-tack but versatile though these are, sometimes you need something that will take a bit more weight.

So we've discovered a range of  ingenious adhesive strips and hooks from Command Products from 3M that allow home lovers to hang decorations and much more without the hassle of nails, screws and tacks, throughout the home. Better still, they stretch cleanly away, leaving no surface damage.

There's Command Brand Balloon Bunchers (for 3 balloons), Ceiling Hooks, Poster Strips, Decorating Clips and Banner Anchors which all promise damage free hanging.

We tested the poster strips and decorating clips and they certainly stick firmly and offer a more reliable grip than blu-tac!  You do have to be careful about where you put them - you can't use them on wallpaper and you're advised not to use them, for example, on anything antique or that you wouldn't be able to repair - but we found they stuck fine to a painted surface.

We tested the Command poster strips and decorating clips

When you remove them, you simply stretch the strips which releases them from the wall - no risk of those annoying marks you can get on some surfaces when decorations have been left in place a little too long. (You can tell I'm a decorating pro, can't you?!)

For Halloween crafting, Caitlin insists on doing her own thing with the help of Mr Bones who was a bit startled to be disinterred a bit earlier this year. But if you're stuck for ideas for your Halloween decorations, here are three ideas you might like to try.

GLIDING GHOULS

For these ghastly ghouls you'll need some polystyrene mannequin heads, coloured netting, a spray adhesive and clear fishing wire. Simply spray the heads with adhesive, cover with your choice of netting and attach the wire – three heads have been used here and hung at differing lengths to create this ghostly effect! Once you’re happy with the terrifying faces, suspend from a fireplace, ceiling, or dark corner using Command Party Ceiling Hooks… and listen out for the screams!

BAT-TASTIC

For some scary wall décor, add some 3D flying bats to your wall. Fold an A4 sheet of black card in half, then draw a slim half-sausage shape starting from the folded edge, to form the bat’s body, then sketch one simple bat wing shape leading off from this. Cut around it all, then open out and fold each wing out from either side of the body, leaving you with a flat body shape with fluttering wings. Adhere each bat to your wall using Command Poster Strips.

WEB-TACULAR

Add a giant spider’s web to give your Halloween décor a little more substance.

Working at a table, cut six lengths of wool to equal lengths and lay them out to create the spokes of your web, tying the ends together at the centre, then tape each outer end down onto your table top with a little masking tape to form the web’s structure.

Cut another length of wool and tie it to one of the structural lengths with a knot, around 5cm from the centre. Move along to the next structural length and knot your wool down here too, keeping the wool relatively taut between the two knots. Continue working your way around the structure of the web until you’re back to your original knot- cut off any excess. Repeat the process with a new length of wool, around 5cm further out from your first circle, then continue working outwards in the same way for several more circles until you are happy with your web shape and size.

Command Clear Decorating Clips are ideal for attaching these to your wall or ceiling - simply tie a knot at the end of each length and place this over the hooks. Play around with your web’s position with masking tape before sticking down with the Command Decorating Clips.

HANGING HORRORS

Command Decorating Clips or Command Party Ceiling Hooks are ideal for hanging spooky items from your ceiling… whether it’s a giant spider, witches hats, or a pumpkin lantern. Simply attach a long piece of white wool or cotton to your items, secure with a knot and hang.

For more information, visit: www.commandstrips.co.uk. You can buy Command Strips at Amazon.co.uk, Asda, B&Q, Hobbycraft, Homebase, Robert Dyas, Ryman, Sainsbury’s, Staples, The Range, Tesco, WHSmith, Wilkinsons and 3Mdirect.co.uk.

No skeletons were harmed in the production of this post.

PR samples were received for this post

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Water Way To Spend A Day With Brecon Carreg

To celebrate the launch of their new kids pack, we had a fun time yesterday with the lovely team from Wales' favourite mineral water, Brecon Carreg, learning how to be eco-friendly and crafty with our used water bottles. 

Brecon Carreg are doing their bit by making slimmer, lighter bottles which use 24% less plastic and are reducing our carbon footprint by 450 tonnes per year.

Since restocking the kids' craft supplies is currently costing me enough to refinance a small nation, the chance to be creative with something that is generally just thrown out into our council's delightful recycling bags was welcome.

Ensconced in the warmth and culinary happiness that is Waterloo Tea, we were fed and, erm, watered and then it was over to Caitlin and Ieuan and the lovely Amy from @ScienceBurp to unleash our inner Mr Maker.  

My own inner Mr Maker has sadly transmogrified into Anne Teak from Gigglebiz but still, I gave it a whirl.

The suggested brief, which was of course swiftly overridden by the male contingent of the party, was to make an animal.  

True to form, Caitlin chose to make a puppy.  

Ieuan, egged on by The Husband (whose birthday it was, and who was clearly remembering a childhood now in particularly dusty and far off hills), decided to make a robot.

Here's what they both used:-

- two water bottle ends (just cut the bottoms off carefully, and under supervision)

- sticky tape

- double sided tape

- coloured paints

- googly eyes

- coloured card

So you need to:-

1. cut the end off two same sized bottles

2. create a hinge between the two bottles using sticky tape so that one end will sit on top of the other

3. stick on your googly eyes (we used double sided sticky tape for this)

4. cut a tongue shape from red card and, using double sided sticky tape again, attach it to the inside of the lower lid by creating a fold so that the tongue sticks out.

5. paint the inside of the bottles and leave to dry.

Let the creation begin...

Assembling the body

Making a puppy

Not entirely sure of the breed though...

The fearsome Stewart

And, voila, introducing Lucy the Puppy and Stewart the Robot.  

Ieuan had a lovely time racing Stewart around with his fellow crafters' creations and The Husband was particularly proud of the antennae he'd fashioned out of green card. 

Caitlin was just happy to be 'doing crafts'.  

Puppy Lucy and Caitlin

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  

Big thanks to Brecon Carreg, Waterloo Tea, Science Burp and Brighter Comms (who I suspect had more than a hand in the mayhem).  

The finished creations

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