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Archives for March 2013
Colour Matching for Toddlers
W is now pretty happy identifying most colours and one of the games which I found helped with this is as simple as can be. He just loves to play with OXO cubes! Once he has finished eating I will often grab the boxes from the cupboard, red, yellow and green, and place them in front of him. We will then tip them all out, his favourite part... ...and I will encourage him to put them back into the right coloured box. He is quite happy to to do this over and over, tipping them out, and re-sorting into appropriate boxes... ...even building towers with them. This also allows me time ...
How to Make a Cotbed Quilt for Beginners, Step 8: Quilting!
So, we have basted our quilts and FINALLY made it to the most exciting part, the quilting! My apologies for the delay in getting this post up but we were struck down with a rather nasty case of Norovirus here at Casa B and energy levels are only just returning. Tonight though I have managed to crack on with the next step. Quilting basically means just sewing all three of your quilt layers together. How you do it is entirely up to you. Some quilters like to quilt along the edges of their squares, known as 'quilting in the ditch', some can manage that super pretty free-form quilting with ...
If Only I’d Known…
With just fifteen weeks to go until the arrival of baby number two, I have been thinking a lot about the arrival of number one just lately. I was recently asked what were the things I wish I had known whilst pregnant that first time. I could dwell on the fact that W's birth was long, complicated, traumatic and still ultimately the best thing I have ever managed but is that going to help anyone? Nope. So...the stuff you really need to know and I wish that I had... ...that when my first contractions started but I still felt ok enough to take the time to apply my ...
How to Make a Cotbed Quilt for Beginners, Step 7: Layering and Basting Your Quilt.
Now that we have added our borders and the front of our quilt is complete it is time to start putting all the layers together. First I would strongly recommend that you iron both the backing material and the front of your quilt so that both can be laid nice and flat. Next lay out your backing material, right side face down, on a flat hard surface. If you have a wooden or tiled floor this would be ideal. I had to make do on the carpet. Smooth out any creases to make sure that it is flat and then secure the edges to the floor with masking tape. Now, roll out your batting on top of the ...
Silent Sunday: 17/03/13
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Egg-Carton Craft: Pretty Easter Baskets
This week I was invited to attend my first ever Google + Craft Hangout by the crafty queen herself, Maggy aka Red Ted Art. The theme for the hangout was egg-cartons and I saw some great ideas including cress-planters by Chris at Thinly Spread, paint-palletes by Rebecca at Here Come The Girls, and pretty flower fairy lights by Maggy herself. I must confess I missed a bit as I am not very techy and was unsure if I needed my own video connected so wasted quite a bit of time faffing about installing the necessary gubbins but will try and be more organised next time! Anyway, here is what I ...
Prize Draw: New Tetley Estate Selection Tea
The lovely folks at Tetley recently sent me a box of their new Estate Selection tea to try. I was delighted. Who doesn't love a good cup of tea? We are already daily Tetley Tea drinkers at Casa B but it is our regular tea. Our first thing in the morning, just got home from work, just fancy a quick sit down regular-tea. When we want something a bit fancier Mr B will whip out the Earl Grey although personally I sometimes find it a little too perfumey. I have found this new Estate Selection Tea to be the perfect compromise. It has just a slightly more floral taste than regular Tetley, ...
Product review: Magical Fun With Tree Fu Tom: Tree Fu Magic!
We were recently sent this six-episode DVD of Tree Fu Tom for review. I must confess it was not something W had watched much of prior to being sent this disc but it has fast become one of his favourite shows. Tom appears to be a normal eight year old boy but when he puts on his magic belt and performs a special sequence of movements, (that is the tree-fu bit) he transforms into a tiny but might little superhero. This DVD covers six of his adventures in the magical world of Treetopolis with his friends and, when help is needed, Tom can perform his tree-fu to summon up the magical ...
Top 3 Easter Crafts for Toddlers
Below are three super-simple but fun and effective Easter crafts ideal for making with toddlers. 1. No-Dye Spotty Eggs. Here we simply attached double-sided sticky dots to blown out duck-eggs and then rolled each spot in glitter. So easy but so pretty! I used duck eggs as the shells are a bit sturdier than chicken eggs but you could always use a hard-boiled egg if you are worried they might break. For full instructions and pictures of how we made them see here. 2. Funny Bunnies I love finding fun ways to use up rubbish from around the house and toilet rolls are no exception. Here we ...