Easter Crafts

Yesterday was the 1st day of the Easter holiday and whilst some parents may be dreading it, I'm really looking forward to spending time with both my daughters. Weekends never seem long enough anymore with swimming and ballet lessons along with the chore of homework and reading.

I always like to plan and be organised when it comes to the school holidays, as it gives me a plan of what to do with the girls. If I didn't plan, the holiday would be over and I would be left feeling as though we hadn't really done anything apart from just stay at home and play.

 

In the sales last year I managed to pick up some really cheap Easter craft packs, and because yesterday I needed to stay at home and wait for a parcel to be delivered, I decided it was a good opportunity to do some Easter crafts. Ruby and Lottie both love taking part in craft activities, since Lottie started playschool she is always asking to paint and draw, she is very different to Ruby, as it took a lot of persuading to encourage Ruby to undertake craft activities; but now I can't stop her, she even chooses to attend an art club during her lunchtime at school.

We made some Easter masks; Lottie opted for a chick mask and Ruby a bunny. 

We also made an Easter basket and briefly filled it up with chocolate, until several chocolates ended up in two little girls stomachs!

Last week at school Ruby made an Easter card which is proudly displayed on the lounge sideboard. She also had lots of fun decorating a hard boiled egg and an Easter bonnet. 

I'd love to hear what Easter cars are taking place in your home.

Silent Sunday!

Easter Bonnet Competition

Easter is rapidly approaching; I'm not sure where this year is going? This is always a really exciting time in our house as we reflect on the Easter story and its meaning to us as Christians; I will blog in more detail about what Easter means to us as a family, but for this blog post I wanted to tell you about the fantastic competition that is being run by "The Works".

Whenever I'm in town I always make sure to go call by The Works shop as it is always full of such amazing books and craft accessories at really reasonable prices. I was very kindly asked by The Works if I would be interested in using some of their Easter products to design an Easter bonnet with the girls; I of course said yes knowing that I have two girls who love all things art and craft.

We were kindly sent a hamper containing a huge range of Easter themed arts and craft supplies to help us along our way in creating an Easter Bonnet Masterpiece:

Ruby spotted the hamper as soon as she arrived home from school, and was very keen to get making her Easter bonnet. 

Here is Ruby's Creation:

The Works are currently holding a competition that is open to everyone to see who can come up with the best Easter Bonnet creation. The competition will be judged by a surprise guest judge who will pick the lucky winners.

The first prize is a £100 gift card at the works as well as having your creation feature on all of The Work's 2016 Easter signage. The winner will also have a flyer in their local store as well as blog post featuring their creation. The second and third prizes are gift cards to the value of £50 and £20 respectively. To enter simply upload your details and a photo of your creation to the competition's homepage.

Good luck.


Disclaimer: We were sent the Art and Craft supplies to use for free in order to help promote The Work's Easter competition.

Silent Sunday!

Mothering Sunday - Something to Consider!

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday; a day in which we appreciate the things our mums have done for us. Mothering Sunday, in my opinion, is not just a day to think about our biological mothers, but also those who have been a mother figure to us, this could include godmothers, aunties, grandmothers, or any other female role model who has played an important part in our lives.

I regularly attend church, and yesterday was no different, however it really annoyed me when the service started that there was no mention of anyone other than a biological mother playing a role in a persons life. There are many people who do not feel that they have the mother role model, or it has been taken over by someone other than their mother; I am very fortunate that I have a very kind and caring biological mother, the bond between us has certainly grown since I had Ruby and Lottie, I have developed a new appreciation for all my mother has done and continues to do for me, thank you mummy!

I am also incredibly grateful to have a godmother who helps guide and nurture me within my faith, as well as several other female role models who I am able to look to for guidance and support when it is needed.

Whilst sitting in church yesterday I couldnt help but think of all the people who find Mothering Sunday difficult, those people who dont have a relationship with their mother, those who have been adopted, women who have been unable to have children or those mothers who have sadly lost children to name a few. Mothering Sunday isn't simply just about mums, its far wider than this.

My Mothering Sunday cards from Ruby and Lottie

This year was my 6th Mothering Sunday since I became a mum, and if I am honest I still sometimes forget I am someones mummy, let alone how blessed I am to have not one but two daughters. I love my girls to bits and this is what drives me to be the best mummy I can be! Although I still think I have an awful lot still to learn!

Silent Sunday!

Silent Sunday!

Coming Soon: The Little Bakers Club!

A few weeks ago my husband and I were sat watching a TV program about how much money an average family of four spends on their weekly food shop, and I was absolutely horrified at how much some people spend; one family spent in excess of £300 in just one week! That's more than what we spend in an average month! I try to keep our food costs down as much as we can as we don't have a huge amount of money, and I also hate waste; we very rarely put anything in the bin, unlike the family on TV who were frequently wasting large amounts of food.

One thing that really stood out for me whilst watching the program was how much cheaper it is to do a food shop when meal planning and cooking from scratch. I am very fortunate that I am organised by nature and do like to meal plan, but we do end up eating the same food each week and it does become a little boring at times. I have been very lucky that my local BBC radio station aired a three hour cookery program a couple of years ago which I participated in; I was taught how to cook some lovely meals, so I do have some basic cookery skills, its just the confidence that I lack, however spurred on by the TV program I am determined to get back into cooking from scratch. The thing that gave me the most encouragement during the TV program was when they showed how much sugar went into a jar of a well known brand of bolognese sauce, I was horrified! It made me feel really sick that I had been feeding my family so much sugar and rubbish.

I hope that the blog will hold me to account when cooking, and give me the encouragement and motivation to help myself cook healthier but also encourage others to do the same, this is where I need your help; if you have a recipe that you and/or your children have cooked and loved let me know, I would love to build up some great recipes that we can all use.

I hope that through sharing easy and healthy recipes we can all help each other to eat that little bit better and encourage our children to be involved too, so what do you say? Are you ready for The Little Bakers Club?

I will be releasing a badge and starting a linky over the next weeks, so watch this space!

In the meantime, feel free to leave you recipes in the comments below.

Silent Sunday!