A massive cross stitch accomplishment

This week I was so proud of myself - I actually finished my cross stitch sampler! This has been an extremely long term project. I estimate that I've been working on it for about seven years, although of course not continuously! It's always been there in the drawer in the coffee table for me to work on a little bit at a time. It's the Three Things sampler by Moira Blackburn (affiliate link) and it's definitely been a labour of love.

I left my name and the date until last, and finally I stitched those last little crosses.

This is a bit of a teaser photograph, because it is still folded up in the bag at the moment, I'll post a proper photograph of it when it is properly framed. It's the Three Things Sampler by Moira Blackburn, a design influenced by historical samplers and part of a lovely range of samplers. I remember the kit seemed quite expensive when it was purchased, but if you think about the amount of time it has kept me occupied for it represents excellent value!

Update - you can see a photograph of the finished framed sampler here.

Now I can't decide whether to start another long term project, or whether to concentrate on a few different crafts for now. I have a few tiny cross stitch kits which I bought in the sale after Christmas, so I'll still have some cross stitch to work on if I want to. I really like some of the cross stitch designs which are based upon ancient maps, and I'm also toying with the idea of creating my own design. My Mum gave me a book of cross stitch designs which can be used to stitch a family tree, and I like the idea of coming up with something like that, perhaps including a cross stitch depiction of our house. I'm busy collecting ideas over on my Cross Stitch Pinterest board!

The Adventures of Percy the Nursery Bear

I'm afraid that my heart did sink a little when I collected Mia from nursery last week and I discovered the existence of Percy Bear, who came to stay with us for a week along with his book of Adventures. I have heard about these bears from other Mums, along with the warning that they are a bit of an exercise in competitive parenting. This was borne out by the two books that accompanied him, packed with photographs and detailed descriptions of all the fun that he has had while staying with Mia's classmates.

Mia was delighted though, so I went along with it. Luckily we had an outing planned for the weekend anyway - a trip to the cinema - so Percy joined us and came along for pizza and ice cream afterwards. We don't normally let the children take their teddies out with us as I'm terrified of them getting lost, so Mia was very excited to be able to bring Percy along with us. I loved watching her chat away to him and tell him what we were doing.

I took plenty of pictures and managed to get some printed out for his diary. I didn't go into quite as much detail as some of the other parents had managed, but I think we did okay. We even baked biscuits especially so that Percy had something to write about.

Hama bead heart frames

Hama beads are such fun to do, but it can be difficult to find ways to use or display the things that you make. These Hama bead heart frames are great for Valentine's Day because you can personalise them with a photograph of yourself or a loved one, or even just with a picture of something else that you love, perhaps a pet or even a place.

If you attach some magnetic strip to the back they can be stuck on the fridge, or you could make a hanging loop with ribbon. You could even embellish them for extra interest, maybe by adding buttons or sequins.

These Hama bead frames are all made using the large Hama bead heart pegboard, but you could also use the smaller heart pegboard to make smaller frames, or just use the centre portion of the large heart pegboard. I used red, white and pink for a Valentine's Day feel, but they would also look good in a mixture of colours or in a selection of colours that matches the decor of the recipient.

I ironed the beads firmly on one side to make sure that they were nice and sturdy, especially important when the width of the frame is only two beads. Then I ironed the front side slightly less, so that you can still see the definition of the beads and the shapes of the hearts.

This is a great Valentine's Day craft for young children because you can leave them to create their own designs. You don't need to stick to a rigid plan, just let younger pre-schoolers place the beads wherever they like, or just create a simple pattern of stripes or alternating beads. They are perfect to pop in an envelope along with your Valentine's Day card as a little extra gift.

I've used Hama beads to make lots of other Valentine's Day themed crafts, and you can find them all here - Hama bead crafts for Valentine's Day.

They include:

Hama bead heart hanging decoration
Hama bead heart spinning decoration
Hama bead heart photo frames
Mini Hama bead heart pins
Mini Hama bead hearts

Review - Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy 3D

At the weekend we were invited to attend a preview screening of Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy. Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy is the latest in a series of Tinker Bell films. I've not watched any of them all the way through, but I know that Harry has enjoyed watching them, and I've picked up bits and pieces here and there from when they've been on. The latest installment tells the story of Zarina the inquisitive dust-keeper fairy, who leaves Pixie Hollow in disgrace after her experiments with pixie dust go wrong. She returns a year later to steal the important blue pixie dust, having teamed up in the meantime with the pirates of Skull Rock, who want to make their own fairy dust so that they can plunder the world's treasures in a flying pirate ship.

It's a light-hearted and fun story, with plenty of entertaining adventures. The story takes place before the action depicted in Peter Pan, and this film contains a few hints towards the familiar Peter Pan story, featuring the voice of Tom Hiddleston as the young Captain Hook.

Not only was this Mia's first trip to the cinema, it was her first 3D film. At 2 1/2 she is probably still a bit too young for the cinema, although we managed to keep her fairly still in her seat with a packet of chocolate buttons! Animated films always seem to work well in 3D and this was no exception, the 3D effects definitely add to the experience.

If you are looking for a film to watch with the children over half-term then I'd definitely recommend Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy, and it's not just one for little girls either, as Harry (5) really enjoyed it too!

We received complimentary tickets to the preview screening.

Review - Playmobil sets from Cuthberts Toys

Cuthberts Toys is an independent toy store which first opened in St Albans in 2009, and has since opened two more stores in Letchworth and Hatfield. The retail experience is designed with the child in mind, selling a fantastic range of toys from across the top brands as well as offering online shopping. Cuthberts Toys are well known for their friendliness and excellent customer service, and they very kindly sent my children a fantastic Playmobil set each.

Playmobil 4008 Super Set Fairy Fountain

This set comes from a range which is new to me, the Playmobil Fairies range. There are quite a few pieces in this range and the Fairy Fountain is one of the larger sets. It's a little fairy garden, with two figures and a fountain that actually squirts water. It's a very sweet little set, and Mia really loves it. There's something about adding water to play sets which makes them a great deal more exciting, and the pump in this set works really well and is easy enough for Mia to operate herself.

There are some very tiny pieces in this set so I've done what I usually do and kept them to one side until Mia is a bit older, as there is plenty of play value in the set to keep her entertained for the time being. Mia's favourite game to play with the set is to put everything in the water and then take it out and dry it, it can keep her busy for ages. Harry was also desperate to play with the set. He had more of a scientific interest in how the pump worked, but even though everything about the set says 'girly' he still really enjoys playing with it! It doesn't hold a huge amount of water, so even if there is a spillage it won't make too much mess.

Playmobil 4014 Super Set Knights

The Super Set Knights set is part of the Playmobil Knights range. Harry is lucky enough to own the Lion's Knight Empire Castle, and this little fort is the perfect addition to his set up because it features some of the rival knights, something that he spotted straight away. The fort has a secret hiding place with a huge stash of gold treasure, and two cannons to protect it which have some impressive firing power! It's a nice compact set too, and actually packs away in the original box which is great because I haven't yet found a practical way to store all our Playmobil. Although this set is a part of the Knights range, it would also make a really good standalone set, because with three figures and plenty of weapons included there is plenty of scope for different games. It also fits in well with the sets from some of the other ranges, for example Harry loves pitting his knights and pirates against each other.

Cuthberts Toys sent us these Playmobil sets, but with no obligation to write about them, I just want to share how wonderful they are!

Simple felt Valentine's Day gift bags

I enjoy sewing, and so it's only natural that I'd like to encourage the hobby in my children too! There are lots of first simple sewing projects that you can try with children, and so I thought we'd make some little felt gift bags for holding Valentine's Day treats which can be reused from year to year.

Felt is a brilliant fabric to start sewing with children as it doesn't need hemming and you can use a larger, blunter needle which is easier for young children to work with. It's also thick and sturdy for them to hold comfortably.

Another advantage of using felt for crafting is that you can easily add embellishments and other decorations to it using fabric glue.

Instructions:

An A4 sized sheet of felt will make two gift bags. First fold your felt sheet in half lengthwise to create two long rectangles. Fold the rectangle in half from the bottom, and sew down each side to make the bag. We just used a simple running stitch in a contrasting colour, as I quite like the look of having the stitches visible. An older child might like to use a back stitch, and then turn the bag inside out so that the stitches are hidden and it all looks a bit neater.

Harry used a thick cotton thread to do the sewing and reasonably sharp needle, under supervision of course. I think that he did pretty well considering that he's only just 5! For a younger child you could make the holes for them in advance and let them use a larger, blunt needle to sew up the sides. Or you could sew up the bag yourself and provide them with materials to decorate.

We decorated the bag using coloured buttons and heart shaped pieces of felt. You could also add a name or initials to make it more personal for the recipient. We just glued the decorations on using fabric glue, but you could of course sew the decorations on to make the bag a little more hard wearing.

Fill the bag with small Valentine's sweets, and then use some pretty ribbon to tie the top closed. Something like this would also make a sweet little wedding or party favour.

If you like this idea you might also be interested in some other ways to present gifts on Valentine's Day

Watching my son learning to read

This is a bit of a follow up to a post that I wrote last September about reading to children, and in particular older children. I have been so fascinated watching Harry as he learns to read that I wanted to document it somehow.

When Harry started school last September, he couldn't recognise all his letters or sounds, and he had no concept at all of putting them together to make words. His first breakthrough came when he started putting the sounds together to make those first simple words, then he jumped forward again when he realised that letters don't always sound the same, and that the sound changes according to their position in the word and the influence of other letters. Now he has reached the stage where he can recognise words without needing to sound them out individually, and he is starting to read more fluently and with expression.

I have an interest in language and linguistics, so I naturally want to encourage his reading, and I do spend time working on it with him. I don't push it, but fortunately he is eager to learn. I love watching him sounding out words that he sees when we are out and about, and he is so pleased with himself.

I have also now started reading proper chapter books to him at bedtime, and his attention span and interest have really surprised me. We've nearly finished the Magic Faraway Tree series of books, which he has really enjoyed. Another book that caught his imagination was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I try to talk to him a lot about how wonderful reading is, how you can lose yourself in a book and take part in adventures with the characters, how you can learn all about different places in the world and different times in history.

I know that boys don't tend to read as much as girls but I'm trying my best to instill that love of reading in him. I don't read nearly as much as I used to, or as much as I would like to, as I find it a challenge to make the time at the moment. Hopefully that will change as the children get older, because I know that seeing me enjoy reading is the way to inspire them to do the same.