The Bead and Button Company

I was recently asked to review some items from The Bead and Button Company. Such a treat! I spent ages browsing the site to choose a selection of products, and I was so excited when they arrived. I was completely spoilt for choice, as they sell not just beads and buttons but also fabric, jewellery supplies and all sorts of other crafty bits and pieces. Here are the goodies that I chose:

I wanted to come up with a few projects to showcase some of the things that I received. Even though I love buttons, and my button tin is filled to overflowing, I couldn't resist a few more mixed packets.

These buttons only actually come from two bags - the multicoloured and wooden buttons were from the 75g Random Mixed Assorted Buttons pack (and that's not all of them!) and the plastic buttons in the bottom right are from a bag of 50g Mixed Buttons (available in various mixes of colours). I now have enough buttons to fulfil my button crafting needs for a long while yet!


I've long been inspired by button tree craft pictures that I've seen on Pinterest, so I had a go at making my own felt and button tree picture using a selection of green buttons from each pack. For the background of the picture I used some gorgeous patterned material from the Jasmine Fabric Bundle, , the same basic pattern in six different colour combinations. I'm also going to use a darker version of the pattern to make a different tree picture, perhaps with pink buttons this time.

Then I moved onto crafting with beads. I ordered a pack of Random Mixed Beads, again excellent value for the number of beads that I received. A lovely selection of wooden, plastic and metal beads in all shapes and sizes. 

First, I pulled out some of the Sugru that I've been crafting with for a few weeks now, and upcycled an old keyring with Sugru to create a beaded keyring. It was so easy to do, and the beads just press straight into the Sugru. I used some of the tiny wooden beads for this.

Then I worked with the children to make some salt dough fairy wands. Again we used the wooden beads, but this time I was brave enough to put the beads in the oven while the salt dough cooked. Fortunately they came out fine!

To decorate the stick and make streamers I used some ric rac, a crafting essential that has been missing from my craft box. I chose a roll each in red and blue. Again, there is plenty there to keep me going for a long time and it's lovely, really bold and bright in colour. I still have a packet of heart buttons to use, which I think I'm going to use to customise plain hair clips. I also chose a simple pom pom maker, as I've been after one for a while and I think that the children will enjoy making some pom pom creatures! 

You can also see some more fab ideas using products from The Bead and Button Company over at Baby Budgeting. 

I was given the opportunity to select these lovely items from The Bead and Button Company for review.

Loom bands

I'm afraid that I've finally succumbed. I just couldn't resist the hype any longer. On the pretence that they are for the children, last week I ordered a massive bag of cheap loom bands from Amazon. I was encouraged once I found out that you could make the bracelets just using your fingers, but not surprisingly it wasn't very long before I had ordered myself a simple loom as well.

As soon as the bands arrived I was off. YouTube is full of tutorials to show you how to make different types of bracelets. I started off on my fingers but found that it was a bit uncomfortable for me. I read somewhere the suggestion to use a plastic children's socket cover, and that works brilliantly. Harry prefers this method now too, along with one of the little hooks that come with the bands. He's picked it up really quickly and loves choosing his colours to make different patterns. The only bit that he can't do is finishing the bracelet off, but i'm sure that it won't be long before he's worked it out.

It's such a cheap craft! The bands are very reasonably priced and are available in all different colours. Although next time I wouldn't buy the cheapest bands available, as they weren't as good as others that I've seen since. I bought my loom from the fantastic Craft Merrily - I went for the Friendship Loom - and the bands in that set are much better quality.

I've not really got the hang of the loom itself yet. The instructions that came with it were impossible for me to follow, they just made no sense. Fortunately there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube, and I found one which demonstrated in a much clearer way how to make the basic bracelet. I'm going to experiment with it a bit though and see what I can come up with.

I shouldn't think I'll ever get especially good at them, but I'm having lots of fun! And if you are looking for some truly inspirational loom band bracelet projects take a look here - YarnJourney - I'm in awe!

Is your home full of loom bands too?

Mini plastic bucket and washi tape desk storage

I've recently been having fun decorating these mini plastic buckets with washi tape. The plastic buckets were part of a craft bundle which I received as a member of the Baker Ross Bloggers Network. Two buckets were spirited away into the sandpit immediately by small people, but I hid the others, knowing that I could pretty them up into some useful and decorative storage.

Armed with some washi tape I set to work. It's so ridiculously easy that I don't really need to explain how I did it! I love crafting with washi tape because it is so easy to reposition if you stick it in the wrong place and you can take several attempts at where you stick it. I did find that keeping the length of tape quite long was a useful technique. Because the buckets are curved I did end up with a few creases, but they smooth away pretty easily and aren't as obvious in real life.

We have a new desk with shelves in our study which I am slowly marking out as my territory, and these little buckets are filling up the shelf nicely. They are useful for holding some of my crafty bits and pieces which I like to keep close to hand.

A day at Hever Castle

As I mentioned in my summer holiday post, we've been saving Tesco Clubcard vouchers so that we can enjoy some family days out over the summer. So many in fact that we've needed to start early so that we can fit them all in! So at the weekend we visited Hever Castle and Gardens in Kent. Ram and I visited a few years ago and enjoyed it very much, but this was our first visit with the little ones.

It was a bit of a gloomy day with an ever present threat of rain, but at least it meant that it wasn't too busy, and the rain held off until the way home. We started by visiting the castle itself, perhaps more of a stately home now, but with a moat, drawbridge and portcullis the key elements are there. Harry was interested to learn about Henry VIII and his wives (the castle is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and was subsequently owned by Anne of Cleves) but Mia was eager to get back outside.

So as the weather brightened we explored the gardens and the popular mazes. We started in the Yew Maze, not too difficult so the children didn't get bored and providing an opportunity for celebration when completed.

Then we tried out the Water Maze, which appears deceptively simple but only has one safe path to the centre avoiding the water obstacles. No pictures of this one as unfortunately Mia managed to fall in and I was busy attending to her. She only went in up to her knees, and she wasn't hurt, but she was pretty cross about it. I'm prepared for most eventualities but unfortunately today a need for spare shoes wasn't one of them, fortunately she was happy to spend the rest of the afternoon sploshing about in soggy ones! Harry loved the Water Maze though and went round and round it several times! It was also quite amusing to watch groups of students getting soaked.

The gardens are beautiful and what I remember most from our previous visit. There is a lovely lake and an Italian garden filled with sculptures. There are also plenty of places where you can eat a picnic on a sunny day. There is lots to occupy children, like The Tower Maze which is an adventure playground in itself, with ladders and rope walks leading up to a huge slide. 

There's a smaller playground too, and Mia was also desperate for a turn on this swing. She waited patiently for her turn for ages before deciding after a couple of pushes that it wasn't for her - typical toddler! They both also enjoyed an indoor exhibition of miniature model houses, large dolls houses decorated in different historical styles.

At £15.50 for an adult and £8.70 for a child (you can pay slightly less to just visit the gardens) Hever Castle isn't particularly cheap to visit, but if you can manage it with vouchers like we did then it's a great place to visit with the family.

Billy Smart's Circus in Lancing

This weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to Billy Smart's Circus, currently playing in Lancing. Harry has just finished a Circus topic at school and so the timing is ideal, and I was very excited to be able to take him.

Billy Smart's Circus was founded in 1946, and is currently hosted by Yasmin Smart, the granddaughter of the founder. There are no animals in the circus, and so it's all about the human performers.

We took the children to the circus a couple of years ago and it was a bit much for them, so I was hoping that now (aged 3 and 5) they would be a bit more interested. Fortunately I was right, Mia was as good as gold and totally absorbed throughout, and although fidgety, Harry was also fascinated by the feats being performed in front of him.

The show opened with a short video which told us a little bit about the history of the circus, which was really interesting. At one time, the circus performed to audiences of 6,000! Then it was straight into the acts. I was very impressed by how slick the production of the circus was. It has its own small orchestra which played throughout, and the music was a really central part of the show, appropriate and perfectly timed. There was also a great balance between the faster, more spectacular acts like the acrobats and the flying trapeze troupe and the quieter yet still graceful and impressive acts like foot juggling and the solo trapeze. The short gaps in between acts were filled by Jonny Bogino, a modern clown that Harry loved.

All the acts really were spectacular, and the performers were carrying out some amazing feats. They also all looked so cheerful, and as though they were having a great time! I liked that you could see a great deal of attention was being given to the safety of the performers, I'm a bit anxious watching people flying about in the air above me but I could see that there was always a safety line or a net there!

Harry's favourite part of the show was the flying trapeze artists and I can see why, they really were fantastic.

At the end of the show the performers all came out together, each holding their national flag, which was a really nice touch and showed just how multicultural a circus it is.

We received complimentary tickets to the circus in exchange for a review.

Our first school summer holiday

It isn't long now until the end of term. I can't believe that Harry has almost finished his first year of school! So this means that we are approaching our first long summer holiday. We have a week away booked, but apart from that Ram has no holiday to use, and so I'll be enjoying a lot of time with the children. Mia will continue to go to her nursery for two mornings a week - normally my quiet time and a chance to do some blogging - so I'll have plenty of Harry time.

I remember last summer very clearly. The weather was beautiful, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy lots of outings and other fun activities. I was conscious at the time that it was my last couple of months with both small children at home. This year, I really want to make the most of the summer, and make some fun memories together.

So, like many people I've been putting together a list of things that I want to do. We've been saving our Tesco vouchers so we will be having a few family days out at the weekends, so this list is really about things for the three of us to do at home. Some are for sunny days, some for rainy days, some for when it's just me and Harry, some for us all. Many are taken from my Day Zero Project list and some are inspired by other lists which I've seen online. We probably won't complete them all, but at least we'll have plenty of inspiration! So here goes:

• Plan some themed days. I'm still thinking, but perhaps a Pirate Day, and something 'sciency' maybe volcanoes and earthquakes.
• Spend a night in a tent in the garden with both children (fully accepting that we will get no sleep). Spend a couple of nights out there with just Harry too. Have hot chocolate, sing camp fire songs, and read by torchlight.
• Take a photograph for each letter of the alphabet. I've not decided yet whether to do things or actual letters!
• Make some Artist Trading Cards with the children, I used to love making these and I was recently sent some blank ones to try out.

• Have a picnic on Highdown Hill.
• Set up the water slide in the back garden (and hopefully invite some friends round to try it out too)
• Have plenty of barbecues, and definitely make lots of pizza. 
• If it's a clear night, lie on a blanket in the garden to watch the Perseid meteor shower (August 10-13th) and maybe persuade Harry to join me.

• Make sure Harry doesn't forget everything that he's learned at school, in particular working on his writing. 
• Set up a shop for Harry to practise counting.
• Set up a temporary museum for Harry to display his treasures and write about them.
• Plenty of reading.
• Pick flowers and press them to make pictures.
• Take the children for cake in a cafe. 
• Make a big bed in the living room and spend all day in our pajamas (even me!). Read books, draw and tell stories.
• Have a baking day and bake (and eat!) some new things together.
• Learn some magic tricks and do a magic show.
• Make loom band bracelets and Hama bead creations.
• Go to the beach and collect pebbles, paint and decorate them, and then return them to the beach for people to find.
• Spend a day playing garden games - skittles, bowls, chalk, obstacle courses, circuit races.
• Learn to identify ten constellations.
• When it rains, go out and jump in the muddy puddles in the lane down the road.
• Join the summer reading scheme at the library and take home bags of books.
• Learn to identify ten different birds and write their names.
• Start a nature journal for Harry.
• Start playing simple board games with Mia now that she can understand them a little better. 

It sounds idyllic doesn't it! Of course I'm being realistic, it's not always going to be easy having them both at home, and I'm sure that there will be plenty of fighting and screaming. But if I plan it all out and prepare in advance I'm hoping that we can have a lot of fun.

I hope that you have a fantastic summer! What do you have planned?

Sugru beaded washi tape storage

Recently I was sent some Sugru to review and to see how I could use it in my crafting. I've found it a really versatile material, and as well as in crafts I've also been putting it to good use fixing and improving things around the house! Today I'm sharing something pretty and very easy that I've made - a simple storage solution for my rolls of washi tape.

My washi tape collection is not huge at the moment, but this solution is so simple that you could make several of them, perhaps to organise tapes by colour or design. It's so nice to have them on display rather than left in a drawer, and it will remind me to get them out and use them!

You need:

A small (5g) pack of Sugru in your favourite colour
An old pencil
Some kind of small lid, similar to those from lip balm or make up containers
Some tiny beads

Directions:

Take a piece of Sugru about the size of a small marble and place into the centre of your lid. Press the pencil down into the Sugru so that it is held firmly.

Take the rest of your Sugru and roll out into a snake with the same circumference as your lid. Mould it around the sides of your lid and rub to smooth it out.

Press small beads into the Sugru to decorate, or you could create different textures by imprinting with different objects.

One the Sugru has cured for 24 hours, you can arrange your washi tape and display! Sugru is ideal for this craft because it sticks the surfaces together firmly. Sugru is a self-setting rubber, with a consistency much like plasticine. Once removed from the packaging you have about half an hour to mould it, then you need to leave it for 24 hours to cure. Once cured, it remains flexible, as well as being waterproof, electrically insulating and stable in temperatures from -50°C to +180°C.

If you are looking for more ways to use Sugru in your crafting you might like this post - Crafting with Sugru, a round-up of ideas.

I received some packets of Sugru to review