Easter and Spring crafting with Baker Ross

I love it when we receive a new box of craft supplies from Baker Ross! This month we've received some lovely craft materials to make some Easter and Spring crafts.

We started with some Bird Ceramic Flowerpots. There were four in the pack so the children decorated two each using some HobbyLine Brights Porcelain Paints. The paints are gorgeous colours, really bright and cheerful and in a colour palette which work really well together. They covered the birds beautifully and dried to a lovely glossy finish. I was really impressed with how nicely the children decorated their birds! They are so colourful and would look lovely as little decorations or used to store some of their bits and bobs.

The Mini Birdhouse Gift Box Decorations are little pop out houses which can be decorated and glued together easily to make small hanging decorations. Filled with sweets they make a lovely gift box, or you could string a whole line of them together to make some really sweet bunting or garlands. I think they'd also make good Christmas decorations! We found it easier to decorate the houses before they were popped out, and because they are so small they aren't too daunting for little ones to think about decorating. The children used felt pens and a few small stickers. We filled them with sweets, then I stuck them together with glue stick as they were a bit fiddly. They are so pretty!

The Arrow Wooden Plaques are lovely sturdy hanging arrows which could be decorated for all sorts of purposes. We used ours to make some signs to give the Easter Bunny a helping hand. I began by giving all the arrows a coat of white emulsion so that the children had a plain background to work on, then they decorated them using felt pens.

Finally we used these Tissue Paper Flower Kits to make some tissue paper flowers to brighten up the windowsill in my office. The tissue paper is pre-cut and folded, so you just need to wrap it around with a pipe cleaner and then fluff out the petals. They were a little fiddly at first, but we soon got the hang of them, and we made them a little shorter than suggested so that they fit nicely inside one of my mugs.

I received a box of crafting supplies from Baker Ross as part of their Bloggers Network.

Review - Crafting with the Epson EcoTank ET-2500 printer

As a parent to young children and as a keen crafter, we get a lot of use out of our family printer. But we speed through printer cartridges so quickly that it does limit me, especially if I want to print in colour. I seem to be constantly printing out colouring sheets for Mia, and I must admit that I'm often put off printing things which would otherwise be fun, because I'm worried about using up all our ink.

I was recently given the opportunity to try out the Epson EcoTank ET-2500 printer. Instead of printer cartridges, this printer has refillable ink tanks. Although the cost of the printer, with an RRP of £229.99, is slightly higher than other printers on the market, this printer, which includes your first set of ink bottles, will print up to 4000 pages in black or 6,500 pages in colour. When you do need to replace the ink bottles, which for an average user is two years away, they are very reasonably priced with an RRP of £7.99 for each of the four bottles needed. 

I was a little nervous initially about filling the ink tanks, as I've heard that it can be a messy process. But it was easy. It's very obvious where each colour needs to go, so you just need to remove the lids to the tanks (there's a handy holder to keep them out the way), open the bottles, and pour the ink in.

There is a clear window on the side of the ink tank so you can easily see how much is left. When you have filled up the ink bottles you need to let the printer charge which takes about twenty minutes.

You can print wirelessly to the printer which is very handy for us as we have two desktop PCs in different rooms of the house, and there is also an app you can download for your smartphone meaning that you can print remotely even when you're not at home.

Having not really had a decent colour printer at home before, I was keen to see how well the printer would cope with some colour printables. I turned to my favourite resource for such things - Twinkl - and looked for a few simple papercrafting downloads to print out.

I was really impressed with the quality of the print, it's certainly better than colour printers that we've had in the past. The colours are clear and vibrant and it picks up all the details. I can see us doing a lot more paper crafting in future now I'm not constantly worrying about using up the colour cartridge! These nodding Easter bunnies are a fab Easter decoration and now I feel happy to print out and build an entire warren of them.

I have also discovered the world of free scrapbooking paper, which is available to print out for use in your own crafts. I printed out a sheet of free yellow gingham paper which I found here - Vintage Check Papers. Then I just wrapped it around an empty cardboard tube, secured in place with double sided tape, and added a band of pretty washi tape around the bottom. It's perfect for displaying my tissue paper flowers on my windowsill and brighten up a grey day!

On the same site I found some free Easter printable scrapbook papers. I printed them out and used them to make a simple Easter basket with a handle which can be filled with sweets. The egg decoration comes from the free printable Easter memory game.

We are really pleased with the Epson EcoTank ET-2500 printer, and I'd definitely recommend it. I love knowing that we are a long way from running out of ink and it gives me the confidence to print what I want to when I want to without worrying.

I received the printer in exchange for this review.

Some organising and decluttering books that I've enjoyed lately

Since the New Year I've been on a bit of a decluttering mission. I always find Christmas a bit overwhelming. Ram and I don't get much but the children always end up with a lot, and it's great and they are very lucky but it does take a little while to find new homes for everything.

It also takes a while to get going in January, because there is Harry's birthday too which brings another pile of things, and because we are often away for a few days we miss a couple of bin collections so it's not as easy to throw things away when they aren't actually going anywhere.

So for me this January was about spending free Kindle credit that I accumulated while doing the Christmas shopping (by choosing no rush delivery on Amazon and building up enough credit to buy books for the entire year which are digital so not sitting around cluttering up the place), reading about the joys of minimalist living, and making plans.

So I thought I'd share some of my favourite decluttering and organising books that have really struck a chord and inspired me.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo

I wrote about this book last year - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo - and it is probably the current classic when it comes to decluttering and keeping it that way. I think it inspired me so much because it shifts the focus away from what to get rid of to what to keep. Although I do enjoy taking part in declutter challenges like the #minsgame I find it a lot easier to choose what to keep rather than what to let go.

I also like her way of thinking when it comes to sentimental objects. Sometimes something has entered our life for a purpose and when that purpose has been served it's time to move on. So you might have a beautiful dress in the wardrobe that you bought but have never worn, but you keep it because it was so expensive. You can thank the dress for the pleasure that it brought you when you purchased it, as that was the purpose that it served.

Aly at Bug, Bird & Bee recently wrote a great blog post about how reading the book this year and following her progress across social media has inspired me to pick it up again.

Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify by Francine Jay (Kindle only)

This book is a collection of articles on the theme of minimalism, which I think are collected and/or adapted from her blog Miss Minimalist. So you can find a lot of the content over there for free, but it's nice to have them all collected together, and it wasn't very expensive. It was a quick read, but easy to pick up and put down when I only had a couple of minutes to read during the day. The articles are very varied and cover all areas of the home and types of possessions.

The Joy of Less - How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay

This is Francine Jay's longer book which covers many of the themes from her blog in a lot more depth, and it's more of a how-to guide when it comes to looking at your own home and possessions. I've just noticed from the blog that there is a new edition of the book which will be published in April 2016 so it might be worth hanging on for that, especially as this updated version of the book will have a new chapter on how to live clutter free as a family, something missing from her earlier work.

The book goes through all the main areas of your home in turn and talks about what we use these spaces for, what belongs there and what doesn't, and what to do with the things that you want to get rid of. Admittedly I did find that it could get a little repetitive, but then sometimes in order to hear a message you need to hear it repeated several times for it to sink in, and there is lots of inspirational chat to keep you motivated. In particular it has really motivated me to keep my surfaces clear and really think about what belongs in a space, as leaving one thing out just leads to more and more things being added and before you know it you have a house filled with cluttered surfaces.

Clutterfree with Kids by Joshua Becker

Joshua Becker also writes a popular minimalist blog - Becoming Minimalist - where you can find lots of inspirational reading. The book is a great read if you are dealing with family clutter, with an emphasis on removing the clutter to improve family life, for example having extra time to spend with the children instead of constant tidying and cleaning.

I enjoyed reading about his own journey to minimalism as it made it seem more achievable, and although there perhaps wasn't anything ground breaking in his approach, reading through definitely helped to reinforce the message.

Stuffocation by James Wallman

This one isn't such light reading as the others and it goes into more detail about the problems caused by consumerism, particularly in the US but worldwide too, and the modern problem of Stuffocation where people end up with so much more than they really need and what the reasons for this might be.

He also discusses the trend towards minimalism, and choosing experiences over possessions which was very interesting. It's not so much a practical guide to decluttering like the above books, but it's certainly worth a read.

Blogs

There are also a couple of blogs that I enjoy reading with similar themes that I'd definitely recommend if this is a topic that interests you.

The very popular Zen Habits has plenty of articles on simplifying life by reducing not just possessions but also commitments, helping to reduce stress and live more mindfully.

Unclutterer contains lots of tips and advice along with news and productivity tips. There is also the fab Unitasker Wednesday slot full of funny products that have no place whatsoever in a minimalist household!

These are books and website that I've particularly enjoyed reading but I know that there are loads more out there, I'd love to hear your recommendations!

Amazon links are affiliate.

Crafting is my Therapy March 2016

Welcome to the second month of our new crafty linky, Crafting is my Therapy, hosted by myself and Me, You and Magoo!

This month we were away for a week at Center Parcs, and I made the decision to leave my crochet at home, knowing that it wouldn't take me too long to catch up when I got back. I really missed it while I was away though, and I did start to regret having left it! So instead of crafting I used my spare time during the week to write in my Travel Listography book, making lists about places that I've visited and places that I'd love to go to. It's filling up nicely now, and it was fun to spend some time reminiscing about the fun that we've had travelling in the past.

I caught up with my Sky Blanket the day that we got home, and it's looking good now. I've been a little bolder and included some slightly different stitches to represent wind and snow, and continued adding a few extra bits of ribbon and button to portray things that I've seen in the sky.

It's also starting to look a little more like a blanket now that we've reached the end of February. It's not very wide, but I can see that it's going to be nice and long when it's finished!

I'm also getting on extremely well with my other crochet blanket project - my granny square blanket. These last steps have been a bit of a slog. My decision to make a wider border seemed like a good idea at the time, but each round took ages, and I also had problems with the border curling up so I tried various different ways to stop it, decreasing stitches at various points and turning the work back on itself.

I'm very excited to have finally started work on the last row! I'm attempting a scalloped edge which I think is working out really well and will finish the blanket off nicely. There will definitely be a ta-da blog post when it's finished!

Then I have another crochet project to work on - a pink crochet bunting pack designed by Attic24. I'm looking forward to having a go with the kit and hope that I can work it out, and I'm hoping that Mia will want the bunting for her bedroom when it's finished.

Amazon link is affiliate.

Crafting for Easter with Springboard Supplies

Springboard Supplies specialise in the supply of creative, educational resources to schools and groups. and this month they have sent me a selection of their Easter themed crafts to try out. The full kits come in packs of 30, are bright and colourful, and contain everything that you need to complete them, ideal for groups of children. We had a lot of fun crafting together!

We started with the Tactile Rabbits which were very popular. You are provided with a cut out rabbit shape which has holes in his tummy and a selection of strips of fabric. The children decorated their rabbit faces, and then threaded the fabric through the holes, knotting it to make it fluff out.

Even Mia managed this easily with very little help, and they loved the selection of different fabrics that they could use. The finished bunny is big and sturdy and they loved playing with them.

Next we made some Triple Egg Decorations. The children chose the coloured shapes that they wanted to use for their eggs, then I tied them together with some curling ribbon to make hanging decorations. They decorated their eggs with felt pens and some collage materials to make bright, cheerful Easter egg decorations which I'm going to hang up in the window.

Then Mia and I made some Easter Chick Boxes. The boxes come flat and are really easy to fold up and stick together, I used double sided tape so that we didn't have to wait for them to dry. We decorated them using felt pens and feathers to give them wings. They will make great gift boxes for Easter treats.

Mia then had fun decorating some Easter Banner Cards. They are brightly coloured strips of cardboard cut out to spell Easter and can be folded up to make cards. We've left ours unfolded for now as I think I'm going to use them as decorations instead of cards.

Finally, Mia made herself an Easter bonnet using one of the blank Easter Crown Hats, another craft which she was able to manage pretty much by herself. She's so proud of her hat! The kit includes a basic crown which you can cut to size, and a nice selection of Easter themed cutouts in different colours that you can glue around the edges.

We had a great time making all these crafts! Harry has also written about some of the crafts that he made on his own new blog, and you can find his post here - Easter Crafts with Springboard Supplies.

I was sent a selection of craft kits in exchange for this review. You can find all these products at Springboard Supplies.

The Craft Shed jigsaw from Ravensburger - great for Mother's Day

With Mother's Day approaching, I have been sent another gorgeous jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger to review that would make a lovely gift for any puzzle loving Mum or Grandma. The Craft Shed from the My Haven series is a lovely 1000 piece puzzle that depicts a little craft room of the type that I would love to retreat to, with a crafting project in progress and plenty of other bits and pieces around for inspiration.

I really enjoyed putting this puzzle together. The image really appeals to me, I'd love to have a little shed in the garden where I could spread out all my crafty things and have the space to get on with projects and not be disturbed. I particularly enjoyed putting together the areas where all the craft supplies are neatly organised, like the jars of buttons and the rack of ribbons.

Once I had the pieces sorted out with a bit of help from my Mum it didn't take too long to put the jigsaw together. Like all the Ravensburger large puzzles that I've reviewed the jigsaw comes with a separate copy of the cover image, which is really handy as it's easier to refer to than the cover of the box and means that you can use both halves of the box for sorting pieces.

Another lovely puzzle from Ravensburger!

I received this jigsaw puzzle in exchange for a review.

Our second holiday at Center Parcs, Erperheide in Belgium

Update - we loved our holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide so much that we have returned twice more! You can read my more recent posts about that trip here:

A second holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide
VIP Accommodation at Center Parcs, Erperheide
Our third holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide

Over February half-term we spent another fantastic week at Center Parcs in Erperheide, Belgium. You can read about our first trip last year here - Center Parcs, Erperheide - and we were very happy to be back.

We spent the week for the second time in cottage 514, a VIP cottage which is very centrally located. You can read more here in my more detailed blog post - VIP Accommodation at Center Parcs, Erperheide. link. It's a two bedroom cottage with a fully equipped kitchen and is perfect for us.

One of the things that we love about Erperheide is that there is so much to do that is included in the cost of the holiday. The swimming pool area is large with lots of different slides and chutes, and some really lovely lagoon pools which are slightly warmer that you can just float around in. Mia enjoyed going down the slides with Ram (and even braved the outdoor rapids once although she wouldn't do it again!). Harry was just happy to swim about, or sit in the hot bubbly pool with me and talk about Minecraft.

Then every day we also spent a couple of hours in Baluba - a huge indoor soft play area. The children  ran around, climbing up and going down the slides. There is also a foam ball area where you can fire the balls about, trampolines, a bouncy castle, a huge area for building with big Lego bricks, a mini race track with cars to drive around for a small extra cost, and another smaller soft play area over the other side.

There are lots of activities organised for children, with something on nearly every day, and usually for free although the costs of the extra activities, like the crafts and so on, are very reasonable. There are a group of characters that run the children's activities that the children loved. Twice a week you can watch the Orry and Friends Kids Show, a sweet little show with singing and dancing. It was performed in a mixture of Dutch and German so I was able to translate it pretty well, but to be honest the children would still have been able to work out what was going on even if they didn't understand the words.

Then twice a week in the evening you can watch the family show Straordinario. We watched the first half on our last visit but the children fell asleep as it starts quite late, so this time I kept Harry going long enough to watch the whole thing. It's a fun show, very well put together with dancing and singing of popular songs, and suitable for young children (although I must admit that we did find it a little strange and random in places. Harry was a little freaked out by the four legged lady, and the long-armed lady that came up to me and tried to make me pull on her hands!) There was also a kids disco one night with all the mini disco favourites. Almost every evening there seemed to be something going on in the Market Dome, whether it was a musician, bingo or disco night, and there was always a great, friendly atmosphere.

We didn't pay for any extra activities, but as part of the booking we received four Toppings vouchers which you can use towards them. We used one to secure our villa number, then we used two for a game of family bowling and the last voucher was valid for two pony rides. They really loved their pony ride, although Ram and I were a little terrified that we had to lead the horses around ourselves!

There is a lovely little farm on site where children can visit and touch the animals. On our last visit it was fenced off as it was full of baby animals, but this year they could wander about and stroke the sheep and goats. Harry wasn't sure at first, but he soon got used to them!

There are some donkeys in an enclosure with a nice little story outside about how the donkey is a magic donkey, and you can write him a letter to leave in the little post box outside. Harry was enchanted with this idea and came straight back to draw a picture for the donkey which we posted the next day, he was so proud of it!

We had a lot of fun feeding the ducks, there was always a bit of bread leftover from our daily fresh roll delivery. In the background you can see one of the large outdoor playgrounds.

We also explored the forest, building dams and collecting sticks and pinecones. There are lots of other play areas scattered throughout the village and a variety of different cycles and children transport options that you can hire, I especially liked the look of the wagon things that you can pull children and swimming gear about in!

We ate in most nights, bringing some of the food with us and stopping briefly at the nearby Lidl on our way in to buy the rest. There is a large shop on site which seemed reasonably priced, to so we also bought a few bits here, including fresh milk which Lidl didn't sell! But two nights we ate out at the cafe in the Market Dome. There is also a buffet restaurant here where I think you can eat breakfast and dinner, but it seemed quite expensive to us, especially as our children aren't big eaters, so we stuck with pizza in the cafe which was very tasty.

We had another brilliant holiday here, and I really hope that we'll be able to return another time, whether it's back to Erperheide or perhaps to one of the other parks on the continent, we have a couple in mind!

If you are interested in a holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide, you may like to read my other posts:

First holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide
Our second holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide
Our third holiday to Center Parcs, Erperheide
VIP Accommodation at Center Parcs, Erperheide

Another Center Parcs in Belgium which we have visited is Center Parcs, De Vossemeren:

Our holiday to Center Parcs De Vossemeren
VIP Accommodation at Center Parcs, De Vossemeren

If you are looking for things to do in the area you might enjoy:

Plopsa Indoor, Hasselt
The Duinengordel dune belt

And finally I've also written a blog post with lots of tips and advice for visitors from the UK that are interested in staying at a Center Parcs in Belgium. 

We visited Center Parcs, Erperheide for the second time over February half-term 2016. We paid around £500 for our VIP cottage for the week, plus about £100 for the Eurotunnel crossing. The park is about a three hour drive from Calais. If you have any questions I'd love to help, just leave me a comment!