A mini heart cushion for Valentine's Day

This month I have partnered with Brother Sewing to create a Valentine's Day themed sewing craft. I decided that I would use some of the pieces of pink patterned fabric in my stash to make a mini patchwork cushion with a heart theme.

You need:

* Pieces of fabric in a variety of complementary colours and patterns. Each square on my cushion measures 10cm x 10cm and you will need a larger piece in one fabric 30cm x 30cm to make the back of the cushion (or you may choose to make the back of the cushion as a patchwork piece too). I used a selection of pieces of patterned fabric from my stash.

* Heart themed embellishments - I used two heart shaped buttons and scraps of felt, you could also use ribbon, lace or beads

* Stuffing for the cushion

Instructions:

First prepare all your pieces of fabric. For one side of the cushion you will need nine squares of fabric, each measuring 10cm x 10cm. Cut the patchwork pieces to size and then experiment with different arrangements until you find one that you are happy with.

It's a good idea to take a photograph or do a rough sketch so that you don't forget your layout!

Begin the patchwork side by sewing the squares together in three strips of three. Take two squares that will be next to each other, place them so that the right sides are facing inwards, and sew down one side.

Then turn right side up and press flat. Repeat with the third square in the strip. Make sure to follow your pattern closely so that you keep the arrangement correct, it requires a bit of concentration to make sure that you get all the pieces in the correct place!

When you have made three strips you can sew the three strips together. Again, place the two right sides facing inwards and sew along the side. Take care to align the seams as closely as you can so that the squares will line up.

Press flat when finished. My finished piece of patchwork measured about 27cm x 27cm square.

Next think about which embellishments you'd like to use on your cushion. I decided to use a large felt heart and some heart shaped buttons, both of which were stitched on by hand. When planning the position of embellishments, make sure that you don't place them too close to the edges as you need to allow room for the outer seam. Then cut the piece of fabric that you are going to use for your backing to the correct size.

Place the patchwork piece and the backing piece together with the right sides facing inwards. Sew around the outer edge, leaving a gap of around 6cm at the bottom for turning and for stuffing the cushion.

Turn the cushion the right way out, using a knitting needle or similar to push into the corners to make sure that they are square. Press flat, being careful to avoid the embellishments.

Stuff the cushion firmly, making sure that the stuffing is distributed evenly throughout the cover.

Finally, sew up the remaining gap by hand, and your cushion is finished!

This mini cushion makes a lovely gift for Valentine's Day, or a pretty seasonal decoration for your sofa or bed.

This post was written in collaboration with Brother Sewing.

Crafty ways to remember your travel and holidays

We love to travel as a family and we make some fantastic memories while we are away. I'm someone that loves to keep a record of what we've been up to, so I thought that I'd share some crafts that you can do either by yourself or as a family to preserve those holiday memories.

Preparing children for travel

If you are planning to travel with your children, making a Me on the Map Book is a great way to introduce them to geography and their place in the world. The book is made up of a series of circles, starting with a small one to represent your child's house, then gradually increasing with street, town, county, country and so on. You can use photographs, drawings or maps to decorate each page.

I've also shared lots of ideas for introducing maps to young children, to help them prepare for a trip away.

Crafts to directly remember a holiday

Last summer we created a laminated holiday scrapbook chronicling our summer adventures. The book was a mixture of maps and leaflets, collage pages made by the children, diary entries and other mementoes like ticket stubs. We all worked really hard on it and it has become a lovely keepsake.

In previous years I've also encouraged the children to make a holiday scrapbook and I've written a few tips here - making a holiday scrapbook with young children. It's a lovely record for them to have to look back on, and perhaps take into school to share with their teacher and friends.

Mum in the Madhouse has made Memory Stones - a collection of stones which have been decorated with pictures and notes to represent each memory and can be kept on display in a glass jar.

Image source Mum in the Madhouse

Growing Family collected memories of a country walk on a Journey Stick which features items that were gathered on a nature walk.

Image source Growing Family

I've been making my own holiday scrapbooks for years, although this blog has taken over that now! I do stick things into my smash book, which is another very simple yet effective way of keeping and displaying the little mementos that you collect on holiday.

If you have a particularly special souvenir like a postcard or a photograph you can easily make a simple frame so that you can keep it on display. The children made these postcard frames to showcase postcards that they had bought while we were away.

Finally, a fun way to remember a beach holiday is to make a Seaside in a Jar like this one from Me and My Shadow - a lovely way to display treasures collected on the beach.

Image source Me and My Shadow

Crafts for the things that you bring back

My favourite thing to bring back from holiday is shells. I love how different beaches have different types of shells on them. The shells on our local beach aren't very interesting (although perhaps they are to a tourist!) but I've collected some lovely ones from our various holidays.

Red Ted Art has some lovely ideas for crafts using shells. For example this Shell Windchime which makes a lovely decoration for the garden.

Image source Red Ted Art

If you have some larger shells, Zing Zing Tree has shared how you can turn them into Glitter Seashell Candles, which can hold enough wax to burn for several hours.

Image source Zing Zing Tree

Another way to display your shells is to make some Clay Beach Ornaments like Monkey and Mouse, a lovely craft which you can also do while you are still at the beach.

Image source Monkey and Mouse

Finally, decorating shells that you have collected is a lot of fun, like these Painted Shells from Chocolate and Wine and I'll be Fine.

Image source Chocolate and Wine and I'll be Fine 

I also love hunting for sea glass, although that's a lot more difficult to find. My sea glass hotspot so far has been Barcelona beach where I gathered a lovely haul!

I love this Sea Glass Suncatcher Ornament from The Gingerbread House, perfect for showing off all the different colours of glass that you can find.

Image source The Gingerbread House

I hope that you found some inspiration here for remembering and sharing those special times!

Blog post ideas for Travel Bloggers

I'm always brainstorming ideas for blog posts when I plan my editorial calendar, and after sharing some of my ideas for crafty blog posts I thought I'd write a similar post with some blog post ideas for travel bloggers. Many are also suitable for, or can be adapted for, blogs in other niches, so I hope that you find this post helpful! If you aren't a blogger, they are also great prompts for a journal or diary.

1 - Share your travel wishlist, but not just a general list, be specific. For example, a list of places to visit at certain times of the year, like my Winter Travel Wishlist. Perhaps places that you would like to visit for just a few days, or for much longer. City breaks, beach holidays, adventurous destinations, historic sites, natural wonders or technological marvels.

2 - Travel dreams - if you had unlimited funds, where is the one place that you would love to visit?

3 - How do you remember all your travels? Do you take photos, keep a written diary or blog, buy souvenirs or collect mementoes?

4 - What memories of your travels do you have around the home? Photos on the walls, souvenirs that you've brought back?

5 - What gives you inspiration for your travels? Books, films, family and friends? Has anything in particular ever inspired you so much that you booked a holiday immediately?

6 - Do you like to try out new places or do you return to the tried and tested favourites?

7 - Holiday planning - do you like to plan holidays well in advance in great detail or are you more spontaneous?

8 - Choosing a holiday - where do you look for reviews when booking a holiday? Do you leave your own reviews?

9 - Budget tips - what are your tips for saving money when booking a holiday?

10 - What sort of traveller are you and do you have any tips that would help others in the same situation? For example, travelling with a young baby, travelling as a large family, travelling with special needs, travelling on a very strict budget.

11 - What sort of holidays do you not enjoy at all and why? What are some places that you are really not interested in visiting? Why not?

12 - Crowdsource - if you are planning a trip somewhere ask others for their tips and advice on that destination.

13 - What have been your favourite meals out, along new foods and drinks that you tried. Include a link if possible so that readers can experience themselves. For example, the best food that I've eaten while travelling has to be pizza in Naples from L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele - absolutely worth the wait!

14 - Do you have any recipes to share that are inspired by food you've tried on holiday? Or any particular shops to recommend where you can buy ingredients to make these dishes?

15 - Packing tips - do you travel light or do you like to be prepared for every eventuality? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?

16 - What is your packing checklist? What do you always take with you, and what have you found you can leave behind? Do you have different packing lists depending on the type of holiday?

17 - Have you ever taken a long trip with just hand luggage? What are your tips for reducing what you take away with you?

18 - How do you keep organised on holiday? Do you have any products which make your life easier, for example a wallet to keep documentation safe or a particular brand of packing cubes?

19 - Out of your comfort zone - What have you done on your travels that has surprised you?

20 - What is your road trip playlist?

21 - How do you keep yourself entertained on a long haul flight, and what do you pack to make it more comfortable? If you have small children, do you have any tips for keeping them occupied and happy?

22 - Holiday problems - write about something that went wrong while you were away, and how you dealt with it. What could you do to avoid it happening again, and do you have any advice to share?

23 - Holiday traditions - what do you always do on holiday? Always try a new food? Do something that is out of your comfort zone? Buy a particular souvenir?

24 - Share holiday memories - places where something significant happened or that have a special meaning to you. Did you get married or engaged somewhere special or have any unusual experiences?

25 - Childhood holidays - which were your favourites and particularly stick in the memory?

26 - Holiday disappointments - has anywhere that you've visited disappointed you, or it wasn't what you were expecting?

27 - What do you do when you are on holiday that you don't do at home? You can read my list here - Things I do on holiday that I don't do at home.

28 - Do you send postcards when you go away? Or do you have a collection to share of ones that you've received?

29 - What is the most unusual way that you have travelled?

30 - Who do you travel with? Who have been your favourite travel companions? Or do you prefer to travel alone?

31 - What have you learned from travelling?

32 - A round up post - collect together some of your previous blog posts by theme.

33 - Reviews - of a place that you have visited, an attraction that you've enjoyed, an airline or train company, or any kit that you use, for example suitcases, clothing, gadgets.

34 - Social media - round up links to your social media profiles so that people can follow you on your travels before you have chance to write it all up in detail.

35 - Blog local. You don't need to be constantly travelling away to come up with content for a travel blog. Write about your own local area. What are good places to visit, do you have any local tips to share? Perhaps you know about days when you can visit a local museum for free, or the best place to find free parking for an attraction. Where have you visited in your local area? Perhaps you could put together a round up of the best places to visit with young children, with older children, for free, with a dog and so on.

If you've enjoyed this post, you may like some of my other lists of blog post ideas:

Blog post ideas for craft bloggers
Blog post ideas for Spring
Blog post ideas for Summer
Blog post ideas for Autumn
Blog post ideas for Winter
Blog post ideas for Christmas

Finally, I've gathered many of these ideas together to form an entire year of blog post inspiration!

If you use any of these ideas in a blog post I would love to see it, please feel free to leave a link in the comments!

Blog post image uses a photo by Ruthie via Unsplash.

Aiming for 10,000 steps per day

For my birthday late last year I asked for and received a Fitbit Charge 2 (affiliate link). I previously had a Garmin activity tracker, but although I liked how it looked on my arm it wasn't very reliable (I had two and each one developed a fault) and as I knew so many people with Fitbits I decided it was a good choice.

My original purpose for having a fitness tracker wristband was to receive notifications from my phone. I often carry my phone in my bag and so I don't hear it when it rings or I receive a message, so I thought it would be really useful to have a band that would vibrate with notifications. But I've found that the Fitbit is a really fun way to keep track of my activity, and since the beginning of January I've been challenging myself to do my 10,000 steps a day.

Last year I was able to walk the children to school a lot, and I easily reached the 10,000 steps. But since they moved to a school in a different town they need to be driven there, and my lifestyle has become much more sedentary. On a typical day when I spend most of my time sitting at the computer, even with a short walk from the car to the school I would often only count up 5-6000 steps during the day.

I've found that in order to achieve 10,000 I have to make a conscious effort to include some extra exercise in my day, and I'm really pleased that I'm managing it. I've found several different ways to add in the steps. The most obvious one is to go for a run, and I do enjoy running both outside and on the treadmill at the gym. I have found though that the steps rack up much more quickly on the treadmill for some reason, possibly because I run faster, which is very motivating.

Another way is to fit in a long walk. We have two supermarkets within reasonable walking distance which I'm always at for top ups anyway, and it's great if I just need a few bits that I can easily carry home. I've also been trying to walk if I'm meeting a friend for coffee, and sometimes I walk the long way around from the car to the school to squeeze in a few extra steps.

I've also been parking up on the way to school and going for a long walk after lunch. I'm lucky that the school run involves a drive along the coast, so I can easily park up and go for a walk by the sea. It's a bit cold and windy at this time of year, but at least there aren't too many people about!

I find the Fitbit itself really motivating, with the little badges and medals that you can earn. So far I've only managed 20,000 steps in a day but I really want to push myself to get to 25,000 or even 30,000 steps one day - even if I have to spend all morning running on the treadmill to get there! I'm also in competition with other Fitbit owning family members (even if they don't actually know) and I'm trying to remain at the top of the leaderboard, healthy competition is always good!

Do you have a fitness tracker? I'd love to know what your daily step goal is, should I be thinking about increasing mine?

Free Valentine's Day printables from Twinkl Resources

With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought that I'd share some fab printables and activities from Twinkl. Twink have a huge range of Valentine's Day resources, and for a small subscription fee you can have access to many many more across a wide range of subjects. But today I'm featuring my favourite free Valentine's Day resources from Twinkl.

The Valentine's Day Word Mat (free download) is a great way to help children with tricky words when they are doing creative writing. I love printing out the Twinkl word mats on all sorts of subjects, especially the seasonal ones, and sticking them up around the house for the children to glance at as they are passing, a great way for them to pick up some new vocabulary.

I love these Patterned Hearts Colouring Sheets (free download), which are great for using in Valentine's Day crafting. I printed out one set at full size and one set at 50% to make the smaller hearts, then Mia coloured them in and we used them to make a colourful hanging heart decoration for the window.

Mia also used one of the large hearts to colour and use as the front on a Valentine's Day card for her friend, decorated with plenty of glitter.

These Valentine's Day Colouring Pages (free download) are also great to print out and use in your crafting, again you could print them out in different sizes and use them to stick on to Valentine's Day cards, onto cardboard triangles to make bunting, or to make posters.

Another printable that can be used as a craft for a loved one is these Valentine's Day Card Colouring Templates (free download) which can be coloured in and decorated to make some lovely cards. These would be fantastic to keep a group of children busy and to make some lovely keepsakes.

Finally, these Heart Full Page Borders (free download) are great to encourage children to use as borders for their drawings, or to do some creative writing about the people and things that they love.

You can find lots more resources over on the Twinkl website!

I'm a Twinkl blogger and have been given a Platinum Plus subscription in exchange for sharing their resources across my social media.

Valentine's Day keepsake bookmarks

These pretty Valentine's Day bookmarks can be given as a gift or kept as a keepsake.

To make these bookmarks you need:

Thick paper or thin cardboard
Patterned and plain paper in a selection of pinks and reds
A heart punch or template
Ribbon
Heart stickers
Bostik White Glu
A laminator, or clear stick backed plastic to cover
Coloured pens and pencils

Instructions:

Cut out your bookmark shape from some thin cardboard, then gather together the materials that you will need. Use a heart punch to make heart shapes from the patterned paper.

Use a thin layer of Bostik White Glu to glue the heart punches into place. It doesn't matter if the hearts overlap the edge of the bookmark as you will be trimming that off later.

You can either cover the bookmark randomly or place the hearts in a pattern. When the glue is completely dry you can neaten up the edges.

Use a coloured pen or pencil to write a message on the back of the bookmark to the recipient.

Then laminate the bookmark to strengthen it. If you don't have a laminator you can also use clear sticky backed plastic to cover it.

Use a hole punch to make a hole in the bottom of the bookmark and choose some pretty ribbon.

Thread the ribbon through the hole and make sure to tie it firmly so that it is held securely.

Then gift your bookmark to someone that you love, so that they have a reminder of you every time they sit down to read!

You can find more Valentine's Day crafts for toddlers here - Valentine's Crafts for toddlers

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.

My YouTube and new video challenges for 2017

Once I set myself a challenge, I'm pretty good about seeing it through. On the 30th November last year I decided that I wanted to take part in Vlogmas 2016, having never heard of it before and not being a particularly frequent YouTuber. I stuck to it and managed to upload a video each day in the weeks leading up to Christmas, which I was really proud about, and it has given me some lovely videos to look back on that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

A second a day video

So when we were away at the end of December I was having a brainstorm for a new yearly challenge, now that the Sky Blanket is almost finished. I wanted something that I could do every day that would produce some sort of reminder of the year. A friend on Facebook posted a video that she had made last year with each day of the year being represented by one second of video and I loved it and was instantly inspired to start one of my own.

So each day I'm taking the time to record a quick second of video that either represents each day. It might be something special, like blowing out candles on a birthday cake, or just a quick everyday moment in time, whether it's the school run, homework or just sitting around playing or reading. I'm editing the clips together in Movie Maker, and at the end of the year I'm looking forward to sharing the video with the family. I've told the children and they are loving watching it build up, but I'm keeping it as a surprise for Ram (don't worry, I'm pretty certain that he won't be reading this!) to play on New Year's Eve.

52 videos in 2017

I'm not sure if I'll take part in Vlogmas again this year as it was quite intense, but I definitely want to create and upload more videos through the year. I really enjoy the editing of the videos, and while I know that I don't have the best set up for filming, if I do really get into it then perhaps I'll have a think about adding to my kit, starting with some decent lighting. So this year I'm intending to upload 52 videos over the year. I don't want to be too rigid about one a week in case we are away or things get busy, but I think that is an achievable amount.

I don't make my videos very long (for me over five minutes is a long video!) as I don't want to bore people. I'm also not very good at talking directly to the camera as I feel that I look really awkward, but I'm hoping that with practice this is something that I can improve.

I've got lots of ideas. I'm aiming for lots of travel videos of places that we visit over the year, like this one from the hotel in Tenerife that we stayed at in January.

I'm also planning to add video tutorials for some of the crafts that I've blogged about, like these mini Hama bead hearts for Valentine's Day.

I'll also be looking out for some linkies that I can take part in for inspiration, like the video that I made sharing my ten favourite colours and my first proper attempt at talking to camera.

If you want to see more of my video content then please take a look at my channel, and if you like what you see I'd love you to subscribe! You can find my channel here - Jennifer Jain's YouTube Channel.