5 Easter Crafts Using Posca Pens

We’ve tried 5 Easter crafts using Posca pens over the last few days. Posca pens are paint pens designed to be used on many different surfaces. They are perfect for so many crafts! We received 2 packs of Posca Pens to help with our Easter crafts. We received an 8 pack of standard and an 8 pack of sparkling Posca Pens. Posca Pens are a Uniball product with a large range of colours & tip sizes for different projects. Posca Pens are water-based and non-toxic, unlike alcohol-based pens the colour doesn’t bleed through paper/card/fabrics.

5 Easter Crafts Using Posca Pens

 

5 Easter Crafts

Decorating Plastic Eggs

Decorating Plastic Eggs With Posca Pens

Our first Easter craft was decorating hanging egg decorations using Posca pens. Eva is a big fan of Posca pens having discovered them at a MetalArts event and loved them. She quickly pretended she couldn’t paint properly with paint and a brush after spotting new Posca pens. She decorated an egg using some of the new standard colours and a few left over from my last pack and came up with this design.

Using the pack of standard colour Posca pens to decorate an egg myself, I was impressed with how well they covered the plastic. As you can see both eggs turned out really colourful and the Posca pens work brilliantly on these plastic decorations.

Easter Crafts With Posca Pens

Colourful Egg Cups

 

Next, we decorated egg cups using the standard Posca pens. Cheating slightly as the flowers were part of the egg cup design, we got to work. We started off colouring those & adding more details & colours as we went.Decorating Egg Cups With Posca Pens

We then added some colourful Easter eggs all the way around the bottom. I was impressed with how easy it was to use the Posca pens to decorate the egg cup. Posca pens are fantastic for such a range of surfaces!

Deocrated Easter Egg in Easter Egg Cup Using Posca Pens

Easter Cards

Mrs Mactivity Easter Card Printable & Posca Pens

Of course, it wouldn’t be easter without a lovely card so we visited Mrs Mactivity’s site, we love her printable resources designed by Polly Love. We found this lovely Silhouette Easter card which the girls think is really cute! We printed the card out on to pink card and used the Sparkling Posca pens to brighten it up. I also used the white Posca pen from the standard pack for the bunnies fluffy ears & chest.

Happ Easter Silhouette Card From Mrs Mactivity Coloured With Posca Pens

Numbering Bunny Footprints

Posca Pens are great, even for simple things like numbering bunny footprints for an Easter egg hunt! They are so bright & vibrant, you can’t miss them!

Numbering Bunny Footprints with Posca Pens

Easter Masks

Posca Pens & Face Mask

Masks are something the girls really enjoy decorating for all kinds of occasions. These had a felt texture on the top & the Posca pens worked really well. I had expected the colour to seep across a little but we didn’t have this issue which was a relief! Eva decided to make her’s a rainbow & bunny mask. Face Mask Decorated with Posca Pens

Admittedly that bunny does remind of the Hell Bunny Logo haha! Eva is really happy with her mask and loves being able to use all the colours without them running into each other. You kind of expect paint pens to leak and run everywhere but Posca pens are amazing & once you get the flow going, so easy to use. They are so brighht & vibrant and we are totally in love with the Sparkling Posca Pens, you will no doubt see them featured on the blog again soon!

Have you used Posca Pens for Easter crafts before?

 

 

Personalised Woven Labels From Easy2name – Review & Giveaway

Gorgeous Personalised Woven Labels from Easy2name arrived in the post last week with ‘Handmade by RelentlesslyPurple.com’ on them! I had been looking at labels for my crochet projects, hoping one day I’ll be good enough to give something away on the blog. For now, you can enter below for a chance to win your own personalised woven labels, read on to find out more!

Personalised Woven Labels - Review & Giveaway

 

How To Order

The ordering process with Easy2name is so quick and simple with a wide range of options and label types. Once you have selected the type and quantity you would like to order you can then personalise your label.

 

Personalised Woven Labels

I chose the 23mm woven labels over the 12mm as they will mostly be stitched onto my crocheted items which tend to be quite big/chunky. I decided to go with a flower motif and chose my text ‘Handmade By RelentlesslyPurple.com’ across 3 lines. Then I selected font 4 as it is quite similar to the font on my blog header.

Easy2name have a wide selection of colours available for letting and labels. I decided to have my woven labels in purple with cream lettering. The labels arrived really quickly and look so lovely, I can’t wait to finish my huge granny square blanket and add one to it! These will definitely come in handy, especially when I make items for the girls.

Personalised Woven Labels

Last year a girl convinced Eva the scarf I made wasn’t hers and it was never returned even though it was completely different to anyone else’s scarf. If it had one of these on there would have been no dispute and Eva would still have her scarf. They will definitely be used to avoid situations like that again.

Easy2name make it so easy to name and personalise a range of items, I recommend taking a look at their website to see what else is available. If you don’t win the giveaway below but would like to order some personalised woven labels yourself, then see below for the price list.

Prices

23mm Wide Personalised Woven Labels:

20 Labels – £18

40 Labels – £21

60 Labels – £26

12mm Wide Personalised Woven Labels:

36 Labels – £18

72 Labels  £21

144 Labels – £25

Giveaway

Fancy winning a set of Personalised Woven Labels for yourself? Enter below for a chance, good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tammymum

Crochet Project Ideas 2018

I’m pinning crochet project ideas constantly lately! With some lovely new yarns the Mr has found I’ve been on the hunt for crochet projects. Crochet and blogging have been helping me stay sane lately and I am busying myself with them. So much has been going on lately that it’s been great to have projects to busy myself with.

Crochet project ideas

I feel quite cut off lately with no phone, I can’t chat online as much. Thankfully my surface does follow me around the flat but it’s really not the same. My brother pops in once a fortnight but otherwise, I barely see anyone so keeping busy is good. The best part is there are no deadlines, I just do as much as I feel I can when I can.

End Of A Project

Crochet Project Ideas

I am almost finished with my huge granny square blanket and know I will need something lined up to make next. Excuse the mess in this photo, it’s hard to get a picture as it is so large! Plus, I have kids… no further explanation necessary! I’ve somehow managed to crochet 150cm/180cm squared, hopefully, it won’t take too much longer! I really enjoy having a simple project to do even though it is huge and taken quite a while! I fear I will miss this project though so lining up a few more projects!

Crochet Project Ideas

I have been looking and pinning so many crochet project ideas that half the time I genuinely have no clue what to start next! I started hunting for some ideas ready for when the blanket is finally finished and found a few I’m tempted to try.

Crochet Socks

Crochet Project Ideas

I have this gorgeous yarn cake in blue that I think will make up some lovely socks. I’ve never attempted crocheting socks before so I am a bit nervous. It could solve my cold feed issues though and Heather has pointed me in the direction of some great tutorials. Knowing I have the #HGDCMakersMoment chat on a Wednesday also gives me a boost to find projects. Chatting to other makers motivates me to finish and find new projects.

Cocoon Cardigan

Aran Yarn

With the Burgandy Aran yarn, I am hoping to start a granny square cocoon cardigan. There are some lovely patterns out there but this one from Spoons & Hooks looks fab. She recommends using 1000-1250 yards of yarn for this granny square cocoon cardigan. I currently have 850 yards of Burgandy Aran Yarn. I figured since I need a size 6-8 I will give it a go and see if I have enough yarn.  At worst I can make it for Eva instead although I may keep an eye out for Aldi too just to make sure though!

 

Mother’s Day Crafts For Toddlers – Card And Flowers

We’ve been making Mother’s Day Crafts that are easy enough for toddlers to do with a little bit of help. A card and flowers tend to be traditional Mother’s Day gifts, so why not let your toddler make them! Older children may enjoy these simple crafts too.

Mother's Day Crafts For Toddlers

 

Flower Colouring Craft

Mother's Day Flower Colouring Craft Printable

Mrs Mactivity has some fab Mother’s Day crafts such as this gorgeous Mother’s day flowering colouring craft. These printable flowers are hand drawn ready for you to simply colour, cut and give to mum this Mother’s Day! With 3 different designs and two different sizes, small & large, this fab colouring craft is quick and simple enough for toddlers to make.

 

Colouring Flower Craft

Older children will enjoy taking care colouring the individual flowers or the large flower colouring craft. I trimmed ours a little bit more at the end so the flowers stood out a little more too. If you liked this you may like the pots of flowers Izzy made last year for Easter too!

Mother's Day Flower Colouring Craft

 

Mother’s Day Card

Mother’s Day Cards are always fun to make with so many fab ideas out there. Raiding our craft box, we decided to make a lovely flower card to go with the paper flowers. Flowers are definitely the theme here this Mother’s Day! All of these items can be bought at any craft store or pound shops.

You Will Need:

 

To make our card we took a sheet of card, a foam flower, smiley sticker (to brighten up the flower) and a green lollypop stick for the flower’s stem.We simply took our sheet of card and folded it in half, then we glued the lolly stick down first in the centre of the page lining it up with the bottom of the card.

Step 1

The girls thought the darker green lollypop stick would look better than the light green. Next, we added the foam flower, making sure to overlap the lolly pop stick ‘stem’. We used a large foam flower but you could use smaller ones and add several to your card.

Step 2

To finish our flower we added our smiley face sticker to the centre of the flower to look like happy pollen. You could use anything though, a heart centre would look lovely too!

Step 3

 

Finally, we wrote ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ written at the top in a gold sharpie. This craft only took a few minutes, making it one of the quicker mother’s day crafts for toddlers. Along with the gorgeous flower colouring craft from Mrs Mactivity, your toddler is all set for Mother’s Day this year!

Mother's Day Crafts For Toddlers

What do you think of our Mother’s Day crafts for toddlers?

DIY Daddy

Crochet Wishlist On Amazon 2018

My Crochet wishlist on Amazon* is growing for 2018 even though I managed to grab a few goodies already this year! I managed to tick off a few tools like stitch markers, a range of hooks and stitch counters. My wool/yarn collection is growing even more too after the Mr bought me some Aran yarn & a yarn cake.

Crochet Wishlist On Amazon 2018

I mentioned last year in My Ever-Growing Yarn Wishlist several Carron Cakes I had my eye on and I have been keeping an eye out for sales with no luck. The Mr found a So Crafty Yarn cake in Aldi this week though and grabbed the last one knowing I love the different yarn cakes available.

As you can see the Mr also got me a few other goodies, helping me create an even more comfortable, calming, crochet corner!

Crochet Wishlist

This little haul made me really smile and now I look forward to resting when I need to instead of feeling guilty. Of course, this has also spurred me on to hunt for even more gorgeous crochet goodies to busy myself with when I need to rest. From crochet tools, yarns and more my wishlist right now is quite extensive!

Crochet Tools

Any crocheter will need a lovely pair of scissors to snip yarn at times, why not a lovely vintage pair?

Yarn/Wool

Yes, I know, I haven’t even bought the ones on my last wish list… yet! But here are a few more I am currently in love with anyway including this huge yarn cake that would be perfect for using on a project for Eva.

I also really love this yarn, it would be great for a scarf tying in my favourite colours.

 

This stunning collection has some fab shades including purple haze which is stunning, as is ocean but this one, in particular, keeps catching my eye. It would make a lovely cardigan!

This gorgeous sock yarn is also on my crochet wish list this year as I am determined to crochet a pair of socks!

Mugs & Coasters

Every crocheter needs a mug & coaster, even with my obsessive purple mug collecting I have yet to buy a related mug or coaster! Shocking! Amazon has some quite amusing mugs like this one below. It made me giggle as last year crocheting helped me travel without feeling overly anxious.

This mug is so true, crocheting helps me unwind and really is my happy place! Of course, if you get the mug you have too, especially being purple

That also makes this next mug on my crochet wishlist pretty true too. I have to admit it has helped me keep calm in situations where I normally struggle haha!

Clothing

Anyone that follows me on tweeter will regularly see me complain I am cold so of course a jumper or hoody had to be included. I am lacking after a clear out after all…


I love both of these hoodies, I just wish they came in purple!

Stationary

As someone with a slight stationary obsession, of course, I had to find a notebook to note down any stitches or perhaps if I ever learn to write a pattern. I love this one and is top of my stationary crochet wishlist.

 

Burnished Chaos

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Chinese New Year Resources From Mrs Mactivity

Looking for fun Chinese New Year Resources to keep the kids busy? We love finding sites for new resources to us at home, especially during half term to stop the boredom.

Mrs Mactivity

Mrs Mactivity is a freshly launched resource site for parents and teachers in its early stages. Having left teaching due to the high workload and stresses and strains Mrs Mactivity decided to devote her time and energy helping teachers who are in the same position she was as a teacher. Knowing parents can find it difficult to know how to help their children at home too Mrs Mactivity was created. Free membership is available with limited access to resources, as you can see below there is also a Trial package or a 12-month package. At just £9.97 for a full year of access, this is an affordable site for resources to use.

Mrs Mactivity Pricing

Chinese New Year Resources

With the Chinese New Year approaching I looked through the categories to see what was currently available on Mrs Mactivity’s site for something to do. This Chinese New Year is the Year of the Dog. Each year it changes, I was born in the year of the horse! 

 

Mindfulness Colouring

We came across these fantastic Year of the Dog Mindfulness colouring pages which both girls wanted to colour first. Children love colouring in and it is such a calming activity to do. We quickly got a few sheets printed off to colour in.

Chinese New Year Colouring & Word Trace

Next, we printed out Chinese New Year animals with traceable names finished with Happy New Year in Chinese. Izzy loved these as we have been practising writing for a while now, she can do most of the alphabet with a little reminder and these sheets are fab. She kept quiet colouring and writing for almost an hour!

Chinese New Year Resources From Mrs Mactivity

 

 

Dot to Dot Activities

Eva loves dot to dot activities so we ask Mrs Mactivity if she could create some for the Chinese New Year. As you can see these turned out great and kept Eva happily busy this morning. Being KS2 Eva found the sheets Izzy loved a little too ‘babyish’ but these dot to dot activities were right up her street. She was over the moon her suggestion had been taken on board and a brand new Chinese New Year resource was created.

STEM Activities

There’s a fab page full of STEM Chinese New Year Resources which the girls loved! All the activities are simple to make without instructions. Most involve Lego which the girls really enjoy including the Great Wall of China & Pagodas. We love the idea of the egg box Chinese dragon, we will be giving that a go over the weekend when we finish out Mount Merapi make!

Do you love these Chinese New Year Resources as much as we do? Make sure to check out Mrs Mactivity as it grows to find new and fun resources for children.

DIY Daddy

Rustic By Marney – How creativity helps me manage my anxiety and depression

Rustic By Marney was set up by Melissa Marney who crafts the most beautiful pens! Like many of us Melissa suffers anxiety and depression but found crafting and letting her creativity flow very therapeutic. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and images of a gorgeous purple flower pen she made for me, on the blog tomorrow! Keep an eye out! Until then here is Melissa’s story in her own words.

Rustic By Marney – How creativity helps me manage my anxiety and depression

Looking back on my childhood I now realise that I’ve always suffered with anxiety and depression. At the time I didn’t know anything about mental health issues, and I just thought it was normal behaviour and everyone felt the same way, but I just struggled more with my emotions. I covered my emotions and symptoms well, and looking back had a number of coping strategies, which I wasn’t aware were helping me, to cope at the time.

Hobbies

My favourite hobby when I was younger was ballet. I used to attend two classes a week and looking back now it was a way to shut my mind off, detach myself from uncomfortable feelings and emotions and silence those scary, intrusive thoughts.

As the years went on and I grew older I stopped dancing and didn’t replace this with another hobby. Having nothing to focus my energy on, my negative thoughts became louder and more uncomfortable and my symptoms worsened. Dealing with day to day life – working, paying the bills, maintaining relationships etc. It all became so consuming, and I knew something wasn’t right at the time but tried my best to conceal it (and I did a fantastic job at it!). I didn’t want anyone to know how I was truly feeling or that I was struggling to cope. There were times where I just wanted to scream out for help, but always remained silent and carried on with life.

Shutting Down

It wasn’t until a year ago, Steve and I got married in Cyprus, (which was the best day of our lives, very cliché, I know!) things changed. I pretty much arranged the whole wedding myself and in the lead up to it was unaware of how much stress I was putting myself under. Having perfectionist tendencies I wanted everything to go well, and was deeply involved with the all or nothing thinking. I also wanted to ensure everyone was happy and was having a good time.

While I was busy thinking about everyone else and my ‘perfect’ day I neglected my own needs my health was suffering as a consequence. When Steve and I returned from our wedding I didn’t feel myself at all. I put it all down to the ‘come down’ from the high I had been on the past few weeks. Nevertheless, I powered on and tried to get back into the real world. Unfortunately my mind and body had other plans. Two weeks later I had a breakdown, I completely shut down physically and mentally, I became an empty shell, I was just existing and not living. I knew things weren’t right and something had to change.

Recovery

It took me a while to accept what was happening. It took approximately six months to dig myself out of that ‘hole’ and get myself back on the right track. I’m still in recovery now, but having the right support, and a change in my thinking and attitude has helped me to accept it’s now just a part of me, and adjust to living with anxiety and depression.

During my recovery I found a new love in crafting. Throughout the years I’ve always told myself I’m rubbish at arts and crafts, I can’t do it and I believed it! It wasn’t until I started crafting my own place cards, guest book pens and jars for my own wedding where I realised this was all total rubbish! Silencing that negative voice in my head was a great victory.

Crafting To Cope

I’ve always been ambitious and dreamt of owning my own little business, and finding a purpose in life. During my breakdown Steve had mentioned to me about crafting again, however at the time I didn’t have the energy. As I slowly started getting better I took his advice and I started making my flower pens again. Slowly in time my passion and creativity started coming back, I was starting to feel my bubbly, confident self again. Crafting has been my biggest inspiration and I truly believe it has helped me cope over the past few months. Crafting has refocused my attention and reignited my passion.

Now whenever I feel anxious or have a bad day, however hard it is I grab all my crafting gear, sit down and get stuck in. I’ve found crafting extremely therapeutic and a way to ‘shut off’ from the stressors in the world. Turning my hobby into a business has given me great comfort as I now believe in myself. Having a passion in crafting and weddings, and combining the two is the perfect combination and therapy for me! There’s also that extra bonus of helping other brides have the best day of their lives. When they do then my mission is accomplished!

I recently saw the quote below which sums up my whole experience and filled me with comfort:

 Rustic By Marney - How Creativity Helps Me Manage Anxiety & Depression

Rustic by Marney can be found over on Facebook & Twitter. Whilst she does focus on weddings her gorgeous pens will brighten up any desk. You can find out more about Rustic by Marney and see the gorgeous pen she sent me too!

Do you find crafting therapeutic too?

Burnished Chaos

New Crochet Bag & My Current WIP

I’m showing off my new crochet bag from Bonfire Cherry and my current WIP since it has been a little while. I started on a rather large granny square blanket in sparkly purple, blue and silver. The blanket will end up big enough to cover our super king size bed which will also cover all of our corner sofa for film days too!

Purple Granny Square Blanket

My Current WIP

I’ve only managed to squeeze in a row here and there over the last few months alongside a small toy hammock. (I need to make another 3 of those too!) I am pleased with my slow progress and love how warm it is whilst I work on it.

As always I have had a few incidents where the girls knock my WIP all over the floor which annoys me greatly! I finally decided it had been far too long since I spotted the Wool print bags from Bonfire Cherry and asked him about them. Unfortunately he stopped selling these but luckily for me he had one spare so I finally got my hands on a new crochet bag!

New Crochet Bag

New Crochet Bag – Wool Print Design

My new crochet bag arrived beautifully wrapped and fits my current WIP with plenty of growing room. Keeping my WIP & hook together in one place at all times is so much easier. I am relieved and in love with the gorgeous Wool Print design from Bonfire Cherry.

I have been joining in with the #HGDCMakersMoment the last 2 weeks, reminding me how much I enjoy crochet. Connecting with other crocheters and crafters is always so inspiring. Of course last week I joined in showing off my gorgeous new crochet bag which everyone loved. It made me smile even if I was dealing with a projectile vomiter repeatedly appearing in the hallway. I managed to join in the conversation a little at least.

After I finish my blanket and 3 more toy hammocks, I am determined to make myself a cardigan! Heather who runs #HGDCMakersMoment found me some gorgeous designs so I just need to find the perfect wool. My crochet confidence has definitely gone up over the last year. Now I can’t wait to learn more tips and tricks. I would love to make us all cosy socks and jumpers for cold winters!

What’s on your hook at the moment?

Upcycling Projects – Zacsmart Honey Pine Collection

I have 2 upcycling projects from Zacsmart that I am absolutely in love with! Their Honey Pine finished products are designed so they can be left as they are or upcycled. These make perfect gifts for crafters or perfect for crafters wanting to upcycle and personalise their gifts.

upcycling projects

Honey Pine Gifts

I received a fantastic Honey Pine Wooden Cantilever Sewing Box/Storage Box and a small Trinket Box which are gorgeous. The Cantilever sewing/storage box (£24.75) is ideal for storing bits and pieces like needles, thimbles & threads.

It is portable with a nice chunky carrying handle and 5 storage compartments. The sliding lids have been designed to act as a handy shelf to put things on too.

The Cantilever sewing box is great with all its compartments. I quite like how the Honey Pine Cantilever sewing box looks already so I think I will leave it as it is until I can think of a better plan!

 

Upcycling Projects

The small trinket box is £6.30 and the size is (approx.): 5.5cmH x 13cmD x 18cmW. This little trinket box is perfect for storing all sorts of little bits and pieces. Receiving it reminded me the girls have an overflow of jewellery at the moment. This instantly gave me an idea to make the small trinket box one of my first upcycling projects.
Small Trinket Box in Honey Pine Finish

First I decided to paint the trinket box using a pink satin finish spray paint we had previously bought to match the pink in the girls bedroom. The paint dried really well and looked lovely with a satin finish. The Mr had helped me tape off the catch and hinges to minimise clean up at the end.

Upcycling Projects

Using pink and purple fuzzy letters I added ‘Princess’ to the top along with a crown, key and some jewels. I think it turned out quite nice and will look lovely in the girls bedroom.

Do you love upcycling projects? Can you think of someone who you could upcycle one of these products for as a gift?

 

Printable Activities – Fun For Kids

Printable activities are great fun for kids, we’ve been printing lots for the girls since our new printer arrived this week. It can be a struggle to keep kids busy indoors without screens as the weather turns miserable. I’ve been looking at printable activities we can do to keep them amused. There is so many printable activities out there for children of all ages.

Printable Activities – Masks

Our favourite finds this week are Izzy’s Skye (Paw Patrol) Mask we printed out. We found this fantastic Skye mask on the Nickelodeon site. We printed the mask & stuck it on card before we cut it out, stuck the pieces together and added string. It literally took 5 minutes so it was lovely and quick to make and Izzy was over the moon!

Nickelodeon Skye Mask - Paw Patrol

Izzy couldn’t wait to wear her mask and wondered around the flat wearing it for the rest of the day. She was excited to show Eva our make when she came home from school too!

Printable activities for kids - Sky Mask

 

We also came across lots of fantastic free printable activities from the ichild site. They have a fantastic Holly Mask Izzy has been colouring, we still need to cut it out but Izzy refused to cut it until she was completely finished.

Holly Mask - iChild printables

Handwriting Sheets

We’ve used the ichild site quite a few times this week looking for different printable activities. Handwriting sheets are another activity we have been printing. Izzy has been practising letters at home for the last few months and she loves a handwriting sheet so she can show off her pencil control. We love the pirate one’s!

ichild Pirate handwriting sheets

Colouring Sheets

ichild also has some fantastic colouring sheets. Keeping with our pirate theme this week we found this fantastic Skull Flag to printout & colour.

ichild skull pirate flag printout

Printable activities have kept the girls busy this week, especially Izzy and we’ve had lots of fun. We love these great printouts and will be hunting for more!

What site do you use for printable activities?