Cbeebies Magazine – Learning & Colouring Fun Together 

Cbeebies magazineIzzy loves Cbeebies and was ecstatic to receive a copy of the magazine for us to take a look at together. We received the big colouring pack edition which was an added bonus for Izzy as she absolutely loves colouring!

She was really excited about having her own special crayons, pens & felt tips and couldn’t wait to get them off and open the magazine. Of course she was more than happy to pose and show off her magazine first.

Izzy concentrating

 

 

Izzy flicked through the pages and was so happy to see almost every page had something to colour in! She went back to the first page to colour Bing a present.

Bing is her FAVOURITE character on Cbeebies and she loves flop too so she tried so hard to stay in the lines.. Not too bad for a 2 year old! We were both really pleased with her efforts and there was plenty of praise for her.

 

 

Concentrating

 

Of course we then had to colour in the big Bing picture too. Izzy decided Mummy had to join in aswell.. Although as always she had to be a little bit awkward so this time she was wayyyy over the lines but we had fun. Check us out concentrating really hard on our colouring!

 

Bing

Gingerbread Man

 

Next we moved on to some of the activities like this Topsy and Tim one. Although she can’t quite write yet Iread Izzy the questions. She was really pleased to get them right and add the relevant stickers too.

The activities throughout the magazine were really fun and even at Izzy’s age the activities are doable with a little extra help. This magazine is brilliant for improving fine motor skills with colouring and sticking amongst other things.

 

There’s a brilliant Peter Rabbit workbook in the middle which Izzy decided to colour in but would have been great for a slightly older child. I do enjoy buying magazines Izzy will actually enjoy with lots of activities too so I’ll definitely buy it in future for her. Izzy absolutely loved The Furchester Hotel activity though. Finding Isabel and decorating the Christmas tree with stickers. It’s always lovely to see a toddler having fun and concentrating at the same time!

The Furchester Hotel

The Cbeebies magazine gave me and Izzy something to sit down and do together during a very hectic month. I have to say it’s been a great distraction for both of us. Magazines are usually a rare treat as generally they don’t have much in them. The girls are usually bored in minutes in all honesty. However Izzy has spent a few days colouring in some more and getting Eva to read the stories to her. I’ll be buying the next issue for to keep us busy on days Eva is at school.

You can buy a Cbeebies Magazine too in your local newsagents & supermarkets.

*I received this item in return for my honest review.

Beer52 Craft Beer Subscription Review & £10 Off!

Beer52 is a Craft Beer subscription which sends out a box of specially selected Craft Beers to try each month. I received a box to review contained 8 Craft Beers, Fermented Magazine and a packet of Chilli bites Munchy Seeds. For a single box of 8 beers it’s only £24 or £14 if you use my £10 odd code – RELENTPURP10

My Mr is EXTREMELY fussy! It’s so hard to find something he actually enjoy and Beer52 have smashed it! I finally have a gift I can order him on special occasions which I know he will truly enjoy after almost giving up on my hunt for a gift for him this year!

The Mr had a look at each of the beers and picked out the3 bottles on the right as he thought he would like them just from the labels.

The 3 he thought he might like were some of his favourites once he had tried them all which he was quite pleased about. He worked in pubs for years so he has tried a lot of beers out there. None of the 8 we were sent he had tried before which really impressed him.

I was really impressed with the Littlebro 360 ring-pull can haha! I love how the can turns into a cup.

How cool is that!? It tasted pretty nice too. I had a little sip of each beer as the Mr drank them and I quite liked most of them even though I’m not keen on beer. The Mr loved all but one which for a fussy sod like him is AMAZING! Beer52 Should seriously be proud of themselves!

Whilst drinking the beers we flicked through the magazine reading about each beer as we went. The Mordue Brewery was the Mr’s absolute favourite although it wasn’t in the book. The Mr said all the description for the beers in the Ferment magazine were spot on.

Both of us are very impressed with the box we received from Beer52. I will definitely be using them again to treat the Mr! I was shocked to see him so happy with something.
Do you love Craft beer? Or do you know a fussy guy who might just find this subscription interesting? Head over to Beer52 and give it a try using my £10 off code – RELENTPURP10 

Ladybird Activity- Kitty In Boots Snow Globe

We’ve made an awesome Kitty in Boots Snow Globe using the Ladybird Activity site!

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We had fun making a Kitty In boots Snow globe It’s quite simple to do and doesn’t take long at all! We made sure we had everything needed on the list to make our snow globe and printed out the activity sheet so we could cut out Kitty in Boots to put inside our snow globe.

Although we didn’t have any jam jars so we cheated and bought these Kilner Jars for £1 each. I bought 2 as Izzy wanted to make a snow globe too (then wandered off halfway through – toddler life). We also bought some water-resistant glue, Glycerine and had plenty of glitter at home.

Eva cut out and stuck Kitty in boots to the card to make Kitty In boots strong enough to stand up in the globe and used book covering to waterproof him as we don’t have a laminator.

We glued him down on the lid and Eva held it down to dry whilst I filled the jar with water & poured in 2 spoons of glycerine and let Eva add the glitter.

Once we had filled up the jar we used plenty of super glue around the edge of the jar and lid. Eva screwed the lid as tight as she could and we left it to dry then tested it out! Eva was so impressed she had made her first snow globe. She started coming up with plenty more idea’s we could try too.

Kitty In Boots Snowglobe
Maybe slightly too much glitter! We can’t wait to make more though

Eva though this activity was really fun especially as it involved glitter! We had to take a selfie with her globe too..

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Have you tried any of the Ladybird Activities yet? Will you try one too? We really enjoyed this activity, it only took around 20 minutes to complete. We will definitely be trying some more out.

* Please note this is a sponsored post. We did really love the activity though!

Spreading The Joy Of Reading This Christmas

I have always loved to read and reading was my favourite thing to do as a child so I love the idea of spreading the joy of reading this Christmas by giving 3 amazing Penguin Random House Children’s Books (teamed up with Britmums) I received to Izzy as Christmas presents.

Izzy is really enjoying reading books with all of us and as we did with Eva, we intend to encourage her love of reading. We sometimes go to baby rhyme time at the local library and always come back with a stack of books which we read over and over at home. The girls have an ever growing book shelf too & these books will make a lovely addition!

Max & Bird

Max & bird looks like quite a funny book about a kitty who wants to be friends with Bird. He also wants to chase and him as a tasty snack . But that’s not what friendship is all about… is it? I can’t wait to read this to Izzy, I know she will love the illustrations as she loves cats!

 

The Little Elephant Who Wants To Fall Asleep

 

The Little Elephant who want to fall asleep is a the latest book from the author of The Rabbit who wants to fall asleep which is a global best seller! It’s aimed at helping children fall asleep.  Following Ellen the elephant on a journey through a magical forest that leads to sleep! This sounds like a brilliant book and I’ll definitely be trying it out on those nights the girls just can’t sleep.

 

The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas

 

I can’t wait to read the dinosaur that pooped Christmas! We’ve read the dinosaur that pooped the world which the girls absolutely loved. This time Danny’s new dinosaur eats Christmas!! I wonder what happens next!?

 

 

They all sound like brilliant books, I can’t wait to read them to Izzy!

I loved books growing up and The Secret Garden was always my favourite as a young child! I have saved a copy for the girls to read. Hopefully one day it becomes a favourite for them, getting lost in the beautiful secret garden and storyline.

What was your favourite book as a child? Do you read it or plan to read it to your child/ren?

Are you giving books as gifts this year? Which ones?

*I’ve been sent these books by Britmums and Penguin Random House as part of their children’s books Christmas present challenge.

Children’s Christmas Gift Guide

Children’s Christmas Gift Guide

I am fussy when it comes to shopping for the girls at Christmas. I like to know what I’m buying is something they will genuinely use or play with. I’ve put together a small gift guide for kids that I think would make great gift ideas.

1. Itty bittys newest craze by Hallmark UK Christmas gift guide - itty bittys

These super cute little soft toys are Hallmarks latest Soft toy series ‘Itty bittys’. The girls love anything small and cute! The Wizard of Oz series make a lovely addition to any little girls soft toy collection. Itty bittys come in a range of characters and are currently available on Amazon. If your little one loves role-playing these are great for acting out scenes from their favourite films. As you can see we made our own yellow brick road out of lollipop sticks!

 

Christmas gift guide - jungle jam2. Jungle Jam Book 

My girls still can’t get enough of Jungle Jam, following Mikey the monkey on his musical adventure. It’s such a lovely & colourful story and a brilliant addition for any bookshelf.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Emoji book & Minecraft booksChristmas gift guide emoji & minecraft books

I recently reviewed these amazing books by P.T Evans. The Emoji & Minecraft book series are great for children aged 6 upwards and are easy to read and follow with your finger. If you are looking for a way to encourage your kid to read, these books would be a brilliant way to get them having fun & enjoying reading about their favourite characters.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Mobicep Parenting Control’s App – Filter and manage the on-line content your children access across all devices they own or will own after Christmas such as Phones, Tablets & Computers.

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5. Santa’s Answers Letter – Order your child a magical reply from Santa, personalised just for your child. With 3 beautiful styles and several packages to choose from they make a lovely gift to get your child into the Christmas spirit!

*This post contains affiliate links

 

Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

 

Mobicip Safeguarding Children Online

Mobicip is an amazing way of safeguarding children on-line and filtering the content they see with parental controls for Phones, Tablets & Computers. Let’s face it most kid’s these days either have access to a Computer/Laptop/Tablet or Smart phone and my girls are no different.

I was offered a chance to try Mobicip premium for a year in exchange for an honest review and so far I absolutely love it! Premium protects 5 devices and so far I’ve used it on two. Eva has had a tablet since she was 3 as a Christmas present and she still has the same one 3 year’s later which Izzy also uses. They fight occasionally so Izzy has asked Santa to bring her a Tablet this year (a white one with a red book (case) if you were wondering!).

Trying it out..

I signed up and downloaded the Mobicip Monitoring App for parents. Then I downloaded the Mobicip Safety Browser on to the girls tablets. The Monitoring app allows you to view the devices and name them to make it easier to see which device is which. Filters can be set as Mature, Moderate, Strict or Monitor. You can monitor which apps are downloaded and the prices & ratings of each app. Without touching the devices you can view the browsing history too. Kids can also request to view certain sites too which you can accept or not.

With both of them having separate tablets it would be difficult to constantly keep an eye on what they are doing. Knowing how safe and age appropriate the content they are accessing is extremely important to me and many other parents. You can’t watch them constantly so Mobicip helps filter what they access. You can edit filters to block specific content too.

Another feature I really quite like is being able to block internet access at certain times. Say Eva is supposed to be getting dressed but tries sneakily watching a youtube video first, I can make sure she can’t! There is the option to white list and blacklist specific sites, block IP addresses and more!

 

You can download Mobicip on:

The App Store

Google Play Store

Chrome Web Store

Microsoft Windows

There’s a basic plan or you can upgrade to premium. You can also change your plan at any time!

Mobicip Is great for families, businesses and schools too. The Enterprise package protects over 20 devices depending on the need!

What do you think? Would you use an app like this to help monitor your children internet access?

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit!

We’ve started getting into the Christmas spirit already which you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram!Christmas spirit

 

We’ve been counting down the days until Christmas and doing lots of planning and making! The girls have made a few Christmas cards & pictures & Eva made an rather long paper chain!

Out and about

 

On Friday we popped into town for the Christmas Light show.The girls got a ride on the little Trains, ate hot doughnuts, made elf badges & collected their hoof bell which was part of ‘Come as yourself leave as an Elf’. It was fairly busy and the girls were quite tired so we didn’t do them all but the girls really enjoyed themselves. 

 

Eva was particularly happy to have Anna & Elsa head straight for her to have a good 5 minute chat! Belle tried to join in too bit seemed a little upset as Eva pretty much ignored her.. Although in all fairness Anna was rather talkative haha!

We didn’t stay to watch the lights being turned on as it was freezing & the girls wanted to go home for dinner. But we did return the next day so the girls could get a picture with the tree!

Every day we have been adding doing something Christmassy (yes that is a word as is Christmassing 😉). The Mr has been repainting the living room for Christmas.. based on an an idea Eva had. He has gone slightly crazy and come up with a brilliant/crazy idea! I can’t wait to share with you all so look out for my next Christmassy post!

The girls bedroom is slowly getting there too with their Christmas tree up, tinsel on their chest of drawers & the ‘Santa please stop here’ sign the girls made!


Are you getting into the Christmas spirit yet? Have you been making or buying anything special?

Magical Letters From Santa’s Answers

 

Magical Letters From – Santa’s Answers

Magical Letters - Santa's Answers
How amazing is this personalised letter?

 I order a letter from Santa for the girls every year but wanted to find them one that really added a touch of Christmas magic. Santa’s Answers have definitely helped add a touch of magic to Christmas for Eva this year!

I order a letter from Santa for Eva every year but this has been my favourite one yet. The letter is beautifully personalized and I absolutely love the design. There are a range of packages available from a personalized Santa’s Answer letter all the way up to the Deluxe Package I received which came with a letter, 4 colouring pages, Christmas stickers, Reindeer food and a signed photo of Santa himself!

Santa Letter

Ordering your letter

You can choose from 3 different letter styles, and add your child’s name and age along with a load of other information when ordering. This helps Santa’s Answers personalise the letter perfectly for each child. The more information you put in such as presents on their wish list, accomplishments, reasons why they are on the good list and a lot more.

The Letter arrives in an envelope addressed to yourself to check the contents before sealing in an envelope with you child’s full name and town on.

 

 

I love the deluxe package, especially the signed photo and reindeer food. The letter was written so well with the information given which makes it much more believable. I chose the Santa’s Stationary letter but there are 2 other beautiful designs to choose from too. The colouring pages and stickers will keep any child happy for 5 minutes too!

Do you order personalised Santa letters too? What do you think of the letter we received?

Relentless Accident & Eva’s New Scarf

I had a Relentless accident last week.

Knocking a full can of relentless all over my wool (new & used) and all over my latest WIP’s.

I felt devastated and angry, upset and annoyed with myself. I had ruined Eva’s scarf and all the wools Izzy had chosen for her blanket..

Some of you may have seen a little bit of my melt down on Twitter. I was having one of those moments when you turn into a child again screaming & crying and blaming myself for being so stupid for having a relentless accident, not only did I lose my WIP’s & wool but an entire can (minus one sip) too!

Luckily the lovely Tracey from Hooks & Dragon kept me chatting, giving me tips when I was thinking about washing and drying it all & helping me calm back down. I went from a screaming crying mess to just a sad one!

Eventually between my meltdowns and stomping around to try and find a way to fix it all the Mr suggested I just replace all the wool instead of trying to clean it. To anyone else they would have just said yes but me? I went off again about how I couldn’t do that because it costs MONEY! You know, the thing I seriously HATE spending. especially if it’s on stuff for me.

Eventually I gave in.. after all it’s technically for the girls not me since I’m making thing’s for them!

 

A few days later I finally managed to get out and buy a few new balls of wool.. I only picked up four colours as I figured I can pick up one or 2 more each week until I build my stash back up again.

A relentless accident means new wool

One of the balls was a replacement for Eva’s scarf. A pastel, mostly pink multicoloured wool from the QD Paintbox range. I love how it works up and can’t wait to get it finished!

Eva's Scarf

What do you think so far? I’m considering adding something on.. Maybe a flower? Any (easy) suggestions?? 

Emoji and Minecraft – Encouraging Kids to Read

Have you seen these awesome new Emoji and Minecraft books available on Amazon yet? They are absolutely brilliant for encouraging kids to read, based on their favourite Minecraft characters & Emojis to tell the story.

I’ve been lucky to review the first in each series written by P.T Evans. I love how well laid out they are. The writing is printed clearly and well spaced which makes it easier for children to follow with their fingers. With familiar Emojis and Minecraft images throughout the books children will love them!

Emoji and Minecraft books

The Minecraft books are aimed at 6 to 10 year old’s and the Emoji books are aimed at 7 to 12 year old’s, however Eva loves both the Emoji & Minecraft books at 6 and wants to get the rest in the series.

 

Children love Emojis, they find them amusing and fun. This series will encourage any reluctant reader. The writing is well spaced and with fun images as well as a fun storyline too, they will be hooked.

 

Minecraft is everywhere now and even Eva keeps begging me to buy her Minecraft stuff after playing it at her friends house and watching youtube videos about it. Even I know Stinky Steve! Children who find Minecraft exciting will love these series and they would make a brilliant gift for any reluctant reader!

With 4 books in each of the series these books would make lovely little gift sets for Christmas and birthday to help encourage any reluctant readers to enjoy reading.

 

To find more books by P.T Evans check out their TwitterYoutubeFacebook and Instagram. You can find the books on Amazon at very reasonable prices.

What do you think? Have your kids read any of the Emoji and Minecraft books yet?