competitions, travel

WIN tickets to The Good Life Experience

Who would like to win two tickets to The Good Life Experience festival? Read on!

It’s Tuesday and we are back on track post-half-term-break so let’s launch this week’s #sgiew challenge! {@sogoodineveryway hosted by @incredibusy and @redtedart} I would have posted sooner but just spent a good hour looking at our wedding photos!!!! This week the theme is #sgiew_goodlife so let’s see your photos; tag us on your festival pics; school fête photos; tea in the garden; bunting on your tents; and how about we throw in a PRIZE TOO?
We have two #GoodLifeExperience adult tickets with camping from this week’s judge @goodlifeexperience worth £198 up for grabs – get tagging!

The Good Life Experience – A festival of Music, Culture, Food & The Great Outdoors. Curated by Cerys Matthews & others.16-18 September 2016.

Use hashtags #sgiew_goodlife to join in #sgiew

And to read more about the hashtag #sgiew click here:

Ts and Cs:

The prize is two adult tickets with camping, to The Good Life Experience 16-18 September 2016.
Use hashtags #sgiew_goodlife to join in #sgiew
One winner will be selected by @goodlifexperience
No purchase is necessary to enter the competition.
The competition is not open to employees (or members of their immediate families) of The Good Life Experience or any other participating company.
The closing date for the competition is Sunday 12 June 2016 at midnight. The winner will be chosen at random from all the entrants who have used the hashtag #sgiew_goodlife
We will notify the winner by DM on instagram. If we do not get a response to the note within two days, the prize will be offered to a runner-up. You can find out who has won a particular competition by contacting Ali at @incredibusy. The Good Life Experience’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

crafts, FREE printables, kids

FREE downloadable Butterfly Mandala colouring sheet

The mini beast invasion is here! And you’ll love this wonderful FREE downloadable Butterfly Mandala colouring sheet – CLICK HERE to download!

If you like coloring, have a go at downloading this fun template – a colouring sheet with a fabulous repeat pattern of a butterfly, logo courtesy of ethical shoe brand Po-Zu.com

And perfect for a our instagram photo challenge theme this week – #bugsandbutterflies #kidscrafts101 theme with @buggyandbuddy ! Check out co hosts @babbledabbledo @redtedart and @incredibusy for more ideas too!
🐛🐝🕷🐞🐜🐝🐛🐌🐞🐜🕷🐝🐛🐞🐌
Find out more about the conservation of butterflies, moths and our environment over on the Butterfly Conservation website – formed by a small group of dedicated naturalists in 1968 following the alarming decline of many beautiful butterflies.

Most British butterflies remain a cause for concern, with three quarters of our native species in decline. Four butterflies and over 60 moths became extinct last century. We aim to halt and reverse these declines. Our vision is of a world rich in butterflies for future generations to enjoy. Butterflies are beautiful and intrinsically valuable. Together with moths, their sensitivity to environmental change makes them valuable indicators of the health of the countryside.

Falling numbers are an early warning to all wildlife that cannot be ignored. We have more than 25,000 members in the UK and 32 volunteer Branches throughout the British Isles. We employ over 50 people including many highly qualified scientists, making us the world’s largest research institute for butterflies and moths.

Reference:

Po-Zu.com

butterfly-conservation.org

theatre reviews

A warrior’s tail – kids film

We recently watched a family film with the boys – the tale (or should I say ‘tail’) of young boy’s heart-warming bravery and imagination in the animated adventure A WARRIOR’S TAIL, (in cinemas from April 1st 2016 and out on DVD April 11th 2016, courtesy of Signature Entertainment)

Milla Jovovich (the Resident Evil series, The Fifth Element) leads an all-star cast of voice talent that also features the legendary Joe Pesci (Home Alone, The Good Shepherd) and Sharon Stone (Alpha Dog, Casino) in a truly epic adventure guaranteed to pique the interest of families everywhere this Spring. The fabulous Whoopi Goldberg (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Toy Story 3) also stars – as seen in this clip…

Nine-year old Savva (Jovovich) lives with his mother in a small village in a forest once protected by a pack of white wolves. When the wolves leave under mysterious circumstances the village is left at constant risk of attack from ruthless curiously colourful hyenas and only a powerful magician can help. Escaping the hyenas in search of the magician, Savva finds himself in a magical world he had only heard stories of, meeting a host of new friends who are also seeking the magician, including the white wolf Angee, the curious pink monkey character Puffy (Stone) and a very odd mosquito (Pesci); all of whom must evade a treacherous simian army led by the evil three headed monkey mama JoZee (Goldberg) on their path overcoming the forces of evil (the favourite characters for our two were the rather menacing baddies – the Rikis…) and reclaiming Savva’s village.

From Gregory Poirier, the writer of The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, A Warrior’s Tail is as heart-warming, thrilling and imaginative as they come and is a family adventure for all ages.

IN CINEMAS FROM APRIL 1st 2016

ON DVD FROM APRIL 11TH APRIL 2016

Uncategorized

3D science pop-up book

Chaos writes:

So who knew, pop-up books have lasting appeal! We received a couple of lovely things through the post this week, one of which was the THE SUPER SCIENCE BOOK by Kate Petty and Jennie Maizels.

Well, 10yo couldn’t put it down, initially he rushed to look through it, turning each page with a smile, and a twist of this, a turn of that, as each spread revealed with pop-up wizardry and fabulous illustrations, the principles of Physical Science.

An hour later, he was back, pouring over each little illustration and

Molecules, atoms, elements and compounds have never been so much fun. This is a fantastic book, whether your child wants to be a scientist or not – he or she will love it!

Uncategorized

Button styles through the ages

According to one historian, the first recorded use of buttons was for ornamental purposes, rather than practical, similar to some upholstery buttons we see today.

Buttons date back to prehistoric times, and were originally fashioned from materials such as shell, ivory, bronze, gold argent and even bone. As far back as 1600 BC, buttons were found to be a luxury garment decoration which adorned kings of Mediterranean civilisations such as the Greeks.

Look at this prehistoric stone button with its hole pierced for suspension purposes. It is thought to date back to 5000 BC, and was discovered in the Syrian, Anatolian region of the Middle East.

The Middle Ages saw the introduction of a flatter design, often decorated with stones. By the time of the Crusades (1200 AD), it had become common to wear clothes closer to the body, meaning the practical use of buttons came to the fore. Some medieval buttons were made from cloth, and others from metal. Usually this was determined by the status of the wearer.

These viking buttons are demonstrative of the geometric style of patterns that were common at that time.

Fast forward to the 1500s, and there is evidence to suggest that covering buttons with fabric became a popular practice. During the Renaissance, buttons, often decorated with jewels, commonly adorned hats, sleeves and shirts of the wealthy, while the lower classes were more likely to wear buttons manufactured from wood, copper or leather. Whatever the material, it is clear buttons were very much the thing to wear during this period!

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, button styles changed with the introduction of machinery capable of mass producing products. This is widely acknowledged to have led to a decrease in quality in button manufacturing, but someone who wasn’t short of quality buttons was Queen Victoria herself. The buttons she wore in mourning after Prince Albert’s death in 1861 were seen as being held in such high regard that they were widely copied for years afterwards, usually using black glass instead of jewellery. The style is still copied today, as shown by this collection sold by a US retailer.

Moving into the modern era, the style of buttons becomes more complicated. With so many waves in retro fashion, the button has retained the decorative use of old, but there is no predominant style. Buttons are also still essential practical items which are very much here to stay.

For more on buttons, click here

crafts, kids, life

Jennie Maizels Sketchbook Club

Anyone who knows me, knows what a massive fan I am of Jennie Maizels…

I became aware of Jennie’s iron-on patches when I was working with Green Baby – so quite a while ago now!

So when I found a love for instagram, I was delighted to catch up with Jennie again and to tell EVERYONE I knew to take a look at her fabulous visual sketchbook holiday diaries.

Recently I have started a weekly instagram photo challenge #sgiew (more on that here) and asked Jennie if she would be a guest judge – we were delighted when she agreed, and I asked her to tell us a bit more about herself and her new #sketchbookclub:

We asked Jennie what had influenced her early days as an artist:

Jennie: I grew up just outside London, my parents are both Artists too, so it was a very creative childhood (we didn’t even have a TV!). Growing up with two artists could not help but inspire me. My parents run the Outsider Art Magazine, Raw Vision

My father is also an art collector, so our house was crammed with sculptures, paintings,
murals and mobiles. I cannot think of a more creative environment. My parents receive
coach loads of visitors who wish to see my father’s amazing Outsider Art collection, so I
feel very privileged to have grown up surrounded by such inspiration!

I am very lucky, I live in heart of the beautiful Hampshire countryside in a village called
“Braishfield’ with thatched cottages and a village pond. It is classically English and we love
it! I have a studio on a remote farm, it’s incredibly peaceful but very hard to find, we have
to string up balloons and signs every time we have a visitor so they can find us.
Primarily I am an illustrator but I also hold online courses and run my small business where we supply my Pop-Up Books, Stationery and Iron/Stick-on Patches to the world…

My studio is crammed full of sketchbooks, paint and of course pencils. I have always had a real love affair with coloured pencils and keep them in colour coordinated tins, I use a
brand called Prismacolor that I have shipped from the States, so I have a vast collection!
Sketchbook Club started as a result of my complete obsession with Sketchbooks.
I keep prolific holiday journals, I find them so absorbing, relaxing and fulfilling, I now can’t
go on holiday without completing one.

I am a complete Instagram addict, I love how it connects people, an instant snapshot of
what people are up to, both creatively and domestically, I find it fascinating. (it also appeals to my nosiness!). Illustration can be quite an isolating profession, so being able to show the world your work in progress is incredibly positive and a great way to gauge future reactions to your published work.

It was through Instagram that Sketchbook began. I was posting images of my holiday
journals and also of the work I was teaching in my Sketchbook Club here in my studio and
was overwhelmed by peoples responses. This lead to an huge demand to hold an online
version, so the Online Sketchbook Club was born.

It’s been absolutely amazing, so fabulous to see the community growing. Each module has a hashtag so people can show/comment/advise etc. on pieces of work. Have a look at the first model #SketchbookclubHouses and you’ll see what I mean.

I actually get quite emotional when I scroll through the feeds, I can’t believe so may people
are taking part!
Sketchbook Club Course two is launching in a few weeks and I can’t wait to see what
people create from it.
I truly believe that given the right tools and guidance, anyone can draw.

It is all about having the fear of the blank page taken away, I never start to illustrate without knowing what I am about to draw, you wouldn’t bake a cake without a recipe, or play the piano without music, so I don’t see the difference. I am just giving people the ‘recipe’ to create something they will be enjoy creating and be hugely proud of.

I have kept sketchbooks since I was a little girl and encouraged my children to do the
same. there is something a little bit magic about them. No pressure (just turn the page and
start over if you are not happy), portable (I never leave home without one) and completely
addictive.
People who have literally never drawn before, have got involved with my Sketchbook Club
and are now drawing as their main crafting hobby. It fills me with indescribable pride and
makes me happier than I have ever felt before in my career.

Check out Jennie’s website here:
and don’t forget to follow her on instagram here @jenniemaizels, and me too!>> @incredibusy and fellow #sgiew host @redtedart

baking, key stage 2, kids

Oxygen FreeJumping birthday bouncing

September means birthday cakes in our house, and every year the boys put in their requests for party fun and cake style and flavour… from a Star Wars themed Yoda, to a Dragon (same food colouring, so that was OK!) through to your standard Lemon Drizzle Cake… This year however, the party request was for trampolining, ‘free jumping’ and his OWN chocolate cake recipe! So 10yo-soon-to-be-11yo spent the evening before his birthday MAKING and BAKING his own cake, and a quick dash for some Maltesers in the morning, decorated it himself before we bundled five of his friends off to Acton for some bouncing action over at Oxygen FreeJumping.
Well, we couldn’t be more impressed – all of us (five boys, and two mums) LOVED it – we started off with a game of dodge-ball – this was a great introduction, as we weren’t quite sure where to try first – the Oxygen FreeJumping staff were lovely and organised a game, explaining the rules, so we got stuck straight in! And guess what? I won!The design of the venue is stunning, the bold bright blues and yellows are really striking – loved the strong graphics – this place really IS jumping.

The boys’ absolute favourite activity was the Gladiator style jousting area over a large pool of blue foam… they spent AGES battling and giggling, and tumbling into a pit of spongy foam blocks.

I personally loved bouncing on the trampolines around the basketball hoops, probably because a simple bounce helped you score with EVERY throw!

Every participant wears a pair of ‘jumping socks’ which caused some amusement, and then delight that they got to keep them – and it was great to see the kids having such a brilliant time on the expanse of trampolines – we so want to go again!

A big thank you to the team at Oxygen FreeJumping, for their fabulous facilities, great family fun, and to the cafe staff who also made us so welcome with great coffee too.

Find out more here:
www.oxygenfreejumping.co.uk

Ali also blogs over on aGreenerLifeforus.com and FunCraftsKids.com and is a lover of Instagram too… pop over and say hello!

cooking with kids, key stage 2, life

How to cope with a growing family

With two boys, who seem to be growing bigger every week, we are doing that thing of contemplating extending the back of the house. When they were small, pre-school, it didn’t seem so crucial to have separate living and playing areas – Although, as they got to school age, establishing the sitting room as the ‘grown-up room’ gave back some tranquility and escape from the lego.

And now they are nearly as tall as me, we’ve had to buy bigger beds, with built in desk and wardrobe space, and had to rethink the downstairs living area…

As you know, we love ‘family cooking time’ where we bake and cook together as a family, yet these boys take up a LOT of room in our galley kitchen these days.

The kitchen is one area that we have not changed since moving in, and I LOVE our old Edwardian kitchen floor though, ridiculous as that sounds, these tiles make is so hard! It’s something I have been struggling to come to terms with inevitably having to say goodbye to these beautiful old tiles – unless we can find a way to incorporate them into a new layout!

Glass box kitchen extension, Richmond : Modern kitchen by Holland and Green

So we’ve been looking at LOADS of different kitchen layout designs, to find a way to do this, perhaps with a glass box extension, to let in more light, without taking too much of our small mid terrace garden?

Or shall I just bite the bullet and go for something completely different and accept that change is as good as a rest as they say? There’s always the option of finding some new rather lovely tiles to play with! – watch this space!

baking, cooking with kids, food, gardening

Summer colour

It’s been a lovely colourful summer, people have been grumbling about the on-off weather, rainy, then sunny, then rainy again, but it’s meant we have a lot of green in the fields (and our back garden), picnics in the park (sometimes under umbrellas!) and the multi-coloured fruit in the hedgerows have been in abundance!

The joy of finding all of this free fruit has been a delight, it’s brought smiles to our faces and with the winter months approaching, and summer picnics a distant memory, we’re so glad our Ocean Spray cranberry cartons do much the same, adding colour through the refreshing taste and by delighting us throughout the year (the boys just love them in their school packed lunches now the Autumn term has started).
Meanwhile, we’ve really enjoyed foraging for the fresh (FREE) fruit and made copious crumbles, and cakes and we’ve frozen blackberries for morning smoothies in the winter (TOP TIPs: freeze loose on trays so that you can bag them as single loose frozen fruits, rather than a big frozen clump! We also add dried fruit to our smoothies, and have a jar FULL of Ocean Spray’s dried cranberries, they add a real tangy zing)

We’ve spent a lovely staycation weekend down in Devon too – we seem to have given up camping this year (although the tent WAS out earlier in the summer for a night under canvas with 10yo) As a family, we tried out a bit of glamping, and are totally converted – it’s the way forward, the kids loved picking the red apples in their orchard, chasing after the free range chickens, and feeding the black and white Friesian calves, and we loved waking up to such a fabulous view of the green fields, and the wispy white clouds and blue skies…aaahhhh.

So as we head towards the end of the summer holidays, we are still going for our evening stroll around our own neighbourhood and continue to be overwhelmed by the natural colours which will forevever amaze us – Planet Earth at her best….(can’t beat a good British Sunset can you?!)

I’m working with BritMums and Ocean Spray highlighting the everyday moments of colour that give each of us a little lift, just like Ocean Spray adds colour to our day and delights us all year round. I have been compensated for my time. All editorial and opinions are my own.