Review: Chloe Tells you How.... To Sew by Chloe Owens

I am so excited to bring you this review.  I only received this book this morning and I am now brimming with inspiration.  Not only is the book jam-packed with awesome projects but I absolutely love the style of the whole book which is based on a 1960's girls annual theme.  You pick up the book and it instantly lets you revert to the warmth and nostalgia of childhood.  


I'm a child of the 1980's but this book reminded me so much of the glorious days of childhood when I could happily spend an afternoon reading my Bunty comics.  There was nothing I liked better than picking up old annuals at the jumble sales as well. My favourite part was the page where you could cut out the paper dolls and dress them with the paper clothes.

If you think of the current popularity of adult colouring books, you go some way in realising how much nostalgic pastimes relax us... Therefore this book with its eclectic blend of projects, comic strips, puzzles and comic characters is a trip right down memory lane and releases lots of happy endorphins.

I'm having a hard time deciding which pages I particularly want to show you, so there are rather a lot of photos in this post for you to appreciate just how wonderful the book is.  

Every single page of the book has been well thought out and from the very first page we are treated to wonderful illustrations. 

The author of the book sounds an amazing person and I would love to chat with her as this book is absolutely brimming with her enthusiasm for crafts.  I immediately was drawn to these bears, so please keep an eye on my blog as once I have gathered the materials I will definitely be making one.

Sometimes craft books can be off-putting with their overuse of technical terms.  It has a very daunting effect; unlike this book where we are treated to instructions in the form of a very cute story; complete with adorable illustrations!

The variation of craft projects in this book means that every reader will find a project to suit them; from an upcycled chair, patchwork quilts, pinafore dresses, felt biscuits, felt ball garlands, cupboard curtains and stuffed toys there is something for everyone.  I would make all 30 of the projects in this book; I love them!

The stories will enchant adults and children alike.

Here's a round-up of my favourite projects:

Jammie Dodger Biscuits

Harvey the Rabbit

Foxy Lady

Patchwork quilt

Fred Bear

The puzzles, games and stories combine to enhance an already fabulous book to a 10/10 rating!

A handy list of stockists are supplied for all the craft products.

Templates are printed full size and can either be traced or scanned.

 All that's left for me to say is that I hope you enjoyed my review, and I know you will find this book as enchanting as I did!

For more info on the book please visit http://www.rylandpeters.com/chloe-tells-you-how-to-sew

Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy but all thoughts are my own.

Review and Giveaway: Bingosaurus by Carlton Books

This is a game perfect for the whole family.  Particularly so if you have fans of the Prehistoric era in the household.  The whole concept of playing bingo is such a simple premise, so no time is wasted on explaining long and unfathomable rules. You can jump straight in to game-play and everyone is happy.

There are two ways of playing this game.  The first is just like the normal bingo game, you have a caller who pulls out a dinosaur card, the players check to see if they have the matching dinosaur on their board; if they do, they  can cover it with a circle.  The first one to cover all the dinosaurs on their board must shout "Bingosaurus!"

The second more difficult way of playing this game is you have to guess from the clue given whether you have that particular dinosaur on your board.  This is where the information booklet comes in handy.  Players can have a read of the booklet beforehand and not only does it contain lots of interesting information but also contains the correct pronunciations of the dinosaur names.

The illustrations of the dinosaurs are adorable and this would definitely be the type of gift I would be looking for when shopping in a museum shop for example.  I was particularly pleased that up to 8 players can play this game.

The information booklet

Clues help players decide whether they own that particular dinosaur

Boards are in alphabetical order so it makes play easier.

The caller must place the card they have pulled out on their own master board.

We love this game so much, we want you to be able to play this wonderful game too.  So we are giving away one copy of the game Bingosaurus.  To enter please go through the Rafflecopter steps.  Good luck!
Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy but all thoughts are my own.

For more info on the game please visit http://www.carltonbooks.co.uk/imprints/carltonkids

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Project: Felt Flower wreath project from 'Mollie Makes' magazine

This week I am continuing my goal of making each front cover project from Mollie Makes magazine.  Last month I made the deer embroidery picture which I loved, I found it so therapeutic as it felt like drawing with thread.  It also gave me enough confidence to be able to design my own embroidery pictures.  That's what I love about trying out new crafts, the opportunity to expand my repertoire of craft abilities.  

This month's project on Mollie Makes magazine was a floral wreath made out of felt.  I love flowers and this seemed a perfect way to bring some colour in to the house (without the pollen).  So off I set about purchasing the craft items needed to make the project.  I worried quite a lot about whether I had the right colours for the leaves, but as it turned out I just used two basic green colours from a multi-pack of felt and they worked just fine.  I love the natural effect using two colours created.

Now I will be painstakingly honest, unlike most crafting I didn't find this project relaxing.  After drawing round a template hundreds of times and then cutting out hundreds of leaves, one of my fingers actually became numb from what must be a repetitive strain injury.  All these leaves then needed to be glued on floral wire with a hot glue gun, which also resulted in a few burns (partly because I am clumsy and partly because pinching the leaves to look natural made the glue spurt everywhere).

The best part of the project was when I started making the flowers, as by this point I could see my work coming together and knew I was actually doing quite a good job.

The wreath base was formed by wire bent in to a circle shape and then covered with floral tape.  I opted to make all my flowers in orangey tones to match my room decor.

Overall, I didn't enjoy making the wreath but I do think the finished result is beautiful.  It's also nice to know that should I ever need to make flowers to brighten a room I will now have the ability to do so.  But for now, this won't be a project I will be repeating in the near future.

Review: Felt Wee Folk by Salley Mavor

From the minute I laid my hands on this book, it was like holding something magical.  As soon as I saw the front characters I wanted to create them, and when I opened the book and discovered how simplistic Salley had made the crafting

#Kitchenclearout: Lime and Coconut Loaf Cake

Fed up with trying to meal plan off the top of my head, I decided to use my kitchen cupboards as a source of inspiration to work from. I have so many seasoning mixes and baking ingredients that get shoved to the back of the cupboard.  I think the reason for this is that I tend to stick to things that I know we like as the children are just so fussy.  For the past few weeks though, my oldest son at lease will try pretty much anything I make.  We have had some hits and we have had some misses, but that's all part of the fun.

As I was reading my favourite blogs, I noticed that other people are doing this too and there's even an hashtag for it.  So this week I'm going to take part in the #kitchenclearout challenge.

I have had a pack of desiccated coconut sitting in my cupboard for ages, so I decided to start off with a loaf cake.

This recipe is  'Lime and Coconut Loaf Cake'

ingredients:
200g unsalted softened butter
180g caster sugar
4 eggs
200g sifted self-raising flour
75g desiccated coconut
finely grated zest of lime and juice of 1 lime

Topping:
Juice of 2 limes
80g caster sugar
scattering of desiccated coconut

Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
Whisk together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking in between each addition.
Then fold in the flour, coconut and lime.
Bake in the oven at 160 degrees c for around 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Whilst the cake is in the oven mix together the lime juice and sugar.
When the cake is cooked, pour over the lime mixture and scatter over desiccated coconut to your liking!  Wait to cool and then remove from tin!

Delicious!

Adding this to Cheryl's #Kitchenclearout linky as I have finally got round to using some of that coconut.  Now to hunt for more coconut recipes!

Deer embroidery project from Mollie Makes magazine

I have just completed my first ever embroidery project.  I often browse at the inspirational projects in Mollie Makes magazine and when I saw Kirsty Neale's stunning deer project in issue 56, I just knew I had to give it a try.  I absolutely adored Kirsty's design but mine differed immediately when I stuck my deer shape on the wrong way, so the deer is coming in to the picture from a different angle.  This then meant instead of copying the template from the magazine I had to draw the design on as best as I could to fit the differing angle.  I also made the eyes of the deer a little bigger to give him a cuter look about him.

It was wonderfully therapeutic making this project.  I have mastered quite a lot of embroidery stitches now and it has inspired me enough to think about designing my own embroidery pictures in the future.  I love how the felt gives the picture a 3D look.

I also love Kirsty's work so much that I have purchased her book called 'Hoopla' off Amazon so I look forward to receiving that shortly and maybe I'll post some more completed projects very soon...

Review: No Such Thing by Ella Bailey

Ella Bailey's No Such Thing is quite simply a work of art.  It's the kind of book that I have to reread just to make sure I have taken in every single detail of the artwork, noticing something new each time I read.  Whilst this book is best enjoyed during the month of October, simply due to the whole story revolving around Halloween, I am sure it will be a book we will return to whenever we fancy a dose of enchantment.

Every page can be marvelled at!

The autumnal palette of colours used throughout the book is breathtaking and really captures the joy of the season.  The pages are jam-packed full of detail and Ella's style of illustration really captivates the imagination with the use of colour, emotion and shape. 

I'm sure this book would work as a picture book alone (no words needed), however the text adds another dimension to the book as we are treated to the story told in rhyme.   I'm guessing that teachers would appreciate this book too as it works alongside the National Curriculum with the range of descriptive words it employs.

We loved the range of expressions Ella used.

Story-wise, the plot goes against what you would expect for a children's book as we usually try to instil in children that there are no such thing as ghosts, however the main character Georgia is adamant that the destruction that is going on around the house is due to everyone else (her brother, the neighbour etc.) but ghosts.  She reiterates this by making posters for herself that say there are no such thing as ghosts.  Whilst she looks elsewhere for people to blame, the readers job is to discover the hidden ghosts lurking behind handbags and curtains.  My son really enjoyed this part of the book, and liked the fact that all the ghosts were made to look so friendly.

Lots of reader engagement!

Lovely range of colours used throughout the book.

This charmingly illustrated picture book will be one that we return to again and again...

For more info please visit http://flyingeyebooks.com/shop/no-such-thing-2/?

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book to review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.