Tomorrow is October which means we can officially start gearing up for Halloween! Hurrah! Little E loves Halloween. I'd say it is her favourite celebration after Christmas.

In our latest Baker Ross blogger delivery we have been sent some fantastic Halloween kits which Little E and I will be creating over the next few weeks getting ready for the spooky celebration.

But I think Little E is going to enjoy making the Halloween mosaic wand kits. She will definitely want to add one of these to her Halloween outfit!

Little I had just begun to show an interest in drawing and crafting so she will get to have a go making these Bat handprint kits - they will look so cute with her little handprints!

And on the website there is so much more! I am tempted to have a Halloween party so we can order some other things! Keep your eyes peeled for our Halloween craft posts over the next month.

You can find the whole Halloween craft range online at bakerross.co.uk

We had some lovely Autumn crafts delivered from Baker Ross this week and these extremely cute Hedgehog Pom Poms immediately caught Little E's eye.

Each kit includes a hedgehog foam template, card pom pom maker, self-adhesive foam noses, yarns (different colours in each kit), ribbon & wiggle-eyes.

You start by placing pom pom templates either side of the hedgehog. Then you tie on the yarns and loop them around the template over and over until you have no yarn left.

Once you have run out of yarn you slide scissors inside the loop and snip all the way around the yarn. Little E gave this a go. I think her face says it all... 

When you have cut all the way around you slide some ribbon in to form a loop, remove the templates and your hedgehog is complete.

Now, this all sounds easy but Little E actually found looping the yarn through the hole and round really tricky. The kit says 5+yrs and that probably explains why she struggled a little as she is only 4. Despite needing a lot of help she loved the outcome and can't wait to give it to her Grandma for her birthday tomorrow.

This pack of 3 kits is only £3.75! Fantastic value. You can order here
 

This kit was sent for review as part of the Baker Ross Blogger programme but all opinions are my own.

Father's Day is an extra special day for us because 2yrs ago we found out we were pregnant with Little I on Father's Day morning.

I'm not sure I'll ever top that Father's Day gift for Husband but I'm always on the look out for the perfect present for him, my Dad and Father in Law. They are impossible to buy for! If you are bored with buying socks and 'Best Dad' mugs then take a look at my gift guide for some great ideas:

Baldwins Men's Range Gift Box £34.99

Because Dad deserves a bit of pampering too! This gift set from Baldwins is beautifully presented and contains a selection of Green Tea and Frankincense facial products. Facial wash, exfoliator, shaving oil and facial lotion plus a natural cotton face towel; everything he needs to keep his face in tip top condition.

baldwins.co.uk

Baker Ross Father's Day craft range from £1.99

Kids making a gift for Dad can be extra special and younger children really get a kick out of creating mini masterpieces. Baker Ross do a selection of great, reasonably priced Father's Day craft projects from colour your own Dad's face cards to handprint keepsakes. Little E is particularly looking forward to painting a wooden DAD sign for Husband to hang on his shed.

bakerross.co.uk

How to Draw Pokemon

​This How to Draw Pokemon book is perfect for Dad's to spend some time with their kids drawing some of their most loved Pokemon characters with the kids (or without them if they are big kids themselves!) read the full info here

Make a Bar Chocolate Factory £3.99

Keeping with the homemade theme, kids can make a personalised chocolate bar for dads with a sweet tooth using the Make a Bar Chocolate Factory. Simply melt the 'ready to use' chocolate pouch in some warm water, pop it in the re-usable mould, refridgerate and then decorate with a message for Dad! Fantastic, the only risk is that it may not make it to Father's Day...

makeabar.co.uk

Ted Baker M Eau de Toilette Gift Set £14.99

Sometimes you just can't beat giving a nice aftershave! Ted Baker M is one of my favourite scents on Husband and this little gift set is great because it contains a 30ml Eau de Toilette, 100ml body wash and 100ml aftershave balm all for £14.99! The box is pretty cool too...

Available exclusively from The Perfume Shop

Braun CruZer5 Clean Shave £89.99

Husband leaves for work far too often with bits of tissue stuck on his face from shaving with my disposable razors. It has to stop! This nifty little electric razor clean shaves even 3 day stubble with ease using it's triple action float system (I'm not sure what that is but it sounds like magic and, most importantly, works!)

Currently you can find this half price at argos.co.uk making it a real bargain at around £45. Find out more at braun.com

Vileda Windowmatic £49.99

Growing up my Dad was obsessed with cleaning the car. Every weekend without fail he was out on the driveway buffing up our Vauxhall Cavalier until it shone. He's still the same now. He'd love the Vileda Windowmatic because not only does he love cleaning his car, he loves a gadget. The lightweight, cordless Windowmatic sucks dirty water away from the car windows and screens leaving a streak free finish. And when he's finished it'll still have enough charge for him to pop over and clean my car too, my front room windows could do with a once over too.

Available from Argos, Amazon, Tesco and at vileda.com/uk

Lego Superman LED keychain £6.99

Everyone thinks their Dad is a superhero. So let him know how you feel with with this fun Lego key chain. It features a little Lego Superman with posable light up legs - perfect for looking under the car bonnet, finding the right key on a dark night or playing disco with the toddler on Sunday afternoon. A super key chain for a Super Dad.

Available from Toys R Us and Amazon.co.uk

For more great gift ideas check out last year's gift guide

I was sent some of these products to review but all opinions are my own.

Linking up to #triedtested at myfamilyfever.co.uk and goingonanadventure.co.uk #sundaystars at mami2five.com #sharewithme at letstalkmommy.com and #bigfatlinky at thedadnetwork.co.uk

I've got a phobia of sand. This didn't bode well for one of our craft activities this week as had some Sand Art from Baker Ross to try out. The sun was out so I figured the sand couldn't do me much harm outside... Surely...

We were sent a few of Baker Ross' Sand Art products but there are loads more on the website. We had Floursescent Sand (6 pack), Animal Sand Art Bottles (6 pack) and Sand Art Pictures (8 pack)

We started off with the Sand Art Pictires. Initially I was skeptical because I thought it involved glue (glue + sand = yuck) but I soon realised the pictures were sticky sheets which allowed you to remove sections of the design to apply different colours of sand one at a time. Brilliant.

Then you choose your first colour sand and cover your design

Then you shake off the excess sand (into a little Tupperware container in our case to save the sand) and to reveal it has only adhered to the sticky bit.

You remove the next set of sticky bits and repeat the process.

You do this a few times until you have your completed picture

There were lots of different designs from astronauts to butterflies! We were sent the Floursescent sand to try but you can get different colour sands or try mixing them. Little E created her own mix to give her another colour option.

I was really impressed how well these pictures came out. Really sharp edges and easy for younger children to do themselves. It would be immense to try this with glitter!

The second part of our sand activity was Animal Sand Bottles. This was so much fun! The kit comes with a little funnel and you layer different colour sands in the animal shape plastic bottle all the way up to the top.

Little E loved this and got very creative with her designs.

By the end we had a little army of sand animals! They reminded me of a little bottle I filled with sand when I was little. I still have it somewhere and I must locate it to show Little E what I made as a little girl. Great fun.

Overall I was stunned by how this activity kept 4yr old Little E focused. We spent 90minutes creating the sand art and she easily would have continued and finished all the pictures if there had been more time (her little sister woke up!). I've definitely overcome my fear of sand (at least art sand!) and we've got loads of sand left so we'll be doing this again with some of the other Baker Ross Sand Art products. A big thumbs up for outdoor sand crafting!

Baker Ross Floursescent sand x 6 £9.99, Sand Art Pictures x 8 £2.99, Animal Sand Art Bottles x 6 £3.49 available from bakerross.co.uk

Linking up to #letkidsbekids at letkidsbekids.co.uk #triedtested at myfamilyfever.co.uk and goingonanadventure.co.uk #minicreations at kidglloves.com #familytested at thegigglesfamily.com #countrykids at coombemill.com

We were sent these products to review as part of the Baker Ross Blogger Network but all opinions are our own.

A few weeks back we received a big box jammed full of lovely new arts and crafts materials from Baker Ross. Something which immediately caught my eye were the Kaleidoscope scratch art kits because I knew Little E would love them.

There are 5 different printed kaleidoscope designs and you get 2 of each in the pack of 10. You also get 10 little scratchy sticks (fab if you are using these for activities at birthday parties because each child will have their own stick) to aid the scratching and 10 multicoloured ribbons to hang the cards when finished.

It is really simple - you scratch off the black film on top to reveal the multicoloured card below. Older children can follow the printed design on top leaving some segments black to create a contrasting design (the packaging gives them a template to follow) or if your children are younger like Little E they can have loads of fun free styling it.

Little E absolutely loved it and I've never seen her concentrate so hard! She had me doing some sections and even Husband got involved.

This is a great no mess activity which would be perfect for taking out restaurants or to keep kids busy on planes and holidays. Or you can just enjoy them at home! Looking on the website they have loads of different designs from scratch wristbands to doodle pads so we'll be ordering more!

Baker Ross Kaleidoscope Scratch Art Hanging Decorations £2.99 for a pack of 10 (that's 30p each) Buy online at bakerross.co.uk

Linking up to #letkidsbekids at letkidsbekids.co.uk #triedtested at myfamilyfever.co.uk and goingonanadventure.co.uk #minicreations at kidglloves.com #familytested at thegigglesfamily.com

We were sent this kit to review but all opinions are our own

It seems we have a new, uncommissoned mural on the landing. The graffiti artist is undecided if it is a snake or snail. Looking on the upside at least it isn't a scribble...

Linking up to #wickedwednesday with brummymummyof2.co.uk and #minicreations at kidglloves.com

After a long bout of scribbling, Little E is finally getting there with her writing. I was blown away by how she wrote her best friend Ben's birthday card! Now we just need to work on her own name...

Linking up to #minicreations with kidglloves.com #kidscorner at whatkatysaid.com #sharewithme at letstalkmommy.com and #MMWBH at superbusymum.net

Easter is approaching and our crafting is beginning to take on some distinct egg/bunny theming.

The latest has been these Easter puppet kits from Baker Ross. Perfect for lazy crafting days as it does not require glue - Hurrah! cry mums up bad down the country.

There are 4 puppets to make in the kit, 2 bunny designs and 2 chicks. There is a paper cup, foam stickers and a stick. To create the character you simply sandwich the stick between the front and back of the character sticker then pop on some googly eyes.

The cups are easily decorated with the fun stickers...

Then all you need to do is pop the character sticks through the predrilles hole in the bottom of the cup and you have your very own Easter puppet!

Little E loved making these and they look super effective. They are great value currently on sae for just £1.99 for a pack of 4! (Usual price £3.96) Buy now at http://www.bakerross.co.uk/chick-bunny-pop-up-puppet-kits

We are part of the Baker Ross blogger network but all opinions are our own.

Linking up to #letkidsbekids at letkidsbekids.co.uk #minicreations at kidglloves.com #binkylinky at bakedpotatomummy.co.uk and #kidtested at thegigglesfamily.com

Today I am sharing some abstract art created by Little E for her uncle's 40th birthday. Watercolour is clearly her medium.

Linking up to #minicreations at kidglloves.com

Linking up to #letkidsbekids letkidsbekids.co.uk and #minicreations at kidglloves.com

I love crafting and wish I had more time to spend on my own projects. I have a fantastic competition for you from the lovely people at Stampin' Up! UK.

Want quick-to-create cards that don’t tap your resources? Then this is the perfect competition for you. One lucky winner, selected at random, will receive an Everyday Occasions Card Kit from Stampin’ Up UK! This kit will make sure you’re covered for any last-minute card needs and includes cardstock and envelopes for 20 cards; twine; buttons & clips; pre-cut paper embellishments; Stampin' Spots 7-piece Occasions Stamp Set & clear stamp block; full-colour Tips & Tricks brochure for making the cards; and a storable gift box.

To enter simply complete the Rafflecoper form below. Good luck!

For more information about Stampin’ Up! UK visit:

Twitter - @stampinupuk

Facebook –www.facebook.com/stampinupuk