Advent Candle Art

I thought today we would have a go at decorating our own advent candles - we will need four, one for each advent weekend before Christmas.

I had a look on the net, go old google, and found some great ideas. I decided to follow this post from redtedart

Why don't you all a have a go you've go a few days to get ready!

Kids Crafts - Advent

Children love the anticipation of Christmas and there is nothing more exciting than counting down the days leading up to that big event......

So instead of buying a chocolate filled Advent Calendar why not make your own - with the kids help of course......

Here are a few easy but effective ideas to inspire you that you can all make leading up to the start of Advent...

all these ideas are really simple and you probably have most of the materials to hand - obviously minus the gifts inside.......

if you want more ideas check out pinterest there's loads of ideas there......

Build a Bug a Home

 - Shoebox or any small cardboard box

A selection of bug friendly materials, here are a few suggestions of what to use and what kind of animals you might get moving in:

............Straw and hay make great bug hibernation sites
............Twig bundles - bigger insects love these
.............Dead wood brings in beetles, woodlice, and ladybirds
.............Dry leaves mimic the forest floor and will bring in all kinds of bugs
.............Loose bark chips will attract beetles, centipedes, spiders, woodlice – all the animals that                            break down wood
.............Old garden canes or a piece of wood with some holes drilled in it make a great home for                            solitary bees
.............An old terracotta flower pot turned upside down makes a great spot for a bumble bee nest –                      try adding some nice soft moss to entice them in!

The most important thing is to use natural materials that bugs love, so get creative and don’t limit yourself to these suggestions – you could add pine cones, old slates or bricks, anything you fancy (some people even put their old woolly jumpers in their bug houses). 

As a bonus, most of us already have some great bug house material just lying around in our gardens, so you can do a bit of recycling too.

Here are some of the bug houses I found on line....... 

or how about this one????

The above idea came from 'the bug club' website - click on the bug below for the link

Beach Party

If your planning to have a garden or beach party this summer this is a brilliant idea that I stumbled across the other day.

Instead of party bags make up some personalised beach buckets and either filling them with treats or with a packed lunch.

Amazon has loads of great stickers for you to theme your buckets from pirates to mermaids.......

Fresh Fruit Skewers

We made these the other day & they were sooooo good we decided to share the recipe with you all......

I found the idea on a food blog called inspired taste - I'll share there link at the end of this post.....

Children of all ages enjoy making these...

It's very simple - to make 12 kebabs (will serve 6) you will need....

1 lb fresh pineapple (or tinned), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pint strawberries, halved
2 whole bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 whole kiwis, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 bottle (7.25-oz) chocolate topping that forms hard shell
12 8-inch bamboo skewers

All you do is ....

Thread fruit alternately onto bamboo skewers, using approximately 2 pieces of each fruit per skewer.

Place fruit skewers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour or until fruit is frozen through.

Just before serving, drizzle each skewer with chocolate topping and return to freezer until ready to serve.

We had ours with some cream - very yummy......

Here's the link to inspired taste

Friday Film Night Popcorn

We like nothing better than to all snuggle down on the sofa on a Friday night and 

watch a film - making some bowls of popcorn, with the children's help, is all part of the ritual....

Here are two of our favourite flavours.......

Caramel Popcorn

Large bowl popped popcorn
4oz  sugar
1 tablespoon syrup
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

First off make some ...... Plain Popcorn

Cover the bottom of a large pan with a thin layer of vegetable oil (don’t use butter, it will burn).

Place 3 kernels of popcorn in the pan, cover with a loose lid that allows steam to escape, and heat.

When the kernels pop, pour in enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan, one kernel deep, cover the pan and shake to evenly spread the oil.

Shake as popcorn continues to pop.

When the popping begins to slow to a few seconds apart, remove the pan from the stovetop.

The heated oil will still pop the remaining kernels.
Sprinkle lightly with popcorn salt, if desired, and store in an airtight container. 

Caramel Popcorn

Line a large baking sheet with lightly buttered foil.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil.

Cook the syrup over medium heat, without stirring, until it becomes amber in colour; about 6 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and salt until blended.

Stir in popcorn until coated. Spread the caramel corn in a single layer onto buttered foil.

Allow to cool before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container until serving time

Seussville

If you and your children love green ham and eggs; one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish; and (our absolute all time favourite) the sleep book - I think we can recite the whole book by heart!

You are all going to love this site - it's a gentle celebration of all things 'cat-in-the-hat'

There are loads of things to do here from printables to colour-in, learning and fun activities to do along with games to play and recipes to try.

Even if your child isn't quite old enough to fully interact with the site all the colours and animation will fascinate and entertain them.

We all love this site it's fabulous......

Check it out - here's the link.......

I couldn't write about Dr Seuss with out a few quotes........ 

• Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

–      The Lorax

• A yawn is quite catching, you see like a cough, it just takes one yawn to start other yawns off. 

–      The Sleep Book

• It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.

–      The Cat in the Hat

• Don’t give up! I believe in you all! A person’s a person, no matter how small!

–      Horton Hears a Who

• A host has to put up with all kinds of pests, for a host, above all, must be nice to his guests.

–      Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

• So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact, and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.

–      Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Peaches

The smell from these peaches in my local greengrocers attracted me as soon as I walked in so I just had to buy them.

Nothing says 'summer' to me more than peaches and they remind me of long hot holidays in France where they would accompany some cold meat, cheese & wine for a lazy lunch......

Peaches are very popular as a first food for babies and young children. They are not considered to be highly allergenic - making them a good choice as a first food and are rich in antioxidants, peaches also provide vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium and fibre.

Here are some delicious and simple ideas for serving peaches to babies....

from google images

For babies 6 months or older...

... Cut a ripe, peeled peach into cubes and dust with cinnamon for a quick and easy finger food.

... Put peeled chunks of peach in the freezer and offer them to your little one to gnaw on when teething.

... Puree frozen peach chunks with banana for a refreshing dessert.

... Stir pureed peach - or soft peach cubes - into cooked rice or couscous

... Mash ripe peach and mix with cottage cheese.

... Poach peach halves in apple juice and puree.

....Puree peach and cooked chicken for a simple dinner.

Fun Peach Recipe Ideas for Older Children

All these recipes can be succesfully made by children - as usual just supervise when hot & choppy things are involved!

Peach Popsicles
3 or 4 ripe peaches - halved and pitted
Juice from one lemon

icing sugar to taste¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chop peaches in a food processor. Transfer 1 cup (keep the peaches somewhat chunky) to a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, orange juice, and sugar (if the peaches need some sweetness) to the processor. Puree until smooth. Add to the bowl with the chunky peaches, then stir in vanilla.

Divide the mixture among ice-lolly moulds (or small paper cups). Freeze until beginning to set (about 1 hour). Insert frozen treat sticks into molds and freeze until completely firm (one hour more).

Marshmallow Peaches

Cut peaches in half and remove stone.

Place a marshmallow in each half, sprinkle with a little brown sugar and coconut and grill until lightly browned.

Serve with ice cream or yogurt.

Peach And Prawns Kebabs

Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes.

Peel and dice peaches and thread alternatively on skewers with prawns. Brush with melted butter seasoned with a dash of Tabasco and chopped coriander.

Grill or barbecue until cooked through.

Chicken With Peach Sauce

Pan-fry or barbecue 4 chicken breast fillets. Remove and keep warm. Add 2 peeled and thickly sliced peaches, 2 tablespoons marmalade and 1 teaspoon soy sauce to pan.

Heat and serve over chicken sprinkled with chopped chives and roasted almonds.

On The Rocky Road

• These chocolate bars are really fun & easy to make with your children.
• 
  
•  And, as long as you have chocolate in the house, you can make them with
•  anything to hand.......
• 
  
•             ...... cereals, dried fruits.....
• 
  
•                          ........... sweets such as M & M.......
• 
  
•                                      ................ nuts ................... anything you can think of really......
• 
  
• 
  
• Recipe
• 
  
• Makes 24
• 
  
• 125g soft butter
• 300g chocolate - broken into pieces
• 3tbsp golden syrup
• 200g digestive biscuits
• 100g mini marshmallows
• to dust icing sugar to dust

Heat the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat.

Remove from the heat, scoop out about 125ml of the melted mixture and set aside in a bowl.

Place the biscuits into a plastic freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until some have turned to crumbs but there are still pieces of biscuit remaining.

Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the marshmallows - and any other 'bits' you want to add.........

Tip the mixture into a 24cm square baking tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula.

Pour over the reserved 125ml of the melted chocolate mixture and smooth the top with a wet spatula.

Refrigerate -  for about two hours or overnight.

To serve, cut into 24 fingers and dust with icing sugar.

Let's go fly (make) a kite

Thanks to my Mum informing my nieces that I once made a kite - the project for the next visit will now be........
 
   .......you guested it

              .......... kite making!

Now, considering that I haven't made a kite since I was about 15 (which was a long time ago!)

            not say how long - I might frighten myself if I work that out......

So I decided to do a bit of research because, I'm sure kite making has come on a long way from the two bamboo canes and black bin bag I used last time!

Well I came across this site and the kites are really excellent. There are a variety of shapes & sizes and also ones to suit all age ranges.

I'm going to forward a few of the designs to the girls for them to choose what they want to make and then we can be all ready to start when they come to visit...

I'll let you know how we get on .......

and if we manage to fly them........

and photo's of all the great stunts we can do........

(yah ...right!)

anyway here's the link to 'how to build kites' site

Lemon & Banana Ices

Wow it's really hot here at the moment and an quick ice would help to cool us all down.

This recipe for lemon & banana ice is really easy and requires only a couple of ingredients that I always have in the house - and you probably do to!

to make 8 ice lollies you will need

3 large bananas
Juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon icing sugar (optional)

Lolly mould & sticks
(loads of different moulds on Amazon & you can usually get some at the supermarket this time of year)

Blend the bananas with the lemon juice, check for sweetness if needed add the icing sugar & blend again.

Pour into moulds and freeze - will take a good 4 hours to freeze or leave over night.

This recipe is so easy and children just love to help make it.

We coated our with white chocolate to make an extra crunch.

Calendar Fun

Every year my nieces, Bethan & Jelly (nickname for Genevieve), have made their father a calender for Christmas.

Originally the pictures for each month were collages or finger paintings and hand prints but as the girls grew up the calender has become more & more impressive.

This year they have progressed to planning; staging & taking the photographs; editing & they also plan to upload the pictures to get the calender published.

This year the aim is to take loads of pictures of Timothy (my well loved bear) in loads of different places & poses.

So far he has visited France on a boat

 and played boule,

Posed with a impressive Knight

and I have no idea whats going on here!

The girls are having so much fun doing this and it is teaching them all about photography & editing. They are really inspired.......

If you and your children want to have a go at this all you need is a digital camera or phone.

Most catalogues and supermarket chains offer a publishing service on line and you just have to upload your chosen photo's. It's quite cheap to do - you can even have a mouse mat or a mug printed if you wish.
 My brother loves receiving this each Christmas and it is always in pride of place in the kitchen. Mike (my brother) has kept every single one and it has been a great way to look back & remember special events.

Colouring In

I do love a good colouring in sheet and you can now find loads to download & print off on line.

If I'm feeling really organised and need to take little ones with me at an appointment I try to remember to take a book or something for them to do with me. And I find the most successful thing is a couple of crayons and a colouring in sheet.

Some of the best designs can be found on 'made by Joel'

Here's the link - go & have a look there are loads of really great ideas.

Kids Cooking

I just found this idea on pintrest and now we need to have a go and make these little guys.

Looks easy enough for us all to have a go (little ones included) and it's a good way of getting fruit inside us.

If this is successful I might expand our range with grape snakes or kiwi Lochness monsters!

I'll see how it goes and let you know......

Here's the link to the strawberry mice