Author Archives: Fiona Martin

How to Rediscover Your Style and Boost Your Confidence as a Mum

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Once you step into motherhood, keeping up with the latest trends may be the last thing on your mind. However, to put a spring in your step and boost your confidence, finding your style again and wearing clothes that match your personality can help. Your mind and body go through a lot during pregnancy and afterwards, so if you have lost your sense of personal style, here are some simple tactics you can take on board today. 

Embrace Your New Body 

Although many of us would love nothing more than to have toned body straight after giving birth, your body won’t spring back to its pre-baby self as quickly as you would hope. Understandably, it will take time to get back into shape, so instead of feeling deflated and unhappy with the way you look, try and embrace your new body and remember all the hard work you’ve gone through during pregnancy. When it comes to finding clothes that fit you, establishing your body shape and accepting your figure is key. Don’t try and squeeze into pre-baby clothes initially or purchase garments that are too big.  

Clear Your Wardrobe 

As a busy mum, you will have limited time for yourself, so when it comes to waking up and getting ready for the day, having all your clothes aligned together in your wardrobe can be a big help. If your wardrobe is overflowing with items, it’s time to get rid of maternity wear and anything that doesn’t reflect your personal taste anymore. Once you begin getting rid of clutter and organising your wardrobe space, you will be left with clothes that you feel good in. 

Invest in Heels 

Even though we’re facing unprecedented times due to the coronavirus outbreak, once restrictions lift and we’re able to get out and about, having a pair of killer heels at your disposal will mean you’re ready for any kind of occasion. As a hardworking mum, you need to have something to look forward to, so kitting your wardrobe out with designer items, like these Valentino Shoes, will mean you have the perfect heels to wear. You will find a variety of Valentino Shoes alongside other designers like Gucci and Versace at SSENSE. If you’re looking for accessories to pair with your shoes, this site also sells clothing and bags you can check out. 

Find a New Bag 

Whether you’re running daily errands, heading for lunch with the girls, or off to work, having the perfect bag on your shoulder can make all the difference. Once you enter motherhood, your priorities will naturally change, so you need to find a bag that not only looks the part but is functional and can store all the essentials. 

While most of your time will be taken up with running around after the kids, it’s important that you allocate some time for yourself and what interests you. As you can see, there are lots of things you can do to reignite your passion for fashion and help you choose clothing that represents you in the best light. 

Win a pair of Jana Reinhardt Silver penguin Earrings worth £69

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With another lockdown upon us, we need to find little things to brighten our day, and accessorizing your daily look with some cute little earrings is the perfect way to lift your mood.  Finding smaller businesses that have perfected their craft and handmake their goods is always a pleasure.  Jana Reinhardt is the founder of one such business who has some beautiful pieces all inspired by nature and animals. 

Jana Reinhardt jewellery was founded in 2006 by a husband and wife team of master goldsmiths, who work from their studio by the sea in West Sussex, creating jewellery collections with the very best craftsmanship and attention to detail. 

They don’t use machine manufacture, preferring the old techniques of wax carving and fabrication to create their products. Hand making every item also means each piece is entirely unique, just like our customers. 

These traditional methods have no negative effect on the environment, making Jana Reinhardt a more sustainable choice for jewellery lovers. Plus, all precious metals used by Jana Reinhardt are from accredited suppliers, based in the UK and Germany, that continually buy back and recycle scrap metal, thus helping to create more environmentally friendly jewellery.  

The cute little penguins have a sturdy butterfly closure – great for keeping them safe from being pulled by little hands!

The ideal earring for any penguin lovers out there, or anyone looking for a stylish, winter themed piece of jewellery, subtle enough for everyday wear.

You can win a pair of sterling silver handmade penguin earrings by Jana Reinhardt jewellery worth £69. Featuring two adorable hand carved little penguins, these stunning studs measure 10mm x 7mm and are hand polished to a high shine. 
 

Simply fill in the Gleam form below:

 

Win a pair of sterling silver handmade penguin earrings worth £69

Fun ideas for Elf on the Shelf

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You know Christmas is getting close when Elf on the Shelf arrives in your house.  My little boy absolutely loves discovering his elf each morning and finding out what mischief he has been up to.  He also likes finding any little treats the elf has left him – it always brightens up his morning!

This year, 2020 has been a strange one for us all not being able to see our friends and family as much as we’d like.  But our poor elf, who is fondly named Elvis been even more unfortunate.  He has been in isolation since Christmas 2019!

How cute is this printed design on the jar – perfect for Elvis to snuggle up in keeping him away from mischief!  You can check out various bundles of graphics available from Design Bundles that may be of use for either Christmas or other projects.

Baking with Elf on the Shelf

My boy was thrilled when he got up one morning to find this exciting scene across the kitchen…

I mean just how cute are those footprints, simply set out using a fun footprint stencil and some flour.  We also loved the Personalised Christmas Pot Holder which looks very festive and perfect for any makes and

My boy was delighted to see there was even a gingerbread man baking kit from Craft & Crumb and was eager to make himself some sweet treats to enjoy.  I love how it’s compact in a small box perfect to arrive with your elf. It contains the cutest little gingerbread man cutter along with the dried ingredients that you need.  All you need to add is some butter and golden syrup.

Look how amazing the finished result is and a happy, proud little boy at the same time. This is such a fun activity for children and it’s great that you can use small businesses to get accessories and kits from to help you create the perfect Elf on the Shelf set up.

Bauble making with Elf on the Shelf

With Elvis appearing in a different place each day, one morning we found him on our Christmas tree.  Here he is with a sheet of snowflake stickers, some fake snow, a reindeer model and a glass bauble.

This was a great activity that my boy loved and did all by himself – I absolutely love the finished bauble and it is one to treasure every year.

Random Acts of Kindness with Elf on the Shelf

This is a lovely task for children and one that I really enjoyed giving my child.  He read it in the morning and didn’t really say anything but later on he kept giving me compliments which was lovely and then told me it was because of the sheet the elf had left him.

A wide selection of Printable Designs are available from Design Bundles – well worth checking out for any projects you may have.

Design Bundles is a great resource where you can get svg images perfect for a range of projects whether that’s Elf on the Shelf or something completely different at other times of the year.

Gifting with Elf on the Shelf

There’s nothing better than the feeling of giving a gift to others and that’s exactly what this Elf on the Shelf activity is about.  Elvis arrived with a gift box, some chocolate sheets and a sheet of paper.  My boy had fun wrapping up the gift box and decorating it ready to give to a member of the family at Christmas time.

Elf costume making

This is a good one to get creative with and another that my boy enjoyed.  Elvis left him with some squares of material, pva glue and a length of cord.  He was also wearing the cutest elf size face mask as inspiration as to what kind of things you could make.   All by himself my boy created Elvis this new festive jacket which is a delight and perfect to help keep him warm on colder days.

Window sticker scene with Elf on the Shelf

One morning my boy came down extra early and found Elvis on our window sill with some delightful Scandi house window stickers and some coloured papers.  It was fun to stick the houses onto our front window for passers by to see and also make some mini paper chains from the coloured papers.  He firstly cut them into strips then stuck them into loops.  We now have an array of mini paper chains across the house – a craft that all kids love and so simple to do.

It’s always worth checking out Design bundles for any new products they have to help you with your crafts.

Saturday night movies with Elf on the Shelf

When Elvis turns up with a huge bag of popcorn and his own snack bowl (which my boy adores and has used himself!), it would be rude not to pop out the Christmas movies and have a chilled out evening getting yourself in the festive mood.  He also had a go at wrapping himself up and left us with some paper to get wrapping our presents.  There is also a cute printed gift tag and some festive tape to really make sure our presents are looking smart.

Preparation for the big day with Elf on the Shelf

There’s nothing more exciting than Christmas Eve for children so when Elvis arrived with some great goodies to prepare you for the big day, my boy was thrilled.  He brought some black card and a shiny pen along with the most fantastic glass bottle for Santa’s milk.  He’d even made his own place card for the table which inspired my boy to copy his style and make some for all of the family.  The Santa milk bottle was a huge hit and we can’t wait to fill it up ready for Santa to drink during his night of deliveries.

Crafting has never been easier than with Design Bundles with lots of great ideas worth checking out.  As a digital company that provide everything from printables, designs, along with business resources – there really is something for everyone!

 

Personalised Gifts & Homeware – Giveaway

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Nothing is more special than receiving a gift that has been personalised and Happiness is a Gift offers an array of charming gifts to suit everyone from kids to adults.  All of these can be personalised to your specifications with a name, date, message etc. which adds that special touch.

I was delighted to be gifted this Two Tiered Slate Cake Stand which is perfect for displaying a variety of things such as cakes, sweets or savoury items.

I was able to choose a two line personalisation to go around the top and bottom of the top tier. I decided to opt for ‘Fiona’s snacks & Treats’ for the top and ‘Eat, be happy, enjoy…’ for the bottom.  I think this encompasses using any type of food on the stand and gives a bit of a feel good factor.

The stand is quick and simple to set up and stores away very compactly which is great.  I think it’s a lovely piece which I will definitely be using multiple times over the festive period and beyond.

Happiness is a Gift has a good choice of personalised items and I’m delighted to offer one of my readers the chance to win any gift of their choice from the website up to £30

Whether you fancy getting the man in you life some personalised socks or cufflinks, your mum a gorgeous personalised bracelet or travel bag or just treat your home to a new clock or chopping board there really is something for everyone.  Not forgetting children where they have everything from drinks bottles and lunchboxes to gardening kits and flipflops!

What would you choose?  Just fill in the Gleam form below and let me know in the comments what item you like over at Happiness is a Gift.

One gift up to the value of £30

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews. Although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

5 Second Rule Spintensity Family Game – Review & Giveaway

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5 Second Rule Spintensity is the all-new, spinfully intense electronic version of the original 5 Second Rule game – one of my kids favourites.  So I knew that this new version of the game by Interplay would be a hit with them and I certainly wasn’t wrong.  With a 5-second electronic timer to keep the game’s momentum going, this really keeps everyone on their toes, shouting crazy, funny answers that everyone finds hilarious.  With so much fun to be had this is perfect with friends, family or simply just the two of you.

Contents:

  • 400 questions (on 200 double sided cards)
  • 6 pawns
  • Electronic timer (3x AAA batteries required)
  • Start/Finish markers

The game is aimed at ages 12+ although we also included my 10 year old in the game and he came out with some fabulous answers alongside my older daughter and us adults.

With a simple set you are ready to play almost straightaway.  You can choose to use either the blue or green sides of the cards.  Great to flick over between games so as to get a different variety of cards as you do move through them pretty fast.

They really do cover a wide choice of topics with something for everyone.  Most subjects will suit all players but there are a few topics that if you don’t know, then you really don’t (more so when they ask you to name songs from an artist or certain groups of celebrities).  We found it easier to allow players to pass on cards like this and simply move on.  This led to swifter game play and more fun for everyone.

The bonus to the Spintensity version of 5 second rule is the Electronic timer which is central to this game and keeps the momentum going. It limits how long you have to answer questions and determines your next move.

Each turn in the game requires you to name 3 things in 5 seconds then press the timer to see what the spinner wants you to do next: name 3 more, 2 more, draw a new card or move on to the next player… or will the timer turn Red and sound you out!

If you successfully answer your question you keep the card.  Then at the end of each round you move around the board according to the number of cards you have. The winner is the first to reach the finish point.

Spintensity Fun for all the Family

We found this game really simple to play and ultimately great fun.  The kids just love the freedom of answers they can give to the questions.  We allow most but do disallow any that really don’t fit the bill.

I just love the constant laughs we have and upbeat atmosphere that this game creates for our family.  Also it’s not too long so can be played anytime, we’ve certainly squeezed quite a few rounds of this in over the last couple of weeks!

If you’d like to see the game in action then check out some clips of us playing below:

5 Second Rule Spintensity is available from most good toy retailers including Argos, Smyths Toys and John Lewis, this is certainly a great game to be had this Christmas and beyond.

For your chance to win a copy of 5 Second Rule Spintensity just fill in the gleam form below:

5 Second Rule Spintensity game

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews. Although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Moonpig – the One Stop Online Birthday Cards & Gift Shop – Review

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Moonpig is known for it’s celebration cards, particulary the ability to personalise them online.  You can even send them straight to the recipient in time for their special day.  A very handy service in normal times but even more so during the Covid pandemic where we’ve been stuck at home.  Going back to high street shopping just isn’t the same anymore.

Who wants to queue outside shops waiting to go inside?  Then be sent on a one way system that rushes you around not being able to browse.  Not forgetting wearing a mask the whole time which I certainly don’t enjoy for more than a few minutes!

This is where Moonpig comes in super handy for all your celebration needs.  They sell not only cards, which can of course be personalised, but flowers, chocolates, sweets, balloons and a vast array of gifts to suit all ages.  In fact I was pleasantly surprised at the choice.  Thinking it would be just the usual box of chocolates or flower gifts but they actually do so much more besides that.  I was particually impressed with how well they catered for younger giftees.  It’s fantastic that you can order a card and present fromjust one website and have it delivered to someone just in time for their special day.

Moonpig kindly sent me over a selection of gifts suitable for my 10 year old who celebrated his first “double digits” year last week!  I do love personalised cards and both myself and my daughter had fun online creating some.  These rather fantastic Large size glossy cards come complete with name, age and photo’s incorporated into the design.

No birthday is complete without balloons and you can either choose various options.  We receive these rather fabulous ‘Let’s Party’ air filled balloons that you blow up yourself with the included straw.  It was actually really simple and far less effort then blowing up traditional balloons with the bonus of thembeingreusable.

I have to say Moonpig have a particularly impressive choice of sweet treats. Catering for all ages from retro sweet jars to posh chocolate boxes there is something for everyone.  My boy was very happy with this rather cool hamper of sweets and a particually impressive looking chocolate pizza.

Perfect for younger audiences are some of the game and activity gifts you can choose from.  My 10 year old loves playing Minecraft online so this Minecraft Builders & Biomes board game is fantastic and great for all the family to join in with.  I feel like I’ll become an expert in Minecraft after just one game!! lol  Endermen or Creepers anyone?

Any fan of Harry Potter will surely love the Harry Potter version of the classic game Cluedo.  We’ve played the original version many times, but this one certainly added interest to my kids who are big fans.  The Kitchen Science kit from KidzLabs looks like great fun too, you just need to add a few basic items and then have some kitchen science fun.

Overall I can’t fault Moonpig in any aspect of it’s service.  Personalised cards ordered late afternoon – arrived the next day.  We had balloons, sweet treats and birthday gifts, all perfect for my 10 year old.  All from one website and can be ordered altogether.  So if you are stuck at home, or don’t want to venture out in this during these difficult times – you know where to shop!!  Moonpig.com!!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews. Although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Harry Potter Magical Capsules – Review

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Harry Potter Magical Capsules are the newest collectable in the Wizarding World from Kap Toys.  Each bronze Hogwart’s Crest contains one characters from the Harry Potter series along with a number of accessories that also act as clues as to which figure you will receive. With 10 characters to collect in Series one, lets get on and open our’s to see who we receive!

contents of harry potter magical capsule

Each Harry Potter Magical Capsule is a good size with three different compartments to open containing clues and accessories along with the figure.  This is also perfect for storage of the parts when not being played with or displayed.

The first compartment contains a Hogwart’s crest which is the first clue.  To find out more you simply have to turn over the crest and rub your finger on it until it turns a colour and this tells you which house your character will be from. We got green so we knew our character would be from Slytherin.

Clue two is found behind the second door and contains a spell.  At first it appears blank but when you dip it into water the spell appears.  My boy thought this was really exciting and loved revealing this clue.

Then it’s time to open the biggest door on the back of the Harry Potter Magical Capsule where you will find five bags to open up along with a checklist showing all of the available characters to collect in series 1.

The packages look really cool and my boy was excited to discover what was inside. We saved the biggest one until last knowing that it would contain the main figure.

So here are our contents of our clues and accessories – my boy absolutely loved opening these and trying to guess his character from them.  He was indeed correct with who we got – have you worked out who it will be yet?

We found Snape in our final packet – although I think we’d already guessed that a few clues in. He’s a fairly sturdy character that easily stands up and goes perfectly with the accessories.

Overall we love the concept of the Harry Potter Magical Capsules – my boy thoroughly enjoyed opening them and loved the little clues, in particular the spell that you uncover after dipping in water. He’s also a big fan of little figures and accessories so this Harry Potter collectable is right up his street. His favourite accessory from this bronze chest is the snake and he loves playing with them all.

Why not check them out now and let me know what you think!

Available from all major toy shops and Tesco from July 2020. R.R.P. £9.99

 

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

 

 

Keeping my floors fresh and clean with the Flash Powermop – Review

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The Flash Powermop using the latest technology and modern advances to help dissolve, absorb and lock away dirt for a deep clean leaving floors shiny and fresh.  I received a Flash Powermop starter pack to try out containing the mop, cleaning pads, 4 AA batteries and a bottle of cleaning solution.  With hard floors in my large kitchen area, and two bathrooms I couldn’t wait to check it out as currently I use an old fashioned mop and bucket and quite frankly it’s a pain to get out and use.

The mop is really easy to assemble with the pole parts simply clicking sturdily together. The pads attach easily and securely to the bottom of the mop and don’t come away at all until you take them off.  The batteries purpose are for the spray mechanism which works really well and no water is needed –  just spray the area in front of you that you wish to mop, then wipe the mop head over it.

I love the colour of the Flash Powermop – always been a fan of purple – and it’s ergonomic handle is not only comfortable to hold but hangs handily on the inside of the laundry cupboard door when not in use.

So to use you simply apply a clean pad, press the button to spray the solution and off you go.  The mop glides really easily acoss the floor picking up dirt and spills along it’s way.  The pads are very absorbent and easily hold on to the moisture picked up from the cleaning solution and messy spots on the floors.  Also I must add that although the pads aren’t washable, they are recyclable at your local Terracycle centre.  The head of the mop has really good swivvel action to help you get around all of the edges and by turning 90 degrees it allows it to go up narrow gaps with ease – I found this perfect for the gap between my shower and bath.

So what’s my verdict on the Flash Powermop?

Well I find it very easy to use, love that I don’t have to fill my mop bucket on each use and you can just pop it out of the cupboard to use whether you are doing a full clean or just want to clean a small area.  The cleaning solution smells great and leaves the floors shiny and fresh.  It’s lightweight and is easy to carry up both flights of stairs in my house to clean the bathrooms as well as the kitchen floor.

Here is the the finished mop pad after a full clean of my house across all the hard floors – ewww!!!  Well at least it’s all fresh and clean now and didn’t take long at all using the the super convenient, hard working Flash Powermop!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Keeping Memories with National Stationery Week

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With the current climate most of us are stuck at home, whether that be working from home, homeschooling with the kids or using our time creatively to remember the tough times we are going through.   In these times stationery is an essential regardless of whether you are young or old, working in the office or at home so #NationalStationeryWeek has come along just when we all need it.

Essentials from Staples are great for home schooling or work.  Whether it be writing out a history essay, writing a poem or taking notes from the work online conference – a simple gel pen and lined pad are just perfect for the job in hand!

Whilst we are in Coronavirus lockdown we are finding ourselves writing by hand a lot more and there are many things you can use your stationery for to keep you occupied and make memories during this unprecedented time in our lives.

How about trying some of these:

  • Keeping a diary of days at home during lockdown, your thoughts, feelings and things you have done
  • Create a time capsule
  • Write down and cut out activities to fill a jar with and pull one out whenever you can’t decide what to do
  • Write down a list of things you want to cook or bake and plan to try a new recipe every day

If you fancy something a little more stylish to make your memories with then how about this multi tasking pen Tech3+ Brushed Black Multifunction Pen from Cross. It looks and feels premium and amazingly carries a multitude of tools in it’s standard sized pen casing.

 

The features include:

  • Classic design with three writing tips inside: a black ballpoint, red ballpoint and pencil
  • Continuous twist technology for easy tip selection
  • Wide 8MM stylus that also unscrews to reveal an eraser
  • Compatibility with most capacitive touchscreen devices
  • Lifetime mechanical guarantee
  • Premium Gift Box

I love the way the pen smoothly twists around to access each of the pen/pencil functions. It’s clearly been well designed and it’s solid exterior is incredibly durable.  This is a pen built to last for many years and being refillable is one that is sure to give you many hours of writing pleasure.

 

I can’t wait to use the Cross pen to fill my diary entries during this 2020 lockdown and it will certainly will provide some interesting reading in the future – who knows how life will change, although fingers crossed this pen will also still be around and functioning to live to tell the tale of the 2020 Coronavirus diaries!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Having an Easter Egg hunt with Ultra Dash game from Interplay

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Looking for a fun idea for your kids Easter Egg hunt this year?  Then how about using the family fun game Ultra Dash from Interplay to add to the fun.  You can add chocolate treats to the targets for children to collect as they dash about following the flashing colours adding to their fun.  Also a great game during this stay at home isolation spell that we are having

The Ultra Dash game comes with five multicoloured targets that are bright and easy to see. This game is ideal for either indoors or outside in the garden if the weather is pleasant enough.  You simply place them on a flat surface either on the ground or on an easily reachable surface.

The Tagger is an ergonomic shaped stick that you hold and requires 3 AA batteries.  It then acts as your main tool in the game as from here you can control the number of players, timed countdowns and which game mode you wish to play.

It’s also is your main game controller that you hold during play and the top flashes various colours, each matching the colours of the targets and determines where you need to place the tagger.  It also records your score on how accurate you are in placing the tagger into the correct target.

There are three modes of game play:

  • Beat the Clock – A race to hit all five targets as fast as you can which you can either play alone or compete against others by taking turns and checking your scores.
  • Target Tally – Choose the length of your game whether it be 30 seconds or a minute and see how many targets you can hit in that time
  • Relay Race – split into teams and take turns of hitting five targets each before passing to the next player in your team.

As a fun idea for Easter we put chocolate bunnies into each target for the children to collect as they played – off course this was a hit and encouraged them to keep playing for longer!  I also found that by playing in the garden, the children were clearly keeping active by running between the targets and being competitive as they are, beat me in the the time challenges.

You can see the game in action in this short video clip we’ve made:

If you are looking for a fun game to keep the kids active then this would be great especially in the current climate.  It could be a long Summer if school remains closed until September to Ultra Dash is the idea way to have fun and keep fit!

You can also check out Interplay on their social channels to see Ultra Dash and other great play ideas that they have. They are on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.