Disney Frozen Shaker Maker Elsa and Anna – Review

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Fiona Martin

Disney Frozen Shaker Maker Elsa and Anna is a children’s sculpture kit that is really easy to do and makes minimal mess. With several variants available, the Frozen set is adored by most young girls and Miss M couldn’t wait to try it out.

The kit comes with a unique ‘shaker maker’, 2 moulds, 2 packs of powdered plaster, 2 stands a set of paints and a paintbrush.

First it’s time to create the plaster models in their moulds which I think gives really impressive results for minimal effort, perfect for children. You need to add one of the moulds into one half of the Shaker Maker then you simply pour some warm water into the other half, add the powder, screw the two halves together and give it a shake!

Then simply unscrew the unit, making sure the half with the mould is underneath and then leave for 90 minutes to dry. You can then tap the plaster statuette out of the mould and I have to say I think the results are brilliant. You get a really detailed model that is perfectly smooth, they look really good. It’s then time to bring them to live with some colour using the paints provided. Miss M found the colours of the paints a little frustrating as they were primary colours, but I did help her to mix some to make more recognisable colours for the frozen themed characters. She did also use a couple of other paints she already had. I have to say the paintbrush is fantastic, unlike a lot of kids brushes. This one is really pointed helping to get some detail and fine brush strokes onto the characters.

Miss M worked really hard on her painting and I just love her finished results. The plaster moulds simply sit in the little pink stands and can be displayed wherever you fancy. Miss M has these now on her bedroom windowsill which look lovely.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Shaker Maker Disney Princess Cinderella and Rapunzel

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Shaker Maker Disney Princess Cinderella and Rapunzel from Cool Create is a fun, simple plaster kit for children that allows them to create decorative pieces that they can enjoy on the shelves in their bedroom.

The shaker maker consists of a Shaker Maker pod, 2 princess moulds, 2 packs of plaster, 2 stands and a paint set, everything you need to complete this kit.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Shaker Maker and how messy it would be but I have to say I was really impressed – so simple for a child to use and completely mess free!

All you have to do is add some warm tap water into one half of the shaker pod up to a certain line then tip the bag of plaster in. In the lid, insert one of the princess moulds then screw the lid on to the base. Shake well and then tip so that the mould is at the bottom and the plaster mixture sits perfectly in the mould, no mess, no touching it, all the hard work is done for you.

Then gently tap the sides to remove air bubbles and leave to stand for at least an hour to dry out.

My daughter couldn’t wait to start painting them which is a part she really enjoyed. The paint brush that is included is really fine, much better than the usual brushes you get with kids kits, which enabled my daughter to try and add some detail.

I think the finished results look great and this is a great kit for kids to get crafty with, experiencing plaster moulding and painting. This would make a great gift anytime, something they can enjoy doing and something that they can keep after. The moulds are also reusable so if you buy some more plaster you can make some more princesses!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the set in order to write an honest review.

Easy Nails Nail Spa – Review

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Easy Nails Nail Spa from Character toys is every young girls dream, a gadget that paints your nails while you sit back and relax! I have to say 7 yr old Miss M’s eyes lit up when she saw this and she couldn’t wait to get started and try it out.

The Nail Spa is aimed at ages 5+ and comes as one main unit. The only separate parts are the brush heads, of which you get three. They simply push in and out for easy removal to wash or if you want to use a different colour varnish. Two nail polishes are also included in this set, a pink and a purple which sit inside the adjustable holder when in use. Being adjustable means you can use any bottle of polish you have a home although what I did like about the ones included is that they are water based and peel off, which I actually prefer for my 7 yr old at the moment.

The Nail Spa does require 3 AA batteries which simply fit underneath. It’s then time for the fun to begin. You have four buttons, two pink and two purple which control the brush head. Each colour does the same thing, but they have put one of each on either side so that you don’t have to reach over. By pressing the pink button the brush moves down and dips into the nail varnish, then pressing the purple button the brush moves over and hovers just above the nail. This is then your chance to move your finger to into place, which does take a bit of practice, so that when you press the button again, it paints your nail.

Miss M got quite engrossed in what she was doing and enjoyed positioning her nails and pressing the buttons to paint them. The adjustable base where you put your finger does move side to side and up and down so it is fairly flexible to fit different shapes and sizes of fingers. Once Miss M had painted each nail she could then choose to add glitter or gems that were included in the set. She opted for a lot of glitter on her middle fingers!

Miss M has loved the Nail Spa and spent much time painting and decorating her nails. She couldn’t wait to show her friends and I think that is where the value in this product comes. Young girls making over their nails with their friends, having nail parties and trying different designs on their nails. I can see this coming out every time a friend comes over!

We’ve been pleased with the Nail Spa and I do think Miss M being 7 is the perfect age for it as she can operate and use it alone, and is the right age to have fun experimenting without getting too messy. Remember the polish just peels off so any mess on the side of the fingers will just peel off when dry and can be removed from nails whenever you want without needed a remover.

A great idea for something a bit different for birthdays and Christmas presents that young girls will love!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the Nail Spa in order to write the review.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Gifts – Review

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Wild & Wolf are both a designer and manufacturer of gift products, homeware and accessories for both children and adults that can be found in small independent gift shops as well as large department stores. I’ve looked at their website and they have lots of lovely gifts perfect for Christmas, well worth checking out as there really is something for everyone. We were sent us some of their The Very Hungry Caterpillar range of products to try out with the children.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a popular children’s story that we all know and love both from our childhood as well as my own children discovering the story now, and having as much fun reading it as it reaches it’s 45th year of publication this year.

We received the Finger Printing Kit and the Tulip Divided Plate.

The Tulip Divided Plate is a really beautiful melamine plate. It’s really solid, a very durable well made piece. It think the design on this with the butterfly and flowers is lovely, perfect for my daughter Miss M who has been wanting a divided plate for a while now. Being melamine, this feels more grown up than other children’s plates without the fear of it being broken like a china plate.

The children couldn’t wait to have a go at the Finger Printing Kit. This would make a lovely gift, it is well presented and a great little set. It consists of a 6 multicoloured ink pad and 14 card pictures, some with holes in to act as finger puppet pictures.

There are various animal images to colour such as the caterpillar himself, butterfly, horse, crocodile, monkey etc. My children Miss M and Mister B were eager to get started. It was so simple and mostly mess free. By simply pressing your finger onto the sponge pad to pick up some ink, you then dabbed into onto the picture to colour. The ink pad was full of colour, plenty to use for all the pictures.

My children loved creating their pieces of art, Mister B designing a multi coloured spotty crocodile and Miss M colouring a large image of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and also a smaller picture of him on a giant strawberry!

I think these look really effective when finished and they really enjoyed painting them. What a lovely painting gift kit for someone to receive, with enough pictures to have several sessions painting.

There are other products in The Hungry Caterpillar range that all look equally as nice such as some stacking snack pots, a bunting making kit, stamper kit and card making kit.

I think Wild & Wolf have many lovely gifts to offer of a traditional feel, and that appear of a good quality that you’d be happy to both give and receive, why not take a look for yourself and keep an eye out for their gifts when out and about in the shops.

You can also catch up with them on their Facebook page or Twitter.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the gifts in order to write the review.

Mad About Ponies Craft Party – Review

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Mad About Ponies Party Box is a party kit in a box for up to six children full of activities and fun! Aimed at lasting for approximately one and half hours, it should keep a group of children occupied and entertained, whist having fun and games.

The set comprises of

6 Resin-cast ponies
Double sided foam sticky tabs
Pots of paint (5 colours)
Pre-printed card jumps
Paint brushes
Dice
Pencils
Score sheets
Pre-printed card rosettes

All children seem to love horses and the sight of paint pots is always a winner. They couldn’t wait to get started and you can see my children below happily painting!

I was really surprised at how much all the children loved getting artistic with their horses, really paying attention to detail with the colours. They were all totally engrossed in their painting and produced some wonderfully painted horses!

We then had some food while the paint dried on the horses. Also supplied in the Mad About Ponies set were some cardboard fences, rosettes, sticky pads and a large dice. We folded the fences in half and set them up in a star like shape as a course for the horses to jump around.

Included in the party set are three game ideas along with six score cards and pencils. The children were eager to mark down the names of their horses along with the scores. We had lots of names such as Daisy, Patch and Spotty!

The games were fun to play with the number you roll on the die determing whether you can jump a fence or not. The children loved moving the horses around making cute noises and saying “giddy up”.

I think a really nice finishing touch for the end of the games is the rosettes for first and second place. There are some little sticky squares included which can be stuck to the back of a rosette and then placed on the horses. The children really loved these and they added to the fun.

Mad about Ponies is a really great party in a box, it has everything from a fun painting activity to games suggestions to play with the horses and some little accessories with the fences and rosettes. I think all children would enjoy this and it’s nice that each child can take a horse home after that they designed themselves.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the party set in order to write the review.

Painting in the Garden

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Fiona Martin

I’m never keen on messy play, so summer is the ideal time of year for me to get the children outside and let them be creative with paint. A few days ago, I took a long strip of paper (some packaging paper that had come with a parcel I was sent) and laid it across the patio. We had some 99p sponge paints from the 99p shop, along with some solid paints, brushes and some cut up potatoes.

My two couldn’t wait to get stuck in decorating the piece of paper anyway they chose.

They even decided to paint their hands to make prints.My children had so much fun free painting as they wished using the materials they were given. They were kept entertained for a couple of hours and loved every minute of being outside with paints, using their imagination to create their artistic masterpiece!

So simple, yet so much fun can be had being outside on a sunny day, keeping the mess out of the house. We had great fun – why don’t you try outdoor painting too?

Craft Party Kit’s by Interplay

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Yesterday we held a children’s craft party with some fabulous kits from Interplay. Miss M was very excited and invited five of her friends from school. Of the four kits on offer we tried the Fairy Princess and Pirates boxes.

Each Kit contains enough contents for six children aimed at ages 5-8. In the Fairy Princess box the children can each make a tiara, wand and wings and they each get a sticker sheet with more than enough stickers to decorate the items, as well packs of stick on jewels to share and a bag of fluffy pink feathers.

The Pirate box had contents to make pirate hats, eye patches and a plastic treasure chest to paint with gold coins to go inside which I thought was a lovely touch.

The girls started off decorating their Fairy Princess items. I was amazed at how quiet the room was as they all got stuck in sticking on jewels, feathers and other bits being quite creative in some cases. I was impressed with their designs and loved watching them totally engrossed in what they were doing.

Once they had finished decorating their wings, I assisted them in threading the ribbon through so they could wear them.

The princesses were so proud fo their new accessories, that they spent the next five minutes all dressed up running around the room shouting “I’m a fairy”, “I’m a princess” and even “I’m a queen”. It was so cute watching them all especially as they had made the items themselves.

It was then time for some food, we had heart shaped pizza, heart shaped sandwiches, and jewel shaped cheesy snacks – perfect for my little princesses!!

After some food it was time to become pirates, having had a pirate themed week at school a couple of weeks ago, they were very keen and knew all the phrases – “Shiver me timbers”, “Ooh arghh me hearties”.

This activity involved painting which they all loved and once again got stuck in. They had a little plastic treasure chests to paint and also included in the party box was a bag of gold coins to put in the boxes. There were also hats and eye patches to become a complete pirate.

I was impressed with how carefully they all wanted to be in painting the boxes. I had to monitor this activity a little more closely to help pass the coloured paints around the table and mop up any mess as they went along so they didn’t lean over into it. They particularly loved trying to make their chests look old and even painted the insides too!

Overall I have to say the Interplay craft party was a great success, the children loved making things and the parents thought it was a great concept. We had a few games at the end which we got from the list found within each party box. The ideas for the games are all theme based depending on the party but simple to play. The Princess games include things like TinkerBell Says and Dancing Fairies, whereas the Pirates games include X Marks the Spot and Musical Pirate Ships.

I think the key success of the party is whether the children enjoyed it. When I asked them what they liked best, they all shouted out everything they had made so it all was a hit with them. Secondly I think party success is the effort for parents. In this case I think the Interplay craft party boxes are great as they really do include everything you need to entertain the children, you just need to add food. I found everything easy to set up and games easy to play. The only thing I wished is that I had been a bit more prepared for the painting activity, but I know for next time.

If you want to find out more about or purchase one of Interplay’s craft party sets, check out the Interplay website.

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.

Potato & Carrot stamping – crafty fun!!

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Fiona Martin

Fancy getting crafty with your little ones, hate the mess and clearing up – well that’s me and I tend to avoid too many messy activities with my two. They do plenty on the two and half days they spend at nursery each week so they I don’t feel that they are missing out in any way. But with the Make Time to Play campaign to encourage us to play more with our children I thought I’d step out of my comfort zone and set up an exciting messy activity for Miss M to do at home.

I decided to try potato stamping. Miss M was thrilled when I told her what we were going to be doing and couldn’t wait to get started. It’s actually very simple and the only materials required are potatoes and some paint!!

Not only can you make pictures, but you can create greetings cards, wrapping paper or many other ingenious ideas such as a rocket out of a kitchen roll tube with stars stamped up the side…

Please watch our video of how to do potato stamping with Miss M: