Reindeer Footprint Canvas

I kids always give homemade gifts to my family.

We try to keep the cost of Christmas low. And if I was to leave them get something in the €2 shop, it would probably be a cheap piece of tat that will get thrown away.

I love marking a moment in time and a memory of my kids for my parents to look back on and have meaning to it.

When the kids were a little younger we made this canvas for my mother. She loves it so much that it stays out all year long on a shelf in her sitting room. Christmas Reindeer in July?? It works.

It's really easy to do. All you need are some willing kids, a canvas and some paint.

Paint their feet and make reindeer from their footprint. We used their thumbs to make the fairy lights and I used a sharpie to add the finer details.

What do your kids give to their Grand parents for christmas? Do you go down the home made route like we do?

Don't be shy! Let me know in the comments below. I'm always looking for new ideas.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Oisín the Brave - Moon Adventure

We're going through a right book phase here in our house. We've been going to the library and getting books off the shelf alot more. So when Michelle Melville, from Éire's Kids, contacted me recently offering me a chance to review their first book, it was perfect timing.

Eire’s Kids , is a new husband and wife publications company based in Galway. Oisín the Brave – Moon Adventure is the first in a series of picture books. It tells the story of two explorers, Oisín the Brave and Orane the Dragon of N'Scaul as they set off on a journey to the moon to investigate the strange flashing light they see coming from it's surface. 

The drawings were pretty cool and I really loved how they show some of Irelands great history and culture throughout the book. My little guy loved looking for the worm and got so excited when he found it on the pages. Both my kids { 3 and 7 } loved the book and wanted me to read it again.

The irish words throughout the book were perfect of my 7 year old. She's learning irish in school now and really enjoyed practicing and learning new words. I really liked how the aliens names are different Irish numbers depending on how many eyes they have. The kids are learning without even knowing.

Oisín the Brave – Moon Adventure is available in Eason's stores around the country and if your local book shop doesn't stock it you can ask them to order it in. You can also buy it directly from www.eirekids.com. The book would make lovely birthday or Christmas gift at just €6.99 on their website and can be personalized if you wish. It can also be sent to worldwide. Make sure to keep an eye out for the new book from Éire's Kids, Oisín the Brave - Robot Island which was launched just a few day ago.

Head on over to their facebook page now and give them a like. I love supporting irish companies. Buy local, buy irish and all that. I'm going to be running a giveaway on the blog shortly where you will be in with a chance of winning not one but two of their lovely books.

Keep checking back here or head on over to my facebook page and like it so you don't miss out. All the links are below.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Potato Print Christmas cards

We had a very busy afternoon here making Christmas cards. Yes, I said Christmas cards. Please don't hate me but I love Christmas and the older my kids get the more I love it. They are the reason behind all the magic and I love making magic memories with them.

These potato print cards are all over pinterest and they are so easy to do. We the potato whole and then got cookie cutters to make shapes on our cards. Jasmin used her thumb to make a lovely wreath. I wrote the Merry Christmas with my new favourite gold sharpie, that I got in Aldi of all places. I can see lots of things written in gold sharpie in the near future.

These really are the easiest thing to do and the kids had lots of fun messing with the paint.

Make sure to head on over to Our Little House in the Country for more potato print ideas.

Don't forget to join in on my #30thankfuldays2014 photo challenge on my social media accounts. I've found some very thankful ladies through this challenge and can't wait for the link up at the end. You ca find the link to my social media accounts below.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Favourite Things Friday

Happy Friday Friends.
And Happy Halloween!! Who's going Trick or Treating tonight?? 
Can you believe that mid term is almost over already? I'm not looking forward to early mornings and homework again. Boo! We've had a busy week here. Crafting away and decorating for halloween. I'll be sharing all out decoration next week. I've got an exciting link up/ photo challenge on the blog this month called #30thankfuldays2014. All the details will be up on the blog {here}. If you don't follow me  on Instagram or Facebook be sure and do now. The link up/photo challange will be happening on my social media sites over the next 30 days.

Here are this weeks Favourites!

They're all Halloween themed this week.

Favourite Party Games

Favourite Decoration

Favourite Link party

Favourite Lunch Idea

Favourite Pumpkin Carving tips

Now, I'm off to bake some Halloween goodies and get ready for a little party and Trick or Treat night.

Happy Fright Night Friends!

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

#30thankfuldays2014 photo challenge/link up

Did you guys see my Thankful Tree in yesterdays post? If not head on over now and have a look { here }. Keeping in line with being thankful, I decided to run a little photo challenge/ link up, where I will be sharing photos on my social media sites of what I'm thankful for. Starting tomorrow, October 30th, I'm going to be sharing and using the hashtag #30thankfuldays2014, so I can see all the things you lovely people are thankful for.

When the 30 days are up, it will be Thanksgiving in America. I know we don't celebrate the holiday here in Ireland but I thought it was a good idea to do it at this time of year. In my house we have lots of birthdays and Christmas in the next 2 months. That is alot to be thankful for but it also alot of stress. So, I'm hoping that this challenge will remind me of what I have to be thankful for. 

At the end of the 30 days, I'm going to have a link up on the blog. I will do a post, where I'm going to share my favourite photos from the challenge. Which ones meant the most to me and made me the most thankful. It could be all of them or just one. It's totally up to you.

So, spread the word and join in. The more people we have, the more fun it's going to be. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and lets share all the amazing things we have to be thankful for in our lives.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Thankful Tree. A New Tradition

We don't celebrate Thanks Giving here in Ireland.

We don't have a history with the holiday.

But I've decided this year we're going to have our own kind of Thanks giving in our house.

{Sorry about the bad photos, I really need to get my big girl camera out} 

It's very easy to get lost in the every day run of things and forget what we have.

To forget that we have a lot to be thankful for.

We forget the small things, like family, friends, our health.

These are all things that I am very thankful for.

I collected some branches before Halloween last year and I've been using them all year on my seasonal table for different holidays.

I'm going to use these branches to make our "Thankful Tree".

What you'll need:

Branches

Coloured paper (to make leaves)

String/ribbon

Hole punch

Get your coloured paper, I used autumn colours, and cut out leaf shapes.

Use the hole punch and make a hole in the leaf.

Take a piece of string or ribbon and tie a loop on each leaf.

Get a sharpie or pen and write what you're thankful for on each leaf.

I'm going to try and write something on one everyday and see at the how much I have to be thankful for. The kids will get involved too but I'm sure most of there leaves will have toys written on them. Ha!

******
 I've got an exciting new link up/ photo challenge starting wednesday called #30thankfuldays2014. All the details will be up on the blog tomorrow. If you don't follow me  on Instagram or Facebook be sure and do it this now. The more people that take part, the more fun it is. The link up/photo challenge will be happening on my social media over the next 30 days.  At the end of the 30 days I will have a link up where you can put a post together with everything you've shared. It's a great way to remember. 

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Top pumpkin carving tips & templates

In preparation for our carving day next week, I'm putting together a few of my top tips for making your carving time as stress free as possible and ways to make your pumpkin last longer.

Top pumpkin carving tips:

Top or Bottom? Choose whether you want to cut a lid at the top of your pumpkin, or cut a hole at the bottom. I prefer cutting a keyhole in mine. It makes it much easier for kids to scoop them out.

source

Use a big spoon or an ice-cream scoop to scrape out the seeds and guts. 

Draw your design using washable markers. It can be removed easily later using a baby wipe.

A small, serrated blade is best to cut your design with.

Don’t panic if the kids get a bit excited and cut off the pumpkins nose by accident. You can use a toothpick to stick it back on.

Vaseline will stop your pumpkin from drying out, so rub plenty around all the cut edges.

Rub the inside of the pumpkin lid with ground cinnamon or my favourite, cloves, to give a lovely smell as the candle heats it.

If your  putting your pumpkins outside, put your candle in a glass so that the wind won't blow it out.

Place an opened packet  of silica in your beautiful carved pumpkin and it’ll make it last about a week longer without getting flimsy and old. Who would have ever thought, it’s perfect!

If your not great at free-handing faces on the pumpkins, you could use a template. There are loads on the internet and Pinterest. Here are a few of my favourites. Here and here.

Do you have any tips that I've missed? Don't be shy! Share them in the comments so that we can all learn the secrets.

If you like what you see, be sure to pin it or share on Facebook or twitter.
I would be ever so grateful.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Autumn Paper Plate Wreath

I promised you all a quick and easy craft today and here it is.
{A little later than I hoped}

"Autumn Paper Plate Wreath"

This was so fun to do. We had so much fun collecting all the pretty leaves. Trying to find as many colours as possible and learning all about autumn and what happens in the season. I love how you can make an everyday thing into a learning experience for kids.

We had planed to do this with the leaves that we collected but it just wouldn't work for us. I think our leaves might have been too dry. We decided to use some colourful tissue paper ( Tesco for €3) instead and the kids were much happier. Happy kids = Happy Mom.

All you need is:

Leaves/ Tissue paper

Paper plates

Glue 

String

Cut the center of the plate out so it looks like a wreath.

Attach the string to the wreath.

Let your kid go crazy with the glue and stick the leaves/tissue paper onto the wreath.

Let it dry and your done.

Hang you kids awesome wreath on the door or window and admire nature indoors.

Make sure to click the link below for more beautiful paper plate wreaths.

Click here

Make sure to keep the middle of the paper plate. I'll have another craft later in the week that you'll need it for. 

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Favourite Things Friday

Happy Friday Friends!!

It's been awhile. I've been pinning away like crazy and I just to sit down and share some of the amazing things I came across. In other blog news, I'm going to be sharing a cute craft on Monday and all you need are some colourful fall leaves and a paper plate. Can you guess what it is?? Check back Monday to see what it is or follow me on Instagram or Facebook to keep up with all our ramblings. Anywho, Enough chit chat, here are this weeks favourites.

Let me know your favourites in the comments below. Don't be shy! :)

Favourite Kids Craft

Favourite Table Centerpiece

Favourite Printable

Favourite Look

Favourite Halloween DIY

Favourite Laugh

Have an amazing weekend friends.

Spend it with the ones you love.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Autumn/Fall Bucket List {free printable}

Each season I say the same thing and each season I mean it.

This is my favourite season.

They all bring something new and exciting for us to see and do.

Autumn, Fall, Harvest season or whatever you call it in you neck of the woods means lots of collecting in our house.

Conkers, blackberries, colourful leaves, acorns, pine cones.

I love them all.

I also love printables and how could I not make a Autumn/Fall bucket list printable for the fridge so we can tick off all the fun things we're doing.

I can't wait to get started on this list and make some new Autumn memories.

What are your favourite things to do in Autumn?

Don't be shy, leave a comment down below.

I'm always looking for new things to do with the kids.

Thanks for stopping by.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Favourite Things Friday

Happy Friday my lovely readers!

The Sun is shining and it oh so hot. My little man can't handle it it so hot so we've retreated to the coolness of the house for a nap and some blogging.

I hope the sun is shining where ever your reading from and your getting some much needed vit. D.

Here are this weeks favourite pins.

Favourite Pie

Favourite Cake

Favourite Cake Stand

Favourite Look

Favourite Office Space

Favourite Outdoor Bench

Favourite Photo

And that my friends is it for another week. 

Get out and spend some time with your families in the sun.

Don't forget the suncream.

If you like the pins you see here, be sure to follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

"I'm bored" jar

It's been awhile since I've blogged. We've been busy enjoying the summer holidays and the beautiful weather we've been having. But lately, I've been hearing a lot of the same thing from my daughter. And I'm pretty sure every mom in the world over hears this too at some point. Do you know what I'm talking about?

"Mom, I'm Bored."

This is the most confusing thing to me. My kids have everything they could ever want to keep them entertained for years but they still came in telling me there bored.

So, In an attempt to beat the boredom and stop the nagging and fussing I decided to make a "I'm bored" jar.

It's so easy. All you need is a jar and some paper and I didn't have to try think of all the ideas myself. I found this link on another blog on pinterest and she has some very good ideas. With some of these and some of my own thrown in, I'm sure that we'll never have a problem again with being bored.

Some are chores and some are things that they have to do with a parent.

The rule is that you get to pick one activity. If you don't like it, you get to swap it for something else. Whatever you get the second time, is what you get. 

Do you have any ideas to add to the list?

Be sure and let me know in the comments section so i can add them to my jar.

Thanks for stopping by.

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN

Favourite Things Friday

Happy Friday friends and welcome to another Favourite Things Friday. I hope you've all had an amazing week. I've been a busy bee this week creating free printables for fathers day. I can't wait to celebrate the man that helped me become a mother. We have school sports today, so excitement id high in the E house again. Please god the sun will shine out for it.

Anywho, here are this weeks picks. Be sure to let me know your favourites in the comments or on Facebook {here} or Instagram {here}.

Favourite Kids Look

Favourite Art

Favourite Idea

Favourite Recipes

Favourite Fathers day Card 

Favourite Fathers Day Printable

Favourite Quote

Have a great weekend!

FACEBOOK : PINTEREST : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BLOGLOVIN