Mila and Pheebs craft subscription box for children

So as you probably already know if you read my blog, I love a subscription box!!

Imagine my delight when I discovered Mila and Pheebs* who do monthly themed craft boxes for children. Their boxes are full of stationery, activities and fun things to do. They are delivered directly through the letterbox so no worrying if you're not in when the post comes! Subscriptions are available for 3, 6 & 12 months, or on a rolling monthly basis. Or alternatively you can buy a one off box for £9.99 including UK postage. They are perfect for any craft loving child and also work well as a gift.

I was very lucky to be chosen as brand rep for Mila and Pheebs and they kindly sent my little Miss the August box, which was Somewhere over the Rainbow themed.  I was pretty excited to receive it, especially when I saw a sneak peek of rainbows and unicorns on their social media.  I had visions of having to fight her for it!!  As you will also know if you read my posts, due to my chronic illness we do a lot of craft stuff together so the box is perfect for us.

When it arrived she wasn't actually in so I left it on her bed, which just happens to have rainbow and unicorn bedding on.  Totally meant to be!

When she got home and saw it, I'm not sure who was more giddy.. she was delighted at having a parcel addressed to her and I was bursting with anticipation about what was inside!  It definitely did not disappoint.  The first thing I saw was lots of colour and sparkle. Hurrah!

It was packed full of things which all had rainbows or unicorns on.  My daughter has inherited my love for such stuff, so it went down very well.

She wanted to start doing stuff immediately!! Despite it being almost bedtime, she took everything out and was very impressed.  She agreed to do the wordsearch and said she would play with the rest in the morning!

The contents of the box were:

Colouring-in sheets

Rainbow felt-by numbers kit

Neon rainbow crayon

Wordsearch

Rainbow crayon pencil
Unicorn pencil

Rainbow mosaic kit

Unicorn notepad

Rainbow paperclip

Collectible Iwako Unicorn Eraser

Heart rainbow stickers

Cloud embossed greeting card

The stuff has really kept her (us!) occupied.  She took one of the colouring sheets and the rainbow pencil out when we went for my friend's birthday afternoon tea and it kept her busy.

The following day she did the rainbow mosaic which had a magnet to attach to it, so it's now proudly displayed on the fridge.

We did the felt by numbers kit together yesterday.  I did the cutting and she did the sticking. I think she did a fab job of it!

Once she had finished she asked if we could cut it out and then proceeded to find another magnet so she could put it on the fridge alongside the other one!

She has really enjoyed everything in the box and has used it all.  You can never have enough pencils or notepads so they went down very well.  She loves the little unicorn eraser too, as she already has one in a different colour so has been loving playing with them!

I absolutely recommend Mila and Pheebs.  I think their boxes are a brilliant idea for children.
Previous box themes have included Woodland, Sweet Treat and Beside the Seaside.  For more information about subscribing follow this link.  Monthly boxes cost £9.99 (including UK postage), 3 monthly work out at £9.66 per box and 6 monthly £8.83.

Feel free to ask me any questions regarding them and let me know if you decide to get a box!


Ali 
xx

Making sensory bottles! (glitter is involved!)

Everyone who knows me knows I love glitter, so when I  saw a video of how to make sensory bottles and there was glitter involved I was straight on it!!

My little girl has acquired my love of the stuff so I'm not sure who was more excited about it.

They are really simple and take hardly any time. All you need is a plastic bottle, glitter glue, warm water and glitter. Whichever colours you fancy!

She opted for pink, red and silver so the first part was squeezing out the glitter glue into the bottle. I don't think there's any right or wrong way of doing it, give it a good squeeze and make sure there's a decent dollop there!

Next you add warm water

Then the best part...the glitter!!

Make sure the lid is on securely; we added some sellotape to give it some extra protection. The same thing I do with bottles of suncream when taking them on holiday! Then give it a good shake...

That's basically it! It's so pretty and the effect when the glitter is settling is really relaxing. I can see why they are good for kids (but I like it and I'm far from being a child!).

You can add stuff like foil confetti, buttons, sequins, even small toys. Anything you fancy really. I've seen Lego ones online which would be quite fun. We made another one the following day with loom bands in and it worked well. It was literally just loom bands and water but such a nice effect when you shake it!

I can see it getting addictive!!

Let me know if you give it a go :-)


Ali 
xx

Big girl turns 7 and our new arrivals!

It doesn't seem two minutes since I wrote this post about my little girl turning 6 last year. Time really does go fast! Now all of a sudden she's 7 and I can't get my head around it. Although she's 7 going on 17 some days..

Asking your children what they want for their birthday it is a bit of a silly question really as they often want everything they've seen their friends with, various things they have seen advertised on the TV & anything else they can think of! However this year all little Miss wanted was an electric pencil sharpener!!! She was "bursting" for one apparently. There is also something called Action Cam which is a kids' version of a Go Pro and she had been wanting to spend her pocket money on but we told her to wait until after her birthday! Of course she was delighted. We got her some other bits too but she was most overjoyed when she saw the pencil sharpener.. "WOW IT LIGHTS UP TOO"!!

One of the qualities I love about her is that she really appreciates everything so much and sat reading all her cards word for word which was lovely. She opened our card before any of her presents and came over to hug us after saying thank you. Proud mummy moment indeed.

She got so many gorgeous things (thank you if you're reading this and you gave her something!). One lucky little 7 year old.

The other thing she had been wanting for a long time was a pet. Guinea pig/s to be precise. After a lot of research and deliberation we decided we would get some. I made some phone calls and we decided on a local pet shop that has a very good reputation with animals.  They were really helpful on the phone and didn't seem to mind my many questions!

We went along to the shop and fell for a pair of 6 month old brothers. So I am very pleased to introduce our new members of the family...

Marmalade is the gingery one and Bubble is the grey one. They are Abyssinian cross breed and absolutely adorable. They were quite shy and a bit nervous at first but we have all got used to each other now and they are just lovely. I now have someone to talk to when I am in the house on my own as oppose to talking to myself (joking!) and I seem to have officially become a crazy fur baby lady :-D

They have a big play pen for during the day and they don't do a great deal more than eat and sleep. They have their mad moments when they have bursts of energy. I was thinking how similar I am to them other than the energy part!! It is encouraging me to spend more time downstairs than in bed which has to be a good thing. Obviously getting any pet is a big commitment but I'm so pleased we did. They make me feel like we've got a new baby in the house! As someone who has a chronic illness I can safely say a pet would bring you much happiness :-)

I am currently sat listening to them purring to each other whilst planning some stuff for our annual Team Princess fundraiser. I will be announcing details of the charity I've chosen very soon.

Who knew guinea pigs even purred?!!


Ali
xx

Sound of Music inspired.. a few of my favourite things!

We watched The Sound of Music last week & my daughter hadn't seen it properly before so it was lovely. Of course the songs are total classics & I keep singing "raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens".

I'm still managing to be pretty positive despite feeling like I've been trampled on by a herd of elephants every day!! See my previous post here.

So, as inspired by Julie Andrews in the film, I thought I'd mention a few of my favourite things...

Hearing my little girl laughing has to be up there at the top. Children's laugher is such a fab sound & my girlie's giggle hasn't changed since she was a baby. Everyone always says what an infectious laugh she has & it's true. A few weekends ago we had snow & she loved it. She thought throwing snowballs up at me in my bedroom & splatting them onto the window was hilarious! I managed to get a good action shot photo of her laughing. It makes me smile so much.

Fresh flowers always make me smile. I would have a whole house full of them if I could! I sometimes buy myself a bunch of something pretty but receiving them from other people is even better. My lovely friend Katie sent me a surprise bouquet last week from Bloom & Wild who do beautiful letterbox flowers. They came wrapped so well with little nets over the buds to protect them & they look so nice. Over a week later they have all opened & they are still going strong!

Sunshine. Not only do I really love the sun but it is also my nickname for my daughter. I say that she is my sunshine on cloudy days! I love nothing more though than sitting with the sun on my face, a nice blue sky & an ice cold drink in my hand. I have a new cloud hair clip from Crown & Glory which we got in the last subscription box & I've actually stuck it on the wall near my bed as it makes me think of my girl.

Happy notes make me exactly that. I love writing little notes, letters or cards for people. I am always leaving them in the house for my daughter & she now leaves them for me too which is just the cutest thing. I have been putting them in a scrapbook that my friend Sian got me for Christmas & I love looking at them. I'm one big sentimental softie!

Music. I don't have any particular type that I prefer, it just depends what mood I am in. I really love stuff that reminds me of being young (er!) & songs that spark memories. I sometimes just sit listening to the radio for ages but I do tend to prefer older stuff than more modern. I think music is amazing as it just makes you forget everything for a while & it can make me feel so happy (or sad) which has to be a good thing.

Glitter is an obvious one for anyone who knows me! I am obsessed with the stuff in absolutely any form & I am just drawn to it. People always send me glittery cards & gifts which is the best.. I know I'll never grow out of my love for all things sparkly!

The sound of rain but not particularly the feel of it or what it does to my hair!! I love being inside & listening to it bouncing off the conservatory roof. Strangely relaxing.


Pineapple themed stuff seems to have become a bit of a problem for me!  have no idea when it started but I am just drawn to all things pineapple... I'm not an overly huge fan of the fruit itself so I really can't explain it. People now buy me pineapple stuff (as well as glittery!) & my friend Emma got me a fab sparkly one for Christmas which I absolutely love! I recently found a top in the sales online with a pineapple shape cut out at the back & I have a few vest tops with them on as well as various other bits. Yep I'm obsessed...

The Michalaks on YouTube are so lovely to watch. They make family video diaries & upload a new one every Sunday. I find them so relaxing to watch & they are such a lovely, funny, genuine family. The vlogs are so well edited & I recommend them to everyone. I am actually going to publish this post & put their latest video on. It's my favourite part of Sundays!

Crisps are my absolute downfall. I am quite happy not having sweet stuff but I just cannot cope without crisps! Walkers are my favourite, especially cheese & onion flavour, so can you imagine how I felt when I won a SACK OF WALKERS CRISPS!!! Yes, a whole sack full. It was a competition on Twitter before Christmas & they recently arrived. I am not sure I've ever been so happy. I haven't had to buy any in weeks & I gave a fair few away too. Woo hoo!

So for future reference, buy me anything glittery, with pineapples on or crisps and I'll love you forever!!!!!

I could probably go on and on but I shall stop here! These are just a few of my favourite things but I have lots more. Remember that even though it might not feel like it, there is usually something positive in every day. Even if it's a really small thing. I have been writing a line in a diary each night with something happy from the day so I can look back on my worst days & remember them. Chronic illness is rubbish but try to find the little things that make you smile if you can. As Buddy the Elf says "Smiling's my favourite"!

I'd love to know some of your favourite things?


Ali
xx

A day out! Stockeld Park, Halloween 2015

It is currently half term & as I often miss out on doing stuff due to my illness, I decided that I wanted to join in the fun this time. I knew I would suffer badly for it & that I would have a good few days (at the very least) of severe Post Exertion Malaise (PEM). However sometimes, as I've said before, it is worth actually living a bit sometimes despite knowing the consequences will be dire afterwards.

So we decided to have a day out. We settled on a place called Stockeld Park which is about 20 minutes from where we live. It is a truly magical place set in an Enchanted Forest. With this week being school holidays & it being the end of October, they had special Halloween themed stuff going on. I have never really been a fan of Halloween before but this year I seem to have got into it a bit more. Sort of.

We were due to leave around 11am & the weather was not on our side. Heavy rain. Not the ideal weather for walking (or in my case wheeling) round a forest! We set off anyway hoping that by some miracle it would stop when we got there. No such luck!

There are various ticket prices at Stockeld depending on the time of year & the amount of activities you want to do. We had decided we just wanted to go round the forest & go ice skating but the ice rink was closed due to the rain when we arrived! There is also the option to go on the Nordic ski trail & to go in the illuminated maze.  I had found out that carer's entry was free with proof of disability so it didn't cost us that much at all.

We had booked my daughter in for some Witch & Wizard training  (how exciting!) so we pretty much went straight there, getting soaked in the process. Good old British weather!

We were able to sit & watch the training in action & my daughter loved it.

It gave my jeans a chance to dry off too! Amazingly when it had finished the rain had stopped. A Halloween miracle...

I was a bit worried about how the wheelchair would fare on the rough ground but it was pretty much ok. There was a Witch trail around the forest & there were various code words hidden to complete a puzzle as well as witches to find.

My little girl absolutely loved it! She couldn't wait to find each one but there is also so much to see around the forest & lots of interactive stuff too. 

I particularly liked these huge sparkly balls!

I got a bit snap happy with my camera (just for a change) & it really did feel very magical.

When we were near the end, she found the final witch at Grandma's cottage from Little Red Riding Hood.

We were also joined by a rather large wizard & a zombie who scared the living daylights out of me. And because I said out loud he was scaring me, he did it all the more... naughty zombie!

We headed out & went to the cafe for a drink & a snack. There was a catwalk happening for any kids who were dressed up who wanted to join in which was really cute to watch. My daughter lost her hat halfway down the runway when it was her turn, so she had a witch running after her to give it back!!

We decided to leave after that as the ice rink was still closed, but we overheard someone say it would be open shortly. Luckily it did reopen & we couldn't not do it could we? I had already enquired about whether I could go on in the wheelchair & the answer was yes! So it had to be done.

What a fab experience! One of the staff pushed me around the rink & I loved it. My daughter & her daddy looked as funny as each other trying to skate but they soon got the hang of it. It had a brilliant atmosphere & I was so glad we had managed to do it.

Before we left we saw the zombie from earlier staggering around scaring people so I went to ask for a photo. He roared in my face again. I screamed!!

All in all a brilliant day & we are hoping to go back at Christmas time as the forest will look gorgeous all lit up in the dark.  I am, as predicted, suffering badly for it but it was expected & the memories made were most definitely worth it.

Ali 
xx