We decided to celebrate Earth Day this year by making coffee filter stained glass earths. We actually cheated and used some round paper towels we had been sent as we didn’t have any coffee filters, but you get the same result.
Do your kids decorate eggs for easter? It is one of the things the boys love and they have egg decorating competitions at school, cubs and also the Easter Party we attend annually. We are one of those families that believe in the kids decorating their own eggs, so I sit on my hands and provide encouragement only! These Teenage Mutant Ninja decorated eggs won Maxi the cubs competition this year and even better they are simple and all his own work!
I have been looking after my friends three year old and we have been having so much fun with some easy, but satisfying craft projects. One of which is this super simple paper plate nests for our pompom chicks. Once we made these he had so much fun playing with both the nests and chicks.
Part of our Spring tradition is making an Easter Bonnet for the Kids Easter Party. I used to be one of those parents that wanted it all to be perfect and symmetrical, but over the years I have learnt to sit on my hands and let the boys take over. In my humble opinion, my boys Easter Bonnets might not look perfect, but they are kid made.
Oh I adore Spring. The lighter nights, the warmer days and the promise of things to come. We are a pretty active family and the boys take the opportunity of lighter night to play outside. In fact they don’t come home until we go find them and can often be found playing football under the light of a street lamp. But for those of you with kids that are reluctant to leave the warms and familiarity of the screen for outside play here are some great spring activities.
• Munch Bunch will be offering you the chance to win a £10 National Trust voucher plus Munch Bunch spoons and backpacks, during the course of the twitter party hosted by @Mum_TheMadHouse • There will be 5 winners (UK only), details of which will be announced on Thursday 26/03/15. Via direct message to the twitter account you entered with. • Each winner will receive a £10 National Trust voucher, a backpack and a spoon. • The Munch Bunch #MBGoodStuff Twitter Party prize draw is open to residents in the United Kingdom that are over 18 years. • The starting time of the Twitter Party will be 20:30 and the finishing more »
Spring is my favorite season and yellow my favorite colour, so this Paper plate hand print chick really makes my heart sing. It is a simple craft, but is a fun way to include your child’s hand print in to crafting. Chicks are a perfect signifier for spring or Easter and if you are a chick fan then you might like my easy chick cards or pompom chicks.
The Easter holidays are nearly upon us and Spring has sprung, it’s the perfect time for a Nature Trail! We are big fans of encouraging you to get out and about no matter what the weather, but the lighter nights and warmer days make it so much easier for everyone. To help encourage you get outside and take your kids on nature trails, TV presenter and mum of two, Angellica Bell is sharing her tips on getting down with nature and helping children learn where food comes from in a Twitter party on Wednesday March 25th, 8.30pm.
We have been making homemade pizza’s as a family since the boys were small. It has become a tradition in the Mad House that Saturday night is pizza night and over the years we have perfected our homemade pizza recipe and now it is perfect and great for cooking with kids.
Have you seen the Paddington Bear movie? We loved it in the Mad House It was the perfect family feel good movie and even the husbeast enjoyed it and we will be happy to purchase it on DVD or Blue Ray when it comes out on 23rd March. It was one of the best family movies we have seen in ages. So to celebrate the release of the movie I wanted to share with you some fabulous PB crafts and activities and also some fab free printables too.
How cute is this bunny garland! I have not hidden my love of pom poms from you and Easter is the perfect time to use pom poms in your crafts. This pompom tailed bunny garland is adorable and so simple to make. If you don’t fancy making pompoms for it, then make it smaller and use cotton wool balls for the fluffy tails!
I love Easter. It really is a wonderful time of the year. A time of renewal, a time for rejoicing and also new beginnings. I love to decorate our home with the changes of seasons and Easter is no exception. I also love how our decorations are building up and being added to over the years. Most of them are homemade and hold lots of memories and none of them were expensive. My top tip is to buy them after Easter is over in the sales and put them away for next year, just remember where you have stored them!
The more I mother, the more I respect and appreciate my own mother. The more I mother, the more I want to tell her just how much my opinion of her has changed. But the gap she has left in my life is more than that. I want to ask questions. Was I really as bad as Mini at getting to and staying asleep. Is Maxi as precocious as I was?
This shop and recipe for chocolate Cornflake nests has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias Sometimes when you are trying to encourage your kids into the kitchen you just need a simple recipe that is fun to make and chocolate cornflake nests fit that bill and are super fun for kids of all ages to make as there is no baking or oven involved.
Back in 2013 we visited LEGOLAND Florida twice, yes twice and one of the highlights for me was the Granny Smith apple fries, which are delicious cinnamon apple fries. I have tried to bake these fries and also attempted to cook them in the air fryer, but trust me you need to actually fry these in vegetable oil to get the crisp coating. The secret is to cook a few at a time in a really hot oil, that way the outside crisps and prevents the inside absorbing oil.
Is there anything better than receiving a homemade gift made with love? This beautiful button bracelet would be the perfect Mothers Day gift or tween craft. I would be delighted to be the recipient of this gorgeous unique piece of jewellery which was made by Utterly Scrummy Food for Family’s daughter. How to make a Button Bracelet
Oh how do I adore the lighter nights and warmer days It makes going outside so much more fun. I am currently working with Melijoe, a fab website filled with wonderful kids clothes and here are the MiniMad’s picks for spring clothes for boys.
Picture tile coasters make great gifts for Mums or Grandparents and are so easy and fun to make. They also make great frugal teachers gifts. We picked up our tiles from the discount section of the DIY superstore as the box was broken and it was £1 for 10 four inch tiles and we have been using images from our fab FujiFIlm Pop Books.
There is only a week until Mother’s Day in the UK and there really isn’t the need to spend a lot. In fact most mothers would just be delighted with a handmade card and a lie in, trust me on that one! However, if you do want to spoil your mum on a budget then you have come to the right place.
There is something special about picking up a recipe book or a handwritten recipe that is marked with fingerprints, oil splatters and the holds in it all the history of the times that meal has been cooked for loved ones. My mum didn’t have a recipe book, she cooked from memory, she even baked from memory. She was an excellent cook and other than a few notes in an old Mrs Beeton’s Cookery book from 1959 and a Bero Book with notes in and a few pages torn out of magazines. Then she died so suddenly a lot of her fabulous recipes died with her.
