National Stationery Week (29 April - 5 May 2019)

Custard creams... That's all I needed to buy, when I popped into Poundland yesterday morning. We're reading David Walliams' Fing with Eddie, and the little monster Fing loves custard creams. For some reason I never buy them, so my son begged me to buy some to enjoy with the book.
I got a bag of custard creams, but then my feet took me to the stationery isle, where I bought yet another Harry Potter-themed notebook and some fancy clippers.
Sounds familiar? Are you a stationery addict? Then this is our week.

National Stationery Week (29 April - 5 May) gives us a chance to celebrate our favourite notebooks, pens, markers, paperclips, highlighters, document wallets and all things paper and writing-related.

I've always loved drawing. My Mum's an artist, so it was a natural progression that I wanted to copy her from a very early age. I had my first art admirers in the kindergarten.
My Dad, on the other hand, couldn't draw at all, though he did an amazing jewellery. He once tried to draw a horse for me - it was a view from the back, a kind of an oval with two stick legs and a long tail. A genius idea.

Buying new stationery for school made the beginning of a new academic year that little bit more positive.

These days I buy stationery for many reasons. As a blogger, I'm always writing down recipes, ideas for posts, and just making lists of posts which I have promised to write, so that I don't miss a deadline.

I have dozens upon dozens of notebooks and notepads - from humble, unpretentious supermarket own products to the king of notebooks and diaries Moleskine.

And then there is a whole Universe of writing and colouring tools.

STABILO pens are well-known and much-loved around the world. They offer products for all ages, abilities and tastes.
"Pens with cult status - that is what STABILO stands for. The family-run enterprise STABILO is one of the world's leading manufacturers of writing instruments and stands for German quality, an extraordinary variety of colours and ground-breaking innovative strength".

STABILO has a whole host of pens and pencils in every colour you can think of.

To mark the National Stationery Week I am going to mention a few STABILO products which will suit anyone and everyone, whatever their writing style.

STABILO point 88 fineliner is an instantly recognisable classic pen. Great for writing, underlining, taking notes, sketching as well as working with rulers and stencils, the range includes 47 brilliant colours.
These pens come in a wide choice of pack sizes and packaging.

Let's look at the pack of 6 point 88 fineliners. The colours are bright and vibrant, the ink flows clearly and leaves no smudges (I've tried to smudge the writing immediately after application, and no trace was left on my finger). The ink dries instantly.

Perfect for doodles, black is my favourite colour.

STABILO Power Felt Tip Pen Wallet of 15 Assorted Colours is a set you can most often find in the isles of stationery for children.
STABILO power felt tip pens come in 30 colours and have a medium tip.
The colours are water-based and are supposed to be easily washable.

A big bonus is that it has an extremely long cap off time of up to 8 weeks without drying out. That is seriously impressive.

The pack suggests checking out a free 3D colouring App at stabilo.com/3dcolors

We received a few STABILO products only last Saturday, so didn't have much time to play with them yet.

My son is a big Pokemon fan, and has chosen to draw and colour in Detective Pikachu.

These pens have a robust large tip with a line width of 2mm. They are good for colouring, though check the paper first if you use colouring books, as some of them have rather thin paper, and the colouring pens might bleed on the other side.

I did a little sketch, using both fineliners and power felt tip pens.
I'm reading The girl who speaks bear by Sophie Anderson, and my quick sketch is book-related.

It is a lovely set. I particularly like the skin tone, which is often missing in children's colouring sets.

STABILO BeFab! Rollerball Pastel Pen is ideal for both right and left handers. The rollerball comes with one standard ink cartridge.
It has a medium nib width of 0.5mm.

It took me quite a while to figure out how to add the ink to the pen, but when I got it, it was pretty self-explanatory.

The nib is very thin, and would suit for either writing or doodling.

Do you have a favourite STABILO product?

Disclosure: We received a selection of STABILO products (see the top photo, minus the paperclips) for the purposes of reviewing them for National Stationery Week. All opinions are our own.

Edgar the Raven t-shirt for World Book Day

You couldn't possibly miss the World Book Day: if you were out at the school run hour today, you've seen children in all kinds of outlandish, brightly coloured outfits.
Eddie's school is taking part in this annual event by inviting children to come to school dressed up as their favourite book characters.
Some of the costumes we've seen this morning were wonderfully imaginative.
On the way home from school Eddie was telling me about the school assembly, where the teachers were trying to sort them out into groups. Apparently half of the kids were dressed up in Harry Potter outfits, there were plenty of Hermiones and one Ron Weasley too.

Last year Eddie went to school as Greg Heffley from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I made a t-shirt for him and a mask.
This year we were torn between The Raven Mysteries by Marcus Sedgwick and How to Train Your Dragon.
I was happy to draw either of the main characters on a t-shirt.
Raven won. Not surprising really, as he's called Edgar. How could we resist?!

Just like last year, I used fabric pens and a white shirt. You will need to place a piece of paper inside the tshirt while you're drawing, so as not to mark the other half.

Edgar is the Raven who resides at Castle Otherhand. The Otherhands are a literary version of the Addams family, with Lord Otherhand, his wife Minty, Solstice, Cudweed, twins Fizz and Buzz and the monkey named Fellah.

"Castle Otherhand is home to all sorts of oddballs, lunatics and fruitcakes. It's just as well for all of them that they have a secret weapon: he's called Edgar."

The Raven Mysteries are Gothic novels for children. We love the illustrations by Pete Williamson, they complement the story perfectly.

I tweeted the photo to Marcus Sedgwick this morning, and was thrilled when he retweeted it to his followers. That's our five minutes of fame.

What did you child(ren) go to school as? Did you make your own costume?

Diary of a Wimpy Kid costume for World Book Day

Hello, snowy March! And a Happy World Book Day to you all!
Kids across the UK are celebrating the event by dressing up as their favourite characters from books. This morning we were trudging through the snow to school, and all around us were princesses with long floaty skirts under warm coats, pirates with black eye patches, dark-caped crusaders, Moanas, knights.
The school ended much earlier than usual, and for once, Eddie was disappointed to go home early because he said it was a great fun.

When thinking of his favourite characters and books, Eddie didn't hesitate for a second. It must be Greg Heffley aka Wimpy Kid. Eddie's read all the books in the series and loves the style and humour of this award-winning series.
Typically I'm not the parent who spends hours on a World Book Outfit. I googled for a Wimpy Kid outfit, we spotted a tshirt which Eddie loved. The issue with the tshirt was that it costs over £26, which is a ridiculous price.

I knew I could make a tshirt with Wimpy Kid characters at a fraction of a cost. I bought a set of 3 white tshirts at Sainsbury's for £3. and a set of fabric pens on amazon - see Stationery Island fabric pens - dual nib permanent fabric markers (pack of six, at the moment available for £3.99).

The original Diary of a Wimpy Kid-  which introduced Greg Heffley and his crazy family to the world - and Double Down are our top favourites from the series.

When I asked Eddie which designs he wanted for his tshirt, he asked for Greg and his catchphrase "Bite my biscuits" and also Rowley and Zoo Wee Mama.
If you read the books, you know exactly what I mean.

When drawing on the fabric with fabric pens, you'll need to insert a thick paper between the layers, so that the colour does not sip through on the other layer.

And here are two sides of Eddie's tee.

I also did a quick mask to complete the outfit.

What character did your child(ren) choose to go as on the World Book Day?

Qixels Kingdom Castle Attack Playset

If you sighed with relief that your kids are not that into Hama beads anymore, "beware" - there is a new playset on the block which can rival both Hama and Aqua beads. I remember a few years ago Hama beads were found everywhere in our house. I still occasionally find a rogue bead which has been hiding for a couple of years at the bottom of the drawers or behind the books on the bookshelf.
I believe Qixels have first made their appearance a couple of years ago, but their range has expanded to include new creative playsets.
Qixels Kingdom Castle Attack Playset (£29.99) will appeal to many fans of Hama and Aqua beads
as well as Minecrafts lovers.

Qixels are the award winning brand brought to you by Character Options.
What exactly are they?
They are a variation of plastic beads - pixelated cubes, fused together with a spray of water.
The playset includes 1000 qixels cubes, 2 cube trays in two parts - top and bottom, 6 design templates, 6 display stands, 2 display bases, 4 plug in accessories (dragon flame, axes etc), door frame, draw bridge, large and medium  floor/wall plates, window frames, turrets, flags, poles, ladder, 1 water sprayer and 1 storage tray + an instructions leaflet.

This playset will allow children to create their own pixelated world full of fun themes and characters. No heat and no glue, simply make, spray, let it dry and play.
The castle parts can be assembled in a variety of constructions. You build your own unique castle, the possibilities are endless.

As my 6-year-old son Eddie is very much into Minecraft, he found these pixelated characters very appealing.
He hasn't done all the suggested designs yet, as the last week of school was very busy, with the May Day dancing, lots of term homework to be completed (for some reason we always leave it until the last moment, so it gets very hectic).

You need to put the top tray with holes over the bottom tray with pins. Don't forget about the top tray: we didn't put it at first, and then Eddie had to redo his design.
Place design template under tray using small tabs to lock it in place.
You might also put a template next to the tray, as it is not very easy to see through two trays.
Firmly press each cube one at a time onto the pins in the tray, matching the colours on the template.

Once the design is completed, spray the character with water from a water sprayer bottle. Make sure that all the areas are covered with water. Gently tilt the tray to shake off the excess water. Lay it flat and leave to dry.

According to instructions, it should take just over 30 minutes for the shape to set. I have shaken the tray as suggested. We left it to dry overnight, but when we lifted it in the morning, the down side was still a little bit sticky.
Overall, it is an excellent quiet activity. Our minor suggestion is to add a lid to the tray where the cubes are sorted (if you don't make all the characters in one go).
The Qixels Castle features 1000 cubes to create a Qixels Kingdom, where children can defeat savage trolls and regain power of their lands.
This is just one of the Qixels products, which you can mix and match for an imaginative play.

While 1000 cubes seems to be a very decent amount, I think for a truly creative spree you might need more beads. This is where the Mega Refill pack might come handy.

Eddie loved the set, and plans to finish the remaining designs this week. He has also been checking online which other sets are available. What have I "unleashed"?!  He's now saving his pocket money for the glow-in-the-dark Qixels set.

Disclosure: We received the Qixels playset for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are our own.

Plasticine Softeez

It was raining almost every day in the last week of our Easter school break, and we spent a lot of time indoors, trying to do different activities including stickers, colouring, tracing, baking, doing puzzles and playing with plasticine.

Plasticine Softeez is a new range of super soft modelling clay. It is aimed at children aged 3+, and is an easy pliable material for little hands. Unlike the traditional plasticine, Softeez doesn't dry out.

Among the other plasticine goodies we received a Plasticine Softeez Under the Sea Play Box, which comes with twelve blocks of Plasticine Softeez, a play mat and nine accessories including a roller, shape cutters and two modelling tools. There is also an instructions sheet.

The underwater scene shows the bottom of the sea with a couple of sea creatures and corals.

Eddie was happy to roll the plasticine, using the roller. Cutting the shapes was easy enough, when I showed him that he needed to press a bit harder to cut a clean shape. The little spear-shaped modelling tools are helpful for adding lines and patterns.

Just like with cookie cutters, some shapes are more fiddly than the others. That's where the modelling tools come handy to push the plasticine carefully out of the cutter.

All the primary colours are included, and by mixing them, you can create as many shades as you like. The only limit is your imagination.
Under the sea set has a good range of colours, so we kept them as they are.

This creative activity is educational and fun at the same time. It helps develop fine motor skills as well as stimulate imagination.

Eddie had great fun, playing with Under the sea set as well as the extra plasticine blocks. He started with a rather wobbly little car, then moved onto more challenging projects.

This panda might be cross-eyed, but he enjoys his bamboo shoot and a sweetie.

Plasticine Softeez will make a lovely gift for any child who enjoys creative activities. These sets and separate blocks of plasticine are good value for money.
Our only issue is that the play mat is made of a thin plastic which once unrolled, doesn't want to stay that way. Perhaps making it from a slightly sturdier plastic or laminated paper would give a better working surface.

For the information on the full range check out Plasticine Softeez on Facebook and visit @PlasticineUK on Twitter.

Disclosure: we received a selection of Softeez products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are Eddie's and mine.

How did our Halloween Pumpkin Twitter party go? (party in pictures)

Frankenstein cupcakes

The hashtag #NickJrPumpkinParty has been trending this week on Twitter, and you might have joined in and entered a few competitions as well, both on Monday and today. But did you ever wonder what's it like in real life? What would you see if you were present at our Pumpkin party on Monday? If you're curious to find out, keep reading (with a warning: photos-overload).
This was our third Twitter party, organised with UKMumsTV. Before the party the bloggers receive a big bundle of crafts materials and suggestions for activities.

We invite guests and try to cram as many activities as possible in a couple of hours (by the end of which Mums are ready to have a rest).
If you are running a Twitter party, it's all a juggling act, as you entertain the guests, take photos and tweet-tweet-tweet.
Eddie and his friends had a fantastic time. Just look at my son, enjoying every minute of it.

First all the boys coloured a great set of masks and paper goodie bags. There were six masks to choose from including a witch, a Dracula, a bat, Frankenstein and more.

Boys were very good at colouring.

I like the creative approach to colouring, very unorthodox.

We played the game Put the wart on Wallykazam, which everyone found hilarious.

And of course, everyone appreciated the Frankenstein cupcakes. We received a batch of pre-baked cupcakes from Tesco. It's the first time I decorated the pre-baked cupcakes. But all boys loved them and asked for seconds.

Many thanks to UKMumsTV and NickJr for a wonderful supply of party goodies!
My son keeps asking when we're going to host the next party, as he can't wait.