Blog post ideas for Summer

I always find blogging over the summer difficult - the hot weather makes it difficult to concentrate and when the children are around over the holidays I find it difficult to get anything done. One thing that I try to do is to spend the last couple of weeks of term planning and writing some content so that I have at least one or two posts scheduled every week to take the pressure off a bit.

If you are like me and currently looking for ideas to fill your summer editorial calendar, I hope that you might find my list of Summer blog post ideas helpful!

* Share a seasonal recipe - a barbecue favourite, a refreshing drink or your best summer cocktail. If you have published posts already over the last few years you can create a roundup of themed summer recipes to get some new views to your older content.

* Write a garden update, a balcony update or even a windowsill update with pictures of what you can see from your window. What has changed recently, what is growing, do you have a beautiful tree or flowerbed to share or is the garden full of summer toys.

* Summer home decor picks - a good place to add some affiliate links if you have any, perhaps choosing items along a theme like the beach, nautical, sunflowers and so on. You might have review items to include that would fit well with the theme.

* Write about a summer walk somewhere, and contrast it with a visit at different times of the year. For example a summer walk along the beach, a summer walk through some local public gardens or through the forest. What is special there at this time of year? Take lots of photographs!

* A summer activity list - a list of all the things that you want to achieve this summer. Also a great resource for bored children during the holidays!

* What happens in summer where you live? Are there any special events locally? Write a list of local activities like pick your own or car boot sales, or showcase something bigger like the International Bognor Birdman or the Eastbourne Air Show.

* Write about some of your favourite summer memories from when you were a child. What do you do now to create fun memories with your children? Do you try and replicate the things that you remember enjoying?

* Summer tips - How to keep babies cool, what to pack for a picnic, what you need in your hand luggage on a flight and so on. Everyone has advice to share!

* Free summer holiday fun - How to find out about free local activities and some ideas for things that you can do at home to save money on expensive day trips.

* What has been the summer craze where you live? There always seems to be one or two, whether it's loom bands, fidget spinners, Lego cards or Pokemon Go! Have your children been obsessed by anything recently?

* How has the school year gone for your child? What did they achieve, what milestones did they reach, what fun things did they do? How do they feel about moving on to the next year, especially if they will be starting at a new school or will be having a big change.

* How does your routine change during the summer - do the children stay up later, do you eat dinner outside, does what you eat change? Do you enjoy being more flexible, or do you prefer the routine of the school term?

* Hold an interview with your child at the end of the school year, perhaps comparing a photograph of them on their first day with one taken on the last day. This also makes a good vlog and creates great memories to look back on.

* Are you going away on holiday? Write a preview post about where you are going and what you hope to see and do. You could ask other bloggers for their tips about a particular location to make a helpful crowd sourced post.

* When you get back write a review post, along with a video if you can. Include useful information to help people that might be planning their holidays, and remember to re-share in January when people are booking for next year! I write about pretty much everywhere that we visit, it doesn't need to be a press trip as people will value your honest opinions and photographs. If you managed to save money when booking share your tips, and write a list of packing essentials.

* Blog a summer craft, either for kids or for yourself. If you have blogged about a few you can combine them into a summer craft round up post.

* Make a list! Ten (or more!) things that you love about summer, about the warm weather, the light evenings, about the school summer holidays, favourite summer foods, favourite places to visit locally.

* A review of a local attraction, with plenty of factual information and perhaps a video. Share to their Twitter and Facebook page, and keep an eye out in local Facebook groups if people are looking for advice and recommendations so that you can share your link (just be careful not to be spammy!)

* Summer garden ideas - some things you've done to make your garden pretty, share a Pinterest board if you have one, reviews of garden equipment that you've purchased like play or cooking equipment.

* A summer holiday travel wishlist - where would you like to visit in the summer holidays? For how long? Or do you prefer to travel out of peak season?


If you've enjoyed this post, you may like some of my other lists of blog post ideas:

Blog post ideas for craft bloggers
Blog post ideas for travel bloggers
Blog post ideas for Spring
Blog post ideas for Autumn
Blog post ideas for Winter
Blog post ideas for Christmas

Finally, I've gathered many of these ideas together to form an entire year of blog post inspiration!

Ten things I love about travelling with the family

We love to travel as a family, and you can read about some of our adventures on my travel page. Today I've made a little list of ten things that I love about travelling as a family.

That moment when you get off a plane or out of the car in a new country - the relief as you are released from a confined space and the feeling of excitement when the fresh air hits you with unfamiliar smells and sounds.

Spending time together - living in a little family bubble and enjoying time spent in each other's company. It doesn't matter if you are doing something adventurous out and about, or chilling together with books and tablets. As difficult as it can sometimes be travelling with young children, I'm well aware that there won't be endless opportunities, and we need to make the most of them while we can.

Seeing interesting things - from big important historic sites and monuments to a different coloured post box or an unfamiliar food in the supermarket.

Losing track of time - when you don't need to worry about getting to school on time, rushing to swimming lessons, or getting to bed at a reasonable hour. If you are on a relaxing schedule you can even forget what day of the week it is, as long as you don't forget to come home!

Learning about a new culture - whether the differences are subtle or more extreme. I love seeing how people live in different countries, how their lives are different and how they are the same. Even countries that are very similar to the UK have their differences. I think it's important to share with the children that there are many different ways of doing the same thing, whether it's how you travel to school, what you eat for dinner or how you spend your free time.

Eating food that I didn't have to cook - and along with this, using crockery and cutlery that I don't have to wash up, sleeping in a bed with sheets that I didn't have to change, and using a bathroom that I don't have to clean.

Relaxed bedtimes - as long as the children are happy and we don't have an early start, I love not having the pressure to get them to bed at a reasonable time. Especially nice when you are somewhere warm with long evenings, and you can enjoy being outdoors and making the most of the day.

Living out of a suitcase - and having the exact amount of clothes that you need. No fussing about what to wear every day as you have a limited number of options, and so much less stuff means a lot less tidying.

Learning something new - perhaps a few words in a foreign language, about a local landmark or historic site, finding out about a historic event that you've never heard of before, and learning about a different way of life.

Coming home again - and appreciating what you have at home (as long as you can ignore the huge pile of washing, if only for a little while!)

What are your favourite things about family travel?

Summer by the sea

I've been living by the sea for about 15 years now, at one point within a ten minute walk and currently about two miles away - close enough that I can walk or run to the coast easily enough. The children go to school in our nearest seaside town and I often park up early so that I can go for a quick walk to the seafront and breathe in the sea air. I also try to fit in a seaside walk most weeks, either alone or with a friend.

Although Worthing isn't perhaps top of the list when it comes to a UK beach holiday destination, there are still plenty of tourists here over the summer. The first summer that I was living here I was temping in the town centre, and I loved taking my sandwiches down to the beach at lunchtime and sitting on the pebbles in the sun with the holidaymakers and locals. It was a bit like being on holiday myself! Worthing can get very busy in the summer, both in the town centre and on the outskirts as you head out towards Goring and Ferring, the cafes are full and although there is plenty of free parking along the front and down surrounding roads they do get very congested.

I love going down to the seafront for a run in the evening when it's still warm and light but a lot quieter. I like to run along the front past the private estates with the big houses that have gardens that stretch down to the beach, imagining what it would be like to live so close to the sea. It's beautiful at sunset, especially when the tide is partly out so you can see the sand underneath the pebbles.

The photo below was taken on one of our first summers in Worthing. We lived in a lovely flat very close to the sea front, and every evening after work we would go for a walk along the front, often all the way into town. We didn't have a garden, and so we used to take a disposable barbecue down to the beach. I loved living so close but when it came to buying a house we just couldn't afford one in that area.

Last summer I felt like I rediscovered the beach again, after a few years with young children that to be honest weren't that thrilled with a trip to a cold and windy local beach that didn't have any sand. I did try to take them there a few times when they were little, but after one screamy trip too many I gave up for a while and we kept the beach for holidays. But last summer we had a few trips both alone and with friends, and a couple of times I even indulged them with an ice cream!

Making the most of the last days of the summer holidays! #epig #magnum #beach #seaside #goringbeach #worthing

A post shared by jenniferjain (@jenniferjain) on Aug 30, 2016 at 4:35am PDT

Now that the children can ride their own bikes, and I have a bike of my own, I'm hoping that we might enjoy a few family cycle rides along the prom, which has a lovely wide cycle path. I'm certainly intending to get down there by myself whenr I can.

Perhaps one day we'll be able to afford a house right on the seafront. I dream of a house with a large window that looks out over the sea so that I can watch the sunrise and sunset and listen to the sound of the waves.

Our Summer 2017 To Do List

The calendar is getting full now as we count down to the end of term, with Sports Day, special assemblies, second hand uniform sales and so on, it's very exciting! The children moved schools last September, and this year for the first time our summer holiday will be an impressive eight weeks long. We've booked a mid-week break to Center Parcs for the very first week, leaving me with seven long weeks of child entertainment.

So I'm busy planning, like I always do, and getting the children to help me come up with a list of activities that they want do do during the holidays. Some of them are one off things - like a day trip out - and others are things that we'll hopefully manage to do lots of times - like baking or bike rides. You can see my previous lists here - Summer 2014, Summer 2015 and Summer 2016 - and as in previous years I've made a nice big poster that we can refer to if we encounter a dull moment.

Many of the suggestions are mine but the children have added a few. Harry asked for a themed day or two, so I need to play Minecraft Day (which won't involve playing Minecraft all day!) and an Egyptian Day. Playing Minecraft over the holidays will feature though I'm sure, Mia made sure to add it to the poster. One of my suggestions, that the children should plan and cook a meal for us all, didn't go down too well but I've left it there in hope. We have lots of craft kits to get on with that I save from birthdays and Christmas, and plenty of activity books to do. I'll also be making sure that we all do lots of reading.

I'm also hoping that we'll be able to organise some play dates and days out with friends, so the next step is to get hold of a calendar and start to schedule some things in!

What are you hoping to do this summer?

The garden in June

We've been enjoying some lovely sunny days lately, and I've been trying to make the most of the garden, both by myself during the day and with the children after school. I'm not much of a gardener so we don't really have any flower beds, it's usually as much as we can do to keep the grass cut and stop the weeds from completely taking over!

Last year we bought some new garden furniture which I really like and has had a lot of use. It wasn't too expensive but it's quite sturdy and easy to clean. We do enjoy lots of barbecues and it's nice to have somewhere to sit during the day that is comfortable. It's also very light so it's easy to move around the garden depending on whether you want sun or shade.

Mia brought this plant home from school before half term, having been told it was a sunflower, and was under strict instructions to look after it so they could see whose had grown the tallest. After a couple of days it became apparent that it was in fact a nasturtium, so I've planted it out in a pot for her in the garden which she has decorated with my painted pebbles - she's very proud of it!

This is our vegetable patch which is just off to the side at the bottom of our garden. My parents were visiting last week and I took advantage of my Dad having weeded it to take a photo. I had planted lots of things and was reluctant to weed it in case I pulled something up by mistake (that's my excuse anyway!). Unfortunately many of the things that I had planted didn't actually grow so he's planted me some more, I'm not very green fingered!

Finally, keeping an eye on our garden is Beowulf. I found him in our old house when I was sorting out the garden after we'd been living there a year or so. It had become a bit of a jungle and was quite overgrown, and I found him tucked away among the vegetation. I named him Beowulf, I'm not sure why but I think that we'd just watched the film. I wonder if his previous owners ever wonder where he got to!

Our first camping trip of the year to the New Forest

Over the hot weekend we enjoyed our first family camping trip of the year to the New Forest. Since our first trips a couple of years ago we've spent a few nights at a time in the forest, staying at either Ashurst or Hollands Wood. Ashurst is slightly closer to us and feels a bit more open, to us Hollands Wood feels more foresty. Either site is lovely though, and for this trip we chose Hollands Wood Campsite, staying for one night.

We arrived on the Saturday in the early afternoon, a little later than usual as the children were taking part in a parade at home. It was very hot, but under the trees it was lovely and cool. After we had put up the tent, something that gets easier every time, the children busied themselves close by, looking for bugs in the tree trunks and undergrowth and building pretend fires with the sticks.

The children also sat still for ages reading their books which was lovely, I even had a little snooze! Then we headed out for a short walk for some tree climbing. We had a barbecue by the tent, then went over to the large open area for some football and frisbee. At this time of year it stays light so late that you can really make the most of the day. Mia was tired first and headed to bed but Harry stayed up reading as late as we did - way past his bedtime but he was so contented that we didn't have the heart to put him to bed!

The next morning fortunately the children slept until a reasonable time - all that fresh air worked wonders! While we were packing up Mia built herself a little shop on the tree trunk, I loved seeing how her imagination was sparked with the natural bits and pieces that she found around her.

I made a little video of some of the fun that we had in the forest, enjoy! We hope to be returning very soon.

If you want to try camping with the family you might like my post with some tips for trying out family camping!

Those Sainsbury's Lego cards

For the last couple of weeks I've found myself immersed in a new obsession - desperately trying to complete two Sainsbury's Lego trading cards albums. I'm sure that most people reading this post will be familiar with them! Our first encounter with the cards was when my parents sent some packets to the children in the post. They were thrilled with them, they divided them up fairly and only had one duplicate between them, and played all sorts of games. They are really fun cards, each one depicts a different mini figure and they can also be used for games like snap, dominoes and scissors, paper, stone.

But the main reason for collecting them is to trade them with others and slot them into the special album. A couple of weeks later we went to visit the other set of grandparents, who had another stack of cards for them and also the albums. The children now had plenty of cards, but of course once we'd sorted through them, taken out duplicates, and made sure that both albums were as full as they could be, they still had lots missing.

I started to notice that parenting forums like Mumsnet were full of threads with parents busily swapping cards for their children, and Facebook was full of posts from people looking for the last elusive cards. I had promised myself that I wouldn't get swept up in it, but I couldn't stop myself as my perfectionist tendencies kicked in, and I knew that I'd have to try my very best to complete their albums.

I contacted a couple of friends that I knew were regular Sainsbury's shoppers and would be collecting the cards. Thanks to their generosity I was able to fill lots of gaps in the albums, but there were still a few left that I just couldn't find.

As the obsession with completing the albums grew, I started to wonder who was most bothered about the cards, me or the children. They did take their pile of swaps into school along with a list of the numbers that they needed, but they weren't very successful and seemed to come home with fewer cards than they started with. Then as the number of cards required finally began to dwindle to a manageable amount it began to seem even more important. I sent out messages to family and e-mailed around the school mums. Fortunately I wasn't the only Mum out there working hard on behalf of their children! Thanks to a friend of my sisters, we finally slotted in the remaining four cards at the weekend. We still have a small pile of swaps left, and so I've been keeping an eye on our local Facebook group to offer out any that people desperately need to complete the collection, as a way of paying back the generosity that we've had from others.

The children are thrilled with their completed albums and they both love looking through them, so I think that they are appreciative. The albums really are very good, with lots of interesting facts and reading on different topics. It must have been a really successful promotion for Sainsbury's, as it's definitely been a hot topic of conversation both online and offline - but I must admit that I am hoping they don't run it again!

Have your children been collecting the cards? Have they completed their albums yet, or has it been you doing all the work?

Collecting things

When I was young, I remember that all my friends collected something which they could bring back as a souvenir from holidays and days out and keep on display in their rooms. Some collected erasers, some pens, and my collection was keyrings. As a child, my Dad built me special display racks to hold them, using planks of wood and cup hooks, and I took great pride in arranging them my colour and type.

I've thinned down my collection over the years and I now keep them in a pretty tin, but I love going back through them and reliving the memories of where I bought them. Some of them are now attached to bunches of keys that I use regularly. Even though I don't officially collect them any more, from time to time I still pick one up if I've visited somewhere particularly special.

I still remember the excitement of visiting the gift shop after a day out and choosing my keyring. Sometimes there was a limited choice, and sometimes there was a huge range. Where possible at first I would try and buy an embossed blue leather keyring with the name of the attraction. In later years I tended towards plastic ones. I liked to buy matching sets if I could, and I was thrilled when I was able to find matching plastic keyrings from three of the Disney parks.

I've been trying to interest the children in a collection. Mia isn't particularly fussed (although she has plenty of plastic nick nacks and stuffed animals building up in her room), but Harry showed an interest and he decided that he would like to collect magnets. So the last few times we've been on holiday we've treated him to a magnet from one of the tourist tat shops (Mia generally comes out with another stuffed toy). He chooses ones that are interesting to him, the bigger and more colourful the better, and he proudly displays them on his radiator.

These days I still like to collect things. I wrote a little bit about the things that I bring back from my travels, and I have a huge collection of leaflets and postcards from places that we've visited all around the world, neatly sorted in boxes by country. I also like postcards, especially the free advertising ones that you can sometimes find at the cinema or in hotels, and I have lots left from my student days when I used to stick them up all over the walls. I keep ticket stubs, programmes and nice paper bags, and selected printed ephemera relating to current events like the Royal Wedding, or the release of a popular film or book. The main thing about my collection now is that it is mostly free, and easy to dispose of if I feel the need to cut it down! I also have a collection of craft things, in particular buttons, pens and felt, but I do use it regularly so it's not too bad.

Did you have a collection as a child? What do you collect now?

Painted stones

Living near a pebbly beach, there is never a shortage of pebbles for crafting. Our garden has several gravel borders, and this is where I put the pebbles that make their way back from the beach in buckets and handbags. They are large and small, smooth and rough, and in a variety of different colours and shades.

I've been wanting to paint pebbles for a little while now, and I decided that now was the time. I collected together a selection of different pebbles. They aren't too large, they measure around 2-3 cm in diameter, and I chose smooth ones with a nice shape to them that were fairly flat on each side.

The good thing about living near a pebbly coastline is that when stones are required for crafting I have a large collection to raid! #epig #stones #pebbles #rocks

A post shared by jenniferjain (@jenniferjain) on Jun 6, 2017 at 2:41am PDT

I painted the pebbles using gouache paints, as I had a nice selection of colours. They leave a flat, smooth surface. You could also use acrylic paints, which would give a shinier and more textured finish. When the paint had dried I finished with a layer of thin varnish.

The design on the pebbles is very simple - a yellow centre, coloured petals and green background. I left some space around the pebbles, so you can still see the original colour of the stone underneath, although it is made a little darker with the varnish. The white dots are made using a Posca Pen - a really useful crafting product which I've used before to decorate wooden Christmas decorations. The white showed up really well ever on the darkest backgrounds.

Some of the dots around the edges of the petals were painted before the paint had completely dried. This meant that some of the paint colour seeped into the white, making it look as though a paler version of the colour had been used. I waited until the paint had dried completely before making the dots on green, so they showed up as a brighter white.

They probably aren't sturdy enough to last very long outdoors, but I'm thinking of displaying them in a flowerpot which is sheltered in the veranda of our summer house. They were so quick and easy to make that I don't mind if they only last the summer - I can make more next year!

A Hama bead flower bouquet craft

 After the Hama bead wreath that I made recently, I decided that I enjoyed making Hama bead flowers so much that I'd make some more for another flower themed decoration! My previous flowers were made using a flower Hama bead pegboard, but these simple flowers just use a hexagonal pegboard and don't require too many beads. This is the design that I used:

I used three green lollipop sticks to make the stalks for each decoration. Two of the sticks are cut down so that the flowers fit nicely. The sticks are attached to the bottom with glue to hold them firmly in place, then the Hama bead flowers are glued to the tops of the sticks.

I've found that as long as you leave the glue to dry thoroughly, the Hama bead decorations stick down firmly.

When it was all dry I made some flowerpots for the decoration using some brown corrugated card. You could also use brown craft foam or just some thick cardboard. Alternatively you could just keep the Hama bead flowers on individual sticks, I bit like these decorative plant markers that I made using mini Hama beads.

The finished craft would look lovely stuck to the front of a card, perfect for Mother's Day or as a thank you card. You could also use BluTack to stick them up somewhere as a summery decoration, mine are currently brightening up my desk. They would also look nice with some ribbon attached so that they can be hung up.

You can find lots more crafts to celebrate Spring here!

The last few weeks of the Summer term

Now that the half term holiday is over, I can't believe that the children only have five weeks until they break up for the summer. These last few weeks have gone so quickly, and the end of term will be here before we know it. They have both had end of term tests, and although Harry still has a piano exam in his final week, things definitely seem to be winding down. Their school shoes are looking scruffy as I'm reluctant to buy them new ones that they will grow out of over the summer, and I'm anxiously watching the hemline on Mia's tunics - she only needs to wear them for one more year and so I'm hoping that I can get away without buying expensive new ones!

I always spend this time of year fretting over school uniform. Admittedly last year was much more stressful, as they both started a new school in September and I had two complete sets to buy as frugally as I could. There will be a second hand sale at some point in the next few weeks so I need to get my list together for the school branded bits, then stock up on the remainder and the generic bits as soon as I can before the shops start to run low. This year I'm determined not to leave it until the last minute like I often do!

In my memory the summer term at school lasted for ages, and was mainly formed of long lunchtimes sitting out on the grass field, making daisy chains which we rushed to put into water as soon as we got home in the hope that they would last. I remember the excitement when it was warm enough to wear the summer dress, and it had to be very hot indeed for us to be allowed to bring a water bottle into school (there were just a couple of water fountains).

I hope that the children are making fun memories of their time at school, although quite different to mine. Some things are the same though - when I was at school one summer craze was a Coca Cola yo yo (I still have mine...), which is not all that different from a fidget spinner!

The children's school is very close to the sea, and Mia's class have been spending alternate weeks having 'beach school' which sounds fantastic. They've been drawing the pier, looking for shells, making art and doing some beach science.

I'm really looking forward to the end of term and having the children at home with me all day. I love the long summer evenings when there is no pressure to get up the next morning (although of course that doesn't stop them rising at the crack of dawn...), no packed lunches to make, no homework, and no school run.

However I'm sure I will have forgotten my enthusiasm a few weeks in, when I realise that I have literally no time to myself and the only way to get a break is to let them play Minecraft for a bit, which ties up my computer so I can't even do any work! I'll be coming up with a list of activities like I usually do, and spending some time browsing Pinterest for inspiration. Hopefully we can organise some play dates and day trips with friends!

What are your memories of the countdown to the summer holidays?

June - Lately I've been...

The children are now back at school after a busy half term break, so I thought I'd write another catch up post! Here's what I've been up to lately...

Thinking about

I've been reflecting on the fact that the children have been in their new school for almost a year now, and remembering this time last year when it was a flurry of taster days and uniform sales before the end of term. I'm so proud of them both, they have settled in brilliantly. Mia barely remembers her old school, and while Harry found the transition a little bit harder for the first couple of months he is perfectly settled now. This summer term seems to be going by so quickly.

Crafting

I've started working on a new granny square crochet blanket which is coming along nicely and is using up some of the yarn from my stash. I've also been having fun playing with some mini Hama beads, and made some little kittens from a kit which the children have adopted. Also staying with the Hama beads I was really proud of my Hama bead flower wreath which is currently brightening up a corner of the kitchen.

Watching

We are enjoying the latest series of Better Call Saul on television and have also started The Handmaid's Tale, an excellent adaptation but tough viewing.

I've been to the theatre twice this month, first with Harry to watch Horrible Histories, a fun show which taught us both a lot. Then three of us enjoyed the excellent Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London which was amazing.

I've also discovered a new genre of videos on YouTube - speed cleaning and decluttering videos! It might seem a bit pointless to be watching videos of other people decluttering when I could be doing it myself, but I find it really inspiring, especially watching videos of people that have more stuff than I do. A new favourite is the Messy Minimalist, I just love watching her have a sort out and she is really motivational.

Eating

It was Mia's sixth birthday last week, a celebration which ended up being spread across several days and involved four different birthday cakes, so there has been a lot of cake eating!

My daughter requested a fairy cake for her birthday, I'm not much of a cake decorator so I took the easy option with some plastic fairies, but she loved it! #epig #cake #cakedecorating #fairycake #fairies #birthdaycake

A post shared by jenniferjain (@jenniferjain) on Jun 5, 2017 at 2:32am PDT

At the weekend we attended a Sangeet pre-wedding celebration with family and there was lots of delicious food to enjoy. I came back with a box of Indian sweets which I love, although they are very sweet - I can't eat too many at once!

Travelling to

At the beginning of May we celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday with a family weekend at a cottage in Bedfordshire. It was a really lovely weekend, we went to Whipsnade Zoo, my sister took us swimming at Center Parcs Woburn where she works, and we had lots of family time.

More recently we spent a few days over half term at my in-laws in Warwick catching up with some extended family. We had a lovely day out at Warwick Castle and some nice walks along the canal, then finished with the Sangeet in Luton.

Reading

I've not done much reading of books this month which is a little disappointing. I've added a few books to my wishlist, mainly ones that have been recommended by fellow bloggers, I just need to set aside some time to get on with it. I did re-read one of my childhood favourites while hunting out old books to pass on to Harry - Back Home by Michelle Magorian. I've just started Harry off reading the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman which he is loving and I think they are definitely due for a re-read.

I have been keeping up with reading blogs though which has been really good, something that I had neglected for a few months. I'm now making the effort to have a daily read through the blogs that I'm following on Feedly, and looking for linkies to help me find some new blogs. There are so many talented writers and crafters out there!

Planning

Yesterday we held Mia's 6th birthday party at the local soft play. Because we were away in the days leading up to it I was very organised and got everything ready well in advance, with party bags ready to go and just a few bits of food to prepare in the morning. I'm always worried that there won't be enough food boxes or party bags and make extras, but this time there were no surprise guests and there was plenty for everyone.

At the beginning of July our village is holding a village wide garage sale trail. I've not committed to taking part yet but I've started gathering things together that I could sell if we were to join in, and I've amassed quite a pile so I think we will. I've been trying to group things into similar priced groups and saving boxes to display everything in.

I'm also busy trying to plan my blog and social media work in preparation for the summer when I will have children constantly under my feet!

Looking forward to

I can't believe that the children only have five weeks left until the long summer holiday. I'm very much looking forward to it as I love having them around, although it's hard work. At least it's much easier now that they are older and I have Minecraft as an option for easy entertainment.

At the start of July once the children have broken up for the summer we've booked a mid-week break to Center Parcs Elveden Forest. It will be the first time that we've visited during the summer as we usually aim for cheaper out of season breaks when it's cold and rainy, so I'm really hoping that we get some nice weather, maybe we will even manage a barbecue or two!

What have you been up to lately?

How to make an alien planet play scene

You need:

A small cardboard box with floor and sides (or you can cut down a larger one)
Newspaper or other thin paper
Tissue paper
Bostik White Glu
Black and grey paint
Alien cut out stickers
Stars and sequins

Instructions:

First prepare your box by cutting it down if necessary. Then tear lots of tissue paper into small pieces. Pour out some Bostik White Glu into a deep plastic cup. First make a rocky base for your box with some scrumpled up pieces of newspaper, especially in the corners and edges. Then take pieces of thinner tissue paper, cover them with the glue using a brush, and spread them out over the newspaper to make a smooth surface. Cover the inside of the box with tissue paper too in thin layers.

Wait until the tissue paper and glue are completely dry, then paint them with grey paint. Paint the rest of the box black to form the sky. When the black paint has dried you can add a coat of sparkly glue paint.

While everything is drying you can make your aliens. I used the foam alien stickers, and I stuck them to cardboard to make them thicker. I used a small square of cardboard to make a base for them, secured in place with a line of Bostik White Glu.

When the background to your play scene is dry you can decorate with star stickers and sequins. Then you are ready to play!

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.

My latest crochet project

After I finished my crochet bunting I was planning on taking a break from crochet for a little while. But I found that I missed having a craft to work on that didn't take too much thought and was easy to pick up. So I decided that it was time to make another crochet blanket! I still had quite a lot of yarn left after finishing the bunting, in a lovely selection of pinks and purples. I try not to build up too much of a yarn stash, so I wanted to find a project that would use it up and could also be combined with something that I already had.

When I was planning my Sky Blanket I was lucky enough to be sent more than enough yarn than I needed from Make it Coats. One colour that I barely used was white, and so I ended up with plenty of extra white yarn. So I decided to combine the leftover bunting yarn with some of the white, and go with a simple large granny square blanket.

So far each side of the blanket is measuring about 70 cm, and although I've just started my second ball of white yarn I have plenty of the coloured balls left. I'm intending the blanket to be for Mia as it will match her bunting, and she seems to be pleased with that idea. I'm now trying to think whether I want it to stay square or whether I need to turn it into a rectangle, either with rows of treble groups down each end or with plain rows, then with a border around. It will probably depend how much yarn I'm left with when it's reached the width that I'm aiming for!

I like doing crochet in front of the television, but when my husband and I watch our shows together we devote our full attention to them and sit in the dark with no distractions. So I do my crochet when he's out or away and I can stick on something that doesn't take too much concentration. I also enjoy sitting in front of the PC and watching videos on YouTube, catching up with some of my favourite vloggers. Recently I've discovered the world of speed cleaning and decluttering videos and I've found a few favourites that I'm eagerly binge watching - they give me the motivation to get on with my own housework (perhaps I should film myself while I do it to earn a few pennies from YouTube ads!)

I also have a few balls of blue left over from the Sky Blanket and a couple of balls of green yarn from other projects, so I'm thinking if this blanket turns out nicely I'll make a second similar one for Harry.