Cookie Press Review - The Craft Company

Biscuits will always be my choice when I need something quick and easy to bake. Whether its for Aalliyahs class or a rainy day activity for her to do. Biscuits can be any flavor with almost anything thrown into the mix. I love that you can literally have thousands of combinations. Whats more Aalliyah has so much fun when it comes to using cookie cutters and other tools to make random shaped biscuits. 

We were so excited to try out the Cookie Press from The Craft Company. It's a very simple concept. You simply fill the tube with your dough, pop in one of the 12 provided design discs and you're ready to go. I was able to fill the tube really easy, it wasn't fiddly or confusing. You simply unscrew and change the design disc as and when needed. It has a comfort grip handle which you press until you hear a click and it presses out a lovely shaped cookie. Some of the shapes are harder to master than the others and It does take a little bit of finessing to get the technique right but once you have the knack you can make lots of different shaped cookies in no time and at great ease. I made things harder for myself by using parchment paper as I couldn't for the life of me find my cookie trays. It still works but doesn't always stick well to the paper so sometimes wont form the shape and drop off the end. Even Aalliyah found it easy enough to use which was great as she loved getting involved.

I think this is a fantastic product and at under £11 its a bargain! Definitely a must for any kitchen. I can't wait to use it again. Fancy getting your hands on one yourself then head over to to The Craft Company where you will find lot more items at great prices. So if you need cake decorations, cake making equipment or even the ingredients, they have got you covered.

Review - Playfoam From Learning Resources

Aalliyah is very creative and one thing she loves as much as sketching and painting is building, whether its making models out of clay or designing cities with old shoe boxes. So when we were given the opportunity to review Playfoam, as you can imagine Aalliyah was very excited.

Playfoam is a fantastic moulding product which is completely different to any "dough" products out there. Playfoam is amazing! It never dries out, is totally mess free, has no sticky residue so will not stick to carpets or soft furnishings and what's more, when you mix the colours they do not blend into one bland colour like dough does, but instead mixes to make a wonderful multi coloured foam.

Upon opening the packet, Aalliyah decided after sorting the colours she wanted to mix them all and make a mass of multi coloured foam to start building with. The foam has a sticky feel to the touch, much like sellotape, but leaves no residue on your skin and can literally be moulded into anything. You can really let your imagination run wild, as you can see I too got a little over exited with the Playfoam!

One of the key features of Playfoam is the fact that it never dries out. This was something I was a bit dubious of, so when Aalliyah went to get it the next day I was amazed to see that it was exactly as we had left it. No need for any air tight containers or to even cover it. Playfoam stays in the same state and is ready to be played with over and over again.

I have had so many people asking me where they can get their hands on some Playfoam. The minute they have a play with it they are hooked! I cannot recommend this product highly enough.

As you can see in the following video, Aalliyah has fashioned herself a glove and played some catch! The possibilities really are endless and there is so much fun to be had with Playfoam.

Fancy winning some for yourself? Head over to their Facebook Page. Competition closes 7th June. Best of luck!

Halloween On A Budget - The Gallery - Frightful

I am always on the look out for a good deal and ways to save money, so the first thing that came to mind when I thought about Halloween, was what I could make myself. Having ran out of nearly everything crafty I decided to round up some household things and see what I could do.

This is Boo! He was made with an old sheet, a balloon and some string, and some markers or paints to create the face.

Start out with an olds sheet and very roughly draw a large circle made from zig zag patterns. Dont worry about being neat. Next cut out the design, be as rough as you like as it all adds to the jagged effect when hung. Next blow up a balloon, and cutting a small hole in the centre of the sheet, pull the balloon tie through and "voila" . Design your own face and then hang him up with some string. Very easy and very inexpensive.

We also made a hanging ghost face decoration, using pretty much the same method, but with a bin bag, then popped a spooky mask onto the balloon.

And then there's Dead Dolly, Not for the younger ones or the squeamish, but looks fantastic when the light is dimmed. Piece of cake to make. Took some old clothes, stuffed them with rolled up newspaper balls, taped on a balloon head and them finished off with a rope noose. Add a hat/shoes/socks or what ever you like at the end and don't forget to draw on a face.

Last but not least was my 10 second table cloth. Cut open an old pillowcase so its laid out flat, then get the kids to have fun with some fake blood. As you can see Aalliyah made scratch marks, drips, splats and even a hand print!

Have fun this Halloween and remember to stay save in whatever you do!

I am linking this post up with "The Gallery" this week as the word is frightful!

Head over to Sticky Fingers to view more entries.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Saturday Is Caption Day #SatCap

What is it with children and cardboard boxes? I could have the most amazing thing ever inside but my daughter still eyes up the box and the bubble wrap. I guess her crafty side takes over as I have always taught her to reuse things if she can. (As I experienced with my beautiful toilet tube binoculars she made me)

Anyway hear is my Sat Cap entry this week. Have fun captioning :-)

Why not head over to Mammasaurus and check out the other Sat Cap entries for this week :-)

My little Picasso ..

Being totally rubbish at Art myself, I can only imagine that Aalliyah must get her arty skills from her Auntie (My sister) who is fantastic at art. I on the other hand can barely draw a stick man! :-)

Aalliyah has always been a huge fan of anything arty. I am always surrounded by sketches, painting, sculptures and models she has made. She has a huge art trunk bursting with pens, paints, sequins and more. She is constantly on the "Google" look out for fun crafty activities to do.

Obviously I have a totally biased opinion, but I think Aalliyah is very talented and will always encourage her with her art, weather she decides to continue with in in secondary school or not.

If you have any ideas of things to make and do, please leave a comment and we will check out your blog for some ideas. Or if you are an arty/crafy blog we would love to hear from you!