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My youngest daughter loves Squishy and collectable characters, she also loves to be creative. When I heard about the smooshins surprise maker kit I immediately thought it would be something she would want to try. The smooshins surprise maker kit provides over 10,000 different combinations and you can purchase additional colour pouches and moulds so the surprise maker can be used again and again.

Whilst the instructions are really clear and easy to follow I am rather grateful that the Surprise maker kit comes with a practise colour pouch. Our first 2 attempts were unsuccessful, which is why in the video the kids are wearing different clothes! On one of our attempts we did not mix the colour enough. You have 90 seconds to mix all the colour together. In another attempt we took too long to squeeze the colour into the maker, you only have 30 seconds to do so. 


The maker also lights up different colours in an attempt to guide you through the process.


We were very much third time lucky.

It is really important to fully pop the colour pouch and then mix it within the allocated time, followed by squeezing the colour before it hardens. A top tip would be to make full use of the practise pouch that comes with the kit, as it really does give you an idea of what to do. We also found that the longer you leave in the mould the better the product is. We left in the maker for 4 hours and then left it in the mould overnight. 

The girls talk through step by step how to make a Smooshin here



Now we know what to do and have had practise runs it is actually a lot quicker and simpler than the first time we did it. The girls really enjoy making the Smooshins and the extra surprise of not knowing what the character will be like really helps add to the magic. It is also great that additional moulds and colour pouches can be purchased so that you can continue to use the surprise maker kit once the supplied materials have been used up.

Smooshins are a really cute collectable toy, and the added mystery of not knowing what they will look like adds a whole element of fun to the creating process. My girls aged 8 and 6 really enjoyed making them and could do so with very minimal help. They are wanting to make some more so I am going to have to buy some more colour pouches for them.

The Smooshins maker was sent for review, all words are my own opinion. 

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If you follow me over on Instagram you will know that I have not been very well this past week. In fact the house has been full of lurgy! So much so that Saturday evening saw Little Man rushed to hospital with breathing problems. The problem when you are a parent and you are poorly is that you still have to take care of the tiny humans you have responsibility for. When there are 3 of them to entertain, each with different needs it can be extra tricky.

First port of call for the youngest two was trying to make me feel better. This obviously involved listening to my heart beat and checking my temperature. Little man seemed to shove all the medical tools into my ear, which didn't help matters.


After my check up I really needed a little bit of peace and quiet. Lets face it I wasn't feeling well to start with and a 2 year old performing a check up who is not the most delicate did not seem to help matters. Entertaining 3 children and keeping them quiet can be tricky but I found a solution. Mess free painting!


Little Brian paint sticks provided mess free painting and kept all three children quiet. Win all round. The paint sticks were perfect even for Little Man to hold and he had no issues twisting the paint up to use. There is no need for brushes or water, so nothing to clean up and no accidents to spill. Even better they are non toxic and wipe off glass and wooden tables easily [don't ask how I know].


With the colours drying really quickly creativity began flowing and the children were busy with their masterpieces. The colours really bold and vivid and dried the same way too. 


I managed to get some quiet time and the children got to spend some time using their imaginations and creativity. Even better there was no mess to clean up afterwards, except a quick table wipe were Little Man had got very creative.


The Little Brian paint sticks have been a huge hit all around and I can see us using them a lot more and not just when I am poorly!

The paint sticks were sent for review, all words are my own opinion 


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In the past week alone I have taken hundreds of photos. Most of them are of little man and the girls and whilst I tend to only share a select few on social media, I do treasure each and every one. Recently I was looking through a memory card that I had filled, and simply could not believe how much my children have changed. The most obvious changes are of little man as he changes from a newborn into a little boy.


I have my favourite images of them and each month I try to take a photo of the three of them together, to record that bond that is developing and changing over time. The first image I took of the three of them is the one I used to announce his arrival,and possibly one of my favourites.


At 7 weeks old all three of my children have had their photos taken by a good friend of mine, Jemma Lambert, and her photography is proudly displayed on my walls. When contacted by transform a wall, it was one of her images I chose to be made into a wall mural


I was unaware of what the package was when it arrived. Two parcels, a tube and a box, one containing the metal frame edges and the other the image. The frame requires assembly to be put together but the instructions are clear and simple to follow. The image is printed onto a canvas, which when the girls saw it thought it was a flag. The canvas is then stretched around the frame to form the finished mural.


The finish on the print is of a high quality and I do keep stopping and simply looking at the finished product. The faces of my children and the capture of that particular moment in time it always brings a smile to my face. The mural really has transformed a wall, from something we simply passed by to a place to pause and reflect, a place that makes us smile every time we walk past it.


Thanks you Transform a wall for sending the canvas for review, all words are my own opinion 
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The girls have been busy over the past few days making a present for their Grandads for father's day.  They both love crafting and getting creative and they both asked to make something.  Rather than the usual we decided to try something new, and a new craft they had not done before. 

The girls had seen a découpage project and had been asking for a while to have a go, this therefore seemed the perfect opportunity.  We gathered together all the items we would need, and the girls decided to make a letter for each of their Grandads and a photo frame


The process seemed really easy, glue, stick and when finished varnish.  The girls loved that they could use all sorts of different paper and let their imaginations run free.


My youngest got really creative with hers and seemed to take it to a whole new level


Both girls had a lot of fun creating their gifts and have made something truly unique and personal which I am sure Grandad will love!


The girls would like to say thank you to Hobbycraft for sending over the supplies and helping them to create a unique gift for Father's day.



This day I love getting ready for Father's Day
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I remember spending many hours as a kid playing on Spirograph.  Creating amazing drawings and then trying to recreate them the next day.  Spirograph is back but with new 3D technology, your drawings jump right out the page.  Spirograph allows you to create amazing geometric and swirling patterns.


The new Spirograph comes with cool 3D glasses so you can watch the different colours on your design pop out from the page in 3D.

Also includes


Includes:

• 12 Drawing Wheels and 4 Templates.
• 3D Effect Dual Colour Pen, 2 Florescent Markers, 3 Colour Pens and a Rainbow Pencil..
• Optical 3D Glasses - includes 3 LR44 Batteries
• Spirograph Design Book.
• 10 Drawing Papers and 1 Spirograph Sticker.
• Sealable Storage Bag.
• For ages 5 years and over



I have 5 of the new Spirograph 3D sets to giveaway, entry is via the Rafflecopter and open to UK residents only.  Giveaway ends on 10 December 2014 and full t&c are on the Rafflecopter.  Good luck and feel free to check out my other giveaways.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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My Facebook feed recently has been full of my friends sharing the trailer for fifty shades of grey. All eagerly arranging girls nights out to watch the film when it is released Valentine's day next year. Fifty shades of grey has brought about a little bit of excitement before Christmas and with this in mind I wanted to introduce an artist who I have recently been introduced to.

Haydn Charles has taken the tradition of Victorian erotica and added his own unique style. His artwork is enchanting and seductive and is certainly art for the boudoir. The collection works as stand alone pieces or in groups of three as the lush reds complement each other in all the paintings.

Haydn Charles artHaydn Charles art

For those with a fifty shades of grey fan at Christmas, or those looking for an alternative gift for the groom Haydn Charles art would be the perfect gift.

I am able to giveaway a signed print from the Eros collection.  Entry is via the Rafflecopter below which contains full t&C.  The giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 and over and closes Midnight GMT on 9th December 2014.  Don't forget to check out my other giveaways.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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My eldest daughter recently had her first half term.  I cannot believe how quick it has gone, it only seems like yesterday it was her first day at school.  We did do quite a lot during half term and I thought rather than do lots of individual posts, it would be nice to put together a half term round up of the events we attended.

Our half term began by the girls getting rather excited that they had a whole week together playing


We had been invited along to the Family Pet show in Manchester.  This is different to the National pet show that we went to in Birmingham.  The main difference is that you could take your dogs along with you.  I decided against this though, as having two children without two dogs to look after was more than enough.



The girls once again loved meeting all the different animals.  There was lots of different dogs and cats for them to meet but my daughters favourites were the ferrets and the blue tongue skink.  I loved catching up with Edenpetz who I met in Birmingham and also Harvey's Army.  If you own a dog [or any pet who is micro chipped] Please take a moment to sign Harvey's Army petition.  They are campaigning for compulsory scanning of all domestic animals who are retrieved from the highways.  It is not currently mandatory to scan animals found on the highway.  Which means if your loved pet is found either alive or dead they may not be scanned, Harvey's Army want to change this.  If you do sign the petition please check your emails for a response, as you will receive an email to verify you want to sign the petition.  If you do not follow the link in this email than your signature will not be counted.

I also met some new companies including Canny Magloc.  This is a really clever way to connect a lead back onto a dog.  I have been impressed with how strong the device is and is able to hold even J when he pulls, it can hold up to 40Kg.  It is worth a look.

I am wanting to create some special Christmas presents this year and so the girls spent a day getting creative and into the Christmas spirit.  It was a nice calm down day


As a child I loved Roald Dahl, and to be honest I still do love to read his books.  I really loved revolting rhymes and often found them rather funny.  Music in the Round, had put together a special performance of music along to the words by Roald Dahl Cinderella.  The event was part of Family Arts festival and with a daughter who has an interest in music I thought it would be a great experience for her.

She was treated to many instruments she had never heard of before and listened intently to each.  She became engrossed in the story and loved all the audience participation, clapping and cheering.  It was a great way to introduce music to children and in such a fun manner.  My eldest really enjoyed it.


After a quick bite to eat and a babyccino 


It was time to go and enjoy all the fun of the fun fair!




Thursday was another busy day as we headed over the Pennines again to Manchester.  This time to the Sea life centre.  The girls loved all the mini tunnels and bubbles that they could walk through and get a close up look inside the tank.  They even decided to touch a crab.



We set on a deep sea adventure, finding the stamps and answering questions as we went around Sea Life.  We stumbled upon the Octonauts whilst we where at the stingrays.  The girls got very excited until it was our time to meet them and then got shy.  After they wanted to go back and say hello again.


My eldest discovered my glasses and spent the next morning pretending to be a teacher.  This confused me as neither of her teachers wear glasses.  She had fun anyway


Having taken the girls to experience live music I thought it would be great to also take them to the Hepworth In Wakefield.  The Hepworth is home to some great artists and also has a lot of family friendly events on.  Admission to the gallery is free, but there is a small car park charge.  The girls took advantage of the weather and spent a lot of time on the outdoor playground


Before we went inside.  The Hepworth takes full advantage of its position in Wakefield and has some beautiful views.  The girls were captured by the huge windows.


My eldest even sat down in front of one to draw a picture.


My youngest however took a liking to the sculptures


We decided to take part in some of the activities the gallery had put on for children.  The Hepworth has a dedicated space for children which was a really lovely touch.  The girls set out drawing some pictures.


They were then given rollers and shown how to spread the print ink.  They both really loved this


The next step was to use some special tools to draw patterns in the ink.


Before pressing the drawings over the patterns in the ink.  The girls had to press really hard and give it a rub


They were rather pleased with the finished results


The week had gone by very fast and it was time for the weekend.  We have enjoyed the firework display at Cannon Hall Farm in previous years and so we had booked tickets to attend again.  The girls were eager to see fireworks and kept looking up to the sky.


First it was time to light the bonfire


I find watching a fire really relaxing.  It was really lovely that the lit the fire early, it was around 5.30 so we got to watch the sunset round the fire too.  The fireworks were lit an hour later and they were choreographed to music.  My only criticism was that they seemed to be over really quickly.

I decided to be brave and took my camera off auto in an attempt to capture some fireworks.  I am pretty pleased with the results.



Our half term passed really quickly lucky for my daughter she had an inset day on Monday so we threw a party for her friends.  A Dora in the City twitter party.  My daughter had her friends over and we had a lot of treats in store


The girls all got together on the table and decorated cakes, well you can't have a party without cakes


Our twitter party was in conjunction with UKmums.tv and Nick Jr to celebrate the launch of new episodes of Dora and Friends in the city.  The girls were excited to see the new episodes and settled down with some popcorn to watch.


We played lots of games Pass the parcel, activity sheets and colouring.  One of our guests even won a Dora bracelet. 


The girls had a lot of fun playing Piñata.  It had been a dream of one of the guests to play after she had watched Dora the explorer so it was really lovely to make that dream come true.  The Piñata was quite tough to break through for our 4 year old guests so we ended up enlisting some help 


With a little help from our puppy we managed to get into the piñata.  It was a really lovely party and the perfect way to finish half term.
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About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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