One Stop Craft Shop craft supplies

One Stop Craft Shop been kind enough to send me some supplies to review. I enjoy sewing and baking, I’m not always successful at it, but I do try!

One Stop Craft Shop have been very generous with what they have sent me. I was expecting a little cross stitch kit or similar, they actually sent me: Sew and So On repeated heart cushion kit (£11.65), The Craft Cotton Company, fat quarter bundle (£10.70), Wilton Cookie Cutter set (£3.72) and Katy Sue Designs – Design mat (£8.98).

I made some basic vanilla cookies, so I could try the Wilton cookie cutter and the Katy Sue design mat (ssshhhhhh, don’t tell anyone that I burnt them!).
The Wilton cookie cutter set has four cutters, two different Christmas trees, a snowman and a snowflake. They were easy enough to use and I was rather surprised at how reasonably priced they are, considering that they are made by Wilton.

The Katy Sue design mat was also very easy to use. As advised, I brushed the mat with corn flour to avoid it sticking to the fondant. The design is lovely and it consists of lots of different stars.

Once my cookies had cooked (burnt) I rolled out some fondant and pressed the design mat onto it. Because I used the corn flour, the mat came away easily and the star pattern held really well. At this point, I used the cookie cutters to cut the fondant into the same shapes as my cookies. I brushed the cookies with some jam and placed my fondant shapes on top. The jam helps adhere the fondant to the cookies.

These would be ideal for children to use, maybe use them with salt dough and make some tree decorations?

Sew and So On cushion kit is ideal for a beginner who wants to try their hand at sewing. This kit contains all the materials needed to complete this project. Although the instructions are a little basic, it is simple enough but I would have liked to have seen a little guide on how to blanket stitch as not everyone knows how to. I loved the simple heart design but I decided I preferred a single heart instead of three. The stuffing is also included, it’s vacuum packed to save space and it fluffs up really well.

If you have a friend who likes sewing, an elderly relative or someone who’s a beginner, this cushion kit would make a lovely present.

The Craft Cotton Company fat quarter bundle consists of six different fabrics with different Christmas prints, baubles, snowflakes and Christmas trees. They are 100% cotton that’s nice and thick. I didn’t want to waste the fabric by rushing to make something just for this blog post. I’d much rather take my time and make something that can be used Christmas after Christmas, maybe some tree decorations, a Christmas stocking or a Christmas quilt.

Fat quarters are a cheap and easy way to experiment with different fabrics and prints. They are great for sewing, quilting and other craft projects. You can enjoy many different prints without having to buy them by the meter.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the quality of the items that I’ve been sent. I’d most definitely recommend One Stop Craft Shop, the items were well packaged and delivery was fast.

*I was sent these items for review purposes and I have given my honest opinion*

Homemade Christmas decorations

After searching pinterst for some inspiration, I decided to have a go at making my own Christmas decorations out of dried fruit.

I started with some oranges, lemons, limes, star anise, cinnamon sticks, kitchen string and ribbon.

To dry the fruit, I cut them into slices about 5mm thick. I placed them on a baking tray that had been lined with baking paper and blotted them with kitchen paper to remove the excess juice. I set the temperature on low and left them in the oven for hours, turning every hour or so.

Whilst the fruit was drying, my house smelt lovely and festive.

As you can see from the above picture, they didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped but they were still usable and I didn’t want them going to waste. I was expecting them to keep their colour but they went brown. The majority of the lemons were a disaster and couldn’t be saved. I figured that the centre of the fruit wouldn’t be seen, so I didn’t really mind too much about the browning.

I tied star anise and a cinnamon stick together with kitchen sting, threaded on the dried slices of fruit and tied a loop at the top with the string. I finished off with some red ribbon to decorate.

I made four decorations, two with mixed fruit slices, one with lime slices and one with orange slices. They may  not look the best, but they smell amazing!!! They are cheap and so easy to make and can be hung on the Christmas tree or a door handle. Everyone should have a go at making these.

Shrek The Musical DVD

Shrek was originally released in 2001 and it was the year I got together with my other half. It must have been love because he let me drag him to the cinema to see Shrek and I’ve loved the film ever since.

Shrek has been so popular that they have also released three sequels, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After and also two holiday specials, Shrek the Halls and Scared Shrekless, and even a spin off, Puss in Boots.

The greatest fairy tale never told come to life as never before in Shrek The Musical, the highly acclaimed Broadway production based on the smash-hit movie. Now you can bring the magic home this Christmas and get the best seat in the house!

Featuring a fantastic score of 17 all-new songs, Shrek The Musical was filmed live on stage with 10 cameras and directed by Michael Warren who flawlessly captured the magic of a Broadway performance starring an amazing celebrated cast including Brian d’Arcy (Shrek), Sutton Foster (Fiona), Daniel Breaker (Donkey), Christopher Sieber (Lord Farquaad), and John Tartaglia (Pinocchio).

Shrek The Musical tell the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love  aren’t only found in fairy tales.

The DVD features a songbook with Sing-Along – Kids and adults alike can pick their favourite song and sing along, as seven songs from the musical will have their lyrics appear on the bottom of the screen as you watch the actual musical performance on-screen. You can play all of the tunes uninterrupted or choose to randomize the musical experience with the “shuffle mode”.

I really enjoyed everything about this DVD, the packaging was eye-catching, the green S was a holographic green so it really stood out. Everyone will enjoy Shrek The Musical, it’s a great family show that stays true to the film. With songs that are catchy, you will be singing along in no time.

I enjoy going to the theatre but it can be a very expensive hobby, a DVD at a fraction of the price is much more cost-effective and you can watch it over and over!

Shrek The Musical would make a great Christmas gift for a Shrek fan or a theatre fan, they will love it!

*I was sent this item for review purposes and I have given my honest opinion*

 

 

 

 

LED HUT Christmas lights

Yesterday we decided to put up our decorations. We don’t have many Christmas decorations because it’s just been the two of us up until now. As it’s Willow’s first Christmas, I want to make it special and I want the house to feel more Christmassy.

You may have seen from my previous posts that I’ve picked up a few Christmas bits and bobs, and when a review opportunity came up for Christmas lights, I jumped at it!

I was so excited when the box arrived……..

Although the lights were packaged well, I was a bit disappointed with the packaging that the lights came in. The scenes on the box are lovely but I’m the type of person who would keep the box to store the lights in for future use. At a quick glance, you wouldn’t know what was in the box. There is a little product description on the box, but I feel like a picture of the lights would be much, much better.

On opening the box, the lights were bundled up nice and neatly but I very much doubt I will have the patience to put them away like that!

 I was sent the warm white lights in a 5m length and they are lovely. We decided that we wouldn’t be having a Christmas tree this year as Willow has just started crawling and we didn’t want to risk a tree being pulled down or lights being chewed. I bought some suction cups and stuck them in the window for the lights to hook onto.

I really like them, they look lovely and they have 8 different modes:

1-Fast Fade
2-Random Fade
3-Random Flash
4-Off
5-Fast Flash
6-Slow Fade
7-Pulsing
8-On Static.

There really is a setting for everyone depending on the atmosphere and what kind of mood you are in. You can change the setting with the click of a button, so simple to use!

Did you know you could save a huge 90% on your lighting bills simply by switching to LEDs?

Fed up of changing your bulbs? Long-lasting LEDs can keep going for more than 20 years!

I’m really, really pleased with these lights, I’d most definitely recommend them and because of the above facts, it makes so much sense to switch over to LED.

 

*I received this product to review and I have given my honest opinion*

More shopping…..

Someone decided that they wanted to go shopping into Cardiff, on a match day! Yes, mother, I’m looking at you!
Managed to get some lovely bits in TK Maxx. For a few weeks I’ve been on the lookout for a stocking holder for the babies Christmas stocking and today I found a nice one…..

It cost £12.99 and it’s rather heavy. They did have a different selection of stocking holders but I liked this one the most.
Picked up these lovely Christmas biscuit tins. I’m going to use them as Christmas decorations rather than storage tins. They were £7.99 each and I love them!

Primark – even though I hate this shop (way to busy, messy and hot), I can’t resist a bargain! Today, I bought a Christmas jumper for Willow. It was £7 and is super cute. I will post a picture of Willow wearing it closer to Christmas.

No shopping trip would be complete without food. We paid a trip to the Cardiff Christmas Market. I could spend an absolute fortune on these stalls, lots of lovely gifts for all ages. As we were walking, a man was handing out some brownie samples, the best brownies I’ve ever tasted. I had to have more, so, I bought an original brownie with warm chocolate sauce and cream, it was LUSH! I’m sorry, it didn’t last long enough to take a picture! Chockshop even deliver! You can order as a gift for someone (or yourself). I even went back and bought a box of 6 for £9.95.

I’ve taken a picture of a brownie in my hand, so you can see the size….

as you can see, they are rather generous! Everyone should try these!
I did pick up some other bits and pieces but they need to be kept a secret, until Christmas 😉

Yankee candles

Over the past two weeks, I’ve spent far too much on Yankee Candles. I bought some in the Zulily event (they were half price, it would have been rude not to) and I also attended a Yankee Candle Christmas shopping event at Butterflies.

Over 200 people RSVP’d for the event, so I knew it was going to be busy. When I arrived the que was down to the end of the block and was very slow moving.

The days leading up to the event, butterflies were teasing us by telling us there would be lots of special offers and they didn’t disappoint.

After an hour in the cold, I finally made it into the shop and had to que some more to get to the candle room at the back of the shop. I was just glad to be in the warm at this point! As I was waiting, I was offered a sweet (always a good thing), the staff were even offering drinks.

A Christmas value gift set (two medium jars) was £19.99, I bought two, a set for me and a set to be split up and given as Christmas gifts. You can never go wrong with giving Yankee Candles as a gift.
Sets of 3 small jars were priced at £12, a bargain! And they even came with little Christmas hats that sit on the lid, cute!
But, the thing I love the most, is my new tart burner……

I LOVE IT! It cost £24.99. Anyone who know me, knows that this is totally me! I think I can get away with using at all year round?

Butterflies offer a reward card scheme, spend over £10 and your card stamped, 10 stamps, £10 off. They also gift wrap, although that night they were really busy, they did offer for people to come back the next day to have items wrapped.

The thing I was most impressed with was the goodie bag! If you spent over £30, they gave a goodie bag. I was expecting the usual, leaflets ect but no, there was a sampler AND a medium jar candle! How generous of them!

By the time I came out of the shop, I was over £100 lighter and two hours had flown by.

Butterflies don’t just sell candles, they sell unique gifts and cards. There’s always something I could buy in there.

I do hope they do these events more often (my bank balance disagrees).

Keep up the good work, Ian and Jodie!