Tutorial For Making Your Own Tactile Sensory Buddies

Children on the Autism spectrum can often have sensory processing difficulties, so much so that it affects their day to day life considerably. I’ve written plenty of material on this subject over the past 4 years but if you want to find out a little more on the subject just click HERE to be taken to one of my most detailed posts.

If you follow my blog you will already know that all my little mans senses are somewhat sensitive especially that of his tactile sense (touch). This can often make life very difficult for him. He can only wear certain material and practically lives in jogging bottoms (I can’t remember the last time he wore a pair of jeans). However, its not just his clothing that he finds difficult to tolerate but everyday things that he needs to touch such as pencils, or certain plastic and more besides. Little man explains that by touching certain objects he is left feeling “Fuzzy” his whole body goes cold, his hairs stand on end and his skin tingles endlessly. He describes such an experience to be painful even.

Nonetheless, there are certain textures little man wants to touch. He will seek such textures out and cannot rest In till his got a hold of them. This combined with his constant need for movement has resulted in me buying many types of sensory toy. When buying such items I look for toys that not only provide a pleasant tactile experience but also ones that double up as a fidget as well as stress relievers to help avoid meltdowns.

We have discovered some fabulous items online and many of them costing very little money. However, we can go through such high numbers that this can actually work out rather costly in the long run. That’s why I’ve taken to making them myself.

Today I want to share a really easy to follow step by step tutorial that shows you how you too can create easy handmade tactile sensory buddies with nothing more than some thread, felt, buttons and dry rice.

So… Here it goes…

To make a tactile sensory buddy you will need the following materials…

A piece of felt in any colour you wish (measuring 17 by 11 cms)

Pen or pencil

Ruler

Sharp scissors or craft knife

Dress pins

Some tread in the same colour as your chosen felt.

Needle

Two medium size buttons of the same colour and size.

One Small pink self adhesive button

Four small red self adhesive buttons

Dry uncooked rice

How to put your buddy together…

1: Firstly cut your felt to size so that it measures roughly 11 cms across and 17 cms in length. Use your ruler to measure and your pen or pencil to clearly mark out where it is you will need to cut (don’t worry about pen marks as these wont be seen when finished.

2: once you have cut out your felt fold it in half and with your ruler and pen draw a line about half a centimetre from the edge of the felt on all the open sides of your fabric (not the folded bottom section). Hold in place with a few of your dress pins.

3: Now take your needle and thread in the same colour as your felt and start sewing along the 2 lines located at the sides (not the top section this comes after). Don’t worry to much if it looks a tad untidy with dangly loose ends etc as this will form the inner body of your tactile sensory buddy once you’ve turned it inside out.

4: Now sew along the top line but stop and tie of your thread once you hit the halfway mark. This section will be sewn later once we have turned the buddy inside out and sewed on all the accessories and filled it with rich.

5: Now turn your felt inside out so once closed no traces of tread can be seen.

6: Once you have done this turn your felt so that the smallest part becomes the top and the unstitched section is now at the side.

7: Now sew the two medium buttons on as eyes. Sew these on just one side of your buddy and sew them on from the inside so the ties are hidden. Do this by accessing the inside from the area you have yet to sew.

8: Now fill the buddy with dry uncooked rice and sew the remaining area. You could also use material glue to keep things tidy.

9: Add the pink self adhesive button for the nose.

10: Add your four red buttons as a mouth.

Finished!

This is a really simple addition to the collection I plan on creating. Be as creative as you like. Add funky feathers, painted spots, stripes and more.

The rice provides a very satisfying tactile experience and can be squeezed and played with easily. A great homemade sensory toy that doubles up as a fabulous stress toy… Sick! (Little mans words not mine by the way!)

Homemade Vintage Christmas Gifts

Christmas is a really expensive time. There are so many gifts to buy which adds up to a considerable amount of money.

However, Not everything has to cost the earth. We Can actually give really special gifts In a cost-effective way.

It’s all about being creative and using your resources. Plus homemade gifts can be much more special. Its shows that you put thought into your gift and that means more than the price tag.

Here we have a simple upcycle gift that’s perfect for the lady who loves everything vintage and shabby chic.

Vintage inspired Jewellery stand made with vintage Queen Ann Tea set

Tea set brought from Auction as part of a huge box full of china for £3

First choose a selection of vintage style saucers and side plates these must descend in size (around 3 is good) you will also need a tea cup and 2 Miniature Glasses for example… Sherry glasses.

Other items you will need is a glue brush and some good strong Adhesive (I’m using Mosaic adhesive).

Make sure all your saucers, glasses and tea cup are clean. Also be sure to check your chosen china isn’t some vintage Antique find that’s worth a small fortune.

Right now to assemble your jewellery stand.

Step one… Start with the largest of your 3 plates and chose a glass. Stand your glass upside down and glue around the the bottom of your glass. Now carefully place your saucer/plate decorated side down, on top of the base of the glass being sure to place the base in the centre.

Be patient and hold firmly for a few minutes.

Wipe of any excess glue that may have come out from the sides of your glass onto your saucer.

Step two… Once you feel the plate is now strong enough stand up the right way so it looks as though the glass is just stood in the centre of your side plate. Now very carefully glue around the glasses rim and place your second plate that is smaller than your first on top of the glass. This time you are gluing the glass to the centre base of the plate. Again hold firmly and wipe of any excess glue.

Step 3… Once your plate is strong enough take your second glass and add the glue to the rim of the glass. Now place onto the centre of your plate. This can only be stuck to the decorated side of your plate. Hold and wipe of excess glue.

Step 4… Now glue the rim of the same glass and place the base of your smallest saucer on top.

Step 5… Lastly glue the base of your chosen tea cup and place it on top of your plates decorated side.

To finish add a pretty vintage gift tag tired with twine and dangle from the teacups handle.

Finished!

This blog post is an entry into the Tots100/Experience Days Christmas Craft Competition”

Hama Beads Fashion Jewellery Set

We are a rather creative household, however Hama Beads is something we have yet to discover, that is in till now.

With our Santa’s little helpers feature well underway, Alice had the opportunity to review a Hama Beads Fashion Jewellery Set from DKL Toys.

The contents of this set is approximately 2440 Hama Mini beads and approximately 60 Miss Hama beads. You also get 3x small pegboards in hexagonal, heart and butterfly shapes, plus 2 lots of strings, a colour printed design sheet & Instructions, ironing paper and 1 storage tray with lid to store it all in.

Alice informs me she has had the fun of creating things with Hama Beads at a friends house. She was most excited to have a kit of her own.

The fashion jewellery kit allows you to make necklaces with awesome Hama bead pendents. You can also make pretty cool bracelets with your kit.

The beads are also very pretty with some fantastic metallic colours and some very pretty flower beads.

Alice had so much fun creating a heart pendent and I’ve got to admit that having watched her the little girl within me had me wanting to make one too (which I did).

Once your creations are done, you simply cover with the ironing paper and iron. The heat seals the beads perfectly.

This set is really great, the peg boards can be used more than once and your given a huge amount of beads within your kit allowing you to create lots of different jewellery pieces and other stuff besides. We have even started making pretty beaded Christmas tree decs. The possibilities really are endless.

Checkout the Hama beads fashion Jewellery kit plus other fab kits at DKL toys.

You can also check out the DKL blog and that of their Facebook and twitter pages to keep up to date on everything DKL

NatWest Search For A New Iconic Piggy #pigsbykids

Have you heard about the NatWest #pigsbykids Campaign?

No? Well, let me fill you in then…

NatWest are encouraging children to save by way of launching a fabulous campaign based around its iconic piggy.

NatWest Piggies have long played a massive part in the banks advertisements and savings promotions… Its actually a huge part of NatWest as we know them! And I for one have always related the two very closely, especially given how I always wanted one of my own piggies. Its fair to say that the last piggy became somewhat famous within its own right, what with it being worth a good few quid nowadays. Maybe your lucky enough to still have one of your own?

Well, its a new generation of saving and with it must come a new generation of pig. So, with this, NatWest are encouraging kids to bank their pennies with a fabulous competition. They are on the look out for a new piggy icon and they want your children to get their creative juices flowing by way of creating one.

The winning child’s pig will then shoot to fame by becoming the brand new NatWest Pig.

Little Man and Alice-Sara have both been extremely busy creating their pigs. They have started the design plan on paper and are now applying their ideas to clay model designs which are not yet complete and still very much a working progress.

Nonetheless, I can’t wait to upload their final designs and enter them into this exciting competition.

It really has given little man lots of motivation, given his not all that keen on art due to his difficulties with fine motor skills and low concentration levels. Its really is a positive step that he feels inspired to give it a go.

I really like the message behind this campaign and love how NatWest are delivering it. This is a fabulous opportunity to get your children’s imaginations over flowing while teaching them why saving money is important. I wanted my children to have a good understanding about the campaign and the reasons behind it! I’m all for children having some degree of independence when it comes to money. Children need to learn the importance of saving and the true value of money at an early age.

I also think it would be pretty awesome to see a design created by a child used in such a way by NatWest. Children tend to have the most magical, wonderful and if not sometimes slightly strange ideas floating around in their heads. So, I for one cannot wait to see what both my children and others produce in the name of #pigsforkids

Alice’s paper creation

As the competition has a deadline of the 11th November 2012 I wanted to make sure everyone was aware so they could join in the fun and get creating Piggies of their own. However, I will be sure to pop back and share the children’s designs that they are currently creating with the use of some fantastic art materials that were so kindly supplied by NatWest.

Read the information below to discover some of the competition requirements and a link to the full terms and conditions over at Natwest.

The competition is open to children up to 13 years old.

The winning design will become the new NatWest pig.

The closing date for entries is 12pm on 11th November 2012

Terms and conditions apply and should be read over on the NatWest website.

This is an advertising promotion for NatWest.

I am promoting the competition as its one of great interest and something the children will be taking part in themselves. I was not paid to write this but NatWest did supply the children with a great craft kit to help them create their own little piggies.

How To Make Your Own Christmas Cards

I love Arts and crafts and feature most on my sister blog Mummy of Many Talents.

But as I’ve already shared a post on personalised Christmas cards on this blog today I thought it would be pretty cool to feature this here too.

I was actually given the idea to create the cards by the lovely people at “Getting Personal” who have some fantastic Christmas gift ideas and its their falt I’ve come over all festive

Christmas can be an expensive time of year and making your own cards and decorations can often lesson the burden a little.

So, I spent the weekend (well, just the Sunday) making some Christmas cards. Here’s what I made and a little step by step guide on how I did it.

Sparkly Christmas Tree Card

What I Used To Make It…
Black A4 Card
Mix of Green Sequins
Fine Green Glitter
White Deco Pen
Black Deco Pen
Mix of Sparkly Card
Mix of Ribbon
Sticky Gems
PVA Glue
Brush
Glue Dots
Glue Tabs
Pencil
Scissors

Step 1) Take your black card and fold in half.

Step 2) Draw the shape of a large Christmas Tree in Pencil (ensuring you leave enough room for a star on top and a potting pot at the bottom)

Step 3) Take some sparkly card (I used gold) and cut out the shape of a pot for your tree. Then use glue dots to stick it in place (this is less messy).

Step 4) Take some more sparkly card in different colours and designs. Cut into different shapes.

Step 5) Arrange your sparkly shapes around your tree to resemble wrapped presents. Once you are happy with the arrangement use sticky tabs to stick in place (Sticky Tabs are best as these make your presents look 3D).

Step 6) Use some silver sparkly card to cut out 2 small triangle and arrange these into the shape of a star sticking it to the top if your tree.

Step 7) With a brush start to cover your Christmas tree with PVA glue.

Step 8) Take your sequins and start to sprinkle them over your tree.

Step 9) Once your tree is covered in sequins use your fine green glitter to fill in all the spaces and gaps between the sequins.

Step 10) Shake and bang off any excess sequins and glitter.

Step 11) Choose some different coloured/patterned ribbon.

Step 12) Use the ribbon to decorate the presents under the tree.

Step 13) Use your black deco pen to add extra detail to your presents.

Step 14) Use the sticky gems to add finishing touches to your presents.

Step 15) With the white Deco pen cover your card in white dots as to create the effects of snow.

Christmas Gift Card

What I Used…

3 Different Types Of Sparkly and Patterned Card
1 Sheet of A4 White Card
Mixture of Patterned Ribbon
Glue Dots
Sticky tabs
Sticky Gems
2x Sticky Gem Boarders (black & Red)
Scissors

Step 1) Fold your white card and then cut a medium size square out of one of your 3 pieces of sparkly card.

Step 2) Stick the cut card to the middle of your white card with the use of a few sticky tabs (these are better as they produce a 3D effect).

Step 3) Cut two pieces of ribbon and stick them to your card with glue dots crossing one over the other.

Step 4) Cut two more smaller squares from the remaining two pieces of sparkly/pattern card you have chosen (ensuring they are roughly the same size).

Step 5) Again with the use of sticky tabs, stick the two squares either side of the bigger square ensuring they slightly overlap. Make sure either square is slightly tipped at an angle like that above.

Step 6) Take your remaining ribbon choices and repeat step 3 for the remaining two squares.

Step 7) Stick some gems in the middle of your squares to add the finishing touches to your gifts.

Step 8) Take your red gem boarder and carefully add this to the top and bottom of your card cutting away any excess.

Step 9) Take your black boarder and apply about 1 1/4 of the boarder above your decorated squares and then the same amount just below the squares (see the above image).

Christmas Stocking Card

What I Used…

A4 Piece of Black Card
1 Piece of small sparkly card
Sticky Tabs
Silver Gel Pen
Scissors
1 Sticky gem

Step 1) fold your A4 black card then cut it in half.

Step 2) Cut out a stocking shape from your sparkly card.

Step 3) Stick the stocking at an angle to the middle of the card using sticky tabs (as to give it a 3D effect).

Step 4) With the silver gel pen draw a craved line starting from each end of the stocking to each end of the card (as to create the string your stocking is hanging from).

Step 5) With the use of the silver gel pen write the word “Joy” at an angle just below your stocking on the right hand side.

Step 6) Add one large sparkly gem to the middle top section of your stocking to give it some bling

Step 7) Now use your silver gel pen to add all final touches such as a boarder to edges of card and bows along your stockings string (see images above).

It’s hard to give a rough indication of what each card costs because I had all the materials at home. But as you can see for all 3 cards I’ve mainly used the same materials throughout and with most of my craft materials being brought fairly cheaply they are guaranteed to be really cost efficient.

Here’s a list of most of the materials, their cost and where you can get them from.

1 massive bag off mixed Green Sequins £1 (Pound Land).

Black and Red Gem Boards £1each (Pound Land).

Black and White Card 99p each (99p Store).

Green Fine Glitter Tube (Hobby Craft) unsure of price but under £3.

Sticky Gems £1 (Pound Land).

Glue Dots £1.50 (Wilkinson)

Glue Tabs £1 (Pound Land)

PVA Glue £1 (The Works)

Deco Pens £10 pack of 6 (Baker Ross) but you can just use felt tip pens at a £1

Sparkly Card 20 different small squares £2 (eBay). Any patterned card is fine!

Silver Gel Pen Pack of 6 £1.29 (Lidl).

Ribbon various (mainly eBay) brought cheaply.

Crafting with kids – Glass and Porcelain Painting

Over the last week I’ve been doing some really fun craft projects with the children.

And guess what? Even the Little man has been getting involved!

I wanted to do something that each child would find both interesting and fun, something we could do together as a family regardless of everyone’s differing interest. I needed the activity to apply to each child’s interest, something they really love therefore needing little if not any encouragement from mum! Basically participating because they want to.

Little man is by far the hardest of my children to engage in any type of activity, especially that of arts and crafts.This basically means that when thinking up an activity I always need to think outside the box! More than not my ideas are inspired by little mans overly intense interest (aka, special interest). This used to be just transport, however, WWE (wrestling) and Lego have now been added to the list.

The idea I had was one that meant little man could incorporate anyone of his interest (all three if desired). It was important for me to have him involved. Throughout this years summer holiday little man hasn’t shown much motivation towards anything we’ve done.

Alice-Sara would also love this free style idea as she’s naturally very creative and engages herself well when drawing or crafting.

So… Just what was my idea for a fun and engaging art project?

Plate Decorating: Yep, that’s right! Having done something similar as a child as part of a school project (using a much more complicated process mind you) Plate decorating is actually a lot fun!

I’m not taking about drawing a picture onto a paper plate… Oh no!
I wanted the children to have something of a keepsake. I wanted them to have something they could keep for a long period of time, looking back on their creative flair with pride. As mentioned I did something similar at school (well, it was at nursery actually). We were given a special type of paper to take home. We were instructed to draw our design on it and then bring it back once complete. They then sent our designs of to have some company transfer them onto these plastic plates. I was 4-years-old and remember that activity like I did it just yesterday. My Grandmother had my plate displayed on her living room wall up In-till the day she died.. I think my father has it now!

The above was the inspiration for my idea, though I wanted to do things a little differently from back in the eighties so went shopping for some plain white dinner plates which I found easily enough in a local pound shop meaning I got a total of 4 for the bargain basement price of £4.

Later that evening myself and the two eldest children sat down ready for work. Little man was reluctant to begin with but once I’d explained there were no specific designs, he could design as he liked he was more willing to try. He doesn’t like colouring because his a perfectionist and finds it hard to stay within the lines of his drawing. This is due to his poor fine motor skills and often causes him problems.

As we were drawing our designs directly onto porcelain plates we need to use some special types of pen (normal felts would just rub away). For this we used Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens, Acrylic Deco Pens and I also used on mine PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens all from the fabulous Baker Ross.

The children had fun and even sat by one another for a full 10 minutes before bickering (believe me thats a long time)!

Little man’s design was focused around his interest in wresting and this mostly consisted of a selection of different words written in different colours. As some of you may know, little man stopped writing for a good year and a half of his life, only doing so on a computer. To see him now writing and of his own free will, is most pleasing.

Little man didn’t spend a great deal of time adding his design to his plate. He did lose interest pretty quickly! As I’ve previously stated, his very hard to engage. Nonetheless, I’m dead proud of his contribution to the project and love his wrestling plate.

Alice-Sara designed a Monster High plate. This consisted of the monsters high logo with a couple of funky eyes placed on either side. She then added some funky lips and fangs before finally adding lots of different coloured speckles to finish off.

I absolutely loved it.

The pens are really easy to use as opposed to using paints and brushes. By using the pens the children have a greater control over their design. Alice and Little man mainly used the Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens on their plates. The only thing you must ensure is that they don’t press down to hard as then too much paint gets released and the design will run. Once the children had both finished their plate I sealed their designs in the oven at 160’c.

I also got in on the action and having no idea what I wanted to do, I just messed around a little. I ended up with this funky enchanted forest design that I doodled around my twitter handle.

I also used PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens that can be applied to almost any surface and even washed at 30 degrees (I’m also currently using these on a pair of jeans I’m customising for my daughter) in this case I used the PicTixx to add a little sparkle to my plates finished design.

We also decorated some glass with Deco and Porcelain pens and though we haven’t quite finished yet here’s a little taster of how it’s going.

This made a lovely evening of crafting and the project is easy to do with really effective results.

You don’t have to buy new plates to personalise, you could always up cycle old ones you already have. I’m currently doing the same with some old jam jars and a vase thats seen better days (I’ll be sure to share with all once I’ve finished).

Recap; What we used for both our plates and glass painting.

Large white plates from pound store (£1 each) (brought 4 so total £4)
Old jars and glasses we already had in the cupboards
PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens from Baker Ross (5 pack) £9.99
Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99
Acrylic Deco Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99

Baker Ross online store can be found on line. Just click Here

Review – Toucan Box

Looking for ways to entertain the kids this summer?

I was recently sent a box full of crafts from Toucan Box these have kept us more than busy this past week.

Toucan box offer a subscription based service, try for one month at £19.99 cancel anytime, opt for a 6 month subscription for £18.95 or the annual subscription for just £16.95 a month all options offer free P&P.

Each month your sent a box full of crafts all designed around the one theme. The box is aimed at pre-schoolers but I found my 9 year old daughter has enjoyed helping her little brother with each activity.

We choose the Safari box as Harley is a big lover of giraffes and Lions. The box was packed full of educational craft projects as well as a beautiful story book and some great cards to play animal snap or the memory game.

Heres the craft projects included in this Safari Box.

Make some pipe cleaner monkeys, that can be attached together.

Make some funky safari animal characters.

Craft some creepy creatures from snakeskin cards

Construct wild animals including giraffes, zebras, a leopard and her cubs, and more!

Make a safari scene

Make lion pom pom

Included is a fab story book “Squeak the Lion” and some animal playing cards too.

There really is plenty to keep little ones entertained within this one box. As well as the planed activities you get all the materials to make them plus a really bright visual instruction booklet. Each activity explains why it helps your child’s progress whether it’s their fine motor skills or those of imagination skills it improves.

The safari box also offers lots of extras and Harley enjoyed making use of all those extra colouring pages included.

We had lots of fun making pipe cleaner monkeys and Harley loves the animals on lolly sticks, the snake and the leopard and it’s cubs. We still have some activities to finish, which will come in handy on a rainy day.

Toucan box also makes the perfect gift especially for special occasions such as birthdays. Extra materials can be added to your box for the family with siblings plus the guys at Toucan are happy to add a special birthday message to your box.

For more information visiting the Toucan website by simply clicking HERE.

This is a review post, we were not paid to write this review but did receive a free sample in order to share our honest opinion.

Get creative with a box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but now it can also be the most fun.

I was recently sent a big box of Rice Krispies, only this box was slightly different from those you usually see on the shelves down at your local supermarket.

The difference is These boxes are customisable… Yes, your child can really put their own stamp on their cereal.

There are 8 different special colouring packs of Rice Krispies available. Here’s ours designed by my daughter Alice-Sara age 9.

Look at the concentration on her face… An artist at work.

Alice-Sara uses many different colours, stamps, glitter glue and stick-on gems to design her ideal Rice Krispies box.

Alice-Sara really expressed her creative flare with the use of her magical imagination.

Colouring in the Kellogg’s Rice Krispies box was loads of fun and Alice-Sara is pretty proud of her creation… And why not, I think she did a brilliant job.

Special colour me in boxes of Kellogg’s are Available to buy from all good supermarkets. Plus the guys from Kellogg’s Have created its very own Rice Krispies website sharing some super creative ideas to keep your little ones busy this summer, you can even download some pictures of the Rice Krispies crew for them to colour. However, If colouring isn’t their thing then why not try your hand at making one of the fab summer recipes with your Rice Krispies! Check out the cute mouse treats below.

This post is our entry for the BritMums #ColourMeInRK competition, sponsored by Kellogg’s.

Thanks to both Britmums and Kellogg’s for running a great competition.
K
Disclaimer: We were not paid to write this post but did receive a box of colour me in Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and a selection of colouring pens and pencils.

Expressing creativity with Galt

I like to think of myself as quite a creative person, I love getting stuck in to a great art project and I can literally spend hours sketching a picture.

Without being pushy I’ve always tried to encourage the children to express their creative flair.

It’s my belief that art is very therapeutic and although little man isn’t overly keen, he’s creative in his own special ways!

I do a lot of creative projects with the children especially the toddler while the two older children are in school.

My daughter is very naturally creative, and is always drawing a picture or making something from bits and pieces.

She recently came home quite excited over a school art project, a poster designing competition. The poster’s aim is to remind children to be respectful while in the dinner hall. Admittedly we do have a cupboard full of crafts but we were recently sent a giant Galt Art Jar that would fulfil the job perfectly.

The Galt Art Jar is packed full of everything you’re creative little monster would need to complete near enough any art project, whether it be making hairy monsters from Pom-poms, goggly eyes and coloured shredded paper or a poster fit for the school dinner hall.

Within this huge jar of arty fun you will find…

Over 70 pompoms, 40 wiggly eyes, zigzag scissors, sequin pack, lots of shredded paper, 2m red fringed crepe paper, felt alphabet, 12 assorted plastic buttons, 7 cotton reels, 50 pony beads, 20 small star beads, 10 large pipe cleaners, 10 large straws, 6 sheets of self-adhesive foam sheets, 7 printed card templates, 10 sheets of A4 coloured paper, 25 gummed paper strips, glitter glue, white PVA glue, 2m wiggly white trim, 3m elastic, ideas sheet.

Alice-Sara was extremely pleased to have the Galt Art Jar to hand when designing her poster.

She’s not yet finished her creation but it’s almost complete and I’ll be sure to upload a picture once it is.

The GALT Art Jar is fabulous and it’s providing lots of fun for all the children, tomorrow myself and the toddler will make pompom monsters and who knows what else. 🙂

GALT Art Jar cost £14.99 check it out over on their website!

We were not paid to write this review all opinions are my own. We were sent the GALT Art Jar free of charge in order to share our honest thoughts and opinions.

Little Miss Fashion Designer

Well, it would seem that my daughter Alice-Sara fancies herself as a bit of a fashion designer.

When I was asked if any of the children would like to create their own T-shirt design Alice-Sara was first in line.

Yes, I had a vision of a somewhat messy home, what with fabric paint normally being the way forward. I couldn’t have been more wrong. All that was required was for Alice-Sara to draw her design on paper in which she coloured in felt tip pens as she normally would.

I couldn’t believe how very simple this whole design process was turning out to be! Having simply drawn her design on paper this was then scanned onto the computer and clothes2order done all the hard work so we didn’t have to!

Alice-Sara drew a really bold funky picture of what I’m told is a drawing of myself (seriously… I don’t wear that much lipstick in the flesh).

Clothes2order offer a huge choice of customisable products from great brands. We opted for a plain white T-Shirt in a size 9-10. This was from the well known brand fruit of the loom.

The company stock T-shirts in varying sizes from children’s tees to adults. Because Clothes2order have this huge range on site meaning nothing has to be ordered in and the fact all printing is done on site, makes the service an astoundingly quick one when it comes to dispatch & delivery times.

All customising can be done on line, this includes anything from uploading your design to entering text for added slogans or names. Whether ordering just one t-shirt or 100 (yes, there is no minimum order) this is done in minutes.

Certain product lines are available to order on express delivery but all products are dispatched in record time.

I absolutely love the finished t-shirt bearing my daughters creative drawing of her mummy caked in lipstick… In fact we all thought it was brilliant and now Little man has expressed an interest to possible try his hand at designing one too.

Designing you’re very own t-shirt Is a fab way of keeping the kids entertained and making their art
Into something that bit more special. I would recommend it to anyone.

This is a review post, though opinions are honest and that of my own. We received the t-shirt free of charge but was under no obligation to have to write about it.