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With the sunshine disappearing a bit this week, we have been trying to find things to do indoors and found that creating an arts and crafts session for your little ones shouldn’t cost the earth. With a few basic materials, you can create a whole afternoon of fun.

What you will probably need to buy:

• Some paint and brushes
• PVA glue and some tape
• Plain / coloured paper
• Lots of newspaper to cover the floor

The rest can be found around the house and garden. How many times have you thrown away tissue paper from presents or clothes that don’t fit? Find a box or large container and call it your “craft box”. Collect things like toilet rolls, buttons when they fall off or decorations from cards and you will find that they will soon mount up!

Getting your hands involved

The very best crafts are those made with little hands and what better than finger print pictures? Just paint your little ones finger tips and they can make pictures to their hearts content. We made yellow chicks at Easter but for the artistic ones amongst you, try making little penguins by painting the finger tips black and touching up with a little white paint for their tummies and yellow for their feet and beaks. The best example of this we have seen is on RedTedArt, where there are some amazing ideas!

Painting potatoes

One of my favourite memories from my childhood was making shapes in potatoes, painting them and stamping them everywhere! With a little help from mum in cutting the shapes (I would recommend using a cookie cutter shape) you could even create truly unique wrapping paper for a birthday gift!

Shake & Make

Children love making a noise, so grab a clean empty plastic bottle and simply half fill it with rice. Tape up the top (to stop little hands trying to unscrew the top) and let them paint or apply stickers on the outside of the bottle. They will love having their very own maracas but I can’t promise you will love the noise! 

But if the creativity creates too much mess, you could simply pack it all up and head out for the day (weather permitting of course). In true Lilypad style, we love making sure that this doesn't cost the earth, so we use one of our favourite sites MyfamilyClub to find the cheapest tickets for days out to the Zoo and Theme Parks.

Creating children's memories, whether on paper or as a day out doesn't need to cost a fortune, you just need to be a little crafty at finding the best deal.

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We often review baby items, so my eldest daughter was thrilled at the opportunity to review a "grown up" bag, designed for the more aspiring young lady! Santoro London has an amazing collection of gorgeous gift ideas and truly unique designs that appeal to my desire to find beautiful things.

My daughter loves bags and shoes (I wonder where she gets that from) and she was visibly thrilled to receive the Santoro "Tell Me Something" small satchel and to be honest, I was a little envious that I wasn't going to keep it for myself. The satchel retails at £42.00 which is a more than I would normally pay for a bag for my daughter but the bag is suitable for all ages and the price is reflective of the quality.

There is particular attention to detail and this magnetic key is just one of the gorgeous details that make this bag a perfect addition to anyone's collection. The bag opens up to reveal a delicate lining, an inside pocket, key hook, and a mobile phone pocket (or iPod holder in the case of my daughter, although I suspect she would happily choose to have a phone).

I love that each bag is hand-finished, so the detail may vary from piece to piece, which means you truly are getting a unique item. Not all items are in this price range and with gifts starting at £5.99, there is something for everyone.

Santoro was conceived in 1983 and from the very beginning, "Lucio and Meera focused on quality and originality, wanting to produce distinctive and captivating collections that epitomised their eclectic taste and flair for innovation". I think we can safely say that 30 years on, they are still innovating and creating inspiring items for us all to admire and enjoy.

 

Disclaimer: We received the Santoro bag to review but thoughts and comments in this review are our own opinions. 

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Yesterday I went to my gorgeous sister in law's (and latest member of our Lilypad team) baby shower and it occured to me that a baby shower is almost expected these days but only 8 years ago, when I was having my eldest daughter, no one really had a baby shower. It is amazing at how quickly traditions become adopted or fads are created and having now been to a few baby showers over the past few years, I thought it maybe good to share what happens and what is the etiquette for those that are expecting (or expecting to have one!).

Who should throw the baby shower?

This kind of depends on the pregnant mum, it is traditional for friends to throw the party and it is best to gauge how much control the expectant mum would like. I was delighted to have a surprise baby shower for my second daughter but I also know that there were friends who were not included, so for me I would have like a little control over the guest list (but maybe that is just the control freak in me). 

 

When should the baby shower be held?

The baby shower is usually thrown in the last trimester but this can sometime be dictated by travel arrangements of family or timing of the baby's due date. It is good to try and accomodate immediate family and close friends but ultimately you need to pick a date and stick to it, there will always be people that can't make it and you can't please everyone all of the time.

Who should be invited?

Whoever is important to the expectant mum (and how many the venue can cope with!) It is not necessary to invite every woman or friend on Facebook! It maybe worthwhile checking if any of the guests may have had fertility problems and recognize and respect how difficult this maybe for her to be confronted with other people's pregnancies. Don't be offended if she feels she can't be there.

What to expect at a baby shower?

Food, chats, games and laughing!

Be prepared to have to bring photos of yourself as a child and if the games we played at my sister in law's yesterday were anything to go by, it maybe worthwhile researching the names of songs with "baby" in them, as I didn't score particularly high in this game!

Should we buy gifts?

In America, where baby showers have been more common place for much longer, there are expectant mums that actually have a department store gift registry but in the UK, the gifts are usually more token and personal. The image below shows the gift I had made for my sister in law yesterday, showing her 20 week scan picture. I plan to have these on the Lilypad as her reaction was very emotional.

Is a Baby Shower okay for 2nd time mums?

When I was pregnant with my second daughter, it never crossed my mind that I would have a baby shower but if friends and family want to throw showers for you, why stop them? There was quite an age gap between my girls but if you want to forgo the gifts this time, just simply ask the friend who is throwing the party to indicate on the invitation that you want their presence not their presents.

So ultimately, when it comes to throwing a baby shower, whether it is for a friend or relative, there are very few hard-and-fast rules (aside from those that govern good manners — such as being gracious when you open a gift, whether you like it or not!), so just sit back and bask in being showered with love and affection during this very special time.

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I was chatting with my neighbour over the back garden fence earlier, (in a 1950's kind of fashion) and she was telling me how she had been invited to three weddings this year and was fretting over what to wear. Now we all know that I have a penchant for shopping and whilst I may not be in the same league as the mother of the bride outfits, I still love to find beautiful clothes for a wedding, (being careful never to try and upstage the bride of course).

The good folk at Kaleidoscope have put together this great inforgraphic for what makes a great outfit this season and I love the cream dress and coral fascinator!

Outfit shopping can be stressful but I think that Kaleidoscope may have just made life a little easier for us busy mums!