With the end of the school year fast approaching again and Mothers Day and Fathers Day around this time of year too, you may have started browsing fun gifts to make with the children. 

I don't think you can beat a gift that has been home made. It shows real care and thought has gone into it. Today I want to share with you a beautiful Thank you for Helping me Grown Canvas that my daughter has made using her finger tips. 

We have had the pleasure to be the judge over on #kidscrafts101 hosted by Red Ted Art and Incredibusy on Instagram. Every day you have the chance to add the crafts you have been up to by simply adding the hashtag #kidscrafts101 to your posts. 

I enjoy having a look through the photographs anyway. I love seeing what other people have been up to. It's great for finding some new ideas to try. 

This week we choose the theme Hearts. I thought it was the perfect theme for the upcoming Valentines Day. 

Since becoming a parent the journey has been what I can only describe as a roller coaster. 

There are many many highs, but the dips can come out of no where!

You try with all your might to give it your all and most days you can do just that! You're content that the job you're doing is a pretty good one. Life is full of laughter and smiles. Could it get any better?! Then BAM a stinker of a day comes along from no where and often all you need is an understanding ear and a shoulder.

Over the last 5 years my personal journey as a parent has been an interesting one. Most of the time our days are fabulous, yet some days I honestly don't know how we get through them. But we do..

It's in these dips, we can sometimes approach others for some support. The reactions of others have the power to make or break the situation. Do they listen or do they respond? Big difference between the two. The responder is a complete arse hole who will never take on board what you are saying because they are too busy thinking about their own experiences. Their own views. Me, me, me, me, me. Their response is unhelpful and not supportive.
The listeners are the people who are open. They never judge. They dont take every opportunity to turn things around to be about them. They take time to listen and support you. Just be being there and listening alone, they bring you comfort. You feel understood.

Throughout the year there are many occasions where keepsakes are just the most adorable thing to receive. We have Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas, Grandparents Day, Valentines Day, Birthdays or just simply because. Making a batch of Salt Dough using our super easy recipe has endless possibilities! Today I am sharing with you an adorable Foot Print Keepsake that is perfect to give/keep all year round. 

Today I want to show you how you can use a recycled cardboard rill to make a really effective heart stamp. The stamps will make great additions to your Valentines Day crafting and beyond. It's completely free and is really effective.

Instead of breathing life into the sneak peak post I shared on here a couple of years ago of the guest post I shared on Red Ted Art I decided to create a fresh post with lots of lovely new images AND and video (with a colour change too)! 

Today I want to share with you a keepsake that is fabulous to make and give to someone special anytime of the year. Whether you want to capture the adorable little foot prints for Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas or just because - it will work for any of them. 

We are a big fans of Keepsakes here at Learning and Exploring Through Play. Although playing is always a priority for us - you will know that if you follow us on Instagram, sometimes its fun to personally capture something to treasure for years to come. 

It's a very miserable May day today. I am sitting down with a brew and sharing with you a wonderful Pirate themed tuff tray created by the lovely Sue Baxter. Sue Baxter joins us often here on Learning and Exploring Through Play, and shares the fabulous play set ups she has carefully planned for the children. The activities link to topics, personal interests of the children, celebrations - you name it! 

Sue is an outstanding rated childminder and after seeing her play invitations she sets up for the children daily - its clear to see why!

With my daughter spending most of her free time creating and making cards to give to her friends or relatives - we brought some of her recent art together to create this Blowing a Kiss Hand Print Card. Great for Valentines, Birthdays, Mothers Day, Fathers Day - in fact, it's great for any occasion or simply just because.

If you follow us over on Instagram you will know we are always out and about, doing something together as a family. If we're not out and about we are crafting and getting messy.

Have you seen the I love you to pieces Sun Catcher Card we shared last year? It has been super popular and is so cute!

I love it when one activity spontaneously creates a new one. My daughter had just finished painting her Recycled Carton Bird Feeders, I took a glance over at all the paint left over and it was perfect for an activity I have been wanting to do again for a long time - using water colours to paint on kitchen roll.

We have done this for fun before and created a beautiful Butterfly Craft with it. Today we set it up just for fun. The art technique we experimented with did link in brilliantly with the art Jackson Pollock was famous for! Lots of fun! We enjoyed painting in the style of Jackson Pollock in the Summer last year on a much larger scale but this activity was perfect for the table top. 

You will need:

Surface/Container 

Paint

Water

Pots

Paint Brushes

Jug

I set this activity up outside. You can create the watered down colours prior to the activity if you wish however do keep in mind having children involved in the whole process is important. I have my daughter the opportunity to add water to the pots and she did a brilliant job! She concentrated and used her hand eye co-ordination when pouring the water. We used a small gravy jug that worked excellent for little hands. I also used recycled yogurt pots to mix our paint in. 

Initially the water sat over the paint. The paint didn't move from the bottom. As she started mixing she was amazed to see the vibrancy of the paint appear in the water. 

TIP: The more paint you use in the pots the more vibrant the colour will be.

Once all your colours are mixed up ready, reach for the paper towels. It was a windy day today but we were able to keep the towels held down with the pots of paint. Once the water was being added we had no issues with the wind lifting up the towels. Neve did a great job of placing the towels around the tray and making sure it was all covered up. 

Then it was the fun part. Getting stuck in and flicking down the paint. You could see the paper towel soaking up the watercolours before your eyes. 

My daughter loved the freedom of being able to use gross motor movements to paint, making this a must do activity outdoors for us. I love when children have no restrictions and if I was doing this indoors I would have had to have encouraged her to use much smaller motions. 

It wasn't long before the paper towels were completely covered over with a beautiful array of colours that had worked their way into mixing with one another. In addition to this activity we were able to touch upon a little science too. We spoke about how the paper towels looked and felt and I asked my daughter what she thought may happen if we left the paper towels so wet outside. 

Here is our activity in action:

A few hours later we returned to see the sun had been super busy and had absorbed the water making the paper towels dry. It was no suprize that my daughter insisted to do the activity all over again.
Lots of fun! I am looking forward to doing this activity again with her soon.

Have you ever done this activity? Get in touch and send some of your photos to us! We love seeing what you have been busy doing.

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Well it is May already and I don't know about you but I am really enjoying the slightly warmer weather! Its refreshing being able to get outdoors without lots of layers! We have taken to the garden most evenings now the lighter nights are here! We have been enjoying lots of games and of course the garden tidy up ready for Summer. We have been looking at different areas where the children can leave their mark. 

I love nothing more than children's creations and so today I am sharing with you some beautiful coloured carton bird feeders we have made to help our garden birds that visit a few times each day.

Make a super cute 'love you to pieces card' with your children for somebody special. Whether you make it for a Birthday, Valentines, Mothers Day, Fathers Day a celebration/occasion or simply just because.... I'm sure it will be received well!

If you follow us over on Instagram you will know we are always out and about, doing something together as a family. If we're not out and about we are crafting and getting messy.

Did you see the beautiful heart suncatchers we made? So pretty!! It was actually the suncatchers that inspired me to do this craft with my daughter - who is always asking to make cards! I have seen the craft floating around so we decided to put our own spin on it!

When I have a loved ones Birthday coming up, I love to think outside the box and buy items that are not the obvious thing to buy. I like products that are quirky, fun, different and practical. So I must admit I did spend a considerable amount of time looking on Uncommon Goods. This is why I really love my bedtime browsing sessions. After the super busy days, this is MY time of day, where I get to zone out a little and do something for me. 

It's often at this time I discover some pretty fabulous things. From products, to people to follow on social media and websites.

Today I want to share with you a list of 9 fabulous out of the ordinary products:

1. Motherhood Tree of Life Custom Necklace

Created by Britta Ambauen from Texas, this beautiful locket is enclosed by tree branches on the front and encased are a set of gem stones that link to your loved ones Birth dates. Inside the locket the quote 'from deepest roots, tallest branches grow'. This would make a wonderful gift for a person who holds their family very dear. With almost 100 reviews you, why not come and read all the lovely feedback relating to this item and read about all the happy receivers!

2. Bedside Phone Holder Vase

Made by Heather and Myles Geyman, both artists from Pennsylvania. They have a passion for creating products that are beautiful and functional. 

This vase is exactly that and is a great space saver too! So if you know someone who enjoys the pretty things in life, someone who perhaps enjoys cuttings from the garden, fresh flowers through out the year - then why not treat them to a lovely vase to add to their home.

3. Long Distance Touch Lamp

Selling out like hot cakes, this is a creation by John Harrison and Vanessa Whalen that is all about love from the early days of creation to when it lands in your home. 

Keep a lamp at home and gift the other to a friend or relative. Through wifi you connect your lamps with one another - no matter how far the distance. A simple touch omits a colour to your loved one to let them know you are thinking of them. What a lovely way to show someone they are in your thoughts!

4. Conversations with my Mother and Father

We can never record or document too much about the ones we love the most. These books  are well organised and have a brilliant range of questions you may not think to ask. Not only are they lots of fun to fill in together, they can be past down through the generations so they can get a good feel and knowledge of who their Grandparents were and what they achieved in life.

I find it quite difficult at times to buy for the Men in my life so their Gifts for Men section was fun to look around.

5. Bamboo Suction Plate Set

Weaning can be so much fun! Exploring new food, tastes and textures is very exciting for little ones. It can be a super messy time too with parents worried that their children aren't quite getting all the food and nutrients they should be getting because too much is ending up on the floor. 

These bowls have a suction cap on the bottom which sticks to the table preventing spills. A great parenting hack!

If you have a Baby Shower coming up there are a fabulous range of gifts to browse.

6. Phone Storage Work Out Bottle

The Gym is a big part of many peoples lives these days. Often the 4 items that accompany people whilst at the gym are their keys, a drink and some money/bank cards their mobile phone. This clever water bottle holds your mobile phone, notes and credit cards within the bottle. Keeping your items together and with a headphone port accessible on the bottom you can still enjoy listening to your music whilst you work out!

7. Colour your own Map Pillow

Children will love the opportunity to colour their very own pillow cases! Whilst exploring the world children will enjoy learning the names for different countries, what different countries are famous for (landmarks/animals) and also their shape and position on the globe! The pens are washable and once the pillowcase has been washed there will once again be a fresh canvas to get creative onto. 

8. Construction Plate 

Very popular with a very impressive review count! Created by husband and wife inspired by their son who loved playing with his construction toys. This plate set (with utensils available to purchase also) is a great way to encourage healthy eating that is fun and engaging!

9. Birth Month Flower Earrings

Did you know that each month of the year has its very own flower assigned to it? These beautiful keepsakes make the perfect Birthday gift! Created by Shari Dixon from Tennessee, her work often incorporated flowers and leaves, making her work timeless. 

I could honestly keep going and going! I could have done a post alone on Personalised Wedding Gifts. Not only does this website sell thousands, upon thousands of unique items.... I love how you get to read about the people behind the product. I have spent hours discovering products that I love and then being drawn in to reading about the makers and creators. There are often links to their blogs and subsequently social media channels so you can follow along to see what other products become available.

I have read about families developing items together, people supporting charities and recruiting people in rehabilitation programmes, artists that are inspired by nature and travelling. Its been very fascinating to see how different people become inspired and how they move forward with their dreams. This was exactly why this website was created. To share with people not only a fantastic set of items to purchase but to make it much more personal and be able to find out about the people behind the product.

If you are someone who is passionate about sustainability you will be pleased to know this is all part of this brands ethos and a plus that they donate to non-profit organisations as part of your orders.

So if you are looking for something fun and unique to gift or treat yourself to, this is the place to look at - with delivery available world wide.

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