It's the season to build Snowmen - tra la la la laaa la la la la. 

Here in the UK, its got really chilly all of a sudden. I can also now announce - we've had our first sighting of snow here in the Midlands! Yipeeee! Public Transport is cancelled, schools are shut along with attractions and places of worship! 7 inches deep here at the moment which is the deepest we've had in a good 7 years or more. There is something so magical about snowy down pours. We always get so excited! Do you do the snow dance? We used to do this in the hope we would encourage the snow fairies to get a move on for a thick covering during the night so schools would close and we could have all day to play in the snow! Snow dance hasn't been needed today as the snow has been pouring fast all day and continues to do so! We've already had news that we can switch the alarms off tomorrow and enjoy a lazy, snowy morning.

I wanted to share with you a great list of crafts and activities that link to Snowmen/Snow. I'm sure we will be snowman crafting tomorrow!

Well we've had a great few weeks bring you lots of Christmas Tree themed crafts.... 

Which one has been your favourite? I've had lots of lovely messages about them and it's been great seeing photos from Christmas crafts and activities you have been doing too! It does melt my heart when you have been inspired by our crafts. Please keep them coming! Lets just recap the last handful of crafts we've been sharing with you, before I share today's Snowman Snack with you.....

Today I want to share with you a super cute Snowman snack that children (and the grown ups) will love during the cooler months! Many of us have had snow already. We haven't sadly, but the weather is predicted to take a turn for a cool snap. Whether you have had snow or not, these super cute Snowman Pretzel rods are a great way to fill a hole.

I came across the story Here Comes Jack Frost written by Kazuno Kohara a couple of years ago. I was buying a collection of Winter themed stories from the book people and luckily it was in there. I loved the story because although the tale is simple - it really does ignite the imagination and show how enchanting Winter can be. 

The little boy in the story is feeling lonely. All of his animal friends are hibernating. Out of the blue (see what I did there?!) he stumbles across Jack Frost. A fabulous book to start exploring Winter, Hibernation and even feelings. I guarantee children will wake up excited to find a ground frost after reading this story! If you're feeling brave you could even pop on the dressing gowns and head on outside for a little science experiment! Grab the bubbles and head out in the freezing temperatures and observe the bubbles turning into delicate balls of ice before your eyes!

Anyhow lets get back to today. I am sharing a fabulous Tuff Tray that has been inspired by this wonderful tale. We are very very excited to have the lovely Sue Baxter joining us today for lots of fabulous Wintery Jack Frost Snowflake fun......

It's the season for cardboard galore! My recycle bin is full the moment it's emptied. So I thought I would use some of it in our crafting! Lets face it the possibilities are endless! On a smaller scale from our Cardboard Palace, we grabbed the cookie cutters and began creating our templates.

I want to cast your minds back to January time last year. We shared with you a I love you to pieces sun catcher card that you loved! Using this method we have made a super cute Christmas Tree Sun Catcher Card. Not only is it a lovely card to make it also has the option of removing the sun catcher and popping them on the Christmas Tree/Window, and enjoying them as a decoration. 

Our last 2 crafty posts have been related to Christmas Trees. They say things come in threes and this is not an exception. Today we have another super easy Tissue Paper Christmas Tree craft that will suit the youngest of children.

There really is no right or wrong way to decorate these trees. Children can freely add whichever materials they like.

I want to take you back to November 2012. It was a life changer for me as I gave birth to my first child. I thought I knew all I had to come. But I didn't. I had no clue in fact looking back. The midwife visits started just after birth. Checks on Mother and Baby. The first visit I can't remember - the second I can. She was expecting also. We got talking. There was just something about her approach that had me engaged and I instantly took on board and respected what she said. 

"If I have one piece of advice it would be to get up, get dressed and go for a walk each day. It does wonders for your inner self and mental health." 

It's suddenly got pretty chilly out there hasn't it? With only a few more weeks to go before the Christmas Trees start to go up in homes across the world you may have started your Christmas crafting. Today I am sharing with you some adorable Clothespin/Peg Snowflakes that look beautiful hung from the tree! 

I have fond memories playing with Lego as a child. I can still remember the structures I sat building with my Dad and the imagination that flowed afterwards. Lego is a fantastic tool for creativity, problem solving, following step by step instructions and critical thinking. Its a brand that has been around for years. 

Founded in 1932 LEGO has been past down through the generations. The name LEGO derived from two Danish Words - "leg godt" meaning Play Well.

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.

Recycling is high on many peoples agendas these days. Lots of people look for ways they can reuse items to help the planet and also to save money. 

We have been recycling while we've been crafting over the last few months. We have enjoyed making drip painted luminaries, plastic lid suncatchers, toilet roll dragons and we loved our recycling in our Jackson Pollock inspired painting activity. Lots of fun to be had and there is a little degree of satisfaction that instead of throwing something away - you have used it to create something.

The children at Lodge Cottage Nursery, Norfolk have been very busy, enjoying a whole week of activities inspired by The Rainbow Fish. From Painting to Playdough to Water Play and collages - there are lots of great ideas here that bring alive The Rainbow Fish in their Early Years setting.

Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday is celebrated annually between 3rd February and 2nd March - before Ash Wednesday. It always falls 47 days after Easter.
It's the one day where we can throw food around in the kitchen and its totally acceptable! What are your flipping skills like?

The shaving foam has been out again in our household - this time to make some marbled hearts! Not only is this activity great for the senses, children are free to explore as they wish and each time the process will give them a beautiful piece of artwork. There is no right or wrong way.

Heart crafts are not only fun for Valentines Day, but all year through. Whether you choose to make them for Mothers Day, Grandparents Day or just because - they make lovely decorations and the kids will have so much fun with the process.

Chinese New Year is fast approaching again. We have made some super cute fire breathing dragons made from recycled toilet rolls! An extremely easy craft, needing little materials and the end result is not only colourful and effective - it's LOTS of fun!

We have enjoyed crafting for Chinese New Year in previous years too. We made Chinese Lanterns by recycling the paintings my daughter (toddler at the time) had done freely at her easel. We also made some 2D Dragons using the butterfly technique. They looked fabulous all together in a display - and is a craft accessible to the youngest of children!

To make a Toiler Roll Dragon you will need:

Toilet Rolls

PVA Glue

Paint

Paint Brush

Pom Poms

Googly Eyes

Tissue Paper

Begin by painting your dragons. I found that they dried really quickly as the toilet rolls absorbed the paint. I didn't find it made the colours less vibrant which was a bonus as my Preschooler was keen to move on to the next step.

Attach the googly eyes using your glue to the Pom Poms. They can be a little temperamental. We found that adding a good blob of glue helped hold them in place. 

Add glue to the inside of your toilet roll and stick inside the colourful strands of tissue paper. You can cut them as large or as fine as you like. You could even look at doing a mixture of both and allowing the children to explore (once dried) which they prefer.

We only stuck the tissue paper one side of the toiler roll. We did this because the strands at the bottom will only hang and wouldn't blow out effectively. The side you glue your paper to is the TOP. This is where you will need to add the pom poms. 2 larger ones with the googly eyes attached towards the back and two smaller ones for the dragons nose. 

Again it can be fiddly getting them to stick down, but adding a good blog of glue should do the trick. 

Leave them to dry and then even more fun can begin! 

You will need to show the children how to angle their blowing to make the fire breathing dragons look even more effective. 

Aswel as being the perfect craft for Chinese New Year, you could also do this craft to accompany various stories with Dragons such as Room on the Broom, Puff the Magic Dragon, How to Catch a Dragon etc.

We have been crafting for Valentines Day. It will soon be here and heart crafts are fun to do all year round! We have made some adorable Heart Luminaries that are perfect to give to loved ones with a little candle! Why not give one with a 'I Love You to Pieces Suncatcher Card'?

Today I am sharing with you a very simple but effective craft! You will need some toilet roll holders! If you're anything like me you will have already have a couple tucked away (just in case an opportunity to use them arises).

We had our first down pour of snow here in the UK, West Midlands last week! 

Sadly it wasn't quite deep enough to make a big Daddy Snowman that my 4 year old requested, but we managed to scoop enough snow up to have a little snowball fight! It was so much fun!

It's given us the taste and we want more!! I want the School Closures... the hot chocolate drinking under warm blankets after we've been outside playing in it! We haven't had a decent amount of snow in a good few years now. There is still time.... but until then we have been doing some fun Snowman Crafts. 

We created a Melted Snowman Family, A Snowman Handprint Keepsake and a cute Snowman card and today we are sharing with a you a snowman collage made using empty toilet rolls!!

Rainbow Streamers make beautiful decorations for parties and celebrations. They are also fabulous for the children to take outdoors and look on as the streamers dance around in the wind.

They tie in brilliantly for weather topics and also for St. Patrick's Day!

Its the season for snow! We are keeping everything crossed that we will have a decent fall of snow this year! I would love to take my 4 year old sledging, have snowball fights, make snow angels and of course build a snowman! How exciting!

We have been doing some Snowman crafts. Did you see the Snowman Keepsake we made last year? You guys loved it and I have really enjoyed lots of you sending me your versions of the craft in!! We work hard to inspire! When we see photos that you have gone off with your children to enjoy what we have posted it really does mean a lot to us! Keep them coming!! We made a card version of the craft too!!

Back to today's craft. A very simple snowman craft that is perfect for any age - especially toddlers and preschoolers!! There is no right or wrong way to do it and the messier the project gets the better it looks!!

We have seen various versions of this floating around on Pinterest but we decided to add our own little spin on it!

You will need:

Coloured paper (something bold for contrast)

White Paint

Paint Brush

Googly Eyes

Snowman Parts (Carrot Nose, Hat etc)

Scissors

Glue

Some of you may wish to have the snowman parts pre-cut before starting this activity. Others may wish to leave this for the children to do independently. You know your children. You know what they would enjoy best. Go with what you feel. I cut them out but left the paper I used with the scissors available on the table so if Little N wanted to she could have made her own too.

She sat down at the table and we compared the sizes of what I had cut out. I made a variety so she could make choices. She decided to make a melted snowman family with a Daddy, Mommy and a baby! - CUTE!

She set about by making white painting splodges over the paper. A big one for Daddy, a medium sized one for Mommy and a smaller one for baby. Her mathematical language during this activity was super! What a fun way to promote talking about size - the children are that busy creating, they're not paying attention to you being sneaky and checking their understanding! 

Once the splodges were made she randomly added the snowman parts to the white blobs. Really simple and she found it rather amusing!

It also got us talking about melting. She was asking lots of questions about what happens when a Snowman melts. I am keen to start doing some ice activities again with her so she can experience this first hand. I can't wait to do the Preschool Salt and Ice Experiment again - it was so beautiful!

If you decide to give this Melted Snowman Painting Craft a go - take photos! Send them to us to add to this post! It's always great to see how other people get on with crafts.

Christmas Eve boxes have very quickly become a new holiday favourite tradition!! A tradition that sparks magic and excitement for not only the children in the family but the adults too!!

To put it simply a Christmas Eve Box is a box filled with treats that children open on Christmas Eve. 

Children get so excited on the lead up to Christmas - having a box to open the day before gives them little activities to get up to to keep them busy! They also contain some very special jobs to do!