Tuesday 29 March 2016

Sunny - the Doll Who Teaches Children About Sun Safety

There's a new doll in the shops who can help you to teach children about staying safe in the sun. 

Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
Meet Sunny from Cicciobello by Flair,  I think you get a sense from the box that he's all about sunshine!
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
Sunny comes with shorts and tee and as pair of sunglasses - but more importantly, he also comes with his own UV sensor necklace with a matching rubber bracelet for your child to wear too.
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
Sunny has articulated arms and legs as well as a possible head and blinking eyes - my daughter loves dolls with blinking eyes so I'm pleased he has this detail. The sunglasses are a great touch but we did find that the sunglasses arms came off easily - simple to clip back on ... if you can find it!
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
We found a particularly sunny day in March and were surprised that whilst the sun hung low in the sky and a cold breeze blew around us, that the UV indicators on both Sunny's necklace and the matching rubber band started to change colour.
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
The UV sensitive pendant started the phase from cream to lilac to lavender and steadily grew deeper in colour showing us that even in March, the UV rays are stronger than we would have thought.

Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
Not only did Sunny's UV reactive band change more than we anticipated for this time of the year but something intriguing started to happen to Sunny's tummy and face, the longer we played in the sunlight, the more tanned Sunny started to look!
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
We were all really surprised to see how much the sun was changing Sunny, we talked a lot about what that meant, why Sunny was changing in the sunshine and what might happen to our own skin (we didn't go into a discussion about cancer, but more about how the sun could burn you). That it was important to seek shade from the sun and wear protective sunscreen even when it doesn't feel that hot, whilst Sunny came with sunglasses, It would have been nice to have had a sunhat - a battle most parents need help with!
Cicciobello Sunny doll review - teaching children to be safe in the sun
Sunny enjoyed a relaxing bath after such a busy day. Sunny is a male doll (although I'm not entirely sure I understand why dolls need "parts") and a conveniently placed drainage hole for after the bath! Maegan likes to pretend Sunny is a girl dolly.

Overall: Sunny can help spread an important message and is a well loves doll.

Cicciobello Sunny Review



Emma in Bromley xx



disclaimer: I received Sunny for my consideration, all images, thoughts and link choices are my own. 

Thursday 24 March 2016

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets

Maegan (age 4) absolutely adores Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom so I'm really pleased to share with you the latest collection of Ben and Holly toys from Character-Online.
Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets


We received both the Ben and Holly Magical Playground Slide and Swing Playsets (available separately) to review.

The packaging was straight forward to open and remove the toys - I didn't even need scissors. 

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
The playsets are designed to clip together (compatible with other items from the range) so you can create a whole magical playground for Ben and Holly. 

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
Both sets included a Holly figure - who loved to slide down the leaf shaped slide.


Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
The playsets come with a stand to place Holly onto to keep her upright.

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
The swing set comes with two leaf swings - that really do swing! 

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
Holly loved to swing between the stems of the brightly coloured flowers.

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
Both playsets are joyful and magical - inspired by nature and true to the show.

Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
You can place the playsets however you like - there are different options to connect them together to make it truest unique.
Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
The brightly coloured toadstools are such a great detail to add.
Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets
There is a very impressing selection of Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom toys from Character-Online.

At £9.99 (RRP) each, I think the playsets are good value for money and a great way to build up a little kingdom all of your own.

Emma In Bromley xx




Disclaimer - I was sent the Magical Swing and Slide playsets for my consideration, all thoughts and link choices are my own.

Monday 21 March 2016

Teksta Newborn Robotic Kitty Review


Maegan (age 4) was really excited about helping me to review the latest Teksta Newborn Kitty, she's easy to remove from her packaging but batteries are not included so you need to fit them before you can play. 


Teksta Newborn Robotic Kitty Review



Newborn Kitty has light up eyes and a rage of sounds and expressions from singing a selection of songs to happy sounds. 

Teksta Newborn Robotic Kitty Review - Maegan Clement

Kitty also has a variety of tricks from begging to jumping - the box says you can practice to catch her i your palm although we haven't yet - we've come close! You can train Kitty to respond to voice commands. 

Teksta Newborn Robotic Kitty Review - Maegan Clement


Maegan loves how Kitty walks around and has wiggly ears and tail. 

Teksta Newborn Robotic Kitty Review - Maegan Clement

We made a little video clip so you can see Kitty in action :)



"Introducing the new generation of micro robotic pets that are smaller, more interactive and animated than ever before.

Newborn Teksta Kitty is a sweet and adorable life-like robotic Kitten that responds to your voice and touch.

Engineered with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, Tekstas’ toyetic interaction offers many emotions and expressive light-up eye patterns to share her feelings.

As your devoted companion, using cutting edge hand gesture technology, you can command Newborn Teksta Kitty to sit, walk, beg and sing. Newborn Teksta Kitty is just like a real 8 month old Kitten and will excite and inspire children of all ages. "




disclaimer - I received Teksta Newborn Kitty for my consideration, all thoughts and images are my own. 

Thursday 17 March 2016

Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special!

I love nothing more than getting a little creative and celebrating all the special events happening throughout the year.

I recently attended the Hobbycraft Spring Summer press day and had a brilliant time - there were several crafts to have a go at and absolute oooodles of inspiration - particularly for upcoming Easter and just a general air of springiness!

Floral headbands.
I can't tell you how easy this is! So much more simpler and quicker than I thought.

You need a plain headband, some artificial flowers, scissors and a glue gun - all available from hobbycraft and we used the mini £5 glue gun for this. 
I had no idea what I was doing, I've never made anything like this before!
You select a flower, trim off the stem, place a blob of hot glue where you want the flower - hold for a few seconds, bigger flowers might need an extra bit of glue under the petals but that's as complicated as it gets!

Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Making a floral headband
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Making a floral headband - Maegan Clement

I also had a go at using fabric paints on a cotton bag - we used a spray on mount adhesive to hold the template in place while I brushed fabric paint from the outside edges into the centre. I'd placed a price of cardboard inside the bag to avoid any paint transfer.
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Fabric Paint Bags
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Fabric Paint Bags

I don't have a good track record when it comes to pipe icing the tops of cupcakes - I usually end up just smoothing it on with the back of a spoon but I had a go at ruffle icing with ready made icing (it comes in a big tub which you add your colouring to) and was pleased with the result - actually I couldn't  believe I did this!
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to create ruffle icing
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to create ruffle icing
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to create ruffle icing
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to create ruffle icing

I got to decorate an Easter egg which was really easy and a lot of fun - I was really impressed with the chocolate Easter bunnies the hobbycraft team had created and used as a wall mural - I really fancy having a go any making some colourful Easter bunnies!
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to decorate easter eggs
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! How to decorate easter eggs
I really liked all the creative designs that had gone into making mache bunny trophy heads too!
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Paper Mache Bunny trophy heads
This was a first for me, scrapbook making - it's something I've never tried before but actually I found it very calming and enjoyed it more than I'd thought I would.

And I was impressed with how simple and creative you can be with a Cricut cutting machine, I'm itching to have. Go at one of these! All the creations just looked amazing - my mind was just going over time with creating my own crockery! I made my own wedding invitations - I wish I had had one of these!
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Make your own wedding with Cricut
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Make your own wedding with CricutGetting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! Make your own wedding with Cricut

Hobbycraft have these fantastic plain marquee lights that you can decopatch and paint to create your very own lights - I really love this idea and want to create some for my newly decorated living room.
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! create your own marquee lights
And on a similar note, I loved this moss filled wooden ampersand! 
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! create your own moss ampersand

Appliqué bunnies in embroidery hoops look like a lot of fun, and aomething we could all have a go at creating!
Getting Ready for Easter - Spring Craft Special! create your own appliqué bunny hoop
But if you are a complete sewing novice, and actually I can't use a sewing machine (I had a few lessons at school in 1994 and then I've had one session with my mother in law on her machine - I loved it) a sewing machine is on my dream wish lists! Touring the country this year is the Pink Bus offering sewing lessons to everyone!

Monday 14 March 2016

Gazillion Tornado Bubble Machine Review

We're starting to see sunny (but cold) afternoons and with it getting darker later, we're enjoying the chance to play outside - hopefully we will be lucky with the weather in the upcoming Easter break too!


With outdoor play in mind, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the Gazillion Tornado - a mega bubble machine which will blow hundreds of bubbles per minute! 

Gazillion Tornado
Gazillion Tornado comes in friendly packaging - the machine held in place on the cardboard by 5 plastic ties and the first thing you need to do once it's out of the box is add batteries (4xAA's).

There's an instruction leaflet and the machine is very simple to use.

Gazillion Tornado
You literally take the plastic lid off the bubble mixture bottle and place it upside down on the stand so it punctures the foil and the liquid runs into the reservoir. 


Gazillion Tornado
When you are ready, press the yellow button on the back of the machine and the bubbles will fly out! 

Gazillion Tornado
We were very impressed and super excited by the amount of bubbles being produced. Gazillion Tornado is quite noisy but not loud enough for the kids to notice or even compete with their excited squeals! 
Gazillion Tornado
We carefully lifted the bubble mix off when we were ready to go inside and found there was a generous amount still in the reservoir so we just kept going!





Overall - quick to set up, super easy to use, good value for money and lots of fun!

Available from Toy Retailers, Tesco and Amazon with an rrp of £12.99



Emma in Bromley xx



Disclaimer - I was sent a Gazillion Tornado for my consideration. All thoughts are my own.