Cambourne Craft Fair

The sun was shining, stall holders were displaying their wonderful goods, the bouncy castle was inflated, the cakes were out and the kettle was on as the lovely lot from Cambourne and the surrounding areas came through the doors at Cambourne Craft fair last weekend. 

Whilst grown ups, mums, dads, grandparents and carers enjoyed a bacon roll and a hot drink, the little ones had a turn on the bouncy castle and enjoyed a recovery cup of fruit squash. Then there was cake! Cupcakes from the Crafty B's cafe (Cherry Chocolate, Lemon & White Chocolate and Very Vanilla) or a vegan selection from the lovely C.A.K.E stall (amazing). 

Crafty B's moved over to squeeze in the Wildlife Trust (stupid wind) who came and made pipe cleaner dragonflies with the children and Crafty B's teamed up with the Re-Imagine Centre in the lobby to run pay as you go craft workshops using recycled materials. We decorated pots and planted flowers, made flower brooches, cards and gift tags.

Once through into the main hall, children had the opportunity to partake in a bumble bee hunt around the stalls to win cake, see the balloon man and make some beaded jewellery and ladies (or men!) had the chance to visit a nail bar as well as browsing the 35 stalls filled with children's books, art, handmade jewellery, aprons, jams, cards, children clothes & accessories, fancy dress, bunting, glasswork and more. There was a huge selection of suitable gifts for Mothers Day and I dare say that there will be some happy mums receiving handmade cards and presents this weekend purchased or made at the Crafty B's Craft Fair. 

Next up on the list of Crafty B's events is the Mini Makers Easter Craft workshops at Cambourne Church. They will take place on the Monday and Tuesday of both weeks in the holiday, 10am till 2pm. Visit the events page on Facebook , the calendar on the website or email mrscraftyb@gmail.com to book your place or for more info. 

If you came to the fair last weekend, head on over the the Crafty B's Facebook page and tell us if you enjoyed your day. Did you get anything nice? 

Look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Mrs Crafty B

p.s. Did you spot Baby B in the pictures?

The Small Things

I love Mondays. There I said it. It marks the start of a new week, a fresh start, a chance to start putting into action all of the plans you have whether they be organisation, projects, fun trips, productive activities or the countdown to the next weekend. Well let's face it, Sunday's over so what is the next thing to look forward to?

That said, the fun of the 'family weekend' does kind of linger in the air reminding me that 1/4 of us isn't here and just like everyone else I need a little reminder of something happy to keep my mood bright. Especially on Monday.

Fortunately, today is not a day I need to remember the 'happy.' I especially love this Monday. Today marks the 28th anniversary of my birth! For me, my birthday means thinking about everything I have achieved in the last year and all the things I'm going do in the next one. It also means treating myself to things that I WANT rather than need. Hubby B is staying home today so the weekend is extended and the air is filled with joy from a weekend of sunshine, afternoon teas, family, browsing Cambridge and BBQ's. Yes BBQ's!! Ten years ago today it was snowing and yesterday we had a BBQ. How fab.

Here's a few pictures that you might enjoy, to make you smile and remember YOUR bits of happy from the last week and think about what is to come!

Mrs Crafty B

Mini Makers: How to Make Puffy Paints

Happy Friday! During the Easter holidays, I will be running some children's Easter crafts workshops in Cambourne followed by a 'Crafty Cafe' every Thursday thereafter.  I wondered what better opportunity to begin integrating my home crafting, my Crafty B's craft groups, my childcare business and my blog then to make sure I get some tutorials and crafty tips, ideas and activities on here on a regular basis!

So welcome to what will hopefully be a regular feature, #MiniMakers. This post is all about my little B's favourite crafty activity; puffy paints.

There are so many recipes out there for puffy paint, some of which require microwaving to make them 'puff' but this one uses shaving foam and we love it because it smells nice and saves electricity!

To make your puffy paints you will need:

- PVA glue

- Shaving foam (we use an own brand one which cost 26p!)

- Food colouring or paints.

- Mixing utensils

- Paint brushes or the like or just your hands!

Start by mixing equal parts PVA and shaving foam. Our mixture sometimes going a bit 'unpuffy' here but its ok, you can add a bit extra afterwards.

Add a bit of colour. These dishes contain different examples of types of colouring. The blue pot has a metallic poster paint swirled through it for a marble effect. The blue paint in the red dish contains finger paint. The green dish is brown poster paint and the yellow dish contains purple food colouring.

At this point, you can add a bit more foam if its looking a bit 'out of puff.'

Your puffy paints are ready to go! 

Baby B and I got in too much of a mess when we did this yesterday for the pictures so I didn't get examples of his beautiful artwork but I did manage to resist his hands in the pots in the beginning whilst I painted up these little examples for you.

Our projects with these have included a paper plate sunshine, a white fluffy cloud (just leave the colour out) and a hand print tree. We painted a trunk and used brown handprints for the branches and green fingerprints for the leaves. This would be a great seasonal activity to demonstrate the changing colours of the trees outside! These paints are best used on card or thick paper as they can make thin paper a bit soggy.

Early Years Foundation Stage

This activity addresses or can address the following areas of learning:

Prime

- Communication and language - Talk to your little ones about what they are doing. How does it smell? What colours are the using? How does the paint feel?

- Physical development - Using brushes, sponges or other paint applicators will help with motor skills.

- Personal, social and emotional development - Children can feel a sense of achievement from their creations.

Specific

-  Literacy - Controlled strokes of the paint all count towards practice for writing.

- Mathematics - Can your little ones counts how many colours you are using? Can you paint numbers? 

- Understanding the world - Is there a theme to your painting? Are you creating outdoor scenery? 

- Expressive arts and design - Allows little ones to be creative. 

I hope you give this one a go. Don't forget to share your puffy paint creations on the Mrs Crafty B Facebook page.

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I've been nominated for 'Best Craft Blog' in the MAD Blog Awards!

I don't often say this but OMG! I have somehow been nominated for 'Best Craft Blog' in The MADS 2014.

All I can think about is whether or not it's the kind of award where if I won, I would get to wave my hand in front of my eyes to stop the welling tears from ruining my make up...*mind wonders* ....ok I'll focus now. What I DO know is that one of the prizes for the winner is £100 worth of craft equipment. I might not have a hope in heck of winning but if I DID, this would be a fab contribution to the Crafty B's Community Crafts Project.

So lets make a deal. I promise to start uploading all of the tutorials from the projects that I have done with the Crafty B's and the ones I have planned for coming workshops and groups and I promise to keep sharing my crafty journey/procrastination and in return perhaps you could head over and offer your support for Crafty B's by way of a nomination in the 'Best Craft Blog' category. (Shameless bribery!) I really hope you have seen something over here on Crafting a Daydream that you have enjoyed and I look forward to continuing and developing. (Emotional blackmail).

Thank you SO much in advance if you feel that you can offer your nomination and here's the link. Nominations close March 14th so quick quick quick.

Mrs Crafty B

Pancake Day

So how do you make your pancakes? What's your favourite topping...?

Sorry, in my pancake day excited frenzy I'm going backwards!! Let's rewind. 

Today is pancake day or Shrove Tuesday. It marks the start of Lent. Admittedly we have pancakes weekly in the B house but today marks an opportunity for an extra naughty topping or two! Biggest Baby B loves pancakes. They are such a great family breakfast or brunch and extremely cheap. Great if you have house guests.

Today Baby B has had his normal raisin pancakes with banana but with a bit if chocolate spread and some cream. He couldn't believe his luck. I opted for some lemon and sugar. Simplicity at its best. 

We make our pancakes using:
- one egg
- one small mug of self raising flour
- one small mug of milk
- pinch of salt

Just throw it it the jug (or bowl) and whisk it till you have a thick smooth mixture. I spoon one tablespoon for each pancake onto a hot non stick pan sprinkling raisins on the top. (I used a tiny bit of butter today...naughty :-) ) Once little bubbles start to appear flip them over to cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Keep the pan on a consistent low-medium heat. Once your happy they are golden coloured and cooked, flip them out onto your plate.

Then comes the fun bit. Toppings!!! We're not gourmet. Sugar and lemon. Banana and honey or chocolate spread. Blueberries and Greek yoghurt. I think my days of jam and cream are behind me. I know you all have your favourite toppings so share them with us? What do love to have on your pancakes? What is the best pancake batter recipe? 

Mrs Crafty B