Mini Mart: Angelkellet0 Books

Supplier: Angelkellet0
Website: Ebay Store

Products: Range of 1/12 scale sewing accessories, chocolate bars, and lots of children's books. They have so many contemporary titles so I had to try and restrain myself and go for stuff that would fit in with my retro theme. In the end I went for a pack of six Spot the Dog books - because Spot, or Smot y Ci as so many parents here suffer, was first published in 1980.

The print quality is very good, and the books come with little paper bands to slot over them to keep them flat when not in use. Though advertised as suitable for 1/12 scale, they're really pretty big so I think they look better in 1/6. Still awesome value though at £2.99 for six; I'm really pleased with them. :)

Post and Packing: Free!

eatsleepdoodle Review

In a textbook example of perfect timing, we were asked recently if we'd like to review an item from eatsleepdoodle's new butterfly range. If you haven't heard of the brand before, they make the coolest colour-in bedding, tablecloths, pencil cases, bags, etc.

Each product comes with a set of washable markers so, when you've finished colouring, you can just pop it in the washing machine and start all over again. They also sell separate sets of 20 markers if you need more colours, or have simply done too much colouring!

We have been decorating Marianna's bedroom the last few weeks, making the transition from cot bed to 'grown up' bed. With that in mind we chose the butterfly pillow case, which retails for £14.95.

Marianna was super excited to receive the package - even the wrapping paper can be coloured in. Once the paper was off Marianna was practically bouncing up and down with her eagerness to get started. I was really impressed with the quality of both the fabric and the markers, the colours are so vivid.

It's also a really fun way to help a child's pen control and encourage their creativity. The fact you can wash the colour out means there is no 'right or wrong' way to approach things, and they - or you, let's face it! - can let their imaginations run wild.



We all had a go at colouring in a butterfly, while Marianna went to town with the green marker as it was her favourite colour of the day. The thrill of drawing on something she's normally not allowed to really appealed to her, and personalising her pillowcase has been a great way to sell her on her new loft bed.

I love how the range encourages creativity, and also that there's something for every interest and age group. Butterflies, space, dinosaurs, maps - whether you just want to colour, or want to learn the order of the planets in our solar system, or the 7 wonders of the world, eatsleepdoodle have you covered.

Save Money With Shiply

I decided Marianna's room needed redecorating when I caught sight of her pile of Christmas presents. There was scarcely enough room in there to get the door open as it was, and there was no way she could actually play with anything. The obvious solution was to go for a loft bed to try and make more space - but I just didn't trust Marianna to use a ladder to get in and out of it.

We looked at various options, from making our own staircase using an IKEA trofast, to somehow finding the £400+ for a bed with built in storage steps. To be fair there are some lovely beds with built in storage, but our problem was finding space for stuff Marianna already owned - doll houses, play kitchen, etc - so there would have been no point in us going for that kind at the moment.



(As an aside, if you're an entrepreneurial type there's a definite gap in the market for loft/bunk bed stairs and ladders you can buy separately!)

Finally I did what I should have done in the first place and turned to eBay, where I came across a gently used Scallywag high sleeper for £75. Solid pine was way better quality than we could have afforded new and, crucially, the ladders are designed to be a bit safer for kids. The only problem was that we're in South Wales and the bed was in Surrey.

I'd heard of Shiply - a service which allows delivery firms to bid for your job - but had never actually tried it. I was worried it would be complicated, or something would go wrong and I'd be left out of pocket. I was really pleasantly surprised then when I just input the eBay item number and, within a few minutes, I had a whole list of quotes to go and collect it for me.



You can check out the feedback profiles of each company to help you choose, and there is an easy messaging feature if you have more in depth questions. Once you accept a quote you need to fill out the collection and delivery details - so you need to ask for the eBay seller's email address and phone number - and pay a deposit as confirmation.

It was all so simple I kept worrying that something was bound to go wrong but, in spite of my pessimism, the bed arrived well within the two week time frame, with all the bits in tact. Delivery cost me £70, bringing the cost to £145 altogether, which was about as much as I was going to have to spend on the bed itself, before having to build steps to go with it.

So, yeah, I am definitely a Shiply convert!

(My spare room is already afraid...)

Butternut Box Review

Never work with kids or animals... Hopefully a less blurry photo to follow!

I found a promo code last week for a completely free trial of Butternut Box - perfectly portioned, freshly cooked meals delivered direct to your door. For your dog! At that price I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it out.

How It Works

When you sign up to the site you're asked to fill in some details about your canine friend: their breed, age, weight, activity level, and so on, which enables them to work out how much food your dog needs. You can then choose between two plans - 50% of their daily intake if you want to mix it with other food, or 100% if you plan to switch entirely. 

After inputting your dog's special dietary preferences and / or requirements and picking a delivery date, you just have to sit back and wait for your box to arrive.

Delivery!

The meals are sent out frozen in insulated cardboard boxes, usually in large batches meant to cover two weeks or more. This does mean that you need to have a decent sized freezer to be able to store it but, on the flip side, it helps reduce the company's carbon footprint. 

In fact, their ethos and commitment to making everything they do eco-friendly is something I'm really impressed by. The only aspect of the delivery that is non-recyclable is the plastic food pouch itself, and Butternut say they are already close to rolling out a viable eco alternative.

I loved the cute design on the ice pack, and the nice touch of including a patterned bandana to welcome Bracken to the Butternutter club. Of course, the star of the show is the food itself. There are a range of meal flavours, all of excellent quality, and unlike some dog food we've tried it doesn't smell awful!

Conclusion

Bracken is by far the fussiest dog I've ever known. Even as I was ordering this I wasn't sure if she would actually eat any of it; we've tried the Tails.com trial in the past and she just turned her nose up at it. But, when we put the bowl down, Bracken went straight over and started eating. And kept eating. Every day so far she has demolished her dinner.

If Butternut can get her to clear her bowl, it deserves all the praise I can heap on it and more! :)

Mini Mart: PetiteGiteMiniatures

Supplier: PetiteGiteMiniatures
Website: Etsy Store.

Products: Newspapers, magazines, cards, takeaway menus and other paper ephemera available in 1/6, 1/12, 1/24 and 1/48 scales. Most items start at £2.44 for the smaller scales, then increase in price depending on whether or not you want opening pages in the magazines, for example.

The print quality is really nice, and even though the magazines aren't printed throughout they're still okay for leaving lying about a room. The menus are my favourite things - they're nicely done and not something you see in miniature all that often, at least not with that much detail.


Post and Packing: Shipping starts at £3.23 from Florida to the UK.

Morgan's Magic Moon

Our new favourite bedtime story this month is 'Morgan's Magic Moon' by Christopher Parry. It is the super cute story of a little girl who searches high and low for the missing moon, all with the help of her faithful dog Cwtch - a Welsh word for which there is no literal translation, but is basically a cuddly, snuggly kind of a hug.


I absolutely love the stylized illustrations and the bright colour palette used by Jordan Brown. I am notoriously picky about the artwork in children's books - quietly swapping out books for editions with subjectively better illustrations is practically a fulltime hobby these days! - so that's no faint praise.

Marianna tells me the pictures are beautiful because Morgan has red hair just like her. Who am I to argue? :)

The whole book is beautifully laid out, and the text is clear and easy for little fingers to follow.


What really makes this a firm favourite however is the story itself.

So many children's books fall down over awkward rhyme. Even some of the biggest names in the business have problems with sentences which don't quite flow, or inadvertent tongue twisters that have you stumbling over your words. No such problem here! It's a small thing, I know, but a nice even rhythm is an important thing when it comes to a bedtime story.

In conclusion: this is a sweet wholesome story that flows easily and really lends itself to young readers following along.

Review: Angel & Rocket

Angel & Rocket is a family run childrenswear brand with an online store and a boutique in Marlow. Launched in 2014 the brand has gone from strength to strength, with a babywear range and party pieces available at John Lewis, Next and Coast. I was lucky enough to win a £50 voucher recently from The Frenchie Mummy and couldn't wait to put it to good use!

Marianna has been, er, gently reminding me for months now that she wants a 'Pollyanna' dress. I've only myself to blame for introducing her to Hayley Mills' back catalogue. Still, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to fulfill the request. There are some absolutely gorgeous party dresses on the website, but the most Pollyanna-esque was deemed to be the Agnes Check Dress with Detachable Sequin Collar (£38).



The dress is so cute, and I liked that the detachable collar meant it had added value. The collar does up with popper fastenings and can be worn under any dress. 100% cotton, the dress is also machine washable which is always good news when it comes to kids' clothes.

I was really impressed with the website. It's well designed and very easy to use, and the product images are nice and clear. I liked that they included the model's age and height, as a visual aid to the sizing. Originally I was going to get an Age 5 but, because Marianna's so tall and quickly growing, I went for the 6 instead based on this.

To use up the voucher I also got the pretty Tilly Floral Hooded Blanket (£12) to put away for future gift giving purposes. The only niggle I had was that although free shipping is offered on orders of £50 or over, the way the cart is set up means once you've applied the voucher you then have to pay postage (£4.50) because your order is now deemed to be below the limit.



Anyway, our order arrived beautifully wrapped and we decided to give the dress its first outing last night, for the Remembrance service at Holy Trinity Church. The quality is excellent, and the little touches like the gold zip tag make it feel special. Marianna looked adorable in it - which was just as well. The moment the minute's silence started Marianna began telling me, in an ever louder and more frustrated tone, that her feet were too hot.

I think everyone knew by the time it was over...



Check out the range for yourself at the Angel & Rocket website!