Wednesday 24 December 2014

Advents 24th Door




Be sure to say 'Thank You'. Be it thank you for the Turkey Sandwiches. Thank you for helping me with the Christmas lights. Thank you for the festive feast. We will all have so many thank you's to give after spending Christmas with family and friends. 

Here's a few of our favourite free printable thank you cards and notes from this year and last











Tuesday 23 December 2014

Advents 23rd Door



Secret Garden by Johanna Basford is a colouring book that transports you into a magical world where you'll discover the most intricate pen and ink illustrations to colour.  We've been obsessed with its pages since we bought our first copy. We've just discovered that the Guardian have 5 pages to print and colour on their website. A great way to keep little (and big) hands occupied in the last days before Christmas.




Monday 22 December 2014

Advents 22nd door






A little obsessed with Valesca van Waveren's work I was excited to discover she's got a printable gift tag selection over on her blog ready to download and print. I love this collection of festive characters. Print, cut out and adorn your gifts with these wonderful creatures.





Sunday 21 December 2014

Advents 21st Door




With eight arms to hug and to hold this is one cuddly friend I'd love to knit and give,  and one that i'm sure will be a great companion for some one you love. A great winter project. 


xx

Saturday 20 December 2014

Advents 20th Door



This little gang of mischievous creatures look ready for some festive fun. With their party hats and legs ready for dancing I think they just need a little tinsel scarf for a full festive feel. Wouldn't they look adorable sticking out the stockings on Christmas morning. I'm sure Father Christmas's elves will be busy printing these off ready for some Christmas morning fun.


Friday 19 December 2014

Advents 19th Door - Garlands, Games and Gift Tags




Splashes of colours and lashings of sprinkles these printable donuts are such great bright fun and sure to delight. I know my youngest daughter Oona , self confessed donut lover, will just love to find these in her advent or even in her stocking (if its not too late Father Christmas). Used as a Memory Game, or as Amy Moss suggests; bunting, gift toppers and party bag fillers these really are a wonderful treat. 



The Memory game is always a popular game in our house and quite often the girls will play again and again especially if the images appeal. These Lollipop's will make a popular family game so too will these pretty Matrioska dolls. Discover them all and find your favourites be it for garlands, games or gift tags.







Thursday 18 December 2014

Advents 18th Door




The tree has been chosen and is now standing tall and proud in its traditional spot. We're in full festive spirit and day by day our home is being transformed. We're a little star obsessed this year and as soon as we saw these paper stars we knew we had to use them for something. So, we're printing them out onto coloured card and we're going to incorporate them into our table decor, with a sprinkle of colour on the table and a garland hanging above.



and discover more below:





 We're thinking of ways to turn our stars into a game so if anybody has any ideas do share them. 

xx

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Advents 17th Door





After our fun with the photoboother yesterday we thought it only right to share some of our favourite free printable Photo Booth props. So, here's a few of our favourites, guaranteed to bring giggles to any occasion. keep them in a pot next to an empty wall, place them on the table as part of the place settings, ask Father Christmas to put some in your stocking or send some off to friends near and far.
All you need is some card to print onto, (or print onto paper and stick onto card), and some straws or little wooden bbq skewers. 



We've accumulated quite a collection over the years from sets we've bought, made ourselves as well as great free printables we've discovered. Here's a great way to get going or even to add to your collection:

Top to bottom: Sweet lips here , more fun props here and here

There are lots of props to print here 
Pick your favourites from this collection of accessories, beards and moustaches here . 
The beards here have become our favourites
These here are great for the kids to colour in and have fun designing there own. 
The girls loved this Father Christmas beard and festive accessories here






Tuesday 16 December 2014

Advents 16th Door - PhotoBooth Me!




 










We've got a soft spot for some photobooth fun and with a few props they're great for parties and silly get togethers. Of course the festive season just has to have a chair turned into a homemade Photo Booth and we've found ..the most amazing thing.... a place to turn your images into these Photo Booth prints!
Simply, choose your frame, upload your photos, and download.

I've got a new obsession and I'm in heaven.



xx



Monday 15 December 2014

Advents 15th Door



The day's are whooshing by as Christmas day is drawing nearer  and with the children now having finished school for the Christmas term I'm finding that time has become even more precious. We're all enjoying slow mornings and lazy afternoons and re-discovering favourite games and pastimes. It feels as though the time is ours to spend as we wish and so thats what we're doing.

We've pulled out our Shadow puppet theatre and found some of our shadow puppets and made more characters to add to stories.  Its such a beautiful way to spend the winter afternoons inside warm and cosy and there's no end to the characters and sets that can be introduced. Bedtime stories have been drawn into long bedtime productions and I think there's a secret rehearsal of a special Christmas spectacular!

Here's a great place to start your collection with this free printable download here.


Once you begin you'll see how easy it becomes to make your own, drawn onto cardboard and cut out or discovering silhouettes to print.  These below are a perfect addition to any set of shadow puppets. You can find them here and here .



Today I discovered these incredible detailed ones which I hope to cut out and give for another advent creation for them. If I can figure out how to upload our creations for printing I'll be sure to pass them on.

xx


Sunday 14 December 2014

Advents 14th Door













Is it time to start wrapping yet? We love this special part of the festive season; wrapping and decorating the gifts. Though it might be a bit early for the creative wrapping I'm certainly looking for the right gift tags. We've discovered these beautiful free printable gift tags from creators we know and love as well some new ones.

Top to bottom:

These beautifully illustrated gift tags are so enchanting I'd like to frame them so its a joy to discover their creator has the most wonderful collection of prints and cards for sale too. Take a look at Kelli Murray's website and shop here and download the collection of free printable gift tags here.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday gift tags by the brilliant family at Wee gallery. We love these Woodland animals and are certain children of all ages will love them too. Discover your free downloads here amongst many more!

These watercolored gift tags in greens, blues and reds are perfect for pretty colour bursts on top of your gift. Discover the free download here.

For more inspiration, gift wrapping ideas and free printables take a look here!


xx 



Saturday 13 December 2014

Advents 13th Door



We've fallen so in love with this festive doll we want everyone to have one.  Such a wonderful paper toy to be made into a jumping jack, a puppet, the character for a new story or for a spectacular gift tag. We snuck ours into our advent and it was a huge hit with the kids. Take a look at her shop too Ekaterina Trukhan the prints there are beautiful.


Print it and play

xx


Friday 12 December 2014

Once upon a place....




..... and there I discovered a family of vegetables hung like snowdrops from a flower, watered with rainbows caught in a red watering can. Creatures great, creatures tall, creatures brave and creatures small played in the garden under a tall tree with adventures on every branch.  We took tea parties among the toadstools with new found friends, sipping from pastel petal cups and saucers. Birds came from near and far and sang songs and called to the wild and sparkling horses and elephants in tutus danced among the blossoms of the tree.
We found houses built with coloured stars, windows and doors opened with a little wooden key. Fluffy dwellings lined the paths, I think I saw little fluffy people inside. We rode horses that leapt high above the trees circling words to the moon and back again. We dined with dinosaurs in bright bow ties. We found dragons that taught us never to be afraid and we sailed among the stars that hung from the sky like garlands..... once upon a place.

Come take a look at our Once Upon a Place and see a world of imaginings. For todays advent we're giving 25 % Off everything in this place of wonder, where dreams come to life. 

Plant little seeds of imagination and water every day


xx

use code WONDERLAND at the checkout for your 25% discount
Offer ends Monday 15th December midnight (GMT)

Thursday 11 December 2014

Advents 11th Door - Sew Pretty Printables






There's something so utterly charming about these lacing cards,  the comfort of continuity of childhood pastimes and the thought of sitting still and being creative is all too inviting at this busy time of year. 
I love the warm colour of this Owl lacing card along with the three other animal designs ready to be downloaded here.  Hung on the wall, stuck to the fridge or turned into a festive card you can colour match their feathers and fur or have fun with bright colours and patterns. 
These cross-stitch animals are in need of some warm wintry jumper designs and though these might be better suited for slightly older children I think children (and adults) of all ages will love these creatures. I think they'd make wonderful gift tags too. 

Discover all our favourite lacing cards:










Wednesday 10 December 2014

Advents 10th Door - A squeal, a squeak and a squawk



With a squeal and a squeak we welcome this wonderful cast of creatures. Its been a busy day at the breakfast table this morning with this bunch neighing, oinking, meowing, nose-twitching and hopping out of our advent. There's a horse, a bunny, a cat, a pig and a mouse perfect for little hands and big imaginations.

Such a great free printable to print and create together with the kids or to print and post to someone as a surprise. Download the template alongside the simple instructions here.



This flock of fancy birds (below)  have come along to the Christmas chorus too. With their vibrant colours and  elaborate patterns they are so satisfying to make and simple enough for little hands to create. The free template can be downloaded here and the set includes 4 beautiful bird designs. 








x x