Author: Mia Underwood Paperback: 64 pages Publisher: Button Books (7 Nov. 2018) Language: English ISBN-13: 978-1787080263 Product Dimensions: 15 x 2.2 x 21 cm
The Secret Woodland Activity Book
The Blurb
Discover the magical, playful (and sometimes shy) woodfolk who inhabit a secret woodland hidden on a remote island in Scandinavia. If you can see them, then you are one of the lucky few and can help them with their important work by completing the activities inside this book.
Things to do include: colouring in, spot the difference, paper crafts, join the dots, word searches, number games and scenes to create with stickers.
The Author
Mia Underwood is a designer and illustrator based in Brighton, UK. She loves a creative challenge and working with traditional and digital illustration as well as creating 3D characters. Being half Danish she particularly enjoys creating scenes with characters that conjure up the mystery and romance of dreamlike imaginary woodlands within Scandinavia.
My Verdict
Oh to be a little girl again, this book is 64 pages of delightful imagery that invites you to take part on every page. There is so much to do in this book; join the dots, colouring in and drawing, crafty makes like a wishing star and mobile, puzzles, tasks, story writing, recipes and so much more. All in a mystical woodland theme. It comes with over 150 stickers and it even shows you how to draw a Unicorn!
I’ve recently discovered a brilliant way of exchanging good quality kids clothing in the website Treasure House.
Did you know that the clothing industry is the 4th highest polluter in the UK? It takes 2,720 litres of water to make a t-shirt. The production of 1 kilogram of cotton garments uses up to 3 kilograms of chemicals. Clothing consumption produces 1.5 tonnes of Co2 per household per year. The equivalent of driving 6000 cars.
But we all need clothing, including our kids. Treasure House offers a trading system with children’s clothes from 18 months to 12 years. The help you achieve smart savings without compromising on quality. Recycling and swapping slows the need to manufacture brand new clothes, saving energy and water while limiting wast. You can also save money on your kid’s clothes. Clothes that don’t pass the quality check are donated to Save the Children.
How it Works.
Do you recycle your kids clothes? My methods in the past have included donating to charity shops and selling on Ebay. Now, my donations will continue to the charity shops, but those nicer clothes that I try to regain a little of my cost back by selling on Ebay have a new home to go to. My kids still need clothes, so exchanging them seems a much better offer.
With Treasure House you request a bag which you then fill with your kid’s unwanted clothes.
Treasure house only accept good quality and better branded clothing. They have a huge list of brands they accept but there are also brands they don’t accept like Tesco, George, Primark. So these are still good for the charity shops or Ebay.
Book a Collection or request a pre-paid label
Then you can send of your packaged clothes for free.
Receive Online Store Credits
Your clothes are then inspected and awarded store credit. You get more credits for good quality clothing that has been washed and ironed. If your items do not pass the quality check for credits they will be donated to Save the Children. Or you can request for them to be returned to you, but you will have to pay postage for this.
Buy Clothes On Treasure House
When you have your credits you can then use them to buy clothes on the Treasure House Website. If you don’t have credits you can still shop there and find some fabulous pre-loved bargains.
My Experience
The best way to start using Treasure House is to go along and pick a free gift. Yes, they offer a clothing gift up to the cost of £15 for all new customers. I signed up and chose a lovely woollen dress for Boo. It costs just 99 pence for package and postage.
The dress arrived just three days later and it truly is beautiful, it looks brand new. Also in my package was a bag to use to send off my unwanted clothes. I already have my first stash to send off. I was going to put them on Ebay but the time and effort versus the small amount of cash and Ebay fees really puts me off using it. So now I’m going to send off my clothes to Treasure House and use any credits I receive to buy more clothes for my kids.
Hello and welcome to the new home of Word of the Week, a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. You reflect back on the past week and sum it up in one word. Then share your word with us in a blog post, with as little or as much explanation as you like.
This linky has been hosted for a long time over on Jocelyn’s blog The Reading Residence, but now she has handed over the reigns to me. I hope all the regular linkers will come and join me now.
There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. Do try to stick to the theme of summing your week up. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW
If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.
My Word of the Week
This week my word is delicate, because that’s how I’m feeling.
At the time of writing this I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. I’ve tried to go back to sleep but I can’t. My mind won’t take the rest it needs and I have a poorly Little Man besides me. He is the reason for my tiredness having kept me awake half the night because he was sick. We will take it easy today and hopefully tomorrow we both won’t be feeling so delicate.
Also, we were in another car accident last Saturday, not as bad as the last but we still took a bump. I have much worse whiplash than before and can barely move my neck, while my shoulders feel sore and tender. Graham is feeling the same, so we are both feeling pretty delicate.
I had my treatment in hospital on Monday and although I had a massive migraine afterwards it did pass by the next day. There are after effects though, my head always feels fuzzy for a day or two and my arms are really sore this week after a few failed attempts at my cannula. So even more reasons to feel delicate.
The best thing to do when feeling delicate is to rest and recover and remember that it doesn’t last forever. Feeling sorry for yourself is often frowned upon, but when you feel like this your emotions take a bashing too. So, I’m going to treat myself delicately and hopefully I’ll be feeling strong again soon.
Last week I was back a the hospital to see a different Doctor. I almost got the times wrong but thankfully I checked at the last minute. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, getting times wrong and missing appointments. Or just simply forgetting to do something that I’d promised to do. Anyway, as usual I left the hospital feeling that it was ‘all in my head.’ Why do they do that, unless you are actually at death’s door Drs just don’t want to listen. I had symptoms of my illness for about three years before I lost the use of my legs, but no-one would listen. What if they had? Would I still be able to walk now? Why does it keep happening to me?
It also surprises me at how little attention my condition warrants from doctors. I mean, I have an ultra rare condition that barely any doctor has heard of. I have been diagnosed by a very reputable neurology consultant, it’s not something I made up. If I was a doctor I’d think, ‘ooh that’s interesting I’ve never heard of that, tell me more.’ But they show so little interest, they don’t even ask how it affects me. I sometimes wonder if they would show more interest if I gave it it’s original name Moersch and Woltman Syndrome, maybe Stiff Person Syndrome sounds a little naff to them. The Doctor I saw was also under the impression that I was still diagnosed as having Transverse Myelitis, maybe he knew what that was.
Grumble over, I am having further tests, just in case. Fingers crossed that the doctor is right and there is nothing to worry about. In the meantime I’m going to assume it’s all in my head, and use my head to stop it!
It Happened Again
On Saturday, me, Graham and the Little Man had to go and see a specialist doctor about our injuries from our car accident a month ago. The girls stayed home with their older siblings. We were at the surgery for about an hour, then did a little shopping before coming home.
Graham bought a packet of peanuts to eat in the car. He said the last time he bought peanuts was when we had our crash. I just had to point out that our crash also happened on a Saturday afternoon and there was just the three of us in the car.
Just a few minutes away from home, Graham stopped by a parked car because there was another car coming up the other way. Then, crash! Someone went straight into the back of us. Again!
Thankfully, it was not as bad as our last crash and I did not need to be stretchered off in an ambulance. The Little Man was upset but unharmed, so there are always things to be thankful for. Tell that to the car hire company that is loaning us the brand new Mazda while our car is still being repaired from the last crash!
Busy
As for the rest of the week, I’ve been pretty busy. As well as going out Friday and Saturday, I also had to go out on Monday and today, Tuesday. I think I may need the rest of the week being glued to my settee. That probably won’t happen though because today it’s treatment day so, as long as I avoid the side effects, I’ll probably be feeling pretty good for the next week or so.
As well as going out I’ve also managed to finish two crochet projects. One is a Christmas present so I can’t show you that. But I’ll show you a pic of my blanket which took me ages. It’s a gorgeous soft wool and I love the colours. I crocheted it in diamonds and then had to sew them all together. It’s the first time I’ve done this type of project and I found it hard work. I am happy with though.
I recently read a post by Thirsty Daddy where he had written the soundtrack to his life, choosing songs that meant something to him at the time.
I gave this some thought and it would have been really easy to do the same, but then I thought about the films I’d watched at certain times of my life and decided to give the idea a bit of a twist.
The Films of my Life.
The Younger Years
Going way back to when I was little I loved musicals and films with lots of dancing. I guess it was my Mum and Dad’s influence but I loved the likes of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin. However, to define a moment in time it would have to be Saturday afternoons at a friend’s house watching Elvis Presley films. We’d watch with her brother and sisters, and her Dad who was a big fan. Then her Mum would come back from shopping with sweet treats for us all. I haven’t watched any of these films for years now, maybe it’s time for a catch up.
Pre-teens
When we were fairly young, but old enough to go out alone, me and my cousins would go to the cinema on a Saturday afternoon. We would often watch animations like Peter Pan, but I remember going to see a brand new film, Pete’s Dragon which was a mix of animation and live action. I loved it and it was my favourite film for a long time. Sadly I’ve yet to watch the re-make.
Pete’s Dragon 1977
Teenage Years
I remember when Star Wars first came out and there was no-one who wanted to go with me to the cinema to see it. I just knew I would love the film but I had to wait quite a while before I got to watch it. I’ve watched all the films now and my eldest son is a big fan. He’s read loads of the books too, and I may have read a couple myself.
A year after Star Wars came Grease but this time I had someone willing to go with me to see it. I loved Grease, I even had John Travolta’s poster on my wall and I would sing along to the album every day. I think I probably still know all the words to ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You.’
Now this was the time I watched lots of films. We would visit the video rental store regularly and hire a film for the night. Sometimes, if the film was popular you had to reserve it, then hope that the person borrowing it would bring it back on time. Our video store would give us a quick call as soon as it was brought back.
Conan the Barbarian was a big favourite, along with Mad Max. I must have watched all the films several times and often sought out badly made rip-off type films. It seems like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson have been around forever, much like John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
As for the cinema, there are two films that stick out for me. Ghostbusters and Gremlins. I actually went into town one evening with the hope of watching Ghostbusters but the queue to get in the cinema was humongous. My boyfriend said there was another cinema just down the road so we could try there. When we go there, however, it was just the same.
We were about to give up and go back another night when I noticed they were showing Gremlins. We had not heard of the film and had no idea what it was about but decided to watch it anyway. I thought it such a weird film but I did fall in love with Gizmo. As the years have past, and I’ve watched both Ghostbusters and Gremlins many times, I have to say that Gremlins is my favourite of the two.
With quite a few adult years under my belt it’s obvious that there are lots of films that I’ve loved. Some I’ve watched over and over and never tire of them, like Back to the Future. A few years ago I went to The Gadget Show Live and managed to get up close to Jason Bradbury’s Back to the Future Delorean
More grown films I love are Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, yet the first time I watched them I wasn’t that keen at all. I’m not keen on violence, or drug taking but I do like films with a different approach, something that makes them stand out from other films. And both of these certainly do that. I’ve still not seen the new Trainspotting film though.
Full Circle
As a child I loved musicals and I still do. When I was at school, admitting that you liked Abba was a bit of a faux paux, a social blunder. So, of course I wasn’t a fan. Years later Bjorn Again played at the university where I worked and I loved every minute. So I was utterly thrilled when Mamma Mia came out. I’ve watched it tons of times but now I’m waiting for the chance to watch Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again.
It took me a long time to watch The Greatest Showman, but again, it’s one of my favourites that I could watch over and over. The story line is not that brilliant but I love the music and Hugh Jackman of course.
I guess that brings me up to date. Although, I feel like I’ve missed so much out, there are always so many memories attached to films. And of course, there are so many favourites too.
A little Note About Positive Reviews on Raisie Bay
A little Note About Positive Reviews on Raisie Bay
Some people only write reviews when things go wrong with products, which is good because it lets people know that there could be potential problems. I’ve also seen negative feedback with say things like, I had to return this item because the colour did not suit me…is this useful?
I write reviews on most items I buy because I like to give genuine feedback. If I have a genuine problem with a product I will write my review in the appropriate place.
I write reviews on my blog too, but they are mostly positive. Why? Because I only write reviews for the things I’ve loved. If I don’t love them I let the person who sent me them know with details why and then let them decided if they would rather me write a negative review or not write one at all. It’s always the latter.
This is my blog, my place and I’ll let you know about the things I love. If you want to find out what other people have hated about the product then you will need to look elsewhere.
My reviews may all be positive, but they are still genuine.
Raisie Bay is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk
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