Tag: gifted product

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review, toys

Petite Amelie Wooden Dolls House – review

Posted on by Amy
Post contains PR Product.

Ellie has such a kind and caring nature and she absolutely loves looking after her toys – she feeds them in her play kitchen, she puts them down for naps and she plays with such a vivid imagination. I love nothing more than sitting down with a cuppa and listening to the storylines she comes up with – although worryingly it usually starts with the Mum dying!!

I knew she would be over the moon with the wooden dolls house we received from Petite Amélie and she has played with it non-stop since she first saw it.

So here’s our review of our new dolls house. It’s possibly one of the few times Ellie has willingly let me bother her for photos!

In 2010 when a mum-to-be wasn’t able to find the cot of her dreams for her daughter – she took matters into her own hands and designed one herself and had it made – it was at that moment that Petite Amélie was born. They have since expanded their range of products to include complete baby and children’s bedrooms, transitional beds, infants chests of drawers and wardrobes, children’s bed linen and wooden toys – furniture perfect for Nurseries or Toddler Rooms..

Their main goal – to inspire parents to create a beautiful nursery that has unique furniture and accessories suitable for babies and children alike.

With so many beautifully designed, timeless products to choose from I found it difficult knowing what to pick when we were offered to choose something from the site – however since we already have all the furniture we need we decided to look at the wooden toys and decided on the La maison d’Amélie wooden dolls house.

Traditional Toys with a Modern Touch

The La maison d’Amélie wooden dolls house is a house of dreams! It’s stylish open fronted design is a great way to encourage children to play – the neutral tones of white, grey and black match with the natural wood perfectly too allowing it to be appealing to all children.

The wooden dolls house does come flat packed and was relatively easy to assemble when little hands arent trying to “help”. Initially I had decided to build the dolls house but found getting the balcony to fit a tad bit tricky so set Luke off on the task and of course, being the Master Builder he is, he did it in no time at all! The house also comes with a 19 piece furniture set too which is already assembled and matches the main house with its neutral colours and wood. It would be easy to add some colour and a bit of the childs personality to the house by painting the furniture but honestly I really love the natural look and love how it all looks inside when we’ve set it up.

The dolls house has rooms on 4 floors and just like a real home it has a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room and office space as well as a balcony on the top floor too! The possibilities for play are endless – every time Ellie plays with it her role play is different to the last. We’ve had role play linked to every day life – bath time, breakfast and Ellie loves tucking her little family in to bed at night – and we’ve had rescue missions, flooding and evil pirates but Ellie’s favourite is to pretend she’s a giant reaching in through the window and scaring the children!

Our Overall Verdict

I particularly love the fact that the wooden toys from Petite Amélie are made from high quality materials (SFC wood and organic cotton where possible) and the house is EN71 safety tested and the paint used is safe for children too, I also like the additional thought on safety with the rounded edges.

We’ve had such many nights after school playing with our new dolls house, it’s been a fantastic way to watch Ellie’s imagination grow and we’ve used it to talk about our days when she hasn’t been so keen to share! It’s been a wonderful addition to Ellie’s playroom and I can’t wait to watch her grow and maybe one day pass on to her children too!

Have you had any toys or furniture from Petite Amélie?
Will you be buying wooden toys this year?
Christmas is only 92 days away after all!
Let us know in the comments below!

Disclosure – We were gifted the La maison D’Amelie wooden dolls house to review however as always all thoughts, opinions and photographs are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

Newspaper Headlines Personalised Football Book – Review

Posted on by Amy

Do you have a special person in your life who is sport mad? More specifically football mad? Honestly i’ve never really understood why people get so involved in a football game they arent playing – that was until the most recent World Cup and I cheered on England more than anyone in the house! I grew up with a family who were fans of Rugby more than football so I never really had a team to cheer on, I once supported Liverpool but that was just because I fancied Michael Owen at the time -cringe!-

My husband has been an Aston Villa supporter ever since he started going to football games with his Grandad so when Historic Newspapers asked if I’d like to collaborate on their Newspaper Headlines Book of cause I jumped at the chance.

First of all I wanted to talk about the range of books they offer on the website. With so many options from personalised childrens books (which we have reviewed in a previous post – check it out!) to personalised ladybird humour books for adults. There is something for everyone!

Historic Newspapers have a range of different newspaper books to choose from; birthday, anniversary, war, pictorials as well as their personalised football newspaper books (starting price £39.99) These special books feature newspaper stories from 1905 and appear in colour from 2006! They are available in hardbound, hardback covers which can be upgraded to leather or leatherette cover. The cover is embossed in gold detail and you can add the recipients name and a special message on the inside. The deluxe pictorial edition comes with a keepsake box, which is also embossed. At first glance, the overall presentation is of a really high standard.


I have been fascinated while flicking through the pages and reading some of the articles from the early 1900’s but my husband has been ecstatic in learning more about the team he has supported for so many years. This specific edition has also been updated to include the 2019 playoff victory! I have been so pleased with how much is included in the book. The extra addition of photographs of players, team shots and matches was also a hit with my husband.

Our pictorial edition ends with a very strange newspaper article with the announcement of football being suspended due to the Coronavirus in March of this year. This, for me, will always be a reminder of a year where we learnt to appreciate so much more than we ever did and as a family, this book features the highs and lows of being a Villa supporter and is a fantastic way to get to know the history behind the team.


It’s the kind of gift that you can dip in and out of, you could spend years reading and rereading articles and I know Luke can’t wait to show it off to my brother and Ellie when she is older too.

Of cause you want to know whether your team is even available and I wasn’t sure Villa would be one of those teams but I was surprised by how many teams they had to choose from!

I am so impressed by the quality, the presentation and the whole concept of this Historic Newspapers Gift, from adding in those extra details, making it personal to the recipient, to the final product. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect gift for a football lover, whether that is Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas or just to show someone you care! It is so unique and I can imagine each team has a very different story to tell through their own articles.

Disclosure: I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review by Historic Newspapers. All views, opinions and images are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

Books2Door – Review

Posted on by Amy

Does anyone else’s child love stories? Whenever we are out and she sees a book she has to have one and Mummy can’t say no because I love that she loves books but WOW! Aren’t they expensive!
I’m so glad to introduce Books2Door who offer a fantastic range of babies, children and young adult books in one place! We recently received our collaboration book order and I couldn’t wait to share with you what we got!

As you probably know Ellie is an amazing storyteller, she is dramatic and full of expression; this has developed through her love of stories. I have been trying to move her on when we are reading together and pointing out simple CVC words to sound out and blend. She’s been trying really hard with this during lockdown so I knew I wanted books that would help her develop her reading so decided to look in the 5-7 years age range.

Ten Little Bookworms – £1.00



Ellie loves the “ten little” stories and we have used them to teach her subtraction and number skills too. When i saw this little book I knew she’d love it. It’s from the 2019 World Book Day range so isn’t a long story, perfect for filling time between activities or routine. This is the story of ten little borkworms and page by page one has gone astray. Ellie loved the illustrations and remembering how many bookworms would be left.

Where’s The Unicorn: a Magical Search and Find book – £4.49


These search and find books keep Ellie entertained for hours so when I saw there was a unicorn search and find book I got a little bit excited. Everyone loves unicorns right? Ellie definitely does. In this “where’s wally” style book there are 7 different coloured unicorns to find in 17 different locations. There is so much to find that children of all ages will love this book!

Ladybird Tales My Once Upon A Time Library – £27.99

I have always wanted Ellie to enjoy the classics as well as the many amazing modern-day stories and retells in the world. This 24 book set is complete with all the classics; Beauty and The Beast, Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk and so many more! Did you know Ladybird has been publishing fairy tales for over 45 years? They are the perfect addition to any child’s bookshelf or library! I can’t wait to read these to Ellie and eventually listen to her read them herself.

Books2Door has over 7000 reviews on Trustpilot and currently have free shipping for orders over £30! You won’t be disappointed in the range of books they offer – the bargain section is pretty stocked up too!

Posted in Gifted, product review

In The Book – Review

Posted on by Amy

In The Book is an online book company specialising in personalised books for children and adults of all ages. They have a wide range of books and there really is something for everyone; Disney, Peter Rabbit, Marvel, The Hungry Caterpillar, Beano and so many more. This isn’t including their own range of personalised stories. We have been very fortunate to have been gifted two of their books to review.

These stories are built around you (or your child); giving them the fun and excitement of seeing their own name built in to the story. I loved this idea as not only is the name written in the illustrations but it is also the main character in the story too.

The website is extremely easy to use and navigate, the hardest part is choosing which book to personalise. There is the option of A4 softback, A4 hardback (both available in the standard cover) and the classic hardback which is bound in a premium hardcover with gold embossing.

Once chosen there are three steps to personalising the book:

When our books arrived I was absolutely amazed at the quality and size. I obviously hadn’t read the A4 sizing and was expecting a smaller book which I was worried would be too small to keep Ellie’s attention. These are the perfect size for all readers, big and small. Each page is beautifully illustrated and the story is just magical.




“Ellie’s Unicorn Adventure” is a wonderful story about a Unicorn (with your child’s name) who gets bored in the meadow and goes off on an adventure to find new places. From a pink candyland to the snowy mountain tops this story takes the reader to so many wonderful places.

Ellie’s Thoughts:

I asked Ellie what she liked the most about the Unicorn’s adventure and her reply was:

I like the Unicorn because she has the same name as me. She is cheeky. My name is in the sky. See E, L, L, I, E it says Ellie! The Unicorn likes the snow, it has footprints to go back home so she doesn’t get lost.

We also received a beautifully illustrated “Book of Nursery Rhymes” Ellie loves to sing and she has always loved nursery rhymes so I knew she would love this one so much. The book of nursery rhymes is packed full of songs little ones will already know and love such as Humpty Dumpty, The Wheels On The Bus and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, there’s even a few Mummy doesn’t remember!




Similar to the Unicorn book, Ellie’s name is on the front cover and appears throughout the pages in the illustrations. We’ve had lots of fun getting Ellie to find her name hidden on drain pipes, buses and even on pies. She gets so excited when she’s found it. It’s a great way to get them to recognise their name in written form!

For me, the best part is that you can include a picture of your child on the back page. I love this as it’s a way of remembering how old they were when they received the book. Ellie couldn’t believe her picture was in there too, she told me it must have been magic. I know that even when she is too old to be singing nursery rhymes and believing in unicorns I will always remember the smile on her face when we would read them together.

Disclosure: I was gifted these two books in exchange for an honest review by In The Book. All views, opinions and images are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

Chalkola – Review

Posted on by Amy

Being in lockdown has meant we’ve been filling our days with nursery home learning, baking and art and crafts. Ellie has enjoyed being creative so much that we have run out of paint and can’t seem to buy any anywhere!

When Chalkola got in touch to see whether we’d like to try out some of their products I knew this would be a great replacement for the paint. They gifted us a Chalkola chalkboard and a pack of their chalk markers to try out and review.

We’ve been having lots of fun creating different masterpieces on the chalkboard and trying out the different colours with 30 chalk markers in the bigger pack we’ve had plenty to try out!

They work on so many non-porous surfaces; mirrors, chalk boards, glass, tuff trays, metal, ceramic and plastic and wipe off as easily as they go on. For more permanent designs they can also be used on wood, paper, fabric and clay! They really are perfect for every occasion. I’m already thinking of how I can use them at Christmas!

The markers are easy to use, shake the pen to activate the ink and then push on the tip until the colour starts to show then get creative! It really is as easy as that.

Not only has Ellie had fun creating her own art work we have used these for learning too! The chalkboard is great for teaching letter and number formation. Ellie has been using the markers to write her name and her numbers while homeschooling and has loved learning all the different colours too. We’ve even labelled some of our Tupperware with the labels provided too!

To remove the markers all you need is a damp cloth however I must add that as long as the markers are left to dry they don’t smudge or are accidentally wiped away either!

I was concerned over whether the markers would be safe for Ellie to us but once again Chalk Ola have thought of it all. Not only are they non-toxic but they are acid-free and odour-less.

Ellie has really loved being able to be creative in her drawings and i’ve noticed a huge inprovement in the way she draws too. People now have ears and eyebrows rather than just the eyes, nose and mouth. She is using her imagination more too! We’ve made homeschooling more fun and colourful with the help of the 30 colours in the pack.

I also asked Ellie what she thought of the Chalkola markers:

I love them. I like the red one the best. Red is my favourite, it is good to draw with red. I like writing my name and my numbers with the colourful pens.

If you are looking to find out more you can head to their website where you can also use the discount code: AMYP10 on any order!

You can also find Chalk Ola products on Amazon where you can use the discount code CHALKOLA10 on any order!

Check our their social media too!
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Disclosure: I was gifted the chalkboard and Chalkola chalk markers in exchange for an honest review. All views, opinions and images are my own.

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review, reading

Wonderbly Personalised Childrens Books – Review

Posted on by Amy

I often wondered whether Ellie would lose the passion she has for stories as she grows up or whether it will continue to bloom. It seems quite clear to me that as she’s getting older she still loves to listen to stories, she particularly loves ones with unicorns, cheeky characters and most of all books with her name in.

We have recently been given the opportunity to review two books which have been gifted to us by Wonderbly; “I Love Daddy This Much” and “The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name”

For those who don’t know; Wonderbly is a publishing company specialising in personalised children’s books for all ages. These books make your child the star of their own story. You can even personalise the illustration to look similar to your child too!

The process of making your Wonderbly book couldn’t be simpler. The website is well designed and easy to navigate. You can search for books by age, bestsellers or you can browse through them all! There are so many wonderful titles to choose from.
First of all you need to decide on the name, the gender and the features of the main character.

You can then personalise some of the books even further:

Once you’ve chosen the format (paperback, hardback etc), the recipient and the cover colour (available on specific books) you can then dedicate your book. This appears on the inside of the book.

“I Love Daddy This Much” is THE perfect Father’s Day gift for both Dad and baby/child! It’s a beautiful story all about how much Daddy is loved, who wouldn’t love this as a gift? They also do I Love You/Mummy/Grandma/Grandad This Much too!
Ellie has loved reading this with her Dad and giving him lots of cuddles when she does. She has even started repeating some of the phrases to him when she tells him she loves him. For Ellie, she was so excited to see a girl with ginger hair the same as her and her Daddy and then to see her name written across the pages was great too.

“The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name” is another wonderful story using Ellie’s name throughout the book. Ellie has just started recognising her name and is now able to write her first name without any visual support which is amazing as she is now able to recognise her name in stories too. She gets very excited when she sees it written on the page. This story helps the character follow a trail to find the letters of her name and links them to different animals. Each story is completely individual, Ellie’s story won’t be the same as Jason’s story as they would meet completely different animals.

You can find all the Wonderbly titles at their website: http://www.wonderbly.com/uk
You can also follow them for news, shares and the odd competition too!
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

Disclosure: I was gifted these two books in exchange for an honest review by Wonderbly. All views, opinions and images are my own.

Posted in Gifted, product review

MooGoo – Review

Posted on by Amy

Ever since Ellie was a newborn she has suffered with dry, eczema prone, sensitive skin and regularly has breakouts. She gets it from her Dad. Her skin becomes very sore and itchy and can feel quite leathery at its worst. We’ve tried lots of creams in the past and although they all seem to work in the short term, eventually her skin becomes immune to it and it makes no difference.

We have very kindly been gifted MooGoo’s Soothing MSM Moisturiser to try out and have been using it for just over a week now and i’ve been really surprised by the results in such a short amount of time! The moisturiser is suitable for babies and adults and we’ve all been fighting over it in our house!

First of all, since Ellie’s early diagnosis of CMPI i’ve always been weary of creams that contain ingredients such as cow’s milk and other dairy products. We are lucky that her CMPI doesn’t affect her too much now and she is able to tolerate more dairy products but I still look for products that are dairy free. Despite the name “MooGoo” their products including their MSM Moisturiser is dairy free which is great for us! Their products are free of Paraffin, Paraben and Phenoxyethanol which can be found in other creams suitable for babies and are completely natural.

Recently Ellie’s eczema and dry skin has flared up, due to the spring/summer weather we’ve been having and although she’s got a steroid cream prescribed I try not to use that very often so I reached for our sample of MSM moisturiser and after a few days it has started to calm down, it’s less itchy and doesn’t stink when we apply it (which other creams can do). It’s really simple to apply; apply to damp skin after a bath and then as often as required. This has now become as much as a routine to her as anything else she loves the independence of rubbing it in herself too which I feel content in the knowledge it is safe for her to do.

When applied it’s left our skin feeling refreshed, moisturised and so soft! I don’t suffer with dry skin or eczema but have been using the cream on my face and it’s so much softer and feels great! It smells amazing too, with ingredients such as sweet almond oils and coconut oils as well as honey and aloe vera you can just imagine how great it smells on your skin!

I will definitely be using MooGoo again and would 100% recommend it to anyone wanting a lightweight moisturiser!

You can of cause find out more about MooGoo and purchase their products at https://moogooskincare.co.uk/

You can also purchase MooGoo for yourself from Holland & Barrett, Wholefoods Market and independent pharmacies.

Disclosure: I was gifted a sample of MooGoo’s Natural Soothing MSM Moisturiser in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own based on our use of the product.

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review

Review – Doddl Cutlery Set

Posted on by Amy

We have recently had the chance to work with Doddl to use and review their cutlery set. Ellie is 3 now and is confident in using a spoon and fork when eating however she’s suddenly decided she doesn’t like the feel of the plastic children’s cutlery we currently use and had started eating with her fingers again!
When the cutlery arrived Ellie got so excited about having her very own knife she couldn’t wait for tea time!

This Doddl cutlery set contains a Fork, Spoon and Knife.

The cutlery sets available from Doddl are suitable from 12 months upwards and are designed to suit children up to 5 years+. I loved that these sets contained a knife as I’ve only ever come across sets with a spoon and fork and Ellie is eager to try and cut her own food up, a skill many children don’t have by the time they reach school age.

The cutlery is designed with large metal ends for the spoon, fork and knife (a big hit with Ellie) and a short BPA Free plastic handle, the handles are designed to be shorter to help toddlers grip and have more control over their cutlery.
The cutlery itself has soft grip circles on the handles, typically where children would hold the cutlery, this develops an effective way to hold it ready to move on to adult cutlery.

Since using the cutlery Ellie is growing in confidence using her special knife, I was concerned to begin with as I worried about her cutting herself but Doddl have worked hard to ensure their products are fully safe to use and are functionally sharp, meaning although they are sharp enough to cut food they will not hurt a child using them. Of cause, being watchful of them when they eat is something we all do its just handy knowing they are safe if you do happen to be multitasking like all parents do.

Ellie can now cut her own fish fingers, chips and carrots up which gives her a huge sense of independence that all toddlers need, she loves feeling like she’s grown up like we are. It’s certainly made our meal times much easier!

Another big plus to the Doddl cutlery is the cleaning! They are so easy to clean, we’ve used Ellie’s for a few weeks now and I’ve not had any issues with food getting stuck in between the prongs in the fork or food getting stuck between the plastic handles. They are dishwasher safe (if you are lucky enough to have one…I’m the dishwasher in our house) but they can be cleaned easily enough by hand too.

The Doddl range also includes a Fork and Spoon set, a baby specific set and you can purchase the knife separately too! The also offer a handy carry case which is perfect as we have taken our cutlery with us whenever we have eaten out, it’s changed the way Ellie eats in cafes and restaurants so much. All of these can be found in various colours, ours is in Raspberry Pink, at www.doddl.com or you can head to Amazon UK to purchase them too. I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Disclosure: I was gifted a set of Doddl cutlery in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. #gifted #AD

Posted in Gifted, parenting, product review

My-Picture.co.uk Review

Posted on by Amy

I’m the sort of parent who seems to have her camera on all the time. I’m always trying to take a picture of Ellie. Part of it is because I know how important photographs are more so since losing Jason and only having a certain amount of pictures of him and never being able to take more but also because I am the sort of person who just takes hundreds of pictures! I remember coming back from a weekend break with Luke and having over 2000 pictures to sort through!

I’m also the sort of person who likes these pictures in the physical form and not just on her phone. So I was very excited when I was offered a collaboration with My-Picture.co.uk who were very generous in giving me £50 to spend as I wished!

It didn’t take me long to know I definitely wanted to order a canvas, after reading some of their customer reviews my mind was made up! My living room has quite a large chimney breast wall so I opted for the 60cm x 40cm print (this also was the best fit to the dimensions of the photo I chose). The ordering process was really straightforward, I simply uploaded the photo I wanted, chose the canvas size and entered my details. I liked the fact I could customise my canvas by choosing the frame thickness and what the edging looked like.

For my canvas I chose the 2cm thicnkness and to have a white edge instead of the photo being stretched. There is also the option to add text to the canvas however I did not do this.

The canvas print now hangs proudly above our sofa and takes pride of place on our wall. It’s lovely to walk in and see them. The photo quality is great, even with pictures taken on my mobile and they are so light they hang on the wall with a single nail. The canvas itself is made from spruce wood making it sturdy enough to support the canvas print.

As well as canvas prints My-Picture.co.uk also offers a range of photo gifts such as personalised cushion, blankets mugs and even towels! I also chose to order one of their personalised photo puzzles to include in Ellie’s Christmas Eve box. I used a picture taken of our family visiting Santa as I knew it would be a special puzzle we can do at Christmas for years to come. The puzzle is made from a sturdy cardboard and is complete with a glossy finish. There are 88 pieces stamped with a photo of your own choice.

I would highly recommend My-Picture.co.uk and I am already planning to use them again for birthday presents for both our parents within the year. If you’d like to check them out yourself I’ll drop their social media links below 🙂

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Disclosure: I was gifted a gift voucher to purchase a product of choice by My-Picture.co.uk in exchange for an honest review. All views, photographs and opinions are my own.