A white christmas?

This completely sums up my 'theme' this Christmas, both at home and with my This is Wiss products. I know the scandi look of red and white can look super cool and oh so festive but I'm yearning for more colours this year. We've got a white box of a dining room, and because we are still settling in the decor in the rest of the house isn't quite what we want it to be so I think I'm overcompensating with the Christmas Decorations, but I'm thinking big, bright and bold!

The same thing has been happening at This is Wiss HQ. I've got some great new, some festive products and they are a bit technicoloured. And why not? I love them and so do kids.

The pink fluoro material I originally made my dice from was strictly limited edition and I've nearly used it all up. I've been searching for a suitable replacement that was just as bright but that could be washed too. A few weeks ago I found what I'd been looking for. Neoprene comes in a range of eye-popping colours but is machine washable, so ideal for my squishy, baby-chewable dice. The new dice are multicoloured - pink, green, blue, orange, purple & yellow - and very silky to touch. I hope you like them!

The felt crowns that I made for The Queen's Jubilee have been flying of the shelves - in fact they are perfect for school Nativity Plays! I have widened the palette for these and the crowns are now available in grey, pink or original yellow, all with multi-coloured 'jewels' and adjustable velcro fastening.

My Moustache t-shirts have been so popular that I thought I'd give some a chWISSmas twist. These Rudolph and Santa t-shirts are available in sizes 4 months - 4 years, and are appliqued onto Organic Cotton shop-bought t-shirts.

I wanted to have a couple of Christmas products this year so thought my Felt Twisted Streamers would be perfect for festive decorations (although they could be used all year-round and are a great alternative to bunting) These are made from synthetic felt so can also be washed and re-used. These will be available in various combinations of pink, aqua, green, red and white.

The final new product I have to show you is something I've been working on for a while. There are more and more people crafting, making, sewing, knitting etc etc and there really isn't a feeling that can compare to creating something yourself. I've been keen to make a kit of one of my products so that someone can make it themselves if they'd prefer and a Rudy Reindeer seemed like the perfect place to start. I've put together a complete kit which includes everything you will need to make your very own Rudy, including the wooden spoon. (You will need a needle and thread, or maybe a sewing machine though!)

All the usual This is Wiss products are still available too. Now for the important bit - where can you get them all from?

I am very excited to be part of two fantastic local Christmas markets. The first is this Saturday in Gipsy Hill, SE19. The Palace Christmas Fair is at Christ Church and will be open from 10.30am-4.30pm. See the link for more details and a list of all the other stalls and entertainment too.

The second is next Saturday 8 December at my favourite museum, The Horniman. The Fair Christmas Fayre is London's longest running ethical market place and will have loads of unique stalls selling handmade/eco/fairtrade items so you can feel good about your Christmas purchases! There is also a Santa's Grotto and a Carol Concert so click the link for more details.

If you can't get along to either of those then you can purchase via my online shop or visit my new Etsy shop!

Enough of the sales pitch now, thank you for sticking with me through it! As you can probably tell I'm a little bit excited (and maybe a little bit exhausted too!) I'd love to hear your thoughts about my new items, and if you've got any thing new you're making for christmas then let me know about it!

See you soon, angela

World Book Day Event Part 1

Welcome to the first post of the week long celebration of World Book Day 2012! I'll be starting things off today but I have a great selection of special guests lined up over the next seven days. Make sure you pop by every day to get some great tips and ideas all relating to BOOKS!

This is my very first Book Day event, and I really didn't realise just what a big thing it is in schools. I think it's a great idea to encourage kids to love reading and books. But the thing that really appeals is dressing up! I was very excited when Wiss's nursery asked all the children to come dressed as a favourite character from a book. Being only 2, Wiss didn't really express a preference (although I'm sure it would have been Gruffalo's Child!) I took the easy option and decided that he would go as Wally to nursery today.

Do you think he let me take a photo of him this morning? Of course not! So good job we had a dress rehersal on Monday!

I love the Where's Wally books, and it is a very simple costume to get together. I already had the bright blue trousers as I'd made them for the KCWC 2011, and the red stripey t-shirt is one of Wiss's wardrobe staples. All I needed was to buy some joke glasses and knit a hat (thanks to Nana Daisy for making such a wonderful pompom.) I made up the pattern myself which is why it looks a little like a tea cosy!

I thought that Wiss should at least be introduced to Wally if he was going to dress up as him, but the books are a little tricky for a two year old. Sometimes it takes me forever to find him! So I came up with this idea that is great for little ones, and older ones too! I googled Wally to find a clear image of him, then printed him out onto A3 paper. I mounted these onto thin foamboard (or stiff card) and cut them out.

Then we took our Wallys to the park for some fun! I wish that I could have taken the photos in some sunny and exotic location, but instead it was a grey, cold day in Crystal Palace park. So cold that Wally/Wiss had to wear a coat, but he did show his outfit off for the camera!)

I hid the cardboard Wallys along the path, while Wiss hid his eyes. He then had to find them. Simple but boy, did he enjoy it! "Again! Again!" We played until the cold forced us to go in. We've also been playing it at home this week. I can see that this is a brilliant way to introduce concepts of under, behind, on top etc. Plus it's a lovely way to get the story off the page and further interest the kids.

And of course, he wouldn't wear the glasses so this is the next best thing...

Happy World Book Day to you all! I'd love to hear what you've been up to yourselves, and what costumes have been rocked today!

Check out the official World Book Day website for loads of ideas and downloads.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow as I will have the lovely Beth from Miss Magpie Makes as my guest. She will be sharing some of her inventive Book Day costumes over the years, and there's a cracking photo at the end!

Little People Who Lunch

Since having a child I spend lots of time in places I didn't before: soft play areas, the city farm, duck ponds, the library. I also find that my day is now firmly arranged around food in a way it never was before. It seems like it's always either time for a meal or a snack! I prefer to have lunch out if at all possible, otherwise I don't think we'd ever leave the house! Picnics are great but seeing as it will be a good few months before they'll be back on the agenda I've had to find some new lunch spots for Wiss and I.

The first one, I thought about not sharing as it's that good! But seeing as I was told about it by a dear friend it only seems fair to pass it on, plus it's a charity run place so the more visitors the better. It's called Discover in Stratford, E15 and is billed as a Children's Story Centre. If you are not a fan of the typical ball pit-type playground then this place is for you!

We met up with all our friends and their kids last weekend to celebrate Wiss's birthday. (You can book birthday parties there but I felt the little ones were too little for the planned activities.) It's large enough and varied enough to keep everyone happy for hours and there's a cafe for parents to get their caffeine-fix on an weekend morning! They have a permanent area on the ground floor and outside, and a changing exhibition space downstairs. At the moment it's 'Monsterville' but from the 1 April it will be 'Super Heroes'; they have readings of similarly themed books twice a day (our favourites are Where The Wild Things Are, Troll and of course, The Gruffalo.) I could go on and on, I love this place so much, so the last thing I'm going to add about Discover is that they have picnic tables outside and allow you to bring your own packed lunches. How cool is that? Check their website for even more details.

I live near Crystal Palace and are lucky enough to have lots of child-friendly cafes nearby. I've met friends for coffee with all our babies, or we've taken Lewis out for lunch with family but I'd never gone out for actual lunch, just the two of us. Until this weekend! The two of us sat down at a table (Wiss on a chair, not in a high chair!) and we ordered beans on toast, times two. It felt so different to be out with a little person rather than a baby. We played with cars between the salt and pepper pots until the food arrived, but my dining companion was on good form and best behaviour. I know it's a little thing but I was so proud and have been smiling all week about our lunch date.

Finally, I have a very secret spot to share with you. Wiss and I go swimming every week; he's been having lessons since he was 3 months old at Crystal Palace Sports Centre. In the summer we have a picnic in the park before swimming, and we had been having lunch in the cafe in the sports centre until recently, but it gets expensive and to be honest, the food is not great. Then a couple of weeks ago my husband suggested eating our sandwiches in the spectators seats alongside the olympic-sized swimming pool.

What a place to have lunch. It's warm, calming (almost hypnotic!), there's always lots to see and people to watch, and we're usually the only ones in the stands. And if the sun is shining, then wow! The light through the huge glass windows and on the water is beautiful. But sssshhhhhh... Don't tell anyone our little secret!

Maybe you have some good ideas to share for a spot of lunch with the little ones? But I've got to go now...I'm getting hungry!