Review - Aqua Beads Jewel Starter Kit

Aquabeads have been a firm favourite for some time now, much like the more established Hama beads in that you can make little designs, keyrings, photo frames, 3D boxes etc but the massive plus point with Aquabeads is that they just need a spray of water and about an hour to fix solid and thus the children can do it themselves.  No more having to get the ironing board out and buying expensive backing paper to iron the beads and make their designs.

When we first got Aquabeads a couple of years back I did wonder if the designs might fall apart after a while but actually as long as you spray them and allow them to dry and then spray the other side they last an age. We still have some that have been hanging around way in excess of a year now.

The set we were sent to review is the new Aquabeads jewel starter set and this means the beads are not round and opaque they are jewel shaped and translucent and sparkly.  My twins really loved them and it is a nice twist on something which is popular with them already.

You make the designs in the same way as always. Open up your 800 beads (sounds a lot but actually they will be gone in a flash) and put them in the little plastic dish that you get to keep the colours separate. This has a very flimsy plastic lid for storing your beads but I would recommend getting a better storage box if you intend to build on your collection or use these a lot.

You then place a template sheet between the base tray and the layout tray and start to use the bead pen to delicately place your bead over the relevant space to start making the pattern shown in the template.  Of course you can also free style if you like to but my girls tend to like to follow the pattern.  Miss E actually finds it easier to use her fingers than the bead pen as she has a steady hand and lots of patience but Miss M uses the bead pen as she tends to knock all the other beads she has already placed otherwise!

The Aquabeads jewel starter set is recommended for age 4 years and upwards and I think it is worth every penny of its £10.99 price tag as it provides a lot of fun and some nice creative items at the end to keep. Miss E is currently making a rainbow with one bead missing at the top so she can thread a silver chain through it and wear it as a necklace.

For more inspiration you can follow Aquabeads on Facebook , Instagram and Pinterest and brilliantly you can also download new templates so your children can make even more designs.

Disclosure:  We were provided with this set free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Harumika Designer Dress Form Set

For the last year or so my 5 year old twins have been pestering me every time we go in our local Entertainer store. 'Please Mummy, can we have one of those?', 'Ohh look Mummy, I like those....', 'When I'm a big girl will you buy me those mummy, they look such fun' and on and on.

They were talking about the range of Harumika mannequins that you can fashion outfits on and I'm ashamed to say that I always just briefly looked at them and dismissed them out of hand thinking they would be complex and for girls of a much older age. I didn't even pick the box up and look, if I had I would have seen that the recommended age range is 6 years upwards. Not so different to my 5 year old girls and of course with supervision children can often tackle toys designed for older children.

I also wrongly assumed that designing the outfits would entail needle and thread or otherwise glue and looking at the small dress makers dummies I just assumed it would all be too fiddly. I think I have learnt my lesson after receiving a pack to review. It really is very simple, have a look-

I always have some one on one time with each child and Miss E is my most creative one and the one who had badgered me the most for Harumika, so I got this set out when it was just the two of us and oh how she adored this. And shhh don't spill the beans but so did I!  It really is very good fun and your imagination can run riot.

I'll be honest when the pack arrived I thought it looked quite small and wondered how much interest it would hold, you can see from the picture what was included. This size set retails for £18 at the Entertainer. A set this size includes 2 mannequins both with the unique style lock system on the back, 4 pieces of material, a sheet of both regular stickers and holographic stickers, a couple of pieces of ribbon and a stylus. What I would say is don't be fooled by how small or plasticy this looks, it is fabulous and provided so much fun.  My other twin loves it as well and it has become the go-to toy of choice.

The thing I loved is that there is no need for glue, needle or anything like that, you simply wrap the fabric and tuck it into the silicon slot in the back using the stylus.  Only one stylus came with the set so we used a tool we had from play-doh but really anything slim and plastic will do.  I also has some small swatches of fabric from my card making and the girls had ribbon in their craft box so these came out to extend the fun.

It is really simple once you have dressed your mannequin to just rip the dress off and start again, so this is the best value toy from that point of view, nothing gets used or wasted.  Even the stickers stand being ripped off and put back on the sheet a few times, yes we will need to get more long-term but the girls would be happy to play with this with just fabric and ribbons anyway.

Here are a few of their creations -

Verdict - I will happily give the Harumika range a big thumbs up, as my girls are enthralled with it.  Miss E said to tell you it is excellent and Miss M says awesome. A big thank you to Bandai who sent us this set.

I have not been instricted what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Moxie Girlz Bendy Braidz Doll

I'm pretty fussy about the dolls that come into our house.  A short while back a friend of my Mums very kindly gave my girls some Bratz dolls but I have to say these made their way to the charity shop pretty fast.  I have a real objection to little girls growing up too quickly and I do not want to give them toys that encourage them that being a brat is good.  Nor do I want them to think that make-up and short skirts are normal for little girls.

So far I've not had any objections to the Moxie Girlz dolls, this is the third doll that we have in the Moxie Girlz range and the others have been fun and are lasting well. I tend to find it is the hair that lets these sort of dolls down, my girls Barbies look like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards but the Moxie Girlz Glitterin' Style doll we have is still perfectly groomed.

There are 3 dolls to collect in this range

Miss E was my lucky twin who got to try out this Bendy Braidz doll and she was super chuffed.  Like I said while I don't want my girls to grow up too quick, I am realistic and know they are girls and want to be like mummy, so I feel it is OK to let them show some creativity in regards to hair styles and make-up.  Better to try it out on a doll than on yourself which is what Miss M has done on many occasions and still has lopsided hair to prove it!

The Bendy Braidz doll comes with rooted braids for you to weave into the Moxie Girlz hair as well as glitter gel, pom poms and hair jewels for decoration. I have to be honest and say that miss E did find it hard at age 5 to be able to plait and manipulate the hair as an older girl might but this did not detract from the fun for her, she still enjoyed herself.

It did not take long for the glitter to be used up and yes it did make it into the girls hair too but I'm glad to say it washes out fine and does not cause any problems.

This doll is recommended for children aged 3 years and older, it has an RRP of £19.99 and is available from all good supermarkets and toy retailers, the best price I found was £ 13.49 at Smyths Toys  I think that is a great bargain and well worth picking up a doll for a nice Christmas gift for a little girl.

Disclosure:  We were sent this doll for the purposes of this review.  I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Moxie Girlz Bubble Bath Suprise Doll

My two little girls are just like any other 5 year olds and they love dolls, they don't seem to have got to the age yet where they are inseparable from their dolls, not like I was with my Sindy but they do enjoy playing with them and when Miss M got the Moxie Girlz Bubble Bath Surprise doll to try out she thought she was in heaven that the doll was allowed in the bath with her! Luckily for us Miss M hates bubbles in the bath and this is good as bubbles are not recommended for use with this doll, we don't want a mouldy doll after all!

Miss M received the pretty Sophina doll, there are 5 in this range

Miss M does love to involve water in most of her play and this is a problem much of the time, real water filled teapots in her bedroom have a habit of spilling.  So to have something that I could happily say to her, yes you can get this wet is great.  Just one problem in my house only one of my twins has one so we did try and let Barbie come in the bath too but she did not like it much!

The large detachable skirt is what allows the doll to float and that is fine until you get a couple of excited 5 year olds that start to see ho hard they can make the waves come and will Sophina stay upright.  Oh yes, I have some tough little kids!  Miss Sophina does pretty well it turns out but if you make it too choppy she will fall over and her hair gets a bit of a mess when wet!

As you can see the bubbles and dogfish attach onto her skirt for safe keeping!

Miss M's favourite part of this toy was the dogfish that she received with it, a tiny little pet for Sophina the doll that is half dog and half fish, I do have to admit it is cute.  There is also a small vial of bubbles for blowing and Miss M liked this but they were over in no time at all. Luckily we had some bubbles left over from a recent party bag and both girls were able to have super fun in the bath with Sophina, the soggy Barbie and some bubbles.

There are 5 dolls with different colour outfits that you can choose from.  I do love that dolls have become multicultural nowadays.

This product is recommend for children aged 3 years plus.  It has an RRP of £19.99 but I see you can buy it on Amazon for £16.04 currently.  I think that price is reasonable and certainly comparable to what you would pay for this size doll from any of the other popular ranges.


Disclosure:  We received this doll free of charge of the purposes of this review.  I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Tatty Teddy & My Blue Nose Friends Collectables Review

Tatty Teddy has been around since I was a teenager.  I remember my Mum working in a card shop and all these gorgeous new cards and teddy bears arriving in her shop, in stark contrast to the Forever Friends bears that were popular at the time Tatty Teddy was (and still is) a grey bear with a blue nose.  The story goes that he got thrown out by accident and spent the winter under a mattress, then covered in snow he went grey and blue with the cold.  As Spring came one day a little girl found him and thought he was the cutest teddy ever and he became known as Tatty Teddy and has been loved ever since.

For quite some time now one of my twins Miss E has been captivated by Tatty Teddy, it is probably since she got a dressing gown with him on when she was 2 years old.  Now 3 years later she loves him and has teddies, a lunchbox, stationary, t-shirt and who knows what else, all with Tatty Teddy on them.

The most recent addition to her collection is some My Blue New Friends play characters and Tatty Teddy's Heart House from Worlds Apart.  This new range has just been launched at the end of July and I have already seen some of the range in my local The Entertainer store. To say that Miss E was a bit excited when she opened the large box that arrived is a bit of an understatement. We had arguments from the girls as to who would have each one of the characters but it made me smile that is was always taken as given that Miss E would have the only Tatty Teddy.

Here is Miss M trying to get into the Heart House box, whilst Miss E is sussing out the characters -

As it was the twins birthday just a couple of weeks ago I was a bit nervous about giving this toy to them as I wondered how much attention it would get but I can honestly say that this has been a firm favourite over the last couple of weeks and it even went on holiday with us, as Miss E would not leave home without it.

The house is a super toy, as it can be folded out to play with or the doors swing shut and it can be neatly put away with the furniture/ characters safely inside. This can be a bit tough for a just 5 year old to do though, look at that face. A quick mummy adjustment and it all fits in nicely.

The Heart House retails for £39.99 and comes with the Tatty Teddy Figure, furniture for each room and if you insert 2 AA batteries you can turn the living room fireplace on to glow too. It is sturdy and well made and I believe will last a good amount of time. You can also put 3 shelves on the back so you can store all your characters but to be honest Miss E seems to just pull these off.  Whilst my girls and I do like this house it does feel quite expensive.

Single characters can be purchased for £2.99, a 2 pack is £5.99, a 4 pack is £9.99 and there are also figure with accessory packs (we received a cute penguin with a bath) for £7.99.

The characters are very cute at about 6cm in size, each one is uniquely styled and they have their own personality. Miss M's favourite is Digger the dependable Scottie Dog with a nose for adventure. Friendship is at the heart of this range (what better for twins?) and the 2 packs include a free secret gift of a pretty friendship bracelet, which can be kept or given away. There are 22 characters in all to try and collect. Here is justva few of them -

I do not have any grumbles about these toys, the only thing I would say is that they can get grubby pretty quickly, due to the beautiful soft covering. It does not stop them being super to play with, just perhaps something to be aware of. See here -

If you have a child who loves Tatty Teddy then they will adore this new collection, it is set of be the next big thing for young girls and is aimed at about age 4 upwards. Take a look at www.TattyTeddyToys.com for more information on the range and some super games and fun that can be doenloaded.

Disclosure: We received some toys from the My Blue Nose Friends Collectables range for review.  I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Love My Street Sweetheart Cottage and Cupcake Corner Play Tents

My twin girls were lucky enough to be sent two beautiful play tents from Worlds Apart and you should have heard the squeals of delight when they unpacked the large brown box. Luckily from the start they agreed that sweetheart Cottage would be Miss M's and Cupcake corner would be Miss E's, but to be honest they play together with them anyway so it really does not matter.

There are 4 beautiful tents in the Love My Street range

When I said yes to reviewing these tents my plans was for the girls to play with them outside and we could make a kitchen and seating area but there has been nothing but rain since we have had them so there has been a couple of sessions in the front room and most of the play has been in one or the other of the girls bedrooms.

The tents were very easy to assemble with plastic poles which fit together easily.  The quality printed tent cover then slides over the frame and it was a tight fit but they need to be, to ensure they sit well.  Once made up the tents look superb and are really stunning, the detailing is great and so girlie.  Our tents have now been up for over 3 weeks and they are standing the test of two near 5 year olds giving them a bashing each day. They both look brand new still.  Occasionally one of the poles will pop undone when the girls are too rough but they know how to put them together again, it is that simple.

I think that the tents would be perfect for children just slightly younger (or maybe just shorter) than mine.  Miss M is tall for her age at 117cm and struggles to stand in the cottage but it is not an issue as they play with her sitting down. The recommended age is 3 years upwards but to be honest I would have allowed my girls to use these tents from about 18 months.

The cupcake corner play tent comes with a mock cash register, bunting and some foam doughnuts and coins, it retails for £29.99 and this is by far my girls favourite.  Every little girl loves to play shop, right? The beauty of these tents is that they encourage imaginative play and that is so important for your little ones development.

Sweetheart cottage is much bigger, retailing for £39.99 and it comes with a cooker, bunting,  apron and foam baking tray, cookies and spatula. It has two roll up doors and a mesh window, which is favourite for playing peek-a-boo!

The play tents do look stunning when played with together and then you can use the velcro to attach the bunting between the different tents. I love the fact that each set is sold with a box like play toy (cash register, cooker etc) and that when the tents are taken down, everything can be packed into the box to be stored compactly and safely.  Or if your child is anything like mine then the boxes get used for anything and everything!

Ohh and a quick heads up, you are worth following Worlds apart on twitter and facebook as they are always having fabulous giveaways that you can enter to win some of their super children's products.


Disclaimer:  We were sent these 2 tents for the purposes of this review.  I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Moxie Girlz Glitterin' Style

For weeks Miss M has been informing me that she wants a Moxie Girlz Glitterin' Style doll and like I do with most things, I have said 'yes, yes ask me at your birthday, we'll see'. So imagine the cute little whoop of delight that she let out when Miss Moxie arrived over a month before her birthday.

The 10" Moxie doll is sturdy with movable limbs, beautiful soft, long hair that you can style and a trendy outfit and that's all fab but what Miss M had been mesmerised by are the stickers and the glitter. You receive a sheet of double sided stickers that you can peel one side off and coat with brightly coloured glitter and then use the stickers to decorate the Moxie dolls hair, outfit, accessory or anywhere else you fancy.  You can imagine that my near 5 year old got quite excited and Miss Moxie was covered head to toe.

I did need to supervise Miss M playing with this toy due to her age and some of the stickers were a bit tricky to get off the backing paper, but a slightly older child would have no problem I am sure. It probably only took Miss M about an hour in total to rip the doll out of its box and to decorate all the (25 odd) stickers and to paste them about, so at first I wondered if this toy was a bit expensive at around £14.99 but then after a short break she then came back and grabbed her Moxie Girl and headed off to play with her and since then it has been played with regularly.  So unlike many craft toys that are played with once and then discarded, this toy has lasted play value and that is a winner with me.

Also I expect an older child may decorate their doll with 4 or 5 stickers and then change them another day, so it would last for a few crafty play occasions.  I was very pleased to see that the glitter comes in little applicators and you just simply snip the end off and the mess stays contained - result!  This does mean though that if you wanted to store the glitter for another day you would have to either keep the tubes upright or perhaps pop a bit of sellotape on the end.

There are various dolls available, all with different hair colour, skin tone and outfit.  I assume it was a fluke but Miss M was super impressed to receive Avery who has white blond hair, just like Miss M herself. 'We are twins mummy!'.

I can safely say that this toy has been a hit with Miss M, I have a jealous Miss E who wants one as well and it also passes the mummy test as it encourages creativity without being messy and also the clothes on the doll are not too revealing like they are on many modern girls dolls.

I am having a bit of trouble with my camera, I think it might have gone to camera heaven, so to show you what the doll is all about have a watch of this brief youtube video.



Disclaimer:  We received this doll free of charge for the purposes of this review, I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review of Zoobles Girls Toys

All I hear at the moment is 'Mummy, have you seen my bunny?' in Miss E's cute little voice.  What is not so cute is that off we have to go again and look for her beloved Zoobles ball.  Last week the girls were sent a Zooble each to have a play with and see what they thought of them.  The response has been mixed.  Miss M tells me she loves it and it is great but she has not played with it since the moment she has opened it and nor do we know where it is now!

Miss E on the other hand is in love with her Bunny!  As is big brother JJ, which was a surprise to me.  These toys are targeted at girls of 4 years plus but I think the ball turn animal with the magnet spring action appeals to JJ's sense of gadget.  A few times that Miss E and I have been on our hunt we have found the Zooble in JJ's room! So the appeal of these is fairly wide with both my 3 year old girl and 7 year old boy loving them.

So what is a Zooble?  Well they are little balls (smaller than a golfball) that when placed on their happitat pop open.  Miss E has a bunny and it has legs and ears that pop up and Miss M has a fish which has fins and a tail that pops up.  When you press the ears or 'pet' the Zooble it blinks or twitches depending on which one it is  - cute, for about 2 seconds in my opinion, but what do I know? I am 37 and they were not aimed at me.  Miss E is nearly 4 and they are aimed at her and she adores it!

Pros - Lots of different designs to choose from and collect, Miss E and JJ seem to love them, small enough to go in your pocket and transport about, fairly sturdy for such a small toy.

Cons - I think they are a bit pricey at £5.99 RRP for a single Zooble with its happitat

The kids tell me these deserve a 5/5 rating as they are great! These may just be the next 'must have' toy, they are made by Spin Master who also make the Bakugan line of toys.

Zoobles are available to buy from good toy shops and supermarkets such as Toys R us and Sainsburys.

This is a review, we were sent 2 Zoobles toys to review.  I was not instructed what to write, the words are my own and I remain honest.