Review - Carddies

Morning! I hope you got a bit of a lie in this morning or are you up early colouring and building lego before breakfast?  This week there has been lots of colouring being done in our house as Lucy, Amber nad Kitty have been very lucky to review the fantastic new creative toy, Carddies.  I was lucky enough to meet Esther and Raquel on Monday at Top Drawer having read a press release for Carddies a couple of days before.  Esther and Raquel are the designers behind this great new idea and with seven children between them understand what children want and love to do.  After a wet summer holiday of drawing people on the back of cereal packs to keep their chidlren amused the idea for Carddies began.  Before long the two sisters had created several hand drawn sets which they soon turned into Carddies. 

In a world where children are swamped with hi-tech gadgets and toys Carddies offer them hours of fun through imaginative play and the toys can easily be packed away and taken to grans or out to a restaurant.  Carddies are made from high quality card here in the UK and have eight different sets available. Although Lucy, Amber and Kitty have already made a list of other ideas for future Carddies!  So it all sounds fabulous but the true test comes with the appeal to children.  My daughters love making, colouring and creating, having spent hours recently making houses and clothes for peg dolls, which I promise to share here very soon. Honestly my daughters could give Kevin McCloud a run for his money with their house design skills!

I will now share what my three daughters thought of Carddies.

"I liked colouring them in the best.  I want a vet set and the ballerinas next please. I really like playing with the fairies now I've finished colouring them in."    

Kitty, aged 5, tested the Faries set

"I liked colouring in the background the best and love the little babies in my set!  I would really like more backgrounds for the house and family set, or maybe a nursery school or a farm.  I would also really like a duckpond and forses with jumps!"

Amber, aged 9, tested the Family set.

"I think they are fun and a great idea. I would definately like more sets, especially a space set with a rocket and aliens and a backdrop of the moon.  Or maybe a beach holiday, a circus or a snowy day.  Overall I love Carddies and recommend them to anyone who likes colouring!"

Lucy, aged 10, tested the School set

So as you can see Carddies are a great new toy that are perfect for children aged four to ten years and can be taken anywhere, even on a plane. 

To see the full range of Carddies sets visit their website

www.carddies.com

Enjoy your weekend!

Zoe

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Autumn Winds and Dry Skin

Autumn has finally decided to make an appearance here in Suffolk and I am sure it's golden hues and chilly winds are sweeping the rest of the UK.  Tonight we will be donning hats, scarves and gloves to head to the school fireworks display.  Sadly for many of us the winter winds can irritate dry skin and I know I suffer terribly with sore hands for several months at this time of year.  Nevermind the problems with frizzy hair from damp days and central heating, but that's a whole other post!!

from Boo Boo

There are lots of fabulous lotions and potions on the market promising to soothe dry skin, soak away our stress or shrink fine lines under our eyes.  I am yet to find a lotion or potion for my poor hands but this week I have been sent something rather delicious to help sooth and pamper.  Boo Boo have a fantastic range of products made especially for Mums and babies and everybody else too.  The company is the brainchild of two ex-magazine editors who had that spark of an idea for starting a business whilst on maternity leave.  Boo Boo products offer 'purely natural pampering' and are all beautifully packaged. 

from Boo Boo

I am slightly sceptical with beauty products as so many have failed to live up to what the packaging suggests.  However I was pleasantly surprised when I ran a bath using Boo Boo Mummy Splendidly Soothing Bath Soak as an aroma of turkish delight filled the bathroom, I think this is due to the rose geranium oil.  There were a good amount of bubbles, very important test of a good product, although I believe cheaper products with synthetic ingredients tend to be capabale of copious amounts of bubbles.  Thankfully the bubble providing ingredients in this Boo Boo product did not suggest cheap bubble bath!  The turksih delight aroma was not sickly sweet but incredibly relaxing and left my skin feeling lovely and soft.

from Boo Boo

So the verdict is that sometimes products can surprise us and do exactly what the statements on the label tell us they will.  I only wish Boo Boo had been making products when I had been a new mummy as I would have wanted this bath soak everyday as well as I am sure their range for babies.  Be sure to check out Boo Boo's full product range on their website for yourself or your little ones or as a gift for a new mum.  As for me I may just have to try their Velvet Hands Repair Cream this winter, as I might now believe in miracles!

Take care
Zoe
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NB This post is a product review.  Please see my Review page for details about me reviewing your products.