Review: Cool Create Swap Watch

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We were sent a Cool Create Swap Watch set from Flair to review:

The set includes straps, bezels, jewels and cords to make lots of customisable watches - using the one a actual watch provided. My 10 year old had lots of fun trying different ones starting with a simple combo:

Then she decided to have a go at making a couple with plaited laces:

Next up was using the jewels. She found this quite fiddly so got me to start it off:

There is a lot of potential in this kit for making watches to match so many outfits and to cover most tastes. It's all part of Flair's Cool Create range which is designed to get children away from electronic entertainment and being creative. At £14.99 you will get your money's worth in entertainment value from the set and it can be continually reused and the watches changed.

Toy Review: Pinkie Cooper and the Jet Set Pets

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When I asked my daughter if she wanted to review the new Pinkie Cooper fashion doll I got an immediate Yes! She was very excited when we received a parcel containing Pinkie Cooper in Paris (RRP £24.99):

plus an extra dog called Sprinkles (RRP £9.99):

The dolls are an unusual combination of Spaniel and human that actually does work even though it sounds freaky:

The doll herself has removable clothing and her hair pieces can also be swapped out. At the moment we only have the one outfit so there isn't too much scope for changing (unless you put the puppies ears on her!) but she has a swanky Parisien sophistication with her little beret:

Having spent some time in Paris this summer this was the perfect one of the range for my daughter! There are also Beverley Hills and London versions with their own local fashions.

The Jet Set versions each come with their own puppy and there also separate puppies to buy. Having 2 meant that my daughter could swap over their outfits and try different ears on each one. They are pretty cute:

Fashion dolls are a highly competitive market so these have been designed to appeal to girls who love both animals and dolls. Some dolls on the market are ones that I won't give house room to but I actually quite like these. Every time I think my daughter has grown out of dolls she surprises me by enjoying them so I am sure these will be much loved. Just wonder whether she will ask for any of the additional outfits etc that you can buy to allow for a change of clothing!

Flab Fighters Week 8

As so many of us are flab fighting at the minute I thought I would create a linky for us all to help encourage each other! So each week on a Wednesday join in and get support and encouragement. To find out more check the launch page.

What I did right this week

Not a lot! Been out and about and not sitting around but apart from that its the school holidays and routine is out window...

What I did wrong

I let the children dictate too many of our meal choices this week and then going with my heart not my head when choosing my food options. The shred DVD hasn't been used more than once either...

How it went


A backwards step and a gain of 1lb and I am now 4lb from my 2 stone award...

How have you done?

Linky code:

get the InLinkz code

Grab my button and join in:

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Monday Review: Paper FX

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 We were sent this new crafting set for ages 7 and up. It comes with everything you need (except scissors to trim the final product):

The premis is that you:

1. Tear it
2. Crease it
3. Weave it
4. Make it

At first my daughter did't get out the comprehensive instructions and we struggled following the very simple ones on the box! Then I discovered the proper instructions and things moved on a lot.

Tear It

The paper tearing device as a wide and narrow setting. We learned that you have to have a very firm pressure along the tearing edge to make it neat:

Crease it

The next gadget puts parallel creases into the paper to enable folding. Again a steady hand was needed to get them straight:

The instructions for each project tell you how many strips you need and whether they are open or closed. The closed ones need to be glued shut:

Weave it

Once you have the right number of strips its time to move on to the weaving machine:

The machine makes weaving the strips very simple as the turning wheel alternates which strips are up and which are down.

Create it

As this was our first project we stuck with something simple and went for a coaster:

OK so it wouldn't win any prizes and doesn't look quite as good as the ones on the box but we did it! This is definitely a product that needs practice at to do well. 

It would make a fun thing to have at sleep over to keep a group of young ladies out of mischief. At 8 my daughter was definitely on the younger side of the crafting side but I can imagine that she will get better at using is as she gets older. I quite enjoyed the girlie time we had together making it and wouldn't mind doing more with her.

We used left over bits of wrapping paper and surplus crafting paper so that we weren't wasting things. You could even use old newspapers or magazines to make a funky bag. It has an RRP of £19.99 and should provide hours of entertainment on wet days (perfect for a British summer then!).