CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Words by Isabell Fisher, co-founder of Little Hands Learning

 When it’s raining, it can be tempting to let the likes of Netflix or Disney+ do the babysitting. But playing and doing activities with your children not only supports their emotional and cognitive development but it is a really rewarding way to spend your time:

• It creates special memories that you and your children can both hold onto forever

• It makes your child feel special

• It provides shared experiences that you can talk and reminisce about

So here are a few screen-free activities for when the UK’s penchant for precipitation has the family stuck indoors.

Be bakers

Our own children love to bake and of course then eat the goodies they have made. Baking shortbread and scones is simple enough for inexperienced bakers to have a go at and they taste great!

Baking bread is also surprisingly simple, and you and your children can have lots of fun creating different animals out of the dough to then bake in the oven.

Be arty

Children love to paint but it can fill many parents with dread. Instead of using poster paint, which can get messy quickly, try using watercolour paints. Instead of painting on paper, try coffee filters, a canvas or ice cubes.

Be crafty

Craft activities do not need to be overly complicated. Often keeping it simple is far better than creating something elaborate. Try making paper boats and planes and then seeing how far they will travel.

 You can make tealight holders from old jam jars and gluing on pieces of tissue paper. These also make lovely presents for grandparents.

Salt dough is a modelling material that uses ingredients you will have in your kitchen cupboards, so it’s a wonderful alternative to air dry clay. To make salt dough, add 63g of flour, 70g of salt to a bowl and slowly combine 45ml of water into the dry ingredients. Stop adding water once the dough comes together. Use your hands to squidge and squish the dough until it is smooth. If it is too wet, add a little flour or if it is too dry add a little more water. With this dough you can create decorations, dinosaur fossils, and play food.

To add an extra sensory dimension to your salt dough you can add spices, such as cinnamon or even ground coffee. You only need to add a teaspoon of these to your mix.

Bake your salt dough creations in the oven on the lowest setting for 3-4 hours until hard to the touch. Once cool, they can be painted.

Be pirates

 This is a wonderful activity to do with any pirate fan and it uses resources you will have at home. You just need some crayons, a piece of white card and a tea bag.

First design your map. Begin by drawing a large, rounded oblong onto the middle of your card. Add arrows to create the compass and draw features like a skull, mountains, palm trees and a pirate ship on the sea. Decide where your treasure will be buried on your island and add a X. Next pour some warm water into a bowl and add your tea bag. Let the tea bag infuse into the water. Place the card onto a towel or tea towel – this will soak up any excess water. Squeeze the excess water out of the tea bag and dab the tea bag all over the card. Dipping the tea bag back into the warm water when needed. Leave the card to dry and then use it to find your treasure.

Be wizards and/or witches

Brewing a magic potion is always a really popular activity to do with children and uses ingredients already in your kitchen cupboard. Raid your spice drawer and add water and some old jam jars and watch as your children create more and more interesting concoctions.

If you would like to make your magic potions more elaborate then add bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and distilled vinegar. Your children will absolutely love the reaction that these three ingredients will create to their potions.

Be board game designers

Designing your own board game is a fun way to learn about design, teamwork and hide any maths learning they may be struggling with at school. All you need is a piece of paper, some pens, some counters (which could be little toy figures) and some dice.

Begin by creating a simple grid on your piece of paper. Then, decide on the rules of your game. Will you get another turn if you roll a specific number? How many players can play at any one time? Will there be squares that will allow you to jump forwards or take you backwards? Should any snakes, ladders, trees, or slides be included on your game board? How will you decide who has won the game?

Together, create and decorate your board game. Play and enjoy!

Be boffins

There are lots of easy science experiments that can be tried at home with household items. Science experiments are a great way to get children to start to ask questions, make predictions and understand the world around them. Try making a lava lamp with water and food colouring and oil in a jar. Add an effervescent tablet and watch what happens!

Be booksters

Reading is a quick and mess-free activity that requires no prep at all. Sharing a book has enormous educational and emotional benefits for your children. By giving your children the time and your full attention whilst reading a book, it provides them with comfort and security, as well as building their self-esteem.

If you are feeling ambitious and the book is set in a cave or under a bridge, build a den and make some popcorn.

For these ideas and many more please visit https://www.littlehandslearning.co.uk/activities.

All of these activities are easy to set up and you will probably have most of what you need at home already. If you like the sound of these activities but are limited on time, there are wonderful children’s subscriptions out there that can send you everything you need directly to your home every month.

After a day in the heat or in the sun, our skin doesn’t always feel its best.  Our skin can be dehydrated from the rising temperature, our excess sweating mean more oil on the skin and the sun itself can lessen moisture within the skin.

It’s important to take care of your skin during these times, including a good cleanse to help remove grime and sweat, whilst restoring some moisture & hydration to your skin.  This is where Wake Skincare’s new Facial Cleanser can help.

The gel formula cleanser works for all skin types and is made with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients.  Glycerine and propanediol help to retain the skin’s moisture, refresh the skin’s surface, and reduce the signs of ageing, helping to make skin feel soft and balanced while lifting sebum and impurities off the skin and helping to fight breakouts.  Aloe Vera within the formulation helps soothe the skin.

British accessories brand Hill & Ellis have launching its new range of rucksacks/totes created specifically for the eco friendly, Brompton bike. Ideal for the commute, the shops, an evening out and everything in between.

They are functional, fashionable, hard wearing and there is a range designed specifically for the Brompton cyclist. The straps adjust so the bag can be worn as a rucksack or tote and the bag features patented FIDLOCK  snap magnets for fast and secure closing and an additional FIDLOCK  snap magnet to secure the carry straps away from the wheel when in use. There’s plenty of space inside for a laptop and other essentials, and each bag attaches easily to the Brompton bike with the Borough frame which slides into the back panel and securely attaches with Velcro tabs.

The stylish and highly versatile bags attach to the Brompton bike using the Borough bag frame which slides into a back panel and is secured with Velcro straps. This also allows the bag to attach easily to a suitcase puller for further jet-setting travel.

Each bag has patented magnetic Fidlock snap bag closures for ease and security. Internal zip pockets for easy organisation, and a padded laptop sleeve which fits up to a 15inch laptop – perfect for the work commute.

The roll top rucksack cycling bag has interchangeable handles so it can be worn as a rucksack or tote/shoulder bag – making it one of the most versatile cycling bags on the market.

The new ‘designed for the Brompton’ rucksack range comes in four colours:

The ‘Brook’ vegan bag is crafted in black water-resistant canvas with a stunning racing green faux leather front pocket and detailing. The faux leather is made from, amazingly, apple skin waste left over from cider production in northern Italy making this bag fully vegan friendly and an eco-friendly alternative to plastic.

The ‘Blake’ is crafted in black water-resistant canvas with a genuine leather front pocket, black nickel hardware and black cotton webbing handles.

 The ‘Baron’ is crafted in black water-resistant canvas with a vegan black PVC front pocket, black nickel hardware and black cotton webbing handles.

The ‘Bernard’ is crafted in black water-resistant canvas with a gorgeous brown leather front pocket and detailing, black nickel hardware and black cotton webbing handles.

Each bag has been designed in the UK, beautifully crafted in Portugal and comes with a ripstop nylon waterproof cover for extra weatherproof protection.

Words by Melissa Chorlton

One of the biggest problems the world is facing is pollution and with our bad habit of throwing things away, it isn’t hard to see why. The fashion industry is one of the worst polluters in the world, whether this is from using unsustainable materials, wasting valuable resources such as water or simply throwing away clothes that are not in style anymore. Fast fashion is a huge issue that is continuing to grow even larger than ever before.

It is clear to see there needs to be a movement to abolish unsustainable methods of production as well as adopt a more circular production method. This is no fault of consumers as it can be difficult to comprehend how fast fashion impacts the environment when we shop at our favourite shops where the clothing is made thousands of miles away.

Now innovation is possible within the fashion industry, we are seeing new materials and new production methods being implemented by some of the top designers such as circular fashion. In this article, we will go through what circular fashion is and how it differs from linear fashion.

What is circular fashion?

The whole theory behind circular fashion production is that a product is made without wasting any materials or resources and that the product must still be equally as important when a consumer is finished with it.

The system contemplates the types of materials being used and the production method considerably in order to minimise the amount of waste throughout the whole process. They also consider how that item of clothing can be repurposed once the consumer is finished with it.

Circular fashion’s main consideration is how long an item of clothing can last as well as the life cycle of products such as designing out waste and pollution. Linear fashion is quite the opposite as there is no real consideration for the end of life of clothing and is only bothered about selling the product and not caring about the waste or pollution.

If more brands adopted a closed-loop fashion production method, the materials would be reused continuously or recycled which then eliminates any waste or pollution. This is simply because the natural resources would be in less demand as cut-offs from materials already in circulation would be used in replacement.  

                                                                                                     How does circular fashion work?

To understand the process further, it is best to describe the process, Let’s start with a gym tee.

Due to the nature of a gym t-shirt, it needs to be breathable as well as light and more than likely have some stretch to it.

In linear production, the designer will create the design, the production team will pick the materials and the factory will then mass produce that product which is then shipped thousands of miles to the stores that sell the product. It is easy to see why many consumers are completely oblivious of the impact made by one simple T-shirt.

When it comes to circular fashion, every step of the design is considered from design to retail as well as aftercare, longevity and how sustainable that item is. When thinking about circular design, the designers will be considering the following:

What are the environmental benefits of circular fashion?

Circular fashion has many benefits and if more designers adopted circular fashion production as it doesn’t just aim to abolish the serious impact of linear production as it helps to build the stepping stones for other companies to follow. It also helps to create jobs, new businesses and other economic opportunities as well as environmental and social benefits. Circular fashion processing considers everyone and everything that is affected whilst other benefits include:

How Can Consumers Help To Encourage Circular Fashion

Although fast fashion is not all the consumer’s fault, they play a vital role when it comes to implementing and developing circular production methods. Increased demand and support for the process are what keep things developing.

Many companies are on the right track and adopting more sustainable materials such as Gods Gift whereas other companies have already adopted circular fashion production methods such as Stella McCartney.

Other stores are now looking at how they can extend the use of their existing products such as Levi now repair your jeans. Here are some ways in which consumers can do to help promote circular fashion production:

There are many ways in which circular fashion can benefit us and the environment as the possibilities are endless. It is up to brands and consumers to work together and follow a more sustainable path. If more brands adopt circular fashion production, the fast fashion industry will be out and capsule wardrobes will forever be timeless.