PETER RABBIT™ 2, ONLY AT CINEMAS

 

It’s the film we’ve all been waiting for! PETER RABBIT™ 2 is only at cinemas from the 17th May, and we couldn’t be more excited.

In PETER RABBIT™ 2, the lovable rogue is back. Bea, Thomas, and the rabbits have created a makeshift family, but despite his best efforts, Peter can’t seem to shake his mischievous reputation. Adventuring out of the garden, Peter finds himself in a world where his mischief is appreciated, but when his family risks everything to come looking for him, Peter must figure out what kind of bunny he wants to be. Enjoy a sneak peak of the movie with the official trailer below:

 

 

To celebrate the release, we’re offering you the chance to win 3 nights in a luxury mansion in Cumbria and 2 nights in a glamping caravan in Gloucestershire, with exciting outdoor adventures and activities along the way.

The prize includes:

 

£500 family travel allowance

2 nights staying at a luxury mansion hotel in Ambleside, Cumbria, with daily breakfast, lunch and 6-course dinner

Underground Adventure Experience

Treetop Trampolining Experience

3 nights staying at a glamping caravan in Gloucestershire

Bespoke PETER RABBIT Scavenger Hunt at Gloucester Farmers’ Market, with a chance to win Amazon Fire HD Tablet 8

£100 spending money for the Farmers’ Market

 

Enter Here >

 

 

You’ve entered the competition, what now we hear you ask? Well, apart from hopping to see Peter and his friends on the big screen, you can get into the spirit with fun outfits to dress up in and colouring activity sheets to do at home.

Download here >

 Shop children’s >

 

PETER RABBIT™ & © FW&Co. PETER RABBIT™ 2 © 2021 CPII. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween at Home with The Kids

Trick or treating might be off the table this year for Halloween, but we thought why should that stop us from celebrating the spookiest time of the year? To get loads of ideas for a half-term themed Halloween activities we spoke to some of our favourite mummy bloggers and bakers to help!

 

@oaktreehome

Pumpkin Printing & Carving

 

You can’t have Halloween without pumpkins, this year @oaktreehome picked out some white ones. They seemed too pretty to turn into a scary Halloween face, so they made fairy houses instead!

 

 

The pumpkin activities didn’t stop there though, with their neighbours having lots of apples this time of year they decided to use them to do some pumpkin printing. Adding decorations, googly eyes and cut black paper to put the details on the face.

 

Halloween Krispy Treats

 

If you’re looking for a cute and easy treat for the toddlers, @oaktreehome has just the thing with these mini pumpkin treats. Her one bit of advice – don’t let the marshmallows get too hot, or they might burn!

See recipe >

 

Autumn Activities

 

Making autumn spice play dough is a wonderful activity to develop the muscles in your little one’s hands! @oaktreehome shared with us how to make it, while also using what they found on one of their autumn walks!

Other creative thing they could do are our Halloween-themed colouring sheets, created by our in-house design team!

Download here >

Download here >

 

@little.miss.tiggy

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

 

Something that you can always make a fun trip out of is a visit to a local Pumpkin Patch. With loads of things to explore amongst the hay (and of course pumpkins), it is a nice day out for the whole family.

 

Make Them Candy Apples

 

How beautiful (and yummy) do these look? Classic toffee apples are a great snack for the little ones, but @little.miss.tiggy warns it does get quite hot so better to make on your own and treat the kids to when you’re done! Find the recipe for these via her blog

 

@lefranks

Halloween Crafts

 

We spoke to @lefranks about what activities they are up to for Halloween and she had some extremely cute suggestions, including making a Pumpkin Sun Catcher and Lantern. See what you need and how-to below!

Pumpkin Suncatcher

You need:

Tissue paper cut into squares

Orange card

PVA glue

Plastic sheet

Scissors

Paintbrush

 

How to: 

Cut the pumpkin shape out of the orange card including the middle bit. Cut out the same shape out of the plastic sheet. (I used a laminating sheet) then stick it onto a pumpkin cut out.

With a paintbrush, apply a thin layer of PVA glue onto the plastic sheet and once you cover it all, you can start sticking tissue paper squares. Once all the surface is covered you can decorate your pumpkin sun catcher with a leaf made out of green tissue paper and add eyes and fangs made out of black card.

 

 

Pumpkin Lantern

You need:

Glass jar

Tissue paper

PVA glue

Paintbrush

 

How to:

Using the paintbrush, apply a thin layer of PVA glue onto the outside of your glass jar. Once all of the surfaces are covered, you can start sticking the paper tissue squares onto it. When it’s all covered, apply another thin layer of PVA glue to avoid any bits sticking out.

To decorate it, roll a piece of green tissue paper and wrap it around the top of your jar and you can also add black eyes and fangs.

 

Halloween Cookies

They also made cookies! An easy recipe to make, that will make up for the lack of trick or treating this year – see how below.

You need:

200 g unsalted butter, softened

200 g white caster sugar

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

400 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

 

 

How to:

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric whisk to cream the butter with the sugar until well mixed and just creamy in texture. Do not overwork, or the biscuits will spread during baking.

Beat in the egg until well combined. Add the flour and mix on a low speed until a dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead briefly, then roll out to 3mm thick. Cut, by hand or with cookie cutters, to your desired shape. Using a palette knife, transfer the biscuits to a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits, until golden brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

@mykitchendrawer

Bake Cupcakes 

Our favourite baker is back on the blog! @mykitchendrawer has sent us a recipe to her Halloween Bat Chocolate Cupcakes – how amazingly cute are these? Find out how to make yours via her blog.

 

Monsoon Monthly: October Edition

Autumn has officially arrived and for October we’ve put together an edit of some of our favourite things going on this month! From the Change & Check campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness month to fun Halloween-themed outings, these are our top picks!

 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to help spread awareness we got involved with the Lorraine’s Change & Check campaign, to help share tips on how to check for symptoms and get an early diagnosis. Read more on our dedicated blog post.

 

Looking for something fun to do this Halloween? Well, the Natural History Museum has that covered. Spend an evening at the museum (6.30pm-10pm) to follow their one-off Terror Trail and experience the galleries when they are eerily quiet.

 

The Southbank Centre this autumn is hosting the Inside Out Festival. Featuring a range of online events streaming from their venues, so you can enjoy all they have to offer from the comfort of your home.

 

More Halloween ideas you ask? Crofton Park Pictures is showing some of the classic movies, including Psycho and The Nightmare on Elm Street all held in the stunning The Rivoli Ballroom.

 

The Royal Academy of Arts had to delay their Summer Exhibition, so now you can visit it in the autumn! Believing that summer is a state of mind is something we can get behind; you have to book ahead so, make sure not to miss out on a slice of summer this autumn!

 

 

 

Artist Inspiration: Emily McSevich

We are constantly inspired by art, old and new. In this blog post, we are putting a spotlight on alcohol ink and mixed media artist, Emily McSevich. She tells us all about what inspires her to create her beautiful pieces and gives a little advice on how to get in touch with your own creative side.

 

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in fine art?

 

I grew up in Cornwall which I think gave me my love of the sea. A lot of my inspiration comes from the coastline, all the depth and texture of the water and rocks give me endless ideas for new artworks. I first started painting with watercolours about 7 years ago, then moved onto alcohol inks a couple of years ago where I really found a style that suited me.

 

 

What inspires you to create?


I like to spend as much time outdoors as possible for inspiration. I still live near the sea now so I can run down there anytime I’m in need of inspiration. I also find that my colour palette choices tend to change with the seasons, so I feel inspired by my changing surroundings a lot.

My advice to anyone looking for a creative outlet would be to try lots of different mediums until one clicks. Then practice and persevere but remember to always have fun with it!

 


What is your favourite thing to paint?


My favourite thing to paint would have to be abstract oceans. My first collection was based on Cornish Coves. Painted in soft, calm tones. At the moment I’ve been working on more chaotic, deeper ocean pieces.

 


Tell us a little more about what you do when you’re not painting? Is there anything else you do to help you relax?

 

When I’m not painting, I like to spend time with my family, I have two daughters and our favourite thing to do is explore National Trust sites. I love English gardens and find so much inspiration in how they change depending on the time of year.

 

 

Where is the best place for people to look for your work?

 

My favourite way to connect with people on Instagram. I’m active on there a lot as I find it an amazing platform to meet other artists, brands and customers so come and say hi if you get the chance! I also have a website www.emilymcsevichart.com where I list my non-commission based work.

 

Change & Check | Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

This October we are again taking part in the Change & Check campaign (and so is our logo!), as part of this we wanted to tell you all a little bit more about how this campaign started and why it’s so important. This campaign was set up by Helen Addis (also know as @thetittygritty), Features Editor for Lorraine ITV, after her own experience being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Through this amazing campaign, Helen aims to help more people know what to look out for in order to get an early diagnosis. 

 

 

Helen was inspired to do this while in chemotherapy, and after speaking to family and friends she found out that most people she knew weren’t checking for breast cancer or didn’t know what to check for. Now cancer-free, Helen wants to make sure as many people as possible know what to look for and how often/when to check.

 

Save Your Life

Along with this sticker (that you can download here), Dr Hilary has shared his step-by-step guide to checking your breasts – you can watch via their website and make a note of the steps below.

The signs and symptoms you’re looking for are:

  • Visible changes in shape or size.
  • Skin changes such as; dimpling, puckering or rash around the nipple.
  • Lumps or bumps.
  • Bloody discharge from the nipple.

 

How to check:

  • Sit comfortably in front of a mirror with hands on your hips so chest muscles are relaxed.
  • Firstly, look at the contour of the breast to check that it matches on each side and see if there is any puckering or dimpling.
  • Look for any change in the nipple such as a rash, indrawing or pulling in.
  • Look for any skin change all around the nipple.
  • Using the fingers of your left hand to examine the right breast, walk your middle three fingers around the breast. You’re feeling for any abnormal lumps or bumps or any irregularity that hasn’t been there before.
  • Divide the breast into four quarters.
  • Start on the inner upper quarter, walking those fingers around the breast.
  • Do the same on the lower inner quarter and then across to the lower right quarter and then the upper right quarter.
  • Walk fingers up to the tail of the breast in the armpit.
  • Walk your fingers back to the areola around the nipple.
  • Repeat steps above on the left breast, using your right hand to do so.

Dr Hilary advises that menstruating women check their breasts following their period each month. For menopausal and post-menopausal women, pick a date each month that suits you.

If you notice anything unusual, see your doctor or nurse as soon as possible. Early diagnosis could mean a better chance of successful treatment.

 

The Change & Check Challenge

Lorraine ITV has challenged us to get involved in Change & Check, so we did! Now we challenge you – visit our social channels to see how to get involved.