Chelsea Art Designs: Stuck On You- Prodcut Review!

Chelsea Art Designs: Stuck On You- Product Review!: Owls are my favorite nocturnal animals. I spent one evening some months ago trying my hand at drawing and sketching a few ..along with...

A few rainy weeks ago I stumbled upon this on Pinterest and thought it would be a nice craft project to do with the girls as it was so rainy and we were stuck indoors on evenings. Here is the result.....

This was a fun little crafting project to do with the girls..they really enjoyed selecting which pages from old magazines they wanted the birds, cutting up the paper and gluing it all together.We just used what we had at hand around the house and went for it. I particularly enjoy these times with the girls because I utilize this time to talk about relevant topics like nature, colours, shapes. Armelle especially enjoys it as well as she gets the chance to showcase her knowledge and educate Erin on subjects she already knows. All in all ..we had a great time.....if you craft with your kids please share and put a link to your blog or site I will be happy to check it out! Chelsea

TOP CAT 3D- The Review!!!

The Cat is back Indeed!

Remember These Cats??????

Top Cat (or TC) is the yellow furred, greedy, somewhat lazy and clever main character. He wears a purple hat and vest. He often rips off and/or tricks his gang and Officer Dibble. He does respect the effort the gang does for him, but he often takes credit for it. That said, he is loyal to the gang and will help one of them if they need it. He also stops Officer Dibble from arresting him by lying to Dibble about how much talent Dibble has. In the movie, Top Cat: The Movie, he was one of the main protagonists in the movie and he has a new crush on Trixie. He also told his gang that they only steal from people that deserved to be stolen. He was framed by Strickland, who has used a robot clone to get him arrested on purpose, where he was placed in Dog jail. He is voiced by Arnold Stang in the TV Show, while he was voiced by Jason Harris in the movie.

the crew...ready for some top cat

all my girls excited before the film

 and there was magic

My girls Loved the Movie

Armelle getting her cartoon portrait done.

Benny the Ball

Benny is TC's right-hand man. He is short, innocent, chubby, naive and cute. A blue-coloured cat with a white sweater that fastens with a single button at his neck. His eyes are shown as black dots unlike the other cats who have white sclerae with black pupils. Benny may appear to be simple-minded, but he manages to ask the most logical questions during the gang's erratic endeavors. The gang relationship between Benny and TC is based on a devoted friendship between them. In the movie, he appears to be a big fan of Lazlo-Lazlo, a famous musician performer (see below for more information) and he sometimes gets Top Cat and his gang in trouble. . He was voiced by Chris Edgerly in the movie.

Choo-Choo

Choo-Choo, nicknamed Chooch to TC and the gang, is enthusiastic and devoted to TC even when he’s clueless as to what he’s doing. He is a pink cat with a white long-sleeve turtle-neck shirt, he is the tallest of the alley gang cats and often is depicted with the eyes of a Siamese cat. He lives at the fire house as the fire house cat as seen in one episode "Hawaii Here We Come". He had a couple of love crushes "Choo-Choo's Romance" and "Choo-Choo Goes Gaga-Gaga", however unlike Fancy-Fancy or Top Cat, Choo-Choo has no courage talking to girls. When he talks, his voice sounds like Woody Allen. In the movie, his voice is a bit narrow and higher and he plays bingo at a retirement. He is voiced by Marvin Kaplan and Jason Harris in the movie.

Brain

Brain appears to be a common henchman to Top Cat. Contrary to his name (which appears to have been given in jest or sarcasm), Brain is the dim-witted member of the alley gang, an orange cat with a violet T-Shirt with a black line. Brain is notorious for being unable to keep a secret and for his stuttterrring. He also seems to be in charge of the group's money (which they rarely have) and he runs up and down the road. Despite his apparent stupidity, he can sometimes say something brilliant, which TC instantly rephrases to make it sound like he said it.

Fancy-Fancy

Fancy-Fancy also appears to be a common henchman to Top Cat. He is laid-back, sweet-talking and is regularly seen chatting up the ladies before leaving them when hearing the 'dustbin lid call'. A brown cat with a white scarf, he resembles Spook in appearance. His look and voice is based on Cary Grant. In the movie, he is very good as disguising like female robots and He is voiced by John Stephenson.

Spook

Spook is one of the most streetwise members of the gang. When he talks, a torrent of "like"'s are used. He is similar to Fancy-Fancy in demeanour and appearance, a sweet talking cat whose vernacular is based on that of a beatnik. When the gang need some help with a situation, he usually steps up to the plate. In the movie, he sounds more young-like, his "like" torrents are a little curious type, and he plays pool with his friends. He has his longest speaking role to date in the movie, when he tells the gang about his friend who may be able to help them break Top Cat out of jail. He is a pool shark with olive green fur and a torn black tie. He too is voiced by Leo De Lyon.

Officer Dibble

Officer Charlie Dibble is an NYPD Policeman whose beat includes the alley. His full name is discovered in the episode "T.C. Minds the Baby" where TC and the gang found an abandoned baby and named him 'Charlie' after Officer Dibble. Though he usually resents the gang's presence in the alley, there are times when he respects and loves them. He wants TC to clean up the alley and to stay off his telephone.  In reference to this character, 'Dibble' has been adopted as an English derogatory slang term for Police Officers. He is voiced by Allen Jenkins.

Griswald

Griswald is a bulldog who is sporadically seen in the show, he often antagonises Top Cat and his gang; but in the second movie he is seen as one of Top Cat's friends and sometimes enemy. He is vicious, but also gullible and slightly dim witted. He was once employed by the police to help Dibble with his beat. . In the second film, he is convinced by Top Cat that he is, in fact, a cat, which Griswald believes due to his gullible nature. At the end of the film, he is invited to stay with Top Cat and become one of the gang.

Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes

NOTE_ A frequent plot-line revolved around the local beat policeman, Charles "Charlie" Dibble, NYPD and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the alley. The only reason that he wanted to be rid of them was that Top Cat and his gang were constantly attempting to earn a quick dollar—usually through an illegal scam.

On this note I discussed with the girls aged 6 to 2 years themes on friendship, lying, legal and illegal, stealing, borrowing and loyalty. Also I found on the name Top Cat in different languages for us to learn...how fun...why not try it. 
 I would recommend this movie as a family treat, however a few drawbacks are ;
do not expect to be blown away by the 3D effects. I found it was not on par with other movie experiences in 3D.
the central flavour of the movie it is that of a normal top cat episode...so you can expect very light entertainment.

Name in different languages

• Brazilian Portuguese: Manda Chuva
• Bulgarian: Топ Кет 
• Canadian French: Pacha et les chats
• Czech: Kočičí banda
• Danish: Top Kat
• Finnish: Topi Katti
• French: Le Pacha
• German: Superkater
• Hungarian: Turpi Úrfi .
• Italian: Top Cat
• Japanese: Doraneko Taishō (ドラ猫大将^?) (lit. 'Stray Cat Boss')
• Macedonian: Тошо Мачорот (Tosho Machorot)
• Norwegian: Topp Katt
• Polish: Kocia Ferajna (lit. Catfellas) 
• Portuguese: Top Cat
• Serbian: Mika Mačor
• Sinhala: Pissu Poosa (පිස්සු පූසා)
• Spanish: Don Gato y su pandilla (Mr. Cat and his gang)
• Swedish: Top Cat 
• Russian: Супер Кот

Introducing-Lucy @ Double Flip

A huge thank you to Lucy @ Double Flip

http://www.double-flip.com/

http://tigertales-msxpat.blogspot.co.uk/

for furnishing us- myself and tigertales with special guest invites to the Spirit of Summer Fair spiritofsummerfair.co.uk/.

 For the purpose of this post I will focus mainly on the Headbands. ...as I have 2 daughters who love all things pretty and bright. 

These headbands really caught my eyes,the patterns, colours, variety and the fact that Double flip uses fabulous and fun 100% cotton fabrics.  The headbands are double sided and according to DF are comfortable for all day wear, unlike hard hair bands. The backs are elasticated. I cannot wait to get my hands on a pair for the girls!

http://www.double-flip.com/accessories-headbands-c-3_30.html

Sweet Poppy

£6.95

Orange Polka Dot

£6.95

Retro floral

£6.95

Red Ticking Stripe

£6.95

Purple Haze

£6.95

Stencil Flower

 

A wide range of of products await you.

Welcome to the fun & fabulous world of children's reversible clothing,

 funky baby clothing, accessories and toys. 

Everything in the collection is double sided or reversible. 

Giving the customer two styles in one - great for travelling light, practical and above all great fun... Double Flip - flip it and love it!

A very well stocked booth with a homely display was very popular with the visitors.

Hoping to get my hands on a couple of these headbands for my girls.

Cute and colourful hats and outfits for girls...yes all reversible

photo Op with Lucy of DOUBLE- FLIPhttp://www.double-flip.com/about-us-double-flip-cms-46.html

The lovely feature of bees detailed on the bag..or

if you like the butterfly you can have that too all in one bag!!! just ...you guessed it flip it over!

And here is the bag!-great to carry the kiddies things to the park in.

I hope you enjoyed this post...be sure to check out Lucy's website as linked above, you can also find her on facebook ! Chelsea

letters to my daughters

Worded Wednesday

Olympics-Ben and Holly DVD-review

 I was pleased to be offered the opportunity to review the new Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom DVD as a member of Brit Mums-{ working with brands}
It’s main feature episode is…The Elf Games.
Now as you may know by now the Olympics are being held in London this summer. To get my daughters in the spirit of things I thought this launch (release date may 14^th 2012) very exciting and was happy to be apart of the review panel.

The Elf Games episode was loved by myself 38 [do not judge], Armelle 6 and Erin 2. It was delightfully colourful and engaging.  I was able to use it as a talking /discussion point with both my girls on such topics as friendship, keeping fit, taking part and winning and losing. We also talked about different types of activities that may take place at the Olympics.
For Armelle 6..it also provided the opportunity to introduce new words for her to learn ( definition, use and spelling)- Competitor, Champion, Disqualified and Participating. This episode was approximately 9 minutes of colourful wonderful engaging fun . We especially loved the bunting display at the games and The Wise Old Elf (I now have a huge secret crush on him - again do not judge!)

The Elf Rocket

Big Bad Barry

One of the main reasons I was happy to review this product was because I am now a full time mother of 2 with a toddler at my side 27/4. I am also an artist who enjoys working in multimedia and  I need to have that uninterrupted creative time to use the various mediums (not always child friendly). I  like knowing that I can have that  time to work with as little guilt as possible , so this DVD was just the ticket! I was rest assured that the girls are being positively entertained for some time. Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom  DVD engaged them visually and encouraged imaginative and creative play as they both totted off to their rooms to play elf and fairy! Bonus!!!

I would highly recommend this DVD for small children 2 to 8 and bigger ones ( like me). It is very entertaining, colourful and uplifting. It takes you on a magical yet down to earth journey (which sometimes go wrong) into the world of fairies and elves. This DVD has a generous helping of 10! yes 10 episodes including the Elf Games, with each episode running at approximately 9 minutes. We ( myself and the girls) watched the entire DVD twice and when my husband returned home from work he was glued to it also and giggling away (though I am sure when asked he would completely deny it ). See below for the list of episodes as they appear on the DVD. It can be purchased on-line at http://www.littlekingdomstore.co.uk/

Elf Games

Cows

The Toy Robot

Dinner Party

Big Bad Barry

King Thistle's Birthday

The Wand Factory

Daisy and Poppy's Pet

 The Elf Rocket

Picnic on the Moon

Erin's favourite were the Toy Robot, Cows and Daisy and Poppy's Pet.

Armelle's favourite were the wand factory, The Elf Games and  The elf Rocket

My favourites were the Dinner party , King Thistle’s Birthday and Picnic on the Moon.

please note this is not a sponsored or paid post. However I was sent the product to be reviewed by myself and  family: therefore the  opinions expressed are ours wholly and unbiased.