Lalalab.

Hello and a very happy new year to all my lovely readers. I thought we'd start off the new year with a blog milestone here at bebebearcubs with our very first collaboration. This is with the photo based app Lalalab (previously known as Polagram)

Lalalab kindly gave us the chance to review one of the fabulous products in their range, the 21'' x 21'' photo book.

What greater way to cherish your snapshots from the year gone by than a book brimming with all your fun filled memories.

There are so many choices out there for photo books and photo gifts nowadays and the online market is briming with them.

So here's why Lalalab was our choice.

-Quality

I have ordered prints from Lalalab before and have been immensely impressed with the quality. You can see some examples of the prints we recieved and what we did with them here. From a mobile app I'll be honest I was naturally a bit apprehensive but there was no need to be. Their prints are great quality and on a fabulous Fujifilm Archive Supreme gloss paper. They are far superior to any prints I have collected from high street retailers, we were pleasantly surprised.

-Convenience

All your photos are at your fingertips. Being an app on your mobile phone Lalalab can gain access to your photostream (with your permission) and off you go! Just select the images you want printed, the product you wish to purchase and click to order. No faffing around on the PC, no rummaging around for memory cards, everything you need to create a wonderful keepsake of your images is there in your hand. I have a Fuji  mirrorless camera for my photography too so I simply use wifi connectivity to ping these over to my mobile if I wish to include some higher quality jpgs (you're not just restricted to mobile images)

-Fresh, modern and fun.

Lalalab are slightly different to your usual photo products because they offer the retro style Polaroid look to their product range which is very on trend right now. Getting your photos printed in polastyle gives them a fun appeal and there are heaps of creative ideas of what to do with your Polaroids on Pinterest. The app also ties in nicely with Instagram and the square style photo streams which are really clean and fresh. As a blogger I adore the photography style look and layouts online and these are reflected nicely in the photo books. Your photo book cover can effectively look very much alike a hard copy of your Instagram feed at a glance and inside are the larger images (still available in the cute square shape) to enjoy , it's a great way to treasure these as a hard copy.

So Lalalab were happy for us to give their photo book a test run. We had our first family holiday as a four to Portugal recently so used our photo book to capture all our adventures.

The photo books start at the  base price of £19.90 and you can choose from 26 images to fill it. You can add further images if you wish to (an additional 14, these cost 79p each) giving your photo book a total of 40 pictures.

The front cover is a collage of some of your images which can be shuffled to suit .

The app gives an option to add a title to each page but we choose to keep it plain, there is also an 'effects' function to edit and adjust your images if you so wish to. Many of our images already had a vintage film applied as that's the look we wanted so we also didn't use this functionality. It's nice to have it as an option though especially if you are feeling creative.

In summary our Lalalab photo book is unique, modern and fun. The pages are more of a matte than a gloss like the Polaroid prints and the focus is most certainly on images rather than reams of text (if you want your photo book to have a written story or documented descriptions then this probably isn't for you on this occasion) but you can add titles to each page if you wish to. The photo books have a good quality hardback cover and nice chic white background. I think they'd work really well at capturing an event like birthdays, an engagement, summer adventures or even just a really novel way to store your Instagram or mobile phone snaps as a hard copy to enjoy flicking through. 

There are definitely more comprehensive photo book sites out there with more choice of image layouts, greater customisation and different album sizes but the Lalalab app isn't pretending to be another one of these. It's grasped back the simplicity of uploading your digital files straight from your mobile phone and creating a simple but fun and fresh photo book to cherish these. 

The photo book pictured was given to us for review purposes. All feedback is our own opinion and is a true and honest reflection having used the app and received said product. In return we are happy for Lalalab to use our comments or photographs for press release or social media purposes.

A festive review. Stansted Park.

There's so much going on this time of year, Santa's Grottos, Pantomime, Nativities, Christmas crafts for the children and the garden centres are full of decorations, fairy lights and santa's genuine fleet of reindeers to visit. With this in mind I thought it would be nice to visit one of our local events and write a review.

So for anyone wanting a day out this weekend here is a quick overview and a sneaky peek at The Stansted Park House & Grounds Christmas Fayre.

Stansted Park is a beautiful grade II listed Edwardian House and Grounds dating back to the 11th Century when it orginated as a hunting lodge. It is situated on the Hampshire/ Sussex border between Chichester and Portsmouth.

The exact location if you're thinking about venturing down there can be found on their Find Us page.

If you take a visit there is a garden centre, farm shop, (selling produce all year round) woodland walks, a maze and Victorian walked gardens,The Pavillion tearoom, outdoor play area and a miniature railway.

The Christmas fair is £6 per head and includes a marquee in the grounds full of festive delights. The stalls continue into the house which is beautiful to look around itself and great for shelter from the crisp winter air.

The Marquee features everything from fabric wall art for the children's bedrooms, wooden toys, knitted outfits (booties, hats, cardi's) bee houses, candles, soaps, home made crackers, faux fur accessories, personalised pictures, chocolates & sweeties galore, and leading up to the marquee were some great carved wooden pigs, ducks and other ornaments. 

Inside the house we saw lots of beautiful bespoke hand made jewellery, cards, vintage style gifts, hand painted fine china and gift wrap and tags.

There is also a mouth watering range of tasters and food stalls downstairs, luxury and seasonal cheeses, sausages, Greek olives, pickles and chutneys alongside wine tasting and some delicately decorated Christmas cakes available. 

What I really liked about the array of stalls was how unique they all were. Sometimes these fayres can all seem a bit of the same thing but there genuinely were a great number of products I'd never seen before and lots of beautiful handcrafted and one of a kind items.

Inside the marquee you can stop for a hot drink and other refreshments including hot soup of the day, pasties, sandwiches and cake.

If this doesn't take your fancy the tea rooms looked absolutely delightful and all lit up with fairy lights. We didn't actually stop here as we ran out of time but would definitely make a return visit to do so. The Pavillion Tearoom serves breakfasts, light lunches and beverages & cakes as well as Afternoon Teas if you fancy a treat.

There is a horse and cart ride at the entrance of the house for £1.50 per person but we chose to take a golf buggy ride for free. Oscar absolutely loved it and it was nice to rest the legs for 10 minutes and see some of the beautiful grounds, we were treated to 'choo choo' and 'toot toot' sounds the entire way round ( got to love toddlers). 

Unfortunately the miniature railway wasn't running today but I hear it will be this weekend, so train fanatic children and adults alike can hitch a ride on the railway.

What astonished me is just how much there is to do here. The garden centre will be hosting its very own Grotto if the kids wish to visit Santa and recieve a gift. Santa will be in his Grotto on Saturday 21st Nov from 10am- 4pm and a visit costs £5.99. There is a play area adjacent The Pavillion tea rooms with a bucket swing, baby swings, slides and tunnels -great for tiring out endless bundles of little energy! 

The small Chapel is definitely worth a visit, it's absolutely beautiful and so quaint. All the Christmas decorations are up and it looks really magical.

There is also a small studio on site where you can try your hand at personalising and painting some keepsakes. Crafts and pottery decorating will be running on both Saturday and Sunday giving you the chance to get creative and make something special for family & friends this year.

I would fully reccomend a visit if you're heading this way or if you're stuck for something to do this weekend. I honestly felt it was a whole day out and bursting with festive treats, smells, sights and a heart warming festive atmosphere. You won't be disappointed. 

Top tips:

Wrap up warm. The temperature really dropped yesterday so wear your hats, gloves and all your layers.

Bring your wellie boots. The fields to park  in can get muddy and a little mushy, best to bring your wellingtons for this one.

Don't forget some cash. Entry to the Fayre is cash only and although the Pavillion Tearoom and Christmas Cafe accept cards a lot of the stalls deal with cash transactions.

If you have a young baby bring your sling/ carrier. There are no pushchairs allowed in the house so it's handy to have something to carry baby around in whilst you browse and take in all the festivities.

Our little lady.

So I captured this photograph today and just had to share, our little girl is growing up so fast and it's nice to sometimes stop and remember the moments.

Today we could hear and see storm Barney gradually emerging, Lottie was peering out the patio windows listening to the wind howl and watching the rain splash down and the leaves whirl across the garden.

That's when I managed to capture this still. I love Lottie's expression, her eyes gleaming up at the scene behind her, a little smirk on her face and a gently raised eyebrow. She looks so inquisitive.

We had a cosy day inside, a bubble bath and stories. It was just lovely.

Nuby Bandana Bibs.

Hi everyone, well there's no denying it the festive season is fast approaching and we love to get into the spirit of things.

So when a friend signposted a chance for us to try out the Nuby range of festive Bandana bibs we jumped at the chance.

We also have a great sample of the oral care range to try so will feedback on these products as and when we use them.

The Nuby bandana bibs are from 0 months + which is awesome as they can be used from newborn age. So note for Mummies to be they can be packed in your hospital bag (:

Bandana bibs are a real hit nowadays, they have a modern look to them and can actually look great teamed with babies outfits (not to mention protecting them) 

This range feature some festive fun prints for Christmas and ours had a cute reindeer motif and gingerbread theme.

The bibs are incredibly soft, they have a velcro fastening which is quick and easy to do up (saves faffing with poppers) and are of a really good length so perfect for teething and dribbles.

Here is Lottie enjoying her Christmas bandana bib.

Would I reccomend them? Yes, we would.

They're colourful, fun and practical and what we liked most was the length of these bibs ( a good inch or so longer than most we have in the drawer) and how soft and absorbent they are. They're long enough to catch everything ( yes that includes sick burps) and do a great a job at protecting our little ladies cute outfits, they really are a great dribble catcher!

Thumbs up Nuby! (:

If you would like your own festive bandana bib they can be found in Tesco stores for £2 each or bought online at http://www.nuby-uk.com/ use the code FBNOV15 at checkout for 20% off your order.

The bandana bibs and oral care range were samples from Nuby for us to trial, we were not instructed to write this blog post nor has it had influence on this piece. All feedback is of our own opinion following testing and is a true and honest reflection having used the products. In return we are happy for Nuby to use our comments or photograph for press release or social media purposes.

Liebster Award.

Recently bebebearcubs was nominated to receive the Liebster award by Stephanie over at muminthecotswolds.

This is our very first award so we are pleased to display the badge here on the blog.

What's wonderful about the Liebster award is its about being recognised within the blogging community. It is nice to know that readers enjoy your posts, what you write and your blog as an entirety. A lot of bloggers put their heart and soul into the posts, design, photography, reviews and collaborations featured on their blogs and it's great to know your blog has been noticed within the wider blogosphere.

In a nutshell the Liebster Award is ' an award gifted from fellow bloggers through nomination. It seeks to welcome, celebrate and encourage discovery of new blogs' ( quite aptly put by muminthecotswolds)

The Rules:
Once you have been nominated you will need to write a blog post containing:
*A link back to the person who nominated you
*11 interesting facts about yourself
*Answers to questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
*Links to your nominated blogs
*11 questions for your nominations to answer

Don't forget to notify the blogs you have nominated.

11 Facts about me:

1. I'm not ambidextrous but apparently I  wear my watch on the 'wrong wrist' and eat with my cutlery the wrong way round for someone who is right handed. When I sit down to eat I always have to swap my knife and fork over as they're set incorrectly for me.

2. I'm a bit of a Volkswagen fan and have been known to visit some of the veedub meets. My first car was a bright yellow Lupo which was a joy to drive around. She was called HoneyNut Lupo.

3. I have 3 pet guinea pigs (RIP Peanut). I have had guinea pigs since I was a little girl and think they make wonderful pets, they're gentle, sociable and love a cuddle.

4. I own an iPhone mainly for the camera, I actually dislike apple software and iTunes and don't like the restrictiveness of it. I have no end of problems navigating around my iPhone and find it frustrating when I am feeling creative.

5. I broke my kneecap in half 2 years ago whilst carrying my baby boy. It took me a good part of my maternity to learn to walk again which is pretty much the scariest thing I have ever had to do.

6. I love cheese. My absolute favourite is camembert baked in the oven for 20 minutes with nice crusty loaf dipped in, it's real comfort food.

7. I have a love/ hate relationship with social media. I love the ability to connect with people far and wide but I also feel it can be disconnecting, a time waster and take over genuine real life social interactions.

8. I still have my old Sega Mega Drive in storage and am a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan. (Sorry Super Mario)

9. I love to swim and used to swim at County level.

10. I find it hard to open up to girl friends and in fact my best friends are my husband, my mother and my sister. They are my rocks and I wouldn't have it any other way.

11. I recently enjoy photography and my trusty steed is my Fuji XM1.

My questions from Stephanie:

1. How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging for almost a year now, inspiration for my blog was my baby boy Oscar, who was shortly joined by his sister Lottie in April of this year. There is 18 months between them so the last couple of years have been quite a whirlwind.

2. Do you have any hobbies?

I have a handful of hobbies, namely swimming (my way of keeping fit and thrashing out life's stresses in the pool) this keeps me active and healthy and was a great way for me to recover from recent injury. Another hobby of mine is of course my blogging, I love to write and to express myself through writing. A recent hobby is photography as I love to capture images of my loved ones to cherish.

3.Who’s your celebrity crush?

It used to be Will Smith but that was back when I was a teenager so some time ago. I don't really have a celebrity crush, Channing Tatum is not half bad and Nick Jonas relatively easy on the eye. Lincoln from the 100 probably ranks up there too but I'm not a big celeb follower or fussed with following the lives of the rich and famous.

4. If you where a crayon what colour would you be?

Yellow. It's my favourite colour as it reminds me of sunshine, Summer and happy times.

5. What’s your favourite TV show?

This has got to be The 100, it's awesome, totally addictive and when the frikkin heck is Season 3 coming!

6.When you where younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

I never knew. And I still don't career wise. (I'm very misguided) I do however know that I've always wanted to have a family of my own and be a Mummy. Being a Mum is a million times harder than I expected but also a million times more rewarding and pretty much the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to me, my children are my world.

7.Where is your favourite place to eat out?

We don't tend to eat out much, we never really have and love good quality time at home and a takeaway for a treat. With this in mind my favourite take out is a curry, and Kali Mirchi along Shirley high street is one of the best. They sell Maladair a dish which is a spinach, chilli and cream based, it's truly delicious.

8.Shoes or bags?

This is too tough to call.

9.Who is a hero in your life?

My dad. He's a real gent, loving, supportive and intelligent and a real family man. 

10.What’s your favourite season?

Spring. I actually love the Spring. We announced to family and friends during the Spring that we were expecting our first child (our son) and our daughter was actually born in the Spring so lots of happy times. I also find the weather can be really unexpectedly gorgeous at this time of year and adore all the daffodils blossoming.

11.Give 3 words that describe you best?

Loving, determined, sensitive.

So now you've heard a little more about me, it's time to move on to my nominations for the Liebster Award.

My nominations are:

Jodie @  BudgetBeautyandBabies
Lauren @ TheArtOfBeingAMummy

Sue @ HomeHeartHarmony

Naomi @ abandonthehouse.wordpress.com

11 questions for my nominees:

1. How long have you been blogging?
2.What is the inspiration for your blog?
3. What is your favourite App?
4. What can you not live without?
5. What is your favourite colour?
6. What would be your best advice for a new blogger?
7. Who inspires you?
8. What is you favourite takeaway?
9. What social media platform do you enjoy the most and why?
10.What is your favourite season?
11. List 3 words that describe yourself?

Hope you enjoyed my Liebster post and long may we continue to enjoy and celebrate the discovery of new blogs (:

Trendy Tot Thursday-Spooky Spectacular

Well it's almost Halloween so who could resist dressing up the little monsters in fancy dress.

This post features Lottie in her pumpkin outfit complete with stripey tights and garishly green tutu. 

The bright orange bodysuit is embellished with a sequin pumpkin and text 'mummy's little pumpkin'. We grabbed this from eBay for just over a fiver and for a complete outfit that's not a bad price. It was from the range from George at Asda.

Lottie got lots of use out of her outfit attending little bear baby signing Halloween class, Tiny Times Halloween Party with her baby buddies and finally a Jiggy's Halloween Special with her big brother Oscar this week.

I must say I think she looks delectable as a pumpkin (:

We've seen some really cute outfits this year including cats with tutu skirts, a bat, colourful witches, Frankenstein and even Sulley from Monsters Inc.

What fun outfits have your kids been wearing for the spookiest time of the year?

Milkshake birthday card.

Our gorgeous little boy's 2nd birthday has approached so quickly! Can you believe it! Where does the time go?!

Last year I made a giant Gaston the ladybird (from Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom) for Oscar's birthday card which  was read out live on Channel 5's Milkshake for his 1st birthday.

We were so excited it was featured and recorded it to show Oscar when he is older.

So we thought we'd try again this year and put our creativity to the test again.

This years theme we have gone for Peppa Pig, and she is accompanied by her little brother George Pig, Mr Dinosaur and a rather tasty looking chocolate cupcake with sprinkles on top.

But who's hiding under the cake I hear you ask ;) yep there he is, our little Oscar!

To make our card we used some great quality recycled card stock from Hardings, our local framers and gallery in the centre of the village. The shop keeper left some free card stock outside the main entrance to be re used locally, I thought this was a really nice touch so jumped at the chance and grabbed some.

We then printed some stock images of Peppa Pig characters found online (thanks Google) which were sent to our local printers Footprint South. I can't recommend these guys enough! I have used them for all my crafts and their papers and ink are great quality, their customer service fantastic and their print turnaround extremely speedy.

A few hours cutting and sticking later and here's what we came up with.

We used sticky foam to raise the characters slightly and double sided sticky tape to secure the photograph and cupcake securely.

The Peppa Pig font was downloaded free of charge from the awesome collection at Dafont. 

So, the big question is was it featured...

It sure was. You can catch a small clip right here.

Milkshake require birthday cards at least 1 month before they are due to be read out, so as long as you get crafting in good time and catch the post there is every chance your cards might get read out (:

It's a lot of fun seeing your little ones photo up on the big screen amongst their favourite tv and story book characters.