Mud & Bloom – December 2019: Christmas crafts and outdoor fun

We were really looking forward to the December box from Mud & Bloom. With the Christmas holidays on the horizon we were ready to get crafting with some nature inspired goodies. This month’s box did not disappoint!

What’s in the box?

• Make your own twig stars activity
• Grow your own lavender
• Make your own leaf decorated candles
• Grow your own peas
• Star spotter guide
• Nature quiz

The highlights

This was the first activity to catch our eye and it was definitely the most fun. We went out collecting leaves one afternoon and then sat down to make our candles the following morning. This was really enjoyable and not like anything I’d done before so we were both learning! We also loved the fact that we could do this again as all we needed was candles, greaseproof paper, hot water and spoons. We might even attempt it next year for Christmas gifts! This is how ours turned out.

The next day we set about gathering twigs to make our stars. We collected more than we had expected so were able to make 6 stars in the end, although we ended up going through all the twine in the box so had to use some garden string which wasn’t perhaps quite as good!

The brush and paint were really nice quality and the instructions really clear. We made two of the smaller simpler ones, and three larger ones. This is definitely an activity we will try again as it was great fun.

Sadly the weather was a bit rotten where we live in the run up to Christmas so we weren’t able to display ours outside, but we did manage to grab a bit of sun to show off our best one!

We also really enjoyed the star spotter guide, although we haven’t been able to use it yet due to the weather and being away. We’re looking forward to using it when the nights are a bit clearer (and maybe warmer and drier!).

Sewing the seeds

We’re working on improving our garden as its not how we want it to be just yet so we’ve set these aside. We’d love to grow peas, so these will come in so handy, plus its great to be able to grow something children are familiar with eating.

We already have a rather ‘healthy’ lavender plant in our front garden so rather than planting these we gifted them to my mum who plans to plant them the next time we go to visit. I love how the seeds can be used in this way, and can spread the joy of the Mud & Bloom boxes.