The Debenhams Blue Cross Sale has started today with discounts up to 70% off selected items across their online store. I am sure that the stores also have the sale, but why amble out into packed high streets when you can nab awesome Debenhams discounts from the comfort of your sofa?

• Click here to get into the sale at Debenhams

The Blue Cross Sale at Debenhams includes 70% off selected items in women’s wear, homewares and furniture, men’s wear, and shoes. There are tons of lovely bargains to be had in these sections so take your time and get comfy. But don’t take too long as I imagine items will be going fast.

Other sections included in the Blue Cross sale at Debenhams are Kidswear and beauty and fragrance. However, these sections are not offering as big a discounts as the others. Beauty and fragrance are up to half price on selected items, while kidswear is only up to 40% off. Oh well.

Thanks to nicster08 at HUKD!

I absolutely adore big and fluffy towels, especially when they are made with delectable fabrics and make me feel like I could snuggle in them for hours. These gorgeous Egyptian Cotton bath towels are now selling at Debenhams for £18, a substantial discount from their original retail price of £60.

• Click here to get towels from Debenhams

The Egyptian cotton bath towels were really expensive weren’t they? I mean, £60! These are not, I point out, bath sheets. They are bath towels so they are not as big as the sheets. However, the set includes three bath towels and two face cloths made from soft and luxurious Egyptian Cotton.

There is a soft stripe design along the ends of the bath towels apparently. Not much information as to what exactly a soft stripe is – terrible English – but it is there and if you buy the towels, you can enjoy it. Or tell me what it is.

The Egyptian cotton towels are 100% cotton and both machine and tumble dryer safe.

Thanks to Bluescott27 at HUKD!

Just last month I wrote a review on Alex Bath Stickers and now Play.com have the 'Beach' set on offer for £5.99 instead of £7.99, a good 25% off.

• Make bath time fun with Alex Bath Stickers

Alex Bath Stickers are really simple, but worth so much. I'm pretty certain they are the reason my 18 month old has such a good vocabulary – we go through everything in the bag every evening, and she spends ages in the bath playing with them, naming them, and sticking them to the sides of the bath.

The colourful stickers are phthalate free, so it's not so bad if your little one has a nibble on them, and they come with a mesh bag with suction cups, so the bag sticks to the wall. After bath time, Kyra pops them in the bag so they drip dry, ready for tomorrow night's play.

There are other sets available, but this is the 'Beach' set, with colour fish and sea creatures. Delivery is free and items are usually dispatched within two days.

I don't know about you, but I probably end up in Boots about once a week. There's always something you need to pick up, and in the larger Boots a browse through the shelves is always educational. That's how I found the Lindam microwave steriliser plastic bags, a total space saver.

There's a stack of stuff all aimed at parents of babies. Which brings up some crucial questions. What's it like to use? How do I know if I'll need it - apart from buying a bottle? I still have bottles of stuff given to me when son was a baby that I've never used. And he's five years old now. I hated the idea of adding to that pile myself, and paying good money for the privilege!

So I got three of the Boots range products and gave them to Marie, whose daughter is 10 months old. This is how she got on.

Boots Dreamtime Calming Bath

Marie recieved a 400ml bottle of Boots Dreamtime Calming Bath (£2.03) to try out. This is, apparently, pH balanced to "gently cleanse delicate skin without drying, leaving baby's skin soft and clean". On the website it also says it has a lavender and chamomile scent to provide a soothing and calming aroma.

Interestingly though, it doesn't say that on the bottle. So the scent was a surprise for Marie. "There's nothing about a specific fragrance. I opened the top and gave it a sniff, and it had a slight smell of lavender, though nothing too over-powering." She also thought the fragrance of the bubble bath filled the room with a pleasing odour, not too strong.

Marie then put some in the bath while the water was running and was pleased with the result - a nice foamy bath. However, she thought she may have put a little too much in, because as her daughter started kicking, more and more bubbles seemed to spawn.

Still that did have a positive result. "The bubbles lasted the whole duration of the bath though, unlike some other products which dissipate fairly early on."

Marie did read the bottle carefully though, and it seems to meet with her high standards. "I am always quite concerned about using new products on baby as she has very sensitive skin, with bouts of eczema. I always make sure that the product is hypo-allergenic, which the bubble bath is."

Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream

Next Marie tried out the 100ml tube of Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream (£2.03). This promises a non-greasy formulation that suitable for the daily moisturising of sensitive and dry skin conditions, including eczema.

First, the 'opening the bottle experience'. Marie found that "the Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream doesn't smell of anything, even when I almost accidentally squirted it up my own nose. I think this is a good thing, that it is quite a natural moisturiser " While she didn't need to test it quite so closely or rigorously, it is always good to know that it is truly scent free!

She thought that the consistency of the cream was pretty much what you'd expect from a moisturiser. "I tried some on my own arm before going near baby. It dried in well, not leaving my skin greasy or flaky."

Marie used the moisturising cream on a patch of dry skin on her baby's leg, over the course of a week, with slightly disappointing results. "I restricted it to that area just in case there was a reaction, I'd hate to have used it all over her body and something irritated her. It moisturised her skin well, but I didn't see any particular improvement in the dry area."

Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm

The final product I got for Marie to review was a 100ml tube of Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm (£2.03). This cream is meant to soothe a wide variety of dry and irritable skin conditions, as well as providing a barrier on the bottom against the irritants that cause nappy rash.

Marie found the Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm to be quite a thick cream, definitely thicker than the Boots moisturiser. "Again, it didn't really have much of a smell to it when I sniffed it in the tube, though it kind of has a slight hint of that "baby" smell."

When she rubbed it on the back of her hand, a more distinct smell emerged, but it was a fragrance could not put her finger on.

In use she thought that one left her skin feeling a bit greasier, but that it was to be expected as it is more like a barrier cream for baby's bum.

"When I first used it on baby's bum, I squirted far too much out of the tube. With this cream, a little goes quite a long way so that's something to take into consideration when applying."

Overall

It says on the packaging that they are consultant dermatologist and paediatrician approved. "I am always a bit wary of this though - who approved it? Was it one consultant dermatologist somewhere... or a team of respected ones? I usually don't pay much attention to that kind of statement on a product, as I have no idea of its origins."

Good for Marie for not simply trusting the marketing. I'm sure that Boots do all kinds of checks, but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding as they say. Either it works, or it doesn't.

And Finally ...

Although it didn't clear up her baby's dry skin patch as she'd have liked, all three products got a definite thumbs up in the end from Marie. Her final word? "I'd probably buy these products again, especially the bubble bath, as the smell was really gorgeous."

Ooooh, I so love The Body Shop. It is utterly scrummy and some of the creams smell good enough to eat. Actually, I have been sorely tempted to just try and nibble the cocoa butter one, yum. So, it brings me joy to tell you that The Body Shop is offering a free 200ml Body Butter worth £12.50 with every purchase over £25.

• Click here to cast an eye over The Body Shop

The offer is for instore purchases only but this is a brilliant deal that is coming just in time for Mother’s Day. You can buy her a lovely pack of scrummy Body Shop delights and add in even more with your free body butter. How delicious.

However, if you can’t bear the thought of lifting yourself off the sofa and away from your PC, they do have some other offers online that may tempt you. How about the two for £15 body butter and scrub offer? Or the Buy one Get one half price offer? There is something there for everyone and they have free express delivery for Mother’s Day.

Thanks to nicster08 at HUKD!

In case you haven't been paying attention, Mother's Day is looming. It's on Sunday 3 April this year so you only have one and a half weeks to sort out suitable presents and cards and stuff.

I said SUITABLE presents, not a last minute dash to the One Stop or 8 til Late first thing on Sunday morning!

I know that chocolates and flowers are the most obvious things to choose, but what if the mum(s) you're buying for aren't chocolate fans or are currently on a no-chocolate diet?

Soap Star Gifts got in touch with us recently and we think they have the PERFECT solution to this no-cake-no-chocolate pressie dilemma.

I found myself utterly mesmerised by the things we sent to our mum tester, Becky; I've never seen anything for the bath that looks as fabulous and good enough to eat - although you can't, so please don't try!

The response in Becky's household was just the same...

"OOH! How gorgeous! A lovely box of chocolates!" was Becky's reaction to the Luxury Chocolate Lovers Bath Melt gift set (£10).

"They look so edible.  In fact, I had to keep the cupcake one hidden away so that my toddler couldn't eat it; it looked far too scrummy."

And she's not wrong, just look at them!   The presentation is beautiful and the six 'chocolates' all contain natural Cocoa Butter and essential oils; cocoa and chocolates without a single calorie.

Now that's what I call the perfect chocolate gift for those in a no-chocolate-fly-zone and Becky told us that they smell 'absolutely gorgeous' too.

"My children were incredibly jealous, especially my 7-year-old daughter who could not believe her eyes," me neither - this review could take me some time to write as I can't stop staring at all the Soap Star Gifts images.

This wasn't the only Soap Star Gift we sent to Becky and whilst she confessed she's not the biggest 'bath person' in the world, she felt this put her in an ideal position and could test them from a position of bath impartiality.

A firm, but double-edged sword, favourite were the three cupcake bath bombs (£7.49).

"I love the drama of the bath bomb.  The smell is lovely, the oiliness feels very moisturising, but I really don't like the job of having to clean out the bath afterwards," Becky told us.

I have to agree, there are few things as 'soul destroying' as enjoying a lovely bath and then having to spend ages cleaning the tub when you get out.

"The glamour of petal like bits floating in the bath is replaced by the hassle of trying to get them off your skin and bath afterwards.  Although the 'bitty' ones have the most dramatic effect, they are quite tiresome to deal with."

Becky decided she preferred the ones that had just one or two flower embellishments on the top as they didn't come with all the cleaning after effects.

If you're going to give such a Soap Star Gift to the mum in your household this Mother's Day, then I think it should also come with a firm promise that YOU will clean up the bath bomb aftermath for her!

Becky's children totally fell in love with everything from Soap Star Gifts, but due to their lovely oiliness (the bath bombs, not the kids) it did leave them with greasy hair afterwards which required washing again in different water from the bath water.

Becky felt this was a small price to pay for the sheer enjoyment her children got from having cupcakes and chocolates in the bath.

There are bigger and more 'grown up' cupcake bath bombs available from Soap Star Gifts that really are a bit special.

I'm completely in love with these two: La Vie en Rose Bath Bomb (£8.95) which comes gift boxed and is big enough to last for more than a few baths apparently, and this Wedding Ring bath bomb (£8.95).

They are just TOO stunning for words; perfect should there be a Mother's Day proposal in the air or a just to say I LOVE YOU!

And finally...

Everyone is in agreement that all the goodies from Soap Star Gifts are amazing works of art that come beautifully packaged; it almost seems a shame to 'ruin' them by putting them in the bath!

The prices are not extortionate either, and nicely pitched, for a special gift that really will be lovely to give and even more lovely to receive.

If you want to push the boat out and give something ultra special, Soap Star Gifts also offer a bespoke service with prices starting from £25...

"At Soap Star Gifts we specialise in creating luxury gifts to your exact requirements. Whatever the occasions or price we can provide you with a stunning and individual Bath & Body Gift Set made up of the finest products available."

The cost of delivery will depend on how much you spend but once you're over the £50 mark delivery is free.

You also need to allow up to seven working days for your order to be dispatched, so if you're thinking about a Soap Star Gift for Mother's Day then start getting organised now.

That said, Soap Star Gifts do say that they'll try their best to get things to you if you need them sooner, you just have to let them know.

www.soapstargifts.co.uk

Boots has a 3 for 2 offer across thousands of baby items from 04 April until 03 May. So mark the date in your diary and get ready for a big splash in the save money pond. Yes, 3 for 2 on thousands of items at Boots. Brilliant.

• Click here to peek at Boots baby range

The Boots 3 for 2 offer starts on Mother’s Day, in a way helping budget brainy mums to budget and save money. It will last for almost a month and cover a huge range of different products. Some of the ideas that Boots recommend for Mother’s Day fun include the Boots single use disposable camera with flash for £6.12 to capture moments on the day.

Or perhaps you’d rather settle back with a cup of tea and browse all the baby bargains online. If you are going to take full advantage of the 3 for 2 offer, take a look at items that are essential and get used up quickly, like nappies and baby food. Get ready to snap them up in bulk!

Don’t forget 04 April until 03 May!

My little girl loves bath time and has since birth. Recently, however, she didn't want to stay in the bath for long enough to bath at all. We decided to add a few toys to bath time, and it's been a great success.

We bought a few different sets of Alex Rub a Dub Bath Tub Stickers with numbers, shapes, animals and so on and now they pretty much live in the bath. They're made of thick and chunky foam, which makes them easy for little hands to grab onto and when wet they stick to the bath or the tiles, without leaving any residue when they come off.

The only negative to them is that eventually the ink fades, so the pictures become a bit light and start looking a little old, but my daughter certainly hasn't noticed.

The stickers can be packed away in the hanging bags that they come in, which is great for when you want to bath without floating bits in the water.

From an educational point of view they've been good too. My daughter can recognise quite a few of the shapes now. Say “bee” and she'll find the bee, upside down, with or without the picture. The same goes for 'wower' (flower) or “fish”. And every week the list gets longer.

They're not super cheap, but they're worth it, I think. We'll be adding to our collection soon.

Myreen Young is offering PlayPennies readers a stunning 40% off her products when you purchase from the site for the first time. This is a whopping discount and definitely well worth using, especially since Mother’s Day is fast approaching and these would make stunning presents.

• Click here to visit Myreen Young

The Myreen Young range includes pregnancy, baby, and mom related products. We recently reviewed the pregnancy range and our tester, Denise, absolutely loved them. She has even switched brands!

The Myreen Young range of products is all natural and organic and I am definitely a fan. My inability to put the serum on in the right order notwithstanding…

• Discount: 40%
• Promotional code: myreen17
• Expires: Only for first time purchase

 Thanks to their excellent pricing structure and huge range, you can nab some wonderful products and create a stunning Mother’s Day package without spending a fortune. If you have a partner who moans about her wrinkles or wants something special for her skin, then Myreen Young has pretty much everything you need to sort her out.

The Vtech Splash and Sing submarine has been marked down from £24.99 to a tasty £12.99 at Amazon, a very nice bargain for a great toy. The Vtech Splash & Sing submarine has a ton of ace features and it also can be used as a weapon to wet mummy and daddy – awesome.

• Click here to splash on over to Amazon

The Vtech Splash and Sing submarine comes with free delivery from Amazon and has some ace customer reviews. It really does do a lot of stuff, making it a fantastic toy for bathtime fun and education.

If your tots hate bathing, then this Vtech toy is bound to get them enthusiastic about getting into the water. The submarine squirts water out of its funnels in time to the music, there are buttons that introduce animals, colours and numbers, and these are activated in time to the splashes of water too.

There is even a mini detachable submarine that kids can use to pour water, and a 3D water squirting dolphin that can be used to wet whichever parent is bathing you. The Vtech Splash & Sing submarine is a fantastic buy at this price.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD!

Vosene have an ace range of nit shampoos and sprays that I was sent to review last year. It has taken me several months to review them as I needed my child to undergo at least one nit scare at school to see if they worked.

They did.

I wash her hair with the 3 in 1 shampoo and conditioner every other day and follow it up with the Advanced Conditioning Defence Spray. The 3 in 1 Conditioning Shampoo from Vosene has Tea Tree Oil and Lemon Eucalyptus as well as Camomile extract, all natural lice repellants.

I did find that it dried out her hair, though. I had to supplement it with an extra condition after each wash. However, in spite of the fact that it dried her hair out, I am afraid to stop using it.

Nits have gone nuts at our school and my daughter has not been infected since she started using the Vosene spray and shampoo. The spray includes detangler (a huge bonus for me as my daughter has curly hair) and also has the natural lice repellants mentioned in the shampoo. It doesn’t smell very nice but it obviously works.

The spray has the added extra feature of making hair brushing easier and removing knots.

To add to the validity of my test I must tell you that my daughter keeps undoing her hair at school. She goes in with it all tied up and comes out with it hanging loose – a lice magnet if there ever was one. And still, she remains nit free.

I am delighted  with the performance of the Vosene range and their price point of £2.28 for the Vosene 3 in 1 shampoo and £2.03 for the spray (on special now at Boots) is also excellent.

Use this The Body Shop online promotional code to get 25% off your order and free delivery. That's a decent amount off, and with free delivery it saves you a trip to the shops. Might be worth pointing your partner in the direction of this offer, especially with Mothering Sunday coming up on the 3rd of April!

Click here for 25% off and free delivery at The Body Shop

• Discount: 25% and free delivery
• Promotional code: GLAMOUR25
• Expires: 1st of March 2011

To use this code, go to the Shopping Basket page and enter it in the relevant box at the top of the page. The discount will be immediately applied to your order.

I tested it out on a pot of scrummy Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream. Yes I admit, I love this stuff! Plus it just feels like a real indulgence to smooth this silky stuff on your skin before going to bed. It isn't greasy, and leaves my skin feeling luxuriously soft. Yuck, I sound like the worst sort of marketing material now! It is my only five minutes of me time a day, and I love it.

Anyway, the pot costs £10. The discount code knocked £2.50 off that, and reduced the delivery charge to £0. The express delivery option is £3.99 but I don't need the cream that badly!

Thanks to kaks26 at HUKD!

I just had no idea what I'd need and what I wouldn't need when I had my son. When it came to safety equipment, I probably bought just about everything. Including this Bath Tap Head Cover (£6.99).

The product description makes for a pretty good sell. It says "don't forget the hot taps. If little people touch the taps, even when turned off they can be very hot and give a nasty shock."

Other adverts for similar types of bath tap covers played on the bath accident angle, conjuring up images of your poor baby pitching forward and landing head first on that hard, metal water spout or the edges of the taps.

So of course I bought one. I selected the Bath Tap Head Cover because it was pictured covering exactly the sort of bath fixture we have, and also because it  covered both the taps and the spout.

The cover inflates and the website blurb even suggests that you can use it as a headrest when enjoying " one of those lovely soaks in the bath". Ha ha. Like busy mums of babies and toddlers have time for one of those!

The cover never did fit over the taps and spout. I could get it comfortably over one tap and the spout, but it always sat lopsided on the fixture.  I can only assume that despite appearances, my fixture was much larger than the one in the picture. That said, it is a bog standard bath fitting from B&Q so I'm not too sure why it wouldn't fit.

My son was fascinated by the cover, and would immediately try to play with it. I was forever trying to keep him from pulling at the cover.

After about two weeks, it developed a leak. It wouldn't blow up tautly, and quickly deflated by the time we'd got through the bath. So I stopped using it.

My son stopped wanting to go down the tap end of the bath, now that the 'toy' was gone. Just like the adverts warned though, he did indeed head down there once and touched the hot tap (it wasn't that hot, I'd tested it). That was a surprise for him, and he never showed an inclination to touch it again.

As for my fears about him pitching head first on the fitting. What was I thinking? I never left his side when he was in the bath! Even when he stood up, so we could wash down his legs or so he could stomp in the water, I was right there with arm outstretched to stop him tumbling. And since he was at the furtherest end of the bath from the taps, he wouldn't have hit them anyway if he had fallen over.

My final verdict? This was a total waste of £6.99 plus postage and packing.

My son mostly had just empty plastic containers to play with in the bath. Deprived possibly, but he had a lot of fun filling and emptying them. One toy he did have though was the kind that stuck on the side of the bath and he did love that, mostly because it filled with water and had whirly bits. I think he'd have had a lot of fun with the Tomy Bathtime Whirly Washer too, which Amazon has on sale for £7.36, reduced from £16.99. Delivery is free with Amazon Prime.

• Click here for the Tomy Bathtime Whirly Washer at Amazon

I really don't think I'd be inclined to splash out nearly £20 for a bath toy, but at less than a tenner it makes a good buy. Plus, a good gift as well. All my son's bath toys were presents from various relations - I think that toys for the bath just isn't something you tend to splash out on as a parent (sorry for the bad pun!).

You load washing into the drum, close the door, and press the button to create bubbles. Press the On switch and watch the drum spinning just like a real washing machine. A click sound indicates when the cycle has finished and the clothes are ready to be hung out to dry on the drying rack.

The Whirly Washer comes with a host of accessories, including brightly coloured, quick drying cloths (4 items), a fold-out drying rack, a liquid container and a washing basket.

Thanks to shadow1 at HUKD!

The Argos discounts are pouring in, there are tons around, and now there is this cute little Disney Princess five bottle bag set that includes some lovely little extras. And it will only cost you £2.99, especially if you arrange to reserve and collect instore.

• Click here to get some bottle at Argos

The Disney Princess set from Argos includes five 50ml bottles of bath and shower gel inside a cute little plastic handbag. I don’t get these handbag things. They are hideous and usually kids don’t like them much either. Or is that just my kid?

The bottles are really cute and will last your little one for a while. I can’t find much information on whether or not they are suitable for children under the age of three. They may be a bit too harsh on the skin for little ones.

Originally selling for £4.99 you are getting a 1/3 saving off the original price and if you happen to be going past Argos, why not pop in and nab one for the Present Cupboard.

Thanks to sale at HUKD!

Every year I do the Lav-Nav post. It is now a tradition. Every year I somehow discover this clever and funny device and talk about it on PlayPennies. The Lav-Nav is down to a mere £6.99 at Play.com so now is your chance to own one. Yes, yes it is.

• Click here to navigate on over to Play.com

The Lav-Nav offers you a brilliant solution to your common bathroom problems. The name is short for Lavatory Navigator and it will save you from stubbed toes, angry shouts, inventive swear words and, most importantly, waking the baby.

As you approach the Lav-Nav the light turns on bathing the room in a gentle glow that won’t wake your partner or the children, but will allow you to find your way to and from the loo without mishap. You won’t disturb anyone else, and you won’t kill yourself in the process either.

It also includes, wait for it, a visual targeting system with a put the seat down reminder. When the seat is up, it glows red, when the seat is down, it glows green. Fantastic stuff.

Usually selling for £19.99, the Lav-Nav is down to £6.99 at Play.com along with free delivery. Awesome.

Thanks to SteveW at HUKD

I have attacked the whole “lose the Christmas weight and revitalise my body” thing with gusto this year and so far, so good. It has been nearly a month and I’m still running every day and doing all sorts of exercises to kill that stomach.

However, along with all this madness comes pain. Ohhh yes, pain. I have endured great pain as my underused muscles argue with me about the wisdom of my frolicking across meadows at high speed. So it was with great enthusiasm that I took some Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel for review.

It combines the natural healing benefits of arnica (which I personally believe in) and blends them with grapefruit oil and menthol. This gel is designed to cool and sooth tired legs and muscles, which I had plenty of. Actually, it’s also worth noting that you can use it on your feet if you’ve got hot, tired and heavy feet after a commute or hectic day.

I scooped it up and smothered my calves. They were really sore. The gel is rich smelling and not for everyone. Personally I loved the smell but I have a thing for minty and herbal smelling lotions. My husband was not as keen and moved to the other sofa.

It is cooling, though. I got this ace tingly feeling and lovely cool sensation. I even put some on my left shoulder which is very battered after multiple dislocations, and it was delicious. I am a firm fan.

The negatives are the stickiness on your hands, I did have to wash them afterwards, and the smell, which worked for me but is a very personal choice.

You can nab the gel for £4.75 at pharmacies and health stores, a pretty good price as a little goes a long, long way.

Valentine’s Day is coming! Yes, no sooner have we dusted ourselves off after the Christmas run and emerged victorious from piles of wrapping paper, than we have to contend with the (apparently) most romantic day of the year.

Well, instead of spending a fortune on goodies in the stores, why not start off your Valentine’s gift collection with some homemade bath bombs and a nifty idea to present them?

The Wrapping

Sometimes a clever bit of packaging and wrapping can make something very small seem very big and beautiful. Take a preserve jar with a bit of room in it and place a cupcake or muffin liner over the top. Dye some string by leaving it for a couple of hours in Koolaid (seriously!) and use this to tie the muffin lids to the jars. When your bath bombs are done, just slip them into the jars along with some petals and your present is done!

Bath Bombs

Don’t rush out and spend a fortune on bath bombs at fancy places – make your own. These are really easy to create and you can really have a lot of fun in the process. Be warned, though, they can be a bit temperamental so don’t be disheartened if your first attempt is a, ahem, bomb….

Ingredients:

• 227g Baking Soda/sodium bicarbonate
• 113g Citric Acid
• 113g Corn Starch
• 113g Mineral Salts
• 2tbsp Essential Oils (please make sure you use the ones for people, not for candles)
• ¾ tbsp water
• 2.5 tbsp oil – light vegetable oil
• Food colouring

Creation:

Mix your dry ingredients together until you feel they are really well blended and lump free. Try a pestle or a whisk if you have some lump issues. Take out a portion of the dry mixture and set it to one side – this is just in case you add too much water and need to dry the mixture out a bit. 

Blend your oils, water and colouring in a jug with an easy pour spout, or use a spray bottle for better control. You’ll only need a few drops of food colouring to gain the right colour (it will look pretty vivid in the mix but will fade when blended) so stick with one or two to start.

Adding in the wet ingredients is something of an art. It’s here that things can get a bit tricky. The weather can actually affect how your bombs turn out, and how they react to the wet ingredients. I highly recommend using a spray bottle to gently squirt out small portions of liquid at a time.

Blend the ingredients slowly after each squirt and let the mixture absorb the fluids. The dry ingredients take some time to absorb the wet ones so you need to be patient. Use the back of a spoon to squish lumps of fluid out and get them to blend properly with the mixture.

You know your mixture is perfect when you can squeeze it in your hand and it stays stuck – a bit like perfect building sand – but isn’t so wet that it sticks to your hand. If it is too dry it will crack or crumble, too wet and it will stick and melt. If you accidentally add too much fluid, just use your extra that you set aside to redress the balance.

Now you have to move fast. The moment your mixture is bonny and ready you have to get it into the moulds FAST. They can dry out and crack pretty quickly. Have your moulds ready to go and gently spoon the mixture into the one half, then slot it into the second half and press the two together. It takes a bit of practise so don’t give up! There are other tips and tricks for moulds on the web that you can try out if you don’t have any luck.

Another idea, the idea I use, is to simply use one half of a mould for cute and weird bombs that don’t have me wrestling with moulds for hours. This way is also more fun for kids as its easier for them to take part in the moulding process.

Hold your mould for about a minute, if that, and then gently tap out your bombs. If you don’t fancy spending money on expensive and styling moulds don’t worry, you can use ice cube trays, muffin trays, denture cases – anything. It is entirely up to you and your imagination.

Bath bomb warnings:

• If you add the water too fast the mixture will fizz. Slow down and add some dry stuff to calm things down
• Special moulds that cover the mixture completely may need longer to dry. Leave them for a while before trying to take them out
• Store them in an airtight container until you use them
• If the bombs crumble easily then pack your moulds tighter
• Cracks and splits may mean either too much or too little liquid – add some extra to see if it calms things down, or add in the dry mixture to dry things out. It is really about a very careful balancing act
• Initially stick with simple round and smooth moulds. Creating a bath bomb mould of the Eiffel Tower is just asking for trouble
• Tweak and tweak and tweak until your bombs stop cracking, they slip out of their moulds and they look amazing. It’s all about practise.

Once you have this recipe down pat, why not include items like oats, butter (shea etc), Dead Sea Salts, petals, milk, clay, sodium laureth sulphate (SLSA) and experimenting with your scents.

I have used this recipe for years and years and it took time to get the mix just right so have fun and enjoy some luxurious baths, I mean, presents…

Starting tomorrow, 17 January, Morrisons are holding their annual Baby Event that will reveal tons of fantastic discounts on baby related products and items. It sells out really quickly and only takes place instore so make sure that you get yourself to a Morrisons tomorrow.

• Click here to find your nearest Morrisons

Morrisons don’t really give you much online but you can use the site to find out where your nearest store is and to make sure you’re there on time to nab some fabbo bargains. Items included in the sale are the Mario Semi Cover Booster Seat for £5, a Playskool Step & Star Walk & Ride for only £20, and  Playskool Push & Stack Gears for only £10.

You will also find safety equipment like Lindam gates for as little as £15, high chairs for £20, baby baths from £5, potties from 99p (oh yes, less than a pound!) and a bunch of Tommee Tippee items reduced to manageable prices.

They have also marked down nappies and wipes from reputable brands too. So get yourself to Morrisons tomorrow and sort out some baby essentials at ridiculously low prices.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD!

Teeth. I have a real thing about making sure that my daughter’s teeth are kept in mint condition and tend to buy all sorts of different toothbrushes to encourage her to get into the whole experience. Firefly have just launched a cool range of toothbrushes for kids that use light technology to keep them brushing for the recommended time.

The flashing light lasts for one minute – time to brush their upper or lower teeth – and then they press the light again to finish off their routine. You can get a bunch of different designs, they only cost between £1.49 and £2.49, and you can nab them from Argos, Lloyds Pharmacy and Amazon. Unfortunately I can’t find any Hello Kitty ones online but I did find Spiderman, Barbie and many others that are just ace.

These toothbrushes have had fantastic reviews and I must admit that mine is something of a mixed bag. It is very cute and well made, the Hello Kitty is the entire length of the brush and my daughter utterly loves it. This toothbrush definitely has made brushing a lot easier as she loves the flashing light and the way the entire thing lights up.

We took ours on holiday with us so it endured a lot of suitcase bashing and moving about so by the time the three weeks had ended, this toothbrush no longer flashed properly. In fact, it did this crazed flashing for about 30 seconds and then stopped. Or it would flash randomly when you walked past it. We may have landed the only haunted Hello Kitty toothbrush on the planet. Now it no longer works at all.

It is a great brush and comes from a reputable US company but ours didn’t handle travelvery well. Still, for the price and the design, it is a superb buy overall.