Are you social distancing? 10 things you can do to keep yourself busy. Try these activities to keep you busy when confined at home and support a small business at the same time!

1 - Try a new craft.

With great craft kits out there such as our DIY Papercutting Kit for Beginners, you can have some 'me' time and get lost in papercutting. It is a great way to unwind and enjoy a new hobby.

2 - Watch a film

Get cosy and watch your favourite film with a lovely hot chocolate from Cocoa Delicious. If you're in need of a stiff drink she has some boozy versions too.

3 - Exercise

Check out Envolve Wellness who have a fantastic FREE program to help you improve your posture and core right from the comfort of your own home.

4 - Read a book

There's a fantastic small business called Rhyme and Reason who have a new book called 'How Does a Cow Know How'. Your little ones are bound to love it and it will leave you wondering and wanting more.

5 - Craft together

Theres some great kits that all the family love to do together. Have a look at Emily's fused glass kits at Fused Glass by Emily. I love her Bug Home and Stars kit, they are so cute!

6 - Redesign your garden.

Border in a Box is a fellow SBS winner which makes making a gorgeous garden super easy. There's a choice of 8 ready made garden design kits to choose from. Which will you pick?

7- Get Baking

The whole family will enjoy baking one of If I Knew You Were Coming brownie baking kits. You'll enjoy eating the goods too!

8-Get ready for Autumn/Winter

Knit yourself a gorgeous scarf and snood using one of Lauren Aston's knitting kits. All your friends will be asking where you got your beautiful new scarf.

9-Start a Gin Distillery

Running out of Gin and can't go to the shops? Why not have a go at making your own with a kit from Kitchen Provisions.

10-Get a pen pal

Banjo Robinson is a travelling cat who sends your child letters from the different countries he visits - he is a kids best friend and grown ups love him too!

We have spent months preparing for the launch of our Self Watering Frames. After extensive research we have found out the exact hydration requirements of our Family Tree Papercuts and then used this to develop a frame which at set intervals waters the papercut using a specially formulated mist to ensure your papercut continues to look beautiful with all the leaves and flowers.

You don't need to add any water to the frame, the frame has special porous glass that takes the moisture from your homes natural environment, even during our rare hot summer days.

As you have probably guessed by now, this is just an April Fools joke but rest assured, your family trees don't need to be watered and will look beautiful for years to come due to the materials I use and the high quality of paper I cut from.

Shop for your evergreen family tree here

Some of you may remember a couple of months back I joined the notonthehighstreet clan, it’s a site full of talented designs and I love having a browse on there.  I came across these personalised apple crates which were being used as cat beds. As most of you know I have two fur babies, Tom and Zack and they love hiding in boxes so I immediately thought these would be purrrrfect for them.

I was a little worried they wouldn’t share one crate between them so I asked Plantabox if they made anything to cater for multiple cats. Plantabox came up with this amazing pet bunk crate with a handy (or should I say “paw-y!”) cat ladder! I designed some artwork for the side using their two photos and Plantabox finalised the design with their names, the end result looked amazing and I was so excited to see the finished piece.

I didn’t know what to expect but knew the cats would love it. When it arrived it was all assembled and ready to use, Zack jumped straight in to his bed before I had time to add Tom’s cushion! Luckily he could read his name and he picked the right bunk ;) I knew they were going to love it but didn’t realise just how much, they have been napping in it ever since it arrived, my only regret is we didn’t get it sooner.

As you can see from these pictures, they really are the cats that got the cream.

If you would like to see Plantabox’s range of personalised apple crates you can do so here. I have already started planning my next crate, I am going to order one of their small crates with a lid to use as a "Christmas Eve Box" I can't wait to fill it with goodies and pop it under the tree this year :)

We are pleased to announce we have teamed up with Count the Kicks to raise awareness of their lifesaving charity.

"Count the Kicks is a UK registered charity that aims to empower mums to be with knowledge and confidence throughout their pregnancy.

A baby’s movement indicate its wellbeing and by understanding their baby, mums can be empowered to trust their instincts and ensure the healthy delivery of their baby. Count the Kicks was set up in 2009 by Sophia Wyatt following the stillbirth of her daughter Chloe following reduced movement (Read Chloe’s story). Determined to ensure more mums did not experience this tragedy, Count the kicks was set up to educate mums on the importance of a baby’s movements and to help them work with healthcare professionals to bring home a healthy baby."

Whilst I was pregnant with my daughter I was introduced to CTK by my community midwife and because of their up-to-date information I was able to notice her reduced movements, CTK gave me the confidence to know when to seek help. I truely believe in this charity and am pleased to be able to spread the word whilst also giving a financial donation.

From today, 4/2/15, 10% of profits from sales of our Pregnancy Scan Papercut will be donated to Count the Kicks.

(My official winners photo with the business legend, Theo Paphitis.)

On Friday 30th January I was lucky enough to attend the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham to collect The Crafty Calf‘s Small Business Sunday Award at the #SBS Event 2015. 

I was extremely excited, as were all my fellow winners, there was a lot of chat in our SBS winner group on the weeks leading up to the event, discussing travel, outfits, after parties and the like!

We arrived at the ICC and were greeted by lots of “SBS Winner” signs so we knew we had found the right place…

(Welcome Sign ©Theo Paphitis' Twitter)

We entered the hall where lots of small business were already networking over a brew. There were stands from the #SBS sponsors, Rymans, Robert Dyas, iLaw, DHL and Red Letter Days. We grabbed a cuppa (and biscuit or two!) and began meeting some of our fellow winners. Everyone was very friendly and keen to find out about you and your business. They were all very passionate about their own businesses which reflected in the energy and enthusiasm that filled the room.

(Networking ©Theo Paphitis' Twitter)

After an hour or so we were called to take a seat in front of the big stage. When we were all seated, Ryman’s group CEO Kypros Kyprianou opened the stage and got us all warmed up for Theo’s entrance.

(Ready and waiting ©Theo Paphitis' Twitter)

Dragon Den star, Theo Paphitis, entered the stage to huge applause and we were then all treated to about an hour of SBS news. I can honestly say what an amazing guy he is, he is so passionate about small businesses but is also such a funny, light hearted, warm, boozy, sweary and motivating man. He ran over time, joked, interacted with the winners and just gave us all the encouragement we could ever dream of.

(Theo Paphitis on stage)

Theo told us about the new #SBSangels event coming up later in the year where #SBS winners can pitch for a financial investment. We were also shown Metalfrog Studios work on the new winners website. All #SBS winners feature on the official Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday website and it has just had a huge revamp thanks to Chris Wheeler and his team at Metalfrog. To view our #SBS profile click here.

We then had a break for lunch and a further chance to network. Everyone was happily tucking into the endless supply of sandwiches and alcoholic delights whilst meeting fellow winners. It was soon time to be re-seated for Question Time. This was a panelled Q&A session involving Julien Callede Founder and COO of Made.com, Judy Nake the queen of St Tropez Tan, Rob Forkan Co-Founder of Gandys FlipFlops and Theo himself.

(Question Time Panel ©Theo Paphitis' Twitter)

This was a session allowing SBS winners to ask a question to the panel. In addition to this, earlier I the day winners had the chance to pitch their business or product to Red Letter Days, Robert Dyas and Rymans.

The Q&A session overran but Theo was keen to answer everyones questions, this emphasised Theo’s generosity by giving up so much of his time so everyone had the chance to ask their question.

As soon as the questions finished, I went to meet Theo and be awarded with our official certificate. Here is a quick snap of the moment I met Theo. 

(Sharron, The Crafty Calf with Dragon Den Star Theo Paphitis)

The day was incredibly inspiring and I met some fantastic people on the day, I’m already looking forward to #SBS Event 2016