" Sexy" - am I being overly sensitive..?

I'm developing a serious problem with the word "sexy", and I think I'm going to have to vent my spleen here a bit - tell me what you think...

It seems totally acceptable now to use this word in mainstream situations: tv, magazines, etc. Now, I'm not talking about this from the point of view of an adult - I'm talking about it from the point of view of a mum to a 7 year old. Should I be getting upset when she puts on a new top, looks at herself in the mirror, strikes a silly pose and asks "d'ya think I'm seeexy?!". Now, she's doing it in a fun, jokey way - but, it makes me feel so uncomfortable. This word gets bantered around even on children's telly - and don't even get me started on pop videos/singers...

My daughter is clever, smart, funny, beautiful and a fabulous little character - she is NOT sexy.

So, when she asked if I thought she was "seeexy", I just smiled and said, "no sweetheart, you're not, you're my little girl and I love you." But she still wasn't sure if I was being mean or not. And what to say when she turns round (like she did the other day) and asks me what the word means? Well poppet, it means you're sexually attractive to other people...I think not!!!

I don't remember this word being in use when I was a kid. I might sound like a total old prude, but I'm not sure I'm getting upset for no reason am I? I don't even feel comfortable letting her watch pop videos - I'm so sick of seeing women with their bums on show grinding like a lap dancer. And then there's the Playboy range in Argos - Amy loves looking at those pages in the catalogue: they're all PINK! Oh, and it seems that once your child gets past the age 5/6 years clothing sizes, she's suddenly expected to dress like a psuedo teenager in black t-shirts with words like "Bitch" picked out in glitter. You're kidding me right...?

Tell me what you think...

A great keepsake created from your child's artwork!

When it comes to drawing, creating and painting, Amy is very, very, very prolific! I am treated daily to fabulous creations. Only this weekend she transformed a toilet roll and an empty tissue box into an airplane and hangar. The outer wrapper from the peperami she was munching while cutting and sticking, became the escape shute for the passengers when the plane crashed. (That's "when", not "if"..!)

But she also loves to curl up on the sofa with a tray and her ENORMOUS pencil case (yes, the 7 year old inside me is insanely jealous!), and draw a wonderful picture. Like most mums my fridge is plastered with all this artwork. And it is virtually impossible to throw any of it away of course. So in the seven short years of her life I have managed to fill two memory boxes and a huge folder with her drawings! I adore everything she does, of course, but every now and then she will create something really amazing. Usually a picture with a story - and half the joy is listening to her explaining what is going on in the image.

So - this set me a thinking..... wouldn't it be great to do something with these special pictures? Those hand or foot prints, those pictures of the family at the beach, the self portraits, or the drawing of the house she wants to live in when she's grown up? Having just introduced a range of box canvases, it suddenly struck me how fantastic to be able to create a canvas from a child's masterpiece! It could be a straightforward print of the original picture, or it could have a little message added like the one shown here (if the design allows!).

So if you have a precious painting or drawing why not get it created into a fabulous and totally unique piece of permanent wall art? The printing quality is superb, so it will capture every detail and pencil or paintbrush stroke. You can get it printed as an 8" square slimline canvas for only £12 or a deeper framed 10" square canvas for £25 - and that includes UK delivery.

What a fabulous keepsake or present - parents, grandparents, aunties & uncles would surely love to receive one? Just take a look at http://photofairytales.co.uk/canvasforher.aspx - a great idea for a Father's Day present too perhaps?!

Best wishes, Sarah

Arghhh - Valentine's Day!!!!!

Does this feel remotely familiar?..: You've been together for a while now and Valentine's Day is approaching. You take a look around the shops and are confronted with a range of items that are "sexy" (shudder) or "cute" (blurgh).

You've been through the edible knickers and penis-shaped pasta stage - and come out the other side. You don't want to give houseroom to something that is fluffy and red and, quite frankly, naff. You can't afford Tiffany's. You did the 'chocolate heart with their name on' from Thorntons last year - and possibly the year before that...

Hard isn't it? How do you find a present for the person you love (and who only this morning was squeezing a spot in the bathroom), that sums up what you feel?

Well, I might not have hit the nail on the head for everyone, but hopefully I've managed to come up with some ideas that might help. Take a look at my personalised Valentine's Day gift ideas and hopefully you'll find something that will fit the bill. Oh, and prices start at around £10, so no silly Tiffany-type prices either!

Now, if you could just give me your suggestions on what I can get I'd appreciate it (seems not quite right to give him something from my own website!)...

Sarah x

Let them eat snow...!

"So, Freddy - have you been eating the snow?"

"Me? No..."

"Are you sure - because it looks as if you might have been...?"

"No, no, not eating snow, no, not me."

"Did you eat any yellow snow?"

"I don't think so, erm...... let's run!!"

A new decade begins...!

Where do the hours go every day? No, I'm serious, where exactly do they go? I can't believe we are now more than half way through January already!

Christmas in our household was snowy and perfect - by Christmas Eve I had so much food (and a worktop covered, it seemed, in cakes of all variations: Yule Log, Mince Pies, Christmas Cake, Stollen, etc) that I wondered whether we would get through it all. But - er, well - we did! Then just four days later we added another cake to the dwindling collection - a birthday cake for Amy to celebrate her 7th birthday. My little girl is seven!!!! Now that really does leave me wondering where time goes, and how it moves so quickly. It seems like only a year or two ago that we were taking her to playgroup and asking her to say the word "flower" ("ferwah") just because she sounded so cute!

Towards the end of last year I started work on a new item for PhotoFairytales - once again inspired by Amy Rose. After she lost her first tooth, I wrote a special little letter from the Tooth Fairy for her - just a little thing, hastily put together. But it's something that Amy has always treasured, and when she lost yet another tooth last Autumn it gave me the idea of perhaps adding a Tooth Fairy item to the website.

With such great feedback and lovely responses to my personalised letters from Santa, I decided to work along the same lines - offering a letter packed with details about the child, and with extra gifts and surprises too. And so I am now pleased to announce that the Tooth Fairy letters are now available and on sale - plus, as an introductory offer, if you quote the order code "10BLOG" you can claim a 10% discount on your letter! For more details just click here.

I'm still working on even more new items - so watch this space for more news and offers!

Happy New Year and very best wishes,
Sarah x


(PS: There are versions of the letter available for both boys and girls!)