Keep The Kids Occupied This Summer.

It’s that time of year again where the kids are moaning that they’re bored. Even though the sun is shining, they have a million odd toys, computer games to play and a perfectly good television to watch. It doesn’t seem to matter because they have simply nothing to do.

So to celebrate the sighting of the sun and our broad range of Family Toppers, here’s Topperland’s list of Top Tips to keep the tykes under control.

Get Crafty

Arts and crafts can be a great way to keep the kids busy and there are so many ways to do it. Why not arrange a trip to a local crafts workshop if you’re worried about your furniture http://www.thecreationstation.co.uk are a fantastic place to start. With workshops all over the country they provide a safe and fun environment for kids to learn how to make all sorts of arts and crafts!

If you’re feeling brave then you can always look up videos on Youtube and sit and make them with the kids we’ve found this fantastic channel http://www.youtube.com/user/simplekidscrafts which has all sorts of ideas for fun crafts to do with your kids.

Get Them in the Kitchen

As we at Topperland say, you’re never too young to learn. Why not try out a few simple recipes to start and we can confirm that things have come a lot further than the old Rice Krispy cake recipes. We found http://www.greatgrubclub.com/?location_id=353 to be our favourite as not only are the recipes simple and easy to follow but the website has all sorts of educational material about healthy eating as well as fun games that teach the kids without them even knowing it!

Growing As A Family

Kids love mud this has been proven time and again so why not get them involved in doing the gardening (Way cheaper than hiring a professional). Why not try the BBC website for details of how to get them involved http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/ start small by growing Sunflowers and they’ll soon catch on.

Let’s Play!

We’ve all heard these words as a parent  http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/games4life.aspx/? Is a great website that aims to get the whole family active and exercising together. Why not pick one of these great activities or games and get the whole family involved?  Even if it’s as simple as a kick about it’ll tire your little ones out enough for you to get a moments peace!

Do you have any ideas on how to keep the little ones busy and active? Let us know what you do to keep the kids busy and while you're at it why don't you take a look at our family Toppers. They make fantastic keepsakes!

http://topperland.co.uk/gallery/family

Or why not visit us on Facebook to keep up to date with all our latest news!

 http://www.facebook.com/Topperland

Topperland's Tickling Your Tastebuds

Because Everyone loves a Friday treat…

 Here at Topperland we’re going to be bringing you the best of our skills in the kitchen every Friday afternoon so you can give it a go over the weekend.

This week to kick it all off we’ve got a real treat for you with our recipe for chocolate and ginger cheesecake!

Here’s one we made earlier!

This cake is great on hot weeks like we’ve had as it’s nice and light and more like a chocolate mousse than a heavy cheesecake. The recipe comes from :

http://themixing-bowl.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/no-baking-white-chocolate-and-ginger.html

but we tweaked it by using dark chocolate!

Ingredients for base:

• 500g gingersnap biscuits
• 1 tsp ground ginger powder
• 80g butter

Ingredients for the filling:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 250g mascarpone
• 200ml cream (cold)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

1. Crush the ginger biscuits. The finer the crumbs, the more solid your base will be.
2. Combine the ground ginger powder.
3. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat.
4. Pour the biscuit mix into the melted butter and stir.
5. Spoon into a cake tin and press down (very) firmly.
6. Melt the chocolate using a bain marie. Leave this to cool for a short while (though not too long so as to let it harden again!)
7. Fold the mascarpone into the cooled chocolate - a few tablespoonfuls at a time.
8. Whip the cream (much much easier when cold). Be careful not to over-whip or else the cream will separate.
9. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone-chocolate mixture, again including a few spoonfuls at a time.
10. Spoon over your biscuit base. Pat or drag it around slightly but do not 'squash' it down.
11. Leave the cheesecake in the fridge overnight to set.

So why not try it at home and let us know what you think of this recipe? Or maybe even send us your own recipes on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Topperland we look forward to hearing from you all!

We've been busy...

Gosh, last week we had a busy busy week at Topperland. First it was one of our team members birthdays. We celebrated with chocolate cake and Jo Malone treats for the birthday girl, Iesha, who was the grand age of 20 (not really, but we have an agreement at Topperland that we all are eternally 20 years old).

...chocolate birthday cake

Our second event was a team go-karting challenge. Our (mainly) female team members scored the 1st, 2nd and 4th fastest laps, out of a group of ten people. It certainly unleashed the competitiveness within the Topperland team! Everyone had fun and it was definitely a great way to spend Friday afternoon! With our next team member's birthday fast approaching on Wednesday, new product lines arriving and the Opening Ceremony on Friday, there's a lot going on this week in the office!

Topperlanders celebrating their go-karting victory

Get Active for the Games!

To celebrate the launch of the games and our brand new sports collection we at Topperland have been thinking of our favourite ways to keep in shape and battle the bulge, with a recent survey by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Federation suggesting that 54.2% of women want to do more sport or activity we thought we’d make it easy with these top tips!

Get Your Groove On!

With so many different types of dance out there why not try something new? Zumba is the craze that’s sweeping the nation with funky Latin music and fast paced routines it’ll leave your heart pumping and a grin on your face. Check out http://www.zumba.com/ to find a class near you.

If you’re not so confident with such a complicated routine then why not visit http://www.ceroc.org.uk/ and learn all about the exciting world of Ceroc! There are only 3 or 4 basic moves put together in a routine. It’s a great way to make new friends as you all dance the night away in pairs.

Water Baby

It’s amazing how many people forget something as simple as swimming! Did you know that just one hour of swimming will burn up to 650 calories? Why not try swimming an hour a day as not only will you be able to enjoy that afternoon KitKat completely guilt free but you’ll be in great company with our very own champion Rebecca Adlington swimming for England!

If you’re not quite up to very vigorous swimming why not try something just a bit gentler such as Water or Aqua aerobics. Great for the joins as it allows you  to exercise without putting any undue pressure on them and there’s no risk of getting hot and sweaty at all.

Power Up

It sounds very silly but a simple brisk walk every day can do wonders for your health and doesn’t have the downside of achy knees which is a common affliction of those who run very day. Why not try power walking? You may feel silly at first but try taking a friend and you’ll at least have the comfort of feeling silly together!

Alternatively you could always take up walking on weekends. If you visit http://www.walking-uk.com/nature.htm they have 57 nature walks in and around the country. Why not drag the family one day with a picnic, it’ll make a fun and memorable day out together.

Learn To Relax

It may sound like tying yourself in knots whilst breathing heavily but Topperland can confirm that Yoga is really very relaxing. There are a few basic moves to get you started that you build on in stages all whilst practicing breathing techniques. It’s great for toning up and leaves you feeling like you’re walking on air!

So let us know, what are your favourite ways to exercise? Are you a gym bunny or a couch potato and what motivates you to get active? We’ve got a fantastic range of sports Toppers coming out, why don’t you check them out and let us know what you think and if you like the look of any just remember we’ll personalise yours to suit you!

If none of these activities suit you why don’t you check out the below links for some great ideas:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/Activelifestyle.aspx


http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/games4life.aspx/


http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/treatments/healthy_living/

Feminine flowers and frills, perfectly pink cakes

We've selected some of our favourite examples of pink cakes for our blog. Beautiful, feminine elegant, yet playful, take inspiration from the gorgeous selection we've gathered below. 

www.mycakeschool.com

www.masiefantasie.com

www.maggieaustincake.com

www.karens-cakes.co.uk

                                                       www.cottonandcrumbs.co.uk

www.miss-ingredient.co.uk

www.zoeclarkcakes.com

Welcome, hello!

Welcome to our fresh, new Topperland blog. For those of you who don't know who we are, we're a Berkshire-based company who make clay figures and objects for cakes and gifts. 
The brilliant thing about our products is they last a lifetime, if treated with care! We make all our products from scratch to customers exact specifications (visit: www.topperland.co.uk for more information).


Anyway, that's enough about us for now. On this blog we'll be writing about ways for you to celebrate, food, arts, crafts and more! We're always on the lookout for talented bloggers to guest post about celebrations, baking and crafts, so please get in touch if you'd like to guest post! Just email smile@topperland.co.uk or leave a post below.