Hi, I’m Jo, a working mum, daughter, partner and lifelong resident from beautiful Derbyshire. At 56, I still find joy in the same things that delighted me as a child – baking, drawing, and learning new crafts – and I’m passionate about passing that creativity on to the next generation.

This book was inspired by my daughter, now 27, who grew up with flour on her nose and a wooden spoon in her hand. She’s still an avid baker today and (much to my delight) never sticks rigidly to a recipe – a habit born from my belief that children should trust their instincts, experiment, and ask, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ In our kitchen, mistakes were part of the adventure – and if anything ever went disastrously wrong, our two sausage dogs were always on standby to eagerly ‘help’ clear up the evidence!

Our kitchen was never quiet for long – always alive with laughter, chatter, and the wonderful chaos of my daughter and her friends joining in with whatever creative adventure was unfolding that day. I have created this book to bring together all the things they loved growing up – baking, colouring, crafting, jokes, fun facts, and puzzles – into one special place. My hope is that it inspires children to roll up their sleeves, make a mess, and create their own well-loved, buttercream-splattered companion: a space to bake, colour, craft, and make entirely their own.