Jubilee treats......oops i mean cheats

I have a little confession to make a bit like the chapter in the book I don't know how she doe's it i too have committed the awful sin of motherhood that is cheating at the nursery cake request.

Oh yes you heard it hear first faking it as mum is my new slogan i hold my hands up and bow my head in the shame. We have all been there the over looked request from school or nursery that is found at the last moment written on a crumpled bit of paper filed neatly at the bottom of the school bag.

I find my request just after dinner last night for some homemade cakes for the cake sale today to raise funds for the nursery garden. I vaguely remember looking at the note last week and buying some jubilee cup cake cases ready for a lovely afternoon of baking (honest)!!

However at 7pm at the end of a lovely sunny day the thought of cooking in a kitchen mid renovations where a hard hat is required just to make a cup of tea did not exactly fill me with joy.


I thought about it for oh all of five seconds and decided there was nothing else for it than...... to grab my purse and nip to Tesco. Once there i battled with my self  as i linger in the baking isle looking at a bag of flour willing myself to do the right thing. Another glance at my watch and my alter ego takes over and i grab some white ready roll icing and then find myself in the ready made cake isle. I quickly grab some ready made cupcakes and rush to the till before i have time to change my mind.

Once home i add a few drops of blue colouring to a small piece of the ready roll icing and leave the rest white.

 Little E is having so much fun in the garden and i know I'm going to struggle getting him in so i fib and say do you want to come in i have some play doh. He runs in and using play doh cutters makes circles out of the white icing and hearts out of the blue. These are simply put on top of each other on top the cakes and finished off with a cherry to give us the red white and blue for the jubilee.

I think to my self oh well we have come this far may as well completely cheat and make them look home made so the final sin of motherhood is committed by removing the cake cases and replacing them with the jubilee ones i purchased with my good intentions. To finish off we pop them onto a union jack plate that we had in the cupboard from our palace picnic at the weekend.

So there you have it jubilee fakes a good make for a mum in a hurry. I do hope i can redeem myself later in the week as i still have a king costume to russel up for a disco and a royal teddy bears picnic to prepare.

I hope I'm not alone in my sinning let me know if you have ever been caught out or have any ideas for making a costume fit for a king.

Faking it as mum xx

Kids craft subscriptions direct to your door

Sometimes as a parent its really difficult to keep coming up with different ideas to entertain the children and keep them amused. When i heard about Tiny Tigs childrens craft subscriptions i thought what a fantastic idea and was really excited when i was asked to try them out and review them.

We love making things but sometimes find that a trip to the shop is needed before we even start as something is unavailable at home. The craft shop then seems to only sell things in big packs for example we needed a pair of googly eyes the other day for something little E had seen on Mr Maker i had to buy a pack of 25 to avoid a tantrum. Now we are left with 23 eyes therefore at some point in the future we will be making a one eyed monster as 23 is never going to make pairs !!!

Luckily our craft pack arrived today from Tiny Tigs and as promised it contained three complete projects with clear instructions and everything you needed to make them with the exception of glue.
The monthly packs are seasonal and our May pack was no exception and was very on trend being jubilee inspired.

The projects came very well packed and i thought it was a really nice touch that they are addressed to the child, little E recognised his name straight away and excitedly ripped it open before i even got to the door.

Every month there are three projects in the pack and the may pack contained jubilee bunting, a crown project and a vase of flowers to make.

The first of the three we had ago at was the Jubilee bunting the instructions were clear and easy to follow and the templates were a good quality print. Little E had ago at cutting out with the childrens scissors in the pack and really enjoyed the sticking and rolling but the threading was a bit too fidly for him so i helped out. Crafting is a really good way to spend some quality time with children and teach them new skills, older  children would need less  supervision  and the finished results would be neater.

We were both really pleased with our efforts and the end result looked good enough to hang up on the bookcase in our lounge.

My intention was to make just one of the packs and then put the other two away for another day so i had something on standby when inspiration was lacking and i had a bored child to amuse fast!

Little E however had other ideas he enjoyed the first pack so much he wanted to do another and as i was not keen to play the 30th game of snakes and ladders of the day i readily agreed.

We next had a go at one of the crowns (2 included) this was again a really easy to follow project with pre cut templates and lots of bits to decorate with. Little E covered the crown with glue and stuck on absolutely everything including the bits for the second crown and the spare bits. This project needed less mum involvement in fact he even told me to get off when i tried to put on a jewel myself.

I am sure having this crown is going to be a blessing in the very near future when i get a last minuite note from the nursery asking for jubilee fancy dress.Yes ........ i have been caught out before and had to burn the midnight oil for world book day when i did not notice it on the calender till late the night before and sent little E as a pirate from um um um treasure island!



The final project was a vase and flowers which allowed little E to be a bit more free style with how the vase was decorated i think this is good as it allowed him to be creative. He loves glitter and covered the whole thing in glue and then tipped over nearly a whole pot of glitter and sequins. A bunch of flowers fit to give the queen should she pass our way!

 We enjoyed a really lovely afternoon crafting and i think the packs are a really good idea if your stuck for ideas of what to do with the children. There were a few bits and bobs left over too that would spark ideas for other projects and encourage some more creativity.

There is a special offer on at the moment a six month gift pack with free painting apron and free delivery all for £39 this gift pack contains 18 craft packs in total sent out over 6 months so plenty of ideas. I recently brought little E a painting apron and this alone cost me nearly £10. It would be a great present for a grandparent or someone to give a child as its lovely for children to get something through the post every month rather than just on their birthday.

Thought of the day ............................  Children thrive on a creative mind !

Making it with the kids free rainy day activities

This week the constant rain has had me trying to think creatively of new ways to keep little E entertained in doors. Once we had exhausted all the toys we were encouraged after watching  Mr Maker to raid the recycling box and get out the craft drawers.

You know i like to get my moneys worth out of items and find new uses for things so armed with a discarded newspaper and a finished with peppa pig magazine we got busy!

We had already made good use of the peppa pig magazine little E had coloured in all the pictures practised writing his letters and read all the stories and stuck in all the stickers. I thought we had finished with it and had banished it to the recycling bin but like with any magazine the pictures can be cut out and turned into collages for children's walls.

Peppa pig craft project........

We glued together two pieces of brightly coloured  A4 paper to make the grass and the sky and cut out an oval shape in brown for the all important muddy puddle and a some yellow paper for a sunshine.
Then using children's scissors and a bit of help little E cut round the pictures he had previously coloured in and glued them to his paper.

He got a bit over enthusiastic with the glue so we got out the glitter and sequins and sprinkled them over the excess glue to finish off giving the effect of sparkly grass and sequin flowers. While the Peppa pig collage was drying and as all the craft things were out we had ago at our own interpretation of Mr Makers newspaper trees!

Newspaper craft project ...........

Taking the discarded old newspaper little E cut it up into different size strips as he is just getting used to using child scissors the pieces were all a bit wobbly and this is perfect for this particular project as i have never seen straight tree branches !!!

Next we arranged the pieces of newspaper in a tree shape on a piece of card again he was quite liberal with the glue which came out the sides of the smaller branches and formed a perfect place to sprinkle glitter that looks like sparkling leaves.

This picture turned out really lovely and next time it rains I'm going to get him making a few more as i think they will look lovely framed in our craft room when that rooms done!

Hope i have inspired you to raid the recycling and see what you can make on a rainy day if you need more convincing here is a few of my old ideas for free craft ideas my old favourite the wallpaper people and washing line art gallery.

                

Always lovely to hear from you, let me know what you have been up to to entertain the children in the April showers. If  you like me are watching the pennies and in search of savvy ideas for your home and family please feel free to follow me for more ideas xx


Thought of the day.................. It never rains but it pours so keep handy your craft drawers !

Christmas keepsakes, family traditions, baubles, odd socks and babygrows and of course presents !!

 Its officially the start of the Christmas count down and the first box on the advent calenders have been opened. I have been meaning to retrieve all E's first baby grows and baby socks  from the loft as i was going to make a family heirloom advent calender with them by cutting off the feet and numbering them. I thought this would be a lovely tradition something we could bring out every year and what else do you do with baby's first clothes if like me  you cant part with them.

I was inspired by this gorgeous sock advent calender what a fantastic use for odd socks or baby's first items.

http://www.marthastewart.com/270492/baby-sock-advent-calendar

Sadly i never made it up the loft in time so dashed to the shop for a boring choc box and have promised i will definatly make time for one of these next year.

I have however managed to redeem myself and was more organised with another Christmas tradition every year we make a numbered hand print /fingerprint pottery bauble to mark every since E's birth. Its a lovely tradition to have as first there is the enjoyment of making it together an the trip to the pottery kind of marks the start of Christmas for us.

Every year the bauble is different and unique and you can really see  your child's development and the older they get the more decoration they can do for themselves. Its lovely when the Christmas decorations come out to look back on the previous years works of art. I'm not sure how many years E will do this with me especially being a boy but I'm aiming for at least 12 so at least we have the 12 days of Christmas.I will then bribe him at 18 and 21 for a special occasion top up!!

We have a miniature real Christmas tree we brought when Elliott was new born and it seems to grow enough every year to accommodate the current years bauble addition. Its his tree to decorate as he wishes and then we finish off will his special hand print baubles. This starts the decorating in our house and starts building the excitement for little E the main tree and decorations will go up in about a week.

When we went back to collect our bauble we made a couple of inexpensive but priceless presents a hand print vase for nanny and some fingerprint cuff links for daddy that are subtly done so he will actually wear them! If your stuck for Christmas ideas personal presents like these are a great idea. We went to Daisy roots pottery in Witney Oxford to make our items if your local i highly recommend them. There are many places like this across the country and if there is not one near you there is a gap in the market for you if your an entrepreneurial mum!

A lovely personal present for Daddy for only £10

Feel free to link up and share what your Christmas traditions are and any items you have made with your children for Christmas.

Thought of the day........................................Children grow bigger everyday cherish every moment.

Upcycling wallpaper roll ends for childrens craft projects

Meet the upcycled wallpaper people !!!

  A really simple fun children's craft project using  wallpaper roll ends, magazines buttons all things we keep thinking they may come in handy someday. Well my someday came today when faced with a toddler who was needing entertaining and fast!

The back of wall paper is great if you need large pieces of sturdy paper as i did for this project and is a great way of saving money  and upcycling.

Then all you need to do is using a crayon draw round your little one in various funny poses. While your cutting round the outline get them tearing up various wallpaper roll ends and old magazines. E loved this as for once was getting praise for ripping things to shreds and making a mess.


We then used children's scissors and craft glue to make clothing for our new friends. My button box was raided for eyes but E loved the buttons so much most friends have eyes in their knees top of their heads and all sorts.

 I often wish i had eyes in the back of my head and ten more pairs of hands but that's a whole different story.


 The upcycled wallpaper friends are now life size people walking up our stairs and brought a smile to our faces, and the strangest look from the postman when he dropped off a parcel.

Free children's craft project a great way to recycle those i will keep it just in case items.

Another use for wallpaper roll ends is pass the parcel wrapping paper as i found while party planning continued and i realised i had forgotten to stock up on gift wrap. Well there can only so many brain cells remaining after childbirth and so much multitasking a  women can do !!
                                                

Thought of the day.................  Re purposing items is so much fun and saves the day in party planning!!


  

Ben and Holly's Little kingdom, Gaston birthday cake and little kingdom cupcakes

My little Elliott turns 3 this weekend and loves  Ben and Holly's little kingdom, he wanted a Ben and Holly party to celebrate with his friends.  I put on my thinking cap  and we had a fun afternoon designing and making cakes.

 We finally agreed on a Gaston the ladybird birthday cake surrounded by  Elf and fairy cakes.  Although baking is not my usual type of creativity here's how we got on..........

 Once again  my trusty multi purpose shower curtain got an outing, this time as a table cloth to make clean up a bit easier ! E loved helping out and being involved in his party preparations, first of all we made cupcakes for the fairy's and elves. While the cup cakes were cooking we set to work on making Gaston the ladybird.

How to make Gaston.......

         We used two oval baking trays and filled with basic sponge cake mixture to make an oval ladybird shape.

          Once the cakes had cooled  we made butter icing and jam filling and put the two cakes together one on top the other.

          Using pre packed  red icing Elliott rolled out enough icing to cover the whole cake. I then put the icing on the cake and trimmed off  the excess leaving an uncovered area of cake for Gaston's head.

 

      

E then helped to roll out the black icing for Gastons head which joined next to the red icing to cove the whole cake. I covered the join and neatened up the edges using strips of rolled icing. Every ladybird needs spots so using a play doh cutter we cut out circles of black icing and dotted them all over and gently used the rolloing pin over the whole cake the smooth out the joins.

 Gastons face was made using 2 small balls of icing with white chocolate buttons inside for the eyes and a little red icing for his mouth and cheeks and licorice for his antennas.

     We then decorated the cupcakes using ricepaper cake toppers of all the Ben and hollys little kingdom charactors and put them round the edge of gaston.

   There were 2 fairy cakes that would not fit on the board so we did a little bit of quality control tasting and were really pleased with our efforts.

I love to hear from you, comments make my day so feel free to link up below with your comments and ideas.xx

   Thought of the day.............   Try something new everyday you may suprise yourself !

   

  

Free fun outside in the sun

I'm a real fan of finding new uses for items and finding new things to do with the children. So this was a great afternoon as it checked all those boxes and a bonus of  enjoying the last few rays of summer at the same time.

Toddler painting in doors usually results in a weeks worth of clearing up and  walls being re painted usually brown my little ones favorite mix it all up colour!

 So it was great to get out doors and create some really big messy art.  I however am quite fond of my decking remaining brown so we brought out the trusty old shower curtain as a large painting mat. Keeping in the re purposing theme we used left over wall paper as big sheets of paper.

Stones to holding the paper down also got painted s so i ended up with a lovely little paper weight as an added bonus.

Being outside E could be really free and messy, we did a large tree and he finger painted leaves. I helped him with masking tape to make a star he painted all over and then we peeled away to make a flag. We did splash paint,  potatoe printing and then finally foot printing .

We had a lovely afternoon

Easy clean up free craft fun, yes really!!

Washing line art gallery looked so pretty.

We let the pictures dry while E enjoyed a nice bath and the trusty shower curtain had a spin in the washing machine ready for its next non shower related use.

A lovely afternoon spending quality time with my little one  and spending no money doing something different.

Thought of the day .............The best things in life really are free.