The diary of a Competitive Mum

Kids Car Sick Kit

2011-11-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

Yuk I know but essential for any parent with a child who suffers from travel sickness. The Missy can't go two streets without feeling sick and will almost certainly be sick on long journeys. With Christmas fast approaching I was dreading the travelling around we will have to do and that's when I came up with this. Simple to make and easy to clean and keep stocked.

What you need:

Small bucket. (I used a paint mixing bucket)
Nappy sacks.
Wet Wipes.
Tissues
Baby towel or muslin

All you have to do is line the bucket with 2 nappy sacks and put a tissue or piece of kitchen towel at the bottom. Fill the bucket with extra nappy sacks, wet wipes, tissues etc. Decorating is of course not essential but a little bit of coloured tape goes a long way when you think this kit will be in the footwell of your car for a long time to come. I used neon tape so I can get to it quickly while driving in the dark!

CM xxx

Halloween Invites. Rubber stamping all the way!

2011-10-06T04:17:00.000-07:00

My favourite time of year is here. However nice the Indian summer we have just experienced was, I have to be honest I love the Autumn. With falling leaves and conkers abound The Missy and I went to school this morning discussing our forthcoming Halloween party. I promised her I'd make the invitations today and bring them with me when I collect her. Why I promise these things when I have a ton of emails to get through and a house to clean I don't know, but I do. Ignoring the ironing here I am with rubber stamps and orange card, glue and glitter, trying to get creative. If like me you can't draw then rubber stamping is the way forward. For little expense and years of use you can arm yourself with stamps for any occasion and create quite simply great invitations, cards and gift tags.

If your hand writing is equally as bad as mine, get yourself some invitation stamps and I promise you will never tire of them.

Not forgetting the all important sparkle use Stickles glitter glue. Easy to use, non messy and super speedy drying time.

Finally, store everything in a cool cigar box (my current obsession)for next year.

Now I just need to work out how to make a ghostly bride costume. Since the Royal wedding The Missy's main ambition in life is to be a bride. I curse Kate Middleton!

CM X

TERRARIUM HEAVEN

2011-03-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

The 70's are back! After watching Gardeners World on Friday my green fingers started twitching. Too much rain on Sunday meant that indoor gardening was the only option so Missy and I went in search of everything needed for a terrarium. This was not as easy as it sounds, because it appears not everyone realises that the indoor garden scene is on the ascendency, thankfully the N1 Garden Centre does.

One large green jar, a couple of succulents and cactus, gravel, moss and compost and hey presto terrarium heaven.

Next weekend we are on the look out for air plants!

CM x

2011-02-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Where have I been?

Well I would love to say I've travelled the world, written a book and generally ticked every box I have in my head, but sadly I haven't, I've just been being a mum. The Missy will be 3 in April and I have to say the last four months have been the best with her. She chatters away in a very bossy fashion (don't know where that comes from) and generally makes me smile by doing things like this!

Currently she believes she is The Fat Controller and therefore a day out at Thomas Land for 2 year old friend Edie's birthday was very appropriate. Although Thomas took a very slow chug up the track and back again and not a lot else happened, the kids loved it. Missy told Thomas stories all the way home and the following morning borrowed a map from Daddy and set her trains on a journey.

How sweet is that! Next week we are off to London Zoo to see the baby gorilla amongst other furry friends and I am so looking forward to see how she is with the animals now she's a bit older.

On the craft front I am knitting a jumper for myself - big mistake as its taking forever and I'm not even sure how good it'll look. Also halfway through making a quilt and decorating my bedroom. Never one to have nothing to do, I'll let you know how I get on.

Happy to be back.

CM x

2010-10-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

May the force be with you!

With Halloween fast approaching I had to post this photo I found of the most fantastic costumes I've ever seen. I seriously need to think of a reason to have a Star Wars party.

CM x

2010-10-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

PRECIOUS PUMPKIN

Having tried in vain to make a pumpkin costume out of a pillow case recommended by the guru of craft Martha Stewart, which didn't work due to the instructions being hopeless (not such a guru after all) I was delighted when I made this one all by myself.

All I used was 2 meters of orange fabric, quilt batting, brown felt and some crepe paper. In a few hours I had made this costume which is so comfortable The Missy actually wants to wear it, unlike any other costume I've ever made her. I won't go into detail as to how I made it but if you want instructions email me or leave a comment and I'll be happy to send you a simple step by step guide.

Now I must remember to invite her friends to our Halloween party.

CM x

2010-10-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Priceless Pinafore's

OK, so gone is our child benefit AKA cappuccino fund and according to every newspaper, TV and human being I speak to, there are dark days ahead. Now this has come at a very inconvenient time as I have been planning the winter wardrobe of my 2 year old for months and lets just say Bonpoint featured heavily. Billion pound deficits are all very well but The Missy starts nursery in 4 weeks and she needs liberty print pinafore dresses to make a good impression and besides she will look adorable in them. Not to be defeated I set about making them.

Made from a pattern in my favourite book 'Making Children's Clothes' by Emma Hardy the dresses are fully lined and so simple to make.

I used my bargain Liberty style fabric (not sure if its off the back of a lorry or a copy but frankly who cares) bought from Shepherd's Bush market, some as cheap as £2 a mt and all the buttons came from a huge bag I bought from my favourite stall in Columbia Road for £4 - not second hand but vintage you understand!

One day and £20 later she has 5 unique pinafore dresses to start nursery with.

A good days work! CM x

2010-09-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

COOL & CREEPY

As it's nearly Halloween and I can't blog about any craft projects because they're all half finished, check out this cool spider and his prey. Being born and bred in the city I don't generally do outdoors and the closest I get to greenery is the vertical garden at Anthropolgie...

but our spider is cool.

Missy and I have named him Reg and we only hope he can survive the conkers falling all around him. I wonder if we should get him umbrella?

CM x

2010-09-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

A bouquet of sharpened pencils

It's official, the summer is over and my favourite season Autumn is here. There's a chill in the air, the days are getting shorter and women at my local park are wearing Crocs with socks. Although I'm not sure anyone is reading this blog I am pleading with the Crocs wearing population to put them away for the winter, It's not acceptable to wear them with socks. I don't understand wearing them at all but with socks, why would you?

Now I've got that off my chest, look at The Missy's new dressing gown. Made from Michael Miller 'Tweet' fabric I used the pattern in one of my favourite books 'Making Children's Clothes' by Emma Hardy.

Finding the brushed cotton lining in 100% cotton was no easy task but the Cloth House came to the rescue at £6 a meter. I am now searching for anything else I can make that requires brushed cotton - any suggestions greatly appreciated.

CM x

2010-09-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Fight the Fear!

Today for the first time ever I sold something I made to someone I didn't know from a stall in East London. I have wanted to do this for sometime but have been so terrified that I kept putting it off. It's not that I don't believe in the things I make but there is always a chance someone won't like them and then I defy anyone not to be upset. I decided to start with my Lavender bags which I made far to many of from Lavender I harvested when I was trying to be Felicity Kendal from The Good Life.

Thankfully my mother-in-law bought the first 2 and from then on in it was non stop sales for 2 hours until I sold out. I was selling for the children of Pakistan charity and happily raised £90. Obviously I am sending out a big thank you to anyone who bought one and anyone who didn't its not too late as I can always make more which can be ordered through Folksy.

CM x

2010-09-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Capes & Crowns

Every girl needs to be Queen for the day and my Missy is no exception. I have so many sewing projects on the go at the moment and so many more going on in my head that today required a little light relief.

A quick rummage in the craft cupboard uncovered this little pile of goodies and in less than half an hour a cape and crown were adorning HRH Missy (which is about how long she kept it on for!)

Hope your all having fun in the late summer sun. CM x

2010-09-01T04:05:00.000-07:00

Lavender of London

Apparently lavender deters moths and in a bid to save my best cashmere from being the dinner of said pests I decided to make my own lavender bags with my home grown lavender.

After cutting 12 bundles of flowers from my front garden I dried them painstakingly in the oven until I had a house that smelt like Penhaligons and a gorgeous bowlful of loveliness.

Now of course I have an excess as I can never make just one of anything, so I have decided to sell them at my Folksy shop for Pakistan's flood victims.

Thanks for reading, CM x

2010-08-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

BIG BED TIME

This bank holiday weekend has been emotional. My gorgeous little Missy moved from her crib to a big bed. Finally I found the courage to buy an extension kit for the Stokke junior bed. Courage was needed as after 2 year behind bars my little one will relish the freedom and be popping in out all night long for sure.

To accommodate the big bed meant a room reshuffle which I really enjoyed. Through a combination of charity shop finds and eBay we put together a little girls personal space which she loves.

Now I just need to encourage her to go to sleep in it! CMx

The Sketchbook Project

2010-08-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

BROOKLYN ART LIBRARY

I recently read at one of my favourite blogs Geninne's Art Blog about The Sketchbook project 2011.

For $25 you get this 5.5 x 8.5 moleskin sketchbook with its own unique bar code. You have until January to fill it with more or less whatever you like and then send it back to the Brooklyn Art Library where it will be available for anyone to view.

Whilst I am no Picasso I thought this such a brilliant idea and possibly a way to help me focus on one project.

There are about 25 themes to choose from and mine as you can see is 'If you lived here...' - be prepared for lots of Cool Britania!

CM x

2010-08-19T03:40:00.000-07:00

Liberty print Toddler dress

Liberty 'Millie' Tana Lawn

Where there's a will there's a way
Today is my God Daughters birthday. Yesterday morning I decided to make her a dress for a present. I took myself off to Liberty (my favourite store of all time) and spent too much money on fabric and trimmings. Yesterday afternoon my sewing machine broke!!! Not knowing anyone locally who sews I seriously considered hand sewing until I remembered 'The Make Lounge'. 'The Make Lounge' is a wonderful craft store on Barnsbury Street in Islington that offers fabulous fabrics and workshops in just about everything, they also offer 'Open Studio Time' at £7 an hour which provides everything you need to start and finish your sewing project. In truth they saved the day.

Liberty 'Millie' Tana Lawn print

I ran in there with my bundle of fabric at 2.30pm and left at 4.00pm with this pretty dress. Running out of cotton was no problem as the shop had everything I could possibly have needed. The delightful owner, Jennifer will even make you a cup of tea.

I am now looking to buy a new sewing machine, but if that takes a little while I now at least know where to go.

CM x

2010-08-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

MONOGRAMMED BEACH BAG

Missy and I are holidaying with her cousins Scarlett and Tallulah who are 3 and 5 and I wanted to make them all the same beach bags, which they could also use, on the plane. To make the travel easier on them all I have stuffed each bag full of goodies that hopefully will keep them occupied!

Make time 30 mins

Level Medium

Great for Kids bags for any occasions

What you need:

36” x 20”of cotton fabric

1 meter cord

Co-ordinating cotton

Glitter fabric paint

Gem setter – optional

How to:

1. Lay your fabric out wrong side up and fold over ¼” hem on each long side and press with hot iron.

2. Stitch along the seams you’ve just pressed.

3. Now ¼” fold the top and bottom and press.

4. At the top fold again this time 1” and sew as close to the edge as you can. This is the channel where the drawstring will run through.

5. Fold the whole piece of fabric in half with the right sides together and press lightly.

6. Sew along each side from just below the cord channel to the bottom of the bag.

7. Turn the bag right side out and gently push the corners out.

8. Attach a safety pin to one end of the cord and thread it through the channel at the top of the bag. When it’s completely through remove the safety pins and ties the cord ends together.

9. For the monogram simply draw with pencil the letters you require and carefully paint them with glitter fabric paint. I then used my Gem setter to add an extra bit of sparkle!

CM x

DIY tutorial for fabric painted t-shirts with necklace design

2010-07-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

Necklace T-shirt with gems!

How cute are these! With the weather hotting up again these are perfect for the little ones to stay chic in the heat.

MAKE TIME: 2 hours + drying time

LEVEL: Medium

GREAT FOR: Stylish girls

WHAT YOU NEED:

Plain cotton t-shirt

Fabric paint

Swarovski flat back crystals - hotfix or self adhesive

15cm square scrap of co-ordinating fabric

Button

Needle & thread

HOW TO:

Fold the t-shirt in half length wise and iron a crease so you can see where the centre of the shirt is.
Next place a piece of paper in between the front and back of the shirt to avoid any of the paint bleeding through onto the back of the shirt.
Using either the fabric paint applicator, a paint brush, or a pencil end, paint the beads in rows around the neck edge, you might find it useful to use a pin head for the tiny beads. Continue until you have desired amount of necklaces and leave to dry.
For 3D fabric paint puff up according to the instructions but make sure the paint is totally dry.
If you have a Hotfix Applicator for gem setting you can add a little sparkle to the bigger beads if not you can use self adhesive gems but they won't wash as well.
To make the corsage you need to cut a circle of fabric between 10 & 15 cm in diameter depending on the size of the shirt - it's useful to use a saucer or small plate to draw around. Fold over 0.5 cm to the wrong side of the fabric and press. Using a running stitch sew along the folded edge all the way around and then gather the fabric into a rosette by pulling the thread tightly and secure with a few small stitches. Sew a button in the middle or another smaller rosette. Add a brooch pin to the back for easy removal of the corsage before washing.

And there you have it, a totally adorable t-shirt.

CM X

2010-07-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

PERFECT DAY

Wow what a beautiful summer. Way to hot to get crafty this week so Missy and I have been out and about enjoying the sunshine. Wandering through the parks of London we have noticed some beautiful flowers and trees. Knowing they wouldn't last the journey home we decided to photograph them wherever we found them and these are the results.

OK so now it's chucking it down - what happened to summer? I wrote this post two days ago and forgot to publish it - my next post might be building an ark at this rate.

CM x

AMY BUTLER SCRAPBOOK ALBUM

2010-06-30T04:07:00.000-07:00

SCRAPBOOK BIRTHDAY ALBUM

I'm delighted to say that I've finally finished Missy's birthday photo album. Last year's album was a bit of a mish mash so this year I decided to be more selective with the photos and more creative with the album. Good idea in theory bad idea in practice as it's taken me 2 months to complete it!

I do however totally love the Amy Butler album and all the scrapbook paper I used within it, which I got from Calico Crafts.

I of course included photos of all her guests but I also put in a couple showing the location and the theme so in the future she can get a feel for how special the day was and how much effort her competitive mum put in!

CM x

Homemade Spinning card

2010-06-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Celebrate with Spin

Missy gave her Daddy BBQ sauce and a cute spinning card for Father's day. A truly combined effort as she chose the photo and I kept firm hold of the craft knife!

Make time: 1 hour

Level: medium

Great for: birthday cards

What you need:

Coloured card 24cm x 16cm

Photo 5 x 5cm

String or cord

PVA glue

Ruler

Craft Knife

Pencil

Paper clip

How to:

Using a ruler divide the coloured card 24cm edge by 3, marking each 8 cm point with a pencil.
Using your ruler or a bone folder fold the card at each 8cm point
Fold the left panel over the middle panel & secure with a paper clip. These two panels together form the front of the card.
Using the pencil and ruler mark a 6cm square on the front of the card.
Using a craft knife carefully cut out the square through both layers of card.
Take one piece of the cut out square card and cut it into a 5 square.
Take your photo and cut it into a 5 cm square.
Next take your cord or string and cut a 12cm length, now glue the string between the photo and the 5cm piece of card.
Remove the paper clip on the main card and slip the stringed photo in the fold of the middle flap, positioning the photo in the middle of the hole. Glue the string to the middle flap.
Finally glue the left panel to the middle panel.

Have fun!

CM x

PRINCESS PARTY CUPCAKES

2010-06-15T03:43:00.000-07:00

'PRINCESS PARTY'

Missy and I went to a fabulous party in the park on Sunday to celebrate the 3rd birthday of her friend Rose. Rose's mum and I were at school together and I do love the fact our children are now friends. I offered to make some cakes as they always seem to go down well and I have to say I was delighted with the results.

I used the white crumb recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking which although it seems like you use a lot of egg whites it's totally worth it. I then went slightly crazy in my local cake decorating shop 'Party Party' which honestly is not the prettiest of shops in an area which until I walked north of my house I never knew was there and thankfully so as it's not the prettiest of areas! All that being said though I cannot fault the shop, it's amazing. They sell everything you ever needed and everything you didn't realise you needed until you got there. From sprinkles, to edible glitter, piping tubes to rice paper roses there was certainly something for every occasion.

Then to complete a lovely weekend my clever husband found these gorgeous vintage china nursery plates at our church jumble sale for 20p each! I am so delighted with them and I am convinced they make the cakes taste better.

CM X

BIRTHDAY CARD KIT

2010-06-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

HOMEMADE BIRTHDAY CARD KIT

I love to make things and hate to waste money on anything that will invariably end up in the bin. I'm sure you, as I do, give cards for most occasions but do you ever wonder what happens to them once the party is over? I recently had a birthday and received 25 cards. I estimated each card was £2 giving a combined total of £50, which was sitting on my sideboard for a mere week or two before hitting the recycling bin. With this in mind I started to tot up how many cards I sent and the annual cost - the numbers horrified me. This simple math has led me to the conclusion that making them is the only solution.

I thought it would be best to create a kit. A box or tin where I would put everything I needed to make a card in one place therefore making last minute creations easy.

What you need:

10 x multicoloured blank cards & envelopes. (available at Hobbycraft & Paperchase)

Alphabet set from Cavallini & Co.

Paper glue

Scissors

Patterned paper (available from any scrapbooking shop)

How to:

Making cards can be as easy or complicated as you wish. I chose a simple balloon theme for the ones in the photo above and cut them out of different patterned paper. Then using foam stickers I attached them to the card inserting the cord behind them. Finally stamping the recipients name using the alphabet stamps added a personal touch.

Last Christmas I used different fonts to create the word 'Noel" and cut the scrapbooking paper into squares to stamp on. Using different coloured inks is always a good way of giving your cards an individual style along with glitter glue and other scrapbooking embellishments.

CM X

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2010

2010-06-02T03:36:00.000-07:00

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

Last week I took an afternoon out to visit the wonderful Chelsea Flower show. I was lucky enough to go on a warm but not too sunny day and saw some truly inspiring gardens. This wall made of moss was from designer Kazuyuki Ishihara's garden.

The use of water, and textured plants I loved and although it was mainly green the variations of green were amazing.

My favourite garden was the one above - 'The Pine & Conifer Enthusiast' designed by Graham Bodle for Walkers Nurseries.

My photos don't do this garden justice as the colours were so vibrant and the potting shed with its water butt were enchanting.

For more photos go to my newly created Flickr page!

CM X

Homemade Toddler's dress

2010-05-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

PRETTY IN PINK

Hurrah I've discovered the art of dress making and it's really not that complicated. Don't misunderstand me I don't think Kate Middleton will be calling anytime soon for me to make her wedding dress but for everyday kids clothes Competitive Mum is winning. I bought a book 'Making Children's Clothes' by Emma Hardy and have made almost everything in it, making it incredible value for money.

This particular dress only needed 1/2 meter of fabric and 1/2 meter of lining, plus 2 meters of ribbon all costing the grand total of £8. It took only 3 hours from start to finish and I can't express how satisfying it is whenever she wears it.

A must for any Competitive Mum!

CM X

Home made Ladybird costume

2010-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

EVERYONE LOVES A LADYBUG!

The Missy went to her first fancy dress party on Saturday and as a CM I found this totally thrilling. OK well not thrilling exactly but it was a good excuse to go fabric shoppping as there was no way I was having my little girl turn up in a highly flamable Disney store dress which everyone else would be wearing! As she is only 2 and I only had a weeks notice a ladybird seemed a quick and comfortable solution. I did ask The Missy what she would like to go as and she replied a Coco Pop! Mmm not sure she fully understood the question.

Make Time: 3 hours

Difficulty level: Medium (easier with a glass of wine nearby!)

Cost: £15 maximum

Great for: Fancy dress parties.

What you need:

3 meters of red net or tulle - 2 - 5 years size

4 meters of red net or tulle - 5 - 10 years size

1.5 meters of black satin ribbon - 4cm wide

1/2 meter of black craft felt

Red t-shirt (long or short sleeve)

Red Cardigan (optional)

Black leggins or tights

Black sox

Black shoes

fabric glue

2 x black craft pom poms

2 x black hair elastics

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

How to:

Measure the childs waist. Now add 100cm to the waist measurement and cut the ribbon.
Tie a knot in the ribbon at 50cm from each end.
Cut your red tulle or net into meter lengths.
Flaten out each meter of tulle and roll up into a long tube.
Once rolled cut the ends to make a straight edge.
Then measure along 7 cm and cut. Repeat until you come to the end of the roll.
Repeat this with every meter of tulle so you end up with lots of strips.
Now depending on the length you want the skirt you may want to cut the strips in half at this point.
To attach the tulle/net to the ribbon you need to fold each strip in half and loop it onto the ribbon between the knots. I have drawn a terrible diagram as this is impossible to describe!
start at one knot and work across until you reach the other knot. If you want a seriously flouncy skirt then loop the tulle/net tightly and so you can attach the maximum amount.
Next cut out 70 circles 3cm in diamter from the black craft felt. I used a napkin ring as a template and maked the circles with a pencil. I then poured a glass of wine and paitently cut out all the circles!
When you have all you circles cut out glue them onto the skirt, t-shirt and cardigan.
Finally glue or sew the pom poms onto the hair elastics for little antennae.

Cheap Tricks:

I bought the t-shirt & cardigan from Asda for £6 and the black shoes from Sainsburys for £1.50! I already had a pair of black leggins and sox so including the tulle and ribbon the whole outfit only cost £12.50!

Note:

This costume can easily be made for a bumble bee by making the skirt with black and yellow tulle/net and gluing black strips of felt onto a yellow t-shirt.

Bye for now.

CM X

Free Happy Birthday Party Banner templates

2010-04-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAIL!

Party banners are so easy to make and carry a theme perfectly through any event. I came across this gorgeous Amy Butler patterned paper which I used throughout my Missy's birthday party, from the invitations to the party bags and everywhere in between. This banner was created using plain pink card and printing the letters from an alphabet found at Martha Stewart. I then used the patterned paper as spacers and strung the letters on pink satin ribbon.

For the exterior banner I used A4 coloured card to make sure there was no doubt where the party was. I then chose a different font and colour for each letter and also alternated between upper and lower case. To make sure the letters fit you need to go up to about 600pt on the computer font size. I then used selloptape to attach the card to coloured string and hung it over the porch. So easy and really effective I urge you all to make one for your next party!

Be back soon.

CM x

Quilters Organiser

2010-04-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

Quilters Organiser

Quick post today to share with you this super splendid organiser I have just made to assist in my new obsession - quilting! Having visited the V&A exhibition of quilts from 1700 - 2010, I am now desperate to make one myself. Not knowing where to start I went to Liberty of London where they were also exhibiting patchwork and applique quilts and decided I needed some sort of organiser to keep all my ideas & fabric swatches together along with needles and pins.

Made from wool felt I chose a simple pattern from Dandelion Designs and customised it to my needs.

I always find my scissors mysteriously disappear so having a pouch for them seemed an ideal solution and a place to keep the all important tape measure was essential. I also finally found a use for my hoard of single vintage buttons.

Finally I found this great woven label at Beyond Fabrics my local haberdashery store which I think finished it off perfectly.

Now I just need to try making a quilt!

CM XXX

How to make Easter bunny ears - free

2010-04-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sweet Pea & Missy do Easter!

Now I know Easter has been and gone but these looked so great on The Missy and her beloved Sweet Pea that I thought I'd share them so you can file away the 'How to' for next year.

Difficult level Easy

Cost £1.50

Good for Easter fun

Make time 30 minutes

What you need:-

1 x sheet of A3 white card

1 x piece of A4 pink felt

Scissors

PVA glue

How to:-

Measure your child's head circumference. Add 4cm to this measurement and cut a band from the white card about 5 cm wide and to this length.
Cut 2 long oval shapes out of the white card for the ears in proportion to the head they are going on.
Now cut 2 slightly smaller oval shapes from the pink felt and glue onto the white card ovals. You should now have a pair of ears.
Glue the ears to the band of white card and wait until completely dry.
Finally glue the band together 4 cm in on one end.
Repeat all of the above for the doll and you'll have a hoppy pair!

CM xxx

EASTER EGG HUNT

2010-03-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

HIP HOP HOORAY EASTERS ON ITS WAY!

Now it doesn’t take Einstein to work out what an Easter egg hunt is and how to organize one. However I’ve always found them a little bit of an anticlimax. Firstly, you can never rely on the weather so outside hunts are a washout half the time, secondly if you have a number of children of different ages it's inevitable that the older ones find all the eggs and the little ones are left seriously dissapointed. To overcome this pitfall I have devised a weather proof equal opportunities egg hunt. Cut out the wellies and tears and make it easy on yourself.

The idea of this hunt is that all the eggs are hidden inside the house and the children solve the clues and search together as a group. At each hiding place they find a mini egg each and the next clue. At the final hiding place you can leave their main egg name tagged as their big prize.

WHAT YOU NEED

Collecting basket or bucket.

Postcard size card for clues

Felt tip pen

Mini eggs (quantity depending of number of children)

HOW TO DO

You need to prepare this at least the day before as thinking of the clues and writing them out does take a little time. Choose between 8 and 12 places to hide the eggs and clues to go with them.

For example:

Kitchen – fridge & washing machine

Bathroom – bath

Bedroom – wardrobe & under bed

Sitting room – toy box & DVD cupboard

Hallway – coat pockets

Write a series of clues based on the hiding place remembering that the clues are for kids so don’t make them too difficult. For instance if one of your hiding places is the bath write something like ‘You come here daily to wash the dirt away, with your rubber ducky, you always love to play’. You can then hide the one egg per child in the bath and rest the next clue on the rubber duck.

Continue with the clues all round the house until the final hiding place, which I would suggest is the kitchen where you’ll no doubt be!

Happy Easter!

CM X

2010-03-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

ONE WEEK PARTY PLANNER

'DAY TWO'

Day 2

Order on-line grocery delivery for Friday.
Order cake if not making it.
Decide on decorations, party bags & games.

As you can see from my menu I have decided to make my cake as any Competitive Mum you should. Below you'll find the grocery list of all you require from the supermarket. For the decorations, party bags and games I am going for simple and traditional.

BLUE FLOWERS FOR THE TABLE

PINK, PURPLE & BLUE HELIUM BALLOONS

Grocery list

Honey

Soy sauce

2 bulbs of garlic

fresh ginger root

8 chicken thighs

4 chicken breasts with skin

olive oil

1 large onion

cumin

nutmeg

coriander

4 cups jasmine rice

Snow peas

1 Carrot

parsley

1 bag mixed leaf salad

1 punnet cherry tomatoes

Cheddar cheese

Brie

Cucumber

Veggie sausages

Mini pizzas

1 Lurpak unsalted

1kg caster sugar

6 medium free range eggs

Self raising flour

Coconut milk

Vanilla extract

300 ml sour cream

1 pint full fat milk

3 x packs flaked coconut

cream of tartar

Cocktail sticks

Napkins

Juice

Water

Party bags coming soon!

CM X

PLAN A PARTY IN A WEEK.

2010-03-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

LAST MINUTE BIRTHDAY PARTY

My poor blog has been neglected of late but a last minute birthday party is just what I needed to get my competitive skills going again. This time it's a bit of healthy sibling rivalry as it's my sisters birthday on Sunday and I thought I would throw her a little party. With very little time I've devised this 'One Week Party Planner' to make it as easy as 1, 2, 3 or Hip Hip Hooray!

'One Week Party Planner'
Day 1

Guest List
Call or email invites.
Decide on menu & cake

Day 2

Order on-line grocery delivery for Friday.
Order cake if not making it.
Decide on decorations, party bags & games.

Day 3

Purchase supplies for decorations, party bags and games.

Day 4

Put together party bags and any games.
Tidy and clean room where party is being held.

Day 5

Put up decorations.
Clean and organise plates, platters, cutlery and glasses.

Day 6

Make or collect pre-ordered cake
Prepare as much food as possible
Collect flowers, games & balloons.

Day 7

Layout all food and cover with cling-film.
Chill drinks in the fridge
Party!

Now you have a clear idea of what needs doing it's time to get on with it. To keep things manageable I would always recommend a menu that you've had some experience off, either you've made some of the dishes before or bought and enjoyed them from the store. If you've never thrown a party try and think of some you've been to and what you liked and didn't like about the food. If all else fails just copy my menu as I promise it will be scrumptious!

Menu

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Jasmine rice salad with snap peas

Mixed leaf salad

Cheese board & crackers

Coconut Birthday Cake

Kids Menu

Crocodile Cucumber

Mini sausages on sticks

Mini pizza

Marshmallow lolly's

So, there you have it for day one. I have a guest list of family and friends who have been called or emailed and a menu of easy tried and tested recipes and ready made food. Sign up and see how day 2 of 'one week party planner goes.

Bye for now

CM x

Homemade Hearts

2010-02-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

HOMEMADE HEARTS

For all you Competitive Mums out there with reputations to keep but little time and even less energy, here is a quick, credit crunching Homemade token of love. Here are the two I have made - one for Competitive Dad and the other for my one and only Missy!

Difficulty level As complicated as you want to make it!
Cost £3 each
Great for anyone you love
Make time 30 minutes

What you need:

Pretty paper. Scrapbook paper or wrapping paper.
Single hole punch
scrap ribbon
scrap pattern paper
3D foam pads
heart cookie cutter (optional)
silver pen
chocolate hearts

How to:

Using the heart cookie cutter as a template draw & cutout two hearts on pattened paper.
Stick the two hearts together using the 3D foam pads. These can be placed approximatley 1cm apart and 1 cm in from the edge, remembering to leave the top open for your sweets.
Once your hearts are together, use the single hole punch to create a pattern around the edge. You can buy border hole punches for more intricate patterns and my favourites are from Martha Stewart.
Next you need to punch two holes in the back heart to thread your ribbon through.
Using any scrap patterned paper you have cut out hearts or butterflies to embelish your pockets. I also cut little squares and wrote personal messages which I stuck on the front with 3D foam pads.
Finally fill with yummy heart shaped chocolates or red & white jelly beans.

Happy Valentines!

CM X

Homemade Scrapbook Heaven

2010-02-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Scrapbook Heaven

Nostalgically I have rediscovered scrapbooks. As a kid my mum would buy me a scrapbook at the beginning of each summer holiday and I would dutifully fill it with all sorts of nonsense collected from our days out. Pictures, postcards, museum tickets and pressed flowers would all be carefully stuck on rough blue pages and written in my best handwriting where they came from. Recently my mum revealed she still had a couple of my masterpieces and it made me think, in this digital age will there be any such thing in my memory box, 30 years from now.

With Grandpa's birthday approaching Missy and I thought we would dig out some cardstock from the craft cupboard and give him something with a personal touch to keep in his memory box. Wanting to move the whole thing on a bit from my youth I did a little research on the world wide web to discover that scrapbooking is huge in America and no longer consists of A4 size books with dull coloured paper held together with lethally sharp staples. Now it's all double sided beautifully patterned paper and specialised software that enables you to combine pictures and graphics with ease. I used Smilebox software which was inexpensive and so easy to use and I also found a great on-line shop Charmed Cards & Crafts based in the UK and selling all the best America has to offer.

Difficulty level medium basic computer skills
Cost £30 for Software + £10 for card & printing
Great for Gifts for everyone from Grandparents to newborns
Make time 3 hours

What you need:

5 x A4 coloured card stock
collection of photos
Smilebox software of similar
Hole punch
Spraymount
scrap ribbon
spare buttons
scrap pattern paper
Birthday rubber stamp

How to:

Firstly you need to load the software and spend a little time exploring the templates available.
Once you've chosen your template get together a file of the photos you want to import and combine. When choosing your photos try and have some continuity by choosing images all from the same event and remember to include every member of the family so not to upset anyone!
Using the software as your guide, once you've got your photos in place you can add any embellishments or graphics to give a total scrapbook feel.
Once you're happy with each page you can either print on photographic paper at home if you have a good printer or take the file saved on a flash-drive to your local photo shop and ask them to do it. I would recommend a matt paper size 8 x 6". Beware, if you're using a Photo shop to check the prices of printing as for some reason above 8 x 6" becomes very expensive.
When you've got your image printed, cut the A4 card stock with approximately a 1" border all the way around except the left edge where you should leave a 2" border for the holes to be punched.
Attach the printed pages with Photo-spray mount to the cardstock front and back and when completely dry punch holes in the centre of the left side border.
Using your scrap ribbon thread through the punched holes and tie in a bow.
Once all you pages are attached you can further embellish with buttons and beads or some stamping. Missy and I punched out a circle of the beautiful patterned paper, stamped it Happy Birthday and attached it with foam pads. We also stuck on a couple of buttons to give the front cover a 3D feel.

So that's it - easy as pie and totally cool. I feel Missy and I may be doing a lot more of these.

CM X

Homemade thank you cards

2010-01-13T05:40:00.000-08:00

I miss Christmas!

I miss Christmas. I miss the sparkly tree in the corner, the holly lights over the blackboard and the big bowl of Quality Street on the dining table. I miss still being in my pyjamas at 11am with Missy on my knee watching 'The Grinch that stole Christmas'. I miss the freedom of no work and all play, I wish it could be Christmas everyday - stop me I feel a song coming on! But it can't and reality eventually bites, but to take us back just a few weeks in time Missy and I ate chocolate for lunch and did her Thank you letters. I wrote the sensible stuff and she creatively expressed her feelings by scribbling with felt tip pens (washable thank goodness) all over the paper, table and anything else that she could reach, sometimes even the cat. I love new technology and the immediacy it gives you but I get a bit dewy eyed when it comes to good old-fashioned mail. I love to see the big red Royal Mail van carrying its load from one depot to another, although I have been known to curse them for driving like lunatics, I then convince myself they could be carrying urgent deliveries. My heart positively leaps when I get an envelope that is clearly not a bill or a dental appointment and as for stamps, well don't get me started. They're fabulous. I wish I'd collected them as a kid but alas my passion at that time in my life lay with trainers and RaRa skirts! I am however determined to collect at least some first day covers for The Missy. I have the issue of her birth month and subsequent birthday and have just purchased the one of iconic album covers as it looked cool. It was whilst I was in the post office I saw that you can now get stamps with your photo on - Smilers they're called, don't ask me why as there's nothing to say you have to be smiling but anyway, Smilers they're called and for only £7.50 for 10 you can send your Competitive Mum status to an all time high!

Now with Smilers having arrived and the thank you cards done I think Missy and I are ready to leave Christmas behind and look forward to the next excuse for a party - I think Shrove Tuesday may be big in our house this year!

CM X

Knitted Toilet Roll Cover - Perky the Pig

2010-01-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

Oink Oink!

Well the festive season has come to an end and although I was a little sad to pack away my decorations I was happy to have a bit more time for my favourite pastime - knitting. I have neglected my needles for some time now, as making and creating presents, decorations and the all important feast left little time for much else. I was spoilt with gifts myself, as happily in my family it's not all about the kids, and no present was more gratefully received than from my friend Louise who bought me a book on knitted toilet roll covers! My passion for knitting causes much amusement to many of my friends and Louise is no exception, I know however that she loves a bit of kitsch chic and therefore would appreciate being the recipient of my first novelty cover. I chose the pig mainly because I had a ball of pink wool going spare, but the book has so many patterns that this is only the beginning and there will be many more to come so watch out!

Happy New Year!

CM X

Candy Cane Place names

2009-12-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

3 1/2 days to go...

CANDY CANE NAME PLACES

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £7 for 20

Great for fully festive table

Make time 30 mins

I don't know about you but I love all the trimmings of Christmas and so was really looking forward to Kirstie Allsop's homemade Christmas series on channel 4. Sadly however I was seriously disappointed. I'm sure she's a very nice lady and all that but I'm not really sure she knows what budget means as spending £100 on fur to create a teddy seems a bit excessive to me and as for making things, well she doesn't does she. Going to a crafts persons house, pouring a bit of wax into a mould they have prepared and then leaving it for them to bring to your house in the country when they've finished it for you does not qualify you as a maker of candles. Equally does she really think spending £38 on gold leaf to plaster all over a pear and then putting a luggage label on it for a place setting is attractive to anyone other than Crystal Carrington? I think the new makeover has sent her a bit Lady Ga Ga (what was all that makeup about) but never fear I have come to the rescue with a cute and simple little place setting for those of us who don't aspire to Dynasty tastes and don't live in the country surrounded by evergreen.

What you need:

red A4 card stock available at Rymans
2 metres of 4cm wide ribbon.
whole punch
silver pen
mini candy canes available at WHSmith
white snowball sweets from Marks and Spencer

How to:

Cut out an oval from the cardstock approximately 6cm wide. I used the bottom of a squeezy honey put as a template. Repeat until you have one for each person
next using a hole punch make a hole at each end of the oval approximately 1cm in.
Using your silver pen write on each oval a guests name.
Whilst the names are drying you can cut up your ribbon into 10 cm length.
Thread one piece of ribbon through the hole at each end of the oval & trim the ends.
Finally place a candy cane through the ribbon at the back of the name place and pop in a glass full of snowball sweets.

Hurrah for candy canes!

Not sure if i'll post again before the big day so Happy Christmas everyone!

CM x

Homemade gifts for Grandparents

2009-12-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

7 1/2 days to go...

HOMEMADE CALENDARS

GREAT GIFTS FOR THE GRANDPARENTS

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £1.50 each

Great for last minutes presents

Make time 10 minutes + drying time

What you need:

Magnetic picture frames 15 x 10cm WHSmith
15cm x 10 cm matt photo
2010 mini calendar- Rymans
Silver and gold glitter glue - available from Classy Crafts
double sided sticky tape

How to:

Put you photo into the frame
Using double sided sticky tape attach the calendar to the bottom of the picture frame in the centre.
Dot glitter glue spots around the frame to add a bit of sparkle
Leave to dry completely overnight.

Now what could be simpler than that.

Bye for now.

CM x

2009-12-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

8 days to go...

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £2 for 24 tags approx

Great for getting creative

Make time 15 mins + drying time

What you need:

White luggage labels - Rymans
Snow flake rubber stamp - available on ebay
Happy Christmas rubber stamps - available on ebay
Silver & red ink pads - available from WHSmith
Red glitter glue - available from Classy Crafts
Ruler

How to:

Stamp each tag with 'Happy Christmas' in red ink using a ruler to keep it straight.
Then stamp the snowflakes with silver ink randomly on each tag.
Once ink is dry to touch carefully outline the bow or 'Happy Christmas' letters with red glitter glue.
Leave to dry completely overnight.

Hurrah all my tags are made. Now onto homemade presents for the Grandparents which is definitely one for the kids.

CM x

2009-12-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

8 1/2 days to go...

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £1.50 for 24 tags approx

Great for Getting in the Christmas spirit

Make time 15 mins + drying time

What you need:

White luggage labels - Rymans
Snow flake rubber stamp - available on ebay
N,O,E & L letter rubber stamps - available on ebay
Silver & green ink pads - available from WHSmith
Ruler

How to:

Stamp each tag with 'Noel' in green ink using a ruler to keep it straight.
Once dry to touch stamp the snowflakes with silver ink randomly on each tag.
Leave the ink to dry overnight before attaching to your parcels.

One more Christmas gift tag 'How to' to post and then I will have to move on as time is a ticking and there are cards and decorations to make.

CM x

2009-12-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

9 days to go...

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £2 for 24 tags approx

Great for Getting in the Christmas spirit

Make time 20 mins + drying time

What you need:

White luggage labels - Rymans
Large dot pattern rubber stamp - available on ebay
Reindeer punch - available at Amazon
Red & silver glitter glue - available at Classy Crafts
Silver ink pad - available from WHSmith
Ruler
Scissors
Pencil

How to:

Stamp each tag with silver dots using the rubber stamp and allow to dry.
Punch out three reindeer in a row along the middle of the tag.
Dot each reindeer with red glitter glue at the nose.
Using the silver glitter glue dot randomly the silver ink to add a little sparkle.
Leave glue to dry overnight.

Ahh another day another Christmas craft completed how I love to be a Competitive Mum. I am going to keep slaving away at these tags and will endeavor to post a "How to" for the 'Noel' tags which I hope someone out there in cyberspace will like enough to leave a comment.

CM x

Starbucks family advent calender

2009-11-19T06:52:00.000-08:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love sent to me

a Starbucks espresso cup advent calendar!

I love Christmas as anyone who knows me will tell you, my friend Janie believes I have the copyright on it. If ever I'm down on a rainy day in August I'll put on my 'Now That's what I call Christmas' CD, dance around to Slade and instantly feel better. I start my Christmas shopping early for this very reason and of course because I do love to shop, however by mid November when I still hadn't found the an advent calendar, I decided as a Competitive Mum I should really make one. I particularly wanted one we could share as a family and this was proving difficult to find, although I did really like the John Lewis 'House' style but at £30 it was a bit pricey. I searched the Internet for inspiration, where be warned you will waste hours being sucked into the Flickr, Blog, Twitter world of millions of American craft enthusiasts where, although I liked lots of what I saw, felt quilted pockets, or even magnetic baking sheet creations, nothing was quite right for us. Finally whilst conveying my dilemma to a friend over coffee, who was not in the least bit interested in my plight I hastened to add, this idea came to me. If unlike my friend you are interested, read on and share with me what you think.

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £4.50

Great for those who want more than cheap chocolate

Make time 1hr

What you need:

24 disposable espresso cups from Starbucks or similar festive coffee house - beg, borrow or steal!
2 m of red and white string - available on-line from RE
2 x sheets of A4 paper - 1 red & 1 green
4cm circular hole punch - plain or scalloped edge if you have one if not use scissors!
Silver ink pen
Silver, red and green glitter glue
Paper glue - PVA or Spray Mount.
24 gold coins

How to:

Cut out with either craft punch or scissors 24 circles from the card.
Decorate each circle with numbers 1 - 24 with sliver pen, glitter glue and anything else you fancy.
Whilst your artwork is drying, make a hole at the top of each cup opposite each other - this is where you will be threading the string.
Once circular numbers are completely dry stick them onto the cups covering the Starbucks logo (sorry Mr Starbucks but unless you want to sponsor this blog I think the red cup is enough branding for this Christmas).
Thread each cup together making a knot at each hole to stop the cups sliding about.
Next write out 24 activities or treats and stick one to each gold coin. I would suggest co-ordinating your diary for this otherwise you may find yourself promising treats you can't deliver. They don't have to be expensive or outlandish - sometimes the simplest things are the best - I've listed our family treats below.
Finally drop the treat coin into the corresponding day and you're ready to go.
TOP TIP - if one of you're treats is having hot chocolate with marshmallows, put the marshmallows in the cup too then you won't be searching for them on the day.

Day 1 Dance and sing to Christmas music before breakfast!

Day 2 Make festive pictures with Christmas stickers

Day 3 Make paper chains

Day 4 Read 'The Snowman'

Day 5 Make paper snowflakes

Day 6 Buy & decorate the Christmas tree

Day 7 Make a popcorn garland for the tree

Day 8 Write Santa a letter

Day 9 Buy and wrap a toy for Charity. (Salvation Army)

Day 10 Put bird seed out for the Christmas Robin

Day 11 Visit Santa Express at Selfridges

Day 12 Wear angel wings all day (maybe leave Daddy out of this one!)

Day 13 Make Christmas cookies

Day 14 Go ice skating

Day 15 Have a carpet picnic around the Christmas tree

Day 16 Make Santa peg dolls

Day 17 Eat sugar mice

Day 18 Paint Rudolph a picture

Day 19 Visit Grandparents for early Christmas treat

Day 20 Wrap up warm and visit the Zoo

Day 21 Day trip to Winterwonderland

Day 22 Have hot chocolate with marshmallows

Day 23 Watch 'The Grinch that stole Christmas"

Day 24 Special Christmas breakfast at Princi's

As Christmas comes but once a year,

Watch out for more crafty cheer!

CM X

2009-11-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

but my dear you're so delightful,

and since we've no place to go,

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

OK so it didn't snow, it just rained and rained and The Missy and I having braved the storms on Friday decided to stay in and snuggle up on Saturday. I was rather dreading this as she is a restless little soul who would always rather be in the park than stay home, but actually it was lovely, she spent the day colouring-in everything including her face and I finally managed to knit her a new winter hat. I did have trouble finding a decent pattern for the hat however, as it needed a chin strap if it was to stand any chance of staying on and finding one that doesn't look like some hideous flight hat the Crazy Frog might wear was no easy task. Having looked through every pattern book I had and all that the department store had to offer I found a fabulous one at Loop by Sublime.

Well that was our rainy Saturday and thankfully Sunday brightened up and we headed to the park to show off her new accessory.

CM x

2009-11-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

Remember Remember the 5th of November... OK so its the 7th but you know where I'm going with this. Fireworks, sparklers, toffee apples for the kids and a glass of wine for the adults. Much fun and loveliness with very little effort, my idea of a good night.

Toffee Apples can be bought but are very easy to make and living up to my reputation I did just that.

Difficulty level easy peasy

Cost 40p each

Great for Bonfire night

Make time 40 mins

What you need

225g demerara sugar

110ml water

1/2 tsp vinegar

2 tbsp golden syrup

25g butter

6 Apples

Wooden skewers

How to:

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan over a moderate heat. When the sugar has fully dissolved, stir in the vinegar, syrup and butter. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until it reaches 138C. If you have a sugar thermometer this is easy to measure, if not drop a bit of the toffee mixture in a cup of cold water and if it hardens into a ball then it's reached cracking point - all this should take about 10 mintues of boiling.

In the meantime pierce each apple with a wooden stick. When the toffee is ready, dip each apple into the hot toffee turning the apple around so it gets fully covered.

Leave to to harden on a baking tray lightly buttered.

Another Bonfire night essential are Hula Hoops in order to get perfect Hula monsters!

Bye for now CM xxx

HOMEMADE HALLOWEEN CARDS

2009-10-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

I know there's a post strike so my little Missy's Halloween cards probably won't even arrive but as I did one last year I thought it would be nice to continue the tradition.

Difficulty level: Couldn't be easier

Cost: 50p per card

Great for: Showing off - perfect CM stuff!

Make time: 20 minutes + glue drying time

What you need:

Photos

Orange pre cut card 16cm x 11cm available at Rymans

Gold glitter glue

Paper glue

As these were made in a rush there are no frills, I simply printed off a picture of Missy wearing her witch costume and glued it to a pre cut and folded card. A bit of glitter glue round the edges and hey presto you're done.

CM X

Homemade Christmas gift tags

2009-10-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

18 days to go...

Making christmas gift tags reminds me a being a kid and cutting out the previous years christmas cards with pinking shears. I have tried to move on the tradition a bit by making this collection of tags out of luggage labels and card. All four designs were really easy to make and once attached they made each present look like it had been given a lot of thought, even if I am giving my Dad a bathrobe for the third year running!

Difficulty Level Easy

Cost £2 for 24 tags approx

Great for Getting in the Christmas spirit

Make time 1 hour + drying time

Wreath Tag

What you need:

Red card
Wreath rubber stamp - available on ebay
Silver, red & green glitter glue - available at Classy Crafts
Silver ink pad - available from WHSmith
Hole punch
Ruler
Scissors
Pencil

How to:

Take the A4 piece of red card and cut into tags slightly bigger than your wreath stamp.
Stamp each tag with a silver wreath. Tip - don't wiggle the stamp around just push down straight, otherwise you will get marks around the sides.
When the ink is dry, dot with red, green and silver glitter glue.
Leave glue to dry overnight and then punch holes in top left hand corner & attach ribbon.

So there you have it, another idea from my crafty countdown to Christmas, tomorrow I will post 'how to' for the reindeer tags but right now I'm going to have a bit of Santa's sherry - Ho Ho Ho!

CM x

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES - BAT MUFFINS!

2009-10-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

OK so apparently Halloween is not just the 31st October this year but started tonight and could run up till Christmas if the little kids in my neighbourhood have there way. When the door bell rang tonight and 3 little ghosts shouted 'Trick or Treat' I gently informed the little ghouls that they were a day early, only to be told by chief ghoul "we're going on holiday tomorrow can't you give us something now, money will do!" Looking shocked and sounding more like my mother than ever before I replied, "I'm sure money will do but firstly I haven't got any and secondly I think you're missing the point - come back in an hour and I'll have something for you". Never wanting to be outdone and certainly not by 10 year old boys I went straight to my kitchen and whipped up the following.

CHOCOLATE BAT MUFFINS

Difficulty level: Easy peasy

Cost: £2.00 for 12

Great for: Cheeky ghosts

Make time: 25 minutes prep

30 minutes cook

Ingredients:

250g plain flour

25g cocoa powder

4 tsp baking powder

150g caster sugar

175ml milk

2 large eggs beaten

100ml light olive oil

75g plain chocolate

Black writing icing.

Betty Crocker frosting in chocolate

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/375F/Gas mark 5
Line 12 hole deep muffin tray with paper muffin cases.
Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the sugar.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix lightly together.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cases.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. To be sure they are cooked push a cocktail stick in the middle and it should come out clean.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
When completely cool cut the top of each muffin off. Then ice the top of the muffin and cut the top in half and place in the icing to create bat wings. Finally take the black icing tube and add the eyes.

These Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days although unsurprisingly my cheeky neighbourhood tricksters were back in an hour, ringing the bell and threatening to throw eggs on my doorstep unless they got their treat -at least it stopped the demanding of cash.

Happy Halloween!

CM X

FREE NO SEW HALLOWEEN COSTUME

2009-10-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks I have been making a Halloween Witches NO SEW costume for my little girl Missy and finally last night I finished it. I know I'm a week ahead of the big day but as I wasn't sure how it would turn out and I'm sleep deprived from her teething I wanted to have time on my side - I am a Competitive Mum after all.

Difficulty level: a bit of patience & glass of Chenin Blanc helps!

Cost: under twenty pounds

Great for: girls from toddler upwards

Make time: 1 hour

What you need:

Purple vest. (one used from H&M)

Purple satin skirt. (one used from H&M)

Purple striped tights/leggings

1/2 metre black net & 1/2 metre of purple net

Silver fabric pen (from most art shops including Cass Art)

1/2 metre black sheeting

Fabric pen

Scrap of black self adhesive Velcro

(these quantities are for toddler size)

How to:

Fold the black net in half length ways. Fold over the top uncut edge again by about 2 inches and pin together. Using a glue gun or fabric glue fix in place. Now mark out a petal shape with chalk going up to the bottom of the uncut glued edge and cut out. Repeat this with the purple net.
Turn the skirt inside out and glue the black net around the waistband.
Repeat this with the purple net making sure the petals don't fall exactly over each other.
Now taking the vest draw on stars, bats and anything you fancy with the fabric pen.
To make the cape you need to measure the length from one hand to the other across the back shoulders of your little witch. Take the black sheet and fold it in half. Mark the length with chalk along the folded edge and then make a semi circle going from one end to the other and cut out. I didn't bother to hem but you can use Wundaweb to do so if you wish.
To decorate use the fabric pen and if like me you are no Van Gogh use a stencil, this is a good time to get the wearer involved and get creative.
Finally to secure the cape stick a 1 inch square of Velcro to the inside of each end of the straight edge.

OK that's it, I think you'll agree she makes a good looking witch. If you like this costume and have made it or something similar sign up and email me some photos.

Sleepy eyed Competitive Mum signing off now X

Halloween crafts for kids

2009-10-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

BLACK CAT HALLOWEEN CRAFT

Ever wondered how to turn a wooden spoon into a black cat, no, well you're about to find out anyway. It's very easy, lots of fun and will keep your little ones perfectly occupied on a rainy afternoon.

Difficulty level Easy Peasy

Great for All ages

Cost Under a fiver

Make time 3o mins

What you need:-

wooden spoon

black paint

paint brush

2 black pipe cleaners

craft bubble eyes (available from most craft shops

or on-line at Amazon)

scrap of black felt for ears

scrap of red felt or card for mouth

black ribbon for tail

How to:-

Paint the spoon black all over.
Bend the pipe cleaners in half and cut at the bend. Place the 3 lengths of pipe cleaner flat and pinch together in the middle. Wrap the bottom pipe cleaner round the centre once to fix whiskers in place and trim each end to even up. Stick with a strong glue to the bowl of the spoon.
Glue the eyes in place above the whiskers.
Cut the red scrap of felt or card into a triangle and glue in place for the mouth
Cut two triangles out of black felt and glue in place for the ears.
Finally glue the ribbon to the bottom of the spoon to create a tail.

Hey pesto you have a perfect accessory for Halloween night. Next week I'll be finishing the No Sew Costume.

CM x

2009-10-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

When Witches go riding and black cats are seen

The moon laughs and whispers, tis near Halloween.

Yes that’s right it’s now October and you need to start thinking out your little ones Halloween costume. If this fills you with fear and loathing don’t panic the ‘No Sew’ costume is here.

This year Missy is going to be a witch. A good witch you understand. A pretty witch with a costume that’s not made from flammable fabric and retailing at a price that screams child labour! And what’s more I’m undertaking to make it without sewing a stitch.

Starting with the hat, to join in you will need: -

• Black foam polyboard – A4 size (available at all good art shops)

• Black card – A4 size

• Grey and purple felt square, 30 x 30 cm (available from CraftBits)

• 1 mt silver Ric Rac (available Klein’s)

• Silver pen

• Scissors

• Scalpel

• Ruler

• Plate or saucer to use as a template.

How to make:-

1. Start by making the base of the hat. Cut a circle out of the foam poly board. Size will depend on the head that your fitting but a saucer or plate is a good guide and template. Holding the plate firmly against the poly board carefully cut round using a scalpel. Don't worry if it’s not a perfect edge as later it will be covered.

2. Now cut another circle out of the centre of the base. This is obviously not to fit over the head as this hat perches on top and is secured with elastic or an alice band but a small hole will make it fit more comfortably. The size of the inner circle is about 1/3rd of the overall size of the base.

3. To cover the base cut out one circle of the grey felt and one circle of the purple and again cut out the centre circle. Glue these in place and trim around the edge with sharp scissors. Next, glue in place your silver Ric rac around the edge of the based.

Now putting the base to one side a moment you need to make the cone.

4. Cut a circle out of the black card. This needs to be approximately double the size of the base and again I would recommend using a plate as your template.

5. Cut a triangle out of this circle measuring ¼ of the circle.

6. Cut 1 cm in along the edge as shown & press out - these will be what attach the cone to the base.

7. Using the silver pen decorate the outside of the cone - a little bit of glitter here goes a long way! Next fold the circle overlapping the edges and glue together, use a paper clip to hold in place until dry.

8. Now attach the cone to the base using PVA glue. Once completely dry cover the join with silver Ric rac glued in place.

9. Finally attach the elastic to the underside of the base with either tape or a staple each side of the centre hole.

Yippee you’re done.

If that's wet your appetite sign up and follow me for next week's making of the dress!

CM x

2009-09-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's Fashion Baby Doll!

As Fashion took hold of London this week and the hip crowd of Alexa Chung and Agnes Deyn were taking their front row seats, Missy and I set up our own little catwalk using her dolls Violet and Sweet Pea as our super models. It was at this point I realised how horrible the clothes of these dolls are! OK I know Violet cost the handsome sum of £1.99 from Sainsburys but they could at least put some knickers on her. As Missy loves to dress and undress her dolls all day long I decided they needed some new togs. A quick trip to the charity shop where I found a great vintage knitting pattern for 25p and a rummage in my wool basket for a ball of left over wool and hey presto Violet is now sporting a white maxi dress with button up back!

To continue our crafty mood we took a walk round the local market on Saturday and came across Jasper the Cat who Missy fell in love with immediately. Being a Competitive Mum doesn't mean you have to make absolutely everything yourself. There are things you'll be good at and things that other people will be better at and in this case that was the friendly folks at The Curiosity Tree. Jasper is part of the Knit-wits, a group of exquisitely handmade characters all available from £10.

That's all folks!

CM X

2009-09-24T01:46:00.001-07:00

A bouquet of sharpened pencils

Don't you just love the Autumn? Stationery store shelves piled high with 'back to school supplies'. Shiny new pencil cases, co-ordinating rulers and rubbers and for the serious amongst us compasses and geometry sets all in gloriously tacky purples and pinks. Does anyone actually know what all the pieces of a geometry set are for? I do believe not.

As a Competitive Mum the Autumn brings joy and a wealth of opportunities with the obvious Halloween fancy dress and Bonfire night parties and then the lesser known Harvest Festival and The Nature Table!

A little like Anna Wintou r and her September Issue I have been building up to this season for a while now. With Halloween still a month away and a grandmothers birthday just around the corner Missy and I are concentrating our efforts on a photo frame and the obligatory card.

This Photo Frame is ticking all the boxes - its eco friendly as all of it was made from things I had in the house, the ulimate in recycling and consequently it was credit crunchingly cheap!

What you need

*Empty clear plastic CD case which if you don't have you can buy for as little as 50p from stationers such as Rymans.
*scissors
*double sided sticky tape
*ribbon
*coloured card

How to make

Firstly you need to open up your CD case and remove the inner piece which holds the disk and any paper inserts. The back of the box is going to be the front of your photo frame so you now need to cut a piece of coloured card and the chosen photo to fit. Stick the photo to the card and put to one side.

Now turn your CD case over and attach your ribbon using the double sided sticky tape. I find it easier to cut the tape into 1 inch pieces as this way if you make a mistake its easier to correct. Don't worry about seeing the tape through the plastic as this will be covered by the photo.

Now take your photo attached to the card and place an inch piece of double sided tape in each corner on the Front of the photo and stick down onto the inside back panel of the CD case.

Next take your coloured card and cut it to fit the inside of the CD box where the

album cover would normally go. Decorate this card as you wish either with pictures or your birthday message and slid into place.

Finally to stop your frame sliding open all the time cut 2 x 2 inch pieces of ribbon and attach one to each side creating an A frame.

Let's hope Grandma likes it!

CM x

2009-08-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

'CATHERINES MIDNIGHT MILK BAR'

SPECIALS

BOOBIE MILK AND HOMEMADE GRANOLA!

Now my god daughter is over a week old I had a feeling her mummy may be feeling a bit tired and in need of a some sweetness of the sugary kind. Midnight feeds and nappy changes require energy unlike any other and the right sort of snacks are essential so home made granola seemed just the right thing. Containing real fruit, oats, almonds and yummy honey they taste better the day after cooking so perfect for a gift.

How to:

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
All of this available to order on-line and delivered by Ocado.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 degreesC. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees C.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

CM x

2009-08-24T02:57:00.000-07:00

Sweet Georgia Mae

No Gal made, has got a shade on sweet Georgia Mae

Tiny feet, oh so neat, has sweet Gerogia Mae

We all sigh, and want to die, for sweet Georgia Mae

I'll tell you why and you know I don't lie

Georgia Mae is the sweetest oh my, oh my.

My god daughter has arrived at last and she is tiny (5.5 lb's) and totally gorgeous. As a CM it is expected that I home make something special and not wishing to let the side down I have spent the weekend speed knitting a matinee jacket. Speed knitting being fast knitting as opposed to knitting on drugs - just to clarify!

Ta Dah!

Two days of mummy knitting constantly, The Missy was getting irritated so we took advantage of the weather and went for brunch at The Albion in Shoreditch and then over to Colombia Road market for some flowers and inspiration. I wanted to find a nice way to wrap the present without spending a fortune or it looking totally naff. I don't like conventional wrapping paper because it's a rip off and I never think it looks that nice. That being said I'm not a big fan of a bit of brown paper and string giving everything an eco earthy look either. I like colourful and useful so you can imagine how happy I was when I stumbled across this super cute toy suitcase in the market. The case was the perfect size for the jacket which I wrapped in tissue and secured with a pink nappy pin. Too cute I know but I couldn't resist - this is totally what makes me a Competitive Mum and I'm so looking forward to branching out to be a Competitive God Mum!

Bye for now

CM x

2009-08-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Things can only get better ...

As I mentioned in my last post the gym and I have become reacquainted after quite some time. I had somehow convinced myself that I exercised up until my pregnancy but looking at my rather dated gym kit I feel I may have been kidding myself as I uncover a 'Team Aniston' t-shirt. Not knowing exactly when Jen and Brad split and having seriously taken my eye of the celebrity gossip ball since having The Missy, I do at least know he has managed to have 3 kids and adopt a couple since so this can mean only one thing, this is going to hurt.

BM (before Missy) I was never Elle 'the body' Macpherson but on a good day in a flattering light I was OK but AM (after Missy) my body is shot to pieces. I can't blame The Missy as although she weighed in at a healthy 8lb 12oz I think my 4 stone weight gain might have had something to do with the vast amounts of hot cross buns I ate. Personally I blame her birth date rather than her birth. Had I had a baby in July for instance where there is little to celebrate unless its your birthday (which for me its not) I would have been fine but having a baby in April, a week after Easter is fatal. Having eaten my way through the entire stock of M&S luxury hot cross buns I then polished off all the chocolate that was lying around the house. Crazy friends bought eggs for the unborn child which of course I ate, for her benefit you understand and then my husband never eats chocolate because he is weird and doesn't like it so I ate his having already polished off my own. Anyway all this amounted to huge weight gain that 16 months later I am still carrying around a good 20lb's of.

My gentle mummy side says what the hell but my Chloe trousers say 'don't even think of squeezing your lardy arse in here lady until you've dropped a few pounds so off I went to meet Ben my new personal trainer. 45 minutes later with my face the colour of a beetroot I complete my first session. ouch ouch ouch, everything hurts, I now walk like John Wayne and where were my endorphins when I needed them? Things can only get better.

CM X

2009-08-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Did I say...

We've been away?

Missy and I took off for a week to Cornwall hoping for some sunshine but sadly getting mostly rain - boo hiss. Missy did get a chance to dress up like a lampshade (see photo above) and I bravely exposed my upper arms aka bingo wings for the first time in over a year.

Whilst unable to get on-line or even a decent mobile signal, ridiculous in these modern times, we did have much fun discovering beaches with wonderful names such as 'Lusty Glaze' and eating yummy ice creams.

Well now we're back and today this CM starts back at the gym for the first time since BM (before Missy). Wish me luck!

CM xxx

2009-08-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Big Mac!

I am so excited, I finally have my new laptop, a supa dupa MacBook Pro, 15 " in glorious technicolor - yippee!

To show my love and gratitude for this beautiful machine I have been busy making it a very cosy cover from an Amy Butler pattern.

I have to say it was more complicated than I thought and consequently my dining table has been out of action for a number of days now while I work out what panel goes with what flap. All that coupled with the fact the pattern's American and therefore in imperial measurements - it was interesting buying a yard of fabric in The Cloth House, I could tell the sales assistant was trying to work out if I was over 50 with very good Botox or just trying to be retro. Once I'd pulled out my measuring tape and frowned for a while I think he ruled out the Botox.

Anyway 3 long nights later I now have a fab and personal homespun laptop cover.

CM x

2009-08-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

SMILE PLEASE!

Recently Missy and I spent the day with our wonderfully talented photographer friend Zoe Norfolk who snapped away to create these great photos.

Missy was concentrating so hard on what Zoe was doing it was jolly difficult to encourage a smile.

Is it my imagination or is Missy looking embarrased that her Mummy is grinning away like a lunatic.

Thankfully she decided to join in - lunacy obviously runs in the family.

CM X

2009-07-28T07:54:00.001-07:00

10 MINUTE TEA FOR A TENNER

As I was making my little one toast this morning, relaxed in the knowledge that today was the first day this week I didn’t have to rush out to work I glance up at the family calender and see my godson is coming to tea today. OMG the house is a mess and the cupboards are bare apart from cheesy strings (they say on the packet ‘all natural’ and I believe them) what the devil am I going to give him? Thankfully my godson and his mummy are cool so 'tea' could just mean a cuppa and they wouldn’t mind, however not wishing to let the side down I drive off to work racking my brain on how I can do tea in 10 minutes.

Here’s how.

Super quick shop at local M&S food hall on the way to work. Avert eyes from ½ price cool bags which I neither need nor have time to buy. Grab basket and reenact my very own supermarket sweep then ran like Usain Bolt to the self service checkout. I have now classed this as my cardio exercise for the day.

Bridge rolls £2.00p

Cucumber 75p

Strawberries & Melon £3.48p

Muffins 75p

Bread sticks & crisps £2.25p

Pineapple juice 65p

Paper cups 99p

Total £10.87p

(OK not quite £10 but you get the idea)

Leave work at lunchtime and race home where little one is having her lunchtime sleep so have little more than 10 minutes as suspected to put tea together before beloved godson Max arrives.

I did marmite and cucumber bridge rolls as I knew all who were coming love Marmite and it was the quickest filling I could think of. The strawberries got speed chopped into a bowl, as did the melon. I threw the bread sticks and crisps into a few paper cups and made up the muffins from a mix, popped them in the oven and hey presto – tea in 10.

Could he be any more handsome.

I had previously made a summer scrapbook kit for Max as a present to keep notes on his holidays.

CM xxx

2009-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

READY FOR A DAY AT THE ZOO

Summer holidays are here and Missy, Daddy and I took a day trip to Whipsnade Safari Park.

The inclement weather did not deter us and the most amazing part of the day was seeing the newly born asian elephant only 20 hours old!

The flamingoes wernt bad either.

CM xxx

2009-07-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

KNIT ONE PURL ONE ...

Baby Robinson is due in two days and I'm speed knitting like crazy to finish his first CM gift, a cozy blanket. Yes I can knit. I know the knitting craze that swept the nation has been a great frustration to many of my girlfriends who never got past a scarf, but I love knitting.

This blanket is from Sirdar and I'm knitting it in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino Grey Blue. I am currently currently finishing the border, hence the needles!

Gorgeous Mum-to-be brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers today as a thank you for throwing her baby shower and they are so pretty I'm posting a picture on today's blog.

On that flowery note I'll sign off.

Bye for now.

CM xxx

2009-07-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Party Time!

Finally the day of the baby shower arrived and we had a wonderful evening with friends to celebrate the imminent birth of Baby Robinson.

It's all about the little things. Lavender from the garden, cookies from the freezer and a handy basket for the mother to be to collect up all her gifts.

A little thought goes a long way.

Mama's Cheesecake was the success of the evening which I just have to share with you all. Thankfully my girlfriends don't care for low fat as just reading the ingredients of this baby makes my arteries clog up!

Ingredients:

Biscuit base

110g plain digestive biscuits

85g unsalted butter

Filling

300g Phillidelphia (1 large tub)

300g cottage cheese (1 medium tub)

1 tsp vanilla extract

120g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

Topping

150ml sour cream

2 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

21cm oven proof flan tin with removable base.

How to

Biscuit base. Break up biscuits into a food processor and pulse until size of large crumbs. Melt the butter in a large enough mixing bowl to then incorporate the biscuits. Spoon all the mixture into the flan tin covering the base and about 1/3rd up the sides - push down firmly.

Filling. Mash together the cheeses, castor sugar and vanilla extract in an electric mixer with paddle attachment. When the ingredients are well blended, add the eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly until each egg is absorbed before adding another. When all the eggs have been beaten in and the mixture is smooth and airy, tip it onto the biscuit crust. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180c for 25 - 30 mins.

Topping. Stir all the ingredients together until smooth. When the cheesecake is cooked remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 200c. Tip the topping mixture all over the filling and return to the oven for 5 - 6 mins just long enough for the topping to set.

Allow cake to cool outside the oven and then chill thoroughly in the refridgerator before serving.

Yum Yum Yum.

CM xxx