Center Parcs April Challenge - Edible Easter Egg Nests with Tots 100

Center Parcs April Challenge - Edible Easter Egg Nests with Tots 100

I managed to do Februarys Tots 100 and Center Parcs challenge this year so far where we made a fun Homemade Hoopla.

I unfortunately missed my chance in March but was rather excited when I found I still have time to enter Aprils - not a lot of time but luckily we had done the preparation earlier this month without even realising. So a quick blog post later and we will hopefully be in the running for a fabulous break with the amazing Center Parcs - what a dream.

The competition details can be found over at Tots 100! 

This month the challenge is Easter nests, ours just had to involve chocolate...... well it is Easter after all.

We used this helpful tip from Center parcs Chief Creative Chef, Lynn Dixon

'Mix some cereal, such as bran or broken up wheat, together with some melted chocolate and form the mixture into nest-like shapes, leaving to cool for a finished nest.'

Rice krispies were our choice of cereal as that's all we had in the cupboard at the time of making and thought they would be easier for a two year old to mix together rather than the wheat or bran cereal, we were pretty happy with end result.

Click here to read Lynn's other fab tips.

We put our nests into green bun cases to give the effect the nests were in trees and decorated with some cute chicks and of course, the bearer of all delicious treats, the Easter bunny.

Eyeing up the ingredients..... the Master chef.

Melt the chocolate and add the cereal.

Mix well repeating the magic word "mmmm" at all times.

Keep mixing until all cereal covered in chocolate, rubbing your belly at the same time as mixing is our chefs party trick, not as easy as it looks!

Add a couple of chocolate eggs to the top of each nest once they are spooned into bun cases, decorate with cute chicks and chill.

I hope you will agree they look delicious and pretty 'nest like' considering a 2 year old took the lead!

We had great fun making these and would encourage you to give them a go at any time of year, we will definitely be making these again soon because of the quickness and ease of putting these together.

This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots 100 april challenge, if I'm chosen I would like to visit Longleat village

Easter Bakes Competition Entry

Easter Bakes Competition Entry 

The Pink Whisk & Two Little Fleas

Fantastic baking blog The Pink Whisk has teamed up with Bingo Review portal Two Little Fleas to run an Easter Bake & Make Competition where they are offering a whopping £500 vouchers for their favourite Easter creation, some very generous runners up prizes too so thought I'd take a slice of that cake **Ahem** I mean action.

I am not the worlds best baker and I noticed they are asking for makes as well as bakes so decided to head down that route. As long as they were edible, Easter looking and I had fun making them it would be a good start and I'd be happy with that.

I wanted to involve my little boy as I don't play in the kitchen with him a lot and he loves trying to do things himself now. Also if I involved my two year old and they turned out disastrous I could tell my hubby 'Archie made some Easter buns' to save my embarrassment.... as it turned out Archie did make them and they are not too shabby hehe.

I needed to go for something simple but effective as I was employing the two year old so decided on Krispie Easter Nests. I remember making these with my Mum when I was young and thought it would be great creating similar fun memories with my little man.

He has plenty of time to learn the true meanings behind Easter when he's older so these makes are what its all about when you are a child.... Chocolate and Eggs with a few chicks and a bunny thrown in for good measure. Just incase you didn't get the Easter theme from our makes alone!

Ingredients

Chocolate (We used Dairy Milk)

Cereal (We used Rice Krispies)

Chocolate Eggs (We used Mini Eggs)

The start of something fun

So after you have trawled your way through the mass of ingredients needed, I will give you the mega complicated directions to put our makes together. 

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a pan on the hob or a bowl in the microwave. We microwaved for speed and safety (I don't trust Archie by a hob)
2. Add cups of cereal and mix, add a bit at a time until you're happy with the chocolate/cereal ratio.
3. Spoon into bun cases or mould into round nest shapes on a tray/plate.
4. Push two/three chocolate eggs into the top of each nest.
5. Chill in the fridge until chocolate is firm and the nests hold together.
6. EAT!

Yum, can I have my cereal like this every day?!

One for the nest, one for me!

Our finished creations

We hope you like our makes, we had a lovely time making these and an even lovelier time eating them.
Thanks to The Pink Whisk and Two Little Fleas for giving us the inspiration and getting us into the Easter spirit.
If you're a blogger and fancy entering yourself here are the competition details.

Happy Easter Everybody!

Mothers Day Fashion with Vertbaudet Clothing

Mothers Day Fashion with Vertbaudet Clothing

I've seen a lovely competition by one of my favourite companies Vertbaudet who specialise in Childrens fashion and furniture. I've been a regular shopper with them since having my little boy and have even got my Mum signed up now to get my son birthday and christmas gifts, we find the clothes great value, quality and they are super cute designs which is why we love them.

Vertbaudet are offering a £50 voucher with them to treat your little ones, a £50 high street voucher to treat yourself and a £100 restaurant voucher to treat the family, what a prize! 

All us blogging Mums have to do is dream up what outfit we would love to dress our little ones in for Mothers day by browsing over at www.vertbaudet.co.uk

To find details of how to take part yourself visit babybudgeting.co.uk who is hosting this great giveaway for them. 

This is harder than you may think because although you're guaranteed to get your little ones dressed up gorgeous for Mothers day, you have to make a decision on just one outfit and with so much choice it may take a while for somebody as indecisive as me. 

I'm hoping an outfit may just jump out at me to make my task easier...... here goes........This is what I would choose:-

Boys Reefer Jacket - Navy

I just love this jacket, so smart looking and enough to keep him warm in the spring but also casual enough for my little man to play well in, would definitely get him in this, currently 20% off as its a new spring item so a bargain too.

Boys Textured Weave Shirt - Grey Beige

I would choose this shirt as you can roll up the sleeves for a short sleeved look if its really sunny or keep it long if it's a bit of a chillier spring day. I think it will go underneath the jacket I've chosen perfectly and again is so smart looking but still casual enough if paired with a nice pair of jeans or loose on top of a t-shirt for a summer day. Also a new spring item so again 20% off.

Boys Jeans with Turn-Ups - Untreated

I think these would finish his look off perfectly! I love the colour of the untreated and think the reinforced knees look fab, also love the fact that the waist is adjustable so we can get a perfect fit. I have chosen another spring collection but these have 25% off.

I didn't plan on choosing all from the spring collection, these are the ones that caught my eye for the occasion in mind so I think it shows they have their seasonal geared items all bang on for the time of year.

Semi Open Low Ankle Shoes

These are Great for the time of year as they are semi open so the little mans feet won't get too hot when hes running around, I like that they have the navy like the jacket, the lighter blue like the jeans and the grey/beige like the shirt so brings the whole outfit together in my eyes.Another spring collection item with 20% off!

So there you go, my outfit choice.

If you like any of the items just click on the link below each picture and you will go straight to the Vertbaudet page for a closer look or to purchase.

Although there are so many great alternatives this is what I would put my little man in for mothers day if I won the voucher, he really would like like a little angel dressed in this, now I just need him to act like one...... Fingers Crossed for both!

Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition Entry

 Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition Entry

I've been busy this week squeezing my creative juices thanks to Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition.

As you can see from the link they have offered bloggers a 100cm square piece of fabric to make into anything they fancy, I wasn't sure if I personally would be able to make anything of interest to anybody but I was desperate to have a go. 

Hillarys have generously offered up a £1000 prize for their favourite use of fabric, to win the grand prize would be amazing but regardless of that I already feel like a winner just for taking part as the free fabric Hillarys sent made me not just one but TWO gorgeous items.
I've decided to give one each to my Mum and Mother-in-law for Mothers Day at the end of this month, although I didn't spend a lot of money on them, I spent a lot of time and effort, which I think is nicer plus they now have an a one off, exclusively made for them, item each.

The first hurdle I had to overcome however was choosing my fabric, I had the choice of four different patterns from their gorgeous new Country Retreat Range and I couldn't make my mind up! My personal favourite is Bird Parade Teal, I absolutely love this but being a real amateur I felt I wouldn't know where to start with it so decided to go for something a bit more patterned hoping that it might hide any mistakes a novice like me may make.

In the end I chose the Calluna Amethyst and I'm sure I made the right choice, here's how my 100cm square piece of fabric looks now..........

I just cannot believe from that piece of lovely fabric came two handbags and I'm even more surprised at the fact that I made them!

I will try and explain how I achieved them but I never had a pattern and I probably wouldn't be able to follow one if I did so I admit I made it up as I went along. 

This took a lot, and I MEAN A LOT of sewing then unpicking, more so on the first bag as once I'd figured that one out the second was just following my guides, memory and measuring against the one I'd just made.

I did write down my measurements as I went along which I will include so if you wanted to recreate something like this then you have the basics to adapt on.
I definitely think these could be personalised to suit the person making it quite easily.


So here's what I did and what I used, I will give instructions for one bag only as I'm trying not to confuse you or myself: 

1. A 100cm deep by 50 cm wide Rectangular piece of fabric ( kindly donated by Hillarys)
2. A second piece of  fabric again 100cm deep by 50 cm wide (for my lining)
3. A 23cm deep by 36cm wide rectangle of fabric X 2 (for the top panels)
4. A 25cm zip
5. 4 metal rings
6. 1 small swivel clip ( like you sometimes find on a keyring)
7. a small square of fabric (to make inside pocket and string to hang swivel clip on)
8. Vilene H250 iron on interfacing

These are all the materials I used then secured all of them together using my sewing machine, pins and cotton.

Directions for the outside section of the bag

• Firstly I took Hillarys fabric and folded it in half to make a square, keeping the fold at the bottom, cut across the square around 14cm down from the top. (see picture A)
• Next unfold the fabric and make pleats in either side until you reach your desired opening length, I had a 25cm zip so made mine 30cm. (see picture B)
• Next take one of your rectangles of fabric for the top band and cut in half, sew one either side around the pleated edge. (see pictures C and D)
• Sew up the sides of the fabric on the wrong side then push it through, this is the outside of your bag.

                 

Directions for Straps and key holder

•  Sew together  the short sides of the offcuts from the outside of the bag.
• Cut them lengthways so you are left with 2 long thin straps.  
• Iron on the vileda interfacing to the wrong side of the the straps. (see pictures E)
• fold them in half tuck in the seams and iron flat then sew up one side. 
• cut the ends off them and sew each one in a hoop around each of the four rings
• sew the ends of the straps around each one of the four rings.
• sew a thin tube in the same way as the straps but without using the interfacing and attach the swivel clip to the end.

                 

Directions for lining

• fold the fabric in half to make a 50cm square.
• keeping the fold at the bottom, draw around the finished bag leaving a little extra for seam then cut it out.
• sew a pocket to the inside of the lining and sew the keyring clip to the top of the lining at the same side as the pocket, the refold the fabric so they are back inside. 
• take the fabric your using for the top section, add your zip into it and cut in half. (see picture F)
• sew the edge to the top edge on the lining on both sides so you will have a large tube sewn together with a zip at the top. (see picture G)
• push the zip down into the bag and bin it flat then sew it to the lining around 5cm down from the edge so its stuck to the lining either side with a zip down the middle. This will also ensure the key clip is securely sewn in. (see picture H)
• sew up either side of the lining. (see picture I)

To finish off push the lining inside the bag and pin it all the way around the top, measure in from the corners on each side and pin the handle loops in place between the bag and the lining. 

Sew all the way around the top, I went over each handle then backwards and forwards again to make sure they are securely fastened and voila, you have a new handbag. 

I repeated this method twice and used every last scrap of Hillarys calluna amethyst in making my two lovely bags, I found the fabric for my top panels in a box of scraps I have stashed away from when I decided I would try my hand at sewing but never actually got round to it. 

The two fabrics were fat quarters with the same pattern but in different colours, I had no idea what I would use these for before but I could see similar colours in the bright pattern of the calluna amethyst so I was in luck, I was unsure of the two heavy patterns together but kept it as a possibility. 

I then went shopping for bits for my bag and if by fate in the discount bin were two zips in the exact same colour as my scraps and they were the perfect length so it was decided, at 50p each how could I leave them there, I'm so happy I decided to use them because now they are sewn up I love the contrasting patterns.

I was going to add an accessory but felt it wasn't needed as the patterns alone are striking enough.

                 

I just want to thank Hillarys one last time for this competition, for allowing me to make our mums an extra special mothers day gift and really inspiring me to use my sewing machine, I've definitely caught the sewing bug.

Our Froggy Foodimal - Tots 100 competition entry

Our Froggy Foodimal 

 Tots 100 competition entry

A froggy Foodimal delight, to eat if you please
It's extra tasty if you give the fish a little squeeze,
Eat the lily flower and the pancake pads he's sat on,
so deliciously fruity, just don't stop until its gone!

Mummy doesn't make me Foodimals too often, what a treat,
Can I stop smiling yet, I'm desperate to eat!

As you can probably tell I'm not the best cook in the world but this was more arranging rather than cooking so pretty easy to turn out even if you're not a masterchef.

My little boy was delighted with it as he unfortunately doesn't usually get brilliantly turned out snacks,

So sweet to see his little face when he sat down to supper, he even asked for 'frog pancakes' the next morning for breakfast!

I made the pancakes using a standard batter mix and added some green colouring, the frog is a quarter of an apple, three grapes halved and sliced, a fruit winder tongue and marshmallow/raisins for eyes.

I also added a little marshmallow lily flower for him and cut the lemon for his pancakes like a fish in the water, simple but sweet I think.

Hop... I Mean.... Hope you like our little Foodimal too.

This is our entry to the Tots 100 #Cloudy2Competition click the link to find details for this fun competition although it closes at 5pm today so I'm last minute posting as I always do!

Homemade Hoopla - Center Parcs February Challenge - Indoor Family Time

Homemade Hoopla 

Center Parcs February Challenge

Indoor Family Time

I'm a massive fan of the Tots 100 and Center Parcs blogger challenges and I love to get involved when life isn't too hectic.

The last challenge I managed to do was in November for the Autumn Poem where they encouraged us to get outside in the fresh Autumn air, this month with the weather being a bit wetter and colder they are giving us inspiration for indoor fun.

Center Parcs games guru Lisa Brown has given some tips for making games out of household items and we had to choose one of her tips to base our game on but we've actually managed to incorporate two of her fab tips into our game.

• An empty Cereal box, once opened up, makes a great surface to draw your board onto. Try adding textures to the board to give it a 3D feel

• She also recommends screwing up newspaper and decorating to make a ball and using toilet roll tubes to make pins and use as indoor bowling.

However our newspaper became hoops and our toilet roll tubes became sticks to make our indoor Hoopla!
To read the Center Parcs post and see the rest of Lisa's tips, click here!

Here's some directions to make our fun game, its easy to personalise.
We've kept it pretty simple so our little two year old could help out but if your children are older you could give them a bit more control and input.

Our supplies!

Firstly cut and decorate the cereal box 
We kept the two large faces joined in the middle then trimmed around the edges to make a large rectangle base, we then went crazy with pens and crayons to give it some colour, older children could draw their own designs then paint or colour it in.

Creating our base

Next we rolled up pages of newspaper to make hoops. 

We found a double page rolled from top to bottom worked quite well, once it was a long sausage shape we joined the ends to make a hoop then wrapped it using duck tape to give it some rigidness.

We made ourselves three hoops as we had three empty toilet roll tubes for posts.

Making our hoops, practicing throwing and Daddys new earrings!

We then made posts out of toilet roll tubes.
We snipped all the way around the bottom edge of the tubes to make tabs to stick to our board then covered them with duck tape also, after cutting appropriately sized holes in our board we slid the posts in and stuck underneath with a bit more duck tape to hold in place, we also framed our board with the duck tape.

Making and joining the posts.

Play rules

We numbered each post to help with number recognition and to make a points system, the highest points with the three throws win.
To play solo you could work towards your high score or throw in order of numbers, for example, hoop post one to move up to two, once you've mastered the floor hoopla you could try it hung on the wall to practice throwing differently.
You could also let one player choose a number for the other to throw on to as a different version which practices hand eye coordination, techniques and aiming.
By numbering the posts it will also help to learn adding when scoring, we kept the numbers low for our 2 year old but these can be higher for older children.

HOOPLA!!

This is my entry to the Center Parcs and Tots 100 February challenge. If I'm chosen I would like to visit LONGLEAT FOREST.

If you are interested in entering next months Center Parcs challenge please find the challenge terms and conditions here.

Links of London £1000 wishlist

Links of London £1000 Wishlist

Links of London have very kindly offered bloggers to choose their favourite items from the Links of London website in a valentines wishlist, only for one lucky person........TO WIN THEM!

I'm a massive Links of London fan since my husband presented me with one of their sweetie charm bracelets for our first Christmas together as a married couple and I eagerly await special occasions in the hope of gaining one of their new adorable charms, so I'm personally going to enjoy this virtual shopping spree and the thought it could become reality is too much so I won't even go there. 

If you are a blogger and would like to get involved then you are in luck as this Competition is open to the general public; for more information follow this link: Competition Details / Terms & Conditions
You can also enter on Pinterest if you don't have a blog just use #myvalentinewishlist when making your board up but hurry as it ends 5pm today.

Well here goes I'm off for a browse....... 

First off I would love a couple of new charms for my existing bracelet:

Mr Men heart charm £40

My little toddler loves Mr Men and its valentines so the heart is not only appropriate but personal too, I love the colours on this.

Four Leaf Clover Charm £45

I consider myself pretty lucky in life and my favourite thing to do with my now elderly Nan, when we were younger, was search for four leaf clovers.

 I have one in my purse that she found me years ago so it would be special for me 

Next I've chosen a gorgeous ring

Entwine Ring £250

Well this is just beautiful! 

An interesting and stunning design with a perfect amount of sparkle for me

Then I'm dreaming of a new bracelet and necklace set

Dream Catcher Heart Bracelet £95

Life is nothing without love and dreams, I try to keep my life full of both.

Dream Catcher Heart Pendant £130

Such a pretty set

I can only ever hope to own a watch like this

Hope Black Crystal Watch £275

Well we've gathered I like sparkle so a perfect choice, neutral black strap would go with all outfits.

Here's hoping I'm lucky.....

Last but not least a gift for the hubby

20/20 Ruthenium Plated XL Ring £150

I KNOW....I'm generous sharing MY wishlist but I share everything else in my life with the man and it's valentines so it would kind of save me buying him a gift!

I love how it has three parts joined together like our little family, I'm sure he would love it too.

Well there we have it, my wishlist and in budget! 

Now please, wish me luck and head over to make up your own list of lovelies!

If you, like me, love any of the items listed just click on their titles and it will take you straight to the page to purchase.......or you could always open the Links of London Website and leave the laptop where your valentine may accidentally find it......... Happy Valentines Day to all.