Toy Story Cake

 I usually try to make all the elements that go onto a cake, it makes the cakes more original and tends to be cheaper - however some characters are very difficult to get just right - when I researched Toy Story cakes this was very evident - very few had really captured Buzz well I decided I needed to go for a model rather than try to copy the image - the issue was how to do this without breaking the bank - Toy Story toys are expensive. While shopping I found this character  reduced in Asda

 He is in reality a bubble bath container ! and just perfect - his helmet even flipped back and when emptied he was light enough to put on a cake so I designed the cake round him. The only problem was that Rebecca was adamant that Woody also needed to be on the cake !! Great - back to the shops!! I was beginning to despair and for a while it looked like Disney was the only option - this was looking like an expensive cake - then I discovered this in Wilkinson for £5 which compared to the other options was cheap!!!

So with the characters sorted I decided on a two tier sponge cake using the light blue cloud image from the film and the dark blue with stars on the top - with the toy story logo colours forming bands round the cake

 

I love the little aliens from the film - so decided to incorporate them into the design and they added such a fun element to the cake. I modelled them out of sugar paste and placed them randomly around the back of the cake with one of them pictured from the back trying to climb the cake.

The curly candles added to the cake  and as Woody only had a number of poses I sat him on some coloured blocks - the thin candle reminded me of the wick of the rocket attached to Buzz in the first film and fitted nicely into Woody's hand.

The Alien cup cakes were very simple - they were also very green - inside and out!! just one of the reasons my parties feature the food at the end just before the children go home!!

Mr Potato Head

The girls love dressing up and for Rebecca's 6th birthday she decided that she wanted a Buzz Lightyear party. She invited all her guests to dress as their favourite toys and was clear from the start that she wanted to be Buzz!

 I purchased a costume at a reasonable price  and decided that it would be fun for her sisters to dress as other characters - Sophie wanted to be Woody but all the costumes I found were either very expensive or just not nice, she had a hat so I decided that I could probably manage the rest!

I bought a pack of school shirts - kept two for her when she started school in September and dyed the third yellow - teamed with a pair of skinny jeans, brown boots and hat she was beginning to look the part - I tried to persuade her that she could wear the brown sheriffs waistcoat from the dressing up box but even at 4 Sophie was quite precise and that would not do!! So using the brown waistcoat as a template I cut the pieces out of white felt and sewed it together - I added black felt patches and overlarge white stitching round the front and armholes and she was happy.  

The star I printed from an image search on the internet though now I would probably have cut it out of felt! Hindsight is a great thing!!
We even added Andy's name to her boot and we were done  - which left Annie!

I thought that the potato heads would be fun and as she was quite little I decided to do it as a sandwich board . I cut a cardboard template  for the front and back and used this to cut two pieces of felt for each side that was slightly larger that the card. I then sandwiched the card between the felt and sewed it together -  The front piece was lightly stuffed with toy stuffing to make it more rounded. I joined the front and back with a small squares of felt sewing it at the front and using velcro at the back for ease of removal.
   

The features I made out of felt with velcro on the back so they could be moved around as in the game

It was so much fun though I think she may have got a little tired of being rearranged!!

 Cakes coming soon ...

 

World Book Day

For most people this strikes fear into the heart - the letter arrives home informing you that it is "World Book Day" and  your child needs to dress up as a book character for the day!

My girls are it seems not alone in choosing the  just off the beaten track characters - those that aren't in the dressing up box or readily available at Asda!!

For me provided they give me some notice this is a challenge to be embraced and as with most things the girls have clear ideas about what they want and how it should look. They also know just how to convince Mum to create their outfit - I tried to persuade Rebecca not to be a ginger cat this year - she didn't argue but quietly waited till we got home - went upstairs and presented me with a book - "this is who I would  like to be Mum" -  guess what  - she got her cat costume!!

Sophie decided on the fairy godmother with dress and cape! fortunately Annie is still into Cinderella big time  though why she added her homemade crown is  best known to her!
 I still need to take some lessons to enable me to use my sewing machine without major distress so I sewed them by hand - its kind of therapeutic and  portable so the costumes travelled with me for a couple of weeks.

Rebecca's Ginger Cat

I saw a mask on Martha Stewart's website but unfortunately the template was no longer available - so I sketched half of a mask on a folded piece of paper then cut it out to ensure it was symmetrical. I then cut the two halves out of felt and stitched them together down the nose and ears to give it definition. Once I had sown it together I adjusted it to fit her face trimming the eye holes where needed. I glued some nylon thread carefully removed from an optic fibre lamp!! to create whiskers and a pink button for the nose - I used elastic to join it at the back so she could easily remove it and put it on at school.

The mask made the costume and  actually could have been teamed effectively with an orange  T and Jeans.

 Rebecca  however found some orange fabric all be herself when I was out getting Sophie's fabric and I just couldn't disappoint her - does that make me a soft touch - probably.
I made a simple T shaped tunic and trimmed the neck and  sleeves with some fluffy orange trim - which I also used to create a tail - stitching some bias binding on to the end to make a loop which I attached to a belt.

It was very orange but it was fun.






Coming soon - The fairy godmother

Share a Story

During my time at home I have enjoyed participating in several courses, they have been a great opportunity to  engage with grown ups!! and to learn and develop skills.
The most recent course  was  a 'share a story' course, it was run by the family learning  dept of the local council and the library.

The idea of the course was to encourage  parents to share stories be they read or made up with their  under sevens using a story sack.

 A story sack is basically a bag that contains elements to enhance the story  and engage children with the story.

 Goldilocks and the Three Bears

We created a simple sack , this could be any off cut of fabric or an old pillow case.

I chose to cut letters from felt and sew them on but they could be glued on with fabric glue or written on with a permanent marker.

Puppets

Simple puppets can be created by decorating cardboard images - many sites offer colouring pages that can be printed onto card and decorated. Annie painted these and we laminated the for durability.                             

      

 

These hand puppets were created using a pattern from Operation Christmas child http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/knitting-patterns     

 I used stocking stitch and varied the needle size to change the size of the bear.

Goldilocks was made using felt and oddment of fabric from a pattern in a magazine.

Background
These are great if you are reading to a number of children as they are in effect the picture. They could be created on card using paper, or three sides of cardboard box could be decorated and used as a backdrop - the advantage of this is that it could be freestanding.

I used felt to create a bold image of a cottage . The front of the cottage is attached with Velcro so can be removed to reveal the inside of the cottage.

Props
These are items that help to illustrate the story. I kept these simple  going for the bowls, chairs and beds. I made them out of felt with Velcro allowing them to stick to the inside of the cottage.

 

Flashcards 

This story repeats the phrase 'much too' which was ideal for introducing words  for new readers, it also introduced the idea of opposites.

Game

A game provides an associated activity linked to the story in some way. This simple game is simple enough for pre-schoolers. They can use a coloured dice and match the colours. 

 

Older children can play using a standard dice and count the spots. The game can be played by a child on there own  or with a number of children and the difficulty level can be varied.
I drew the original design then photocopied it onto card and roped in some friends to colour them in then laminated them for durability.

All my girls love their sack and seeing Annie playing with it and telling the story is just a delight.

Gruffalo story sack coming soon!!

Hawaian Birthday

My girls love planning their parties way in advance  - the party pieces catalogue arrives sometime in November and they are off!

All three are sorted with ideas and themes months before their birthdays - so this year Annie wanted Cinderella and Rebecca  Moshi monsters but Sophie was thinking beyond the catalogue and wanted a disco!!

 She eventally came up with the Hawaian Theme which gave a lot of scope for decorations but was a challenge when it came to the cake.
 


She didn't like the Hawaian themed ones I showed her, then we found a sprinkle cake and she loved the idea - though needed some persuasion to have two teirs rather then three!!

 I had been given some wonky tins when I made my sisters wedding cake so I decided to go wonky!

I coated the cakes with buttercream to seal them, chilled them, then did another coat of buttercream - then covered them in sprinkles - it was fiddly and there were sprinkles everywhere! but I loved the result.

For the topper I made some flip flops -  I used modelling paste for the base which I cut freehand, punched holes where the straps would go and allowed a couple of days for then to dry out.

 

 I painted the flowers on using food colouring  then used strawberring lances for the straps - with hindsight making them out of paste would have been less fiddly but I loved the way they looked - I finished the straps with a paste flower painted to match


   
  
The candles fitted into the design and I loved its simplicity. Sophie loved it which made even clearing up the sprinkles worthwhile!!


















The hawaian inspired cup cakes  were made using a chocolate mold and coloured chocolate.
 















Then just to add a touch of something slightly healthier I made some small fruit plates which the kids really enjoyed

 - well most of them - Sophie doesn't do fruit!!!