Make do mum

Cheat's blackberry pastéis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts)

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:56:00 +0000

Big, juicy, free blackberries picked from the park. But what's good to use them in apart from pies and crumbles? We've liked them sprinkled with a pinch of sugar and cooked gently until the fruit is just falling apart on fluffy fat pancakes and in smoothies.

Another way is to make these quick (cheats!) tangy custard-filled puff pastry tarts. I don't want to insult any Portuguese readers by saying these are authentic in any way but they are strongly influenced by my favourite tart; pastéis de nata.

Take a pack of ready rolled puff pastry, re-roll it up tightly then cut into 12 equal chunks. Take each piece and squash into a disc shape in the palm of your hand. Then place into a greased muffin tin - use spray oil for ease - and push the the pastry up the sides to create a case shape to hold the custard. Prick the bottoms with a fork and blind bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 6/200 degrees/180 fan for 8-10 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and has a hint of colour. Remove from the oven and flatten the pastry back down using the back of a spoon.

Add 2 or 3 blackberries to each tart and cover with... (look away now if you're a pastéis de nata purist)... ready made custard. If this horrifies you then feel free to make a traditional custard. Add an optional light sprinkle of cinnamon to the top of each tart.

Put back into the oven until the custard sets and the pastry turns golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack before eating.

In other news we are still unsuccessfully house hunting. Every Saturday is spent at 'open house' viewings where you queue outside before getting to trudge around an over-priced property with several other people. E has started nursery 3 days a week (hence this blog post finally being written!) and I've got to help out on one of K's school trips for the first time. I have so many half-written blog posts so maybe I'll try to finish some of them while I have some rare peace and quiet. Oh and I have a tax return that needs doing so any diversion is good.

Visiting the ArcelorMittal Orbit {review}

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 21:55:00 +0000

It felt like I was destined never to see the London Olympic Park (now known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park). We'd applied for Olympic tickets in 2012 and not got any (rubbed in by the fact that we live relatively close to the park and ended up hosting friends from Yorkshire who did get tickets). And even if we had got tickets it would have meant taking a newborn baby E with us.

The other missed opportunity was just before the Olympics when Mr and a friend were taking part in a 5 mile run around the park starting at the Orbit and finishing in the stadium. I was 8 months pregnant but looking forward to a spectator's sneak peek of the park but K ended up feeling ill so I stayed home with her.

The Orbit and the Olympic Stadium

When I was offered tickets to visit the ArcelorMittal Orbit, which is the UK’s tallest sculpture by Turner-Prize winning artist Sir Anish Kapoor, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to make a day of it and look around the park as well so we headed there early to beat the traffic and find parking (there are good links by public transport too).

The kids enjoyed scooting along the canal and paths into the park. What struck me was how huge and open the space is and how peaceful it was. There's lots of quirky street art and installations around which make even a grey, dreary day seem much more vibrant.

After a stop off at the playground we got to the Orbit but were informed that as the weather wasn't good they'd stopped the lifts and we should check back in half an hour.

We took the opportunity for an early lunch and headed (via a nose in the Aquatics Centre) to nearby Westfield Stratford. I recommend the Gyros from Olive Oil & Oregano, K recommends the fancy toilets that are "the best ever" apparently. We made Lego minifigures of ourselves at the Lego store...

... and then walked back to the Orbit where we were told that everything was up and running. Once through security you exit doors to the base of the structure. There's a buggy park so we could leave the scooters safely.

The staff were knowledgeable and full of facts and figures about the installation and they escorted us up in the lift - it has portholes so you can watch the red bars whizzing by - to the first viewing deck. There you'll find the strangest concave mirrors displaying an upside-down skyline - or person.

Concave mirror by Anish Kapoor

There's an outside viewing deck with some mesh between you and a 376 foot drop. It seemed fairly quiet when we visited (perhaps because of the weather) and we didn't feel rushed.

I've always thought that the Orbit looks like a rollercoaster, and from this view down the centre I think it really does.

Down on the lower viewing deck there are interactive screens, a small gift shop and coffee area and toilets.

The huge floor to ceiling windows give an excellent panorama of the city. We could spot Crystal Palace transmitter up the road from us, and many London landmarks: the Shard, Canary Wharf, the Gherkin and of course you have a birds-eye view of the Olympic Park itself.

Once you're done you have the option to take the lift back down or walk down 455 steps with sound snippets of local places like Colombia Road Flower Market, West Ham FC, and Bow Bells playing through speakers along the journey. Anish Kapoor says on his website that "You need to journey round the object, and through it. Like a Tower of Babel, it requires real participation from the public” So we took the stairs and my legs were like jelly at the bottom and ached for several days afterwards! There is also a third* option for descent... abseil.

Back at the base you are free to wander and take in the sheer size and complexity of the structure. The kids seemed to think it was a huge climbing frame and loved jumping and hanging off it. At least you know it's not like they are going to break it!

We'll definitely be visiting the park again. Next time we'll pack swim suits for the fountains, the kids were desperate to run through them.

Prices for tickets to the ArcelorMittal Orbit in advance are adults £10, children £5, family £26 (two adults/two children) and concessions £7. Walk up tickets: adults £12, children £6, family £32 and concessions £10. For more detailed ticket information and details on events - there's a kids arts and crafts event this August - visit www.arcelormittalorbit.com or call 0333 800 8099.

*Since my visit, a fourth way of getting back to ground level has been given the go ahead... a giant slide! Due to open next year, you can read about on the BBC website.

Disclosure: I was given a family ticket for the purpose of this review. All words, opinions and images are my own.

My top ten guest post at A Place of My Own

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 12:54:00 +0000

I haven't blogged here since February even though I proclaimed I would be blogging more. And there are plenty of half-written posts I should really finish. But there's nothing like a deadline to give me a kick up the arse and that kick came from my friend Kelly (metaphorically speaking) and her blog A Place of My Own. She's been blogging for a whopping ten years and asked ten blogging friends to give her their top ten on any subject they liked to celebrate her 10 year blog anniversary.

Outside the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich

So if you visit you will find my top ten free things to do in London with kids along with the other guest posters and lots of lovely crafty stuff from Kelly. My top ten is pretty South London-centric as that's what is close to me. And I think every venue has a cafe and some have second-hand shops... it's not all about the kids ;)

Top Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:21:00 +0000

K says he's her best friend. I'm not sure he feels the same way but he sleeps on her bed and lets her pick him up without scratching or squirming so there's some reciprocal affection.

Best friends

Or maybe it's because the first thing she asks each morning is if she can go downstairs and feed him. She even attempted to change his litter tray once but we won't speak of that.

Not-quite-so-best friends

Can you believe he was dumped on a doorstep? We adopted him through the Cats Protection League. Mr had been worn down by the kids begging for a kitten and then finding a dead mouse festering in the oven after a holiday was the tipping point (that smell will haunt me for eternity, it was even worse than the holiday where we forgot to put the waste food bin outside and came home to find the kitchen floor teaming with maggots).

After going to a local rehoming day and ooing and ahhing at the cute cats and kittens I signed up for a home visit. A week later the volunteer house-checker arrived and I answered the door looking like something out of 28 Days Later thanks to E sharing conjunctivitis with me. After explaining that I don't usually look like this (and not mentioning that my house is never usually as tidy as this) the paper work was completed and a few days before Christmas we had a call about a kitten they thought would be good with the kids, so we went to visit him at his foster mum's house. The kids loved him and he didn't run away from them as most cats do so we took him home the same day! I was totally unprepared (conjunctivitis had been replaced by flu) and had to borrow a cat basket from a neighbour, use an old tray from the garden as a litter tray and run round to the shop to buy cat litter and food.

We've only had him two months but it feels like he's been here for ages. We don't know how old he is (they guessed three to four months when we got him) or where he came from, but he was found with another, younger black and white kitten who was from a different litter. And we kept the old-man name that his foster-mum had given him, it just stuck and suits him.

K's kitten portrait

Cats Protection was such a good experience. The adoption fee we paid covered microchipping, de-fleaing, worming and two sets of vaccinations. One of the conditions of adopting is that you agree to have the cat neutered... ours is booked in for next week.

Their website has a "Find a Cat' section, a kind of Tinder for felines! They also have a surprisingly good online gift shop. I've picked out some of my favourite things. You know in case anyone needs any present ideas for me, what with Mothers day coming up and everything...

Clockwise from top left: Sailor cat mug, Bunny paperclip holder, Blue Tit cushion, Tiger beaker

Banned books

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 13:39:00 +0000

A general rule is: hoarding = bad, but hoarding books = good. A house without books is like a room without windows goes the saying. Unfortunately for me, a house with books is leaving little space for much else so I'm trying to cut down. This isn't a major cull, more like a few here and there, like pulling a plaster off slowly.

I usually get reading books for myself from either the library or the charity shop where they are returned to when I've finished. But I love art and design books and couldn't part with them, and often these books are BIG. My magpie ways also see me rescuing books. I spotted these amazing old kids books left out in someone's recycling box. There were lots more but I ran out of room in the buggy for them (yes, I did contemplate going back but it started raining). I had to take the one called "Make and Do" of course!

The illustrations in them are fantastically retro and cover the strangest topics, like this one guaranteed to put kids off ever eating jelly again...

And this one that is quite philosophical (and look at that decor)...

K and E share a room so there's double the stuff to find space for. There are so many books rammed onto the shelves that it's impossible to flip through to even see what's there. Every time we do a library run I aim to find a couple of books that we've read, and are unlikely to read again, to donate. This is a win-win because it frees up space and you can always borrow the book again if you wanted to. I spotted one of 'our' books on the library shelves looking well thumbed and that made me happy.

Then there's the books that have been pulled apart, torn, chewed, and generally destroyed. When K was tiny and we'd be reading a dog-earred, scribbled on, ripped book from the library, I used to wonder what kind of parent let their kids do this. I've since learned that that parent is one whose back is turned for just a minute. Maybe they dared go to the toilet on their own or something. I'm ashamed to say that I have spent many a minute sellotaping flaps and pages back in after E has loved the books a little too vigorously while I was busy doing something else. And then there was the time K ate half a flap from a book so I couldn't even stick it back in. Sorry Croydon Council. I've been trying out ways to reuse them before they go in the recycle bin. It just feels wrong to throw a book away!

K's school puts a book of used books out once in a while to help yourselves to, and again I can't resist a freebie. I took a Mog book home but it had some pages missing and the rest were literally falling out. Before we got rid of this one we went through and cut out our favourite pictures (while explaining to the kids that we don't normally do this to books) and made them into cards, like the one above. The picture was stuck onto card with the greeting stamped onto washi tape cut with pinking shears, and was really quick to do.

This is a nice DIY project; a collage of pages from a falling-apart book and an old canvas. It works really well when the colours are the same like this Cat in the Hat one from Fabulously Flawed...

Or maybe just use the pages as a background...

Image by Carambatack on Etsy

There are also books that are such favourites – I want my hat back, I am an artist – that I will stash them in the loft. I've done something I saw recommended on a decluttering site, that said to allocate one large lidded storage box for yourself and each child. This keeps all their stuff in one place and should stop you from holding on to too much.

What do you do with books that are past their best? Or do you have a system for recycling old books?

Poster from ANA second-hand book shop in Singapore source

Mini gingerbread bundt cakes

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:09:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've blogged; I seem to have caught every cold and bug going over the last month and tried every cure going too. Apart from keeping sliced onions in your socks, that is just grim.

I'm hoping to blog a bit more often this year and I've also been taking Instagram for another whirl which means taking more photos... always a good thing. I'm finding Twitter and Instagram easier to keep up to date with because I can do a quick check or update on my phone whereas a Blogger blog post via iPad or phone is pretty much impossible in my experience.

My Instagram account name is - no surprises - makedomum and if you take a peek you'll see some photos of our new family member, more about him to come!

I've also written my first post for someone else; a recipe for Wayfair. I love the patterns and shape of bundt tin moulds so I came up with mini gingerbread bundt cakes. Wayfair sent me the equipment I'd need to bake with and you can find the full recipe looking very polished and professional (!) on their site here.

Individual black treacle gingerbread bundt cake served with ice cream and honeycomb

The mix would work in a large bundt mould too but I prefer the idea of a whole cake that you don't have to share! And the hole on the middle is perfect for holding ice cream :)

Bundt tins are too pretty to be hidden away. There's some nice ideas here at Brit & Co on how to repurpose cake pans. This cake tin planter is lovely...

Beautiful succulents planted in bundt tins from from A Diamond in the Rough via Brit & Co

Best before...

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 11:27:00 +0000

Amongst the junk brought back after clearing some of mum's hoard was a vast array of free toiletry and cosmetic samples. This list on the wikipedia entry for compulsive hoarding pretty much summed up mum's hoarding and the collecting of free samples looks like a common trait...

She was happy for me to take them because at least then they'd be getting used. But on closer inspection some of these samples were VERY old. We're talking pre-website-address on packs, brands that don't exist anymore (remember Organics shampoo?) or exist but under a different name...

From a time long ago when Cif was Ajax, Snickers were Marathons and Olay was Ulay.

I use the same method for checking that toiletries are good to use that I would with food: if it looks ok and smells ok then I will use it. Make-up (especially mascara) and medicines I use a lot more caution with, and anything used by the kids.

Does anyone really take notice of the icon on the back of the pack that says when it should be used by? For ages I wasn't even aware of the significance of the "open pot with a number on it" symbol. I know that there are bottles in the bathroom that pre-date the birth of E (and probably K).

According to the British Skin Foundation, the use by date on cosmetics is from when you open the product. So if it says 18 months on the box, it should last for 18 months from when you open it, provided it's been stored correctly. Many of these samples didn't have that symbol or any indication of when they were manufactured. If it's hermetically sealed in its foil sachet how long will it survive and what happens when it does go off?

So far, one pack was ripped open to reveal contents that had separated and resembled cottage cheese... nice. A couple haven't had the strong perfumed smell I'd expect so perhaps that's worn off over time. I even used the vintage Ulay – out of sheer morbid curiosity – and it was fine; my skin didn't burn/start itching/hair fall out.

I reckon I have enough here to last me for a few months so I'm setting myself a challenge to not buy any new products until I've used up these first. But I'll be giving the foundation samples a miss. They turn me a worrying shade of orange even before they've gone out of date so I'm not taking any chances.

A hoarder's daughter

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:07:00 +0000

I've made no secret of my mum's hoarding but what I haven't explained is how severe it is. Those hoarder next-door programmes you see on TV? It's that kind of bad. Bad enough that the council have stepped in and told her that they class it a fire & health hazard and she has to clear her hoard to meet their approval (this is the first of many grey areas - just what is their measure of tidiness?)

Their idea of 'helping' her is to send a team to clear the entire flat. This sent my mum into a panic: how would they know what is valuable and what isn't. And with hoarding only recently being recognised as a form of OCD, clearing the junk would not be addressing the source of the problem.

Frustratingly for mum, she knows that she has a problem and has even asked her GP for help but there seems to be a lack of support for this condition. Perhaps because not much is really known about it.

To appease the council I been going over to her flat at weekends to help her start sorting. It's a daunting task with every dimly-lit room being stacked high with boxes and bags all in a coating of cat hair and dust (with the occassional fossilised cat poo thrown into the mix). It's physically and emotionally draining for both of us but mum is being surprisingly cooperative about getting rid of things and we often unearth stuff from when my brother and I were kids that makes us laugh - there was a smirk on my face as I put a smeg-head badge into the box for him. Her goal - apart from being evicted by the council of course - is to get the flat in a state that she could have the grandchildren over, which would be brilliant for all of us.

I've found the most useful tip is to get stuff out the house immediately: rubbish bags and recycling straight out to the bins, old furniture/junk - that hopefully the council will remove - straight out into the back garden, and boxes for me, my brother or for charity into my car. We also give ourselves a little cheer whenever we clear a cardboard box and flatten it for recycling! Also some proper storage has helped; we replaced two knackered old chests of drawers with an Ikea unit that holds multiple boxes which is useful when you're trying to group similar things together as you're sorting.

A few finds...

Matching family kaftans (Dad looking especially cool) in The Dressmaker Special

Angry bird... crap crafts started early for me. This was an Easter egg holder I made at school. I took a photo for posterity before it went to the big chicken coup in the sky aka the bin

A hipsters dream: from the top... Global Hypercolor sunglasses (still work!), vintage 50s sunglasses and 80s folding sunglasses

A collection of 1980s Sainsbury's Mr Men yoghurt pots

I've brought back three carloads of junk - enough for several car boot sales. All the things for charity needed sorting and cleaning/laundering first; and if I didn't do it quickly then I had two little helpers going through the boxes too. "What is this mummy?" said E clutching a Zippo lighter - eek!

Mum's now at the stage that she can get to the windows and see the beds again. Mr has been helping with the flatpack construction and putting up blinds for her (her cat likes to shred nets). She seems determined to carry on decluttering and is waiting to hear back from the council to see if what we've done is enough. I'll definitely have to go back and help more but I'm looking forward to a weekend off to just relax a bit.

Happy 5th birthday BEAR

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 12:43:00 +0000

Thank you to BEAR for sending us a surprise birthday kit to celebrate their 5th birthday. We had fun making our own bear badges and party blowers. They have a new campaign supporting the WWF (the animal charity, not spandexed wrestlers).

For every pack of limited edition WWF Paws sold (with the iconic Panda WWF logo on), BEAR will donate 5p - and 25p for multipacks - to help protect endangered bears and other wild species.

More information can be found on the BEAR website here.

Disclosure: We were supplied some BEAR paws and craft kit, all words and opinions are my own.

DIY quick & easy cat crafts: t-shirt and mug

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 11:20:00 +0000

I was given back K's P.E. bag before the Easter Break for washing only to find that her T-shirt and shorts hadn't been worn at all; although they did now reek of rubbery shoes. I remembered K's teacher telling me that it took twice as long to get 30 5-year-olds changed into a P.E. kit than it did to actually do P.E., so it seems they just wear the plimsolls to save time (does anyone else call them pumps?! I used to when I was at school in the West Midlands).

The T-shirt came in a 2-pack so I had another pristine one at home - complete with name label neatly sewn in - that would never see the schoolyard. And for some reason I'd bought ones with puffy sleeves so I couldn't even pass them down to E, so it was time to give it a makeover for K.

It was this quilt on Pinterest that inspired me...


Cat quilt by Mer Mag - tutorial here

I love the simple shape and the contrast. For my T-shirt I decided to go for a quick sellotape mask rather than faffing with stencils and scapels.

It took only a couple of minutes to mask out the shape freehand (it's easy to peel off the tape and reposition if you need to).

I put card inside the shirt to stop the colour bleeding through to the back and then got out this ancient pot of fabric paint.

It's so old it has an 081 London dialling code (a hotline to Annette Stevens for usage tips!), and the old factory is just up the road from me but has long been closed although it does still has the Dylon sign. But the fabric paint is still going strong so I painted it on - the kids gave me a hand - and then left to dry for a couple of hours, peeled off the tape and ironed to set.

You could mask off an area for eyes but I had a delve in my Nan's old button stash instead and found some round ones with a cool inner cats eye shape and sewed them on with green thread and at K's request added a little bow from a scrap of ribbon.

It's nice to see it getting some wear instead of languishing in a drawer.

I also had a plain white mug bought with the sole intention of making one of those Sharpie mugs you see on Pinterest, so when I saw this I knew I should try it with a cat design...

Bunny mug via Mommo Design

I drew on the ears freehand, in hindsight it would have been smarter to pencil them on first, and drew a face on the bottom.

K added her name... and then to figure out how to set the ink.

This link to a '21 tips for DIY sharpie mugs' post had some very conflicting information about what type of pens to use and how to bake them in the oven. My plan was to put the mug in a cold oven, turn it up high and leave for an hour, then leave the mug in while the oven cooled down again. I did this while cooking something, to save energy, which meant the mug ended up splattered with food, not a good look, and then the design went and washed off with just a gentle handwash. Next time I'll buy a proper ceramic pen and not have to suffer the wails of a child that has just seen their artwork destroyed before their eyes!

The one time the mug got used (by a very chicken-poxy girl) :)

In case of emergency: bake cake

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:33:00 +0000

Two things I'd forgotten to mention recently: E turned two, and my daughter is some kind of clairvoyant. She drew this picture of me about a week before I got chicken pox. In case you're wondering, yes my hair looks just like that in real life - like a bird has landed on me.

The two coincided meaning I guiltily had to cancel E's party; I didn't want to be responsible for another chicken pox party. I already had the second-hand garage to give him plus K had ~~been bribed to~~ graciously given up her outgrown Microscooter for E to have. With a really good scrub, the removal of all these elastic bands collected on the streets of London...

Thank you Royal Mail

... and a new pair of handlebar grips it looked pretty good even if he's still a bit small for it.

We knew the kids probably had the pox on the way too so they were also quarantined and after a week of us being stuck in the house I was close to losing my sanity and running out of ways to entertain them (Frozen for the 76th time?). On E's birthday Mr remembered the leftover tank of helium from our wedding and some balloons in the loft and that kept them happy for a while.

Birthday boy

Balloon drawings with stickers

If you are ever in need of an emergency cake like me then this chocolate sponge recipe is good. I chucked all the ingredients in a food processor, no sifting, no adding gradually and it turned out fine. Draw around your cake tin on paper as a guide, sketch a basic stencil then cut out with a craft knife...

... and sprinkle icing sugar through a tea strainer or small sieve onto the cake and add sweets for any extra bits like eyes.

The upside of having to cancel your child's party is that there's a larger proportion of cake to stuff in your face.

Treasure and tombola trash

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 12 May 2014 11:24:00 +0000

One man's trash is another man's ~~treasure~~ hideous tombola prize

An extra benefit of being signed up to Freegle is that they email you a weekly events roundup which is how we found out about a May Charity Fair in nearby Beddington Park.

Having had two chicken pox ridden kids couped up in the house for a week (yes, I generously passed it on to both of them) this looked like the ideal day out - fresh air, fields, a playground, stalls and a church open-day with the promise of bric-a-brac.

We got there early, made a beeline for the cake stall and then had a browse around the stalls. Mr tried his luck on the tombola and found he had not one, but TWO winning tickets, woo! I hoped we would win the Lindt bunny glinting at the front, but no, it wasn't to be. Instead we were presented with a grimy, used CD holder and this abomination of a torsion pendulum clock. We didn't want to appear ungrateful (even if we were) so we took the items with a smile, that was probably more of a grimace, and hid them in the car.

For some unfathomable reason K has taken a shine to the clock. It's made of a plastic so lightweight you could knock it over by breathing too hard and has REAL plastic gems at the base which is what I imagine she is drawn to. I would have let her keep it - out of sight obviously - but then its alarm went off at 5am which I take as a sign that it must go. Then I found that E had pulled off one of the 'crystals' (doesn't he realise this is a precious timepiece?) and was chewing on it, so yes, it really must go.

At least the church made up for the tombola. Book stalls were set up in the pews and I got this Ladybird classic (look a magpie!) for 10p...

Now I just need some birds in the garden. We don't get any being tree poor and cat rich. We do manage a bit of twitching on the walk to school though.

I also got this 70s looking book with stories for all seasons for 20p...

But my favourite find was this utilitarian looking milk jug with imperial measurements for 20p.

Have you had any luck finding any second-hand stuff?

Lining up to Liz's Magpie Monday

Vertbaudet review

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Thu, 08 May 2014 10:21:00 +0000

This is the first time I've done a review where I didn't know what I was being sent. I bought K's bridesmaid dress (this one that I dyed for another wedding) and Christening dress from Vertbaudet - lured in by special offers and free gifts - so I knew that the quality was good.

I also hinted, quite heavily, that I'd love these Viking wellies for E, and that I try to avoid pink clothing for K...

It was very exciting opening our surprise parcel and, hurray, it contained the amazing wellies. I love the retro looking design; they may be listed under the 'boys' section but that didn't stop K from wanting them too. There was also lots of sunny yellow and stripes...

K said that the raincoat was "the best thing ever" and wore it even though the sun was shining. Her friends ooed and ahhed over the pretty lining and buttons...

The lack of rain also meant that I was told to fill a bucket so they could make puddles...

The stripey dress (which helps support a children's vaccination programme set up by UNICEF) was a hit too and K wore it with leggings to a friend's monster party. E also looked good in stripes on a trip to the seaside (this was a welcome break between me having chicken pox and them having chicken pox). His sailor top does a good job of looking smart but being comfy. And coordinating with the deckchair.

We found the quality of the clothes was good but the sizes varied across the range. K is nearly 5 and the age 5 dress was big on her but the age 6 jeans and raincoat were a very snug fit. I'd suggest ordering the size you want and the one above to get the right fit - delivery is free over £60 and with free returns you can send back the ones you don't need.

The retail prices are higher than I'd usually pay (e.g. £38 for the raincoat, £18 for the wellies) but there are plenty of offer codes around plus you can get cashback through Quidco. If you sign up to Vertbaudet they'll send you discount codes as well as ones for some useful free gifts: we've had an adjustable sleeping bag, melamine dinner set and activity cube in the past.

Vertbaudet started in France over 40 years ago and has been in the UK as a catalogue shop since 1997 and more recently with an online store too. The benefit of shopping online is that there are exclusive products not in the catalogue and you can check availability instantly. You can find their website here.

Disclosure: I was sent clothing for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

Through my keyhole! | Great British home challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 11:57:00 +0000

It's the first day of the Easter holidays and I wake up after a fevered night's sleep to find I'm covered in chicken pox. And to all the people that sucked in breath and told me that it's "supposed to be bad if you get it as an adult" when I told them I'd never had it as a child, I can confirm that you were right, it's bloody awful. After making the phone call of shame to the mother whose child's birthday party I'd been to the day before - and turned it into an impromptu chicken pox party - I spent a week at home with what felt like flu accompanied by itchy sores that appeared everywhere (and I mean everywhere - no area, however delicate, was out of bounds) and two children that demanded my full attention.

On the plus side, the sun was shining so they could play in the garden, and being forced to stay home for a week made me appreciate how much I do like my little house.

As part of the Britmums Great British home challenge I thought I'd share some of my favourite second-hand things in my house, after all I've had a lot of time to look at them lately. To enter I took a quiz to see what kind of home style I have. I got this result, which I thought was quite accurate given the amount of second-hand finds that are in my house.

The kids love this printers tray (an ebay buy) and often want to play with the bits in it. I wrote a blog post a while back about 'Organising for Magpies' and this is a good way to display small bits and pieces that would otherwise be stuck in a drawer.

Part of my make-do thinking is that when the need arises for something, to see if I already own an object that can serve that purpose before buying something new.
That is how come I have my Grandad's incredibly heavy old shoe last (that my brother-in-law thought was an anchor!) as a thingy to hold my front door open when I'm putting out the bins.

This is one of my favourite car boot buys - a starburst clock. The buyer wanted a fiver but I pointed out that one of the prongs is missing so we agreed on £3. The hanging stars are made from recycled paper (from two Christmases ago!), I have a tutorial on how to make them here.

This retro chair - that needs a good clean! - has been used in the kids' room as my nursing chair and just for sitting to read stories. Lately it's been used to climb up to high places by K so it's been relegated to my bedroom for now. It's upholsted in wool and it's really comfy. It was in my room when I was a student and when the new landlady decided to renovate the place she asked if we wanted to take anything before she chucked it all out, so I took this. Sadly I had no space for the amazing 60s dressing table from my room that looked like something out of Star Trek.

This is a star lantern that I found at a jumble sale for just 20p. The hallway is very narrow so this little light fits in just right.

And lastly, the garden. It was an overgrown mess when we moved in, full of brambles, weeds, lots of gravel and a fire-damaged shed. This was probably the most labour intensive part of our house overhaul and Mr likes to remind me of what a nutter I looked walking around the garden, heavily pregnant, sifting the soil so that we could put down grass and make flower beds.

We used reclaimed sleepers to make a wall for the garden, half is paved and half is a raised lawn with lots of pots which have all been either found in the street, like these metal buckets, or rescued from my Grandparent's old place before it was sold. I even dug up a few of their old plants; the Osteospermum is doing really well, it always reminds me of my Grandparents when the lovely big purple daisies come out :)

And it looks like I could be spending a lot more time at home as K has some very suspect spots this morning, I think I've shared my chicken pox! To be honest I think I'd rather her have it now than go though what I just did as an adult so I'm not going to feel too guilty.

“This post is an entry for #GreatBritishHome Challenge sponsored by Victoria Plumb, a source of quality bathrooms for every type of home. Take its “What’s Your Celebrity Home Style?” quiz to discover what your home says about you.”

Awkward family photo | Magpie Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:42:00 +0000

I always keep an eye out for vintage wooden picture frames on my car boot and charity shop travels - the type that were all the rage in the 60s and 70s. They are so simple but tend to be well made with some nice dovetailing on the better ones.

Here are a couple I've found so far. Check out the Quality Street ladies! The plan was (and still is) to sell them mounted with my own artwork... if I can ever get my illustrations finished. I'm my own worst client. The other problem is that I love the frames so much I don't actually want to part with them.

'a whale from Wales' by Hello Dodo, a lovely Brighton based duo - in a vintage frame

Buying frames second-hand mean they often come with a picture already inserted. This picture is pretty much guaranteed to be terrible. So, when I bought the above frame (50p in a charity shop) which appeared to have no picture in, I was surprised to open the back and find that the cardboard insert was folded over and inside was this happy family...

There's no indication to the date this was taken but judging by the boys' (are they twins?) matchy shirt and tie combo and Dad's check jacket I'm guessing late seventies. What do you think?

The only other clue is this stamp on the back...

I wonder how something like this ended up in a charity shop; it's a bit sad really. I wonder if anyone recognises them? (They are welcome to their photo back if they do!)

Linking up with Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow.

Delayed gratification

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:41:00 +0000

Do you find it more satisfying when you have to wait to get what you want?

I was pondering this while thinking about kids clothes and how I find the majority second-hand. I'm sure the excitement of discovering something unique and in the right size (and cheap) is way better than buying from a rack of identical things on a shop display.

Two more charity shops have sprung up in Addiscombe making a great chazzing run. I've been on a decluttering spree at home so I'm trying to take more to the charity shop than back home again. I always need clothes for K and E and I picked up two pairs of jeans in great condition for E (50p each) and also some vintage toy cars (also 50p) that will be ideal to go with his birthday present next month...

I've been keeping an eye out for a toy garage for his second birthday. I really wanted one of the old Fisher Price ones. I had one myself as a child and the fact that my hoarder mum doesn't still have it makes me think I probably loved it to pieces. The little black and white dog that came with it was my favourite.

They go for a whopping £50+ on ebay, and I haven't been lucky enough to spot one at a boot sale. As I was running out of time I set my sights a little lower.

Image credit

E always makes a beeline for a Le Toy Van garage at our local Surestart centre. Any toy that can withstand the regular poundings they get at a stay & play session passes quality control as far as I'm concerned, so the hunt began for one on a budget of £20.

After many days of searching and exasperating last-minute outbids on ebay, I finally got one. When I went to collect it the seller told me that a woman had turned up a couple of minutes before me and she had invited her in thinking she was me - only to discover she was a Jehovah's Witness. I've never felt so guilty for being late. The garage is lovely though, I hope E thinks so too.

In related news, my car has just failed its MOT. Shame I can't squeeze it into La Station Entrance to get it fixed. It appears the metal coil that fell off a few months back was actually quite important after all, oops.

Linking up to Magpie Monday at Me and My Shadow where you can share your second-hand finds.

Origami pirate ship / name place

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 22:22:00 +0000

I'd forgotten how much I like drawing in pen and ink. Last week I unearthed my old tin of pen nibs that I bought at a car boot sale about 25 years ago (I realise that makes me sound ancient) along with a job-lot of ex-government office inks in a surprisingly bright array of colours considering the kind of dull documents I imagine they would have been used on: bright pink, purple, grass green. These have served me well over the years for many a school and college project and there is just something about the scratchy sound and smell of the ink that I like a lot.

E's birthday is coming up and as he's a big Swashbuckle fan I thought that a pirate theme would be fun, so I've made a pirate ship design that can be folded into an origami boat with a little cocktail stick flag to put in the top. You can write each person's name where the 'name' of the boat would be and fill with treats.
This is the prototype drawn onto bright paper which then fell into K's hands and ended up smothered in yellow paint...

The file, if you'd like to print it, is set at A4 size and is below along with another file to create the skull and crossbones flags.

Follow these instructions to fold the boat - the trick is to start by folding the sheet so the printed area is inside. Then when the bit comes where you pull the points to reveal the boat (fig.8), the print will magically appear on the outside.

Fill the boats with whatever you like; the obvious choice would be gold chocolate coins, a healthier and cheaper option is home made popcorn (easy to air-pop in the microwave, instructions are here). I used fish crackers and mini marshmallows for my road test. I might end up filling them with crayons for the kids to ~~chew on~~ decorate the boats themselves.

And don't forget the rum for the mums.

Click to see the full size A4 documents

It doesn't take a Genius

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:45:00 +0000

You may have been lucky enough to witness some tweeted photos of my Macbook laptop battery recently (I know! My twitter feed is so much fun!). If not then here they are....

Duh, duh, DERRR!

The fact that my battery took on a life of its own and forced its way out of my mac is the reason for my general lack of blogging (that and us taking turns at being ill, Plusnet leaving us wifi-less for weeks and an E who doesn't want to nap or go to bed in general).

I can only use the laptop with no battery in, insides on view, plugged directly into the mains. If the mains cable gets accidentally knocked out - which is easily done as it's connected by just a magnet - then it instantly goes dead. Anything you were working on is lost.

After looking at some mac forums I saw that bulging battery was a fairly common problem, with Apple having to recall a batch from 2006. Customers in the US seemed to get a good result when presenting a dodgy battery at the Apple Store Genius bar with most getting a free replacement regardless of warranty. However, here in the UK it's a different story. On revealing the battery to my 'Genius', instead of the "Oh my God! Let me get you another one right away!" that I was expecting, I was told that the bulging is a safety feature to show that the battery is at the end of its usable life.

Wouldn't a simple pop-up message suffice? Surely a battery that no longer holds a charge is an adequate indicator that you need a new one?

What if this applied to other things that were reaching the end of their life? Cars that bonnets suddenly pop open to signal a problem. Bras that fling free when the elastic is on its way out? Nappies that explode when it's time for a change (ok, I have had that one happen).

I pointed out the potential danger of the battery cells opening but was told that unless the exposed pods were pierced then there was no problem. My Genius clearly doesn't realise how wiley children can be and that they would be happily mauling the pods if my back was turned for 10 seconds.

So I slunk out clutching my sad old death-trap of a battery with a warning not to buy a cheaper third-party replacement. But a third-party battery was £70 cheaper. For a £70 saving I'll take the risk of hot acid leaking into my lap. Once the new death-trap of a battery arrives blogging will resume!

We wish you a scary Christmas...

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 14:30:00 +0000

On our trip to the library last week we chose some books from their special Christmassy display. I picked out this one for K because she likes other I-spy type books; "Where's Strawberry Moshi?" is a current favourite. And I secretly enjoy the puzzles too.

It started off well with this page of lovely old baubles (apart from one with a weird gnashing face... can you spot that one?!)

Click on the photos to see them bigger/scarier

But then I turned to this page... *shudders*

And I'm sorry to say it gets worse...

Happy Christmas, don't have nightmares!

All the small things | Magpie Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 14:06:00 +0000

I wanted to get this properly finished before the grand unveiling but that's never going to happen so here is my shelving revamp so far... just don't look too closely because the background paper isn't stuck in yet. Some pieces are defying the laws of physics by staying in place anyway, but at some point I need to use double-sided tape on them.

This was before: (it was rescued after my neighbours left it out on bin day)

And this is it after a couple of coats of eggshell paint and some vintage giftwrap designs printed out and stuck into the gaps...

It's housing all kinds of bits and bobs including my beloved Pupcake from Strawberry Shortcake. I did a swap with my cousin for Pupcake; she got a packet of tiny pencils that had been attached by a string to the end of a regular sized pencil (remember those?!) He still has his vanillary smell after all these years - 80s chemicals must have been very potent!

There's also this weeble that my mum brought round which looks a lot more creepy than I remember...

She found my old glo-worm too, without its sleeping bag but it still glows in the dark (80s chemicals again) but is too big for the shelves.

The only problem now - apart from the wonky paper - is I have nowhere to put it up. It's living on top of the kids wardrobe where they can't actually reach the toys. I need an artwork reshuffle or more walls or kids with longer arms.

Linking up to Lizzie's Magpie Monday

Minicrafting

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:02:00 +0000

Don't let Pinterest fool you... if you do arts and crafts with a 4-year-old (or at least my 4-year-old) the results will look NOTHING like the photos. K is still very strong willed - I can't see that ever changing - and doesn't like to be shown what to do, so I let her lead the way which gives an end result that is unpredictable and probably nothing like I'd imagined it would look. And I'm fine with that, I've accepted that that's just how she is, but sometimes I want to do something that does turn out like I expect. Something with... no kids involved!

This is pretty difficult given that E now naps when K is home from school. So yesterday I came up with a plan to create something on a tiny scale in a short space of time. A mini project that could be completed in a day, squished between looking after the kids.

I've seen loads of cute acorns on Etsy made of clay, felt, beads and more, and as we already had acorn cups collected this Autumn and a jar of beads it was just a case of finding a bead to fit and locating some paint, glue, thread and a brush.

Stage 1. Attach cotton to stem and tie at the top to make a loop.

Stage 2. Paint stem and outside of cup - I used K's ready-mixed silver paint. This required such a small amount that I squeezed it straight onto a brush so I only had to rinse out the brush, and not a pot, afterwards. Hang up by loop to dry.

Stage 3. When paint is dry, glue your bead in place and leave it flat to set. And that's it!

I've hung it on the Christmas tree, I'm not sure how robust acorn cups are (especially with little hands about) but it was fun to make, even if it is tiny. Now to think of another mini project.

Lucky strike

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 12:28:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago there was a teacher strike day at K's school so we decided to make the most of it and have a day trip. Our choice of location was limited to somewhere easy to get to with a buggy and cheap. I had a look for inspiration online (I liked this website) and our last-minute destination was decided... the Emirates Air Line cable cars by the O2 arena.

Kids under 5 go free and there is a discount for adults if you use your Oyster card so it worked out at £12.80 for a return journey for all four of us (there's also a '360 sightseeing tour' but this just means that you stay in the cable car without getting off to look around, the price is exactly the same as a return journey).

I imagined a set-up similar to the London Eye but as soon as you get to the terminal there is no mistaking that it's a Transport for London operation. There's a ticket booth and self-service machines but with an Oyster card you simply touch in through the barriers as you would at a tube station and up to the 'cabins' (can you tell an airline is involved?!) which are a strange hybrid of Emirates Air Line advertising and TFL upholstery. The kids were so excited, we had our own cosy little cabin that we wheeled the buggy straight into. The cabins can hold up to 10 people - I'm not sure how busy it gets at weekends and whether this is the norm but they come round every 30 seconds so there were plenty, with some even going off empty. There were no queues, in fact it was a bit eerie how quiet it was.

The views on the 10 minute single trip were stunning and a little bit scary if I'm honest. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me that a cable car means being up very high in a little pod that is dangling off a wire. The kids absolutely loved it and at the other end we let them run about on the grass outside The Crystal where we also used the facilities (there weren't public loos at the terminals).

The cafe in The Crystal looked very nice, I was within licking distance of a plate of huge meringues on the way to the loo, but we'd already picked up meal-deals from Tesco back by the terminal so we found a bench in the sun and took in the views from ground level.

Apart from our local station - it seems that it wasn't deemed necessary to make the new London Overground line wheelchair/buggy accessible - all the transport interchanges, including the cable car terminals, had lifts which made travelling easy with a pushchair.

After the return ride back to Greenwich Peninsular we had a wander round the O2. There wasn't much to see unless you're after a chain restaurant, but older kids might enjoy the free Sky studios with interactive activities like suiting up as Iron Man (I could tell Mr was tempted!) And if you have a wobbly toddler like E then the pedestrianised area surrounding the O2 is ideal to let them wobble about safely.

All in all it was a fun day out, not counting a meltdown from K on the train home!

More details on the cable cars and prices/times can be found here.

Nailed it... giving up nail biting + freebies

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 11:12:00 +0000

*Stands up* "My name is Make do mum and I am a nail biter"

I don't remember when it started but I can't recall a time when I didn't bite my nails. Both my mum and brother are biters too.

Despite this I have an extensive collection of nail varnishes; mostly free Nails Inc ones that came with magazines, or No7 ones that I've bought when I get those £5 off vouchers at Boots. Every once in a while I go a few days without biting and then I have fun putting polish on. I usually nibble it off again within hours (yes, I know that is gross). It's kind of sad that those varnishes only see the light of day on my toes.

After a tip-off at the Makeup Savvy blog about some great magazine freebies this month, I picked up a £2 copy of Glamour with a lovely Kate Spade for Nails Inc varnish in Urban Glamour on the cover. It's more of a warm silver than it looks in my photo and there are three other shades to choose from. Inside the magazine there's also a Body Shop 'Joy card' that has either £3, £15 or £100 credit on it - you take it into the store to find out (according to the money saving expert forum it's the five digit 'store code' on the reverse that determines what you get, with most people (me included) having 38905 which is £3). There's no minimum spend which is good so I expect I'll put it towards a Christmas gift set unless I hit the £100 jackpot in which case I could do my entire Christmas shop there :)

Anyway, I felt so pissed off at having a shiny new nail varnish and ugly nails that I vowed to do something about it. I've tried various things over the years to stop biting including: stop 'n grow liquid, clear nail varnish, an elastic band on my wrist, chewing gum... and none of them have worked long term.

I read an article explaining that nail biting is a habit with an underlying root problem. For me I'm pretty sure it's general anxiety. I find that when I'm relaxing, in front of the telly for example, my mind can't switch off and I tend to nibble without even realising I'm doing it.

So yesterday I looked for an an app that could help. I've used Andrew Johnson's relaxation recordings in the past; he's a trained hypnotherapist and unlike the kooky stereotype of "look into my eyyyyyes" he comes across as very calm, with a soft Scottish accent, and uses positive suggestions to target your unconscious mind.

I'd already downloaded his free Relax app on my phone so I just added the in-app option of "Stop Nail Biting" for £1.49 and listened to it for 20 minutes while E was having a nap. And so far it has worked! No nail biting yesterday and none so far today. As an added bonus I feel much more calm so I hope I can keep up the 20 minutes regularly. I've also put the nail varnish on even though my nails are a state, and K told me they looked beautiful, bless her.

Has anyone else used hypnotherapy to break a habit? Did it work for you?!

Disclaimer: I bought all the things mentioned myself with the pennies in my piggy bank

Do little boys ever grow up?

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:06:00 +0000

This morning while waiting at the school gates I noticed that E had one of those safety plug socket doodahs firmly clutched in his hand (I'm yet to figure out where he got it from).

It's also Mr's last day at work today. We are taking the potentially risky step of him going freelance after taking next week off for half-term. He can earn more going contract than he does as an employee but we forfeit the security of a 'proper' job with sick pay and holiday pay. He cleared out his desk drawer at work yesterday and brought back with him the following:

This lion badge from the V&A that belongs to K
Piece of pink duplo (one of the good ones with eyes on)
3 clothes pegs
Stick of rock
Copper pipe elbow
Several pens (that's about at normal as it gets)
Giant cup hook
Spoon
Post-it notes (thief!)

It made me wonder if boys ever get past the stage of stashing sticky sweet wrappers, conkers and pebbles (& child safety plugs) in their pockets. I'm not saying that it's an exclusive trait of the male gender but generally women can blame the random crap found in their bags on small children. (Judging by Mr's hoard our kids are responsible for at least some of it).

Something I've noticed with buying second-hand kids clothes is that they can come with added 'extras'... like the pair of shorts with one pocket welded shut with a gooey sweet.
What's the strangest thing you've found in your child's or partner's pockets? Or have you ever found anything special hidden in a charity shop find?

Favourite Halloween printables

noreply@blogger.com (Make do Mum) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Halloween seems to get bigger (and start earlier and have more supermarket aisle space devoted to it) every year. If you look beyond all the plastic tat and itchy polyester costumes there are plenty of free DIY Halloween projects that are much more fun. Here are my favourites for printing and making at home...

This paper tarantula is disconcertingly realistic looking. It's just asking to be left on someone's pillow while they sleep - mwahaha! The template is downloadable from Patrick Pasques' blog.

Halloween doesn't have to mean orange and black. These 3D stylised bright and glittery paper skulls are by LornaLove and the template is here at NZGirl.

More cute than creepy little skeleton/zombie by HowAboutOrange via the Canon printables website

A good one for little hands to cut-out... DIY spider webs by Be Different Act Normal

Another template from Patrick Pasques, a little moveable skull.

I've mentioned the excellent work of Brian Gubicza before and I love his retro devil on the right. Free PDF downloads for all three (and more spooky ones) available here.

Not really Halloweeny but you need somewhere to put your pumpkin pie right? These cute printable pie boxes are from A Subtle Revelry.

Anyone up for some alternative cross stitch? This tempate for a Day of the Dead sugar skull can be found here at About.com. And I found more Día de Muertos skulls over at Tattoo Donkey (don't ask how I came across that website...). I've resized them to fit an A4 sheet so it you can print it out and use as a colouring sheet. (I couldn't find an image credit for this, if it's yours let me know)

After colouring ours we added glitter and sequin eyes, the odd gold tooth and moustache, and threaded them on string to make a spooky mini garland.

Happy Halloween... wishing you more treats than tricks!