Win A Fisher-Price Stand Up Ballcano *closed*

Sponsored by Nuffnang

When you have a second (or third, fourth, fifth...) baby, they rarely get anything new. Clothes, books and toys are mostly hand me downs from their older sibling, especially if like me you have two siblings of the same sex. I was very excited for Lucy when the Fisher-Price® Stand Up Ballcano™ arrived on our door step - something special and brand new, just for her.

With her ever watchful and protective pooch observing in the background, Lucy had a brilliant time playing with it. It took me a little bit of time to set up, but being a pretty handy DIYer, a Philips head screwdriver and 3 x AA batteries sorted it out pretty quickly. Lucy was super keen to get her hands on it - there may have been some huge excitment followed by an impatient tantrum after the Fisher-Price® Stand Up Ballcano™ arrived!

Open it NOW Mummy!

Once it was set up, I sat back and watched. Lucy is 18 months old now so she is at a stage where developments are happening everyday and she picks up new things constantly. I wondered how long it would take her to work out how to use it.

The Fisher-Price® Stand Up Ballcano™ is designed for the child to fill up the centre with colourful balls.  The child then activates the centre console using the roller ball or character on the side, causing a huge eruption. The balls spill down the side legs of the toy and the lights and music accompanying the eruption cause much excitement and encourage the baby to continue filling the centre and activating the eruption.

She quickly worked out how to activate the music by moving the little character tab on the side. Lots of dancing and clapping happened, then she spied the roller toy on top. She pushed it and WHAM! Ball eruption! Cue lots of squealing, clapping and hysterical laughter. It was hilarious to watch!

Once she realised she could make the balls erupt, she was addicted! It was really interesting to observe her chase the balls and pick them up to start the eruption process all over again. It is a great toy for hand eye coordination and ball handling skills. Lucy is already a confident walker, but for smaller babies who are pulling themselves up and learning to stand, this would be a brilliant choice.

With perfect timing for Christmas, one of my lovely readers will win a Fisher-Price® Stand Up Ballcano™! Just leave a comment telling me why the little person in your life would love one and I'll choose a winner. Be creative with your answer! You must be an Australian resident to enter, and make sure you leave your email details so I can contact the winner. The competition closes on 16/12/12 at 8pm AEST. Check out the full terms & conditions here. Competition now closed.

Cat Softie - Free Pattern & Tutorial

A few weeks ago, Anna came and sat down next to me with a very serious expression on her face.

"Mum. I have two dog toys. But I don't have a cat. Could you please make one for me?"  She looked up at me full of hope and expectation. How could I refuse? Once I made the first cat, Anna named it 'sleepy cat' because of the way I had embroidered it's eyes.


One problem - I've never attempted a softie before. Plus, I am trying to to be a good girl and not purchase any new fabric or patterns until I use up a bit more of the existing stash. This is what I came up with - a softie for beginners!

I am not a brilliant designer, pattern maker or embroiderer, so I came up with a cat that I could manage and complete quickly. And if I can make one (or three), trust me, this will be a very easy project for you too!

You need:

2 pieces of fleece fabric (for head) - 28 x 12cm (11 x 5")
2 pieces of quilting cotton (for body) - 28 x 16cm (11 x 6")
scrap piece of felt (for face)
embroidery floss & needle
small length of ribbon
hobby fill
Sleepy Cat Pattern - Click HERE. The pattern is available as a google document. If you have any trouble accessing it, please email me and I would be happy to email you a copy! roslynruss{at}gmail{dot}com. Make sure you check 'no scale' when you print.

Cut out the face template from your pattern and trace the face details onto the felt. I used a grey lead pencil.

Take your embroidery floss (I used 3 strands) and thread your needle. Use a simple back stitch to embroider the facial features. If you have never tried back stitch before, this video will show you how to do it.

Cut the face out and set it aside. Take your fleece and cotton pieces and sew them with right sides together.

Open out and use the cat pattern to position the face onto the fleece.

Pin the face to the fleece and sew onto the fleece. I found that a small zig zag stitch worked best.

Take your piece of ribbon, tie it into a bow, and hand stitch underneath the face onto the seam of the fabric.

Flip this piece over and trace the cat pattern out onto the wrong side of the fabric. The cat's neck should align with the seam.

Take the other piece of fabric and place the two pieces right sides together, aligning the seams. Pin together and stitch around the cat outline, leaving a 6-8cm gap at the bottom for turning and stuffing.

Once you've sewn it together, trim excess fabric and clip curves.

Turn the cat right sides out. Take your hobby fill and stuff the cat. I use a chopstick to help get the stuffing right up into the ears.

Once you are happy with the amount of stuffing, hand stitch the hole closed.

You now have a soft and cuddly cat softie! Here are the ones I've made for my girls (disclaimer - my 3yo gave them their highly original names!)

If you make a cat using this tutorial I'd love you to share! Tweet me, post a picture to my facebook timeline, send me the link to your blog or upload a picture to my Flickr pool! I love seeing what people make from my tutorials, it makes my day!

Toy Car Mat - Tutorial

Earlier this year I made this toy car mat for a friend's little boy's third birthday. It was a great success and I got lots of lovely feedback so I thought I'd share the tutorial so you can make one too!

They are really great because they roll up quite small and can be taken anywhere, so whenever you need your little one to be entertained, you an pull this mat out and they are kept busy!

You need:

1 piece exterior fabric 50 x 30cm (20" x 12")
1 piece interior fabric 50 x 30cm (20" x 12")
1 piece car pocket fabric 50 x 20cm (20" x 8")
60cm (23") of wide black ribbon for road
50cm (20") ribbon for tie
black and yellow thread for road stitching
basic sewing tools and equipment

(Recently I made a couple of these for some friends of my Mum - I made them at the same time so throughout this tutorial the interior fabric in the photos will change between stars and spots!)

To start, press all your fabrics. Take your car pocket fabric, fold it in half to make dimensions of 50 x 10, and press.

Take your black ribbon for the road, pin it across the interior fabric about 15cm (6") from the top.

Stitch into place down each side with black thread.

Change your thread to yellow, set your straight stitch to the longest setting, and stitch down the middle of the ribbon to make it look 'road' like.

Take the pocket fabric and position along the bottom of your interior fabric, with the folded edge at the top and the raw edges aligning. Measure and pin every 7cm (2.75") to mark the pockets where your cars will 'park'.

Sew pockets at each 7cm (2.75") interval , finishing at the top of the pocket fabric and reversing to secure the end of the stitch.

Take the ribbon you are using as a tie and position it above the road with the fold of the ribbon on the raw edge of the fabric. Place the exterior fabric on top so rights sides are together. Pin ribbon in place.

Pin fabric together.

Mark a 10cm (4") gap to be left open for turning.

Sew around all edges with a 1cm (1/2") seam allowance.

Pull fabric through the gap you left and push corners out.

Fold gap seams under and press all edges. Topstitch all the way around the mat.

To pack away, place cars in the pockets, fold up and then again (so mat is folded into 3) and tie up with the ribbon.

 You are done! Grab your toy cars and the mat is ready to play.

If you make one please share it over at the Sew Delicious flickr pool!