Competition to win free spirit pretty travel change mat

There are some of my products, especially those I have been making a long time like the bandana dribble bibs that will always have a place in my heart. I have defined and improved the design over time and love choosing new fabrics for them as it always makes them fresh and new in my eyes.

My new(ish) range of travel change mats falls into the second category. Each mat is padded and backed in wipeable PUL but is also fully machine washable. They each come in their own PUL lined zippered bag which you can use to store your mat or use as a wet bag if you need to, always handy if you need somewhere to stash some dirty clothes in an emergency.

For my first competition, I wanted to offer something that might not be a necessity, as most change bags come with a change mat, but is pretty, useful and practical.  I really do enjoy making these and am always please when one sells on the site or at a fair.  Changing time can be messy and certainly becomes routine but there is no excuse not to add a bit of Carrie's crafts prettiness into the mix!

I make these in a range of fabrics (and am always happy to take requests) but I think this print is just so pretty.

To be in with a chance of winning this travel change mat, retail price £16, simply follow my blog and comment underneath with your suggestions for products you would like to see on my website at www.carriescrafts.net

Winner will be announced on the blog on the 31^st October :) Good luck!

Working to the noise of fighting children

I am writing this with the sound of my two boys playing and fighting in equal measure in the background. Not the ideal setting for writing I’ll grant you but I will take any time I can get.

Today I am faced with the same dilemma that faces me everyday, how to achieve the perfect work life balance when you work from home.

I suppose the first step is to accept that there is no perfection to be had. Often I am up late working or on the rare occasions Freddie sleeps past 5am I will get up early and sew in the mornings. I learnt (to the detriment of about 2 metres of Michael Miller fabric) that I cant sew on the days when the boys are at home. Oscar doesn’t sleep in the day any more and mistakes happen when a small human is pulling a the fabric that is enticingly draped over the sewing machine. So instead, I use any spare time I get to pin or plan or research new ideas.

Still there have been times when Oscar tells me stop working and closes my laptop, a clear sign if ever one was needed.

So yes, I have been guilty of using Mr Tumble as a babysitter or setting up an activity at the table so we can all sit together while I work but as a mum who works 30 hours a week and runs a house and has no real childcare, that’s just the way its got to be.

I work from home so that I don’t have to pay someone else to raise my children, not that I judge mothers working out of the home at all. If I hadn’t been made redundant from my career as a Lawyer whilst on maternity leave I may well be doing the same.

Why is it then I feel so guilty when I steal 5 minutes to answer emails or sort out some fabric. Surely if my children were in full time nursery they would have to share the attention of the workers with 20 other children, at home they get me almost all of the time.

I have never been one to suffer with guilt, at least not until I had children. Id like to say I am a nice person and have led a good life...although I should probably eat more fruit and veg. Guilt is however something I now feel on a daily basis...should I leave all my work until the evenings so the children can have 100% of me, should I put them into childcare so I can invest more time in the business? Guilt is however something I now feel on a daily basis...should I leave all my work until the evenings so the children can have 100% of me, should I put them into childcare so I can invest more time in the business...?

As Rebecca Jones, author of Business in Red Shoes (http://blog.rebecca-jones.co.uk/) said at the Business mums Unite Conference (http://businessmumsunite.blogspot.com/) earlier this week; I am not superwoman. I cant do it all. So I have accepted the following

1. My laundry basket will never be empty
2. My windows will only get cleaned when the kids have put that many finger marks on them you cant see out
3. My business will grow slower and make less profit than one whose owner has all the time in the world for it

and that’s all fine with me. So I'll pull late nights and sew most weekends because I know that while Carrie's Crafts isn’t going to make me a millionaire, it does mean that I get to enjoy my children, my work and occasionally spend some time with my other half, even if my house is a tip!

8 months on...

I'll be honest, blogging scares me a little.  Not because I haven't anything to say (I do love to talk!) but rather a combination of whether anyone will be interested enough to read it and when I will find time to write it!

As my introduction says I am a work at home mum of two boys under three and time is something there never seems to be enough of.  Maybe if the youngest (16months) would sleep at night I could have more productive evenings (any tips to get a habitual non sleeper to sleep much appreciated!)

Sewing is my job, hobby, passion and at times the thing that keeps me sane.  Obviously the hours of making bandana dribble bibs or newer projects like the pinafore dresses or dungerees have to take priority over sharing my ideas and ramblings but I hope to find a little time each week to post about work, life or more likely pretty things I have seen and inspired by.

Speaking of inspiration I would like to say a huge thank you to the Business Mums Unite conference I attended yesterday and specifically the lovely mummy boggers, Amanda at www.theanamumdiary.wordpress.com and Becky of www.babybudgeting.co.uk. Lots of helpful advice and tips given out yesterday all muchly appreciated.

So watch this space for the ramblings of my mind which can be quite random given my usual conversation subjects include Mr Tumble, trains, the need for cake and things that make alot of noise. Lets just hope somebody reads them!

Carrie