Have a small artist around? This colouring contest is so much fun!

Vertbaudet, the international children’s fashion and interiors brand, is giving one lucky child between the age of five and 12 the chance to design the party outfit of their dreams – and see it turned into reality!

Children can use felt tips, crayons, paint, collage or whatever else they like to create their designs – anything goes! There are templates for both boys and girls that can be downloaded from Vertbaudet‘s website. Entries can be drawn directly onto the A4 paper, and they must be submitted either online or by post by 15th September.

The winner being announced no later than 15th October. The winning design will be turned into a finished product for the winner, and will also be sold in the Autumn/Winter 2012 Vertbaudet catalogue. The winner will also receive a Nintendo Wii and game, as well as £350 to spend with Vertbaudet.

Crafts4Kids has set up another special voucher code just for VoucherMum.com readers!

This time you can save 10% off anything from the Stocking Fillers range with code VMXS10 by 30 Nov.

Here is more info on the range from Crafts4Kids:

Children’s Stockings are part of the Christmas tradition and much loved by kids of all ages, so if you need some ideas to give to Santa that won’t break his bank and that will inspire the kids then have a look at our Stocking Filler collection – great stocking filler gift ideas for boys and girls from across the Crafts4Kids range and all great value at under £8.50 – perfect for small gifts for the kids friends, nieces, nephews, cousins and the like too!

Also on sale right now is the Djeco Toys and Games range which is 10% off. Djeco Toys is a French toy brand that offers exquisite children’s creative art and craft sets and traditional games for kids.

Djeco offers some really cool toys, like the Djeco Felt Tips Draw a Fashion Show, a colouring and drawing set for older girls:

Crafts4Kids PRs got in touch to let me know about their current offers and I have to say I’m very impressed with the site. It has loads and loads of creative toys, from knitting supplies to chemistry sets, project kits and art supplies. Such a brilliant place to look for a kid’s gift.

Currently they are offering 15% off all Klutz books. Here are some of the top sellers:

Chicken Sox Hand Art, age 3 to 6
Was £6.99, Now £5.52

Klutz Big Bubbles, age 9+
Was £8.99, Now £7.22

Paper Fashions, age 7 to 13
Was £12.99, Now £10.19

Window Art, age 9+
Was £14.99, Now £11.89

Drawing for the Artisically Undiscovered, age 7 to 13
Was £12.99, Now £10.19

Yay! HobbyCraft is having a back to study sale. Art projects just waiting to happen!

	Winsor and Newton Thames Radial Beechwood Easel SAVE £100 Was £162 Now £62		Daler Rowney System 3 Acrylic Paint 4 Pack of 250ml SAVE OVER 40% RRP £35 Now £19.95		HobbyCraft Single Box Canvas Various sizes HALF PRICE Was from £4.69 Now from £2.34

	HobbyCraft Pack of 12 White Nylon Flat Brushes HALF PRICE Was £9.99 Now £4.99		Letraset 12 Pack of Aqua Markers with FREE Blender SAVE 25% RRP £16.99 Now £12.74		HobbyCraft Storage Caddy with fold out trays HALF PRICE Was £12.49 Now £6.24

	Uni-ball Super Selection 10 Piece Pen Set SAVE £10 Was £14.99 Now £4.99		Derwent Academy Sketching Pod with 9 Pencils and Accessories HALF PRICE Was £7.49 Now £3.74		Folio A3 Lightweight Portfolio SAVE £1.95 Was £7.79 Now £5.84

Laura Ashley are running a competition to promote the launch of their new Girlswear collection!  The deadline is 10 September. Read on for more info.

Children aged 2-8 years are invited to enter a creative drawing competition for a chance to create their very own design to be sold in Laura Ashley stores and on-line. The winning designs will also win a £250 Laura Ashley giftcard plus there are also some fantastic runner-up prizes to be won.

The two winning designs will be sold as part of the new Girlswear collection launching Spring/Summer 2011 with 100% of the profits from every competition t-shirt sold going to Barnardos children’s charity.

To enter, get your crayons, pencils and paints out and start drawing on an A4 piece of paper using one of two themes: A day at the seaside or a picnic in the park. Click here for the entry form.

Please post entries to:
Laura Ashley T-Shirt Competition
27 Bagleys Lane, London, SW6 2QA

Creature Comforts feels to me like when I walk into Anthropologie. It’s just filled with impossibly beautiful things!

EZ writes Creature Comforts and describes it as a blog “about celebrating the tiny details that make life so amazing and looking to find beauty in the unexpected.” Her daily inspiration posts are lovely and she also shares her etsy finds, favourite artists, mood boards, DIY ideas and her own beautiful pictures. You can even browse her blog by colour!

Elle Decoration UK recently featured EZ and she gave us a peek into her studio. Gorgeous, no?

You can really get lost in her site. Just remember not to make it feel bad about your own, less beautiful life! It’s meant to inspire you!

Here are a few of my favourite posts:

DIY: Repurposed Tins as Magnetic Organizers

Free Download: Printable Party Bunting and Cupcake Toppers

Colour Crush: Bright Pink

One Good Thing: Message-in-a-Cookie Cutter

Inspiration Daily: 6.25.10

Other sites I’ve been loving include Domestic Sluttery, Make and Takes and Old School.

Nesquik is running a brilliant promotion at the moment. All you have to do is send in a picture of your child’s artwork and they will post you a Crayola art pack. I can’t tell you exactly what is in the pack but it looks pretty good in the photo below!

The “best” entries will be featured in a gallery on the site (I have a teensy issue with “best” here because when it comes to childrens’ art, well, who is to say what’s best…) and each month a professional designer will also pick a winner for the grand prize. This month you could win entry to the National Space Centre for a family of four plus £225 towards travel and spending money.

You can submit your entry here. That is Beth from Derby’s entry from the gallery in the main above. Well done, Beth!

GREAT news for anyone who likes to do crafty things like I do! I just discovered HobbyCraft is having a summer clearance event and there are loads of great deals. Plus you’ll get free shipping if you spend over £30. Click here to start shopping!

Keep reading for some of the best offers.

Yay!!

HobbyCraft Craft Scissors – 8 inch Only £1.84 (was £3.69)				Sirdar Juicy DK 50g Yarn Only £1.79 (was £3.59)
HobbyCraft 50 Pack of Pastel Fab Foam Sheets Only £3.49 (was £6.99)				Derwent Academy 24 Colour Pencils Only £4.99 (was £9.99)
Reeves Acrylic Painting Set for Dummies Only £14.99 (was £29.99)				HobbyCraft A4 Paper Cutter Only £18.99 (was £33.99)

By all accounts the weather in London was spectacular this week…up until last night’s rainstorm. Given the unpredictability of English weather in general I thought I’d keep us safe by writing up another art project post!

This time round, we’re doing seaside-inspired “sand” art. You’ll need plenty of table salt, powder paints or chalk, paper or plastic disposable cups, clean and dry glass jars and some ice lolly sticks or stirrers (a few extra lifted from Starbucks will do).

1. Line up about half a dozen cups and pour a good portion of salt in each cup.

2. Add a different colour of paint powder to each cup – or scrape a stick of chalk with a knife. Mix well.

3. Fill your jar with one colour at a time by pouring carefully or spooning in.

4. Use sticks to push the salt into patterns as you layer and/or tilt the jar as you pour in the salt.

5. Fill to the tip top to prevent the salt shaking around in the jar and put the lid on tightly.

Optional: paint the jar lid and decorate with stickers.

Yay! Colourful, summery sand art!

Making potato stamps is fun and – assuming you’ve got already got paint – is as cheap as a bag of potatoes!

1. Start with large potatoes. Wash, dry and cut them in half.

2. Draw the shape you’d like to stamp on the inside of the potato. Remember to keep it pretty simple because you will have to cut out the shape.

3. Carve out your shape carefully, about 1 cm deep.

4. Dip the potato half in paint and stamp away! Use poster paint for paper paintings or try fabric paint on a t-shirt.

5. Rinse and dry completely before switching paint colours.

Another fun twist on this idea is to make stamps from fruit and veg and turn them into people! Check out the project below and with full instructions at Kaboose.

This is an easy-to-organise activity that children are sure to love. Plus, once you have helped carve the potato shapes, it also requires very little supervision, so you can get on with all the chores you’re sure to have, or relax with a game of foxy bingo. There’s no limit to the potato shapes you might try, and children are sure to be amused for hours!