The DIY and interior design fairy has sprinkled her magic dust on me

Remember when I asked you to throw some inspiration for interior design ideas at me because I had absolutely no idea on what to do with my boring living room? Well, lean back and relax, my lovelies, because the DIY and interior design fairy has sprinkled some of her magic creativity dust on me. I have played around on a website called Olioboard and created several mood boards with different looks for our front room. I have never used so called mood boards before but I remember a friend using them to plan her wedding and I have to say: I am sold on the idea.

While she sat down and used cuttings from magazines and worked with different posters because nothing she wanted fitted on just one sheet of paper, I decided to go all digital in order to save myself time, nerves and hassle. I registered with Olioboard and within minutes I was able to create my first ever mood board. You can simply drag and drop items from a library of accessories or upload your own items, e.g. pieces of your own furniture you want to create a style around. I love the idea of creating mood boards and am already planning the look of the next room. They are super easy to create and just so effective: You don't have to walk around DIY stores to collect paint samples or spend a fortune on decorating magazines that don't inspire you. 

We have decided to go with a kind of Scandinavian look that fits around our humongous brown leather sofa (it's just too comfy to get rid of it) and we will keep all our furniture because all our pieces are only about two years old but we are going to say goodbye to our cream grey carpet carpet and will go for a completely different colour scheme for our walls. At the moment they are painted in a warm brown tone but with all our furniture being dark brown, you can imagine that it can get quite claustrophobic in here. To change this, we have ordered wooden white oak flooring and decided to go for two bright white walls and two walls in a colour called faded malachite (you know exactly what I mean, don't you?).

What do you think of my little interior design project? Which of your rooms would you like to give a makeover and why? Also, if you decide to create a mood board, leave me a link to your blog post...

Can you throw some DIY inspiration at me?

I know that nesting should normally start before a baby is born but with me it seems to be the other way round. Since Amy's birth I have watched hundreds of DIY programs, read dozens of interior design magazines and surfed the internet to find some inspiration for our living room and bedroom but it just won't come to me. It is getting really frustrating because both rooms desperately need a creative overhaul. They are perfectly livable and I am sure many people would be glad to have a home like we do. But I just don't like those rooms anymore. They're plain, boring and just don't feel like...us.

We have agreed that we need laminate flooring in our life. Of course, carpet is nice and fluffy, keeps your feet warm and gives your living room a cosy feel but it also is a real pain to clean - especially if you knock things over as much as we do and that is Amy not even included yet. However, we are unable to decide on the colour or wood effect we would like as we haven't got the slightest idea of what overall style we want to go for. Our living room is really small, oddly shaped and worst of all comes with a massive but super comfy leather 3-seater and two big armchairs that restrict how you can arrange your furniture. Also there is only one wall that we can put our telly on so that limits where we can put the 3-seater. You see, it is an interior design  nightmare if you aren't a super clever architects who designs houses for TV shows like '60 Minute Makeover' or 'DIY SOS'.

The same problem strikes in the bedroom. It's shaped like a trapeze, it's small and has one side covered in build-in wardrobes so there's literally one way to put the bed. The worst thing about it are the colour scheme and curtains, though, which are a left-over of our landlady who decided to leave quite a few pieces of furniture (yes, the sofa) behind before moving in with her boyfriend. Fortunately, we could convince her that it would benefit us AND the house if we gave it an overhaul. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, plastering walls or cover myself in dust but first of all we need to decide on what we want. 

Maybe you can help? What do you want in a living room and bed room? Do your rooms have a personal touch or did you go for clean chic? Does your home reflect your character and can you decorate a room without breaking the bank?

Mummy Alarm Review & Competition: John Crane's High Tea Shape Matching Set

Some toys are almost too pretty to play with. One of them is John Crane's High Tea Shape Matching Set that we were sent to review.

It consists of a gorgeous wooden two tiered cake stand and 15 different types of beautifully coloured and decorated cakes that look so yummy that little mouths might want to try them. Amy is still a bit young to be able to match the shapes but she loves looking at the beautiful colours and touching the cakes. In fact, when I opened the parcel that the lovely people from John Crane Ltd had send us, I was (for a very short moment, of course) tempted to keep the High Tea Set for myself. Not to play with it obviously but to put it up for decoration. It really is that beautiful!

The small wooden cakes can be matched to their places on the cake stand either by their shape or by number. This does not only allow little ones to develop hand/eye coordination but also to improve their shape recognition and to practice their first numbers. The High Tea Shape Matching Set does also make a great toy for pretend play. I can already see Amy and her cousins and friends having their own little tea parties. I just hope Mummy gets an invitation too.

The High Tea Shape Matching Set is available from all good toy stores including Dillon’s ToyBox and retails at £23.95 - brilliant value for money, if you ask me. It is easy to assemble (all you have to do is screw the tiers on to the stand) and Amy will be able to play with it for years to come. Given the fact that both the cake stand and the cakes are made of wood, I am sure that even a little sister (no, nothing is planned) will be able to play with it in a couple of years. Also, you can combine it with many of the other toys from John Crane Ltd. - I already have my eyes on the Tea Time Set and the Daisy Tabletop Kitchen.

If you want to be one of the first to know when new John Crane Toys are hitting the shelves, why not follow  John Crane on Twitter and 'like' their Facebook page? Want to see what the team is up to behind the scenes? Check out the John Crane Blog. 

 Win 1 High Tea Shape Matching Toy with Mummy Alarm and John Crane Ltd.

How to enter the competition:

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favourite cake is - required

For extra entries:

3. Comment on one of my non-competition posts and let me know which one you commented on

4. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm's RSS Feed

5. Follow @caro_mad on Twitter and tweet "Win a High Tea Shape Matching Toy with @caro_mad and @johncraneblog. Enter here: http://bit.ly/ntMjAI - Pls RT #win #comp"

6. Like Mummy Alarm on Facebook

7. Use the +1 button below and share on Google+

Please, use separate comments for each entry. Failure do to so will result in only one entry per person.

The closing date of the competition is 12/08/2011
The winners will be chosen at random.
The winners' names will be shown on this page.
Competition is open to residents of the UK only.
The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

Mummy Alarm Review: Personalised Clock from Precious Parcels

A couple of weeks ago Amy was sent a gorgeous personalised clock from Natalie, owner of online shop Precious Parcels. Precious Parcels offers a unique selection of handmade gifts and home decorations such as handmade plaques, new baby gifts, room plaques and more...

The clock we were sent for Amy is absolutely gorgeous and fits perfectly with the theme of her nursery. It's in fact so popular that lots of our friends have complimented it and asked where they could get one for their little ones. 

The clock itself measures approximately 23cm's in diameter, is made of really light but sturdy wood and is painted in a lovely pale pink (or pale blue for boys) with cute little white polka dots. To add decoration to your battery run clock, you can choose between little white butterflies or stars when placing your order. There is also a field on the order page that you type your child's name in. It really is easy as pie.

The clock being of a light weight is another great plus point because it saves you from having to drill deep holes into your wall. All in all, the clock is a fabulous product that Amy will be able to enjoy for a long time and with a price of £11.99 it really is good value for money.

To check out all of Precious Parcels' products visit their website. For exclusive offers and to keep up to date with new products follow Natalie on Twitter or Facebook.