Craft Projects for 2016 | Pinterest

For the past 2 years I have been pinning ideas to boards on Pinterest, however I haven't taken things any further.  

This year I want to give some of the projects that I have pinned a try, why bother pinning them unless I am going to do something with it. I am so happy to go on Pinterest and pin and pin and pin, so for a change I want to take a break from that and try some of these fab ideas out.

So I am going to try the below, I think one thing that might help me to commit to doing these is to assign a day/time, for instance each Sunday I will complete one of the projects.

The above looks so simple and appears to use minimal materials, and made in mass could be really beautiful decoration on fabrics and crafty projects.More details on this project can be found here

Again the above looks to be fairly simple, hopefully it doesn't just look easy, but I wont know until I try it. Instructions are found here, yes they aren't in English but the photos look quite explanatory. 

Yet another fabric embellishment, I have chosen these to ease me into some small crafty projects as I think I will be more likely to stick with it and commit the time to it if I think its going to be a quick win, For more information see here

I love these cute little button decorations and the use of crochet is great, I think these are a nice quick project. Again the instructions aren't in english, however the web page is easily translated, and I am familiar with crochet so with this one I can see just from looking at them how to do them. For more info see here 

So this one is a little different, I'm sure most of us have an old light bulb somewhere or will soon be in possession of on. See here for instructions, in Hungarian, however these can easily be translated.

I hope to have tried at least one of these little projects by the end of the first quarter.

I'd love to hear if you have any projects in the pipeline or if you have tried any of the above.

Cookie x

5 Quick saving tips

Here are a few of my fool proof saving tips that I have followed over the last year

1. Swap/cancel - Asses your outgoings such as Gym memberships, utility bills, mobile contracts and regular spends such as hair and beauty appointments. 

I made instant savings by switching to Pay as you go on my phone, swapping my gym membership to one £10 cheaper per month and going back to my natural hair colour to cut out my monthly hair appointments. Apply this logic to home insurance, car insurance etc, even shop around for a better interest rate on your bank account(s). I never used to shop around to get the best deal but over the course of a year I have found it really is worth it!

2. Pack lunch - I go to work with a little picnic these days and it costs me half the price of supermarket lunches - I also have twice as much (sandwich/salad, crisps, fruit and yogurt). I previously bought lunch every day spending a minimum of £5 per day (which stretches as far as a sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink ), £25 per week X 48 = £1,200. I make lunch for myself and my partner so it's a good saving. I tend to go for easy, quick fixes. What's great is that you know exactly what your eating and also when it was made. You could make large batches of things like potato salad and Greek salad for a couple of days and put different meats etc. with them each day to mix it up a bit. I buy coleslaw and some other pre-made items as its still cheaper but is so quick and easy to just assemble. It's also up to you, completely your choice, but I find when buying a sandwich I sometimes end up picking the tomatoes out or not liking a certain aspect/ingredient. Also I can make my lunches as low cal/fat/carb as I like whereas you are really limited at the supermarket/sandwich shops.

 







3. Don't call the caterers - You can make a good saving by preparing buffet food for parties and gatherings yourself, or having a dinner party as opposed to having a meal out. Yes, you have to cook, this could be a downside but for me that's half the fun. You also have total control again when it comes to budget, nutritional value and ingredients. I have been to so many events where the catering has been disappointing and hasn't come cheap either.

Buffet for my boyfriends birthday with homemade lemon cake

4. Use online tools - I used to buy several glossy magazines on a regular basis, I probably spent in excess of £20 per month on them until I came across pinterest and etsy - these sites are fantastic for inspiration and rule out the need for my fashion, home and cooking magazines! 

5. DIY - There are so many things that given a little time and effort most individuals can achieve. I will say creativity is a great tool for living a frugal lifestyle as is a passion for cooking as per the above. With regards to DIY I do a lot more than I used to, I have learned to do my own shellac nails using a lamp that my boyfriend bought me for Christmas, I wax my own legs and occasionally will dye my hair. 

My boyfriend is a cabinet maker so is pretty useful when it comes to DIY jobs around the house and I am always willing to muck in. 

I am a keen crafter and love to create bespoke gifts for my friends and family which can cost less than store bought but are labour intensive when it comes to time and effort. I also collect items, I do throw things away too but if I think something will have a future use then I keep hold of it.

recycled fruit box, painted using a left over paint tester - Keeps my windowsill dry!

I would love to hear any frugal tips or money saving advice that you can with me and my readers. If you have any questions or comments please fire away and leave me a comment.

Cookie x

Frugal Garden - Project

 

One of my hobbies is gardening but I sometimes don't have much time to spend and don't want to spend too much cash on it either.

 

I like to recycle and re-use, I love giving things a new lease of life. I am realistic, I know some things are beyond a project and are just destined for the bin, but I do recognise potential in some items that would otherwise just be disposed of.

 

My boyfriends hobbies are usually a little more expensive than mine, one in particular is Go-Karting, but he loves it. Anyway, during the year he will get through many sets of front and back tyres (Front are the smaller ones in the picture and backs the larger tyres).

 

 

 

I thought the tyres would be a quirky alternative to small plant pots as I have seen this kind of thing but on a much larger scale.

 

 

 

I bought a couple of plants from my local garden centre and although I liked the individual look I wanted something to stand out a little more, I thought painting would be a good option. I wanted to start of a light colour this year and depending on whether it works I would try different colours each summer, perhaps even have a rainbow of different colours.

 

I waited for a dry day and then I did the following steps the achieve the look below.

 

1. I purchased some Colours Outdoor spray paint in Linen Voile, this was in B&Q, I think it was about £6.50, it's UV and weather resistant so I thought this would be worth a try. The other required materials include tyres of any sort, fairy liquid, water and something to scrub these with.

 

2. Next I washed the tyres. I used an old toothbrush and old dish scrubber to get most of the dirt off these. I then laid them on dry newspapers outside to dry.

 

3. Once the tyres were completely dry I decided it was time to get spraying. I did a few coats starting of with a very thin layer. I built up the layers, they are not completely coated as I quite liked the dark showing through in areas and the project wasn't about making perfect shiny tyre pots. I have gone for  more shabby look. If you are looking for a more finished look you can do as many coats as you want in order to achieve that - I as just conscious of the smell and gassing out my neighbours. This is definitely a project that is best prepared in a back garden or somewhere where the paint will not bother anyone. It's also best on a still day so the wind is not blowing your paint in all directions before you have managed to even coat your tyre. In all I have 10 tyres and it's taken just over 1 can of spray paint. If you can get your hands on the tyres I would say this is a fairly cheap and easy project for all to try.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the finished result, excuse the wall behind as this could also do with a paint :-)

 

Let me know what you think? For me these are a fun way to recycle something  that would otherwise have been discarded. I would say these have gotten a fair bit of attention lately, I have seen quite a few people stop to look at these as they walk past our house.

 

If you have any tips and tricks or frugal garden projects to share please comment.

 

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Cookie x