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

Brand V Budget | Food | Natural Yogurt

One basic weekly shop item that I like to save on is yogurt. We have a little tradition of having fruit, yogurt and muesli/granola as a weekend breakfast.

So this is something I currently buy once a week, but depending on my diet at the time I may buy more. For instance if I am being careful I have been known to use this in smoothies, salads (to make the mayo go further calorie wise), and as a 'dessert' alternative (with honey), I've even used it to make white sauce for lasagna and moussaka.

I always used to purchase the Yeo Valley yogurt, and on several occasions it wasn't in stock so I had to use an alternative, usually Tesco's own brand standard version, then I got a little brave and tried the value one, to be perfectly honest I don't know why I didn't do that sooner.

See below for a comparison of the yogurts I have tried and what the annual cost would be. Just to be clear the only ingredient in each of the below yogurts is Milk, as I would hope, watch out however as some of the low fat yogurts on the shelves contain thickeners such as modified maize starch (cornflour I think).

All low fat natural yogurt is fairly runny, all I do, say if I want a thicker consistency is strain it myself. It might sound like a lot of work but it's much cheaper than thick Greek yogurt, and the strained ones are much nicer, but more expensive than those that contain thickening agents. To thicken, I place a non fluffy clean tea towel or piece of muslin cloth in a sieve, I then balance the sieve over a large jug/bowl, add the yogurt into the tea towel and cover, leaving in the fridge over night. In the morning you will have a really thick, creamy yogurt! Truth be told I went through a phase of making my own yogurt, but it's a fairly lengthy process and it's so much easier to just buy it.

1 pot per week @ £0.45 (52 X 0.45 = £23.40 PER YEAR) 

1 pot per week @ £0.90 (52 X 0.90 = £46.80) 

£23.40 more expensive than Tesco Everyday Value over the course of a year

1 pot per week @ £1.50 (52 X 1.50 = £78) 

£31.20 more expensive than Tesco Own Brand over the course of a year

£54.60 more expensive than Tesco Everyday Value over the course of a year

And, here's the end result, I can afford to spend a little more on a healthy sugar alternative such as date nectar or agave nectar (derived from cacti), and a really delicious granola or muesli.

Now you've read this, is this something you currently save on? If not, is it something you will consider on your next supermarket shop? 

Cookie x

Brand Vs Budget | Food | Crumpets

I don't know about you but I'm partial to a crumpet or two at the weekends. It's something I really only buy once a week as I don't have time usually in the mornings, but come the weekend they feature in 'Brunch'

I have always bought branded crumpets until last week when I picked up some Tesco Everyday Value crumpets just to see.

The first thing I noticed is that they contain less calories, because, yes they are smaller. With ordinary crumpets they are really thick and I think having tried the cheaper ones that they don't need to be so thick. I still have the same amount of crumpets but for less calories and less pennies, that can't be bad!

So, to be perfectly honest the cheaper ones are smaller but aside from that I didn't really notice a substantial difference and I am happy to continue buying the cheaper ones as opposed to the branded product. 

Whats the price difference you ask?

WARBURTONS

98kcals per crumpet
£0.89 per 6 = £0.15 each
£0.89 X 1 per week 52 = £46.28 per year
I have 3 per week X 98Kcal = 294kcals
294Kcals per week X 52 = 15,288 calories per year (not including the butter..)

TESCO EVERDAY VALUE

73Kcal per crumpet

£0.37 per 6 = £0.06 each

£0.37 X 1 per week 52 = £19.24 per year
I have 3 per week X 73Kcal = 219kcals
219Kcals per week X 52 = 11,388 calories per year (not including the butter..)

The saving from buying the Tesco own branded product 

Money = £46.28 - £19.24 = £27.04

Calories = 15,288kcals - 11,388kcals = 3,900kcals (nearly 2 days worth of calorie intake for women)

For me that's a great monetary saving which is also helping my waistline, whats not to like here? You still get your crumpets, you just get a little less and overall they cost you much less.

Cookie x

Brand Vs Budget | Beauty | Cotton Wool Pads

For years I used Boots for all my beauty essentials, including cotton wool pads.

I thought I'd write about these because they feature at least twice a day, every day (I use a minimum of 3 each day) in my routine so over the year they are something I get through a lot of.

So let's start with the more expensive cotton wool pads, these come from boots and cost £1.69 for 100 which isn't crazy expensive, also you can usually pick these up on Buy One Get One Half Price meaning you get 2 packets for £2.54 with the deal.

Without deal                            
£1.69 for 100 = 1.69p each pad            
X3 used each day =5.07p each day       
365 days =18.51 each year                 


With deal   
£2.54 for 200 = 1.27p each pad
X3 used each day = 3.81p each day
365 days = £13.91 each year

Now for Tesco, 1 packet = £0.55p for x 80 pads

£0.55 for 80 = 0.69p each

X3 used each day = 2.07p each day

365 days per year = £7.55 each year

The difference £13.91 - £7.55 = £6.36 (providing you get the buy one get one half price deal, otherwise that's £10.96 saved!) This might not seem a lot but think about how long you have been using cotton wool pads and how long you may continue use, for example over 10 years it could be a potential approximate saving of £63.60, which all adds up.

Also on the subject of the difference, I see no great difference in quality between the 2 of these products, they both do exactly the same thing for me, the only difference is the Tesco one is cheaper! and for me that is a win win situation, why pay more than you need to? That's an extra £6.30 (or possibly £10.96) to spend on the and other things each year.

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.

 

Please follow my blog if you enjoy my posts and check back soon for more.

 

Cookie x

 

Phileas Fogg Snacks - My thoughts

In May I posted telling you all about the Bzz Campaign that I had been given where I got to try Phileas Foggs crisps.

Below are the different types of snacks that Phileas Fogg have on offer, I have written my thoughts in purple below each of the product descriptions.

American Style Bubble Chips

Twice cooked for a satisfyingly light crunch. Louisiana Sweet & Smokey BBQ and Cheese & New York Deli Relish flavours.

I loved the texture of these crisps, they were relatively thin and had a really satisfying crunch but yet a crumbly texture. Both flavours were great, but if I had to choose one it would be the Louisiana Sweet & Smokey flavour.

Mexican Style Taco Rolls

Inspired by the classic tortilla corn snacks of Mexico. Nacho Cheese & Jalapeno and Cool Sour Cream & Onion flavours.

These are a rolled tortilla chip and as such they have a great crunch to them also. They are great for dipping as you can get the dip in the tube. Again I enjoyed both of these flavours but my personal favourite was the Cool Sour Cream & Onion flavour.

Indonesian Style Crackers

Melt in the mouth Indonesian style crackers are irresistible and perfect for dipping. Aromatic Spices & Sweet Chilli flavour.

I am yet to try these, they will probably feature in my next weekly shop. They sound lovely as I adore anything sweet chili flavoured.

Spanish Style Corn Chips

Inspired by the passionate flavours of Spain, but given a unique Phileas Fogg twist. Smokey Chorizo & Red Pepper flavour.

These were a similar texture to a tortilla chip but perhaps just a little softer and flakier. I really liked the strong smokey flavour with the hint of pepper for sweetness.

Overall I have to say out of the whole range there is one type I haven't tried and all the rest get a thumbs up from me. Perfect for parties, and sharing or for not sharing.. The only suggestion I had to make these a little better was personal, 1 serving sized packets (I believe the large bags contain 5 servings), this would be beneficial for people like myself who sometimes lack self control around delicious savoury snacks.

Cookie x

Fussy pussy cats!

 

I have 2 cats who are very fussy! One is OK, she will eat most things, however the other is the real fussy one. So I have tried various different foods, and what I have found is that when you try to feed them 2 different meal, they don't play ball, they want what each other has and then one eats the others food, and the other realizes they don't infact like the meal that they left there's for. 

So any food ideally needs to be the same, I have tried high end food such as royal canin and it was very expensive, so felt like such a waste to have to feed it to one cat who genuine is fussy and the other who in other circumstances will eat pretty much any cat food.

I am  on a mission to find the perfect cat food (wet and dry), it has to be fairly reasonable in price and something both my girls will eat and ofcourse I would like something that is good for them and wont upset their tummies.

The above photo is a small selection of what we have tried so far and I will do a quick run through of each, i'll give a rating and a little review.

Cookie x