Revamp and Resize Jeans

Usually when family or friends are getting rid of old jeans I ask if they can pass them on to me and I use them for bags and pouches.  If you have a bit of a search on pinterest you will find there are all sorts of things that you can do with them.
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine gave me a bag with a few pairs in and straight away I used a pair to make a bag (which I  shared on here). However there was another pair that was such good denim and although not my style or size I thought I will save that pair and see if I can do something with them.
Today I took the scissors to them and thought why not? If it all goes wrong the denim will go on other projects as originally intended.   They have a bit of bright fabric in the pocket if you read below you will find out why.
These are the finished jeans...

I tried them first and they were a couple of sizes too big, they were also loose all around the bottom and the style of leg was a wide boot cut.  The jeans are from Gap and have a slight stretch.

First of all I pinned them at each side of the waist how much they needed to come in.  Then I stitched that part first to see how the fit was.
 I had to cut a 'V' shape out of each side before I stitched to get rid of the rivets or the machine would not have been able to stitch over them .  If you are only adjusting  the waist of your jeans by a small amount then cut this 'v' out from the centre back seam only.
I also removed the belt loops at the sides at this point to add them on after if required.  Because of the amount I needed to take my jeans in I also had to remove the small riveted pocket within the front pocket.

I know one side is bigger than the other but that is easily trimmed to match.

Because I had removed this inner pocket I then added a piece of fabric that I like along with a piece of scrap denim beneath it for strength. I stitched this by hand over where I had removed the small pocket.  You don't have to add contrasting fabric you could just use another bit of denim.

Once this was done I stitched down the sides then tried them on for fit, I had to take a little more off.

Then I turned them inside out, tried them on  again and pinned all the way down each leg to make them fitted and straight legged at the bottom.

Then I sewed the seams following my pins as a guide.  Next trim away all the excess fabric and zig zag to finish.

I am very happy with the finished result and these are probably my best fitting pair of jeans now! It is very rare you can get a pair that fit you properly all over.

Here is the front...

Much better I think

I also like the fact that they come up higher at the back than most jeans now, I have a couple of pair that you don't want to bend down in without forever hoisting them up!

Craft Library Books

Yesterday I mentioned how I always have too many books on the go, well not too many but maybe I need to narrow my focus a little. I was searching on Amazon and happily clicking away adding things to my wish list  earlier, now many of them will never be bought, as I change my mind but it's good to have options.  I then take my list and see how may I can get from the library for free by searching the online catalogue.  Now this is usually disappointing as the ones I want are often not in the system, also the search tool is a little flawed.  For some reason you can type in the exact title and author and it will come up item not found, then you can try with some vague description and it will find the book you were looking for all along!

Now that is what it is like with the Sheffield Library catalogue let me know what it is like in your area.  Well I had that same problem today and I thought I wasn't going to have any luck at all then I stumbled across these ...

They were not the exact ones I was looking for but I just put in searches like craft for sale, marketing crafts, craft as business etc.

       

There were also a couple of other non craft related books on my list and I will look forwards to those arriving at the library. I do buy some second hand off Amazon occasionally but I like to get most from the library.

I am re-reading parts of Fluent Forever (which I did buy) at the moment. I am still not convinced by this title but maybe my resolve isn't as strong as the authors. One tip which is to watch a Spanish film, then watch ten minute slots repeatedly until you know them by heart has left me a little exasperated. 

I really enjoyed the film ( The Sea Inside, and Javier Bardem was amazing in it) but rewinding and repeating over and over was driving me nuts. I will have to concentrate on other tips from the book.

Here is a little peak at some of my bookcase...

Quite a mix I know, classics, self improvement, languages and young adult fiction, oh and recycling on the end there.

This amuses me, so much Spanish on the shelf more of it needs to be in my head!

Right I'm off to do my ironing while listening to Paul Noble.

Quick and Easy Gluten Free Pizza

I have been really craving a pizza recently, I dropped my two boys off at the shops today and they said they were going to have a Gregs, I thought Oh I would love one of those, but no, I went home.
I stared in the fridge for ages you know like you do when you think something delicious is going to just appear?
Well that didn't happen but I did remember that I had a gluten free wrap in the freezer. Now these are not good as wraps because they are a bit like cardboard but I'm so glad I kept it as it became this lunch...

Also it was really quick and easy to make.

I took the frozen wrap and cover it in tomato purée and a little red onion. put the rest of the onion away for another time.

I added some frozen peppers that I had in the freezer, no need to chop.

Also I added a layer of grated cheese, then half a sliced tomato, then more cheese and finally a little drizzle of olive oil.

I had a little salad with it and I have to say it was lovely, obviously not greatly filling as it is on such a thin wrap but it has solved my pizza problem. Plus much cheaper and healthier than what you could buy and you can put whatever you want on top.  I started mine off under the grill then thought better of it and put it in the oven, not for long after the quick grilling 7 minutes maybe less I just kept an eye on it.  I also put it on a piece of foil in the oven as it is so floppy or a tray would do.

The wraps are £2.80 for 6, so with one of those at 46p, half a tomato, a few peppers, bit of onion, cheese and purée I would say it cost about 80p to make. 

Homemade Recycled Envelopes and Little Guy's First Walk

I thought I would share a couple of the envelopes I mentioned yesterday, for the ones I made I used the T.V section out of a paper we were given. We were given lots of papers due to the puppy needing them for his house training, some of the pages were quite colourful though so I thought I would nab those.
Now all I do to make an envelope is to place the card on the sheet of paper to get an idea where to fold, it's just a bit like wrapping a package really, just make sure you are neat.
It is also a good idea to position the paper so that the colourful bit will be on the front  but that might not be relevant if you are using just print or phone book pages. If you were using something like that and wanted to disguise it you could make a load at once and do some printing over the surface then let them dry.
So here are the ones I made...

Now I think they look much more fun than plain ones anyway. It is one of those jobs you could do with an eye on the T.V if you are worried about cutting into your relaxing time. That way you would be saving the pennies and the paper without hardly noticing, 

Here is quickly what I did. Lay out sheet of magazine or paper, place your card on top.

Fold your paper around the card to see where you need to cut.

Make folds on four sides of the card to see where you need to trim.

Trim so you have a flap up each side of the envelope, ensure the bottom folds up and covers the card, you can also fold the top of this to give a nice edge. Trim the top short fold with rounded corners and glue the bottom fold up. Leave the top fold you can stick that one when you eventually use your card.

My desk was a bit of a mess but I made something useful and quick.

Today also saw our little pup venture out for his first walk, I say walk but it was mostly carrying as he hasn't quite got the hang of it, and we didn't want to tire him out. 

It is getting chilly and he has very fine fur, that is why he is wearing a coat, my husband thinks we are being ridiculous (but he was shivering!) he is only young and probably wont always need one but for now he is just fine.

Interesting floor!

Birthday Cards Using Recycling and the Sad Waste of Paper

I always like to keep bits of colourful envelopes it seems such a waste to throw them away when you have opened cards. The same could also be said of any envelope really, all those bits of paper just thrown away, that could be used for shopping lists, paper for the children to doodle on or cut up and fastened together for note books to keep in your bag for odd bits you need to jot down.

As you may have gathered I hate waste,so while I have to watch tree after tree disappearing through the photocopier every day at work I try to be a bit more sensible with my use of paper at home, and not just paper we try to re-use  and make the most of our stuff.
I have a cupboard full of gift bags which are re-used at Christmas and Birthdays, any I am given are folded and carefully stored, as are ribbons, and any re-usable bits of paper.  We recycle clothes, at charity shop if we no longer want them, I often buy there also or on ebay, my children also sell on games or donate and they also buy used games for consoles etc.
There are a couple of birthdays coming up so I decided to make a couple of cards for that today. I know that places like hobby craft are full of pre-made card and envelopes and I have bought these when they are being sold off occasionally. More often though I will use what I have and that is usually what most people will have lying around.

So the white card was A4 size but then cut in half and folded now quite often there is a pristine piece of white card on the back of any birthday or Christmas cards you are given. Cut this away carefully and store, ribbons often come on boxes of chocolates, around blankets or towels or can be picked up at charity shops.

 Buttons I always save the spares that come with any thing and any clothing that cannot be donated or reused is de constructed and all zips, buttons and useful bits removed.

The silver and white background card in my cards was from a bath gift set I was bought last year it lined the bottom of the box! The pink paper I used to make the flowers was a used envelope, your name is usually in the middle so there is loads of usable colourful paper on birthday envelopes. If you are not very good at cutting your own designs you can go on line choose some images and make yourself some templates ( just remember to save them so you are not creating more waste!)

The buttons are from my stash of many odd buttons I just sew them on, silver pens come in useful for writing on your greetings and save on printing. I don't usually add further paper inside I just write the greeting straight onto the card.

Now these cards now need envelopes to fit, I will do these tomorrow, you can use colourful magazine pictures (use the free ones that get pushed through the door) or any paper big enough even saved wrapping paper just make a little label to stick on the front.  I usually find people like cards you have made because you put the time in. I have been a  bit behind on all my handmade stuff recently so I am on a real push now to get back into it.

There are loads of ideas out there for re-using paper, card, jars, jumpers etc. I will share more later.

Gluten Free Blueberry Pancakes (frugal and quick desert)

I really wanted some pudding today after my lunch and while everyone else was eating banoffee cheesecake and cream I had to go without.  I did try a bought lemon cheesecake from the supermarket's free from range a couple of weeks ago but it was awful, expensive and everyone complained!  So back to letting them have the regular deserts as why should everyone else suffer.
After about an hour my sweet tooth got the better of me and I decided to make something using what I had in the fridge.

Blueberry Pancakes.

 I didn't measure anything out as it is not necessary with stuff like this I feel, so here is what I did.

I used one egg and cracked it into the jug, added a splash of soya milk and whipped it up a bit.

I added one teaspoon of sugar and about five level desert-spoons of  GF flour (plain). Next I chopped up a handful of blueberries, heated some olive oil in a pan and poured in the batter.  I waited until the bottom had caught a bit then spread out the blueberries, turned after a short while and it was done.

To serve I added some plain Alpro yogurt, a few more blueberries and a drizzle of syrup, it was very nice.

It was a decent size serving so you could use this amount and make four or five small thin ones to have with ice cream if you can eat that (I can't).  There is a really good cheats ice cream though that you make using frozen bananas and peanut butter. You can find it here Dairy free ice cream

Pancakes are quite useful as you can put savoury fillings in them and they are cheap to make and a bonus is they are one of the few GF recipes that taste just like the regular version.

Frugal Bathroom Blind revamp/makeover

I redid the bathroom blind last year or was it the year before? Using a bit of fabric from Ikea but as we have recently redone our bathroom it no longer went with the colour scheme.  As it was so easy to do on the cheap last time I had no intention of paying out a ridiculous amount of cash to get the look I wanted.  Lets face it a roller blind is just a bit of fabric with a channel in one end for a bit of plastic and it is attached to a mechanism on a cardboard tube!

Here it is...

This is what I did.
As the bathroom is a damp place and my window is right next to the bath I decided that this time I was going to use the coated fabric. You know the kind you use as wipe-able table cloths, so we went and had a look and found this...

It has little pebbles all over it which will go really well with two pictures I have in my bathroom.

This is the lovely orange one I took down, but don't worry that fabric will be washed and pressed and I am sure it will come in useful for something in the future.

It is a great design but it does not go with the current neutral colours.

All I did was remove the old fabric by taking out the staples from the tube, I lay the new fabric over the top to get the right size and then stitched a new channel at the bottom for the plastic to go in (the bit that weights the bottom down).  If you are starting from scratch you could just make this from a bit of dowel.  I didn't even need to hem the sides this time because the fabric being coated it does not fray.  We just made sure it was lined up straight on the tube and stapled it with an electric stapler.  I'm sure strong glue could probably be used for this bit.

I showed my mum the fabric and she said she could do with something like that as things get splashed on her blind and she has a hard time keeping it clean. I told her to have a look for something she likes and we will do her blind up next.

Prom Dress Alterations and Watching those Savings

This week I was asked to alter a prom dress ready for next week so I thought I would share that.  It was too long for the girl and she preferred it just below the knee, I was also asked to make a strap for the right shoulder as it only had one on one side and she didn't feel secure in it.
 Here it is...

Now there was quite a bit taken off the bottom but there is no point keeping something at a length you don't like. I always think it's best to make something suit the way you wear things.  Also floor length dresses are very dressed up,  it's a good idea  making it this length  as it means she will be able to wear it for lots of different occasions and not just once.

The shoulder strap that I made is sewn on the inside by hand so if she later decides she wants it just on one shoulder I can unpick that and there won't be any marks. 

There are lots of bargains to be had on dresses I think if you know someone that can alter them for you. 

Things are never exactly the right length, fit or style, but a few changes can make them perfect.  I hope that by sharing this some of you are encouraged to try to altering a few of your own clothes.  If you never wear them as they are what have you got to lose?

I hope the owner of this garment has a lovely day and gets lots more use out of her pretty dress. 

Right I have a little rant now just because it is not the first time it has happened and I want you all to be vigilant!  I just popped out to the tesco to get my boys a couple of pizza's and a few bits we needed but not enough to go and do a big shop. I rushed in, saw these pizza's on 2 for £4, got my soya milk, a reduced salad, some wine and a couple of other bits, back in the car and home.  I was just putting stuff away and the pizza was already in the oven when I went to throw the receipt in the bin, it said 3 pizza!!! I thought what! I only bought those as they were 2 for £4 and now I've paid for 3.  It is not far so I asked  the oldest to watch the oven as I was off to get my money back. (he is 16, it's ok) 

When I got there I made sure I got the same lady (young woman)  she said 'Oh yeah, I charged you too much I'll get someone as I don't know how to pay it back'.

Now it may seem ridiculous going back out for £2.66 but this is not the first time it has happened, and to be honest it makes me wonder how often we are robbed and just don't notice. A lot of what we pay comes straight off our debit cards and we are often in a rush so we don't stand and check before leaving the store.

If you only have a couple of items you would probably see it but if you have a basket or trolley full and there is a big queue behind you and you are on your way home from work, do you stop and check?  I bet you don't.    So I am asking everyone to check their receipts this week and if it is wrong go back in and get your money!   

In a lot of cases like this one it could be human error and of course we all make mistakes but there is also the issue of special deals.  Now this has happened to us a couple of times so I am wise to this now, but you see an offer that is two for one, or a wine that is usually £6 but now £3.99 so you get that one instead of what you would normally buy.  At the till you have a heap of shopping, the store is busy and the cashier is throwing stuff at you, you get home and see the offer price did not come off and you paid full price.  The store is miles away and factoring in time and fuel you decide that it is not worth going back.  Thousands of people must be thinking this a day and the big businesses must be making a fortune by accidentally not updating the systems with the offer prices. Now I ask you if they are making so much money this way is it an accident??  For the few people like me that notice (in asda) and then have to go to customer services to get a refund ( which is doubled if you have it on a gift card!) they can afford to do this for all the people who go  home and don't bother to make a fuss.

This week everyone make a fuss, it is your money.  You wouldn't let someone just dip their hand in your purse so why ignore the supermarkets  mistakes.  That few pound  that  you think  is not worth the fuss get it back anyway and donate it to a good cause if you think you don't need it.  Rant over.

 Oh OK here is another rant.  Today also saw the return of Network rail to destroy some more nature behind my house, bizarrely just as I am typing the chainsaws are fired up again!!!  They have taken down another beautiful tree outside my neighbours house, she was so upset she couldn't watch, it also had beautiful pink roses growing up it.

This one directly behind the garage is now gone completely, you can just see the top of the work man's head in the photo. They are currently at it again chopping down more.  I always thought trees acted as a natural buffer against noise from the railway, also they are the lungs of the earth. It is just so sad.

On a calmer not here is one of the books I have been reading this week...

I started it as he was one of the contributors to a book I read last week, the power of silence.  It is so interesting and makes so much sense. The author is a Franciscan priest and gives such a wonderful insight into growing older and growing into yourself.  It makes you appreciate your experiences more as they really do grow you as a person.  It also says the second stage of life cannot be rushed and we all reach it at different ages due to our life experiences.  A really inspirational read. 

Repairing Shirt Sleeves

Today  I tackled a ripped sleeve on one of my husband's favourite shirts, it was not a long job but one that had been put off.  Why is that always the way? You have these little jobs hanging around which are really quick to do but you put them off and keep moving them out of the way when really you should just get on with it.
So this rip in the sleeve is a common problem in men's shirts that get a lot of wear, pressure at the elbow and a gradual thinning of the cotton means eventually they just give out. Usually it is a neat rip in a straight line rather than the jagged tear you get from snagging it on something.

Now a lot of people would just throw the shirt in the bin (wasteful!) if the shirt was looking worn or damaged in other areas or was no-longer regular wear then maybe I would break the fabric down to be used as something else, failing that take it to the charity shop. They do get paid for the weight of rags they receive also so don't go thinking things are not good enough to take, just check with your local store.

The shirt is in very good condition every where else, it is still a favourite (Paul Smith shirt found on a sale rack a few years ago) and therefore worth the time.

So what I usually do is just add a fake seam going across the back of the sleeve to hide the frayed, torn bits. 

Turn the sleeve inside out and pull it flat...

Sew a straight line of stitching just on the back part of the sleeve tapering it as you start and finish just like you would if you were sewing a dart.  When you have done that set your machine on a small zig zag and sew across again to capture all the frayed bits.  Then repeat on the other sleeve making sure you sew in exactly the same place, this way your shirt will not look odd.

Now on the good side as you can see this shirt is checked so you lose a little pattern, however this is a close up shot and it is not noticeable when hung up or worn. I think someone would have to know and be having a really close up inspection of your elbow to see it. ( Who does that?) 

Another nagging little job done and it didn't take long at all. If you have more damage to shirt sleeves than this you could always consider making them short.

I have also used this similar method on my son's chino's when he fell and made a small hole to the knee (they were new!) I did the same seam across both knees and on that occasion I also top stitched it. It just looked like a design feature and so saved them from being ruined. 

Charity Shop Finds and the Value of a Pound

Today my husband had the day off work so that we would have the day together, after lunch we had a look around the charity shops as I had yet another large bag of clothes to donate. The organising is still ongoing but I am seeing clearer cupboards bit by bit. So quite a bit out of the house again this week but a couple more crept in today because I could not resist! The first is two brand new looking books for my son, they were 75p each and he will be able to pop them in his school bag as they are not too big.  I am sticking to my vow of getting my books from the library but he doesn't always finish them in time and I worry if a drink bottle will leak on them in his bag and then we would have to replace at full cost.

The next item that made it home is a playmobil camper van, it was my husband who spotted this and thought it was such a buy at £1.50, we have a caravan ourselves but like camper vans, the children are too old for this now but it seemed too good to pass up. He gave £2.00 for it.

I  did say they were too old but we have all had it out of the box to look at all the different bits, before I took the photo I had to shout my son to ask where the deck chairs had gone, 'they are in the roof box!' of course they were silly me!

The bikes fit in the side door, I love it!

So yes I am de-cluttering but then I go and bring home wants not needs, but at least they are easily affordable wants so I won't beat myself up too much. 

Some of this got me thinking about an article I read the other day about the value of a pound being so low compared to what it was in the past, that the situation had speeded up and that you can get very little with it.

Well over time this happens anyway and I certainly see this in terms of food and energy prices but there are still ways we can make the most of a pound the best we can.

The books I bought above could be put away for Christmas gifts if not used now and there were many other used toys in the charity shops we visited for a pound or less. I think the trick is to visit smaller charities as the bigger ones like Oxfam are no-longer inexpensive. Plus the smaller charities need your money and often they are working in your local area.

The next thing is food, while base ingredients are more expensive now, stick to economy supermarkets, buy ingredients rather than ready meals, and get in and out quickly with a list or plan.  We had Veg Korma for tea last night with a bit of Quorn in it, I made five large portions and worked it out to 62p per portion with rice. Much bigger, healthier and tastier than those runny, ready meal curry's from the supermarket.

Another thought on this was meeting with friends and having a drink. If you can't fund a night out invite people round, I do this anyway as it's good to meet up but you could all bring a dish, or you cook they bring a drink or whatever you decide it's still cheaper than going out and you don't have to pay for taxi's (yes I'm still banging on about that!). On that note a bottle of wine from Aldi is about £3.49  for 750ml bottle, a pub small glass is 125ml so you would get 6 at 58p each. I know you would likely have more than one but  still, that pound coin is looking better all the time

Frugal things this week

As Easter is nearly here I get a lovely two weeks off work, this doesn't match up with the children's holiday very well as they don't finish until Thursday but it does mean I get chance to sort a few things while I am home. I have had more frugal weeks, this weeks expense mainly due to the fact that I went out on Friday night paying for taxi's home really annoys me as they are so expensive and a big chunk of the nights funds gone right there! Still I don't do it every week so I need to let that go.
So my first frugal thing is recycle a notebook to a Diary or vice versa. This years diary is a notebook I have had for a couple of years and I got it in the sale about £1.20, I stuck print out diary inserts in last year, pulled out the pages this year and did new ones, it has so many pages  there are loads left, plus pockets to put things in.  I also stuck in a little motivational image in the corner of each page and I have decorated some of the pages also, paper clipped things in etc.  Here is an image of some future months but they are plain at the moment as not yet used...

While I was tidying out my wardrobe I found an old  diary my husband bought a couple of years ago after Christmas because it was cheap 50p I think, it is A5 and I think I put it away and forgot about it (oops!) anyway there is plenty of useful paper in it so it will become a notebook.  You can stick something over the dates if it bothers you or doodle over them. I think I will stick a picture over the year on the front.

I hate for stuff to be wasted, and it is such a pretty book I suppose you could also stick ideas in for projects and use it like a scrap book.

The next thing is I am now a convert to washing stuff on rapid ( on my machine that is a 29 minute wash) I have washed on low temperature before but always felt surely the short wash wouldn't be enough.  I did a few loads earlier and one of the items was my son's light grey jeans that had a mark on the back from the park, I only thought I should have treated the stain once they were mid cycle but it has completely gone!  All this time thinking the washer had to run for one hour thirty or whatever it is, that should save some energy.

Repairing stuff is my next money saver of the week, I tend to do this anyhow but I had a dress with a button missing, a hole in some trousers (very small) that needed sorting before it got any bigger and a small hole in a hoody seam. Now these were all very simple repairs but so many people throw out such items due to some simple to fix defect.  

Organise your stuff, now I am not the best at this but I am tackling an area at a time. It is also easier to tidy and find stuff once you have done this so that is a good reason to do this yourself and not rely on  a cleaner.  I don't know why people waste money on cleaners but that is their business but I just wonder how they ever find their own stuff? I mean you put things away and then you tend to remember where as long as it is not buried under other things. If someone else does that for you they know your environment and have a mental stock take of your belongings better than you, I find that a bit odd.

Anyway while I was doing my own  cleaning/organising today I washed the cushions in my son's room, they didn't have an inner proper cushion just  stuffing and no fastener just tacked shut (they were cheap). So I just unpicked it on one side, washed them and put the stuffing back as it was all in a cushion shape.  I will add some velcro I think but for now I will just stitch closed as he wants them back! I will also make proper inner covers out of old shirts or something another day, maybe when he is at school this week.

 These also washed well on Rapid wash. 

I also made my own salsa today for everyone to have with  wraps, it works out a bit cheaper, you get loads more and you know it is all healthy with no additives or anything.

 I know I will spend the next couple of weeks thinking of extra ways to save to make back the money spent on that taxi! However on a final note  finding ways to save doesn't bother me as you have to make it into a game, there are lots of ways to be happy without spending lots of money just make sure you do something you love every day.

Shoe Revamp Ideas

I have been looking for a pair of lace up low heeled shoes for work/everyday and as I have something very specific in mind this is proving difficult. I like anything I buy to earn its keep! So I have to love the shoes, they have to go with lots of things and they have to be comfortable enough to wear all day so not too high but sometimes very flat can be just as bad. I was going to use a bit of the money I made form the bridesmaid dress but not all of it, yet all the shoes I loved were ridiculously expensive.  Below are some of the ones I have admired but will not be buying...

These are a nice neutral colour but although I love the ribbon they would not go with everything with much with so much green in them.

Again the lilac ribbon limits their use but I do love these slightly wacky shoes as I like anything a little different.

So those shoes were by poetic license and I found that they were cheaper on ebay but still more than I want to pay. My next thought was having a browse at more neutral shoes but maybe dong the ribbon thing myself then I could change them up if I wanted to.  I am currently watching a beige pair of low heeled lace up brogues on  and my intention is to add the ribbon laces if I win them, the heel is lower than the ones above.

Now you can buy the ribbon laces here Pimp my shoes satin ribbon laces and there are lots of colours and different sellers on amazon.

But I also found that you can just make the ribbon laces yourself by just using ribbon and heat shrink tubing, you just pop it on the ends with a bit of glue and shrink with a hair dryer. That might be more cost effective once you have the tubing but I suppose it depends how many laces you intend on making.

I have found the tubing on ebay for £1.35 so it is cheaper to make them! There is also a tutorial explaining what to do here . So you could buy cheap ribbon and change them to match your outfit (occasionally, it may get tiresome re-lacing the shoes too often.)

Another thing I've seen is someone using decoupage on an old pair of shoes to hide scuffs and give them a new lease of life, here is the image for that...

Now these are not really my style and I'm not sure how the effect would look close up but it may be something that would work just to liven up a scuffed heel or maybe just around the toes but you would have to get it very symmetrical I think. find out how here

Now I also like to take care of what I already own and I have a pair of much loved ballet pumps in nude which are getting a little scuffed near the toe and the sole is thin (it was to begin with but now it really is). These shoes are very comfy so I intend on finding out how much it will cost for a new sole and to have the scuff touched up, they weren't expensive to begin with maybe £14 but if I can have them repaired for £10 I would rather do that and have something I know fits well and not be adding more to landfill! It is also unlikely I would find a similar pair for that price. 

There are lots of ideas out there for re-styling your existing shoes including dyeing them a darker colour to hide marks and someone had even used clip on earrings on them for detail. It would be good to hear from anyone who has done something similar.  I will post an update on what happens with mine, I might also add the ones I am bidding on are gently used. 

Five frugal things this week

This week has felt like a success spending wise with very little waste (always a good thing) and a bargain found at the start of it.  Last Sunday was of course mothers day here in the UK and we had both mums and dad around here for lunch. We had a great afternoon with meal, desert and wine for eight of us and I'm sure it would have cost a small fortune had we all gone out. Also I would have struggled to find something to eat (vegetarian, lactose and gluten free!) so here we got exactly what we wanted without having to worry about the cost or limited choice. So that was my first frugal success.
 The second thing was I have been wanting some black skinny jeans, I did buy some from Next before Christmas  for £30, I got them home  and decided they were not worth it because of style, fit and general rip off of a price for what they were. So I  have been on the look out for some more but in no great rush. I popped into the charity shop to drop some things off and saw these...

Now the picture is a bit bright so they are blacker than they appear here but to be honest I would say they are the same shade as the ones I returned to Next.  Also as black jeans fade they can be revived with a dye. At the moment though they do not need that and I am wearing them today, washed and ironed on the reverse to preserve their colour. What's more they were only £2.49!! See I knew I did the right thing taking the others back.

Saving number three was getting a book from the library instead of buying one from Amazon, now I am still tempted by this one as the book I want is not in the library system and is currently not cheap enough on amazon or ebay from independent sellers. But I will just have to wait as I am sure it will come down in price in time so for now I have this...

I have only just started it so it is a little early to tell what it's like but it started ok if a little dark. The good thing here is if it is rubbish it didn't cost me a penny.

Frugal thing number four was I had no food waste this week which is great because I hate it when you get to the end of the week and go shopping only to come back and remove old wasted stuff from the fridge. This happens less frequently these days anyhow but this week there wasn't any, I am making a concious effort to check the fridge and ensure things are getting used, being frozen etc.

Finally I have been doing another course on Future learn it has lots of free courses you can do which is brilliant for just getting a taster for if you are interested in something, I have been doing beginners Dutch. There is the option to buy a participation certificate but I don't need that,  it is good that it is there for people who want it.

Back soon.  

Frugal Lunch Bag

My priority sewing job for this weekend is going to be to make myself a reusable lunch bag so that I don't have to keep taking it in a plastic bag.  I put my lunch in containers but then I tend to wrap it in a plastic bag before putting it in my actual bag just in case of leaks. plastic bags are not good are they, but we do tend to still have some for lining the bin and stuff like that.  All my shopping bags are reusable ones  but we do still tend to accept a few of the nasty ones for lining bins and stuff.
So I will eliminate a bit more  waste and make sure I use a cloth one for my lunch that can be washed.  I saw this idea in one of my favourite craft books...

I probably wont make it that big but I will use whatever leftover fabric bits I have even if it has to be a bit of a patchwork design.

I will not be buying any of the specialist materials it tells you to use just whatever I have to hand.  Although the book is sewing green it is not very green to buy new materials for every project is it?

I may use a bag for life between two layers of cotton to make it waterproof as these bags don't break down quickly do they and I have lots of them in the cupboard.  I will experiment and see what comes of it.

This is the book the idea is from...

It is a good book I have had quite a while and while the ideas are green you can make them greener still by always trying to recycle the little bits too, like don't throw a ruined item out without first removing zips and buttons etc, really cheap 50p bags from charity shops may have good zips or handles you can use (craft shops charge a ridiculous amount for handbag straps so don't ever buy these new if you can help it.