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.

Handmade Bridesmaid Dress

I have been a little absent on here recently but so busy the time has flown. I have been busy this week making a bridesmaid dress and altering an evening dress. I have been getting up for work, leaving at 7.30 coming home, cooking, eating, sewing then a bit of T.V, bed and repeat all week. In fact yesterday I got up and altered the evening dress at 6.30 a.m because it was needed for picking up that evening. So I feel like I have been on a bit of a hamster wheel this week.
The good news is that after Easter I will be working four days but finishing Thursday lunch time, that should give me some space. There are things I like to learn and do and the reduced income is worth the time I will gain, because you can't buy time.  I think that by not being wasteful with what I earn has given me the possibility to be able to do this. If you like designer clothes, hiring a cleaning lady and eating out every night then this option may not be for you.
I prefer to wear my own label, be my own cook and take care of my own  house. But that's just me, I respect other peoples choices.
After that ramble here is the bridesmaid dress I have been working on...

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It is a satin but the lady wanted me to use the reverse side which is textured, it has an over skirt of net and the satin flowers are hand stitched between the two layers.

It has an invisible zip and a petticoat stitched in to make it stand out a bit more but if this feels too much for the little girl I will unpick that part of it, it is still very full without it. 

 I think it has turned out well I just hope they like it. At one point this week I was very annoyed with it as the zip had to come out as the fabric had stretched a little. You will know what I mean if you have ever had to unpick tiny stitches on fabric that leaves pin holes!

I am hoping for a less hectic week then I will do some sewing for me.