Books and Garden Plans

The weather today has not been very good here, lots of rain and grey sky. So while we were having a cup of tea and looking outside at the gloom we were thinking about what to do with our pond.  We have had a pond at all three houses we have lived at and my husband has built all of them, recently however we have lost all of our fish in quite a short time, over a couple of months.
 We had ten very large koy carp, we had them from small and some moved here with us, a few months ago they started to disappear and three died. This has left us with an empty pond, my husband thinks it was a heron that took them as we have seen it around but due to the nature of where our pond is they can't usually fly in at that angle or so he thought.  It did crash into the kitchen window one day though and went with a right bang!  So, I'm not entirely convinced that it got away with so many huge fish but what other explanation?
This has made him think is there any point adding more fish for them to be poached by the heron, so earlier he suggested keeping the stone base there and building me a greenhouse on top. He would have to cut an opening at the bottom and build the wooden frame and roof.
Here is our empty pond...

So I quite like this idea, I have a bit of extra time in the week now that  I finish at lunch on Thursday, it would be good to try and grow stuff we can eat. We would probably keep the little pond at the side for a feature.

I had a look at a few images and liked the look of this one...

I don't know if this image will last it's just one I found on google images, just as an idea that sort of door, plain frames, painted but we would probably have it all wood at the back as we wouldn't be able to get to clean the glass on the other side.

So if we can source materials cheap enough this may be happening later on.

I visited the library earlier and got three books to read, well two to read and one cook book.

I thought the Allergy free cook book might be useful as I am not impressed with the gluten free cooking so far! It used to be the case that I could make pastry and buns and everything would be edible, now it is all very hit and miss and sort of puts you off trying any baked goods.. The gluten free bread that I made was great when fresh but when I froze it as recommended it did not taste good defrosted! Or toasted. 

 The other two looked interesting the cover of smart change mentions how technology is supposed to make our lives easier but people are more prone to procrastination than ever, checking facebook etc.  I can see that would be a problem I know there are people who are on that all the time, I choose to have a look about once a week just in case there are messages for me on there but I  have thought maybe I will close it. The only benefit I see is  that you can sometimes sign into stuff with it for speed. 

Black Swan is about random, improbable events and how we can't always rationalize or have predicted them, it looked a bit different and was likened to Outliers on the cover and I enjoyed that. 

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. 

How to Shorten Trousers Tutorial

I have had a pair of trousers in my wardrobe that have gone unworn because they are only the right length if I am wearing very high heels. Now I hardly ever wear heels now as I would rather be able to walk so this was the ideal opportunity to show how to shorten a pair of trousers.  You have to decide though if you are a woman what shoes you will be wearing your trousers with as this can make a lot of difference to how they look. Too short and you will not be able to wear with heels and too long and you can only wear with heels!  Men do not have this trouble ( well mostly they don't) so really you have to choose which type of heel size they will be worn with and then try them on.
If  you have other trousers that are the perfect length you can skip trying them on and work from that pair. If this is the case simply lay out the good fitting trousers, put the new ones on top (making sure everything is lined up) and mark the new finish line with a line of pins on the new trousers. Also be sure they fit correctly at the waist because if they are drooping due to being loose this will affect the hemline.
Now if you don't have a pair that are the exact right length or you have new shoes that you will be wearing these trousers with here is what you do.

Try on the trousers with the shoes and get a friend or family member to help you turn up one leg and pin. This may take a bit of trial and error but don't try to do it yourself because as you tip forward you are changing the hem length. You only really need to get one leg done then you can take them off.

Next lay them out on a flat surface and take up the other leg to match, once you are happy they are the same you are going to place a line of pins along the bottom of the fold, this is your finished length.
You can now take the other pins out ( the ones that are holding up the hem) and let the hem fall back down.

This is what it will look like now, as you can see mine are being shortened by quite a lot. The line of pins will be your finished length.

Next you want to cut away the excess, if it is a lot you can cut it straight off like I do here...

If it is only a small amount you will need to unpick the existing hem first and iron that down before cutting away the excess. I usually do a hem of about 1 1/2 -2inch.

You will want to finish this raw edge so either over lock or zig zag stitch, I used a zig zag on number 7.

Now you need to fold back your hem so that the pins are at the bottom of the fold...

If you need to add more pins once you have folded it to keep your fold in place but don't confuse them with your original line, this line ensures your hem is nice and straight as you hand stitch.

Yes, you are going to hand stitch the hem, some canvas trousers and of course jeans have a machine hem but dress trousers usually need an invisible hem.  There are fancy machines like the ones used in factories that give an invisible machine hem, but they can't be that good or why would hems on store bought trousers always be coming down?

Right make a good knot and hide it under the turned up fabric, do a few stitches there on top so it is secure. Now put your needle through only catching some of the fabric on the wrong side ( don't go right through) angle your needle to the left and come up through the hem as in the picture above. I am right handed so I work right to left, if you are left handed just reverse it. Pull the needle all the way through now and repeat all the way around the hem taking care not to pucker and keep the stitches even. Finish with a good knot, what I tend to do is push the needle through like in the picture above then wrap the cotton around the end of the needle a couple of times then pull it right through and that gives a good strong knot. 

When finished all your stitching will be invisible, they now just need pressing to make the hem crisp. Either do this on the wrong side or put a piece of cotton over the top to stop them going shiny.

I hope this has inspired a few people to have a go and was not too confusing, I often get asked by friends and family to shorten trousers so I know this is a common problem for many people. Don't be discouraged if your hand sewing is slow at first, just take your time, you will get quicker.

Gluten Free Bread (First try!)

Yesterday I had a go at making some gluten free bread. I've had the flour in the cupboard for a few weeks but not got around to trying it because, well the pastry I made was a disaster, the pizza base was chewy and odd, then last week I bought some ready made gluten free pastry from the frozen section and that was horrible too!  So needless to say I was not feeling very inspired to try any more gluten free baking, then yesterday I thought well I have the bread flour now so I may as well give it a go.
The recipe was on the back of the Dove Farm packet and I just stuck to that, lots of people had said that it comes out ok. A few suggested extra xantham gum, but have you seen what that stuff is?? It is not something I want to consume more of if I can help it.

As you can see it didn't rise very much but apparently that is usual for this type of flour. I think it looks more like madera cake but that doesn't matter because it tastes nice, and the best bit is there is a lovely crust all the way around. There is no picture before I cut it as I forgot and one tip was to slice while still warm so I did that then realized I had not taken a photo.  I had some straight away with jam then froze the rest.

I didn't expect it to come out like a regular loaf I just wanted something I could maybe toast to put eggs on, or have with soup. I am happy with that, it probably still cost about £1 to make as the flour is so expensive but that is better than the £3 they charge for a gluten free loaf and they are so tiny!  This one was done in 2lb tin it just isn't very tall.

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.