Archive for the ‘Gifts’ Category
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Crafty Cheap Christmas Sweets
Generally, if you want to give a present that appeals to all ages, sexes and races and don’t have a budget of thousands of pounds, it has to conform to at least one of the holy trinity of gift ideals - impressiveness, cuteness or deliciousness. Case to point - in my previous post I told you all how to make a sockmonkey- a present that hits both the ‘aaah’ cute factor and - unless you are some stitching wizzkid - a certain amount of surprised adulation from your family that you actually made something other than a sandwich with your own fair hands.
In this post I am going to show you how to make three different types of edible Christmas treats, that when parcelled together with a bit of decoration can make a gift that is both impressive and yummy. Observe! My ginger biscuit, peppermint cream and chocolate truffle Christmas tree! (for want of a snappier name)
What do you need to make this sweetie stack?
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How to save on baby cards and gifts
copyright: bensonkua on flickr
The Noodle is lucky enough to have baby friends who are a few months older than her, so we’ve been to a good number of 1st birthday parties already. Of course, this means a whole stack of birthday cards for babbas and as Hallmark and its shareholders know - cards are a lucrative business.
At £2.75 a pop, and with at least 10 babies to buy for in our immediate circle of friends, I could end up spending £27.50 on cards alone. Luckily, I’m in with a group of similarly fiscally-minded mammas who have all agreed that we only buy a gift for one baby and that the gift should cost a maximum of £10. I guess you could say that not only am I saving on cards, I’m also saving on gifts, to the tune of £90! Read full post
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Learning new crafty skills
There’s no two ways around it: I love craft. I could wax lyrical about cute crafty stuff that’s being made RIGHT NOW all over the world, but at the end of the day I always wish I could make more of my own stuff. And the only thing that’s really stopping me is knowledge and experience.
I’ve been a big fan of Sublime Stitching’s cool embroidery kits for a couple of years. In fact, I even own a mod ‘60s kit with graphics of scooters, targets and cute dolly birds. But the sad fact is that I don’t really know any embroidery stitches, and I’ve never used an embroidery hoop in my life. In the meantime, plans for making my own gifts (embroidered tea towels, pillowcases, T-shirts and baby all-in-ones), have been put on hold, whilst I continually resort to panicked present purchases at the last minute.
But that’s all about to change, because I’ve just enrolled in an embroidery workshop at The Make Lounge in North London. I’ve been meaning to check out The Make Lounge for a while now, so I’m pretty excited now I’m all signed up. I love the fact that all sorts of crafty groups have been sprouting up all over the world, where people get together to learn new (forgotten) skills and bond over slipped stitches and French knots. The Make Lounge offers a myriad of exciting craft classes, from making your own sexy knickers to creating your own festive fascinator. Click here to see their full line-up of workshops.
I’m hoping that I’ll finally get the confidence (and inspiration) to make some really beautiful, personal gifts for family and friends over the coming year. And maybe save some money while I’m at it!
The Make Lounge
49-51 Barnsbury Street
London N1 1TP
Tel. 020 7609 0275
Email: create@themakelounge.comAll images courtesy of The Make Lounge.
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The Big Move
I’m moving! The credit crunch is finally working to my advantage. It is definitely a renter’s market at the time and by moving I’m making a huge savings in rent - £2400 per year! Council tax is also less, which adds around another £360 to my annual savings. You might think I’m sacrificing space for this deal, but I’ve been very lucky. By moving just slightly out of the posh area I’ve been in the last few years, I found a place three times as big as my old one, and with a lovely back garden!
Too good to be true? Well, yes, there’s a hitch. It’s unfurnished. All I’ve managed to accumulate in my adult life is … uh-um, a dog, heaps of books, handbags, dresses and shoes, a teen glued to a PC, and some very, very precious wine glasses. That’s about it, I think…
So what do I do? My family lives overseas, which means no leftover stuff from mum and aunties this time over…
Some of you have already tweeted me some good advice:@rachwarwick, @mattwilliams, @beckyportsmouth and @planbstudio all swear by Freecycle as a great source of free stuff. @beckyportsmouth also had a great idea - set up a Facebook page with a list of what you need and get your friends and family to contribute or sell stuff to you for cheap. @love_little suggested having a look at what people toss out, hunt in junk yards and antique places.
I’m going to try all of that (well, maybe I’ll give the junk yards a miss..). Getting the keys to the place this weekend so stay tuned for a video tour and my facebook page. In the meantime, if you’ve got any advice, have a great blog for furniture or design tips I should follow, catch me on twitter or leave me a comment - much appreciated.
Posted in Bargains & Markets, Decor, Gifts, furniture
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DIY tutorial of the week: make your own statement neck piece
Statement necklaces are big this season, and are excellent for adding interest and detail to a plain t-shirt or dress. I recently spotted a really cool plaited jersey neck piece in an East London boutique for about £60, and thought I would have a go at making one myself. It actually turned out waaay better than I had initially planned – with a bonus ‘rose’ detail that came about by accident when I was trying to work out what to do with the ends.
It’s relatively quick and simple to make and you don’t need any specific skills – apart from the ability to plait. I wore it on Sunday and attracted loads of comments from people wanting to know where I bought it!
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to making one yourself.
You will need:
• 90cm x 150cm of jersey fabric in colour of your choice (if you want to make a longer necklace, you will need more than 150cm in length)
• Extra scraps of jersey to make two ties – I had enough left over because I bought a metre-length of 150cm-wide fabric
• Water-erasable fabric pen
• Scissors
• Gaffer tape (or someone to hold your braid)
• Ruler
1. Lay your fabric out flat and mark out 30cm points along the shortest length. Do the same on the other side.
2. At your first 30cm point, rule a line with the water-erasable fabric marker along the longest length so you create a 150cm x 30cm strip.
3. Cut along the line so you end up with a length of 150cm x 30cm fabric.
4. Rule another line at 30cm along the shortest length – this should divide the length of fabric in half. Cut along the line. You should now have three separate strips of fabric measuring 150cm x 30cm. Dab out any visible pen marks with a wet cloth.
5. Gather the ends together and gaffer tape the ends to a chair – leaving around 10cm of fabric loose at the end. (Warning: make sure the chair doesn’t have a varnished or painted surface as the tape may damage it. You might want to choose some other surface, or alternatively, ask someone to hold the end for you.)
6. Start plaiting the three lengths of fabric together. Ensure you keep the tension consistent so the plaiting is even.
7. At the end of the plait, use a narrow scrap of the same fabric to secure it by tying a double knot. Ensure you leave around 10cm loose.
8. Unstick the plait from the chair and use the ends of one knot to tie a double-knot around the other end. Do the same with the other end of the plait. You should now have a plaited loop.
9. Line up the ends of the plait in your hand and trim it to make sure they’re even.
10. Pull out and fan the ends to create a flower shape. That’s it – you’re done!
TOTAL SPENT: £9.10
COST OF DESIGNER NECK PIECE: £60
TOTAL SAVED: £50.90Check out the video below to see how I made it…
Make your own statement neck piece from OolaMoola on Vimeo. -
Car boot sales – the best for thrifty booty
Last weekend, my challenge was to put a car boot sale to the Oola Moola thrift test, so I headed off to one of London’s biggest in Battersea. My objective was to see what I could get for 10 quid, and to be honest, I didn’t really expect to be blown away by what was on offer. However, I was not only pleasantly surprised by the volume of quality thrift, but the prices were also extremely reasonable. (It’s an interesting sign of the times when one is used to paying high prices for other people’s tat.) But Battersea offered loads of bargainous gems, including vintage costume jewellery brooches for 50p, old Gina and Prada shoes for £20, and antique pewter for a couple of quid.
For a full directory of car boot sales in the UK, head over to carbootjunction.com.
If you’re thinking of visiting your local car boot sale over the long weekend, you might like to read my tips for success:
- Get there early.
- Be prepared to rummage – and haggle for a better deal.
- If the seller doesn’t want to reduce the price on a single item, try asking them to do a deal on a couple of items (e.g. “Would you take £10 for the dress and the brooch?”)
- Go with an idea in mind of what you’re after, and what price you’d expect to pay elsewhere (ie. you don’t want to pay antique shop prices.)
- Sunny days will be busiest – so cloudy, drizzly days are your best bet for coming away with a good haul.
- Don’t forget to take a couple of canvas shopping bags for all your thrifty finds.
I really loved having a good nosey around all the stalls, and I managed to pick up some really great bargains. I’ve had my eye vintage dog on wheels for a couple of years, and I finally got one! The asking price was £8, but I managed to get it for £6 - although I had to give him a bath when I got home! I also picked up a couple of vintage English chocolate tins for £1, and a pair of vintage ‘Empire Made’ cotton gloves for £2 (I talked them down from £3). To round it all off, I picked up a couple of old books (Oliver Twist and an English guide to birds, with the most beautiful colour illustrations) for another £1. Pretty good haul, don’t you think?
Battersea car boot sale
Battersea Technology College
Battersea Park Road, London SW11
Every Sunday from 1.30pm.
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DIY tutorial of the week: Spring basket
Check out this timely and super-pretty Easter craft tutorial over at MayaMade. We love the detailed instructions and awesome step-by-step images. Let us know if you made it!
Many thanks to MayaMade for sharing her super-clever tutorial with us, and to Meet me at Mike’s for telling us all about it!
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What would Grandma do? Recycle ribbons
Recycling ribbons and wrapping paper was a common-place practice in my household growing up – anything deemed salvageable would be carefully folded and packed away in the cupboard for use again.
But I’ve taken the recycling thing to a new level recently, by squirreling away the ribbons from the bags of one of my favourite brands, COS. They’ve always got such lovely grosgrain ribbon handles in a variety of colours. I just tear off the handles and pack them away in my ribbon box.
Here they are adding a simple and chic touch to brown paper parcels:
TOTAL SPENT: £0
COST OF NEW STRIPED GROSGRAIN RIBBON: £2.77/metre
SAVINGS OVER A YEAR: £16.62 -
The best thrifty investment
Here at Oola Moola we’re always on the hunt for clever thrifty tips, budget buys and easily-digestible money management advice. So we were naturally thrilled to discover that the latest book by author India Knight, The Thrift Book: Live well and spend less, rather brilliantly ticks all the right boxes.India’s known for her exquisite taste and sense of style – after all, she penned a book all about shopping! So she’s quite the expert guide in showing you exactly how to dress on a budget (and still look fab); make your own awesome gifts; travel the world with very little money, and grow your own delicious food.
And more. So much more, in fact, that you’ll just have to run out and buy it. But be warned – you might just surprise yourself and save quite a lot of moolah!
Posted in Beauty, Crafting, Decor, Entertainment, Fashion, Food, Gifts, Health & Fitness, Travel, Vintage
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A year’s supply of greeting cards [Part 2]
Holey moley. Has anyone out there made 35 cards - requiring medium-to-advanced skills - in one day? If so, you have my deepest admiration. It took me a total of 15 hours. And that’s allowing for the fact that I (coerced) begged my husband to help me get the job done (he’s a graphic designer, after all, so he’s far more skilled in this area than me). Here’s a breakdown of how the Day Of The Cards unfolded:
