Sew Sew Happy!!

Ok, I will be the first to admit that this little guy is no contestant for 'best made rag toy thing'! However, I think I am a little bit in love with him. Just a smidgen! The best bit he was simple as pie to make. I am quite literally a beginner, my Mother bought me a sewing machine a few years ago. Yesterday I finally found the time to sit with sewing machine and YouTube guides and work out how to use it!
I made the owl by drawing an owl shape on the back of some scrap matieral, you can draw any size or shape- the only limit is imagination (and perhaps skill in my case!)
I then cut around the shape, leaving a cm or 2 around the edge for sewing.
Then I put this against another piece of matieral and cut an identical shape.
Put the two shapes, right side facing each other so the back of matieral is visible not the front.
Hand or machine sew around the lines you have drawn, leaving a gap large enough to stuff.
Stuff, I used the stuffing from an old teddy.
Hand sew the little gap up, making sure to tuck in the edges.
Sew on any decorations!
NB. It would be easier, on reflection, to dew the features on before sewing the two pieces of matieral together!

Once I got the bug I had to make a phone cover! I was incredibly proud as I didn't use any instructions or guides. Simple things please me! For the phone cover I...
Measured the size of my phone and cut two identical rectangles a few cm too big.
I machine sewed the top of eacch rectangle to give a neat top finish.
I turned the two pieces of matieral face inward, so I was looking at the back of the matieral.
Then machine sewed the two pieces together leaving the top edge not sewn.
Added some embellishments
DONE!!



Quite a cute little duo! And I can't say it enough but I only started sewing yesterday, these are so simple. Yes I did make lots of mistakes and no the finish isn't perfect. But as I tell my 6 year old 'Practise makes perfect!' And it was fun practising!!

My phone all dressed up with no where to go!

The worst photo of the lot, I really really need lessons with both the camera and photoshop!!

Ignoring the quality, and the fact you have to put your head on the side to see it....! Its a ... drum roll.....BAG BAG!! Yes, a bag for bags. Not a new concept but a damn handy one!!

I used to work for Nando's so I 'repurposed' and old apron into this handy bag-bag. If you want to know how to do it drop a comment below and I will post the know how!!

A thrifty makeover- check out my new key cupboard!

Me and the Mr were at a bit of a loose end today so we decided to do what all sensible people in our situation would do (no not that!) and ... scour around the local charity shops! I have been looking for somewhere to store our keys for a while, the little one is getting a little fed up of us using her shabby chic 'bracelet' holder. I finally found my key rack lurking in the back of a charity shop for the grand price of £2.50! Ok, it had spice written on it and the colours werent to my taste but didn't I say I was bored!?

When we got in, via a very noisy and packed indoor park, I set to work. First I carefully removed the old deco from the front using a wallpaper scraper. Then I cleaned the glass, it's all in the prep the OH keeps telling me! I lined the inside with some pretty wrapping paper I had hanging around and spray painted a heart with blackboard paint (that as my other posts show has been used frequently since its purchase!) I love love love it! All it needs now is some mini hooks, it was way to cold and dark at this point to rummage through the shed.

My not so realistic view of how it will look on the wall :) I am one happy thrifty Mammy today!

Just incase you haven't had enough I have reposted the pic...ok you got me I can';t find my delete button!!

Today's lifestyle change.....The *whispers*...Charity Shop!!

Today, a day that shall be recorded in my memory forever, Saturday the 26th of Feb 2011, I made my first clothes purchase from a charity shop!
It was a liberating and exciting feeling, kind of like being a child involved in a treasure hunt. I had no idea what to expect!
Now, as an avid reader I am no stranger to charity shops, I have even bought alot of my kitchen ware in various ones over the years (I am quite Cath Kidson country in style-I will post pics of my kitchen soon!) and so love love love all things crockery!
But clothes? Now I would previously have laughed and said 'Oh no, that's not for me!' But guess what? It is!!
Today I bought....

• One vintage scarf to add to my ever growing yet always used scarf collection. It is gorgeous, vivid pink and blue and a bargain at £1.99! The more observant amongst you may note it is my Mr modelling the scarf, my hair was...ummm....not great at the time ;)




• A peachy orange loose knit top for my little girl, really unusual and the sort of colour that looks fab with dark denim .... £1.29!




• A set of old shell postcards that I intend to frame to make a collage of postcards for my dining room. 99p!!




• A pretty long sleeved pink top for myself that I will wear as a casual top for shopping, school runs, dog walks, studying, blogging and generally life! £2.49!!

And the best bit of all, it is in keeping with my new ethos....reduce, reuse, recycle!

I have always donated clothes to charity shops, mainly as I am a little to lazy to keep up with the ebaying items that sell for 99p! But I had a real insight today into how exciting and satisfying it can be for the buyer. Therefore I have made a pledge to donate all possible items to local charity shops to ensure someone else benefits from our outgrown/ill fitting/not our style clothes!

I also noticed the charity shops were alive with not only the older people I had imagined but also bright, young funky people looking to buy clothes and restyle (or upcycle if you will!) them to suit their tastes. This led to a new found determination to dig my old sewing machine out! Damn it, I can make that size 10 top I fancy a size 14 with the clever use of panels (well maybe!)

Obviously, remember to wash clothes before use and be vigilant in checking the condition as they are used. Aside of that, what are you waiting for? Go grab yourself a bargain and when you return you can smugly rifle through your purchases whilst convincing yourself you have done the charity, your purse and indeed the world a favour! It worked for me :)

Welome to my ramble through the world of thrifty and green....literally a whole new world!

Hello readers and bloggers!

Welcome to my humble little blog :)

A quick intro.... My name is Kate, I am a twenty something Mum of one (currently ttc child number two-babydust needed!) with a wonderful partner (soon to be Husband)

I have always been interested in all things 'green', 'eco', 'thrifty', 'upcycled' etc but of late I have begun to get into it in a HUGE way!

The aim of this blog is to bring together tips and hints, pictures, stories, advice and inspiration for anyone who is interested in living a thrifty (and who in these current times isn't?!) lifestyle.

The benefits for myself and my lovely family are going to be:-

• Teaching my little girl the value of money, helping her to develop the basic skills that so many of us don't have these days- to cook, to shop on a budget, to furnish her home on a budget, to use a sewing machine and perhaps more importantly to respect her world!
• To save money!
• To not be wasteful, I had begun to get depressed with the vast amount of 'stuff' cluttering up our lives and home!
• To understand the difference between 'needing' something and 'wanting' something...and preferably being able to turn this into 'how can I create something similar on a budget/by upcycling'
• The most obvious one...to reduce our carbon footprint and food miles! In doing so we hope to...
• Support local businesses, I really don't want to watch my local businesses die whilst the chainstore fat cats thrive!
• Here is the big one....we also hope to start a related business at some point...but more about that as it unfolds!!