Making Good Use

Giving the Hairdresser the Chop

The last time I had my hair cut at the hairdressers (in early August I think), it cost me £25.00 for a wash, cut and blow dry.  I'm sure that is a perfectly reasonable price to pay at a hairdressers but with the credit crunch really beginning to bite, and wanting to cut back my expenditure as far as possible I knew I would have to find another alternative.  I knew that cutting my hair myself was a tad beyond my capabilities - just trimming my own fringe has been known to result in some rather dodgy results, especially the night I decided to attack it after having drunk some homemade pear schnapps, think Laurence Olivier's hairstyle as Henry V but on a slant.

Luckily, my lovely neighbours have a friend who is a mobile hairdresser.  She came and cut my hair in October and I was very pleased with the result, she'll be coming again tomorrow to give me another shearing - and the price? £4.50.   Not only does she make a very good job of the cutting, but she also comes to the house - which means I don't have to venture out in this freezing weather -  as I wash my hair myself just before she arrives there is no horrible scalp-itching ungents slapped on my nut before I can say 'no, thank you'. and I don't end up with some ultra-sleek styling which is totally at odds with the rest of my appearance.

She also cuts men's hair so last Friday evening she very kindly made an exception to evening visits (luckily she only lives round the corner from us) to come and run the clippers over P's hair.  He had been paying £8.00 to have his hair clipped at the hairdressers and she charged £2.50.  Excellent.

The winner of the freebie craft book is Maureen in New Zealand.  Maureen, let me have your address and I'll put it in the post to you.

Feed the Birds, 2d a Bag

This incredibly bold and /or desperate blackbird pecking at one of the windfall apples right outside where I was sitting by the french windows made me think of the 'Feed the Birds' song from Mary Poppins. 

Some very swift beak action here.

I'd pretty much stopped putting out bread and bits and bobs for the birds since the 'rat catcher' told me it was just encouraging mice too, but these past few days the birds have seemed increasingly frantic looking for food around the garden, so I've relented and started putting out bread, bits of cheese, cold pasta - anything that might help them survive this cold snap we're having.  How anything as tiny as a bird manages to survive the frosty nights we've been having I don't know

I know not all of it actually gets to the birds as I've seen next door's cat taking a keen interest in the bits on the grass too.  Although why a well-fed, pampered moggy wants to eat bits of stale bread is beyond me!

I like the way he's eyeing up the apple in this photo - like it might be going to peck him back!

Freebie

These days selling second-hand books on Amazon has beome a lot more cut-throat than it used to be - a by-product of the credit crunch I presume with more people looking to make some extra cash.  Even books that start off being quite lucrative often end up a few months later being totally useless for re-sale as the sale price gets undercut time and again.  I'm forever removing books from Amazon and relegating them to a charity shop once again. 

At the weekend a 1960's book called 'Crafting for Juniors' met just such a fate.  But as I was looking through it I thought I'd see if anyone reading the blog would like it instead.

It has all sorts of 'wholesome' vintage craft ideas for making things from cardboard boxes, envelopes or egg boxes.

There are also ideas for simple clay pots and instructions for tie-dying fabric.

The illustrations are great, I love the bold red and white graphics.

If anyone would like the book - which was originally aimed at junior school teachers but the projects would, I imagine, work just as well at home - leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a name from the virtual hat (that'll be P choosing a random number again) tomorrow afternoon.  It's only a slim book so I'm happy to post anywhere in the world.

Displacement Activity

This morning, when I should have been dusting, changing the bed, washing up and / or ironing, I was making two very summery and pretty pillowcase tote bags.  Why?  Well, I came across the pillowcases in the pile of fabric the other day whilst looking for scraps to make cards from and, of course, decided that even though it is the middle of winter, and I have 1001 other things I should be doing, I just had to turn them into bags.  Classic displacement activity syndrome - anything to avoid the housework!!

Upside Down (Boy, You Turn Me)*

Years ago I remember reading somewhere that the sign of a thrifty household is if there are bottles turned upside down to get every last drop out of them.  Annoyingly, I can't remember if I read this in the wonderful Tightwad Gazette book, or if it was in the long-defunct, but sadly missed, 'Penny-Pincher' newsletter (did anyone else ever subscribe to that?), but the sentiment is certainly true for me.  There are often bottles of salad cream or tomato ketchup upside down in the fridge (irritatingly crashing over every time the door is opened!), or a washing-up liquid bottle teetering on its very small cap next to the sink so that every last drop is drained out.

Today I managed to wring enough shower gel from what seemed to be an empty bottle for the whole shower (it had been turned upside down the last time I showered as I thought there might be a bit more in there), and enough moisturiser for my face from what really did seem to be an empty bottle (also turned upside down last time it was used).  This pleased me perhaps a little too much, and I should probably get out more!!  But, as that annoyingly-misplaced quote also said, you've paid for the whole contents of a bottle, jar, tub etc. so you might as well get all you can out of it, otherwise you're just throwing money away.

*Whenever I spy an upside down bottle or jar I always hear that Diana Ross song in my head - yup, I definitely need to get out more!!

Scrap Material Greetings Cards

There was an interesting little article in Sew Hip issue 2 about using up scraps of material to make greetings cards.  Now, I've got a lot of little bits of material knocking about, and a few blank cards too, so this morning I thought I'd give it a go.  I have tried sewing 'interesting' bits of material to card stock before with only limited success, but there was an excellent tip in the article for securing the material to the card with some double-sided tape before you start sewing - genius, it makes all the difference.

The Buzz Lightyear card is for a certain nephew, the ginger and white cat card is for my next-door neighbours for Christmas (there's a definite look of their cat Jester about it).  Thanks to Heather for both those pieces of material.   The daisy card is just one of those 'it might come in useful at some point' cards.

With the ludicrous price of cards in the shops I'm pleased to have found another way of using up bits and pieces and making something useful from them.  My Mum, who's a wonderful photographer, was saying that she too had been making some cards this morning from some of the photos she has taken as she just couldn't justify the prices they were asking in the shops either.

Sew Hip Issue 2

My local W H Smiths has very conveniently been stocking the new magazine 'Sew Hip', for a small-town branch I was pretty impressed.  I knew that issue 2 was due out over the weekend so got hold of a copy ASAP.  It's another excellent issue, with all sorts of great interviews and projects - and some great ideas from Nichola Prested about making clothes from thrifted fabric.

As I was flicking through it I was very pleased to see one of my pillowcase totes featured again - and this time alongside a Tesco Cath Kidston bag. 

I feel very honoured to have one of my bags in the same photo as a CK one.  The article was all about eco shopping bags - a subject close to my heart - and I was thrilled to be featured again, especially as I didn't know anything about it, so it was a lovely surprise to see that photo.

Coat Tales

I've been looking for a good winter coat for three or four years now.  Every autumn I had high hopes that this year I'd find what I was looking for, for a price I was willing to pay, and each year up 'til now I've been disappointed.  I didn't really know what sort of coat I was looking for, but knew I'd know when I found it.  It had to be something reasonably smart but not too posh.  A coat that would be just the thing to wear out when the occasion demanded something a bit nicer than my 10-year-old fleece or my £6.00 charity shop coat from four years ago.  Finally, on Friday I found something I quite like.

I suppose it's more of a jacket than a coat but it's reasonably smart, a nice quality good-proportion-of-wool fabric, and it fits!  What's more it was 20% off - which meant I saved £12.  I knew from various promotional e-mails that the 'large lady shop' (OK, lets just whisper 'Evans') was having 20% off all items on Friday so I thought it would be worth the bus fare to Basildon to see if this year, at last, I could find that all-elusive coat.  I must have tried on every coat they had in the shop - and didn't like any of them except the one I bought.  I could have done without the epaulettes but was not going to let those stop me finally ending my loooooooong search for a coat.  Of course, now I don't want to wear it for fear of spoiling it, so set off this morning in my usual red fleece.  I'll just have to leave it hanging up where I can see it so that I can admire it from afar.

Of course, whilst in Basildon I did a quick trawl of the charity shops - useless, and called in at the church 'Bargain Box' Friday sale.  A hunt through their 'linens' box turned up trumps with a couple of lovely vintage aprons like the one below (now listed on ebay)

And a very nice vintage boxed set of Irish linen rose-print tray cloth and napkins.  I was tempted to list this on ebay too, but finally decided to keep hold of it for myself.  I'm thinking the cloth would make a very nice cushion cover, and the napkins would always come in handy.

All in all, I came home feeling very pleased with myself, and for the first time in ages felt the bus fare was very well spent.

And the Winner is ....

Sharie from View to the Hill.  The virtual hat was P who I asked to choose a number between 1 and 10 and he chose 2 - which was Sharie. 

Sharie, let me have your name and address and I'll pop the gnome bag and a few other bits and bobs in the post to you.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the draw.

A - Z of Housekeeping

I was tagged by Heather  

A is for Aprons - yes/no? If yes, what’s your favourite?
Yes.  I have a very nice bright red Cath Kidston apron Mum bought me a couple of Christmases ago.  It gets worn most days.

B is for Baking - favourite thing to bake?
I like making cakes, sometimes biscuits.  I just wish I was as good at cake making as my Mum - every birthday we used to have a wonderful sponge cake with chocolate icing and chocolate buttons on top - totally delicious.

C is for Clothesline - do you have one?
Yes, a rotary one.  I'd rather have a 'proper' clothesline but there's really nowhere to have one in our garden.  All our washing is dried outdoors (well, as dry as you can get it in the winter.)

D is for Donuts - have you ever made them?
No.  I don't really like doughnuts, and I certainly don't like anything that needs deep fat frying - I'm very scared of pans full of hot oil!

E is for Every Day - one homemaking task you do every day.
I cook everyday, which, of course, leads to the inevitable daily task of washing up. 

F is for Freezer - do you have a separate deep freeze?
I don't have a freezer at all.  I wish I did have one but there is nowhere in the kitchen to put one.

G is for Garbage Disposal Unit - do you have one?
No, unless you count P!

H is for Handbook - what’s your favourite homemaking resource?
Rose Eliot's Complete Vegetarian Recipe Book.

I is for Ironing - love or hate it?

It's a necessary evil.

J is for Junk Drawer - yes/no? If yes, where is it?
If I've got a space anywhere I tend to fill it - mainly with junk.

K is for Kitchen - colour and decorating scheme?
Yellow walls, cream and yellow tiles, cream units and dark work surface.  None of it of my choosing but it's nice and the kitchen gets the afternoon sun so is a good light room to work in.

L is for Love - what’s your favourite part of homemaking?
Serving up a home ooked meal (and it being appreciated.)

M is for Mop - do you have one?
Yes, it is the kind you pull a lever to squeeze out the water.

N is for Nylons - machine or hand wash?
If by nylons you mean tights then I never wear them.  I'm always in trousers, or a skirt and bare legs in the summer.

O is for Oven - do you use a window or open the oven door to check?
Although mine has a window you'd have to be a midget to see through it, so I open the door to check.

P is for Pizza - what do you put on yours?
Tomatoes, cheese, olives, basil and sometimes pineapple chunks.

Q is for quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Go online, read the paper, a bit of crafting.

R is for Recipe Card Box - yes/no? If yes, what does it look like?
No, but I do have a small photo album where I put cut-out recipes to keep them safe.

S is Style of House - what style is your house?
I'd like to describe it as 'eclectic', but the truth is probably closer to 'Steptoe's yard.'

T is for Tableclothes - do you use them?
Yes.  My favourite it a very brightly coloured one with teapots and cups printed all over it, my sister got it for me about 10 years ago.

U is for Under The Kitchen Sink - organised or toxic wasteland?
Fairly well organised, the space is too small for it to be otherwise.

V is for Vacuum - how many times a week?
Approx. once a week - depending on how bad the dust bunnies get!

W is for Wash - how many loads of washing do you do each week?
At least four loads a week - sometimes more, depending on how good the weather is for getting the washing dry.

X’s - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
Nope, I'm waaaaaay too disorganised for lists (except shopping lists, otherwise I get home with half of it.)

Y is for Yard - who does what?
I take it yard means garden - so that would be me, I do everything in the garden.

Zzzz’s - what’s the last homemaking task you do before bed in the evening? 
I rarely do anything housework related in the evening.