Bargain buys for June - Charity shop tales

I love a bargain (dont we all)! Since moving to this new house i have become aware at the lack of furniture. My house looks plain boring and unlived in. Also with the lack of storage, a teen and a pre teen and a puppy that's going through a chewing phase, the house looks like a bomb has hit it most days!

We have found an amazing hidden gem in Mansfield. A local charity shop called Phoenix which sells items at really low prices!

Here is a few things we have picked up recently which i think are fantastic!
(Excuse the mess, we are still finding homes for all the crap)

Make It Monday: DIY Spa Treatments

We all like a pamper every now and again. As nice as it is though it is a treat that my budget will not stretch to on a regular basis. 

I was looking online as i had forgotten the amount of sugar i needed for a sugar face scrub and come across this infographic from Pretty Crafty Things. I am tempted to try the anti redness mix as i have noticed my cheeks are getting redder than i would like them too. 

Enjoy the pampering ladies and gents :)

We Eat Wednesday: Milk and cookie ice cubes

*This has been shared on several sites so I am not aware of the original owner. I found this on Pinterest*

If you are looking for a fun or different flavour for your drinks, this is a great idea. Being kid friendly it's a great thing for kids to make too. 

Make It Monday: DIY ice packs

The warmer weather is expected to creep up on old Blighty at some point (hopefully!). Usually when I know there is a heatwave coming I freeze yogurts and fruit, ready to keep the sandwiches and other foods in the kids lunch boxes cool while they sit in the heat. 

While browsing bloglovin, this popped up from My Kitchen Escapades Which I thought was a great idea and very money saving. 

                            Photo from My Kitchen Escapades.com

Sponges can be brought cheaply, they can be cut to size and you can buy different colours so each child had their own unique sponge. They will also come in handy for keeping food cool at parties, on picnics, school trips, day trips.. The list goes on. 

Click here for instructions and more ideas. 

Frugal Friday: Save money on spices

I've recently started to experiment more with flavours. I am usually quite a plain eater, preferring to eat food as natural as possible and only using a select few herbs to flavour my meals. The reason I became like this as I couldn't afford to buy spices to use just for one recipe and then leave them in the cupboard to be forgotten about. 

We Eat Wednesday: useful baking tips

I won't admit to being a good baker, I have 2 kids who love cake as much as I do but I've never been able to perfect it and will throw away more than we actually eat. 

This was sent to me by a friend who was giving me pointers when I expressed a desire to attempt baking my own wedding cake. I found it so useful in my last batch of Victoria sponges that I had to share to all my frugal friends. 

Make It Monday: DIY thread box

This one is for all the sewing fans out there. I'm not a keen seamstress, but I do have a lot of thread for the button which needs putting  back on or the odd seam which needs doing. I usually bung it all into a bag but it gets tangled easy and I end up getting annoyed with the huge tangle that I throw the lot... Not very frugal! 

While browsing for organizing ideas, I come across this DIY thread box from Mur Mur and thought it was a great idea. Cheap, cheerful and looks quite nice. 

                   Photo from Mur Mur 

Click here to see how to make it. 

Week 2: Feeding a family of 4, for 6 weeks - £170! Plus recipes.

As promised, here is part 2 of my 6 week meal plan. 

If you would like to see what i done on week 1 you can check out my post by clicking here 

Week 2 is pretty similar. As mentioned in week 1, i'm using a 3 week rotation, so some of these meals will be batch cooked for use in weeks 4, 5 or 6. 

This post includes, week 2's meal plan and recipes. Week 3 will be live on Friday and the shopping list and some meal planning tips will be live on 31st Jan. 

Week 2

Frugal Friday : How to store veggies to keep them fresh for longer

I saw this over on Door to door organics and thought it would be a great tip for the start of the new year. 

I usually chop up veg to freeze it before it goes bad but this could save alot of hassle. 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 49: Make a Santa key plus free printable

This is a lovely idea for those who do not have a fireplace but still want their kids to know Santa can still come put presents under the tree. 

Making a key is simple enough, you could cut one out of card and paint it or you could paint an old door key using paint, glitter or even nail polish. 

The printable is provided by Nellie Bellie 

You can click here to see the tutorial and download the printable 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 48: Quick and frugal last minute gift.

I am one of those parents who never feels like they are giving enough. As i make alot of gifts for the adults, i am always coming across something i think is so perfect that i have to make it. This year is no exception. 

I logged into my second home (Pinterest) and this popped up! Yes you guessed it... Ill be making 8 of these to give away to family. 

There is no source to link back to so no tutorial but this thumb print Christmas tree looks simple enough to make out of salt dough with a cookie cutter. I would likely leave the wording out as  i am not sure how it will look if i free hand it, but i think it would look fantastic if using thumbprints from all of us to give different sizes and make it more personal. 

Click here for a salt dough recipe. 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 44: Make your own gift bags this Christmas

I am sure it is not just me who finds the awkward shaped gifts a nightmare at Christmas? Those wine bottles, the odd shaped toys... Gift bags can work out alot if you are anything like me and need to buy more than 10 of them and on an already tight or planned budget, its an expense that is not necessary. 

I always knew you could make your own gift bags, i have done so out of card before, but i couldn't remember the instructions so had a look on you tube for a video. Up popped this from Designer, Trapped in a lawyers body. I loved how simple her video was felt it deserved a share on here as a handy, frugal Christmas craft as she uses the one thing we all have at this time of year... wrapping paper!  

Click here to see the tutorial and video.

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 40 - 5 Unique homemade tree toppers

I take great pride in my Christmas tree, its a focal point of the room around the holiday so i spend more hours than i should planning how i want it to look. I have a huge box of different coloured tinsel, baubles and other tree decorations as well as salt dough decorations which survived from the following year. In short i have enough to fill a small pound shop sitting in my loft! 

One thing i do like to focus my time on is the tree topper. This year i have settled on a blue, white and silver theme and decided that the tree topper will be made using ribbon and mini baubles. While browsing i come across lots of handmade toppers which i thought were unique. 

Here is 5 of my favorites. Pop over to the original site to see any tutorials or tips. 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 30 - 10 easy Christmas crafts for kids

The build up to Christmas is exciting for most kids, especially younger ones. When school breaks up i always liked to try keep the Christmas excitement up for them and stop them getting bored. 

Here is 10 really easy and cheap crafts to keep the kids busy and keep costs down.

Snow Owls - Pam's Party and Practical Tips 

We all store toilet roll tubes, or is that just me? :D Easy to make using what you have already to hand and would look great stringed up into bunting or on the tree. 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 21 - Frugal Christmas Gifts

Christmas is expensive for everyone. For me its hard work saving up throughout the year and i manage to pull the day off only by buying throughout the year. This year ive had to stop buying gifts for adults and children over the age of 16 (excluding my own) because it is getting to expensive. I felt guilty though, everyone young and old deserves a gift. In order to get around this i started to make my own and each year i set aside a budget of £25 to make gifts for 12 people.

Each year i make the same things and just add little extra's to it so that they have something a little different.

Here is a selection of gifts ill be making or have started making this year for the 10 adults and 2 teachers i am making gifts for.

#MakeItMonday: Tin can bowling

My kids are not small enough to appreciate games like this any more. I have made similar for the garden before and they turned out to be great fun. With Halloween coming up i was having a google for things to make. The girls are too old now to be trick or treating but want to do the house up a little. 

I found this on one of my favourite blogs for kids crafts - Red Ted Art and knew i had to share it! Its a great way to do something for cheap. Reusing tin cans you would otherwise throw away. 

Click here to see the tutorial 

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 20 - Fun ways to count down Christmas

One of the most brought items during Christmas are advent calender's. I try to make one each year and put small toys or items in them instead of chocolate.

While browsing i come across several fun ways to build up the Christmas excitement which do not involve chocolate.

Here are some of my favourites.

#SMPXmasCountdown: Day 14 - Ideas for crafty Christmas tags

  

This Christmas, i have been exploring options regarding wrapping my Christmas gifts. I have already decided to use brown paper which i am currently collecting from parcels that arrive and cheap rolls in poundshop. I wanted something different to the usual Christmas tags and am toying with the idea of making my own.

I have a budget for wrapping paper, ribbon and tags anyways so ill be using this to buy the items needed to make mine.

Here is 10 of my favourite looking tags.

#MakeItMonday: Make a no sew tote bag from an old t shirt

One thing i do like to do is reuse items as much as possible. I tend to turn old clothing into either cleaning rags or use them for quilting but i come across a tutorial a while back, which turned an old t shirt into a tote bag. At the time i had no sewing skills so dismissed it and it was only in the last couple of years that i started to search for other options. 

I come across this tutorial from Mommypotamus which i thought might help some non sewers out there who like me would dismiss crafting because our sewing skills are non existent. 

Monday Meal Plan 28/09/15 - 5/10/15

I am running down my fridge and freezer this week so when meal planning, i took that into consideration. 

I am not planning on batch cooking this week. My little freezer died last week so i have an issue with storing food. I do plan on making extra lasagna and lentil loaf though for the mr to take to work and reheat for lunches. 

Total cost this week was around £50 but i did get bulk buy on fruit to make smoothie packs 

Here is this weeks meal plan.