Tuesday 29 May 2012

Fun on a budget

Evening! Yes, I'm still poor. I don't get paid until Thursday and it has been SUCH a long month.  So here is what I've been doing to have fun on a budget.

Up cycled footstool:
I work right next door to a charity shop and I spotted a cute little foot stool sitting outside their back door one morning. I waited until the end of the day to see if the would put it up for sale but it was still there when I finished work.....so I nabbed it and took it home!

To start with it was covered in a grey, furry fabric and looked a bit unloved. In the spirit of "not spending" I found a good supply of Ikea fabric in my stash, hunted out a stapler and some tacks and set about transforming it.

In the beginning it looked like this:



And with only about 10mins effort it now looks like this:


If I had had a proper staple gun, it might have been easier but hey ho. That corner is not quite as mis-shapen as it looks btw.
I had been looking for a second hand foot stool to go with the vintage rocking chair that I picked up in Wales whilst visiting my mum. Unfortunately, as there is no room in my current house it will be staying at my mum's until I sell and move.



I can't wait to finally sit in it again. Luckily, I have had a few viewings on my house already so fingers crossed! 

What else? I got a cute little glass for my bathroom from Ikea. I had cracked the other one a while ago and this one was under £2.


Cut glass from Ikea
I've also been buying plants for the garden from Tesco. I got two hanging baskets for £5 each and an Acer for £10. Serious bargains.




And finally, my lovely boyfriend bought me Mollie Makes magazine as there was a free wedding magazine with it and I needed  it! It has some lovely pictures of my new obsession - brooch bouquets. I've already found some tutorials on the net and instructed my mum to hunt for cheap brooches at boot sales....






Brooch bouquet from Mollie Makes magazine

One last thing....I made another tissue paper pom pom the other day but this time I dip dyed the ends with some undiluted blackcurrant squash. It was really effective!



I hope this inspires you to think twice before splashing the cash! There is still a recession on, you know!
Any plans for the Jubilee weekend? I'll be working and hanging with my mum :)

1 comment:

thriftylilpixie said...

Love the stool makeover very impressed!