Halloween On A Shoe String - Decoration

From fancy dress to decorations, Halloween can end up costing a small fortune. But follow my five decoration top tips and have yourself some thrifty thrills.

1.  A bit of fake cobweb goes a long way....

Hang in your windows or drape around pictures on your walls. This simple decoration costs around £1 per packet, or you can even use cotton wool for a similar effect. To finish the look just add a handful of creepy critters.

2.  Create spooky lighting in your home. Cluster chunky candles together, use jam jars to hold tea lights or place tall candles in wine bottles, leaving the wax to melt down the bottle.

3.  Pumpkins are one of the most iconic images of Halloween. And the good news is, they're really cheap! Get creative carving faces or words. Or why not save on all that mess and try a non-carve pumpkin design? I like kindredspiritmommy's fantastic ideas, including a decoupaged pumpkin. All you need is some Halloween paper and some pva glue. Simple!

4.  One of the easiest ways to add some Halloween horror to your home is with card. Cut out pictures of ghosts or owls and stick to the walls. Try out this free bat garland from brasspaperclip - a beautiful batty addition to your decor.

5. For those who prefer to be a little more chic than freak, stick to a simple colour scheme throughout your home - black and silver or black and purple are popular choices.

Our Pretty Home

Every now and again I tweet (@QueenThrift) a picture of something delicious and wonderful from around our home. I've since received a few requests for more! This is music to my ears, because I love nothing better than spending the day in second-hand shops or car boot sales rummaging for pretty thrifty finds.

Voilà! Ask and you shall receive. Here are some of my favourite pieces from my two favourite rooms in our home. The Family/Living Room and the Reading Room:

THE BASEMENT (our Family/Living Room):

Too nice to keep outside

Our 6 year old's artwork

Big fan of old boxes as storage

We <3 Studio Ghibli

Even the basement door is beautiful!

Monochrome kids dvd shelves (and some art from Cuba)

My fella is a genius! Homemade entertainment unit.

GROUND FLOOR (Reading Room):

I bought Jesus from Angel market. Haggled to £20 as he has no arms!

To think, my folks wanted to throw that telly away!

Upcycled lampshade from a colander.

Totoro's home

I made these cushion from bird seed sacks.

Birthday Bonus - Guildford Gets Generous

[photo courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk]

Thrift and 4* luxury don't usually go hand in hand, but there's always an exception.

The stunning Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel in Guildford is just that - exceptionally beautiful and exceptionally bonkers. In celebration of its first birthday, they're giving away their 111 rooms for a rather startling £1 each a night (breakfast not included), in return for a birthday card.

To bag a bed, simply send the hotel a first birthday card (to arrive before September 29th 2012) stating your contact address, email address, telephone number and preferred date of stay (between October 29th 2012 and September 28th 2013). Your card will be entered into a prize draw on October 1st 2012. It couldn't be easier.

Birthday cards should be sent to:

3 Alexandra Terrace 

High Street 

Guildford 

Surrey 

GU1 3DA

Good luck!

Toy House

Young children always seem to play with lots of small toys, as opposed to one big toy. My six year old in particular likes to play with army toys, and, as a result, has a growing number of little army men, tanks and helicopters.

In order to restore a bit of tidyness into his bedroom, I decided to make him a thrifty 'home' for these. The material I used were an old shoe box, a pair of scissors and some army tape - bought from an army surplus store (but also available on eBay).

I simply wrapped the box in the tape, to cover the pink writing. I also cut a whole into the side of the box for the men to climb in and out of. It took about five minutes to make, but looks really effective.

Handmade 2012: A Mouse House

Goodnight Mrs Mouse. Goodnight baby Mouse... Ok ok, so they're not mice. Clearly they are some kind of dog/ bear Sylvanian Family. Regardless, this a simple homemade present to melt the heart of any little girl.

To start with, you need a box. I used a small (about 4" x 4") gift box I found in my craft trunk. I then lined the box with some pretty wrapping paper.

For the duvet, I used two pieces of scrap material, sandwiched a small amount of wadding in the middle and sewed it shut. The same method was used for the pillow, in a co-ordinating fabric.

 All that is needed now is the mouse (or other animal) to live in the house. The result? A simple, thrifty gift.

Recent Thrifty Puchases

I spend most Sunday's browsing car boot sales, I check out the charity shops at least once a week and I try as much as possible to peruse flea markets and street markets.

As a result, our house is filling up nicely with quirky pieces, I'm finding many items to upcycle and gift to friends and family, and after summer I shall be launching into a new business venture concerning all things Thrifty. Watch this space....

Some of my recent purchases include:

Pretty plates - £2

Picnic hamper - £5

Old map - £1.50

Gorgeous lace doilies - £4 for 12

Adidas bag - £1

Selection of glassware - £1.80

Wooden cutlery tray - £1

 

Mayonnaise Magic

Pesky water marks staining your table? Worry no longer.

We recently had a party and evidently failed to put out enough coasters. The thrifty cure to this common household problem? A dab of mayonnaise. Simply smother the area, leave it to work it's magic and voila! 

Handmade 2012: Father's Day Present Ideas

With Father's Day just around the corner, I've been thinking of present ideas that my little one and I can make for the various dad figures in our lives. In my experience, a handmade present is always more gratefully received on such occasions as it shows more thought has gone into personalising the day. So if you're stuck for thrifty inspiration, look no further!

Earlier this year I made several superhero outfits for some of my son's friends. Why not adapt this idea and sew a cape on a tee shirt for your dad.

Simply cut your chosen fabric to size, pin on to the tee shirt, and then sew into place. You could even use fabric pens/paints to design a Superdad motif on the front. He'll love running around the garden pretending to be a superhero. You could even buy him a new pair of pants and make him wear them over his trousers!

Or why not upcycle some cufflinks? For my friend Jim's birthday recently I bought a pair of basic cufflinks fastenings and personalised them. I used a glue gun to attach scrabble tiles of his initials to each cufflink. But Lego pieces, buttons or old coins would work equally well. Poundland are currently selling cufflinks for £1 so this would be a very cheap but lovely gift for the dad in your life.

Another easy present idea would be to make them a cork notice board, using cork's from wine bottles. When I made mine a few years ago I collected corks over about two months, but I've now realised you can buy the corks from home brewing shops and online.

All that is needed is to buy a large-ish photo frame and a piece of card to fit in it. Then glue the corks onto the card. Maybe attach a photo of the two of you with a pin, as a nice finishing touch.

For a lovely handmade present from the little ones, get arty. My son has just made some Jackson Pollock inspired photo frames for friends of his. Using plain wooden photo frames, he splattered different coloured paints over them. I think the frames cost £1.20 for a pack of three from Ikea. This technique would also work well to decorate a 'man box' for dad's, to keep their odds and ends in. S.C.R.A.P blog has some useful tips for this.

Photo taken from S.C.R.AP. blog

I would love to hear about any more 'man' present ideas you've had. Drop me an email at Thrift-Queen@hotmail.co.uk or Tweet me @QueenThrift and have fun making!

Handmade 2012: Magnetic Reminder Pegs

I am forever making lists, and wanted somewhere pretty to keep them. Thus, I decided to make a batch (one to keep, some to gift) of these Magnetic Reminder Pegs.

The up-cycled pegs look pretty and are very cheap and simple to make. I started with some basic wooden clothes pegs, which I bought for 99p from Wilkinsons.

I then painted them in my chosen colours, using tester pot paints. Many moons ago, when I was into making greeting cards, I bought a few packs of rub on alphabets [similar to the ones pictured below] from Hobbycraft. These came in handy for creating the words on each peg.

Rub on alphabet

Then all that was left to do was add a magnet to the back. I like to use a sticky magnetic strip that can be cut to size. And Bob's your uncle (well actually he's my dad). Thrifty, beautiful and cheap - my favourite formula!

Thrifty Weekend

June, for me, is the start of the pre Summer holiday saving. With this in mind, cheap activites are a must. But it's always good to vary days out.

London's Time Out is a fantastic site for ideas of free places to visit and sights to see. The Thrift-Queen's top picks for this weekend in the capital include:

Naked Bike Ride

• London's World Naked Bike Ride - a liberating nine mile cycle past major London landmarks taking place on Saturday 9th June and it's FREE to watch.
• Open Garden Squares - This weekend 200 private gardens are opened for the public to snoop around.With gardens such as Downing Street and HMP Wormwood Scrubs on the list, the £9 ticket price sounds like an absolute snip.
• London Green Fair - Regent's Park opens it's gates to the largest FREE eco fair with exhibitions, music, and fabulous family areas.
• Or why not attend one of the many FREE performances of the Spitalfields Summer Music Festival starting this Friday (8th June).

English Country Garden

Thrifty Holidays - Barn Hopping

Looking for a fun yet thrifty holiday? Bored of camping but need a cheap get-away? Look no further. I've stumbled across a holiday concept that will provide a roof over your head in a stuning setting, but for mere tuppence.

In my family, we try to get away for mini weekend breaks as much as possible, but hotels can end up costing a small fortune. Over the past year or so we've opted to camp instead, but this year we've been looking for an alternative. Then I stumbled across Barn Hopping.

Based in the Lake District and Cumbria, Lakeland Camping Barns provides budget busting accomodation, amid beautiful scenery "in buildings all situated on farms and with a distinct, individual character." Winning! Plus it only costs £8.50 per person per night. I know where we will be holidaying this summer...

Handmade 2012: Bunting

I love bunting. Perfect for garden parties, presents for little one's, and we even have it strung up in our bedroom. Plus, it is a fabulously thirfty way to use up scraps of fabric and brightens up any space.

bedroom bunting

My top tip? Don't be too bothered about getting the triangles all the same size, it'll make it look too uniformed. Just judge it as you go.

Handmade 2012: Bandana Bibs

If like me, you have lots of friends and family with small children, then you have just stumbled across a lovely gift for them. Bandana bibs are stylish yet practical. I always thinks it is a shame to see little ones in beautiful outfits, only to be ruined by an ugly bib. But the best bit? Bandana bibs are really easy to make!

They have two layers, cotton to absorb - ideal for a raid through the offcuts bin in your local haberdashery (hello Cath Kidston); and towelling to prevent anything soaking through to the little one's clothes.

Bandana bib template

I find it easiest to make a template, but after that it's quite straight forward to make. Simply cut to size and sew your chosen cotton to the towelling. Then add a fastening to the ends. Some people use poppers, but I prefer velcro for the ease of sewing.

Velcro fastening

Bandana bibs make ideal presents, albeit to new born babies or toddlers, and they're thrifty to boot!