Upcycle old Pajamas into Christmas Stockings - DIY

Christmas will soon be here, I cannot wait, I just love celebrating the time with my family. It's the perfect time to wrap up in extra layers, snuggling up with a Massive mug of hot chocolate, watching Festive films.

Whist looking through my drawer for any clothes I could donate to charity I came across my old reindeer PJ bottoms, I don't even know why they were folded up and put away as they had a massive hole in them. (A classic sign of over eating during such a Joyful time, I seem to forget the counting of calories and scoff as much as I can, 'Because it's christmas' )

I really like the pattern on them, and just hate throwing things away, So I decided to turn them into stockings for my partner and my little boy.

 

I literally goggled Christmas stocking template then printed out the best one I could find and got to work.

 

 

 

At first I was going to put a white band around the top, but decided against it, I also kept the elastic, but decided tho throw it away as I was just hoarding and realistically never going to use it.

I also used a safety pin to turn the material inside out to make the tube for hanging up the stocking.

 

I did rush them, but I'm happy with how they turned out. The money I saved on buying new ones has paid for some extra stocking fillers.

 

DIY and save some money this Christmas by up cycling.

 

 

Do you prepare early for Christmas, or get all of your gifts at the last minute?

 

Charity Shop + Bargains = Super happy

Don't be a stranger to charity shops, you can find some fantastic bargains. I used to be embarresed to go into them just incase anyone I knew seen me, but I have overcome this and now love to reveal my fantastic buys.

I thought I would show you a few things I found at my local charity shop today, as I took my little boy in so he could pick some books and toys. He gets bored of them very quickly so I don't like to pay full price for them unless it's for his birthday or Christmas.
He got a few thick books for 20p each and an electronic toy thats meant to go on the front of a baby walker for £3.50. He was very pleased, as was I when I took a peak in the crafts section, only to find a big pile of fabric. 'Get in there' I thought to myself.

As I am new to sewing, I thought I would spend less on my fabric as I'm bound to go wrong somewhere. So you can imagine my relief and excitment when I came across 4 Meters of Beautiful pinky/ Salmon coloured fabric for £3, Perfect for the Butterick B5605 Retro Dress and Belt pattern I purchased the other week.
Along with this I found 2 Meters of Yellow and purple floral Boussac Fabric for £1.50
I also impulse purchased some patterns which aren't amazing, but I like the crossover shape of the top And the skirt that comes in the 2 piece one, although I would prob hack most of the length off.

Does anyone have any ideas what I could make from the Floral fabric? I'm thinking a short full circle skirt for next summer. It's not very me, but I just picked it up because it was so cheap. lol.

Have you found any bargains in your local charity shop lately?

 

Related articles you may like:

My Style....Patterns I'm crushing on...

Completed Elisalex dress By Hand London

How to make Mustard with Dylon Fabric dyes

 

Make your own Miniature toiletries for holidays, gym and visiting relatives for £1

The cost of buying your toiletries soon adds up by the time you get to the checkout. So if your going on holiday, visiting relatives for the weekend or just a gym bunny, then these Ikea bottles will be perfect for saving you money.

These fantastic 100ml bottles are very strong and the best quality I have found so far. They also have an excellent squeezy flip top lid which I prefer, it's so much easier than trying to unscrew a lid while your hands are wet in the shower.

I went on holiday recently, I used these as they are the perfect size for me to pop into my suitcase without it weighing too much.

So forget buying ridiculously priced miniatures again, just grab your big bottles from the bathroom, and get filling.

Also I used some sellotape to label the bottles, at first I was going to use a permanent marker, but they are such strong bottles you can wash them out and re use them, so in case you want to change whats in them, you can just pull off the tape and label them again.

Get these funky coloured bottles for just £1* for a set of 4 from Ikea.

*Ikea Family members get the Upptacka bottles for £1. Regular price £2.
So don't forget to register for your family card so you don't miss out on regular offers.

Save money by making your own Birthday celebration cake

Save money learning how to make your own cakes for those special occasions.
Birthdays, anniversaries, you name it, this sponge cake is perfect to suit all occasions.

For my boys 1'st birthday party I wanted him to have a 2 tier mickey mouse cake, I knew someone that would do it for £50, but there was part of me that just wanted to make it myself.

I personally feel learning to bake is an essential must for all parents, as a child I loved baking cakes with my dad when I went to visit him on the weekends. They didn't look amazing, in fact they looked more like volcano cakes, but they were yummy to eat and it was so much fun spending time with him doing something we both enjoyed.

Researching for easy cake recipes online, I came across one that looked so simple, I knew I couldn't mess it up.

The cake is perfect as you have to bake it a couple of days in advance and it still keeps its fresh moist taste, giving you plenty of time to decorate it.
I crumb coated the cake in butter cream and coloured white fondant icing with food colouring gels. (Apart from the red and black as it's best to buy them ready made or they colours will be dull)

One thing I will say is make sure you get someone to lift the rolled fondant onto the cake as I kept poking my fingers through and had to re roll several times until I finally asked for help.
I Used an edible glue to stick the cut outs to the cake.

Save more money by looking online for cake tins and cutters rather than buying them from your local baking shop as they tend to be more expensive. I purchase a mickey cutter from eBay which I can use for making cookies.

You may feel that it is costing you lots for the first cake if you have to buy the tins and cutters, but don't forget these will last you for years to come,  there will be plenty of birthdays and special occasions requiring your delicious cake.
You can always ask any friends or relatives if they have cake tins you can borrow, that way you will save even more money.

This recipe creates such an excellent sturdy cake, it's great for carving and making castles and all sorts of shapes.

Click here for recipe and reviews: FOOLPROOF SPONGE CAKE

It was a few months ago now, but here is my little boy on his 1st birthday with his Mickey Mouse cake I made using the foolproof sponge recipe.

I wish you the best of luck creating your cake, and don't forget to leave links to images of your cake in the comments box.

Wish List / Achieve Sept 2013

What do you lust for? Do you enjoy window shopping, or the easy joys of online shopping with many items at your fingertips?

I must admit, I do like having a browse online when I have some spare time.

Well, I have decided to do my wish lists combined with things I would like to achieve. It may be a goal that is ongoing, or perhaps one I can do before the month is over.

September 2013

Become more organised:

Do you find yourself unorganised? Darting from one room to the next, then forgetting what you were meant to be doing. This is my problem, unless I have a list to keep me focused.

This month I am to complete a structured Chore/ cleaning chart to help me stay organised around the home.

How do you keep your home organised? If you have an article on how you keep your house in good order, please leave a link in the comments box below.

Photography skills:

I'm going to challenge myself to take more creative photos, developing my skills overall. Hopefully you will see an improvement in my pictures soon.

Hair improvement:

Oh the vanity, I'm going to start doing articles on growing out my natural hair colour. I am a recovering hair dye-a-holic, this may be the only thing to keep me focused and stop putting drug store chemicals on my hair.

Obviously this will take a few years, so I am going to set some aims.

My first goal is to continue my super improved routine, then when my hair reaches a certain length, I can have a fringe cut.

If you have a post documenting your growing out, please leave a link in the comments box. It will be really appreciated.

Skirt - Develop sewing skills:

My all time favourite skirt has been stashed away in the drawer for well over a year now. I've owned it for about 4 years, I just can't seem to part with it. It's currently 3 sizes to small for me, the zip is broken, yet I still have it hung up.

I just love the shape of it, it was very flattering on me. Although it doesn't fit me I have kept it because I wanted to find a tailor that could recreate it for me. However, I have decided to dive in at the deep end, cut out the middle man (or lady) and make it myself.

No Spending:

Ok, so I can spend a little, I am going to find more fun things to do as a family. The aim is to find outings that cost very little or are hopefully free.



Build a baby / toddler wardrobe from £10 Ikea bookcase

Are you decorating on a budget? I sure am.

If you are and need a great little wardrobe at a fantastic price, why not use this for inspiration.

When I have a budget, I tend to be more creative, I find a way to get what I need without that price tag attached. I do my research and find inspiration from somewhere.
So today I wanted to get a mini wardrobe for my lovely little boy, well, his clothes really. I was fed up of having all of his tops in a drawer and just reaching for the top ones. There are always clothes underneath which I forget about, and as soon as the others are washed, they get folded up and put back on top again. So I thought it would be nice to have them hanging up.

I gave myself a budget of £20 and this is what I came up with:




 

An Ikea Billy bookcase converted with a rail.

Total: £12

 

(please excuse the pink wallpaper, I haven't got around to stripping that down yet.)

From Ikea, I purchased the small white Billy bookcase for £10 and the 50cm Komplement rail or £2.

So, the thing I like about Ikea is that they have great instructions and things are so simple to put together.
I built the bookcase as instructed, cut the rail to the correct size, then marked out where I wanted my rail to go inside the bookcase.

Here are a few photographs for tips on how You can achieve this:

 

Save money by looking in the IKEA & The environment section, this is where scrap wood from broken items gets left. This is always an excellent place to start if you are making things, you may find a few treasures here for free. Always put it in your car as soon as you spot, it because it will probably be gone when you get back.

 

Always get all your stuff ready before you start to put it together, its always handy to have things in reach, you'll get the job done much quicker. (Don't put the shelves in yet)

 

 

After Building the Billy Bookcase you can see what the width of your rail has to be, I made sure I marked it out clearly. Also I remember to mark the space for the plastic insert that holds it up as this takes of an extra couple of mm, as you can see, I first drew the line, then marked the width of two grey plastic holders so it will fit correctly. I used a saw that was ideal for metal, and also was careful to wear gloves as it will expose sharp metal. I then used some sandpaper to smooth the edge, popped the grey caps on the end and then got marking the bookcase.

 

 

 

Take in to consideration the shape of the hanger, I bought the children's hangers from Ikea, and they don't fit well when the rail is upright.

 

 

I chose to have the rail up the following way as I found the Ikea hangers fit on much easier, also the flat edge on the top made it easier to mark where the holes would be, for this I used a pen. Also I knew that because the Billy bookshelf is slightly small in depth the hangers would poke out of the front, so I made sure I put the hanger in and that it was not banging the back of the bookcase. This gave it a good fit, and ensured the clothes would hang correctly.

 

 

The screws for the Komplement rail are meant for the wardrobe range, these already have the holes drilled so the screws you get with this rail have a flat tip. this is useless for this task as I needed to screw it into the wood so I found some replacements from my spare screw pot. I made sure that it had a point on it, and also that it was the same size. If the screw was any longer it would go through the other side of the wood. Below on the right side if the photo is an example screw.





 

OK, This was the hardest part. I used a screwdriver to push where the holes where, this made an indentation for the screw to sit in.

 (Honestly, the screw did go in straight, I was just using one hand taking photo so could not hold it)

I gradually screwed it in part of the way, then took it out, then once I had done this in each of the marked holes, I put the rail in. I did not want to use a drill as I didn't want it to go through the other side of the wood.

Well, this is the end result with the shelves in, as you have seen above.
Feel free to use this as inspiration for your project if you're decorating. It's such a fantastic price at £12 to make, and you could always decorate it with stickers or paint.
you could do it even better and have two rails, although I only think you would fit skirts or short in the bottom because o the length.

 

Related articles:

DIY Perfume and make up beauty shelf