New Thrifty Gifty - Organised for Christmas and all ocassions 2010- Santas Challenges

Legendmum

Here we are Susan! Will have you hooked! I read the first 10 pages then just scanned for photos! Some very clever people out there!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/638019

mary-op

Hello all :j
Bank statement came this morning :eek: Thought best not go into town............least not till we come back from scotland.

fed up - pleased you had a good holiday:T

Well, spent today covering an old placemat I never got around to doing last year (one of the hard cork backed ones). Took me an age to decide which paper would go with the retro notebook I wanted to put on it (unwanted pressie from last year) but I found some in the end, stuck it on, punched some holes at the top for string, found some multicoloured stick on letters so put ''shopping'' at the top, stuck on notepad and one of the pegs I'd covered.............popped some oddments of paper in that and I'll add one with 'merry christmas' on it before it goes much further. All the other pegs are not holding little cards with merry christmas on so they're ready to go in the boxes.
Sorted out some letters I found in fancy script -peel off sort- and with a bit of altering of some of them managed to make the wording 'our family' for front of other scrapbook so thats all sorted not with picture and quote inside the cover.............yippee :T I feel I'm getting somewhere.

More free fabric samples came today only small ones so not sure what to do with them. I'll think of something. At least 'stash room' looks full up so don't think I'll need to get much else...........relief

fedupandskint

Just working out how much to charge for a jar of pickled onions

Total cost
5kg bag onions £3.99 ( 80p per Kilo)
5L white vinegar £2.50 (50p per Litre)

Used so far 3.5kg onions and 2L vinegar
Costing so far £2.80 for onions and £1 for vinegar

Total £3.80

Will see how many jars I get out of this amount tomorrow to cost per jar

Hope some people want to buy some as I'll be burried by them soon!

Will add this to my christmas book and work out some more costings

Feeling nice and chilled after a week away and now the flu has finally gone I should get back out running tomorrow and get back into this

Everything smells a little oniony presently, lets hope the onion smell disappears tomorrow!

Half_pint_4

Went to Wilko in Chelmsley Wood today. They had Duracell batteries, 8 in a pack, for £3.89 however if you looked by the tills there was a display stand selling the same batteries for £2 per pack. Needless to say battery bag is now bulging.

Also Home Bargains have large Bakugan skateboards for £8.99 so DS will be happy Xmas day opening his present from DD.

Chillout5892

Well Elysia, you said stay around and we'll sort you out, and you know something, I think you may have already started.

Yesterday and today have given me a number of light-bulb moments all as a consequence of reading this thread!!! :beer: Cheers!
Legend Mum. I would NEVER have thought of buying edible goods from ebay. I thought it would be all out of date, not passed quality control etc. However, you pointed me to look for cake craft items on it and wey-hay. But LegendMum, thank you.

I have also found brilliant cake tins on ebay, including a 25 and 17cms set for £11.74 including p&P which even matches my kitchen!!! (Why do I always go for the most expensive ones?) I'm very tempted, It's about the price of a better tin of biscuits or sweets, but I can't eat those because I'm gluten free, so as I'd have to give the contents away anyway, it's not such an extravagance. However, I also found, exactly the same panettone tins you were talking about Angela. Those tins are fab aren't they. I'm still seriously tempted about that, just for the tin for my craft stuff.

This leads me on to my next find. I noticed you often comment on each others creative endeavours and I couldn't figure out how you got to see them, unless you live near each other. Then I found a tiny link to Susan's Blog. Love your room, btw. Didn't even now there were blogs on this until that moment. I also found Elysia's showing her cards, but I'm finding it very difficult to find anyone else.

Now a little bit about me. I had to stop working, in 2004. A misdiagnosed health emergency turned an acute condition into a permanent disability. No I didn't have any insurance. As a consequence of the consistently bad medical advice "there's nothing wrong with you" I sat in hospital paying utility bills with credit cards thinking "I'll pay back when I get back to work." After 3 years I had created about £20K s worth of debt.

I found MSE in 2005 during the middle of the crisis. It certainly helped me save money. I changed GP after the emergency admittance to hospital. My new GPs started finding one chronic condition after the other. That's still going on. Lawyers are involved regarding the previous surgery. I'm nearly 58, haven't worked since 2004, I'm not likely to be employed again. I entered a DMP in 2008. Since then I've done everything I can to turn my home around to be the platform for the rest of my life in far more reduced circumstances with an unpredictable health management regime. I'm looking forward to returning to my artistic roots and becoming a creative again, when I'm able to be. (I never know if I can do anything on any particular day until I get up. I may hardly be able to walk or do anything. I was repeatedly marooned in my 1st floor flat for days on end, for 5 month last winter, as I couldn't get down the stairs.) It's made me very isolated. My friends aren't used to seeing me any more, but I do go to a local pub once a fortnight, if I can.

I had thought about 'blogging' but hadn't seen any, didn't know any. Didn't know how to. Who would be interested in what I'm going to do in any case? But you know, I think I've found a home at exactly the right time. The plumbers left last Monday completing the last of the disabled adaptations. I'm ready to go. Can you tell me how to find other blogs on MSE? Would it be possible to list a link to my blog in the 'About Me' column on the left? If it is, it would be great if you could link your blogs there to make it easier to see your stuff.

Currently I'm on a bit of a baking craze. Something to do with having the kitchen finished I expect. Processed gluten free food is notorious for being awful. I've been eating it for 3 years and it pushed me into cooking and baking. I'm a huge Nigella fan, and a recent (a month) total convert to 'Cook Yourself Thin' on C4, the weight is falling off. I love the fat free cakes that series bought to public attention and Harry Eastwood's subsequent bakery book which uses vegetables as cake ingredients is my current favourite passion.

Yesterday I found a reprint of the Australian Woman's Weekly 'The Christmas Book' for 1p!!! £2.76 if you include p&P. It had the very best christmas cake recipes I've ever found. It was those that I made to give away as pressies, I told you about a few days ago. I'm going to see if with the help of Cook Yourself Thin and Harry's advice I can develop a brilliant sugar and fat free delicious Christmas cake that's healthy, and good for you to eat. I think that journey would be a good start to my blog.

I'm home based. I cook, paint, make things and read, all on the cheap! I've got to a point where maybe I can take my hair shirt off for the debt I created. I'm back on track, but heading in an unexpected direction. In the new year, financially things will be less punitively stringent and I can begin to relax a little. I've made a nice home, now it's time I move from organising and managing it, to enjoying living in it. I'm almost frightened to have fun in-case I 'go mad and overspend!'

:TBut thank you. Help and encouragement needed.

Chillout5892

fedupandskint wrote: »

Just working out how much to charge for a jar of pickled onions

Total cost
5kg bag onions £3.99 ( 80p per Kilo)
5L white vinegar £2.50 (50p per Litre)

Used so far 3.5kg onions and 2L vinegar
Costing so far £2.80 for onions and £1 for vinegar

Total £3.80


Hi Fedupandskint

Please don't sell yourself short.

There is a cost of a jars (even if you re-use an old ones, you did initially buy them. There is also the cost of cooking and possibly transporting them to where they will be sold. And you haven't included your time. I think you should be thinking £4.50 >£5 for costs.


These are great initiatives. I think you need to up your prices. Happy to help with costings if you want. Contact me off line if you want.

elysia2003

Hi Chillout. :beer:

I'm so happy we have helped in such a small way. My, you have a lot of things to contend with. I wish you all the luck with the lawyers and everything. It must be so difficult for you.

It sounds like you found us at the right time - join in often, we're like one big happy family.

You can get a blog easily - most people use blogger - just google it! Then you personalise it with your own background. Google free blog backgrounds - shabby blogs is a nice one, but it depends on your taste. It really is quite easy if you're technically minded - it took me two weeks to figure it out, I was determined not to ask my 19 yr old for help. :rotfl:

I don't think many people on this thread have blogs but you could look on the handmade christmas thread, some on there may or even the 'old style' boards. To find out if people have blogs - click on their username, in the drop down box if it says homepage - they have a blog. I warn you - you will become addicted.

elysia2003

Half pint - Hiya!!!


I live in Chelmsley Wood too. Thanks for the tips on the cheap batteries - I'm off to Wilko's in the morning, might see you there.

Anglea

Hi everyone :hello:

Legendmum, I must admit, 12 hours is a long time between posts, usually I'm here lots of times in the day to catch up as there are so may pages, perhaps everyone is out getting bargains today or ebaying.

Now why did you have a to mention chocolate slabs I wonder???? LOL Are you talking about the personalised ones? I was going to do them last year but forgot. Your family will be so pleased you've joined this thread I bet.

Fedup, glad you enjoyed your hols, and feel raring to go with those onions. Who do you sell them to?

Susan, hope you find the right place for the nose, sorry can't help.

Mary, I knew one day couldn't go by without you covering something LOL

Half Pint - it's annoying when there are different prices for the same item in the same store, good you found the cheaper ones

Chillout - thanks for telling us about yourself - you could find yourself a blog on this site -
https://www.blogger.com/start

Re gluten free, over the years I've tried loads of baking recipes using flours alternative to gluten and have to admit I didn't like much of it not tried a Christmas cake, that might be better.

That Australian Weekly sounds really good, I've bought a few different ones from that publisher in the past and still have the crafts one.

There are lots of things about this MSE site that I'm finding out even though I've been a member for a while e.g. a lot of people don't realise that you can reset your control panel to see other people's avatars. Took me ages to find that out. Although i prefer not to see them as some of them are very rude!

mum2one

Hope everyone ok, been having an orgainised couple of days!! 3/4 way sorting through jewellery, just got bracelets to finish off, then some earrings.......

Been busy and made massive batch of mince pies - lost count when we got to 150......

Thou did cheat (very mse - sounds daft cheaper than making everything)

Pastry - Lidi - Jane Asher - 49p pack just added water
Mincemeat - Lidi - Large jar (450g) 99p - added brandy and sherry, soaked over night

I had 3 jars mincemeat, 8 pastry - £7 - couldn't do it by hand for that. There now in the freezer.

Little catch up -

Elysia - did you get a cake tin in the end, - saw loose bottom one in Lidi - £5

Chillout - Hope you got the tin sorted, we use old sweet tins

Susan - That craft room is fab, I'm moving in - do brilliant for me studying....

Foxy - Big kid in me, what panto are you off to see

DJStar - Happy Birthday - have a great day

Fedupandskint - Glad mum loved the necklace, hope you had a good break

Chillout5892 - Hope everything goes ok, sorry you have to of been through the mill and back. I hope you get everything sorted. Glad you got all the adaptions done at home, we're just going through that at mo, with mum (and me- I piggy back on her adaptions), had the chair lift, bathroom next - (help!!), Miss Hooide and I are moving out....... wall being down, new bathroom suite, walk in shower, I just give up.......

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Got some ebay parcels to wrap 2mor, from the last free listing day, then Miss Hoodies games to music magpie, then back to studying next week,....sports, fitness an nutrition....... hope it rub off.

xxx