£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

XSpender

welshlady33 wrote: »

Aldi special buys Sun 19th November
Ceramic bulb kit , choice of hyacinth 3 colours, and 2 types of narcissus £4.99 each
X

This is helpful for me, just what I had in mind for DS teacher gift.

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

The MBNA direct debit appears to have come out today, despite having paid the card off a few weeks ago. Need to get DH to phone them when he's home and get our £25 back!

How annoying. I did a BT to 2 cards this month on the same date. The one that wasn't cleared in full didn't take the DD and the one that was cleared in full took the £30 due. A quick call and the overpayment is on its way back to me.

Suffolk_lass

Re that MBNA card. If you can afford to leave the £25 for a week I would do so. Then when your DH calls them they will have visibility of the amount of (daily calculated) interest that the account will have accrued between the date when they told you your balance, and the date when you paid it off. Then he can ask them to pay the £25 less that interest and zero-ise the account and it is all done. I have been caught out by MBNA and John Lewis once before on this. The difference was that John Lewis waived it when I called them and MBNA did not.

Re tree decorations - I wrap fairy lights round green (non-sparkly) tinsel and hang tree baubles to these over the bressumer beam above my fireplace. Other than that, we stick to tree and LED light nets with cards pegged on to them. Minimal fuss (and expense,) and looks pretty effective too

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 40: Day 2

Survived Day 1 of solo parenting. Although DC2 did ask me why I was so stressed at one point while I was getting them ready for bed . Better make more effort today.

Suffolk lass good point re the MBNA - I hadn't thought about interest. DH won't have time while he's away to phone anyway, so I'll add it to his list to check next week.

I actually FINISHED MY SCARF yesterday. Very exciting. I still have a couple of loose ends of wool to weave in, but I mostly did them as I went, so not much to do. Going to cast on some Christmas knitting today.

Meeting a friend in a nearby city today, will inevitably spend money on coffee (I seem to be doing that rather a lot recently! Although have kept it only to the price of the coffee each time). Will try to have a quick peek at the Christmas decorations before I go to see whether there's anything we obviously need.

I also had a good time making lists for presents for the DCs - the grandparents all start asking for ideas around now, so it's good to have a list to throw at them too.

To do today
1. start Christmas knitting!
2. have a browse in the toy departments in town for Christmas present ideas.
3. ironing.
4. send card to friend for her wedding.
5. email the children's present list out to the grandparent who has already asked.
6. check advent calendar list for anything else I need to buy.

To do this week
1. declutter and tidy utility room - it is such a dumping ground.
2. put advent calendar together.
3. do some Christmas shopping.
4. Christmas knitting.
5. pull out the Christmas decorations and see what we need - I have a vague recollection that we are totally lacking in house decorations, although we have some lovely tree decs. We are going to get a smaller tree this year though, so maybe I'll just use tree baubles throughout the house so they get used.

To do this month
1. Keep the total spend at the budgeted level - it's high on YNAB this month (£3,842) as it includes the £470 paid off the MBNA card and all our savings pots are actually budgeted.
2. Keep a tight record of Christmas spends so I can ensure it sticks to budget as far as possible.
3. Keep beavering away at my business goals. Ongoing.
4. Make some candles - we've run out! And I know one person really wants another one for Christmas, so will add it to her hyacinth. Done! Although I'll probably use them up and need to make more before Christmas.

Treadingonplaymobil

Candle making

I've just remembered that I promised to post more information about my candle making.

I don't do anything clever, and I'm sure I get some bits wrong, but this is what I do. I've linked the products I use where possible.

Supplies
-soy wax (a large box has lasted me a full year)
-containers (I use the 50cl bowl and the 30cl matte white jars)
-wicks (I use size 12 for three wick candles in 50cl jars and size 14 for single wick 30cl jars. I buy them from here because they are the longest pre-waxed wicks I have round, so plenty of spare wick to wrap round a pencil resting on top of the jar to keep the wick straight)
-wick sustainers (scroll down)
-glue gun (you can use double sided tape, but this is the best solution I've found. Mine is just a cheap little one from Tiger)
-pencils to rest on top of jars
-saucepan and bowl large enough to rest on top to create a double boiler - I use a 1l pyrex jug and stand it on a cookie cutter to keep it off the bottom of the pan! Makes pouring easier at the end, and you need to be able to measure the volume of melted wax so it's double helpful.
- essential oils (I get mine here and buy the big 50/100ml bottles). I usually get inspiration from Pinterest for blends and just use equal quantities of whatever two or three oils I choose.
- You can use fragrance oil if you prefer, but it's not as natural. I occasionally do this, but not regularly.
- thermometer (mine is a bit like this)
- spare measuring spoons - you will never get the smell of essential oil off them, so sacrifice some cheap plastic ones to candle making.

Method
1. Scoop enough wax into the jug/double boiler for your candle - you need about twice the volume of flakes as you will of melted wax. Easy to add more if you don't put enough in.
2. Heat the water in the double boiler, rest the bowl/jug of wax over the water and melt (gently - the water doesn't even need to be at a rolling boil). Make sure the wax doesn't go above 65 degrees if you're using the one above, or whatever the recommendation is for your wax, or it will start to denature. I usually remove it from the heat when there are still several pea sized lumps of wax left to melt, as I find it hard to stop it over heating if I keep it on the heat until the whole lot is melted. Ensure all the wax is melted before proceeding though.
3. Leave the wax to cool down to 45-50 degrees while you prep your jars.
4. Crimp the bottom of the wick into the metal sustainers with a pair of pliers (or scissors that you don't mind blunting - the metal is quite soft).
5. Warm the container by pouring hot water into it and tipping it out again - dry thoroughly.
6. Put a blog of glue/double sided tape onto the bottom of the sustainer and stick to the middle of the container (or space evenly for 3 wick jars - I usually mark the bottom of the jar with pencil to help placement). Wrap the excess wick round a pencil and rest it on the top of the jar to hold the wick vertical. You can buy special wick holders.
7. Your wax is probably cool enough now. Check the volume of wax (the pyrex jug comes in useful here!) and add 7-10% of that volume in essential oils (this is why you bought large bottles - a 50cl candle will use 35-50ml of essential oils). I always do 10% for maximum scent hit. Just measure it out and stir it in.
8. CAREFULLY pour the wax into the prepared container, which should still be a tiny bit warm (this helps the wax adhere to the sides of the container). If you used double sided tape it's about now that you will wish you owned a glue gun, as the tape may lift off and it's a nightmare re-attaching. It might also be worth trying blue tack I suppose. Fill the container to a little under a cm from the top of the jar.
9. Try to have a little wax leftover. Once the wax in the jar is set you'll find the top is uneven. You can re-melt the spare wax and dribble a final extra mm or two on top of the jar in a few hours to even if out.
7. Leave the candles to thoroughly dry for a few days.
8. Burn! Make sure you keep the wick trimmed to <1cm to minimise smoking. Burn for 2-3 hours minimum each time to keep the melt even.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Wow, that's such a simple idea and so easy. Thank you for sharing. I might have a go at this for Christmas.

Cherryfudge

Thank you for posting this! I got a part-used candle making kit at a car boot sale and wasn't sure what else I needed to get going.

I usually buy candles as gifts - oops I've already done that this year! In future I'd love to be able to do some homemade ones.

Just a question on containers: if I reuse pretty ones I have lying around, what do I need to take into consideration apart from being non-flammable? I'm thinking size and shape.

DrSpendLittle

Thanks for sharing! I'm going to make some for xmas gifts!

Treadingonplaymobil

Justing rounding up yesterday's lists before starting today...

To do today
1. start Christmas knitting! Not done!
2. have a browse in the toy departments in town for Christmas present ideas. Done! Although totally devoid of inspiration.
3. ironing. Not done. Shocker.
4. send card to friend for her wedding. Done.
5. email the children's present list out to the grandparent who has already asked. Done.
6. check advent calendar list for anything else I need to buy. Done.

To do this week
1. declutter and tidy utility room - it is such a dumping ground.
2. put advent calendar together.
3. do some Christmas shopping.
4. Christmas knitting.
5. pull out the Christmas decorations and see what we need - I have a vague recollection that we are totally lacking in house decorations, although we have some lovely tree decs. We are going to get a smaller tree this year though, so maybe I'll just use tree baubles throughout the house so they get used. Done, we're actually doing better than I expected.

To do this month
1. Keep the total spend at the budgeted level - it's high on YNAB this month (£3,842) as it includes the £470 paid off the MBNA card and all our savings pots are actually budgeted. This is not going well.
2. Keep a tight record of Christmas spends so I can ensure it sticks to budget as far as possible. Ongoing.
3. Keep beavering away at my business goals. Ongoing.
4. Make some candles - we've run out! And I know one person really wants another one for Christmas, so will add it to her hyacinth. Done! Although I'll probably use them up and need to make more before Christmas.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 40: Day 4

Last full day of solo parenting. I won't be sorry to see it end when DH comes home tomorrow! Have achieved so little this week, just keeping on top of the house and bare minimum levels of work is enough.

Cherryfudge the only thing I can think of to check if using other containers is that the wick is the right size - too big and it will burn quickly (I assume), too small and it will only burn the centre portion. I use a size 14 wick for a 7.5cm wide glass, and three size 10-12 wicks (whatever I have) in a 12.5cm wide glass, if that helps. I'm no expert on wicking though, and mine don't always burn perfectly, although usually fine.

The budget is still ticking along nicely, because I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet.

To do today
1. start Christmas knitting.
2. make chicken soup with leftovers.
3. make bolognese to freeze in portions - DC1 fancies taking in hot lunches.
4. make more flapjacks for snacks.
5. catch up with work.
6. clear the ironing mountain (yeah, right).
7. order some Christmas presents for the DC.

To do this week
1. declutter and tidy utility room - it is such a dumping ground.
2. put advent calendar together.
3. do some Christmas shopping.
4. Christmas knitting.
5. pull out the Christmas decorations and see what we need - I have a vague recollection that we are totally lacking in house decorations, although we have some lovely tree decs. We are going to get a smaller tree this year though, so maybe I'll just use tree baubles throughout the house so they get used. Done, we're actually doing better than I expected.

To do this month
1. Keep the total spend at the budgeted level - it's high on YNAB this month (£3,842) as it includes the £470 paid off the MBNA card and all our savings pots are actually budgeted. This is not going well.
2. Keep a tight record of Christmas spends so I can ensure it sticks to budget as far as possible. Ongoing.
3. Keep beavering away at my business goals. Ongoing.
4. Make some candles - we've run out! And I know one person really wants another one for Christmas, so will add it to her hyacinth. Done! Although I'll probably use them up and need to make more before Christmas.

Cherryfudge

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Week 40: Day 4
Cherryfudge the only thing I can think of to check if using other containers is that the wick is the right size - too big and it will burn quickly (I assume), too small and it will only burn the centre portion. I use a size 14 wick for a 7.5cm wide glass, and three size 10-12 wicks (whatever I have) in a 12.5cm wide glass, if that helps.

Thank you! Those links about candle making that you posted are very tempting, by the way.