SMALL GREEN CORNER

Saving payment

2008-11-24T16:34:00.000-08:00

Maybe this would help with the ol' spend less and pay less quandary.

Read the full story here.

Saving Christmas

2008-11-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

The thing about me and saving money is......it just doesn't work.

I visited John Lewis to buy one gift and ended up buying four additional things, emerging from cyberspace after only a few minutes but with a considerably lighter wallet.

BAH HUMBUG!
But isn't Chris Mouse just the cutest! He's going to live at the bottom of a Christmas stocking.

Only 4 weeks (or so) to go.

Architecture du jour

2008-11-21T17:35:00.001-08:00

THE most fabulous and spiritual building I have ever seen. I can't stop staring......

Salt Lake Temple, Utah

Artiste du jour

2008-11-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

IF ONLY I could buy these paintings - see here for more.

THE PILGRIMS

ANGEL 3

PILGRIMAGE

SPOOKY SILHOUETTES!!!

2008-11-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

I had a witch at the door....

A bat on the window

And a cat standing guard

All made from black artists card with gold sweetie wrapper eyes (fangs for the bat).

And to top it all i had two spooky fired up lanterns on the gateposts!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

FALL PORCH

2008-10-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

Just the beginnings....

Things are getting spooky round here!!

Scary Halloween spider web

2008-10-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Eeeugh! I HATE spiders. But I love this crafty web.

Supplies:

4 garden cane supports (8 x 0.9m for 99p)
String
Black spray paint
Plastic spiders (2 x 50p)

Directions:
Firmly tie two sturdy canes together in a cross shape with string.
Add a cane at a diagonal above the cross and secure in the same way.
Add the last cane at the opposite diagonal below the cross and secure.

Wind the string with a loop around each cane to create a web effect. Add a piece of double sided tape to the canes if the string keeps slipping.

Voila - a large spooky spiderweb.

Take outside and spray paint matt black.

Add the gruesome twosome spiders......
Secure to wall for a truly scary dec!!

Cost: minimal
Time: minimal
Effect: MAXIMAL

New use: Fruit tray drawer organisers

2008-10-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

Mr Motivator

2008-10-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm really digging this latest post by Zen Habits -

The Only Two Secrets

to Motivating Yourself

You’ll Ever Need:

1) make things enjoyable and
2) use positive public pressure

Read the full story here.

Recently I have had a lot of issues with "time" - my eternal adversary!! There just aren't enough hours to do everything on my endless lists.

Also, I have that weird but common affliction of "perfectionism" - i.e. there's no point in starting that project because I don't have enough time to finish it/do a good job/make any progress, yada yada.

And so I have been focusing a lot on my strategic goals and my lack of progress with same. Some projects have been hanging around my to do lists for YEARS.

But being a semi-logical-control-freak, the other day I just decided that I would ACCOMPLISH everything I wanted to do simply by maintaining a POSITIVE "CAN DO" MENTAL ATTITUDE.

And so far it is working - the house is clean, the cupboards stocked, some ticks against the "to-do's" and still time to enjoy life (occasionally).

NOW if only I could fit in some time for SLEEP, my system would be perfect!!

Apple love

2008-10-06T16:38:00.001-07:00

I just love my new wooden apple.

Only £1 from the local charity shop. Isn't it cute!!!!

Spreading the words

2008-10-06T16:26:00.001-07:00

I recently posted on using the library - saving cash and saving trees!! But now I have found a great new way to (f)re(e)cycle books....

Check out bookcrossing.com.

Bookcrossing: n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

From the website:

"BookCrossing is earth-friendly, and gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves, and conserve precious resources at the same time. Through our own unique method of recycling reads, BookCrossers give life to books. A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure.

"Leave it on a park bench, a coffee shop, at a hotel on vacation. Share it with a friend or tuck it onto a bookshelf at the gym -- anywhere it might find a new reader! What happens next is up to fate, and we never know where our books might travel. Track the book's journey around the world as it is passed on from person to person."

(You print a label with a unique ID number so the book can be tracked!!)

I can't wait to try this out - what a fun way to share good things!

The concept reminds me of one of my favourite Nie Nie posts (recently republished) - see here. where the family leave little "fortunes" i.e. happy messages around the town for strangers to find. Delightful!

Autumn crumble

2008-10-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

So last night we made this autumn crumble. The house was filled with the delicious aroma of warm apples and cinammon - who needs candles!!

And I got to use my new orange pie dish, on sale for £3 at TK Maxx, which is so Halloween!

Note there wasn't much left to photograph.

Recipe: layer bottom of greased pie dish with sliced apples and pears, sprinkle with sultanas and cinammon sugar. Add crumble mix (with cinammon) and bake at 200 degrees for around 40 minutes or so.

Preparation: easy
Time: around 1 hour
Smells: great
Calories: don't even go there...

Quick craft

2008-10-04T03:34:00.000-07:00

It has gotten really cold here over the last few days - there is even snow on the mountains!!

So I was keen to knit up a new warm tank top and here it is - all ready just to be sewn together and finished off.

It was a great project - started and finished on Thursday night while watching TV. I find quick projects so appealing because I have the attention span of a gnat!

Project time: 5/6 hours
Wool: Sirdar Ultra Denim x 250-300g
Needles: 12mm
Pattern: round-neck tank top from Big Knitting by Sophie Britten

Next project I'm planning is a black mohair "t-shirt", think Johnny Rotten and punk London!!, from the same book.

Busy Saturday

2008-09-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

This morning we made these:

Banana and Blueberry muffins! Double yum!

There were some leftover blueberries in the fridge but not enough to make a batch of blueberry muffins.

Instead I used my fave banana muffin recipe (see earlier post) and substituted one banana with a half cup of crushed blueberries.

It worked really well! Am going to try with strawberries or raspberries next time.

And this:

Fiery red play dough

to go with last week's green batch (instructions from The Daily Green in earlier post).

Then had fun making shapes with cookie cutters.....

And later:

We'll make Saturday chocolate crispies with Smarties on top!

Cute craft

2008-09-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

One ball of bright wool, size 5mm needles, 20 stitches and a few hours plain knitting in front of the tv.

Result - a cute toddler scarf! Goes well with a denim jacket (or a toy monkey!).

Positive thoughts

2008-09-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

20 Little Things to Treasure in Autumn

These are a few of my favourite things!

See more treasures at The Inspired Room.

1, Golden hued leaves falling to earth
2, Knitted blankets for cozy tv time
3, Chocolate tipped marshmallows
4, With hot Green & Blacks cocoa
5, Candle-lit pumpkin lanterns
6, Homemade pumpkin soup with leftovers
7, Knitted scarf and gloves
8, Making ghoulish silhouettes for the windows
9, HALLOWEEN the scariest movie on earth
10, Looking out the windows into the pitch dark night after watching Halloween and being very scared!
11, Homemade banana muffins (a treat for any season)
12, Spice scented candles
13, Cappucinno sprinkled with cinammon
14, Knitting (or thinking about it)
15, Home made applesauce
16, Birds feeding in the garden and red squirrels running through the trees
17, The first sighting of a deer in the woods
18, Plaid pyjamas for lounging about after work
19, Yellow, red, orange and green - everywhere
20, Looking forward to Bonfire Night and fireworks

Green play-dough

2008-09-17T07:55:00.001-07:00

The perfect solution for creative kids (or the child in you) - non-toxic home-made playdough. Of course it comes in any colour you like but I wanted to illustrate the green-ness of it all.

As you will see it came out marbled rather than full on Kermit - but it's another cheap, easy and fun way to green up.....

Get busy with it.

See here for further details from The Daily Green. How to Make Play Dough - DIY Non-Toxic Toys: Packaging-Free Fun - thedailygreen.com

Posted using ShareThis

POSTNOTE: After a few hours playing with the dough I can report it IS now totally KERMIT! I mean shockingly bright green!!!

Holidays are coming....

2008-09-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't seen any Coca Cola ads yet, but the shops are stocking up with Christmas sweets and goodies already and we haven't even celebrated Halloween!

So, in the spirit of being prepared and thrifty for Christmas I thought I would share a good offer from La Senza. Buy one set of PJs and get one free - £25. I'm considering treating myself and blagging a free gift for someone's Christmas....

Check it all out here.

Library library

2008-09-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

I admit I am an AVID reader and mostly have two or three books on the go at any given time.

This is not from any attempt to be extremely well-read (I much prefer trash to the classics!) but I just HATE it when I am stuck with some spare time and don't have anything to read - this comes from many an experience stuck in major traffic jams, locked out of the house, waiting on friends, waiting on chip shop orders, etc etc!!

Ergo I carry a book in my bag (nb the wisdom of my paperback love over War and Peace tomes), the car, the house, and several at the bedside . There's nothing I like better than buying a book.

However, in my desire to adopt more thrifty green ways, I have re-discovered a lifelong love of the library. And even better in this techno mad world I can now select and reserve books online. The library is extremely useful in tracking down and getting hold of non-fiction books that I want to flick through but not necessarily own. Same goes for new fiction.

There are certain authors that I like to collect: Stephen King, Richard Laymon, blah blah blah, but otherwise I can save a small fortune by simply picking up my reading list items at the local library instead of the local Asda or (god of thrift forbid) nearest Waterstones.

Dig out that library card and check out the books and services on offer in your area. Long live our booklending public institutions.

And look what I found after posting this entry!!

Rediscover Your Local Library - thedailygreen.com

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Do you freecycle?

2008-09-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Every week or so I check out the new postings on my local FREECYCLE group. Today, I managed to snag a children's sandpit for the new play garden we are working on. That's one item ticked off the wish list!

Freecycle is a great resource - basically you can post goods as "offered" or "wanted" and other members of the freecycle community can get in touch if they are interested in your goods or if they have what you are looking for. The pièce de résistance? Everything is FREE!!!!

The premise behind the freecycle network is to "change the world one gift at a time" by re-using functionable goods that you no longer want and passing them on to other people who have a need for them: save on waste and landfill, encourage recycling of products and help others de-clutter unwanted items.

To find your nearest group check out freecycle.org.uk in the UK or freecycle.org/group/US for the United States. Other global groups are listed online here. It is truly a worldwide green phenomenon.

Posts change frequently so check it out on a regular basis. You might be surprised what's on offer, after all one man's junk is another man's treasure.

Get on your bike and get freecycling!

Cupboard love

2008-09-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

So, to follow my own advice I spent an hour yesterday making goodies from ingredients already in the cupboard.

As well as our traditional Saturday cakes (read:chocolate crispies) I found this amazing recipe for banana muffins - get it here.

To quote supernanny herself, Mary Poppins, these muffins are truly scrumptious as well as being very easy and quick to make.

So now the cookie jar is stocked with enough treats to last us for a few days......or a few hours......or at least 10 minutes!!

Bake on.......

Homecoming

2008-09-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

Returning late last night from a family vacation (read: decidedly un-thrifty family vacation) and having spent five hot nights in a smallish hotel room, the house seemed huuuuge and remarkably tidy.

Fast forward to next morning and chaos reigns once again.

However, it was a good feeling while it lasted! Ultimate blessing - a nice roof over our heads. It's true that the best things in life are free (or in this case, mortgaged).

So I guess to make up for the flippant holiday spending I ought to think of thrifty ways for the rest of September.

Idea one - use all cupboard food before buying any more groceries! Which will be an interesting experience given that I am NOT a cook. Good thing for sites like Supercook - just enter the ingredients you have into the box on the left and, voila, check out the recipes list on the right. Supereasy, superfun, superchef me!!!

Count your windfalls

2008-08-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Time to show off my current indulgences. These are absolutely the best creams EVER. Wonderfully scented and work like a treat. Obviously it must be pay day as they are not exactly thrifty, however, they are ethical - I LOVE the Body Shop!!!! Animal cruelty free, environmentally friendly, and supportive of community trade.

And in the spirit of buying "green", I have added some fresh organic chives to my window herb collection. Just ready to be chopped into a tub of sour cream and served with home made potato wedges.

The advent of pay day delivered another (small) load of ££££s into the bank account. But being skint last week, I took time to reflect upon all the lucky windfalls I had received through the month at nil cost:

A container full of fresh purple home-grown damsons - juicy.....
A strawberry pendant necklace - delightful
A Jo Malone travel case with mini toiletries - sweet
A new red Blackberry - on upgrade
An Indian takeaway - veg of course!

Which made me think of a personal finance book I read some years back by Suze Orman, "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom". One lesson I remember was the mantra that you DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY - it's how you spend it that impacts on your life. And as the lucky windfalls show, you sometimes don't even need to part with any cash!

I think, in fact, that the windfall gifts were even more sweet because they cost me nothing. So stop spending for a few days and take notice and be grateful for all the extra little things that come your way - probably a lot more than you think!

Reconstruction

2008-08-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today I have gone all Vivienne Westwood circa the 1970s and spent the last couple of hours totally ripping apart a baby snowsuit to make a cute toddler waistcoat.

SGC is all about recreation and reclamation. And it's fun to think of new uses for old things.

I just need to get the sewing machine out and trim the edges to make it work.....so the project won't be completed tonight!!

I have also put aside an old baby dress with plans to cut out animals shapes to applique onto toddler t-shirts a la Boden - see boden.co.uk.

I plan to continue the trend with my own wardrobe - I have so many clothes so this season it's going to be all about refreshing things I already own and NOT buying more.

Which reminds me, two of my favourite websites often have ideas to recreate the new from the old: see marthastewart.com and realsimple.com for more inspiration.

Happy reincarnations!

KEEP COOL

2008-08-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

A good eco tip is to keep a litre jug of chilled water in your fridge. Apparently this helps regulate the temperature of the fridge - due to packing a space with something cool! So this is good news for my poor silver Hotpoint in its perpetual half-full state.

But also, it provides well chilled water for drinks (obviously) which in turn prevents the running of the cold tap for a few minutes every time someone wants a glass of squash. And it's so much colder straight from le frigo.

Another plus is that the family will rediscover a love of unblemished H2O - cheap and healthy and a welcome break from endless cups of tea!

This fine specimen of a fridge jug only cost £1.29 from Dunelm so get chilling....

Basil ahoy!

2008-08-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of all things organic and thrifty I thought I would share my little home-NURTURED basil plant.

I bought this plant almost a month ago in Morrisons for £0.69 and have been adding the fresh and fragrant leaves to pizzas, salads and sandwiches ever since. Yes, I realise it is still in the little black plastic shop pot but, to be honest, I didn't expect it to last this long!!!

I have certainly missed the boat in setting up my organic veg patch this year - given we no longer have any semblance of summer but just rain, rain, rain - however I am all fired up to use home grown veg from next spring. Just take a look at the great idea for a raised vegetable box on the July 14 entry on gardenrooms for some greener than green inspiration.

Nice to grow things, save money and eat healthily all in one swoop - especially if you are squirming about the ever increasing chunk of cash required to satisfy the food bill each month.

Polyvoring

2008-08-15T02:19:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a post from FB in the City, I took a look at the Polyvore.com website. The site is great fun and allows you to mix and match web images to create your own collage.

I put together this fab outfit but then remembered I'm supposed to be on a frugal drive! Ho hum......

However, I could almost make this outfit from clothes I already own and so there it is - the SGC way to spice up your silhouette. Visit Polyvore and select some items similar to those you already have in that over-bulging creature called a wardrobe and, VOILA, create a new you!!

Of course, a trip to Abercrombie is always a treat as well.......

Make Do and Mend

2008-08-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently this is an old war-time saying. It is certainly not one which has been part of my philosophy until now.

I bought a pair of shoes in May and now, being August, they are well and truly what I would consider "done". They are scuffed from driving and walking around and have, in fact, been in this condition since around July!!!!

However, I haven't managed to find any others I like in the shops so with the situation getting more dire and my shoes getting more grey by the day, I relented and bought some shoe polish - what a novel concept!

Now my shoes actually look quite new and will last for at least another few months.

Previous concept - bin old shoes and buy new shoes.
New SGC concept - MAKE DO AND MEND.
Cost of new shoes £40+. Cost of polish £0.75. Go figure!!!!

Step up to recycling

2008-08-13T03:08:00.000-07:00

For years I have been recycling paper (especially in the office) but a couple of months ago I decided to really step up to the reduce, reuse and recycle challenge. And I have been really SHOCKED at the amount of waste I am able to generate each week.

The first step was to visit my local recycling centre and check exactly what I could recycle: old milk cartons, paper, cardboard, glass, soda cans, etc. Then I set up a small recycling station in my cupboard with holders for each category.

If you had asked me about glass I would have said I didn't use any, ditto cardboard - surprisingly though I go through an inordinate amount of both these products every week - and I am sure most households are the same. Baby food jars, coffee jars, pasta sauce jars, cardboard from kitchen rolls, toilet rolls, food packaging, - the list goes on and on.

Who knew I would be able to hoard so much glass over one week?

Now I can feel rather smug about my generous contribution to the recycling cause - TRY IT - I can guarantee you will be suprised at the amount of unneccesary waste passing through your hands each week.

So go rinse out the milk cartons, peel the labels off your Sharwoods and get recycling!!!