Craft time: Christmas gift bags

I have a bit of a trend that I make people presents, rather than buying them. The trend is sometimes broken, but generally I bake or sew or make a big batch of something, then divide it up amongst my family. But I always have difficulty finding things to put them in... the gift bags that are in my price range (read: really really cheap) look it. So this year I decided to do things a bit differently. I swallowed my pride, and went on Amazon.

Oh gosh, I know, Amazon doesn't pay its taxes. But the items I purchased amounted to about ₤6, so I don't think the tax man is losing out on too much. I purchased 15 white paper bags with handles, 1 bottle of gold paint, "Cadburry" purple tissue paper, and some cellophane bags (for the as-yet mysterious goodies!). So my packaging was sorted with very little headache and even less expenditure!

Now to make the bags a bit more special. I bought some doilies from the local super market (unfortunately, we live in a time when doilies are hard to find, so I didn't have much selection of where to buy them or what pattern to choose) and a sponge. 

I placed the doily on to the paper bag, and sponged the gold paint so that it came through the holes, creating a pattern. I then removed the doily, wrote the name of the recipients, also in gold paint, and voila! Beautiful, home decorated gift bags for very little. 

I will be filling these with delicious unnamed goodies (yum!), with purple tissue paper coming out the top. Luxury on a budget, no artistic talent required!

Inspiration credit:  http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2009/11/21/diy-doily-canvas-bag/

Flower headband for under $2

I taught myself to crochet last week, because I'm separated from my fabric and sewing machine, and this was cheaper than buying a new machine in utter desperation. My first project was a bunny rabbit, which has major issues with lopsidedness. But my second project was this super-cute flower headband.

It was incredibly easy to make. I used this free pattern for the flower from the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog (which I found while searching on Pinterest) and I made the band by doing a continuous chain from the light coloured yarn until it was the right length to go around my head, and then putting a double crochet into each stitch all the way along. I then attached the loose ends of the band to the flower to make the headband. 

The hook cost $1.69, and the coloured yarns cost $1.99 each, but I already had the hook, and I only used a small portion of each ball of yarn, so I work out the cost to be under $2. It would probably cost about $10 if bought ready-made (although it might also look a bit more polished!).

I’ll be coming back with a new tip next week, but it’s taking a bit of time to put together and research.

Tip #7 - Blowing hot air

This tip is so simple to do it’s unreal, but many (many!) people will find it impossible. 

Don’t use hair dryers. Or straighteners, curlers, or any other electric heat-inducing hair styling tool.

There are so many reasons why this can save you money.

1- Good quality hair stylers are expensive, but bad quality ones simply don't work, may explode, or (in the case of straighteners) can pull out your hair.

2- The time and effort spent doing your hair can be better spent on other things, like sleep or work. If "time is money", it’s not worth wasting half an hour or more on heating your scalp.

3- Electricity costs money.

4- The cost of ruining your hair due to heat damage is very high. This can result in paying out for expensive nourishing treatments, or even losing your hair entirely and having to start over. 

Personally, I haven’t owned a hair dryer in four years. I had a straightener and curling set when I was about 14 but it was terrible and I never really used it. Instead, I let my hair air dry, and am (usually) satisfied with how it falls. At the moment I have short hair, in a style which I specifically asked to be easy-care (the cut itself was free – see my previous blog post on how to get free haircuts). When I had longer hair, I would either wear it in an all-purpose pony tail, or when I wanted a slightly fancier style, I would braid it, wrap it into a bun, or pin it while it was still wet. 

And the best part of not using any heat to style my hair? My hair is super healthy. Every time I see a hair dresser they comment on how smooth and healthy my hair is). No expensive treatments necessary!

Tip #2 Cut-price beauty

Let’s face it.  As much as I like to deny it, looks can sometimes be important.  But beauty treatments, to me at least, have less to do with the beauty side, and more to do with having a few hours of pampering with the phone turned off, where nothing else matters. 

Problem: beauty treatments are expensive

Solution: don’t go to the professionals

In the past few years, I’ve realised that student salons and spas are just as good as professional places, will take longer (more relaxation time!) and cost WAY less.

As a direct price comparison, last year I spent ₤87 from my birthday money on a haircut, facial, and eyebrow wax at a high-end salon in London.  This year, I’m getting a haircut, facial, and manicure and will be paying ₤28 pounds. 

The haircut is free because I will be a hair model for a student hairdresser.  The facial, at ₤18 pounds, and the manicure, at ₤10, are cheap because student spas don’t charge for labour, only materials.

Total savings: ₤59

Hair modelling opportunities can be found by searching “free haircut” or similar key words on local internet posting boards such as gumtree in the UK or kijiji in Canada.  Searching for student spas in your area will turn up results for cheap beauty treatments.

(Note: the cheapest thing would, of course, be to not get any sort of haircut or beauty treatments.  But I’m unwilling to give up my yearly birthday pampering)