In the Bag

 Onto the last (belated) leg of this month's offerings... a few bits and bobs about parties.

The first two bites here are about those infamous party bags that seem to have become a staple these days!

How do you create and fill them so that they don't cost the earth and yet are a nice reminder of a good time?

Month 7 - Bite 28

The first thing to do is to create the party bags themselves. There are plenty of templates available to print so why not try making your own rather than buying them. It's even better (cheaper and more environmentally friendly too) if you use paper left over from projects, spare wrapping paper, magazine pages or brown paper that wrapped something you had delivered! Of course you can also unfold a spare bag you have from a previous party to create a template.

                        

Some of these options seem to produce a rather dull bag, but wait... What if the first activity of the party was for each participant to decorate and label their own bag? As each person arrives provide them with the wherewithal - pens, stickers, sequins, glue - to make their own very individual bag. All of these can be put, empty on a surface awaiting their contents.

Month 7 - Bite 29

So on to those contents...

Not so long ago we went to a relative's 80th do. Her daughter and grandchildren had pulled out all the stops to make it an occasion to remember without spending huge amounts of money - although they did put lots of love and effort into it.

Guests there, old and young, each received home made party bags. Inside were one or two sweet items including this..

Forgive my photography - it's a phial for blowing bubbles! There was also a small pack of seeds gathered from their own garden to grow flowers with a note on the envelope to explain that as the flowers grew we could remember the special day. Among the other things was an individual cake box to choose a favourite cake (there were loads!!) to take home.

It's very easy to think the bags have to be loaded with plastic knick-knacks or sweets, but why not try something similar. 

We're always looking out for small gifts for Christmas, birthdays etc. so when any of us spot a bargain in the mini books/pencils/stickers/anything really line it gets snapped up and stored. These are particular favourites for prizes for pass the parcel, musical bumps, or any other game. Guess where these prizes go? Yep, that's it - those waiting party bags - it's easy to top up any non-winners' bags too while they are all eating.

Then there's those scrunchies I made a while back, some bookmarks, and... well, you get the picture.

The next bite might also give you some ideas for fillers too....

Month 7 - Bite 30

A make it yourself party..... Well, why stop with the party bags? You could try having a short game or two and then set out a table with plenty of craft materials for a grand making session. It could be a step-by-step process where all the guests make the same item following someone's lead - decorated hair grips, for example, or fabric brooches from scraps glued onto a backing piece (thank you internet for soooo many ideas!). You could give each guest a sock to decorate as a puppet or some felt, pom-poms, wiggly eyes and buttons to make finger puppets. Whatever you choose make sure there's time for the glue to dry while you eat whatever spread you've laid out and played another game before their masterpieces are added to the party bags.

Recently I found these initials on sale and gathered a number for decorating and adding to the take home stash - remember my comments about wrapping paper scraps and tissue paper? This is the sort of project they go too...

                                                 

You might decide the makes should be edible. Make some individual cakes and provide icing, colouring and toppings for them to decorate their own cakes which can be added to the bags. Or use plain biscuits (shop bought or home baked) for them to create faces using icing sugar glue, small sweets and sprinkles.

Phew - all partied out?

Wait till the excitement of children's holidays appears for next month!

Partytime

 I know I haven't been burdening this flow of posts with a specific time of year, but as I type it's just about the busiest time of year in our family for birthdays and celebrations! So, here we go with some suggestions and ideas for the fun times ahead that will have a positive impact on my purse (I hope). Some of the ideas will be prompts for me to try out while others will be tried and tested, so let's go!

Month 7 - Bite 1

Couldn't resist this particular party animal elephant in her festive frock, even if she does look a little unstable after celebrating!

Way back in Month 1 I made a list of dates and anniversaries and in Month 2 I started looking at making one or two things to keep in store. Now it's time to ramp up the efforts. I'm going to begin adding to the list suggestions for each of the occasions. I know what particular sweets certain family members like or puzzle books or bath stuff so I can put those into the list. There are other things they've mentioned that they'd like to try - that afternoon tea the other month for example - so those experiences can go in too. The main thrust behind this is to make sure that I don't get caught unawares with no thought in my head of what I might get, do or make. That's the fastest way to waste money that I know and doesn't necessarily mean that the recipient ends up with the best present for them - or perhaps one that they even like...

Month 7 - Bite 2

Card making is next on the list. Here's a selection of various cards I've already made for friends and family. I keep photos of them to spark off new versions - although it's a bit tricky sometimes making sure that I don't re-send copies to anyone!

This one features a handmade ceramic button on some wet felted fabric I created.

A special sewn card for a milestone birthday.

Okay, the original photo in the middle is a magnet created by my niece's husband and his camera, but the pebble photo and composition is mine!

More stitchery onto card.

I just found this ladybird button and knitted a background square.

I've made ice cream brooches from felt before and had a spare that became a card topper.

It's amazing what you can do with some card, an envelope and some scraps of fabric, paint and paper...

I also like to photograph any good ideas I see to help inspire me for the future - that includes stuff I see in magazines or shops too.

I'll add an extra mouthful at the end of the month with some more easy designs....

Not my strong point!

 

I'm going to put it out there I'm rubbish at selling!

There are others in my family who could sell umbrellas in a desert, but not me. I love making, I enjoy chatting about how I create things, I feel the urge constantly to be sewing or knitting or writing, but then I'm left with stuff. I've done craft fairs and written when asked and all that sort of thing, however, when it comes to selling it on, urgh... It's just not my strong point. That's why I was so pleased with myself for doing the work for the website I mentioned earlier. I managed to suppress my imposter syndrome fears and make contact.

This next little suite of mouthfuls are all about getting to grips with it again in order to pass on some of my makes and to add to that extras account....

Month 3 - Bite 13

I've written for pleasure for a long time. As I've mentioned before I have written as part of jobs I've had and then been paid as a writer for a variety of publications and so on. I have a number of notebooks full of ideas, half-written stories, article research, etc. just sitting there waiting for me to do something constructive. So today's the day. I've got a story in full in my head and I need to get it down. That happens a lot. The difference is that today, instead of saving it into a folder on the laptop, I will research a magazine and send it off to see what happens! If you get to read a story called 'No Treats at Pete's' (all about a neighbour's cat) at some point then you'll know its fate too.

Month 3 - Bite 14

A number of years ago the readers of this blog encouraged me to get up the courage to approach a local shop with some of my brooches and to my surprise they took them, sold them and then asked for more!!

I need to face this fear again and see if a brilliant local cafe gallery we've got nearby is interested in some of my new designs and perhaps some cards. Deep breath and...

I also need to investigate a co-operative stall in our indoor market who sell items from a variety of local crafters and artists and then see if there's any mileage in that avenue too.

Month 3 - Bite 15

While I'm being brave (!) some research into craft fairs and table sales needs to be done. I have participated in these before with different degrees of success. The difficulty is in finding the right fit for what I've got without having to produce loads more stock which then leads to more clutter and.. well you get the idea. Also, there's the issue of the size of charge for the stall so that it doesn't end up costing more that I make! There are one or two possibilities around here that occur regularly, particularly when the holidaymakers are in  town so today's project is to find the details and dates and then put them in the diary to visit and decide if it's worth taking a table. Then moving on one step when I know and booking it.

Month 3 - Bite 16

Do I have enough stuff for a Boot Fair I wonder? Well the next task is to venture into the loft and find out. Once that's done I need to repeat the same process as for the craft fairs and decide if, when and where I should move forward with this one. Perhaps I'll ask my neighbours who like to clear their stuff with a day at a Boot Fair once the weather improves.

Month 3 - Bite 17

Finally a big one. From time to time I've popped the odd photo on Instagram (and received some nice comments as well as a few likes and the odd follower. This research project is to find out about using social media and how I might use it, then to start posting more frequently (if I say regularly I'll persuade myself that it means once every other month and that's not what I mean). I'll need to read up on my Sara Tasker and investigate how to present everything, but nothing ventured, nothing gained they say. (I just say 'Help!).

A bit of good luck to set the month off well..

 Month 3 - Bite 4

As it happens I used to write a bit... Not great literary works or anything (don't say you're not surprised having read this blog...), but advice articles, activity suggestions and handbooks for youth organisations, lesson materials for schools, a range of 'stuff' really. It just so happened that I was reading a newsletter from a website that I follow when I saw a request for writers. Well, I thought, why not so I made contact, did a sample piece and lo and behold I've been accepted. So with very little effort I've got another little pot of gold (well dollars actually) to add to the extras account!

Month 3 - Bite 5

Having reactivated the online auction some of the listings are already on the move. There are a number of items that are gathered together from my makes. I've always wondered if I could sell on an online craft site so today's task is to set up an account and start listing some of the cards and brooches I've created. Fingers crossed!

                            

Month 3 - Bite 6

In addition to the easily posted craft items I've made some larger, more expensive to post, things which need to be moved on. There are one or two local social media sites for local sales around here so the next on the joblist is to investigate these and start listing some of the bulkier items so see if they will sell.

Month 3 - Bite 7

And finally, the last of this little run of jobs is to look through some of the online sites for clothes. When I was freeing up my wardrobe I created a small pile of dresses that might sell, but I've never found out much about the apps to do this. That's another line of enquiry to follow!

Mind you - I think some practice with photography wouldn't come amiss!

I'm still subscribed to what?! Taking account of it all..

 Month 2 - Bite 3

Next to tackle the accounts. I've made a list of the accounts I hold and have simplified them by closing one and putting all the contents into another that had a higher rate of interest. Then I took a long hard look at the amounts going out of my current account and have pushed on with cancelling some of the regular payments.. I mentioned the sports channel that I cancelled immediately - that's nearly £7 a month and so far we haven't missed watching it.

Now a long hard look at a garden scheme subscription and having chatted together we've decided that as we rarely visit the gardens in question it would be cheaper to pay on an individual visit fee - quite a saving this one - £58!

Next, membership of a craft guild that I haven't got back to after the pandemic and know that the timing of it makes it very unlikely that I will (and I can always pay a small visitor fee if I want to) - another £20.

Finally I have made myself look carefully at the magazines I read. One or two are unmissable in my book so they stay, but one hasn't been so good for a while so that's going too - yet another £40 a year.

Phew!

Excuse me if I get a little sidetracked now, but I finally got around to doing something I've toyed with for ages... 

With all the crafty bits I've got around I have dallied with the odd craft fair and even had a local shop stock one or two of my felt brooches, they've even gone on an online auction site too when I was getting rid of some bits and bobs. I've always wondered about an online shop and generally chickened out at the last moment. Now thought, I've taken the plunge with some of these...

and the odd card or two...

I'll let you know how it goes - after all some of this might reappear with another elephant once I look at raising extra cash...

Anyway, back to business..

Month 2 - Bite 4

The amount of electrical stuff I found once I did my power audit around the place was astounding! How did my family ever cope when I was growing up with only one socket in each room upstairs?

From today I'll be doing the 'power walk' every day as I know we're forgetting to switch things off, so from now on I'm on the prowl. I've already switched (sorry) to charging my phone and tablet just once a day rather than popping it on and off the charger. The laptop is no longer on constant charge and the TVs are off standby. Once I'd done a bit of research it would seem that more than one of the TVs still carries on using around a third of the power when I had thought it was turned off. That's the equivalent of leaving it running on full for 8 hours a day. No more, no more I say.

Month 2 - Bite 5

I did apply myself to the food task last month and although our sugar mountain has only marginally decreased (mainly, in my defence, because I went and bought more to make marmalade) much of the other stuff has been well and truly diminished. In fact, today I went off and did a 'big shop' because we'd almost run out of store cupboardy bits. 

I've even applied myself to recipes for using things up - hence our new 'favourite' of pasta bake.. don't know why I haven't gone for this before.. it was prompted by a surplus of mushrooms of all things!

Would you believe we've still got some Christmas chocolate stocks left (they'll be gone in the next day or so), but it has brought it home to me how much we had lying around.

Month 2 - Bite 6

Speaking of Christmas - I'm still enjoying my Christmas bathtime goodies (thanks Juds). It's been great not to have to buy so many of the toiletries I usually need, just by checking on what I've got. I also had a look at some other items while I was having my bathroom sort out. There were some rather old lotions and potions that are probably lacking in oomph now they are aging a bit. I found some sun cream that would have been fine normally, but seeing as the recent situation has rather got in the way of holidays in strong sunshine it never got used. There were also some lipsticks and glosses that no longer suited me (not sure one or two ever did to be frank!). Having checked out whether they would do me any harm I've used them up as moisturiser (the sun cream) and lip protection (although some of the older stuff definitely went into the bin). Now I can even see what I've got as well as have space once I actually need to replace them.

Normal Service (!) resumed...

Hello again! I know I've been remiss with the postings, but I can't believe how quickly the time goes and how little I seem to have to write to show you how I've filled it!!!

Anyway, excuses aside, everything keeps moving along - so here are some highlights..

In between the writing and trips away for work we have managed one or two nice trips out for ourselves too. There have been barbecues with friends - the most recent last night on the beach at Budleigh, walks along the beach and relaxing in lovely spots. Here's a couple of shots from when we had some time in Cockington. This first one is the view from our table in the cafe where we had our cream tea while the pianist played in the garden....

 

 

I have managed some bits and pieces of finishing off, the odd doll's blanket and scarf.. like this lacy one. I've also got a beautiful new fleece from one of our Wednesday spinners, Dawn. She sheared her flock on the Saturday and brought a selection of Shetland fleeces the following Wednesday. They were lovely. I've washed mine and started on it abandoning the alpaca that's driving me nuts! (Mind you I am about half way through the throw I'm making from it - I swear that the rest of it that is living in the loft is breeding, there always seems to be more of it each time I open the box it's in...).

 

 

 

Work continues apace, with next academic year's dates already rolling in - so it would seem I'm still employed for the future. On my last visit to Cardiff I went out for a walk in the evening with some of the staff from one of the schools. It was such a change from either having a drift around Cardiff on my own or retreating to the hotel room. We did a couple of circuits of the lake at Roath. To my shame, even though I was at university there for three years, I'd never been to the park. Here it is - can't really guess you're in the middle of a capital city, can you?

 

 

 

I've also been able to get up to see my mum and sister - their birthdays are this week so I'll be back there again on Sunday - and then on to my old school for the end of term. So we'll have time for an evening at their local tapas bar with plenty of Sangria. My excuse is that I'm practising for my holiday. We finally managed to book one for October - so it's off to Fuerteventura then!

 

Finally, thanks to some of the lovely comments you sent I plucked up the courage to pop into a local shop, Inc. I chatted to Emma who runs it and showed her some of my brooches and she bought a couple to try in the shop. This week I had a call asking for some more and I showed her an ice cream one that I'd made - and she wanted more of those too! Here's some of the batch ready to go down there today! I've never done anything like this before so I'm well and truly chuffed at the response, especially as the first two she had sold so quickly.

 



 

 

 

I think that's just about everything up to date now.... although I'm sure I've forgotten plenty too.. it's been that sort of time. So I'm about to settle down to some data work for the morning, before I have my usual coffee break browse and Handmade Monday then  pop down to Inc with my brooches. After that I guess it's a relax in the sunshine - long may it last!!!!