A necklace for every day of the week!

Last week I decided to concentrate on jewellery making. (I actually made 8 but one isn't for me, hence the title) I bought a kit just before Christmas from Amazon, with some cabuchons. Basically with these sets you choose some papers (the G45 12 by 12 pad is perfect for this, as the example papers on the cover page are just the right size) glue them to the cabuchons with glossy accents, then leave them to dry overnight. Once dry, glue them with a stronger glue to the bases, then make up your necklaces. I made five of these.

 See what I mean about the G45 papers? Perfect size. Unfortunately the 8 by 8 pad I have is a little too small.

I also dug into the latest BH box, using the moons to make a couple of necklaces. I found some beads from a previous box and attached them to the moons, then made up the necklaces with various beads and beading strings.

For my final one, I made up a dome charm as I've done before, with a ring pull. I filled it with blue beads and some shells, before gluing it to the base. I used eyepins with some beads to attach to the ring pull, as well as a silver shell bead, then attached it to a silver chain.

This one is definitely my favourite. I love the little shells, and it's perfect for a seaside town.

seven days of zilch,

a week without notes or coins

no money to spend

As you can see from the haiku above, last week's resolution was a no spending week. Admittedly I've done spending bans before, though this was a little different by the fact I could spend no money at all. This meant that I had to buy the food I needed for work the week before, as well as doing the usual to avoid frivolous spends. It's funny really; when I was a child I was used to having no money. We weren't exactly well off (think getting most of our clothes second hand from the NAAFI, and renting electrical appliances instead of buying them outright) but we did as well as we could with what we had. I remember getting EMA (education maintenance allowance back from the time they used money to incentivise you to stay in school after GCSE's instead of forcing you like they do now). It was £30 a week maximum, so obviously I got that, but I didn't fill out the forms straight away so ended up getting it backdated, to what was a whopping £700. I had never seen that kind of money before, and admittedly went a little nuts. Spending has been varied since then; I've got to the point where I am not in debt but I do tend to spend what ever money I have spare. It's a long way from when I used to get £5 a month pocket money. I bought a rabbit from my £5 one month, and had it a grand total of one night. Small piece of advice - black rabbits and night time do not mix, as my dad found out when he accidentally let it escape. I had to wait another month before I could buy another one.

Anyway, enough blathering on about not having much money. Plenty of people around the world have a lot less money growing up than I did. Last week was easier than I thought it would be, but I did record what I felt each day.

Monday - No urges today. I did however get a little pissed off with a company called Lindy Bop. All last week they were offering 20% off, so I partook the day it was due to end. Once the offer was supposed to have ended they extended it and added a free gift with every order. It's not much but I wasn't the only one annoyed. I did get my embossing powders in the post so that probably quelled any urges.

Tuesday - No post today, and the first day of the week I left the house. Stayed in work during my break as usually I go to Sainsbury's. Was slightly tempted by a Sizzix 90% off sale but deleted the email.

Wednesday - Lindy Bop dress arrived. Long shift at work, otherwise known as an AFD. Put on my work trousers first thing and found a split right in the wrong place. Felt like an omen but I luckily have a spare pair. Good thing I noticed before I left the house! Dug through the recycling at work and found an old newspaper (not that old) with some puzzle pages in which kept me occupied during my break.

Thursday - day off. Made necklaces all day. I did look online for findings, as the BH box doesn't tend to supply crimp beads and the like, but didn't purchase any.

Friday - Longer shift than expected as somebody went sick. Got out a pair of sausage rolls ready for work...and left them in the kitchen. Well, the cats enjoyed them, gnawing at them even though they were still frozen(!) Had an emergency packet of microwave rice so had that for tea. Did find an unexpected stash of peanut M & M's that we bought for Christmas.

Saturday - Hunger and the smell of chips do not mix! There are far too many chip shops in town, all of which smell heavenly when you are walking past them with a grumbling stomach. Walked past a chip wrapper in the alley on the way home so someone didn't resist. (Not me! What, did you think that I had looked for a few chips in there?)

Sunday - went into Sainsbury's looking for things for next week. Didn't buy anything. It was our delayed Christmas works do in the evening. I avoided going to Spoons as we have a small budget from work, which covered the meal but not drinks. Went to a carvery - lovely meal and best of all free!

So, it was a successful week. I will admit I don't think that these actually save money, as you just divert the spending to another week when you can spend.

Ems