embellishing

Another thrifty idea...

I bought a plain dress in Big W - simple, striped red dress which was only about $10. I decided to add a little embelishment to dress it up a bit.

I added a big, black button, threaded with some coordinated ribbon I had (scrapbooking places have a lovely selection of ribbons).

I added some bows to each sleeve.

There you have it, a lovely, semi-christmassy dress...

Not quite as thrifty as my second-hand shop finds, but just another idea to dress up something simple.

Christmas thrift

This year we have already told the children that their Christmas present is the lovely Cubby House which we put up earlier in the year. Perhaps we will have some afternoon tea there on Christmas Day to celebrate the Lord's Birthday... If anyone has any ideas of making it special and involving the Cubby House please add a comment below. Would love to hear.

I decided to use the Christmas money from my mother-in-law (as it has been her suggestion before as well) to make the money stretch and have a peek at some second hand shops - particularly for clothing for the children.

I had in mind a little dolly for Rosa this year and was quite delighted to find one at Salvos. She looked very cuddly and just the right size for my girl. She has a couple of very tiny marks on the back of her head but overall very clean.

Once the kids went off to bed for the night I dug out some scraps of Lycra fabric and made her a little outfit. (Yes, I have a snap press so any of you who may want snaps put on anything - feel free let me know... they are very handy for many projects)

and blanket

I think she is going to like her! And all for about $2. And the ones I was looking at in the shop were in excess of $20 - gasp!

I also managed to find some really lovely girls clothes for Rosa to grow into, too...

Like this gorgeous smocked dress. I couldn't find a spot on it...

And another - which simply needs a new ribbon threaded around the waist

A summer top

And any girl has to love these dainty slippers! Lots of fun to clomp around in, calling the servants and sipping a cup of tea with the queen of England herself!

Admittedly I do not always find such lovely items in such good condition - especially for boys (they tend to wear things out faster) but I have been inspired to think thrifty, avoid the business of shops as much as possible and be more creative in the use of making money stretch.

... and to be honest, I had a lot more fun too!