A Domino Effect

Happy Monday peeps!  How’s everyone?  Hope you all had nice relaxing weekends, and are enjoying the World Cup (come on Spain/South Africa!).  I woke up this morning thinking ‘Holy Crap it’s day 14 of June and I’ve only managed 3/10 goals of the month thus far!’, so the June list will be the theme of this week but first, a little pondering on the prospect of money-making…

Studentsville is fast approaching over here – I officially have eleven weeks (eleven! I can smell the freedom already!) of full-time work left before I finish my current job at the end of August.  It’s an exciting prospect, but a slightly nerve-racking one at the same time.  Because with the knowledge that my placement is coming to an end comes the realisation that so too is my full-time wage.  And while I’ve been quite stringent with my savings schedule over the last few months and have a comfortable amount behind me for heading back to school, I’m beginning to think about the various ways in which I might be able to make a few extra pennies here and there to help myself out along the way.  Oh, and I’ve got an amazing, amazing, fabulous, AWESOME trip in the planning at the moment, which I’m also trying to save for.  Will tell you all much more at a later date, but take the picture above as just a tiny little hint…watch this space!

So to money-making.  The frugal section of the blogosphere is absolutely teeming with people selling things on eBay.  I used to have an account, but never had much joy with selling things (not that I tried all that hard).  I’m beginning to wonder, however, if eBay might provide a nice little side-earner for me as I approach the realm of unemployment.  I (still) have lots of things in the flat that I would quite happily part with, and while I’ve given bagloads of things to the charity shops over the years, I would quite like to try my hand at making some money from it, if possible, especially as most of the things I would contemplate selling have either never been worn or are still in impeccable condition (not that that’s a reason not to give things to charity, mind you).

But here’s the snag: I did some minor eBay research this morning, concentrating mainly on the categories where I would intend to list (mainly womens’ clothing, accessories and jewellery), and the findings didn’t look all that promising.  Very few things I looked at had bids next to them, even those which were about to finish.  And most of the items that did have people interested and bidding were going for less than a couple of pounds.  That seems to me to make the hassle of taking the photos and writing the listings seem slightly pointless, especially as I’m not the world’s most competent (or patient) photographer.

My question, therefore, to all you avid eBay sellers out there is: just how do I go about this?!  Are there any tricks of the eBay trade I should learn before I start listing or is the best way ahead just to go for it, advertise my stuff and see what happens?  I think I’ve got around 20 decent things to sell altogether, and I could probably find a few more quite easily.  But is eBay a good way to make a profit on this stuff, or would a better option be to collect what I can together and try a car boot sale instead?  Aaargh too many questions!  Please help!

Image above from Flickr: Vlastula.

OK so this is the second repair job I carried out at the weekend.  I meant to post it yesterday but conveniently managed to forget my camera (doh).

I found this little ‘underwear as outerwear’-style top in the same charity shop as the dress from the other day.  Originally from French Connection, it cost me a measly £2.  I love the mix of the almost-too-tacky print and the pastel colours but I somewhat naively didn’t bother to try it on in the shop, and on getting it home found it to be more than just a little restrictive in allowing me to breathe properly!  The only course of action was alteration, so here’s what I did…

That’s right, no back!  I only had one zip in my sewing box and it was the wrong length for this top, so rather than traipse off to the haberdasher in the rain I decided simply to cut the back open, sew up the hems and improvise with some elastic I had lying around.  It does make what was already a pretty skimpy little number a whole lot skimpier, but this isn’t the kind of top I’d really wear on its own anyway – I always layer things like this with simpler t-shirts or blouses underneath, so why not!?  Here’s the finished result…

See?  Layered, tucked in and I can still breathe.  Result!

The ‘June 2010′ list is going well (anyone else find that lists have an insane amount of power over us mere mortals?!).  Seven days into the month and 2/10 goals are already complete.  Task number 7 was the order of the weekend: I finally dug out my sewing machine, something I’ve managed to avoid for months and months, and got down to some real stitchin’ work.  I have to confess to having a bit of a love-hate relationship with sewing, as I’m most certainly not the world’s most patient, or nimble-fingered person.  I also have a tendency to want to run before I can walk, resulting in many a strop when my feeble expertise fails to spark the implementation of my many grand plans and projects.  The path to perfection (or even competence, that would be enough) is rarely a smooth one, however, and I’m stonily resolved to keep trying my hand in the vain hope that one day I might be deemed a worthy seamstress, Julie Andrews-style (see above – seven epic outfits made solely from curtains – my heart flutters).  That’s the plan anyway.

So, ‘repairs’ were the theme of goal 7, and here’s a sneaky peak at the first…

I snapped this little dress up in a charity shop last Friday for £5.  I fell in love at first sight, and decided that the fact that it had been hacked up but never hemmed by its previous owner would be no bar to my having it (I actually think whoever owned this before decided to cut it after a few bevvies, as I’ve never seen such a jagged line in my life).  So come Saturday morning, I got out my tools, donned the cap of patience and sat down to right that unhemmed wrong…

…and here’s a snap of the finished hem – I used bright pink thread, not because I desperately want everyone to notice how uneven my stitches are, but mainly because it was the only thread I had that came remotely close to matching the dress.  I don’t think I did too badly…

…and here’s me in the finished product, looking very pleased with my handiwork.  I’m glad I took the time to do the job properly as it’s such a cute dress and I know I’ll wear it loads.

Item number 2 coming tomorrow!

I spent the afternoon in St Andrews yesterday (photo above, not mine), rummaging in the charity shops, eating award-winning ice cream and wandering around in the sun. I’ve been there countless times before but always enjoy returning, probably because it combines most of my favourite elements of both the small town and city and presents them in one eye-pleasing package.

The presence of one of Scotland’s oldest universities, combined with one of its most famous golf courses has given what would probably otherwise be a sleepy seaside hamlet steeped in its own history a distinctly vibrant, modern, almost cosmopolitan air (a friend who studied there for four years saw both Hugh Grant and Samuel L Jackson in the same afternoon once!). St Andrews is a culturally diverse little place as well – something which, in my experience at least, is rarely found in rural Scotland. People from all walks of life who are doing all manner of different things with their lives abound there but at the same time there’s a welcome element of familiarity about the place – you get the feeling that many of these people know each other and that they live together in community. A sense of neighbourly ‘togetherness’ is something I often feel I’m missing out on in Edinburgh – I honestly couldn’t tell you the names of anyone else living in my tenement building and the chances of my bumping into someone I know in the street are slim to almost none. Most of the time I love and relish the feeling of anonymity that city life brings – having grown up in a tiny village with an even tinier collective mindset I get to feeling claustrophobic quite easily – but it can sometimes be a hostage to fortune. St Andrews appears to provide the ideal balance: there are far too many people around for you to know absolutely everyone but it wouldn’t be quite so coincidental an occurrence to randomly encounter someone you did know in the street.

Another thing that’s odd about St Andrews is its economy. Take a short walk around the (very) compact town centre and you’ll see a miniature branch or outlet of almost every high street chain in the country, yet at the same time there are piles upon piles of independent local businesses which all seem to be doing a roaring trade. Every coffee shop we passed yesterday was packed to the rafters and the independent locals appeared to be boasting just as plentiful an influx of business as the nearby Starbucks and Costa outlets. The charity shops were also pulling in the punters like there was no tomorrow – there was a lot of jostling for a better look at the wares on display and a good bit of hanger snatching going on as well (incidentally, is there really anything more annoying in this life that someone invading your personal space as you flick through the rails in a charity shop?). I found a gorgeous leather shoulder bag in Cancer Research for £4.50 (to replace an older second-hand model which now has no inner lining and a badly ripped cover). I was initially in two minds but decided to go back after finding myself thinking about its beautiful tan shade and nicely battered buckle all through coffee. That’s the thing about charity shop shopping – when surf’s up you’ve gotta get on the board – no one ever knows when the next bout of slim pickings will begin!

All in all it was a lovely afternoon.  If ever you find yourself in St Andrews, or the neighbouring vicinity (it could happen!), do check it out – it’s well worth a visit.

Image above from Flickr – Byrnesyliam.

I’m currently engaged in a project to tackle the enigma that has been my living room for the past six months in a bid to make it feel more like ‘me’.  The only problem is, I point blank refuse to spend much money on it.  I mean, it’s pointless to go all out on the decorating front if I’m going to end up moving again in a few months’ time isn’t it?  I also don’t care much for trips to DIY stores.  I find these places to be full of grumpy middle-aged men and their prissy wives who do nothing but argue over light fittings.  Thanks, but I’d much rather spend my Sunday afternoon reading a book if it’s all the same.  I have therefore limited my home embellishments to a) things I already own; b) things I can buy on the cheap and c) things I can snaffle for free.  This has proved to be somewhat challenging thus far but I’m actually having lots of fun watching my vision gradually (very gradually) take shape.  Where would the satisfaction be if I could have it all done in the course of one day/week/month anyway?!

The room in question is enormous, and it’s also a really odd shape.  It comprises living room and dining area, with doors to the kitchen, utility room, bedrooms and store cupboards.  It actually has a rather disproportionate number of doors, which is good for hanging bed linen up to dry, but bad from the point of view of making the room interesting!  Living in rented accommodation, and having an extra-fussy management company watching us like hawks, means that we are also quite tightly restricted as to what we can and can’t do with the place.  There’s absolutely no scope for painting, papering or changing carpets.  Adding things like shelves is also impossible, given that holes in the walls must be kept to a minimum save we lose our precious deposit.

But against these odds, and with much thrifty perseverance, the room is gradually coming together.  Here are some of the more exciting ideas I’ve put into practice:

• Converted an old home-made curtain into a wall hanging to bring some colour to otherwise bare white walls.  Cost: nil
• Wound my own white fairy lights around a metal shopping basket I found in the street to make a kitsch and brightly-lit magazine rack.  Cost: nil
• Replaced a burnt and mouldy lampshade with a funky green Ikea number.  Cost: £7
• Added a blue and green checked rug found in a charity shop.  Cost: £3
• Gave life to the dining table with a vintage tea tray which holds fruit bowl and placemats.  Cost: £3
• Covered a scabby side table with some flowery material I had in my own collection.  Cost: nil
• Hung up a slightly tacky yet totally retro disco ball to reflect sunlight.  This was a present from a friend.  Cost: nil

I’m perpetually on the hunt for a bargain pair of curtains which I’m hoping will lift the room completely to life once and for all.  The current pair are threadbare and a dingy shade of off-yellow.  A part of me dies inside everytime I have to look at them, which unfortunately happens at least twice a day – I need to replace them for my own sanity.  I’m also planning to finish off a patchwork quilt I started *ages* ago which I can drape over the couch which is black (who buys a black couch!?) and desperately in need of some warmth.  Finally, I have a bright red easy chair waiting for me at my parents’ house which I am going to try and recover some time for extra seating and a good splash of colour.

Tiny baby steps I’m sure you’ll agree, but I’m moving in the right direction.  I also haven’t had to make a trip to B&Q yet.  Happy days!

Image above from Flickr – bekkchen.