Under a fiver creation of the week!

 

Ok blogger has crashed on me twice and I've written this for the third time so I'm gonna keep it short and sweet.
Ingredients for a low budget gift/ wedding table decorations.
: One jam jar ,One tea light, One broken necklace (Buy your own to break from primark or charity shop)Less than a £1.00 gift and Boom , simple pretty and effective !!!!

Contain yourself!

I will never forget a remark made to me by an older gentleman when I was standing at the bus stop.I was sipping out of a plastic water bottle.He turned and very in a very charming manner said how he couldn't understand my generations obsession with bottled water ,as he always felt so lucky to live in a place where we can get water out of the tap for free!Plus all the plastic bottles end up polluting the planet and need to be recycled.A very fair point!
When I got home I thoughtfully re filled my plastic bottle with tap water and put it in the fridge for next time.I then thought about what other things I could refill around the house to save money.
I'm not ashamed to say that design and aesthetics are important to me!
Does my 40p value rice look so value in the glass container?Is it really fairy liquid in the vintage bottle?(Nope once i used it I refill it with cheaper washing up bubbles.)
For the label lover you can bid for designer bottles for bathroom products on Ebay and then refill them with cheaper shower gels,shampoo's etc.( don't fill them up and then try and re sell them on Ebay :thats fraud naughty monkeys and Brassictoymonkey does not approve!)
The Davelarr cookie tin was a gift !It is so pretty and you can get them from waitrose for around £3.50 .They make a lovely cheap gift and once empty ,a very pretty place to store other biscuits.
Free refill ? Yes please!

Under a fiver creation of the week!

I saw a record clock like this in a shop recently for around £40.
So I had a little riffle in the records section of the charity shop and found a design I liked. It's a 12 inch and you can normally pick them up for about a £1.00 and 45's for 50p.
I had a look at clock mechanisms on ebay ,I found a nice plastic one for £3.50.It was very simple to put together and one cheap battery and tick tock I got me a clock!If you wanted to make it a more special gift you could look for someone's favorite song or look out for limited edition colored vinyl or even spray paint the whole thing gold or silver.

Le Plastic Tres Chic!

A piece of statement jewelry can make a dirt cheap outfit look super expensive. The problem with some cheaper metal high street pieces is that after a few wears they turn a brown copper color or even worse leave your neck and fingers with lovely moldy color green marks! For a cheap long term investment I prefer chunky plastic jewelry as it doesn't age or show tell tell signs of wear and tear. You can find some really unusual shapes, some stunning colors and I love the way they catch the light.

 Over the years I've found some really nice pieces in the sales and in charity shops.I have one black cocktail ring that I can wear with almost anything it cost around £2.00.

Some people when they hear the word plastic jewelry may shudder at the thought!It can conjure up images of the kind of bracelets you used to wear when you were five or something you would find in the bottom of a cereal packet. Fear not ,Chunky jewelry reoccurs frequently in fashion and well made plastic pieces are a good way to experiment with trending colors without having to make a huge financial sacrifice. 

From Brassic to Classic!

 Ok just because your skint doesn't mean  you have to go around looking like a tramps breakfast.I have a huge passion for fashion  and nothing gets my heart racing more than finding something fabulous for less than a fiver.I have now almost completely given up on "Proper "clothes shops(except for the odd special occasion) . I'm lucky to live in a very affluent area and I can usually find everything I need in my local charity shops. People really do give away the most amazing things!It takes patience and persistence and endless trawling through buckets and rails,but when I get a compliment on what I am wearing it makes it all worth while, plus the money i've spent is going to a good cause. Classic wardrobe staples, Such as the pencil skirt for work or your basic black cardigan can usually be found for around £4.00 and with a bit of clever accessorising you can make something basic look off the chart.

What is Brassic Toy Monkey ?

To put it simply ;Brassic Toy Monkey loves a bargain! Living on a low income in times of a recession can be so tough, but a little creativity and a change of perspective can really help stretch the pennies.I want to share a few tips and ideas that have really helped me through tougher times and meant that I still have money  left in my account before payday. These ideas may not be for everyone and they do require a little discipline but are ideal for those who love a challenge!