More Decorating with Jute

While I was working with jute on my last project, something happened. That is something that often happens when you're into a material - you don't want to stop working with it so soon.
That's how new ideas come.

Here is what I did next:

I wrapped a simple cardboard box in jute, stapled it (you can use glue if you have no stapler), wrapped some raffia around and attached two silk flowers.
The box became a new home for my ever-growing collection of wrapping paper and accessories which I will keep in my little studio.
You guessed it: my jewelery frame is moving too :)

Have a great day!

Love,
DK

Decorate Your Living Room with Your Jewelry

I love my jewelry. Each piece reminds me of a moment, a person or a place that meant so much to me.
I wanted to be able to see them at home so that I can revisit those places and moments in my memory more often.
Also, your jewelry tells something about you to your guests. Having the pieces you love displayed can be a great conversation starter.

If you are interested in home decorating, you have probably seen different displays already.

I had some unused picture frames. I used one of them to display a vintage postcard of a place I loved and the second one became a home for some of the pieces I love.
I simply replaced glass with a piece of jute fabric and there it was - my perfect jewelry display!

You can always get picture frames for next to no money at garage sales. You can embellish your frames or leave them as they are - depends on the impact you want to achieve.

So - save money and decorate with what you have.
Enjoy your memories!

Love,
DK

My Knitting

Today I'd like to share some of my knitting.

I've been knitting since I was a very young girl. It was not even popular to know anything about knitting in my generation, at least not among people I used to hang out with. We were all too 'intellectual'.
However, both my mother and my grandmother loved knitting and were very creative with yarn.
I just could not ignore that they were making things I loved - I wanted to be able to create myself.

Our home was always full of magazines and (as I was never able to resist reading whatever gets in my way) I started learning.
I almost gave it up. It just seemed to be too hard to manipulate those needles. But after I made my first scarf, I made my first sweater and love was born. I kept coming back to knitting all these years.

Recently I got some yarn at a very good price and started making scarfs again.
Here are some pictures:

I'll show you more soon. Or go and check out my store at made.it:

http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=37757

Have a great day!

Love,
DK

Where Knitters & Crocheters Meet

I found this community site today.

It is a place for knitters, crocheters and other yarn lovers to meet and share.
This is also where you can keep record of your stash, your needle collection, projects etc.

I think I'll like it very much.

Here is the link if you want to check it out:


http://www.ravelry.com/tour/peek


You are always welcome to stop by my shop at:

http://www.madeit.com.au/donata

$20 Voucher for Your Next Pair of Shoes

It is an old truth that one can never have too many shoes, although we all have only one pair of legs (each).
Now, we want to save money, don't we?

Go to

http://www.styletread.com.au/special-offer?utm_source=edm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=body&utm_content=version1&utm_campaign=do-04022011

for your $20 voucher at Style Tread.

I have found some great looking boots for $70 there. It does make a difference if I can get them for $50.
If you chose a $370 pair, it does not look to be much of a saving, but if that means that you can put on your new boots and use $20 to go out for a cuppa with your best friend and talk about shoes in a nice atmosphere - that is still something, isn't it?

Enjoy it!

Love,
DK

More Ways to Make Extra Money

If you have any writing talent, you can try freelance writing which is in great demand on the internet.
You can even write e-books on subjects you have knowledge, interest or experience in and sell them on the internet. E-bay is a good place to start.
In fact, you can sell anything on E-bay. This is something you should definitely give a try since it is a low-cost business you can develop as far as you wont.
I will write more about this later.
For now, you might want to check out www.freelancer.com and e-bay.com.
Surf a little and you will find all kinds of info. Just be careful, don't pay for anything you haven't double-checked.

I have made some money as a freelancer too, but my favorite activity is crafting.
I love all kinds of crafts, love making things, exploring what other people do and reading whatever I can find related to crafts.

Right now, I'm working on wooden boxes exploring materials and techniques I can use to decorate them.
I have just recently started posting my boxes at www.madeit.com.au - that is an Australian version of Etsy (www.etsy.com). Both are great places for crafters to sell their products - like a market place 24/7.
I'm also preparing to participate at the 'Made In Thornbury' market in June/July. I'm going there with my boxes and knitted and crocheted scarfs'n'staff.

Here is a picture of some of my boxes. Please feel free to visit my store at

http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=37757

I love working on these boxes and any money I make from it comes as a gift :)

That's all for today, folks. Please keep Japan in your prayers!

Love,
DK

Win Furniture

This is just a quick one:

Realestateview gives out $1000 gift vouchers for Freedom Furniture this month.

Go to this address to check it out:

http://www.realestateview.com.au/findandwin?utm_source=Launch_Email_V1FindandWin_UMDirect&utm_medium=Launch_Email_V1FindandWin_UMDirect&utm_campaign=Launch_Email_V1FindandWin_UMDirect

(This is not an advertising. I make no money with this. Just sharing.)


Love,
DK

Shiseido Voucher for Australia

Here is a voucher for Shiseido new Benefiance WrinkleResist24 sample set.

Be quick and enjoy!

http://www.shiseidomakeup.com.au/benefiance/

Love, DK

A FREE COOKBOOK FOR YOU

This is just a quick one.

I love getting something for free. Anything.
If you're like me you'll love this free cookbook.
And the best part is - any meal you choose will cost you less than $10. :)

Enjoy!

heinzvaluecookbook

How to make a little extra every month

Most of us could use a little extra money, wouldn't we?

I always thought it was good if I can do something useful while I'm having fun.

While surfing, chatting with friends on the internet, you can always do a survey or two.
Companies are ready to pay for your opinion, so why not use it?

Be paid for your opinion

I'm a member at
mysurvey.net.au
for a long time now and they have paid me for many times.
You will not make much money on this site, but you do not have to work hard for it, so why not give it a try.

globaltestmarket.com
This is another survey site, but it might take some time to be paid here.

You can easily find many more sites where you will be paid for your opinion.
I never pay to become a member at any of the survey sites.


Mystery shopping

I have done a lot of 'shopping' for the company called Shop Angels

shopangels.com.au

It's fun, you get paid or reimbursed for shopping you do.
A very friendly and honest company.


So these are two things I love doing and they add at least $100 to my budget per month.
I only do surveys and mystery shopping when I feel like doing that, which means you could make more if you want.

I believe this is not a bad start, is it?

Let me know :)


I'll be back soon with more.

Love,
DK

I'm talking about money, time and many other things

:)
The world we live in has become so hard to keep up with.
So much is offered, so much is in front of our eyes every day.
If you are like me and the most of the population, you can't possibly have everything you would like to have,
and especially not everything your kids would like to have.

I would like this blog to become a place where people will come to find ideas that will help them add to their lives, have a little more money by making some extra and saving what they make.

I am a passionate crafter and will probably talk a lot about crafts, but there will be advices on how to save time and money too.
My main goal is to share with others, so if you have ideas, success stories, tutorials, questions, anything you'd like to share - I'll be happy to share this space with you.

So let's start this little adventure and see how much value can it add to our lives.

Love,
DK