Pink Robot Geeky and Vintage Skirts!

I have decided to develop and refine Pink Robot as a brand, by launching my first proper product. I have always been a "butterfly crafter"- I blame Pinterest and wonderful publications like Mollie Makes!- so my plan is to start with one product and expand. 

One project I've really enjoyed is making cute little unusual skirts for my girls. I have never really chosen to dress them in traditional "baby pink" clothes, so I love the reaction they get from people. The skirts are nothing like the ones available on the High Street. It's great to know that nobody else will have the same one, making it special and unique. 

I have 2 ranges- one range crafted from modern fabrics (which are unusual and largely geeky!) and another range made from reclaimed vintage and retro fabrics. 

Records, from the original range

Here is a selection from the vintage & retro range: 

Amazing Return of the Jedi vintage Star Wars fabric

Roland Rat- a blast from the past! 

Who doesn't love Postman Pat?!

Beautiful, bright Care Bears fabric for all you 80s children!

Hollie Hobbie- cosy for winter

People have been asking if I will branch out to making other items along the same geeky/ vintage theme. The answer is yes- eventually. I want to establish Pink Robot through making customers happy with my skirts first, then I'll move on to include other products in my range.

Click here to visit Pink Robot on Facebook! 

There is a giveaway on the page at the moment, to win a skirt PLUS one for a friend. Enter now! Competition closes on Sunday 12th October. 

Gorgeous pre-loved ornamental items

On Saturday, I took a wander to the nearby indoor Muirend Market. It doesn't look much from the outside, but inside it's deceptively big and contains room after room of old treasures. I tend to visit around once a month, as the stock changes all the time, so it's worth popping in every now and again to see what has been added. It sells anything from electrical items, antiques, paintings, furniture, retro tins, and everything in between.

Not the most relaxing shopping experience on Saturday for me, with my one-year-old trying to touch everything and sit on the antique chairs, so perhaps it's one for when you have "alone time" to peruse properly. On this visit, I had no shopping agenda, but I ended up picking out a few ornamental items for my house. 

All 4 of these items cost a total of £12!

Large vase in peach, brown, teal and gold: £5

Metal and enamel peacock bowl: £2

Cherry blossom heavy enamel vase: £3

Matching cherry blossom enamel small bowl: £2

Buying online: getting more for your money!

As fellow thrifters, you will probably agree that the Internet is the biggest source of bargains, offers, vouchers and deals. There are little habits that I think are really worthwhile getting into, which really do save you money with little hassle. Here are some of my favourite ways to bag a bargain online: 

Quidco 
I only discovered this website around 6 months ago, and now I use it all the time! For the consumer, this really is money for nothing. You sign up, then visit a website through Quidco, earning cashback which can be paid straight into your account! You can even register your debit card, and when shopping in certain stores (e.g. Debenhams) you automatically earn cashback on your purchase! 
This applies to purchases, but also things like holidays, insurance, TV packages and mobile phone upgrades. If you are considering spending any money online, you will probably be able to claim some kind of discount or cashback through Quidco! I recently upgraded my mobile phone (which I was planning to do anyway) and got £50 cash, just for visiting the site through Quidco. When booking my holiday recently, I earned 6% cashback... extra spending money not to be sniffed at! 

Price Matching 
Competition between large retailers really saves us thrifty shoppers money. I stumbled upon Mothercare's "Price Match" policy one day, and have been making use of it ever since. They will match the price of any other retailer, online or in store, even sale prices! At the time I bought this Fisher Price bouncer, Mothercare's price was £39.99, but I found it on Amazon for £24.99. Without any quibble or argument, I bought it in my local Mothercare store for the cheaper price. John Lewis is another huge company with a brilliant price match policy. If you are like me, and sometimes want things "right now!" instead of waiting for the postman, but still want to pay the best price, this is a great option to keep in mind.

Voucher Codes
I don't have a specific "go to" site for this, but before I buy anything online, I check on Google for current voucher codes. Offers like free delivery, or 10% discount codes, are often available. It's certainly worth spending 30 seconds checking it out, and looking at all suggested voucher sites, as you never know what extra saving you could make!

Shopping Around 
This sounds like an obvious one, but getting into the habit of doing a quick price check on anything you plan to buy can sometimes get you a better deal. Does another store have it on sale, or could you get a good voucher code if you bought it from a different store? 

One lesson I have learned on my journey to being frugal so far is that groundwork and spending that little extra time planning a purchase saves a lot of money.

Today's baby bargains!

I just wanted to share a couple of real bargains that I got today! 

Having hauled down my "brand new baby" items from the loft, we discovered that the Moses basket we used for Heather had seen better days. I was given it second-hand by my sister-in-law, mind you, so it has definitely had a lot of use! I'm feeling a bit sorry for Pickle (our pet name for the new baby!), because he or she will hardly have anything of its own, and will basically wear, play with and be pushed around in Heather's hand-me-downs. 


So, I got on the hunt for a lovely new Moses basket for Pickle. I came across this beauty on eBay, and snapped it up for a bargainous £31, in new condition complete with rocking stand! If I were to buy this set brand-new from Mothercare, I would be picking up a bill for £125... a saving of £94! 


I also visited Merry-Go-Round, and kitted Heather out in swimming gear for our upcoming holiday. I got 2 swimsuits, 2 sun hats, an adorable long sleeved costume and a hooded sun towel... all for a grand total of £16!!!

I can't believe I haven't always embraced buying second-hand. It's totally win-win... the seller gets extra money and more space in their house, re-using creates less waste and environmental pollution, you save money and still get to own beautiful items! 

Giving things away for free... not as easy as it sounds!

Since I'm always on the hunt for a freebie or a bargain, I thought I would "pay it back" by making more of an effort to give away things for free. 

Giving to relatives
My sister has a baby girl 11 months younger than my daughter, so on Sunday I put together a bag of lovely clothes for her to make use of. It's great, because since there is almost exactly a year between them, the clothes all fit her season-appropriately!

Giving to charity
I have a box of baby toys to hand in to Merry-Go-Round, a fabulous social enterprise which allows buying for babies and children to be accessible to all. 

Giving to strangers 
Today, I decided to advertise some stuff for free on Gumtree as I was having a clear-out. Turns out this is a socially strange situation, and it is actually more difficult than I imagined to give things away! I got loads of e-mails asking "where do you live?" or "is this still available?" then when I replied, I got no further response. I also got people saying they were interested, then not turning up. I had so many people "interested" in the items via e-mail, yet I really struggled to "seal the deal" and get the items picked up! The funny thing is that when there is no money changing hands, people don't seem so invested in coming to get something... and I would have guessed the opposite!

Here are just some of the things I am giving away for free today... a reclining chair, a mirror, and a Body Shop gift set! 



I actually thought that giving things away for free, and having people collect it from your house, would be easier than giving to charity shops. It isn't. I still love the sentiment and idea of being part of the "free-cycling" and "gifting" community, and I would do it again for bigger items (the fact that someone picks them up is also convenient!) However, I think in future I will stick to giving smaller items to a charity shop. 

Has anyone else had a similar experience when trying to give things away for free?! 

One Man's Trash... Getting Something for Nothing

If there is anything I love more than getting a bargain, it's getting something for nothing... or for very little! One thing I have discovered recently is that this is definitely more possible than I imagined, thanks to websites such as Gumtree and Freecycle. 

Getting something for free normally does involve a little hard work and imagination, but offset that against the pounds you will save and it's all worth it. If you're anything like me, I actually like things more if I have put in the extra work to make them mine, and saved my money in the process. 

"One man's trash is another man's treasure" is such a true sentiment. Around 3 years ago, I moved house and got rid of a lot of the contents of my flat such as furniture, mirrors and pictures. At the time, I gave smaller things to charity shops and put bulkier items out on the street- to my surprise, they were always gone come morning. This doesn't surprise me at all now I know more about the Freecycling and thrift culture in Glasgow... I would be delighted at some of the treasures I left out in the street back then! 

People really do list stuff for free on Gumtree and Freecycle- no catches, no hidden agendas. Often, the items need a little TLC, but other times, they are simply surplus to requirements. For example, I got this original canvas oil painting of water lilies on Gumtree- the owner had redecorated and it didn't match their new colour scheme. As you can see, it perfectly matches mine!