Paper crafting for the inept

A little while ago, here, I blogged about some pretty envelopes I was making.  I made a few more this evening.

Then I remembered that I hadn't told you what I use them for.  Want a clue?

Yep, they are pocket money pouches.  For me.  I am 35 years old and weekly pocket money has revolutionised my life.  No kidding. 

I was chatting to the husband a little while ago about how great it was to be paid a weekly wage, back in the day.  Monthly pay days really don't work for me.  I can't make money last; it burns a hole in my pocket and I spend the last half of every month bumming cash off him indoors.  Understandably, he finds this frustrating.  It isn't great for me either because I have to justify why I need £20 for a face wash. ('What's wrong with soap?' says he. Meh.)

So now Andrew has full control of my money.  (I asked him to; he isn't a control freak.)  Each payday, all of my money is transferred to him.  Then, every Friday, I have a set amount of money transferred to one of those pre-paid Mastercards and £30 of cash.  I love it!  I made the pretty envelopes just to be silly (it makes me feel young having pocket money!) but now I keep the actual envelope of cash tucked into my purse and the very sight of it reminds me that I've got to make my money last.  And I do!  Last week, I had £280 in my pocket money account.  That might not sound very much at all, but I was so chuffed with myself.  The fact that it has dwindled significantly now is irrelevant but I have two very nice Chanel nail polishes, a neon pink top and some Mac goodies to show for that little splurge! 

The envelopes are really easy to make. I bought these two templates on eBay - you just draw round them, snip, fold and stick.  

They are wooden and have a lovely vintage utilitarian feel to them.  The smaller one makes my pocket money pouches.  I don't know if there are any more left on eBay but there are definitely some available on Etsy if you fancy one.  There are lots of occasions when I need decorative little envelopes.  I quite often give cash or gift cards to family for birthdays and Christmas and the little ones are the perfect size.  You can use any kind of paper; my stepson loves Manga artwork and Marvel magazines which I think would make pretty cool cash envelopes for boys. 

When I bought the envelope templates, a few packets of stickers and rolls of washi tape seemed to slip into the basket.  I used some of the washi tape recently to make cupcake flags.

I was just messing around really, as you do, but I think these will be lovely for our Jubilee celebration tea in June.  (The cocktail sticks were from the local deli - they are called Posh Pricks.  Ha!) 

So it's pocket money day tomorrow and I'm planning a trip to Birmingham on Saturday for some light exercise...  I'd like to stock up on Muji make-up bags and I've sold a few things on eBay so I'm going to buy myself a pair of Raybans.  I am even going to treat the husband to lunch at Wagamama (he usually pays).  I am seriously craving Edamame and Chicken Kare Lomen.  

Thanks for continuing to visit me here where the chat has become a little random :-)  I've found loads of new lovely blogs recently (hello Claire!) and I thought I'd post the links next time so that I can share some of my new reading material.

Have a great weekend, lovelies. 

Kisses and stuff.

Nicki 

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