How Tos-Day: Mr {& Mrs} Roboto~*

I think it would be fair to say that I invent my fair share of crises that demand crafty solutions.  Take this for instance:

In order to be more mindful of spending, my husband & I have started hoarding receipts.  They are our receipts, to be sure,  not run-of-the-mill-found-on-the-side-of-the-road receipts.  We aren't that weird.  Yet.

Anywho.

This bit is going to sound odd.

We don't actually look at the receipts, unless some as yet unforeseen need arises.  We don't use the receipts for accounting or banking as we do all of that online & for the most part there is an instantaneous record of our spending readily available with a few clicks of the keyboard.  We are doing it for sheer volume.  To remind ourselves of how much we buy.  Not only to curb spending, not just to shame ourselves into being less materialistic, but to be mindful of what we have spent in a positive way.  It is startlingly easy for us to forget the positives of what we've purchased when faced with the negatives of what we can't afford. A bulging envelope of receipts helps us remember that while we may not get everything we want, we surely get all {& more} than we need.  And it is smack on the front of the fridge door.  A constant reminder.

The downside is that we have a bulging envelope smack on our fridge door.

Hence the manufactured crafty crisis.  And here is my robot-y resolution~*

I used a white ric-rac trimmed napkin, cut to size.  I opted for a robot design that I sketched out on paper first, then traced onto the fabric.  The embroidery bit took a while out of sheer distraction-- I kept forgetting to do it in favor of other crafty projects.  So in an effort to finish it, I kept my embroidery simple, abandoning the french knot/polka dot dress for the girl robot & the satin stitch shading I was going to do for a 3D effect....sorry...

After it the embroidery was finished, I ironed on medium weight interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric.  Not only does it add weight to the envelope, it will also protect the embroidery {as we will be putting & taking out pieces of paper repeatedly}.  I folded over & hemmed the sides {so the envelope flap would be finished}, then sewed the wrong sides together to create the envelope.

I could have stopped there, but I wanted it on our fridge.  I like us seeing it everyday.  Part of the whole save receipt thing.  So I picked up some magnets.  I wasn't sure which would work  best, sheets or buttons, so I got both.  They didn't have the exact brands I purchased at Amazon, but these are similar.  And yes, the receipt went in the envelope~*

I had figured the adhesive on the magnets would not be strong enough, but they've held thus far.  I can always supplement it with a drop of hot glue.

Have you done anything unusual to help with the household finances or come up with any crafty crises lately?