Lessons in being thrifty

I'm trying really really hard to pinch my pennies - between buying a house and having a handful of friends get married I'm somewhat lacking in the funds department. I shouldn't complain because I very rarely go without - I have plenty of food to eat and a roof over my head, and if anything actually thinking about money is forcing me to be a little more creative.

Take for example the fact that there is no way in hell I can justify buying new shoes at the present moment.
Solution = shoe clips!

I'm not sure about your mother, but my mama has always had amazing style. And I remember in the early 90s when she clipped chic navy blue bows onto the front of simple court shoes. She transformed relatively plain shoes into something special - special enough for me to remember them 20 years later. I won't even try to pretend for one moment that I'm chic or stylish like my mum, but I still have style... it's not just necessarily any good. But either way, my desire for cute shoes was waging a war with my new thrifty mindset, so I took a pair of $8 flat black shoes from Kmart and raided my craft stash (and by stash I mean pile, and by pile I mean mountain) and some clip on earring backs to make these clip on flowers.

And while I may be thrifty for the moment, I'm still plenty greedy... so I made myself multiple pairs.
I've been dreaming of shoe clips for a while now and might sell them/pay people to take them at Glebe markets as a bit of a test case. So would you wear an oversized flower on your footsies? Say yes!

My dad is cooler than yours (no offence)

My dad's birthday is just around the corner and I'm wracking my brain for ideas to no avail.
You see, my dad is kinda, very cool. He's a barrister by day and a rocker by night.
I can safely say I inherited my dear papa's abiliy to fall over inanimate objects, but not his musical genes.
That said, the last gift I gave him was pretty special... I personalised him shoes!

Given his daytime profession and he mostly taught himself to play, the stage name Self Tort is pretty fitting.

And he's a talented guy this one, playing both keys and geetar - so how could I choose?

And the best bit? He loves 'em and wears them all the time! I mean, how many parents are that cool?
So... this year I'm well and truly stumped as to how I can top them! Any ideas?