I love a bargain. I love it even more if I have to rummage for it!

When I was a student, there was always a weekend Jumble Sale in some fusty hall in Aberdeen, with piled-high bundles of clothing, shoes, boots and bric-a-brac. Possible bargains. But always bearing in mind that, behind the sagging trestle tables, there would be a troop of old biddies, who took haggling very seriously.

It was difficult for a poor art student to even get a cheap deal!

Yet the hunt was exciting. There might be a vintage gem below the 2 foot mound of dubious-smelling cast-offs. And, there was always the possibility that I might get my hands on something more original than from the sale rail of Etam - my High Street stand-by.

But Jumble Sales also attracted a gang of older thrifty shoppers, with their sharp elbows and penetrating concentration, who were fishing about for their own must-haves. Often an item I was loosely holding, deliberating over, would be suddenly snapped from my grasp by fast old hands, then an intake of breath through tight teeth and a shake of the head, and next, my maybe-item would be swept away under and through the pile by other fast hands. Now lost to me.

Because there was no etiquette. Those old women were fast and furious and intent on finding something before me. So I quickly learnt to hold tightly, and drape any possibilities over my arm and hold them vice-like against my body, and wait until later to ponder over my choices - after the initial frantic melee.

Now I'm one of those tenacious old biddies who love to forage for something vintage, cheap and cheerful!

And since coming down with the Wallpapering Bug - again (!), imagine my delight when I found, in Blythswood Charity Store, a roll of floral ditsy wallpaper from the 70s, I reckoned, 'cos it had the word vinyl on the label. Now, I particularly like a vinyl wallpaper, because its semi-sheen coating allows it to be wiped with a damp cloth.

Handy, when I have two small dogs who like nothing better than a good shake after a wet mucky walk.

The pink floral print is small - about the size of my thumb nail and contained within a diamond shape of green leaves, and endlessly repeated. In the 70s, this paper would have been a perfect foil for a larger floral, and would have been put up on three walls, with the larger floral being the final feature wall.

And when I delved about on the shelf of the charity store and found three more rolls, I decided I'd try to recreate this doubling up of patterns. So I paid my £4 and left with four rolls of wallpaper and a huge grin on my face.

My sis says my cottage is 'very ecclectic' - meaning it's full of stuff. An yes, I admit, I'm neither afraid of colour nor pattern. Not that either is overwhelming in hue or design. Personally, I find it calming.

However, when I looked at my purchase in daylight, the dark vintage cream background looked a bit like heavily stained nicotine.

But this could work in my 1870s cottage? I decided it would suit my kitchen with its muted pinks and greys. In fact, 4 rolls would be perfect for the job. Maybe not go with the larger floral feature wall idea?

I pinned up a couple of rolls in either end of the kitchen and contemplated.

Now, my livingroom is a subtle blend of sage, soft grey and cream, and I find it a calming space.

But in the kitchen, the dark nicotine cream and grey jarred a bit. But I'm an artist. I should surely be able to get this to work?

At the moment, my kitchen is pale grey and white, with black gingham curtains and accents of green and pink.

I decided that if I replaced the curtains with an old-fashioned pink floral that it would better complement the wallpaper. Then I could put my dark grey mats upstairs and take the ones upstairs into the kitchen. However, they were different sizes, and the dark grey looked awful upstairs. But maybe I could just get new ones for the kitchen? An update. And if I replaced the worktop with a wooden one, and repainted the units, this new scheme would work rather well.

On reflection, these bargain rolls of wallpaper were now becoming rather costly in time and money. A lot of costly compromises would be required.

I put the 4 rolls of wallpaper in the loft.

Out of sight, out of mind.

I concluded that sometimes a money-saver can actually cost many hundreds of pounds more!

I had a cup of coffee and two choccie biscuits.

Maybe I'm getting over the Wallpapering Bug? Time to concentrate on artwork methinks.