MAKE SOME CASH FROM COLONEL MUSTARD

THE Christmas market at Chelsea Physic Garden last weekend was full of stalls selling handmade items.

One of the best was Pippa Kate Design (pippakatedesign.com), run by Pippa Ryan who makes striking pictures out of colourful bits and pieces people throw out.

She mentioned how tricky it was to find board game tokens to add to her creations. Plastic counters can fetch a comparatively high price online.

So later I took a look at eBay and saw one person is offering spare counters for the game Frustration at £2.49 each. Someone else lists the Cluedo characters (Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlett etc) for £3.25 each.

Another seller had three small bags of Scrabble letters and score counters for £10.

‘It’s often collectors or antiques dealers that need these bits to complete a set,’ says Pippa. ‘If you’re missing a yellow pie in a Trivial Pursuit game, then you’ll pay a few quid for that bit of plastic.’

So when you’re emptying the loft, or going through the kitchen drawer, if you find any of those bright, plastic counters, don’t ditch them.

Check out the price they are going for on eBay and offer yours for a similar amount. You could make cash out of what you thought was trash!