Mum was always busy and was often looking for ways to create or restore things, partly because she enjoyed it but also partly to make a bit of money. 

At one time she became very interested in restoring furniture and would buy old chests of drawers from junk shops, have them dipped in an acid bath, rewax or polish them and sell them on. (This was when stripped pine was very popular - 1980s?) I remember that she once bought a tatty old chest and on getting it home looked in one of the drawers and found £250 in notes (quite a lot of money then) and a packet containing white powder.  I was aghast but she just flushed the powder down the toilet and kept the £250... definitely one of her better buys!