BURKATRON

i'm not entirely sure what happened but i blinked and discovered i had a 5 month old that's chewing everything he can get his paws on! thankfully one of my friends had bought me the cutest little kit for making teething toys so i whipped up a few of these wood and silicone teething rings in no time. you can source silicone beads and wooden teething rings  really easily or you could just use a DIY  teether kit with all the pieces you need to make multiple toys! (i can vouch for this being a great gift idea as i've loved making them for gabe!) simply string the silicone beads onto some thick string and thread the wooden teether through before you tie tight knots to create the ring. obviously, make sure everything is very secure, i double looped my string and glued my knots for extra strength (i supervise gabe when he plays with any type of chew toys as i'm a super cautious new mum!) gabe is obsessed with chewing on these wooden teethers and i love...

i adore making soap for a couple of reasons.. one it's super fun and two they make perfect gifts. when it comes to christmas i'm a big advocate of adding in some handmade presents for a more personal touch.. plus making stuff always gets me really excited for the holiday season!

i figured i'd start off the week with a super simple DIY. i love making soaps, they make great gifts and you get to melt stuff (which is always high on my agenda.) in the past i've generally stuck to novelty ones like this but today i'm sharing a more grown up version- detox charcoal soap!

as christmas is only a few days away this is officially the last of my festive DIY's!  these minimal wooden trees are perfect for a modern home. the inspiration came from a novelty cardboard christmas tree i picked up in ikea, it was bright green and made everyone laugh but i liked the simplicity of slotting pieces together to create a basic tree shape. (plus you can fold the pieces flat to store away for next year, perfect for people who don't have much storage space.) you can find the tutorial over on ehow right now, hope you try them! have a wonderful christmas, back soon caroline x

i like to stash all my presents until christmas eve when i wrap them in a frenzy of paper, ribbon and general excitement! if you haven't wrapped yours either this little DIY is a perfect last minute addition to make your gift wrapping next level uh-mazing.  this isn't just a festive DIY you can make these bad boys all year round for birthdays or weddings. you can also stamp anything you like on them so they're totally customisable.. pretty neat huh? i think what i love most is how simple they are. i love clean and minimal wrap and these work perfectly with my black/white/kraft paper selection! (but hey if you want you could paint or decorate them too..) i promise this is a very easy make- pop over to ehow and find out how to whip up a batch of your own stamped labels! hope you like, back soon caroline x

my fave thing about summer is sitting outside enjoying the company of friends and family.. the worst part is waking up the next day covered in mosquito bites (seriously. every. time) when i go on holiday i bring a whole heap of insect repellent but i have a tendency to forget to wear any at home. this year i've been burning citronella candles outside instead, its a smell that always reminds me of summer holidays and helps keeps those pesky bugs at bay.

I thought I'd show you a really easy little DIY for those cami tops we've all been buying this summer! it's a simple update for strappy tops and perfect wear for nights out (it's so basic even the most sew-phobic can get involved!) here's how I made mine: the most important items are a simple cami top and a length of chain, the pliers are just used to open the chain links! cut the straps off your cami and lay them out flat; use your pliers to open the links on chain and cut into two equal lengths (use the original straps as a guide to the length) take a needle and thread and simply sew the chain lengths onto the cami where the original straps were; you're just replacing the fabric straps with chain ones! there you have it; a simple twist on a basic cami top!  what do you think? would you try this yourself? caroline x

today I have a fun little project for you; a tassel bracelet that you can make in a snip! I came across this cute idea from I spy DIY on pinterest and immediately wanted to try it.  all the items needed are easily available on eBay, etsy or in craft shops! Just follow the steps below to make your own DIY tassel jewellery: it's a really simple idea, mine took less than half an hour and there's lots of variations if you want to experiment... I think next time I'll opt for some chunky silver chains and different colour threads. have any of you made something similar.. would you try this DIY? back soon! caroline x

oh my gosh I'm such a hoarder!  if I step into a charity shop I undoubtedly exit with some more trinkets I don't actually need but have a wicked compulsion to collect (case in point my growing collection of miss matched teacups and saucers..) I love vintage teacups, I tend to justify collecting them so I can throw afternoon teas parties but more often than not they sit neglected and dusty amongst my other bits and pieces. so to cheer up my old china I decided to give it a new life as teacup candles! it's surprisingly easy (and darn quick) you'll just need the following: candle wax (500g was enough for 3 candles) pre dipped wicks (available here ) a double boiler (two saucepans will do!) old teacups first pick your teacups, I went for mismatched patterns as I wanted mine to be a little eclectic. now take your candle wicks and attach them to the teacup base so they don't move when your pour in the wax! (I just used a dab of super glue) leave them on some newspaper and...

I love hunting for old pieces of furniture! I never buy shabby chic distressed furniture -I've always found old pieces and done it myself (it's more fun and a lot more affordable)  I found an old pine bathroom cabinet for £3.. a perfect DIY candidate! the technique works on all pieces of wood furniture, I've upcycled wardrobes, dressing tables and chairs in the past.  lots of people have asked me how I've distressed my furniture so I thought I'd do a little tutorial for anyone who's curious to try it themselves! start out with your pieces of wooden furniture, whether it's a chair, table etc the most important part is sanding! I use a small electric sander to rub down larger furniture but something small can be done by hand with regular sandpaper! this part is really important as it removes any varnish and provides a 'key' or grip for the paint to adhere to. once you've sanded you need to apply a coat of primer (I've taped off the mirror on my...

I've been meaning to make a floral crown for ages (since last summer in fact) I never quite got around to buying the essentials so it was left on my neglected DIY to do list! the combination of sun and an urge to get away from my laptop finally got the better of me this week so here it is! it's so fun to make and not expensive either, mine came in under £10 and took me roughly an hour or so to finish! I'd love to make one out of fresh flowers but for the time being I opted for silk flowers which are easy to get hold of and last a lot longer! the main things you need are an assortment of flowers (available at craft or home stores- mine were from dunelm) garden wire and some fine jewellery wire. A pair of scissors or pliers to cut is also a must! measure and bend the wire to fit your head (make it a little bigger as the more flowers you add the tighter the fit will become) wrap another length of wire around the crown to make it more secure. now comes the fun part! start twist...

making rings is so incredibly easy and quick! it's also pretty darn fun so I decided to dust off my craft box and show you a favourite DIY of mine. usually when I make  rings I use old buttons or coins but I saw these novelty phone & cereal miniatures in my local craft shop I decided to give them a whirl (I love anything a bit kitsch!) you really only need three things to make these; rings blanks, glue and a centerpiece! to start with I removed the string cord from the phone and glued the receiver to the body (I used my glue gun but you can use craft glue like E6000 which is perfect for this project) simply dab glue on the flat ring blank disc and hold the phone into place until secure! that's it.. you're all done hurrah! I used the same process for the cereal boxes.. voila my rice crispie accessories are good to go! ring blanks:  available on eBay  here glue: sold  here miniature telephone  here  and cereal  here! this is such a quick project and ...