BURKATRON

yikes my nails have been so neglected! I love to give my paws a manicure every week but since I started decorating my new house I've not had much time for pampering! just keeping them from breaking as I'm sanding down floors is an achievement ...having a few hours free to file and paint them is a bit of a treat! this is quite a quick nail art so thought I'd share it with you guys! start off with a white base coat, I've used topshop spilled milk polish here...  take a pink and yellow polish and draw on alternate circles using the brush, space them evenly I have 3-4 circles on each nail.  once dry take a black nail art pen (mine is from models own  and I really recommend theirs) roughly outline around the circles and add a small flick in the center to suggest the petals. use a dotting tool dab on green polish to add the leaves, seal with topcoat and you're all done! I did these fairly quickly so I'm sure they would look neater if you try them yourself!  now all I ...

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

I've been so busy recently I've not had much time to dedicate to my favourite pastime.. nail painting!  I can't help but get a little bored of plain nails so nail transfers are my go-to 'nail art' when time is precious (if in doubt cheat your way to fun fingers!)  I have quite a few favourites but these tiger transfers from janchristie are definitely in my top 5!!  they're incredible easy to use just peel off the transfer and stick the image onto your nails.. voila! make sure you apply a few layers of top coat to seal the image otherwise it will rub off when they get wet!  in case you wondered the nail polish is the gorgeous lemon meringue from models own  (yum) the transfers are available from  janchristie  in dozens of animal varieties! in other news I realised I never did anything to celebrate reaching 1000 followers so I'm planning a nail art giveaway next month hurrah!! (I'll buy a few transfer sets to pop in along with some other surprises as I ...

today I have an incredibly easy DIY for you! covering planters in fabric is a great way to decorate boring old pots and inject some fun into your decor. it's also quick and easy (my favourite combination) so even the laziest of DIY-ers could try this one! you'll only need a few things: terracotta planters work best for this craft project (glazed pots and PVA don't adhere well) I picked up this little pot for 75p in my local garden center! you'll also need a square of fabric, PVA glue and some scissors. first check your fabric to fits around your pot (you'll need the leave a few inches of excess to wrap over the rim and base) I found it easiest to work with a square shape of fabric rather than an rectangle as when you wrap you'll turn the pot diagonally.  brush on PVA glue to a small section of the pot and start to apply the fabric. simply work your way around the pot applying the PVA glue in sections followed by fabric (don't cover the entire pot with glue i...

my inner child loves fruity fingers so I decided to paint some strawberry nails at the weekend! I thought I'd share the tutorial with you as it's quite easy and a fun option for summer (I hope you'll try them too!) start off with a red base coat, I've used my go-to va va voom red, the gorgeous models own red alert , this polish has a great formula and only requires 1-2 coats (if you're looking for a classic red this is the one!) once dry you'll need to paint on the strawberry leaves, I've just used the corner of nail polish brush but you can also use a nail art pen/brush to do this. lastly you'll need to add some white dots to suggest the strawberry seed pattern! I used my white models own nail art pen but you can use a small dotting tool! slightly drag down the circles of white polish so the shape becomes more like a teardrop. seal with polish and you're good to go! I hope you like them! back soon caroline x you keep up with my nail art tutorials o...

I think it's safe to say we've all heard of pinterest (in fact I'm pretty sure we're addicted to using pinterest already) but some of you may not know that pinterest is now launching here in the UK! I'm rather pleased to be one of the bloggers involved in the 'pin it forward' campaign to help spread the word and get y'all pinning! I love pinterest, a huge virtual scrapbook of anything that inspires me! I use my boards to store inspiration for DIY projects, cute decorating ideas & recipes guaranteed to expand my waistline! one of my most popular boards is my nail art collection (come follow me!) it's great to see people re pinning my nails and sharing them with other people to try.. I also pin nail art designs that I'd like to try for future inspiration! I know many of you will already be pin-happy members but for any of you that haven't joined pinterest it's basically a tool that allows you to collect and organise the things you love!...

my geeky little habit and I are coming out of the closet. I am OBSESSED with writing lists, I can't sleep until I've written down everything thats bobbing about in my little brain. I'm also rather OCD about keeping all of my ideas and blog related scribbles organised so I've been keeping blog books since I started burkatron.   if I'm stressed the only things that straighten me out are a cup of tea and half an hour writing an action plan! I decided to make writing my endless 'to do' lists a little more fun and this strange scrap booking/crafting habit developed about 6 months ago.  I love buying notebooks; my favourite ones for blog books are the plain kraft  books from paperchase, a mix of blank and brown craft paper they're perfect for writing lists and come in lots of different sizes.  I stick in postcards, scrap paper or sketches. I store secret lists in envelopes stuck inside my books and generally collect lots of little memories and ideas which just...

so this was one of those crazy experiments, a moment of madness perhaps? I have a feeling these are nail art marmite...but they've really grown on me!  my brother described them as 'keith haring meets 80's shell suit' ...which put a big smile on my face. there's a few art influences here from patrick heron to kandinsky but don't fall asleep on me just yet I promise not to bore you with history; the basic idea is really to play around with colour and have a little fun! I just painted a white base coat and then added dashes of colours over the top. be random, experiment and let the paint do the talking! I added a few zig zags, dots and lines with a black nail art pen and voila.. finished! hope you like them!  back soon! caroline x