BURKATRON

mantle display  /  the merrythought DIY pine garland  /  tree vase  / christmas table / rosemary garland with december sneaking up on us i thought i'd share some of the things that have been inspiring me lately on pinterest, yes, you guessed it, christmas decor! i've found myself a little torn over our decorations this year, i'm a huge fan of natural decor with lots of greenery and earthy accents. however gabe is coming to an age where he's really starting to understand the excitement of christmas so i feel like i should have some more fun decorations for him.  after talking to james and going back and forward on it we've decided to keep our holiday decor natural, it's just so beautiful and serene and fit's in with our home so well. (however we're going to decorate gabe's room with some fun banners and have a christmas tree full of kitsch colourful decorations for him.. it's all about the compromise right?) now we've made our mind up it'...

gosh I've been so distracted moving house this week I only realised it was halloween today.. fail! I had planned a spooky nail art for you guys but I think I've missed the boat! I do have this winter floral pattern that I'd though I'd show you; it was inspired by the dress I wore to the cosmo blog awards but I''ve switched up the colours slightly! I was recently sent these two butter london polishes to review cotton buds and pimms; I'm new to butter polishes so I was excited to try them!  my verdict.. I love them both! rich and creamy to apply the colours are beautiful and the finish is lovely. I'm a huge fan of white nails in particular this year and these both have a good formula.  white is a great all rounder to have in your collection; even if you don't want to wear white nails it's the perfect undercoat to pale shades. I find a lick of white under bright polishes makes them 'pop' (top tip: neon's in particular really benefit fro...

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

topshop spilled milk polish models own black nail art pen today's nail art post is a little bit different. I'm taking part in 'getting artsy for anxiety' a collaboration with molly at lyon notes and some other wonderful bloggers.. molly is raising awareness for mental health; in particular anxiety and depression. I think it's a subject that has touched most of our lives in varying forms whether through personal experience or through our wider circle of friends and family. we're each posting a nail art to reflect our personalities, I opted for a stark black and white combination at first glance a simple pairing but I added the paisley design to reflect my life; more tangled and complicated up close. the message behind the collaboration is a simple concept; be comfortable with who you are and what you've experienced, don't be afraid to speak up- you're not alone. if you'd like to be involved please pop over to molly's blog ; there's a ser...

hat: h&m vintage levi's denim jacket* brag vintage necklace: urban outfitters dress: topshop belt: forever 21 bag: vintage watch: river island psssst don't tell anyone but I've reached the stage where I'm secretly excited to be wearing jumpers again! I seem spend the majority of each year praying for sunshine but when the chill starts to set in I get all excited about knits, layering up and dark nights with hot drinks. I'm still slightly clinging to summer though; there's no chance the 100 denier tights are making an appearance ...just yet. I'm wearing a topshop jersey dress that I picked up in the sale but it's been a little nippy so my jackets are making a reappearance! cue my excited face as I've been hunting for slightly oversized vintage denim and this one is just pretty darn perfect! (what really swung it for me was the old patches on the back and sleeves which I'm a little obsessed with) the jacket is from brag vintage who have becom...

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...

wowza I love white nails.  I find then so chic and simple.. I just can't resist reaching for my white polish of late.  I decided to jazz them up with a simple abstract design inspired by wah's keith haring nails! it's a fun nail art with no set design just draw on some geometric shapes, dots, swirls and get creative!  you'll only need two things; a good white polish and a nail art pen, I've used models own snow white with their black nail pen for mine. just make sure to wait for the white base coat to dry before drawing a rave on your nails!  caroline x follow my nails on:  bloglovin | twitter | facebook | pinterest

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!...