DIY Home Decor | Fragrance Diffuser

Creating your own home scents is easier than you may think and make great gifts.


| WHAT YOU NEED |

Almond Oil / Fragrance / Containers / Reeds / Nail Varnish

| HOW TO MAKE IT |

For the container, you need something sturdy, flat bottomed and with a narrow opening.  It was not as easy as I hoped to find something like this as a single item.  A narrow opening will keep all your lovely fragrance contained and hold your reeds in place.
Nearly giving up, I used something cheap and to hand - spare travel containers.  I have a few diffusers that have beautiful large, square containers, but they take up a lot of room and I was on the look-out for something smaller and slim-line. 

The plastic container also meant I could decorate it with my favourite quick decoration method - nail polish brush strokes. I chose a gold colour and made light strokes of the nail polish around the base in various directions to add a little detail:

No brush washing needed and it dries in minutes!

The Base and Fragrance:

You can make your own scents with the choice of two bases.  Vodka [no, no, no - I'm drinking that] or Almond Oil.  The only difference this made to me was that the colour of the vodka base would be clear and the almond oil yellow - so something you may want to consider if you have chosen a clear container.

I chose something sweet and citrusy for my fragrance - sweet orange - and it will blend nicely with the candles I am starting to burn around this time of year.

You also have two options for the diffusing: Bamboo skewers - anyone who knows me [or reads this blog] knows I love a marshmallow pop, so I have hundreds of these around, or reeds, which are easily available online [or, like me, may have some spare from other diffusers].

The balance of oil and fragrance will depend entirely on how 'strong' you want the scent to be.  The balance I found to work was adding 2 parts oil and 1 part fragrance, which was a small amount considering the size of my container and gives me plenty of top-ups to come.

I also create a spray using exactly the same method and it has been perfect for bursts of fragrance in the kitchen and areas where I can't sit a diffuser, such as the hallway.
Create a combination of someones favourite scents and you have a great gift too!

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect glass bottle - let me know if you find one!  If you have a favourite perfume that has now run out and want to keep the bottle, it's also a great way to display this too.

DIY Black Friday Deals 2016

Get your make, bake and create on.

Here's a round up of some of the deals I've snapped up, or am using today as a bit of a nudge!

Tee-Pee | Black Friday Price £30 | Buy Here

I've bought one of these and am adding a few extra panels, garlands, mobiles and flags for my Nephew and Niece for Christmas.

Believe me when I say this IS NOT just for the kids - I am so tempted to keep if for myself. To sleep in. Seriously.

Foiling Machine | Black Friday Price £40 | Buy Here

I've snapped up one of these - expect 2017 to be full of foiling DIYs! Review and demo to come soon.

Advent House | Black Friday Price | Buy Here

This is gorgeous, but can be easily personalized with a few DIY embellishments - it lights up to and I can't wait to add mini wreaths, bunting, holly etc. to personalise it.

 

Storage Holder | Black Friday Price £14.99 | Buy Here

Hear me out on this one - it has become the best glue gun rest as I am continually convinced I will burn my carpet / house down one day due to the annoyingly short lead and lack of space to leave and cool down. 

Also handy for it's intended purpose.....

Tree Cutter | Black Friday Price £4.99 | Buy Here

No-one has any time to do anything at Christmas, so help yourself make multiple clay decorations or biscuits with this multi-cutter.


Reindeer Treat Boxes | Black Friday Price | Buy Here
Need something to put those tree biscuits in?  These are cute and I may have a video for some other ideas of what to put in these on Wednesday for you!

The ultimate Black Friday treat, should this be all the motivation you need.............

Cricut Explore Air | Black Friday Price £200 | Buy Here

21% saving

It's not cheap - but every saving helps and - look at it!

Anyone want to share some justification for buying this? Who am I kidding, I don't think I need any persuasion!

Happy shopping!






Please note that the links above are affiliated - you can read a little more about this here!

DIY Accessories | Glitter Pyramid Ring Holders

Pretty, functional and glittery ring holders that make perfect gifts too.
Yes. Glitter.

| WHAT YOU NEED |

Perspex Sheet / Gold Glitter / Scissors / Sandpaper / Plaster of Paris / Sellotape

| HOW TO MAKE IT |

I created my own moulds from a plastic sheet.  It's easy to make and allows you to fully customise your ring holders.

Use the template below to cut your moulds - you can use this to create a cone ring holder or, as I did, pyramids.  Cut your plastic sheet [O.H.P paper to you and me and anyone around and above the age of 30!] to provide a sturdy and water tight mould:

To create pyramids from the template, once cut and taped at the seam, simply fold the cone down the seam and opposite side and then do the same in the opposite direction [the video on my YouTube channel will help if my explanation doesn't!]

Don't worry too much about the opening of your mould being level - this will be resolved by itself once the plaster is poured in.

To hold the moulds in place, I used some spare foam from this Gift Box DIY as a stand.

Following the instructions, I made my plaster mix [more detail in this gemstone photo holder DIY and video] and then separated in to two cups.

I then added glitter to one of the cups [I know, shocking] as an experiment [FYI - I also tried a marble effect with paint - this doesn't work!] and to add a bit of sparkle to the finished holder:

I filled one mould with the glitter mix, one with the plain mix and then with the leftovers, created a hybrid, gradated effect, adding plain plaster to two thirds of the mould and then plaster with glitter mixed through to the final third:

Sitting in the floristry foam, the plaster levels and any splashes can be broken off and 'made good' later on.  Leave your plaster to dry fully [follow your instructions, but I left my plaster overnight] before removing the moulds:

...and sand your plaster down to smooth any edges.  I also sanded quite a bit over the plaster with glitter mixed to help the sparkle shine through:

Display your rings in sparkly style:

Ring holders make great gifts as well, so there's plenty of time to give this a go and wrap in time for Christmas [why not display in this stylish DIY?].

DIY Home Decor | Wire Star Grid

| WHAT YOU NEED |

Washi Tape / Grid Wire / Wire Cutters / Round Nose Pliers

| WATCH THE VIDEO |

| HOW YOU MAKE IT |



I bought a roll of grid wire, as this was much cheaper and the wire slightly thinner, making it easier to cut through.  It needed a little moulding to make the wire flat - I rolled it in the opposite direction and carefully bent a few sections to make the wire easier to work with.



You can make your wall grid any shape and size but for anything other than a square, grab some washi tape to help you mark out the outline of your shape - you can easily review the size and move lines around until you are completely happy with the look:

To ensure that the shape would stand or lean as well as be fixed to the wall, I made the points of the star square and flat.



When you are completely happy with the outline, take your cutters and begin carefully cutting through the wire in line with your washi tape guide.



To make your cut wire safe, bend the exposed wires over and flatten with pliers to remove the sharp edges:

Once your wire is all made safe, you can display your grid star and begin using it!

Mine is currently on top of my desk, but this was also completely created with Christmas in mind - perfect for wrapping lights through and clipping Christmas cards to.

DIY Fashion | Jewelled Heels

DIY the ultimate styles-up party season heels.

| WHAT YOU NEED |

Shoes | Glue | Gemstones [flat-backed] | Skewer / Tweezers

| WATCH THE VIDEO |

| HOW TO MAKE IT |

This DIY is so, so simple - the hardest part is committing to the design and sticking the gemstones on to the heel.  

I was fairly random in my design pattern and the size of my heel dictated much of where I placed the gems, but you can google an image or sketch out a design to help guide you.

I found adding the glue to the back of the gemstones with a skewer the easiest [and least messy] way to get them attached - but a pair of tweezers might also help you get them in place.

I started in the top centre:

...and worked my way out to the sides:

...then down the heel:

TIP: If you are unhappy with the placement of your gems, it takes around 10 minutes for the glue to set, so you can change your mind!  Also, don't worry if any glue spreads from the gemstones to the heel - this will dry clear or can be removed with the point of the skewer].

 Leave to fully dry before having the ultimate party heels to dress up any outfit waiting for you.

Gemstones are available in all shapes, sizes and colours, so you can be as creative as you want! Let me know if you give this DIY a go this [or any] party season.

DIY Gift | Flower Gift Box

Create your own instagram-worthy gift in minutes with a stylish, chic and beautiful box that is a present in itself.

| WHAT YOU NEED |

Gift Box / Ribbon / Foam Flowers / Glue Gun / Floristry Foam

| WATCH THE VIDEO |

| HOW TO MAKE IT |
Start with a gift box - whether plain that you can embellish or already in a beautiful design, paper or wrapping.  I had a plain square that I used a glue gun to add a simple monochrome ribbon to:

The box can be any shape or size, so this can be adapted to dress up a small gift or add more impact to a large gift.

Next, cut to size and add your floristry foam.  It can be easily trimmed with a knife [literally cuts like butter] and use your present to determine how much of the box it should take up and depth of your flowers to determine the height:

Add your flowers to the foam in any formation and ensure that they are snug to prevent any gaps showing through:

To present your gift, add shredded paper, tissue, crepe paper, decorative wrapping paper - or for a more luxurious finish, some material - to the  bottom of the box.  Pad it underneath with paper or stuffing if required to hold the gift in place with a pillow effect:

Add your gift [depending on the type of gift, you can add a little security that it will stay in place with glue, tape or blu-tac] and your present is ready.  You'll want to give every gift in this way.....

It can be easily personalised with different colours, added embellishments (glitter or sparkles to the flowers) and is a brilliant way to dress up gifts such as bubbly, smaller gifts such as candles, perfume and jewellery or presents such as vouchers or gift cards.

I'll be giving all my friends their gifts in boxes like these - a really easy and cheap way to add a little luxury and style to gift wrapping!