Easy Outline Nails

This is the easy way to create outline nails, & this really makes the nails pop! When I've had mine like this I get a lot of notice with people asking how it's done. Now, you are supposed to paint the main colour & use a nail pen to outline the edges, but I find this tedious & the effect can be lost. Do be warned that this requires extra drying time due to the layers, so only attempt if you've some spare time!

If you need to get rid of polish you already have on, I really recommend the Bourjois 1 second nail remover, it's around a fiver in Superdrug and is one of the best things I've ever bought. It really gets the polish off fast and leaves a red fruit & vanilla fragrance, delish!

First, prepare & protect your nails with a quality base coat. This stops staining & stops your nails ageing 

Then paint a white base coat. I usually do two coats, but one might be enough as it is just for the edges. 

Carefully paint on your chosen middle colour, I used gray, but brighter colours looks great too! Leave to dry. Add a slick of topcoat - I used a shiny one but a matte top coat gives this look a classy edge - & you're ready to roll!

Syrup Pudding

This recipe is Maple Chomeur, however I'm not really the biggest fan of maple syrup so substituted this for ordinary golden syrup. This dish is so easy to make and is great for anyone with a sweat tooth. Personally, I think it's a great desert to have in the colder months - though you don't have to wait for cold weather to enjoy this pudding! 

To prepare the sauce, in a medium sized pot simmer for 3 or 4 minutes:

3/4 cup golden syrup

3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
3 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Set aside to cool to lukewarm.

For the cake, begin by greasing a baking pan

1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar

Place these dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together.

Then add 2/3 cup of butter into the mixture and mix, the mixture will be coarse - almost like a crumble.

To this mixture you then add 

3/4 cup milk

1tsp Vanilla extract 

Blend them in until the mixture becomes a batter.  Then pour the mixture into the greased baking pan. Once you have done this, take the syrup mixture and pour this over the cake 
batter and bake for around 35 minutes at 350 F.

Serve in small portions if you can't handle the sweetness and add ice cream for a delicious desert!  

DIY macrame bracelet

Recently i've been spending a lot of my spare time making bracelets. Macrame, and friendship bracelets are in fashion at the moment but Id much rather make my own than buy one from a shop! - Though the ones I have seen in stores are really nice. I'll be making a DIY friendship bracelet post in the next few weeks so keep you're eyes open! 

Things you'll need: 

Chinese knotting thread - I used embroidery thread. 

Scissors 

A button 

Tape 

possibly a clip board 

To start, cut two strange of your cord in one colour - I used two. The first strand will be 2 yards long, and the second will be 30" long. Fold them both in half and set them together and tie them off in a knot with a loop at the end:

Attach it to a flat surface using tap, or you could clip it to a clipboard if you prefer. Then arrange the cords so that the two small ones are in the middle with the larger ones on either side. Tape the smaller cords down as this will make it easier to do the knotting.

The knot you'll be making is essentially a square knot which requires two ties to complete each individual knot. Start by bringing the left hand cord over the two middle cords making a 4 shape:

Then, lay your right hand cord over the tail of the 4, like this:

Now bring the right hand cord under both the two middle cords and the left hand cord:

Now, simply tighten:

To complete the knot, you use the same technique starting on the other side. So, make a backwards 4 with the right hand cord:

Place the left hand cord over the right hand cord's tail and bring the left hand cord under the two middle cords and the right hand cord.

Tighten this up, and there you have your first knot! Continue to knot in this manner until your bracelet is long enough to wrap around your wrist.

Now you need to add your closure. With a button you like, feed two strings through each hole, or sets of holes - I fed one long and one short strange through each side.

Tighten the strands up and tie a knot on the backside of the button. Trim off any extra cord and your bracelet is complete!

These bracelets are great to wear alone or with other bracelets for a layered look. There are many varieties of this bracelet and a great way to customise them is by by adding beads! Check out this great tutorial over at remarkablydomestic which shows you how to add beads to your macrame bracelet! 

Jam tarts

Apologies for the picture quality

I made these huge jam tarts yesterday! I wasn't planning on posting them, hence the lack of photos but they went down a treat so I figured I'd let you know my secrets. 

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 15/20 mins

Yield: Approx 18 tarts /

or 4 if you use a large tart mould tray. 

Ingredients: 

• 8oz/250g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4oz/100g butter
• 2-3 tbsp cold water 
• Fruit jam of your choice, or lemon curd. 
• A little extra butter for greasing

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C/Gas 4 

Lightly grease 12 hole tart mould with a little butter. 

Making the Pastry

• Place the flour, butter and salt into a large bowl. 
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm. 
• Add the water to the mixture, and stir until the dough binds together - add more cold water teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry. 
• Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for a 15-30 mins. 

Assemble the Tarts

• Take your chilled pastry and roll it out to a thickness of 0.5cm. Then cut out circles from the pastry just slightly bigger than the holes in the prepared tart mould. Gently press one disk into each hole. 
• Place a heaped teaspoon of jam/lemon curd into the pastry lined tins. Be careful not to overfill!
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15/20 mins - until golden brown. Leave them to cool completely before eating as Jam stays very hot for a long time and will burn your mouth! 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

These tasty cupcakes are easy to make & even easier to eat! Like a portion of lemon meringue pie, they are just the right size to battle the hunger between lunch & dinner.

The Cupcakes

What you're going to need;

100g caster sugar

100g butter

2 eggs

Zest & Juice of 2 lemons (I didn't have any so cheated with lemon flavouring!)

100g self raising flour

Lemon Curd (Not pictured)

Cupcake Cases

Beat 100g caster sugar & 100g butter until pale. Add 2 eggs & the zest and juice of 2 lemons (or lemon flavouring). Fold in 100g self raising flour.

Divide mixture between 12 cupcake cases. Smooth then make a little dip in the centre - I used two teaspoons for this bit. Take out a scoop of mix from the centre of a cupcake, spoon in 1tsp of lemon curd. Cover over with the mix you took out. Bake at 180°C (Gas mark 4) for 10 minutes. 

While the cakes are in the oven...

The Meringue Topping

2 egg whites

100g caster sugar

Place 2 egg whites into a clean bowl & whisk into stiff peaks. 

When the whites are at a stiff peak, fold in 100 caster sugar, 1tbsp at a time.

Keep whisking until the mixture looks glossy and thick - if it's looking a little flat give it another whisking. (Mine weren't airy enough so came out a bit flat, be warned!) 

Take the cakes out of the oven & swirl the cupcakes in the meringue topping, adding a little peak on top. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until cooked through, & meringue lightly browned. Leave to cool, then enjoy! 

DIY safety pin bracelet

I made this cute little bracelet after finding this black safety pin lying around my room. I love all types of jewellery, but mainly anything edgy and delicate. This is perfect for achieving that look! I am a graphic design student, so I'm constantly sketching and mocking up ideas on my macbook - chunky bracelets just get in the way, so this one is perfect for me. I forget it's even there! 

Things you'll need: 

Needle nose pliers 

2 small jump rings 

safety pin - any size you like

Chain - long enough to fit your wrist. 

1. Make sure the chain is the correct length for your wrist. Attach a jump ring to one end of the chain and the un opening end of the safety pin. 

2. Now attach the other jump ring to the other end of the chain. The ring should easily slide into the safety pin so that you can close it. If this isn't the case you can always use the needle nose pliers to slightly widen the top of the safety pin - but not too much as you still want the pin to close! 

3. Now you have yourself a safety pin bracelet, wear it alone, or mix it in with the usual bracelets you wear.

DIY jar candle holder

Candles are great to have around the home, they add light and can be a cheap replacement for air fresheners. But why just have tea lights placed here and there? Add decoration to the candles by putting them into a candle holder.

I created these candle holders by simply painting recycled baby food jars. With the simple design they would look great sat on anyones table!

Things you'll need:

Baby food Jars(or any other small jar) - washed
Masking tape

Emulsion paint

Paint brush

Tea light candles

1. Make sure you're jars are washed and dried, Tape off the section you wish to be painted - I used black electrical tape because I didn't have any masking tape at the time, though I would advice that masking tape is the better option. Remember, you can paint what you want, be as creative as you like! 

2. Paint the jar with the colour you have chosen. I used a matt emulsion but you could you use specialised glass paints if you like. I did 3 coats of paint to make sure that the light wouldn't travel through the paint too much. 

3. Once the paint has dried peel off the tape - ta da! your own DIY candle holder. Place the tea light candles inside and light.

DIY Toilet Roll Wire Organisers

This is a super simple DIY! I do a lot of moving my stuff from home to uni and back again, and the wires of my hairdryer, straighteners, curlers etc always manage to end up tangled. With these holders, wires stay where they are meant to be! Great for everyday storage, too.

   Supplies;

Toilet Roll

Glue

Pencil

Pretty paper of your choice

Scissors

Turn the paper over,
mark to size & draw a line right across.

Cut along the line, remember to trim
the length of the paper too. 

Glue the paper, paying particular
attentions to the edges.

Roll the paper right around the cardboard
structure & press firmly. Leave to dry.

Ta Da! There you have your wire
organiser ready to go!

Keeps your wires nice & neat.