Category: DIY

DIY || Sunburst Wall Decor from Straws!

*This post is sponsored by Jumia

 

I throughly loved creating this project. Not only is also extremely easy to do, but it is such a gorgeous statement piece to add to your home and all you need to create this Sunburst beauty are

  • A pack of straws
  • Some gold spray paint – Available on Jumia
  • A glue gun – Available on Jumia
  • Some glue sticks – Available on Jumia
  • An old carton – I used my Jumia delivery boxes ^_^

Here’s how you make it

Step 1

Cut out a circle from your old carton and then cut a circle out from the circle to form a ring about 1-inch thick

Step 2

Cut your straws into different lengths ensuring you have enough of any single length. You’ll need about 100 straws in total

Step 3

Heat up your glue gun and begin sticking the longest lengths all around your cardboard ring.

Once you’re done sticking on the long lengths, stick on the mid lengths and then the shortest length.

 

Step 4

Once you’re done sticking on the straws, all you have to do now is spray paint the straws on the front and back side to ensure complete coverage. Leave to dry completely (I recommend 24 hours) and once it’s completely dry, it’s ready to grace your wall!

 

What do you think?

MORE INSPO!

You can either use this sunburst decor as is or add a mirror to it’s centre to give it an even more amazing look. You could also add an inspirational quote if you want to or whatever else you’re inspired to add!

Watch the Video Tutorial Here!

Demi Signature

DIY || Geometric Room Art!

*This post is sponsored by Jumia

Imagine having the ability to paint but without actually painting… To create art and not be an artist…

 

 

Well that’s what today’s tutorial’s all about. I’m going to show you how to make your very own wall art that you can scale up or down depending on how big you want your piece of art to be and the best part is, you don’t need to be a genius to make it!

Here’s what you need to make these beauties –

  • A Picture frame – Bought mine from Jumia
  • Some gold Spray paint – Also from Jumia 😀
  • Some Acrylic Paint – I use BHD Acrylic Paint
  • A Paint brush
  • Masking Tape

Now here’s a quick 3 minute video that’ll guide you through the steps! – Enjoy!

Would you try this out?

Demi Signature

DIY || 3 Extremely Easy Home Decor DIYs

*This post is sponsored by Jumia

Home decor is one thing I secretly love A LOT! However, I have quickly come to realise that it can be a bit pricy trying to get your house to look a certain way especially here in Nigeria.

One thing we lack the most is home decor – you know, those cute little bits you can use to quickly spice up the look of your living space; but trust, there’s always a DIY way to go about it.

So in today’s tutorial, I’m going to show you 3 simple ways to add gold accents to your living space using mainly spray paint and a few other bits and bobs you can easily access

#1 – Gold Flower Vase

What you’ll need

  • An empty wine bottle
  • Masking Tape
  • Gold Spray Paint – Available on Jumia
  • Old Newspaper

To achieve this, all you need to do is use your masking tape to cover the areas you don’t want to be painted in gold. Easy variations include straight lines around the bottle like the one I did, or diagonal lines across the bottle.

Once you’ve done that, Spray paint your bottle and leave to dry for 24 hours. Once it’s completely dry, take off your masking tape and your new Flower vase is ready to be used!

Top Tip! – Do not focus on one area as you spray so as to avoid the paint being too thick on a particular spot. Instead, spray paint your branches in layers until you get full coverage. Also, to achieve a clean finish, make sure your bottle is COMPLETELY clean and without an water, oil or glue stain.

#2 – Gold Himmeli Hanging Flower holder

What you’ll need

  • Some thin straws
  • Fish Line Rope
  • Gold spray paint – Available on Jumia
  • Old Newspaper

To start off this ornament, you need 4 long straw cuts and 8 short straw cuts. How to make this is best described through a video to be honest – So just scroll down and see below! ^_^

#3 – Gold Fruit Bowl

What you’ll need

  • A fruit bowl – Bought from Jumia
  • Gold spray paint – Available on Jumia
  • Old Newspaper

Probably the easiest and most straightforward of the bunch. All you have to do it literally just spray paint the entire bowl and viola! Golden fruit bowl

Which of the 3 above is your favourite? 1, 2 or 3?

Watch the Video Tutorial here!

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DIY || DIY 3D Floral Manicure Using Nail Stickers

My Obsession with Manicures shouldn’t be new to anyone who follows me on social media. However, we all know how expensive getting a Manicure can be; and so I’m constantly looking for new ways to get my nails slayed but on a budget.

My search took me to Miniso where I found these 3D Nail stickers that cost only N990 a pack. The pack comes with two 3D nail sticker strips, with each strip having 16 stickers of different sizes. The strips come pre-designed and you can stick them onto your own painted nails or faux nails – whichever you prefer. Nail stickers are pretty cool ‘cos they are an inexpensive way of making your basic polished nail look super cute.

Now, Miniso isn’t the only company to produces Nail stickers and this tutorial isn’t actually my first experience with nail sticker. I’ve used Nail stickers (also called nail wraps sometimes) from another brand on my blog here (see pictures below). So don’t be dismayed if you don’t have a Miniso store around you, you can look around for nail stickers in your local beauty store and I’m sure you’ll find some!

Jamberry Nail Stickers
Jamberry Nail Stickers
Jamberry Nail Stickers

Anyway, enough rambling – Watch this really quick tutorial on how I turned my orange mani into a cutie! … and at the end of the video, let me know if you will consider trying Nail stickers out!

P.S. – Pictures of my manicure were taken 4 days later so yep! They do last.

Demi Signature

DIY || Party DIYs for Birthdays, Bridal showers and More!

I celebrated my birthday a few days back and while planning my little birthday dinner, I knew I wanted a it to look and feel a certain way. I wanted to have a few unique bits and pieces to make my little gathering feel intimate and also create a personal experience for my guests and so I got thinking…

How can I achieve that?

I thought of creating party props, personalised party favours for my friends, name cards and so on; but the cost of achieving all this was not something I was willing to pay.

I’ve been in Nigeria for a little while and if there’s one thing I know for sure, whenever party planner or people in general hear the word ‘party’, the price for everything sky rockets. So of course, I put on my DIY thinking cap and DIY-d little wine bottle for everyone, my very own personalised party props and name place cards.

 

So here’s a tutorial on how I made some of the bits for my birthday party and I threw in an extra DIY at the end which if you’re following me on instagram, you’ve probably already seen! ^_^

Enjoy!

Which DIY’s your fave?

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DIY || Ankara Satin Bonnet in 4 Minutes

Satin Bonnets… Where do I start? As a newbie to the Satin Bonnet Family, I’ll be honest, I’m only beginning to understand their usefulness and haven’t used one long enough to know how fantastic it is. However, a lot of people swear by it and say it’s good for…

  • Keeping your Hair Healthy
  • Keeping your hair curls in shape while you sleep (if you have curly hair) and stops your hair from knotting if you have Kinky hair.
  • Keeping your Hair hydrated

… and a whole list of other things. With all that said, it will only make sense for every girl to have one! So without further ado, here’s a tutorial on how to make your very own Ankara Satin bonnet!

(Did I mention it’s reversible?)

A List of Things you need

1/2 a yard of Ankara Fabric

1/2 a yard of Satin Fabric

1 inch thick Elastic Band about (25-30cm long)

 A pair of scissors

A sewing Machine

A Safety Pin

A Bobby Pin

Now to the video! Enjoy!

P.S. – There’s a Diagram below this video that might help you a bit more and guide you on the dimensions to use for your bonnet!

Helpful diagram I spoke about ^_^ lol

DIY Ankara Satin Bonnet

Thanks for watching!!!

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DIY || Gucci Inspired Bag!

Things you’ll need!

Mini bag – Got mine from Miniso

Gucci like Trimming – I got mine in Yaba Market Lagos, Nigeria (N400)

UHU Glue

 A pair of scissors

Step 1

Cut your trimming to the right length that will fit the area of your bag where you want it placed

Step 2

Apply some glue on the backside of the trimming

Step 3

Place the trimming on your bag and leave to dry for 24hours!

C’est Fini

Check out the video tutorial posted on instagram!

DIY || Revamping your clothes with Appliqué in 5 steps

Ever get bored with certain items but wish you could revamp them somehow? Ever seen a piece of clothing and felt it’ll look nicer is something else was added to the design? Something like a piece of appliqué? Well, wonder no more! This tutorial will show you the basic steps on how to apply appliqué to almost anything!

For this post, I’ll be using a plain yellow top I got from Jumia

Other things you’ll need

Some Appliqué – I also got mine from Jumia or N1,500 for 2 pieces

Heat bond web (a.k.a. Hemming Gum)

An Iron

A needle

Some thread to match your item’s fabric (for me it was yellow thread)

A handkerchief

Step 1

Iron on medium heat, the are you wish to add your appliqué to. This is simply to make sure the area is completely flat.

Step 2

Place your appliqué on your clothing item until you’re happy with its position/placement

Step 3

Cut up little strips of your heat bond web (hemming gum) and lay them UNDERNEATH your appliqué until the entire area where the appliqué will be attached to is covered (see pictures below)

Step 4

Take a light piece of cloth and place it over your appliqué. Then iron over the appliqué with the cloth over it to ‘bind/glue’ it in place.

The heat bond will melt and secure your appliqué in place (that’s its job! ^_^)

Step 5 (Optional Step)

To secure your appliqué and reduce the chances of it peeling off at some point, stitch around it using your needle and thread. Ensure you use very small stitches.

Once you’re done, your appliqué will be securely placed on your clothing and you’ll have a whole new look to your item!

See my final outcome below! What do you think?

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DIY || Fixing bad Tailoring! – Easy DIY Ankara Shorts

Before we go on… this is a classic case of what I asked for versus what I got…

 

First of all, the cut of the culottes I wanted is much bigger and looser than what I got and before you ask, the tailor was given enough fabric to make this item but still someone managed to mess it up…

Secondly, what’s the deal with the bell ends at the bottom of the pants?

Sigh

Anyways, for all those out there who’ve had to deal with situations like this, you know it’s always disheartening when you can’t think of a way to fix the situation; But don’t worry! I got you!

RELATED : DIY Ankara Accessories

Over the next few months, I’m going to be figuring out ways to fix badly tailored outfits and today we start with fixing culottes/trousers and converting them into stylish shorts!

What you’ll need

A pair of scissors

Heat bond web ( Nigerian street name : Hemming gum)

An Iron

Your trousers

Step 1

Lay your trousers on a flat surface. Fold it into two sideways so both legs perfectly overlap on each-other.

Step 2

Take your scissors and cut your trousers about 2 inches longer than the actual length you want your shorts to be.

 

Step 3

Fold the hem of your shorts outwards twice. Make sure the fold is no longer than 1 inches – 1.5 inches wide.

RELATED : DIY Ankara Off shoulder Top!

Step 4

Place your heat bond web in-between your fold and iron it into place like shown in the picture below.

Do this for both legs and you’ll have yourself some brand new shorts

 

Here’s how I styled my final outcome!

What do you think? Better than before right? lol

I have a badly tailored dress lying somewhere in my closet… I’m still trying to figure out how I’ll remedy the situation (It’s really really bad). Anyways, be sure that once I do, I’ll share it with you my turn final results.

Until next time!

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DIY || Cement / Concrete Tea Light Holder.

Hey there my fellow DIY lovers! How have you been?

Today’s tutorial is yet another decor DIY (I seem to be loving them these days) but this Tea light holder is a little bit more interesting and fun to do!

This tutorial, like the name suggest was done using Cement!… and a few other bits. I’m totally, TOTALLY loving the outcome of this Tea light holder project which makes for such a cute and aesthetically pleasing addition to any living space!

Don’t you think so?

 

Here’s a step by step guide on how to make these beauties!

A List of things you’ll need

5 heaped tea spoons of Cement (per tea light holder)

Some water

A Plastic spoon

1 big disposable plastic cup

2 small disposable cups

A paint brush

Some Gold Acrylic paint (or any metallic paint of your choice)

Some sand paper ( I got mine from shoprite for N599.99)

Masking tape

 

Here we go!

Step 1

Combine your dry cement with some water to make a paste, using the big disposable cup and your plastic spoon. The mixture should be about the same consistency as tooth paste.

Step 2

Pour your paste into one of the smaller disposable cups to the height you want your tea light holder to be!

 

Step 3

Release any air bubbles that might be in your mixture by gently tapping the cup full of the cement paste on your work surface in an up and down motion.

Step 4

Take your second small disposable cup and place it into the cup full of cement to make a hole in the cement. Press it down GENTLY until some of the paste begins to rise on the sides around the inner cup. When your happy with how deep your hole is (which is essentially where your candle will be placed), place something heavy into the inner cup to keep it in place. Ensure it is right in the middle of your cement mixture and leave to dry for 24 hours!

 

Step 5

When your cement is completely dry, remove the plastic cups from within and outside the cement mould.

 

 

Step 6

Once you’ve removed all the plastic, take a piece of sandpaper and smoothen out any rough edges or bits of cement that are out-of-place.

 

 

Step 7

Last but not the least, Decorating!

Use some masking tape to mark out a triangular shape on the side of your cement mould. Paint the inner section with some gold paint and leave to dry for a few hours.

Tip! – Use at least 2 coats of paint to get proper coverage and a rich vibrant colour!

Once the paint is completely dry, remove the masking tape and your tea light holder is complete!

 

 

Just place any tea light of your choice into it and voila!

 

What do you think?

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