Caroline Burke | Burkatron

This is a paid collaboration with Gorilla glue. (Ad)

I'm a big fan of rainbow motifs, in fact, I'd go as far to say I'm a little bit addicted! My love for rainbow decor began with Gabe's nursery but it's not just for kids. Unlike the bright multicoloured rainbows of our childhood, the recent trend for using a more muted rainbow palette means you can easily introduce this playful decor into even the most 'grown-up' home.

I've teamed up with Gorilla to make some cute polymer clay magnets that will bring a touch of childhood whimsy to your fridge or noticeboard. (The good news for minimalists out there.. you can make these designs as colourful or as paired back as you wish!)

Materials needed.

Polymer clay set

Neodymium Magnets

Gorilla Super Glue Brush and Nozzle

Craft knife

Step 1. 

Take 4 complementary shades of polymer clay. I'm using a simple light to dark gradient for my rainbow with white, grey and black clay. Warm the clay between your hands and form each colour into a ball.

Step 2.

Roll each ball of clay into a long sausage shape approximately 5mm thick. Line them up with the darkest shade at the top and the lightest at the bottom.

Step 3.

Gently press the clay together before bending the length into a rainbow shape. You can make this rainbow any size you wish. (Mine are 2 1/2" x 2")

Step 4.

Take a craft knife and trim off the ends for a nice clean finish. (Continue bending and cutting the remaining clay to make more rainbows.)

Step 5.

Once you have made all of your rainbows you need to bake them to permanently harden the clay. Pop them into an oven (follow the manufactures instructions for the cooking time and temperatures.)

Apply a small amount of glue along one side of your magnet, I opted to use the brush applicator as it's nice and easy to work with. 

Step 7.

Place the magnet glue side down onto the rainbow and firmly hold in place from 10-45 seconds while the glue bonds. (I always use neodymium magnets for fridge magnets as they're really powerful for their size.)

The magnets are now ready to use, go forth and stick those to-do lists to your fridges immediately!

i've been making a bunch of stuff for gabes' nursery lately aaaaand i keep meaning to share it with you guys and then get tied up doing mum stuff or watching trash tv and yep ...my bad. 

however, i finally remembered to document making something so here we are, hurrah! as you know i love muted earthy tones (especially now those autumnal months are creeping in) i keep seeing rainbow decor allll over my pinterest feed so i wanted to make some ornaments that i could hang in gabe's room to add a little extra cuteness. 

(be warned my rainbow aesthetic is more brown than bright)

materials:

terracotta clay

acrylic paint

brushes

craft knife

rolling pin

(it does however get on your hands so you'll need to give them a quick wash afterward!) 

step 2. grab a craft knife and cut rainbow shapes into the clay. i've cut them freehand and tried out a few different rainbow/half moon shapes.

step 3. poke a few holes in the top and/or bottom of each rainbow so you can thread string through them later. 

leave them to dry out, this can take a few days depending on how thick the clay is.

step 4. once dry you can decorate them. take some acrylic paint and start playing around with colour combinations that suit you. (i'm all for ochre and brown at the min.)

i also tried out some more blue-toned rainbows but i'm not so into them!

it's definitely easier to decide if you're going to hang them individually or in a row before you start so you know where to make the thread holes in advance (i made a few unnecessary holes that i patched up and painted over later!) 

thread them with string to hang!

I love animal print nail art, there are endless variations depending on what colour your in the mood for..

I've been calling these my snow leopard nails but they're basically just a simple rainbow animal print! they're really easy compared to some nail art styles and because of the white background they're also really eye catching.

I've been really busy this month so haven't had any DIY craft posts up buutttttt yesterday I ordered a few things from ebay and will be beavering away on some jewellery and craft DIY's to share with you this week!

in the meantime here's a little guide to creating your own snow leopard nails..

hope you try them out yourself!

caroline x