The Beat That My Heart Skipped – A blog dedicated to daily design inspirations. By Rohini Wahi.

Well this weekend was absolutely glorious, as predicted. That was good news for be because I’d been planning a BBQ to celebrate my friend Audrey’s birthday. I wanted to create atmosphere with candles but was worried about the wind blowing them out. The perfect solution? Use old jars to make hanging lantern tea light holders. Hang them in a tree for a particularly whimsical effect.

You will need

Glass jars – jam jars would do, the main thing is that the jars need a rim, and the neck needs to be wide enough to fit a candle in.
Wire
Wire cutters
Bottle nosed pliers
Candles

Step 1 Cut a length of wire about 40cm long. Use the bottle nosed pliers to create a small loop in the wire about a third of the way along its length.

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Remember last week I was on a bit of a mission to brighten things up? Well I ended up getting a bit carried away, and after finishing the mirror I started to think of other things to do with the paint I have leftover from painting my flat.

In the end, I collected up a bunch of spare glassware, including bottle and glasses, and decided to give them a lick of paint on the inside. I was quite surprised by the results. If you use a similar palette for the different containers, and try to use glassware with different textures on the outside, the result is a set which is matching in tone but varied in texture. Which – I think – looks pretty effective. Also, using matt paint looks great because when you paint the inside, the glossiness of the glass really shows, which makes for another interesting contrast.

Try to use paint that isn’t too thick – although it needs to be thick enough to ‘stick’ to the glass.  I just used leftover wall paint and samples. You’ll need to get creative when getting the paint to cover awkwardly shaped bottles. I had to swirl, shake and swivel the bottles until, eventually, they were coated thoroughly. A paintbrush can help, but the only tool you really need is patience!

You will need

Old glassware – cleaned and dried thoroughly
Paint in complementary shades
Old newspaper
Paintbrushes [optional]

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Maybe it’s the onset of summer, but I just have an urge at the moment for everything to be fresh, white and bright. I’ve decided to take action on my flat, and it’s a double-pronged attack. First of all, it’s high time for a clearout, and I can barely contain my excitement at the fact that car boot season has arrived.

Anyone who thinks car boot sales are full of old tat and knock-off beauty products, well you’re half right. But if you tackle it the right way, a car boot can be a fantastic way to get rid of unwanted junk, make a few bob, and [most importantly], pick up a bargain that you can reupholster/paint/take apart and put back together again to become a beauty to behold. Watch out for some car boot transformation DIYs in the weeks to come. In the mean time, I was just preparing my car booty when I came across this old pine mirror I’ve had since I was about twelve. It’s nothing special, and I really don’t like plain pine much at all, but instead of giving it the car boot treatment quite yet, I thought I’d give it a face-lift first to give it that lighter, more organic feel I’ve been craving recently.

If you’ve ever wondered how to give wooden furniture that ‘distressed’ look- you know, like it might have just washed up on the shore- here’s how. There are lots of different ways to do it, but this is the way I think is the easiest and most effective. All it takes is a bit of Vaseline and some sand paper. Trust me.

You will need:

Old mirror/picture frame [or other furniture]
Paint – one colour for your outer coat, and one which will be the ‘peek-through’ colour
Primer, if you aren’t using wood paint
Newspaper
Paintbrush
Sandpaper
Vaseline
Masking Tape
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Did you spot Nikole Herriot’s adorable cloud cookies last week? Yes? I did too, and it got me thinking – just what if I could make cloud shaped cookies just like hers…? And so I did, except mine aren’t nearly as pretty, they are rather rugged around the edges, but hey, it was a first attempt – and actually easier than I would have thought.

And of course now I’ve learnt the do’s and don’ts of making home made cookie cutters, I can pass this wisdom on so you won’t make the same mistakes…

You will need:

Copper ribbon [this is used as a draft excluder so you can buy it from most DIY shops]
Secateurs /tin snips
A pair of pliers
String
Pencil and paper
Superglue
Clamps/butterfly clips

Step one: Design You need to draw out your design onto paper. I started off very ambitious, thinking I could make a frog shaped cookie. I now know I was deluded – the copper is quite hard to shape, and small details are going to be lost – so try to think of shapes that are bulky without too many long, thin protrusions.
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This week I’ve solved a niggling problem that has been bothering me for ages, with this super-simple DIY. I have a whole collection of candles in my bathroom, but whenever I want to run a relaxing bath I find myself spending a good while rummaging around for a lighter or matches. The problem is that I never like to keep one spare around the place because I think they look so messy. So, I’ve decided to make my own matchbox instead, using a pretty hexagonal tin that one of my candles originally came in. This is so simple, but looks great, and it’ll only take you a few minutes to do…

You will need…

A tin
A Box of Matches
Printed paper to decorate
Glue
Ribbon [optional]

Step 1
Wash out your tin out so that the match tips don’t get coated in wax  – use hot soapy water. Dry it thoroughly.

Step 2
Cut out a piece of patterned paper (I used a square of origami paper) to the right shape to cover the label of the tin.

Step 4
Use spray glue to stick the paper over the label.

Step 5
Measure the ribbon and attach in place using a little glue.

Step 6
Cut the striking strips off your box of matches.

Step 7
Stick both strips to the inside of the lid.

Voila!