DIY Zip Earphones

I know that everyone is sick and tired of tangled earphones. Somehow, whenever those sneaky cables are hidden from sight, they contort into the kind of knots they don't even teach in boy scouts. So, here's the simplest fix for the age-old issue: say no to tangled earphones by attaching a zip to keep them neat and un-knotted.

I know, I know. It's literally so simple it hardly deserves a DIY. Just stitch the fabric edge of the zip around the earphone cable and voilà. No more tangled earphones! And plus, they look pretty cool, too.

 Let me know below if you're also sick and tired of your earphone cables looking like a Houdini-level challenge, and tell me if this life hack helps you solve that problem!

LDP x

DIY Sock Rhino

After recently revamping my sock sloth tutorial and turning it into a video, I decided another sock creature was in order. Living in South Africa, rhino conservation is a cause that has become very important to our country. 22 September saw the celebration of World Rhino Day, and the awareness posts floating around my Facebook news feed added to the inspiration to create this little cuddly friend.

This little rhino is a cute addition to any collection of sock creatures, and an adorable reminder to support rhino conservation - don't let the only rhinos left be plush toys.

If you make your own version, be sure to share it with me!

LDP x

Instructables: My Top 5 Round-Up

I've always known about Instructables. It's always been there - turning up in DIY searches, hovering around craft sites, offering creation inspiration... But for some reason, I never made myself an account. But then, at the end of August, I did.

Since then, I've posted 10 projects - a combination of previously unpublished projects and some of my old favourites that weren't yet on the site. I absolutely love the site - they host wonderful contests, and seem to have a very active community, with projects featured every day and an incredible number of views and comments on my projects, in comparison to what I'm used to. So far, every one of my projects has been featured (a little star with "100%" beside it on my profile page confirms this), and my challenge to myself is to maintain this feature rate. I'll definitely be posting all of my future projects there, too!

In celebration of my new-found love, here are my 5 most popular projects on the site so far, in order of popularity:

1. Sock Sloth

This is definitely one of my favourite projects of all time, and others seem to like it, too. I turned the tutorial into a video, and so far, it's been my most popular on Instructables.

2. Stormtrooper Cut-Out Shirt

The perfect t-shirt hack for any Star Wars fan, this shirt has been popular on Instructables. I'm still tempted to do a Yoda one next!

3. Superhero Cut-Out Shirt

Another geeky t-shirt hack, this is a perfect feature of a simple superhero Halloween costume, and is a great way to make a plain, boxy t-shirt more fun and feminine.

4. Embellished Sunglasses

These glasses were so simple to make, yet they look intricate and fancy. They've definitely become a staple in my wardrobe.

5. Scratch-off Globe

One of my favourite projects recently, this globe allows you to scratch off the places you've visited - a great way of marking off where you've been.

Have you ever used Instructables? What other craft sites do you use?

LDP x

DIY Scratch-Off Globe

I love travelling, and I've been fortunate enough to see a fair few countries in my life. However, as any sufferer of wanderlust will know, seeing a few only makes one want to see more - there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored!
The idea is to scratch off each country after you visit it, and eventually, one day, scratch it all off. It's a fun craft for any traveller, or a great gift for the wanderlustful.

Let me know if you enjoy this tutorial, and if you make your own! What is your favourite place that you have ever been?

LDP x

Sock Sloth: Remixed

A while back, I created what has become one of my absolute favourite crafts of all time: the sock sloth. Since then, I've made a bunch of other sloths, too, but my sock sloth was the one that started it all. Because I love this craft so much, I decided it would be ideal to revamp into a video, to make a clearer, more interesting and more fun tutorial!

This is only my second attempt at a video tutorial, and while I was happier with this than my first one, it was still recorded with an ancient camera and the narration recorded with a microphone from a PlayStation 2 game. So all that taken into account, I'm pretty happy!

Let me know if you enjoy this video tutorial! If you make your own version of this project, I would love to see it, so don't forget to show me! You can post your own version on Cut Out + Keep, or tweet me a photo!

LDP x