Revamp your old furniture

Out of the Dark is a furniture restoration company with a difference. An extension of charity Street Dreams, Out of the Dark  works with disadvantaged young people to restore unloved pieces of furniture, teaching valuable practical and business skills along the way.

Now, Out of the Dark is taking the time out to help us make our scruffy old furniture look brand new again, too. If, like us, your sanding / painting / cleaning / varnishing / waxing skills leave something to be desired, and you're about in the Marlow area next Thursday 19th July, drop into their furniture restoration workshop for some DIY tips.

Check out their website and online shop to fund out how you can get involved.

Make a custom rose trellis

Today, we've got a proper garden project for you to get stuck into. When blogger Annalea from Hope and Honey moved house, she inherited an unruly rose bush along with it. After struggling to find a trellis that was strong enough, the right size and didn't cost the earth, Annalea went about making her own.

Annalea's rose trellis DIY  uses cedar framing and mesh fencing, and lets you build a sturdy structure that fits wherever you want it to. Top marks to her for showing some true Simple Things spirit!

Wordless Wednesdays ... dusk at the beach

From Everyday Musings.

Hang an antique map

They might be less accurate and informative than their modern-day equivalents, but there's a certain romantic charm to old maps.

Etsy seller Ancient Shades specialises in retro and antique map prints from Michigan to Mongolia. Pop over to his shop to browse through piles of old maps in all their wonky, technicolour glory.

Say a simple thank you

Whether its to your mum for looking after the kids for that extra couple of hours, or a friend for making you feel better when everything is going wrong, sometimes everyone needs to say a proper thank you.

We thought this thank you gift idea from You are my Fave was really lovely. Next time you want to show your gratitude, wrap a freshly baked (whether by you or your local baker) loaf of bread in a simple tea towel and tie it with a pretty ribbon. If it's something really big, you could even add a jar of jam.

Roll up a picnic blanket tote

Remember the handy cutlery wraps we blogged about a while ago? Well, we've found something else to add to this summer's picnic kit - an all-in-one picnic blanket tote.

The best picnic blanket tutorial around comes from the girls at Craft Buds. It's our favourite because it has a waterproof underside, so we can lay it out on damp ground without getting our trousers wet, and  it rolls up into a self-contained tote, so it's easy to stash for the sprint back to the car when the heavens reopen! Perfect for British summertime, we say.

Get green fingered

Getting into gardening can be a daunting prospect. Etsy seller Sarah Rainwater Design has come up with a fab starter pack for anyone wanting to get a little more green fingered.

Her heirloom seed kit contains six packs of veggie and herb seeds, plus everything you need to grow them on your windowsill. Even better, each of the plant varieties has been chosen because it's mega-easy to grow. We'll be gifting these to all our novice gardener friends, in the hopes that we might be able to convert them!

Master the art of packing

Are you a smart and organised packer or do you put it off until the last minute and end up throwing the entire contents of your wardrobe at your suitcase? If it makes you feel better, we're definitely the latter.

This summer will be different though, because we've discovered Louis Vuitton's Art of Packing. No more pulling clothes out of our baggage in a tangled, crumpled mass. No more sitting on our cases to force the zip closed.

Check out the cute little videos on the Louis Vuitton site for tips on how to organise your clothes and other bits and bobs, and even how to fold things cleverly to maximise space. There are separate versions for men and women, too. Get packing.

Wordless Wednesdays ... lilacs on the windowsill

From La Porte Rouge.

Nibble on a fresh berry tartlet

Berry tartlets are a wonderful, simple way to use fresh fruit. We found these little beauties on Little Upside Down Cake (well worth a peek - the photography alone was enough to get all our stomachs rumbling).

Follow blogger Sanda's example and make up the pastry cases and creamy mascarpone, then let your picnic-mates assemble their own tartlets, tumbling a mixture of berries and crunchy chopped pistachio on top for a relaxed but delicious end to your meal.

Liven up your door knobs

It’s the little things that can make all the difference when it comes to decorating a room. Kmadson must know this better than anyone, because she's filled her Etsy shop with handmade door knobs fashioned from vintage adverts,  children's storybooks or prints of her own original artwork.

If anyone can take something as mundane as a doorknob and make it inspiring and individual, we think they deserve a round of applause.

Dip something in paint

Anyone who’s anyone is dipping things in paint at the moment. From furniture to jewellery to clothing, it seems there is nothing that is safe from this trend. Here’s our round up of the best dip-dyed DIY projects.

First up is Martha Stewart’s dip-dyed baskets, which we think may have been responsible for kicking off the whole craze off. Turns out, woven straw plus bright white matt paint equals summery design heaven - who’d have thought?

Second to make our lust-list is House of Earnest blogger Erin, who’s brought the trend to the kitchen with her dip-dyed wooden utensils. For this how-to, make sure you use non-toxic paint (Erin’s chosen high gloss food safe shellac) and only dip the handle end to minimise chipping.

Last but not least is this dipped wooden bead necklace tutorial from Laura Parke. Okay, technically these are painted, not dipped, but the effect is the same. We’re torn between neon shades (so cool as a contrast to the wood) and summery pastels. We may just have to make two.

Go wild swimming

The activity that has everyone buzzing this summer is wild swimming. For those of you who haven't heard of it, wild swimming is simply taking a dip in natural waters: rivers, lakes, hidden pools - you get the picture.

We were initially a little sceptical, as our knowledge of secluded, idyllic waterways is limited to say the least. There's a river outside our window, but it's in the centre of town, so stripping off for a dip seems rather inappropriate.

Luckily, we found wildswimming.co.uk. This handy website has a section on the best places to go wild swimming all over the UK, as well as a guide to getting started, including safety issues, what to wear, what to bring and so on. Useful, right?

If you're feeling really inspired, Wild Swimming have a range of books and apps available. Their latest offering gives the low-down on Wild Swimming in France, where the weather is warmer and there's almost no chance of bumping  into someone you know. So there's no excuse not to get exploring!

Roll out a beam bench planter

The latest DIY project to make our weekend to-do lists is this bench planter that we discovered on the DiggersList blog. It's made from a repurposed ceiling beam, giving it a vintage charm that has been given a dose of modern cool with neon orange rollers.

This would be fab just as a bench, ready to be rolled out for unexpected guests, but we're planning on getting handy with a chisel and turning ours into a planter as well. Check out the DiggersList blog to see how it's done.

Try the perfect lemon curd

On her way home, The Novice Chef blogger Jessica got distracted by an elderly gentleman selling fruit from his truck. Said gentleman (in red braces) sweet-talked her into buying '39 million lemons'. And so, the resourceful Jessica came up with this recipe for lemon curd.

Because we're suckers for a cute story, and because Jessica calls it 'simply perfect' and because the sunny yellow colour makes us smile, we're sharing her recipe with you.

Wordless Wednesdays ... summer rain

From Joy Felicity Jane.

Knock up a folding tripod stool

Want to see our latest picnic essential? This folding tripod stool, which will help us relax in style when we're worn out from rambling through the countryside. We love the smart tan leather, we love the old-fashioned design and we especially love the fact that we can fold it up and sling it over our shoulders when we're on the move.

Matt from Design*Sponge assures us that it's possible to knock up our own using some study dowel and a few hardware essentials. Pop over to the blog to see how it's done.

Throw a retro outdoor cinema party

Outdoor entertaining is one of summer's top simple pleasures. We're massive fans of lively barbeques and lazy picnics, but for an extra-special event, we love this outdoor cinema party idea.

Channel old-school cool by setting up a projector in your back garden, draping old crates and boxes with tablecloths and popping up some deck chairs, mismatched cushions and plenty of blankets to keep people comfy and cosy. Keep the retro theme going with your snacks - jars of flavoured popcorn, old fashioned sweeties and bottles of pop.

This awesome party idea comes from Bash, Please for Design*Sponge, with photos from the super-talented Brandon Kidd.

Mix up your tea break

We're firm believers that there are very few problems that can't be fixed by a good cup of tea.

Even though nowadays there seem to be more types of tea than there are days in the year, our interest was still piqued when we stumbled upon a beginners guide to tea mixology at Yellow Bird Yellow Beard.

Like chamomile? Love mint? Well, now there's no need to make that agonising choice, because we can have both together! Guest blogger Lauren from The Perfect Pear has done all the leg work for us and shared the best combos so we can avoid a nasty oh-that-really-doesn't-work surprise, but we still can't wait to get experimenting for ourselves.

Cool off with raspberry elderflower granita

What Katie Ate is one of our all-time favourite foodie blogs. Recipes that make our stomachs rumble plus utterly gorgeous photography equals the perfect blog, in our opinion.

Recently Katie posted up an American retro food special, and this raspberry elderflower grantia recipe  inspired by a New York Cocktail caught our eye (actually, most of the recipes did, but we're trying to be a little more focussed!).

We'll be serving this vibrantly-coloured granita as a refreshing desert on a balmy Summer evening. Pop over to What Katie Ate to see how it's done.