AN Oxfordshire woman who quit her job to follow her passion for upcycling has set up a new business.

Kayleigh Higgs, 33, decided being an interior photographer wasn't making her happy and left the field last year to pursue her love for transforming furniture.

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After setting up an Instagram account called do.it.yourself.mum last year, Kayleigh has been posting how-to videos of her revamping items and has now gained more than 18,000 followers.

The mum-of-two's work has been hailed and followed by popular influencer Mrs Hinch who has a following of 4.3million on the platform.

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Her most popular video, which garnered more than 2,800 likes, shows Kayleigh upcycling an IKEA Kallax unit using scaffold wood and old palettes.

Kayleigh's love of DIY started when she was a child.

She said: "I used to always help my dad building stuff, my dad used to always make stuff so it came from there. 

"When I first got our house I started upcycling a few things and it just grew from there. Then it wasn't until last January when I was stuck at home doing home schooling and we needed a table and I loved the industrial look. It grew from there and it was an escapism for me to have some me time."

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Kayleigh, who has now set up an online shop called DIY Mum selling her upcycled creations, said she started sharing her work on Instagram to show that anyone can do DIY.

She said: "The reason why I set up my Instagram was because one: I was going into the winter months and I struggle in those months mentally, so I wanted to have an escapism and there's a great social side of Instagram.

Oxford Mail: Kayleigh Higgs. Pic: Ed NixKayleigh Higgs. Pic: Ed Nix

"And two: to show that anyone can do it - you don't have to look a certain way or be a particular gender to do this stuff."

She added: "I wasn't happy at all at my job and my husband said to give it up. So I'm currently jobless which is scary, but it feels amazing. I'm a better person for it; a better mum, a better wife, everything. 

"You don't have to have one career in your life, you can change careers and I think people forget that."

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