Recycled VHS Tape Project

I had considered writing an short paragraph explaining the reasons why I haven't kept this site updated. In truth - life just keeps getting in the way...which is kind of why I'm writing this now.

We become so caught up with our day to day dealings that we miss out on simple solutions to growing problems. In the words of Tyler Durden "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need"...

...and as always, we are throwing away stuff we could 100% reuse.

Case in point. 
Myself and my wife popped a message on Facebook recently, asking if anyone wanted some kids shows that we had on VHS. Yes..we still have a VHS player (amongst a growing variety of other formats and machines that are slowly invading our house....see above T.Durden quote!) but our son has outgrown all of these shows, and they could easily go off to a new home but sadly, not a single person had any interest. "Why not give them to a charity shop?" some said...well guess what? We tried and even they didn't want them.

So, what do we do? Bring them to the recycling centre? 
They are just bits of plastic after all. Aren't they? It's not like we should imagine a kind of bond with them solely based on the fact that our son learnt about the 4 Seasons from Barney or about Friendship and Honesty from Thomas the Tank Engine or how to count with 'The Count' from Sesame Street. They are just tapes aren't they?

(Damn you Toy Story...you have a lot to answer for when it comes to anthropomorphizing inanimate objects!)

So what alternatives are there? Surprisingly...loads.

How about.....

                                                     An Umbrella Stand

                                                        A Pencil Case

                                                   Gift Decorations

                                                           Shelves

                                                        Photo Frames

                                 For the DIY enthusiast there's a Foosball Table

                               but most of us just want somewhere to hang our keys.

Look...the list is endless. Don't believe me? Have a look here

I'm not saying that you should keep everything and have a cluttered house. We all need to do a Spring Clean and check what we have and what we need but just because it's not useful to us - doesn't mean it's not useful to someone else.

In that spirit, I'll do my best to keep this site going. I might have outgrown it myself - but that's no reason to throw it away!

Pebble Cactus Project

Image: Craftberry Bush

If you like to have plants around the house and have the world's worst green fingers, so much so that there's a good chance you could even kill a cactus, then this project is perfect for you.

Also, if there are kids in the house, this is a great idea too as it could be a nice little craft project for them as we enter a colder season and finding 'stuff to do', while it pours rain outside, is all part of a parents daily quest.

Nuts & Bolts Chess Project

Image: Cub Scout Ideas

The other night I watched a fantastic documentary called Brooklyn Castle, which told the story of five members of a chess team from a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school in Brooklyn, that has won more national championships than any other in the US.

                "The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the 
                chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation 
                of their victories."

It was a compelling, engaging and moving documentary that put forth a powerful and positive message about how to succeed, no matter what your circumstances are.

Lamp Shade Project *Supplemental

This time last year, I was on the hunt for the perfect lampshade. 

If I may, I'd like to make an addition to that list - if for no other reason than to be able to have a lampshade, currently selling online for a criminal 1000 dollars, and make it for as little as 20 - 30 dollars. 

That's 15 - 20 euro to us.

The Rhododendron Chandelier below is for sale at $998 at Anthropologie. That's right......$998 for a lampshade!

But now you can create your own at a fraction of that cost and all you need is a pendant lamp from IKEA (cost 2.50) and some cupcake paper liners that you can buy on ebay (for approx 10 euro) 

Flameless Fire Pit Project

Image: Free People BLDG 25 Blog

Camping in this country can be really hit or miss.

I say that, being very much a non-camper and extremely hesitant to relinquish any comforts I've acquired through the years. The idea of sleeping on the ground, surrounded by, what can only be described as a large brightly coloured bag held in place by folding metal poles, does not appeal to me in the slightest.

I know there are many of you who love the outdoors - whether there's wind, rain, sleet or snow (and on the rare occasion - shine) and if I'm really being honest, so do I.
The outdoors can be spectacular and beautiful - especially when looking at it from the coziness of indoors.

Ikea Rast Cabinet Hack Project

Image: Patent Pending Projects

Most of us know that IKEA is a great place for furniture that is easy to assemble, it's affordable and it can fit a lot of shapes and spaces but there is a community of people who take it one step further.  IKEA hackers use incredibly simple ideas to modify, repurpose and customize IKEA furniture and give it a personal twist to turn a mass produced item into something that's one of a kind.

Upcycled Door Project

Image: Babble

When one door closes, another one opens.
Or you can just open the closed door... that's how doors tend to work.

Or is it?

52 Cardboard Craft Projects

Image: ikatbag

They say when training a toddler, it takes 3 days to make or break a habit.

I'm sure there are many arguments for and against this notion but I'm here to tell you that it works.
Well, at least with my child.  I'm not so entirely sure it works on me.

Most of the time we don't even realise that we are creating bad habits - but we suffer greatly when it comes to breaking them. I constantly hear myself say "I quit smoking two years ago" - but that's mostly when I'm about to light up my third cigarette in a row.

Play Kitchen Project

Images: Baby Centre

Anytime Jaws is on TV (and I'm able to) - I must sit down and watch it.

With an incredible number of memorable scenes and quotes it's easy to understand why it's in most people's top 10 movie lists.

- The terrifying opening attack.
- The scar contest on the Orca - ‘Mary Ellen Moffit, she broke my heart’.
- The Indianapolis Speech.
- "Here's to swimming with bow-legged women".
- The zoom in/dolly out shot on Chief Brody at the beach.
- Mrs Kintner slapping Brody hard in the face.
- The chalkboard scratch.
- "We're going to need a bigger boat!".

The list could go on and on but there is one scene that will always stand out.

Instagram Photo Cube Project

Image: Well It's Okay

I've mentioned before that my mother seems to be the only person I know who still prints out photos. What I find even more amazing is, she prints them all from her phone. I haven't printed a photo from my own camera in about 2 years, let alone one from my phone.

All I seem to do now is back them up on to a hard drive whilst foolishly muttering something to myself about 'needing to sort them out.' As Travis Bickle would say, "One of these days I'm gonna get organizized"

Faux Folksy Chair Project

Image: The Inadvertent Farmer

There is a old wooden chair, comfortable tucked between two wardrobes, in a spare bedroom in my home.  I love that chair very much but - if one out of a hundred people, who enter my home, ever lay their eyes on it, they will be amongst a pocket sized group of very close friends and immediate family.

As sturdy and solid as it is, it will never be a part of our day to day lives but it has attended and participated in significant moments throughout my life.

DIY Puzzle Block Project

Image: 101 Woonideeën

About a year ago, we bought a 4 in 1 jigsaw puzzle (of a famous toy train character) in the vain hope that our 18 month old would show signs of being 'just as clever' as all the other amazing, in your face 18 month olds.

There was a 12 piece, 16 piece, 20 and 24 piece jigsaw.

Just taking the 12 piece jigsaw first and packing away the other 3 for a much later date, we were in for a big shock. Not the kind of shock that entails finding the next Garry Kasparov. Having become bored and unchallenged by a 12 piece jigsaw, our genius offspring would now attempt all 4 jigsaws at once whilst twirling his dummy on a chain in a counter clockwise motion, all the time singing the alphabet...backwards.
Next stop, Mensa.

No, it was not that kind of shock.

Teapot Birds Nest Project

Image: The Eden Project

There's a common idea that there is no trouble so great or grave, that cannot be diminished with a nice cup of tea. It will warm you if you are cold, cool you if you are hot, cheer you up when feeling down and if you are excited or nervous, it will calm you.

A teapot then, can represent at the same time, the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.

When your teapot comes to the end of it's life, as ours did this Christmas, there are a number of ways in which you can repurpose it and give it new life.

Build Your Own Office Organizer* Project

*As much as I would love to begin this post by leaping into the world of science and lay out plans, schematics and diagrams for building your own robot to aid you with the organization of your office and life, this task, much like having to 'build your own' robot, effectively rest with your very own capable hands. 

Also, it's just made from a cereal box. So there's that!

Image: A Little Hut

With shops like Staples, Ikea, Tiger and what appears to be the Daddy of them all The Container Store, being disorganized looks to be a thing of the past. 

Lamp Shade Project #3

Image: Under The Sycamore Tree

Lets look at the rule of 3.

Good things come in 3's - as do the bad. Films, books and plays have a 3 act structure. You could be 3 sheets to the wind or as phony as a 3 dollar bill. It is always: Ready, Steady, Go and after 3 strikes, you're out. Art and photography use the rule of 3rds and any novice interior designer will gabble profusely on the benefits of grouping in 3's. Goldilocks offended and annoyed 3 bears and there were 3 blind mice, 3 wise men and 3 little pigs.

In short, 3 is the magic number. 

DIY Jet Pack Project

Image: Doodle Craft

The three greatest words any child needs to hear should be - 'I love you', but I'm pretty sure most of them (well mostly boys, probably) would easily swap them for  - 'homemade jet pack.'

If you have a young kid in your family, plus a few recycled soda bottles, then this incredibly creative idea from Doodle Craft will propel your once measly status of older brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, or grandparent into & beyond the stratospheric position of  'coolest older brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle or grandparent ever'.

Lamp Shade Project #2

Image: demilked

Continuing my quest for the perfect lamp shade, I have discovered the designer Edward Chew, who makes these stunning lamp shades from discarded tetra box drinks cartons. The design is an incredible example of how a waste product can be re-purposed into something that's amazingly funky and looks like a disco ball light for the 21st Century - and lets face it, who doesn't love disco balls?

Homemade Art Supplies Project

Images: Chalk - minieco, Watercolour - Oh My!, Glue - minieco, Clay - Etsy{New York} Street Team

The kids are back in school.

That means your child will need to get pens and pencils and pencil sharpeners and rulers and erasers and pencil cases and folders and copy books and school books and a school bag and a lunch box and a school uniform plus a hundred and one other things, adorned with either Spiderman, Batman, Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank, The Hulk, Dora the Explorer or Hello Kitty that magically, will somehow make your kid, in their own mind at least, amazingly cool to all of their other classmates, and for you, there is the added bonus of a headache in trying to achieve that impossible task.

Lamp Shade Project #1

Image: Lowe's Creative Ideas

They say the key to good design is the marriage of the old with the new, and so in my search for a funky lamp shade for a great but old fashioned floor lamp in the corner of our room, I have stumbled upon some weird and wonderful ideas, amongst the nooks and crannies of the Internet - some of which I will share on these pages over the next few weeks, hence the #1 in the title of this post.

And so on with the first.

(Tangle Free) String Wrapped Earphone Project

Images: Pinterest

Most of us are familiar with the story of the king and the poisoned well.

Everybody in a town, except the ruling king, drink from a poisoned well which was the only water supply. They all go mad and think the king is acting strange and unfit to rule. As they begin a rebellion, the king drinks the water and joins them in their madness. The people rejoice, for their king has regained his reason.

There have been a number of times that I've tried my best to avoid 'drinking from the well' but sadly, certain situations dictate that I must at least dip my toes in it from time to time.