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.

Milk Carton Row Boat Project

Image: Lilla A

Everything that is made has a life cycle.

The life cycle of a milk carton begins with a tree. That tree is harvested for wood which is turned into paper. That paper is made into a carton and filled with milk. The milk is brought to a shop where we buy it, empty it out our morning cereal and then the carton is tossed into the bin. Of course that should be a recycling bin, but still.... a somewhat unceremonious end to a serenely grand beginning.

So before you go and drop it into the bin, why not try your hand at some great kids crafts using empty milk cartons.

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.

Make One Change Project

Image: Shift Wallpapers

It's New Year's Eve and for most of us, that means it is a time for reflection, to look back on the past year and take stock of what we have achieved - or what is more frequently the case, what's left to be achieved.

Image: This is confusion, am I confusing you?

It's ironic that in a world obsessed with making everything twice as fast as it was last week, it's getting progressively easier to say - "I just don't have the time".  In truth, we have exactly the same number of hours in a day that were given to Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein.
So why do we claim to be far too busy?