shak-shuka

DIY: Arts+Crafts Organization

It's been major re-decorating over here at Casa Shuka as we work to make this a home for 4 (dog included) to a home for 5. We're fortunate to have enough space, but with all the junk that gets accumulated from having a child (and a messy mother) it takes a bit of strategizing to get everything where it should be.

One of the biggest issues that we have in our home is that we have toys and books for the kids everywhere. We do have a playroom, but even that seems to look like a toy grenade went off and threw everything all over the place. Even sadder still, we have a nice arts and crafts "corner" that got so overloaded with stuff on the crafts table that there was no room to create! AH! Time for Mama the Ikea Hacker to move in....

Believe it or not, I took my inspiration for our crafts corner from Good Housekeeping (enter gasp here). I did a bit of moving around and made it work for us, and low and behold - a craft corner that is still tidy to this day! I have to say that when everything (markers, glue, etc) have their own specific space, it just beckons the kids to play, and even put things back. Humans do like organization! Besides the fact that I'm grinning that it's still clean and actually being used, the second best part is that it's a totally quick, affordable project that will give you and the kids instant gratification!

For our version, we used:

LACK Wall Shelf (110cm)

GRUNDTAL Kitchen Rail (80cm)

GRUNDTAL S-hooks

ASKER container (we got the big one, and as seen in the photo, you could easily buy 3)

BYGEL wire basket

 

DIY Bedroom Advice

Rather than share an item or find that we discovered, we thought it was best to ask the advice of our experts - YOU! You see, in preparing our house to look somewhat inhabitable, we've run into a problem that we can't seem to figure out: we have a lovely bedroom with a terrace off of it, a decent sized closet, decoration at the ready for all the other walls, but we have this stubborn wall behind our bed that has this strange phone jack/outlet line that we don't know how to remedy. So we're asking for your help, advice, ideas, craftiness to help us resolve this problem, albeit quickly and cheaply if possible (haha). We've thought about a headboard, but not sure if we want to make such a serious investment if we end up hating it. There are a few restrictions (the house nightstands that we love next to the bed) which means it can't be too big, and we had the idea of putting nightstand lights on the wall, but that depends on what we end up doing to cover up that horrible cable/line behind the bed. Please share your ideas about how we can remedy this eye-sore of a problem!

 

DIY: Salty Rainbow Tutorial

I don't know about you, but I feel like our house needs a breath of fresh spring air, and not just in the form of flowers or (more) spring cleaning. I'm thinking a pop of color....but yet, it would be so much better if it was something that me and Lil'Miss could do together, so that she can show everyone who walks in the door the fruits of our labor (and potential ego-stroking for me too!).

Leave it to Twitter to show me the way. Since we at Shak-Shuka are lovahs of all things Daily Candy Kids, we saw that they tweeted about this amazing salt tutorial from Flax & Twine. Of course I had to check it out (since DCK are the gurus of all things kid-friendy+cool), and was amazed at the results. Anne Weil is the mastermind behind the "Rainbow in a Jar" tutorial, and if the end result doesn't get your crafty in the knees, just take a look at her photos for the "how to" and surely you'll be a convert. I love that it incorporates two of our favorite household items: summer-friendly sidewalk chalk (which we happen to have 2 buckets of!) and salt (which I love to eat, but LIl'Miss likes using it like sand). Who would have guessed that those 2 things would be a match made in heaven? Flax & Twine did! So grab your chalk, salt and empty baby-food jars (or something more glam) and get a rainbow in your home!

For the Bird(house) Lovers

On Sunday I was tipped off to hit a great design market near our house. That hit both of my Sunday requirements: 1) markets - which I love 2) nearby - because I'm inherently lazy. Bingo! We had Sunday plans and before I knew it, we headed off in the chilly, but sunny weather to discover some treasures.

By far one of my favorite finds at this indoor/outdoor market with tons of great stalls from independent designers (who are the best kind to support IMO), was a Cardboard Birdhouse that both Lil'Miss and I fell in love with at the same time. I'm not sure if it's clear from the products that we sell at Shak-Shuka, but we are all about the recycled/recyclable-ness of cardboard, and this little ditty of a Birdhouse is just that! Made from water-resistant cardboard, and it comes packed flat, kids and adults have a ball painting, decorating, and then easily assembling the birdhouse together. It even comes with this adorable little wooden dowel for the birdies to stand on when they're going in and out! After becoming a happy customer, I inquired about the company who makes these, and it's Kikkerland - a design company that makes a slew of other "green" products, of which I am currently obsessed with the Rainbowmaker, Solar Disco Ball, and more. Kikkerland isn't just making our family and our outdoor birdies happy, but the environment and design-lovers everywhere!

Hol(e)y Sweater? Woolfiller to the Rescue

There are times when I really enjoy living in the Netherlands: passing by tulips fields on the train headed for Amsterdam, riding my bike everywhere and anywhere, and the Dutch design that is available in stores and in magazines. I really have to say I quite like modern Dutch design - it's not as rigid as Scandinavian design, and it has a rustic, almost goofy edge to it. I'm not an artist or designer by any means, I just know what I do/n't like!

One of the goofiest, coolest things that I've seen in a while popped up on my screen (and from the NL) a few weeks ago: Woolfiller. It is just like it sounds - it fills the holes in your (woolen) sweater with, well - wool! I don't know about you, but I have nearly a drawer full of sweaters with varying degrees of hole-y-ness, and yet I can't seem to manage to get rid of them. Maybe I've been waiting for Woolfiller to come to the rescue? I can't properly do it justice by writing about it, so it's best you just watch the video for yourself. Think of it as a rubbing, pricking way to get a fuzzy woolen patch (in a variety of colors) for the hol(e)y sweater you've been treasuring - and gives it new life as a kind of "geek chic" look. Perhaps not for everyone, but I sure think that Woolfiller does a great job of making the landfill a fuller place - that gets two green thumbs up from me!

 

DIY: Wee Art Gallery

(photo of Lil'Miss adjusting her artwork to her own taste, which is ever-changing)

If your child is around the same age as Lil'Miss, you'll feel me: they go to pre-school, learn songs, how to share, play well with others, and heaven oh mighty, they learn to craft it up BIG time. Nearly every day she comes home with some new prized possession, even better than the last, and even though we have a big new house, we don't have anywhere to display it. I feel bad creating a mini file folder that never gets seen, and when it does (by Lil'Miss) it ends in everything being ripped to shreds. HELP!
Leave it to the internet to give me a wonderful, and dare I say stylish solution? Thanks to the peeps at Ohdeedoh and Style Files, all you need is one trip to IKEA to turn your stack of kiddie artwork into a bonafide eye-popper. Simply find a blank wall, use the curtain rods and clips from IKEA and voila! You have an instant "underground" gallery worthy of visitors sipping champagne and appetizers being passed around. Or maybe just cookies and milk as you gave up from your couch at the evolution of your child's artwork - like we do!

Get Crafty: Dress Up Wardrobe

 

We've officially hit the toddler mark as playing dress up has become a daily part of our routine. Getting dressed in regular clothing? Puleez - that's for chumpies! Around Casa Shuka, we like to rock fire(wo)man hats, fairy wings, and animal masks - sometimes all at the same time! Now that we are blessed with space, I have really begun to scratch my head about what I'll do with all this dress-up gear and no proper place to store it. I've read numerous times that it's essential for kids to have a proper space to put everything - it teaches respect for their things, organization, and not to mention it's easier to find everything and it looks better!

Given that my craftiness is limited, I looked to the experts to find a DIY solution, because the ideas for dress-up storage in stores is limited, or non-existent. Two of my favorites that I found are really great to keep everything tidy and organized. The first is made by recycling a large cardboard box, courteosy of the genius of Childhood 101. I fell in love with it as it's easy to do, uses recycled materials, and you can really customize it with ease. The second option is made from wood, a bit more of a challenge for us crafty-less folks, but the results are super professional: it comes from the long list of amazing tutorials from Craftiness is Not Optional, and if you have the hankering to do some crafting, this website is a to-die-for spot. Just try and keep to one tutorial at a time! Start with the dressing up wardrobe I say!

So that's it - go forth and be crafty! Enjoy the fruit of your work in the form of a tidy play space, the kids get a storage space of their own, and you can continue on your firefighting, fairy flying and animal scary ways!

Washi Tape Holder 101

Besides my obvious interior design obsession that is peppering all of my posts, I have had an obsession for something else that if you've ordered from Shak-Shuka you may have even seen! Washi tape. And lots of it. Wide, thin, patterns, plain - any kind of washi tape has to be mine - and NOW! If you're not familiar with washi tape, it's a delicated Japanese paper tape that can be used for everything from taping things together (don't try and use it to tape a box to send in the post.....already tried with bad results!) to decorating shelves, pottery, etc. I haven't been that inventive with my washi uses, keeping it more simple and paper-based.

The one issue I have with washi tape is the adorable little rolls seem to roll all over the place! Ugh. What to do? Buying a regular tape holder doesn't make sense (as I would need probably 20+ of them), and buying a proper washi tape holder is insanely expensive. Alas - the geniuses behind Apartment Therapy have answered my paper prayers! A DIY Washi Tape Holder. Doesn't need much more description than that - except I love it - especially the "teeth" cutter at the end of the box to hold and rip off the tape. So go forth: obtain a washi tape obsession, have a stash of tapes, find a suitable cigar-sized box and whip up your own washi tape holder! I'm already on the hunt for a cigar box.....

Flowers, Boats, Angels - Oh My!

A few weeks ago when I was walking home, I saw this gorgeous bouquet of paper flowers in a vase of a studio. I pushed my nose against the glass, and even with my horrendous vision, I was able to make out the name of the maker of those flowers. That's it - Obsession Numero 1 in effect.

I came home, Google-d, and low and behold, it is a Dutch designer! We really love supporting local designers, and Jurianne Matter's work is as green as it is lovely. As many of you know, we really love paper and paper products at Shak-Shuka, and Matter's designs are printed on FSC-approved paper, are produced with vegetable-based inks, and come packaged in a biodegradable wrapper. These are not your run-of-the-mill paper products, but instead an inventive spin on a bouquet of flowers which you never have to water, gorgeous boats to use on their own or to make an adorable garland to hang, or you cannot go wrong with these charming angels which are great on the fireplace now that the weather is turning chilly. It's almost impossible to find one favorite, as the possibilities of how and where you use them are endless - we've already been experimenting over here and plotting where each Blom, Boat and Angel will go in the new Casa Shuka!

DIY Front/Back Coat Rack

One of the things that I love about the web is that you are able to connect with people in other parts of the world. For instance: we wrote about the Ma Cacabane last week, and it was picked up by a Bebe Stilo, a lovely blog in Spain. Naturally out of curiosity we just had to check out the site ourselves, and perused and found some great stuff - including this DIY Animal Coat Rack from none other than Ohdeedoh (a great US site for decor and kid-related things). This Rack is just the thing that any house needs, and even if you don't think you need one, read this line from the description and it will convince you otherwise: "Sure you could probably use a more traditional hook or pull, but why when you can use that pointy zebra you've stepped on 900 times at 3 a.m.?". Anyone who lives with children will love the truth and humor in that, and if you want to some extra giggles, read the comments below the instructions on how to make this adorable rack. For instance, make an Animal Head Rack for the kids, and the butts of the animals for the adults! Win/win either way you slice it! Thanks to the web for bringing us all together!