The Touchwood Project

This morning I started the day with a mug of lemon-flavoured green tea and a TED.com video about how to be a great leader. The point of this talk is basically that people follow your cause or buy your product because they believe what you believe. Simon Sinek goes through the successful example of the Wright Brothers who, he argues, succeeded because they believed in the power of flight to change the world and… Read the rest of this article >>

It is time for us to celebrate the coming of Spring, this year coinciding with the latest Power Off weekend. Everyone is welcome to join us with this because it happens in your own home, or a neighbours, or friend’s or tent! The Power Off weekend is 48 hours, from 11pm on the Friday night to 11pm on the Sunday (19-21 March 2010), without electricity. Power Off is all about having time to have fun, play… Read the rest of this article >>

Storage basket made from recycled magazines: Hello there, Rachel asked me to do a guest post about this project, since it’s one she and I had worked on together before and that I recently took on all by myself. It probably would have been a good use of your Power-Off Weekend. Well, maybe next time. So! Let’s talk weaving. Time required: Uh… several hours. It took me an American football game (roughly… Read the rest of this article >>

It was wonderful, magical, like Christmas! The weather helped, with sunshine and no wind. At night, stars mesmerised me as the scent of wood smoke drifted down to my eager nostrils. Joy! The time has just flown by, and to be honest life was so enjoyable without the electricity that we are only re-introducing it selectively – I call that a success! We rode our bikes to the local Stenness store, only a 5… Read the rest of this article >>

When I was a kid I was amazed how many people assumed you needed to buy the game to play it, not realising that often you just need pencil and paper. They’d rather buy some tacky plastic game or watch TV than make their own fun! I’m of the play-it-on-paper or build-your-own-game tribe. Since the Power Off Weekend is just around the corner, here are 101 things to do with your friends and loved ones — all… Read the rest of this article >>

It’s a weekend of crafting frenzy in our house this weekend. I’m knitting like mad, Malcolm’s making felt using a washing machine, and I’ve just finished making a big batch of chocolate peanut butter balls. The reason for the rush is I looked up the date you have to post all your gifts to the USA, and it’s December 10th — Thursday. To be honest, I’m not sure I can make it in time, but we’re giving it our… Read the rest of this article >>

Malcolm was interviewed on BBC Radio Orkney the other day about the upcoming Power Off Weekend December 12-13. You can have a listen to the interview here: Click here to listen to Power Off Weekend BBC Radio interview For more details about the Weekend: http://www.touchwoodproject.com/your-chance-to-join-the-power-off-weekend/… Read the rest of this article >>

Before I get into how to make this next Christmas gift project, I’ve been thinking about the mysterious joy that can come out of humble things. The tin can is something humble, and making this project is less about the object made, than about the experience of appreciating these small, everyday things…. Read the rest of this article >>

Be lazy, recycle Why work hard to make something from scratch when you can be lazy and reuse someone else’s stuff? Today we’re going to be recycling an old sweater into a fabulous felted bag, all ready to wrap and present with a flourish to your Aunt Rebecca or best friend Steph…. Read the rest of this article >>

In this world of ours, times they are a-changing, so we need to be adaptable to make the most of our future, if not just survive. If the power went off wouldn’t it be nice to know you could not only cope, but even have a great time? Imagine, instead of panic in the dark and cold, you just smile and get on. In fact you are so prepared, you don’t even miss the electricity because you are too busy talking… Read the rest of this article >>