Web watch: Build your own chick coop

1. The Art of Doing Stuff

Who better than a ‘frugal alpha monkey’ to tell you how to get stuff done. Meet Karen, who likes to figure stuff out, a hot, funny, blonde who knows how to drywall. This is a Canadian TV host who’s not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Want to know how to pour self-levelling cement? Karen’s your gal. Want to build your own chick coop? Again, go to Karen. Beware, you will suffer coop envy when you see what she’s managed to create for her lucky chicks. She reckons it’s all thanks to a mild case of obsessive compulsive disorder, but figuring things out is what she’s all about and she’s kind enough to share on this cool, easy-to-navigate site. Check it out.

* www.theartofdoingstuff.com

2. My Paradissi

Wearing a cute hat, colourful beads and nerdy glasses, Eleni smiles at us from Heraklion in Crete, where she’s worked as an architect for the last decade or so. She started the website and according to her, it’s her own iconic little paradise. Things that inspire her get on the site — she’s a fan of beautiful pottery, hand-loomed, wool bouclé rugs and she’s a total sucker for ‘exquisitely hand-carved deer bowls’. Thanks to Eleni, I now know what Mexchic is — ‘a collaboration of traditional artisans in Mexico, who create traditional pieces with a modern twist, so as their products to be a perfect fit in our daily lives’, since you asked. Worth a click.

* www.myparadissi.com