"Digital meets analog" is the tagline for 45 iPod Cases and it carries through even to their posters (which you can earn rebates on their cases by postering for them) ~ which are very cool illustrated posters! We've been seeing a lot of USB/Cassette Tape integrations this season, and records and record sleeves as purses, notebook covers, fruit bowls, ash trays, etc are inevitable at every crafty/recycled/found goods store these days... but i haven't seen the records cut and remolded for musical reasons before this! (and i do hope that the music on those records was digitized to go with the ipod before they folded and cut them up!) ~ also instead of adding the usb factor to the mix tape, its a cute idea to make it into a nano case... of course it'd be even more fun if i could somehow just stick that in my cassette player in my car? Fun designs, fun cases ~ see more images below!

TO PAGE 2 of "45 iPod Cases"! ----->

Tags: accessories - gifts - ipod - mp3 - shopping - technology

Gift Guide Day 9 ~ wow can you believe its day 9 already? Well today i rounded up some of our favorite Reusable Shopping bag options ~ some we use and love, some we covet and think would certainly be more unique! And to mix things up a bit, i also picked a few fun woody accessories!

Tags: bag - fashion - gift guide - gifts - green - reusable - reusable bag - shopping

Indigo Snow ~ snowboards, skis, helmets, goggles, glasses, and all accessories you need... The combinations of woods, leathers, and 3d snake skin designs are unlike any i've ever seen before... they speak for themselves, so see my many collages below for a feel for their collection. Isn't that green incredible? And the black snake print is beautiful as well! The helmets are just as impressive with a fusion of wood and leather, perfectly topped off with their goggles!

TO PAGE 2 of "Indigo Snow"! ----->

Tags: accessories - gifts - outdoors - shopping

Can you ever be too old to learn to skateboard? Ok, wait. Don't answer that? I grew up with a lot of friends and family heavy into the skate scene, and i was/am that girl that obsessed about the graphics and design of all the parts... but the combination of wood and gorgeous graphics on the decks at Arbor Sports just grabbed my attention tonight (while doing some sourcing for an upcoming awesome gift guide!) and the Koa Bug one has me totally smitten... and dying to get one and roll around the boardwalk or something. Funny thing is these guys are just a few minutes away in Venice Beach, and i've driven by them a million times going to the airport, and have still yet to stop in and check out the store... must do that soon, and get you some pics! Also with my new love, the vinyl cutter, would LOVE to get a woody board to do some stickering design of my own on! More breathtaking images below...

TO PAGE 2 of "Arbor Skateboards"! ----->

Tags: gifts - outdoors - shopping

Gift Guide Day 10! Can you believe we're down to the final 10 gift guide countdown? Over 20 guides up so far already? So to mix things up a bit, and for those of you who like to take it all in at once, i've created a new page showing you all of the gift guides page after page, just scroll to shop your way through! And for those who like them one at a time, well today's is still available in that form here.

Today is all about Culinary Gadgetry! Regardless of how much or little someone may cook these are some gorgeous design tools that help get the job done and in a really fun way. And as an extra little something, i needed to run the TasteSpotting survey this week, so anyone who wants a chance to win a Pentax Optio W30 Digicam, please answer the last question with your email! I wasn't sure what a good prize would be, but since TasteSpotting is as much about great images of food as it is about cooking it... i thought a waterproof digital camera would be a fun one to survive any and all messes in the kitchen! Covered in goo? Falls in a pot? Just rinse it off!

Tags: accessories - food - gift guide - gifts - kitchen - shopping

It is quite probable that having the vinyl cutter next to me is increasing my attention to silhouettes, but then again i've always had a thing for them and the vinyl cutter obsession may be b/c of that? Anyhow, i was checking out Decor8, who has this cool post on German store, Raumformplan and in one of the store pics there was a coat rack cluttered with these adorable felty animal silhouettes! Turns out these felt keyrings are by Parkhaus Berlin ~ and they have quite the assortment of cozy felty goodness... particularly cute were also their bunny egg covers. And i'm loving that black car silhouette key ring!

Tags: accessories - gifts - shopping

Gift Guide Day 11 is all about kids, particularly the littler of the kids, although big ones will probably enjoy these as well. From robotic dinos and wifi bunnies to finger crayons and pirate sailboats... wood treehouse/dollhouses and clacking pull toys!

Tags: gift guide - gifts - robot - shopping - toys

So you know i got a vinyl cutter! Well, people have been asking about when NOTCOT stickers would be available... and between all the insanity of gift guiding (nearly 10 days left!), holiday madness, and some big development/business transitions going on, i wasn't sure if i'd have time... BUT i've been having SO much fun with them, i couldn't keep them all to myself, so while everyone around me keeps getting random stickers this weekend, i've decided to do a limited edition NOTCOT Stickers Series 1 ~ available from now until Dec 21st (yup, i'm going to sell this series of stickers until the Gift Guide ends!). So for 20$ (and shipping) you can get a giant sheet (approx 24"x10") of 33 stickers ~ from NOTCOT logos (even one mirror image for inside windows) to pirate brontos (outlines and full bodied) to an assortment of random scissors and safety pins as well... all hand printed, weeded, transfer papered, by ME! See below for close ups and to purchase!

Also, for anyone interested in seeing the vinyl sticker making process, you can see images in the gallery.

TO PAGE 2 of "NOTCOT Stickers"! ----->

Tags: gifts - NOTlabs - shopping

I wish i knew a new grandmother to give this to... Good Granny, Bad Granny by Mary McHugh, illustrated by Patricia Storms. I couldn't stop laughing when reading through the few sample pages (see them below!). Shade Elaine and i decided bad granny was definitely our kinda lady... taking those grandkids to Neiman Marcus to buy fingerless gloves and motorcycle boots! (Instead of knitting them mittens)... teaching them how to download rap music to their ipods... only $10 at Amazon.

TO PAGE 2 of "Good Granny, Bad Granny"! ----->

Tags: books - gifts - kids - shopping

Respect Your Mother by Local Celebrity... as a t-shirt, this one sky rocketed around the celeb world in green and blue, and as trendy as some things can become, i've always had a soft spot for this design. Loved it secretly, but part of me would never wear it here in LA, maybe while abroad though! BUT, i just spotted that they now have a canvas tote bag with it, and simply had to add it to my pick of the moment for reusable shopping bag options... or for my laptop and other random "won't fit in purse" schlepping. Close up below, and expect this one to show up on the green gift guide to come!

TO PAGE 2 of "Respect Your Mother Tote"! ----->

Tags: bag - fashion - gifts - green - reusable - reusable bag - shirts - shopping

Gift Guide Day 12 is illustrated and hand picked by NOTCOT contributor, Anna, of Sub-Studio! And Anna's other half, Sean, put his incredible skills to use on the adorable frames... and the robot that is buzzing around hanging them!

Tags: gift guide - gifts - shopping - sub-studio

NOTCOT Note: Here's another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

D-BROS is the product arm of advertising and graphic design firm, Draft Co., Ltd. I love almost everything that comes out of D-BROS - very witty 2-D and 3-D products. The Jewelgraphy card above would be great as a stocking stuffer (or as a card). It reminds me of the costume jewelry I used to play with as a kid, only cooler. After the jump are a few of D-BROS' 2008 calendars. I love how actual ribbons are incorporated into the design of the Ribbon calendar. The Joy by Day by Toy calendar starts as a blank slate but comes with a pack of coded stickers that allow you to decorate it on an as needed basis.

TO PAGE 2 of "D-Bros"! ----->

Tags: gifts - jewelry - shopping - sub-studio

I know i said i couldn't find anything i was desperately craving to put on wishlists this year... apparently as soon as i posted that i stumbled upon the Sagaform catalogs and have been pretty smitten with the whole Sagaform "lifestyle"... and their classically clean swedish lines and colors and approach to designing objects... so my huge collage of a wishlist is below... from watering pots, beautiful knife/cutting boards, carafes with wood to hold them closed, black mini-gym/yoga sets, a clear hotpack with a metal disc within, 30$ hiking set (was on the gift guide), genius "easy shopper" grocery bag that perfectly fits across a cart, a picnic trunk with built in TABLE, and more...

TO PAGE 2 of "Sagaform"! ----->

Tags: gifts - kitchen - outdoors - shopping

Gift Guide Day 13 of the countdown is Shade Elaine's second installment from Gorgeously Goth Day 16... this one is mysteriously charming and fascinating.

Tags: gift guide - gifts - shopping

Gift Guide Day 14 is my belated birthday posting... focusing on designer Creature Comforts this is one for your cats, dogs, birds, and fish!

Tags: animals - gift guide - gifts - shopping

UPDATE: Hey Kotaku people - these ARE 5 min doodles that got scanned and vectorized and printed just to see what the vinyl cutter could do... the wiimote was next to me, so just stuck them on there ~ (and our resident engineer made the tree) ~ this whole post is really just about a girl playing with her new toy.

Sorry i've been pretty quiet... big proposals, meetings, and i've been happily forced to take a little breather the last two days... and today i'm old. Quarter of a century old. It just doesn't feel right quite yet... but i must say, its far easier to deal with when i have the best present ever in front of me...

Funny thing is, the more i write about products and review and critique, the less i had on the wishlist this year... in fact i have actually been more obsessed with what to gift others! When some of the other bloggers hit me up for the "what's on YOUR wishlist?" i came up BLANK (sorry josh spear and design*sponge! I tried!). But Dan apparently managed to go beyond reading my mind, and found me the perfect gift ~ an industrial 24" vinyl cutter, with all the tools, a few rolls of vinyl stickering (enough to cover every wall i can find at the moment), and some transfer paper... it hooks up via usb, and illustrator just prints right to it... combine it with the magic of Live Trace and... WOW. This truly is the most fun i've had in a long time... we've been printing so many random illustrator files all night, and a few of the crazy experiments shown below (jeez this thing can print super thin lines!) - from some wiimote decorating, pirate brontos on the mac apple, and just crazy stickering... expect some more amusing projects/art installations/street art/event signage/stickers.... soon. But for now, i'm taking a little break! Gift guide update for the day coming later on after i get some shut eye!

TO PAGE 2 of "Vinyl Cutter + Wii"! ----->

Tags: gifts - NOTlabs - shopping - technology - wii

Gift Guide Day 15 is for all those design loving Weekend Warriors who know their gear looking good on the shelf is JUST as important as how well it performs when needed to save your life, take on the great outdoors, etc... and that pic is of a magical swedish fire starter, but you already knew that.

Tags: gift guide - gifts - outdoors - shopping

PLEO! Just got dropped off by the FedEx girl ~ and i remember wondering when i first met Bob Christopher and Pleo for drinks at the Peninsula Hotel what the packaging/unboxing/hatching experience was going to be like. Well, here's the answer... lots of packaging and unboxing images below, and a few shots of him waking up to the world (much whining and moaning and slow eye opening as he went into exploration stages...) I even introduced him to my Roboraptor. First impression? Strangely adorable, definitely far more emotional than my now seemingly mentally handicapped roboraptor (who is currently running into the pleo box and pushing it around while pleo begs and purrs from petting)... and it is rather bizarre having this Littlefoot (come on, don't you remember Land Before Time... movies 1-infinity?) looking dino wandering the halls. Loving the DNA details in the box graphics... and the shot on the bottom of the box is brilliant... more to come on my adventures with pleo over the next 2 weeks probably...

Oh, and looking back compared to the prototype pics ~ he sure has gotten more color in his skin! And its so bizarrely skin/rubbery like to the touch...

TO PAGE 2 of "Pleo Unboxing/Hatching"! ----->

Tags: gifts - kids - reviews - robot - shopping - technology - toys

Gift Guide Day 16 was hand made by Shade Elaine... it is our guide of many G's - the Gorgeously Goth Gift Guide... for our dark sides, our darker friends, or just when you need that extra little something to show people its not ALL happy and shiny around here!

p.s. sorry i didn't get to other posts today ~ its been a week of sheer insanity, and i have been working on a proposal the last two days to no end that i have to show over breakfast at 7AM!!! (i'm sure you may have noticed i'm not morning person...) Also a NOTCOT Radar gallery channel launching today i think... but anyhow, this gift guide should keep you going for the moment!

Tags: gift guide - gifts - shopping

Gift Guide Day 17 is all about grooming. Gorgeous gadgets and potions to get you all cleaned up from head to toe- or great for gifts as a not so subtle hint... a little something for guys, girls, both...

Tags: beauty - gift guide - gifts - health - shopping

Seeing as i'm pretty much lost in a state of continuous consumption with this holiday season - particularly thanks to the gift guides - it was nice to be gifted with this "Christmas Survival Chocolate" this morning... nothing like some playful graphic design to help you hang in there, and it doesn't hurt that its filled with chocolate! By New Zealand brand, Bloomberry, this line of playfully wrapped confections is quite cute ~ but the signage like figures on the xmas pack are definitely the best. Also loving that they designed nice wrappers for the interiors... see below.

TO PAGE 2 of "Christmas Survival Chocolate"! ----->

Tags: food - gifts - shopping

Gift Guide Day 18 is sponsored by WEJETSET ~ which I told you about earlier when they gave away a mercedes pre-launch... and now they have finally launched! Ready to take on the designer/luxury travel niche... regardless of whether you are continent hopping or just commuting to work ~ WEJETSET is just starting to build up their store to meet all your needs, and for all you east coasters keep an eye out for the brick and mortar store coming soon.

p.s. i just noticed that the links to the previous day's gift guides at the bottom were broken, but now they are fixed!

Tags: gift guide - gifts - shopping - travel

Having one of "those" days ~ but thank goodness for surprise packages from people like RStevens of Diesel Sweeties ~ angry red robot socks. I don't even know what gift guide theme these should be on, and i never even knew i needed them, but they deal with a less than shiny mood very nicely. I recruited RUGenius to be the sock model in this shot! Although not quite available yet, both the red robot knee socks (for ladies) - and shorter men's red robots - and even some cute pixely owl knee socks - are available for pre-order here. And that bumper sticker made me smile - there have been some pretty nasty, ignorant emails and reports coming on all the sites today for some reason. Why are people so angry? It's just the internets! Yay. Angry red pixel robots on my feet.

TO PAGE 2 of "Diesel Sweeties' Robot Socks "! ----->

Tags: accessories - comics - fashion - gifts - shopping

Ooooooh. Ok, to be honest, when i first say the Griffin Evolve Speaker images i thought it had floating speakers... they are in fact ~ "wireless rechargable digital speakers", and it's also you're all in one ipod dock ~ with audio out channels, video out, s-video, etc... And you can even add more speakers - they have a cute little Multicast flash piece that shows you various members pairing their speakers then taking them to various rooms! They say "So have your friends bring their Evolve speakers next time they come over"... but doesn't that seem a bit silly? I mean we're already supposed to be carrying our wiimotes around, but our speakers too?

TO PAGE 2 of "Evolve Speakers"! ----->

Tags: audio - gifts - ipod - mp3 - shopping - technology

Wow it's Monday Dec 3rd already, I find it hard to believe how quickly these few months are flying by... for Gift Guide Day 19 (and counting down) here are some goodies from our sponsor, Shop Modi! And for a sneak peek into the future of gift guiding, due to a little planning ahead, you can be sure to look forward to some great designer travel goods tomorrow... fun grooming potions and gadgets... dark gifting... gifts for the designer weekend warrior... and more!

Tags: gift guide - gifts - shopping