This week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious includes Mint and Orange Hot Toddies, Fish and Chip Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Caramel Twix Bars and more. To find out more about each delectable post, click on its individual image.
Fun way to celebrate the upcoming Mother’s Day, the artists over at Wieden & Kennedy are busy illustrating advice from moms for P&G’s Thank You, Mom. campaign and posting them up on their pinterest (there are 59 so far!)
To join in the fun ~ “What’s the best advice your mom gave you? Mothers give us the gift of wisdom through life lessons they pass down to their children. This Mother’s Day, P&G is honoring moms by creating a gallery of these beautiful bits of knowledge. Share yours using #momswisdom or on our Facebook page and it may be added to our gallery.” Fun idea, beautiful typography, and lots of sound (and some interesting) advice! Take a peek at some of my favorites so far on the next page…
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
For #11, Shawn decided to start saving our beans in progress… that were starting to grow and flop a bit. In order to make the garden a bit more fun, he prototyped an idea for modular plant scaffolding ~ in wood, since scraps were around ~ but we were imagining doing different ones in plastic or coated wood/metal ~ and we are also imagining larger ones for our tomatoes! Basically they slot together and have zip ties to strengthen the set up… and you can build up up and away in any way you want (or in the way your plants want to go)! Take a peek at the making of and details on the next page…
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenge #11: Plant Scaffolding"! ----->
Here’s the latest from London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw!
Earlier this evening, I headed to the previously featured urban food hub, FARM:shop Dalston for a preview of “Sunday lunch in 2063, an exploration into the sustainability of food and drink in the luxury sector”, part of Hendrick’s Carnival of Knowledge which will be part of the Brighton Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe and London Cocktail Week later in the year. The lectures will be presented jointly by mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr. Lyan), Shay Ola (Rebel Dining Society) and Duncan McRae (Hendrick’s British Ambassador) and our taster was hosted by the menu’s creators. Intrigued by sustainable luxury and “edible curiosities made from insects”, I wasn’t sure what to expect. More photos and a look at the menu on the next page!
Another delicious week at Tasteologie and Liqurious ~ and looking back on the week, the surprising and unusual presentation/packaging/directions often inspire me the most! Here’s a peek at some of the more unusual finds! Click the pics to find out more about each one!
Going through my phone, and due to an unfortunate delay in what was going to be sponsored content, i just rediscovered some Atlanta adventures i’d been saving to share with you guys!
While in Atlanta for the Final Four, we tried a few delicious restaurants… and one noteworthy detail is definitely the Black Tea Ice Cubes in the cocktails at The Spence (from Chef Richard Blais, winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef All-Stars” )! When you’re first sipping on the drink, you know there’s a tea bag like tag and string hanging out of the glass, and some kind of huge ice cube, but it’s unclear how it all connects until you sip through it (and as it melts) only to find the cube on the end of the string! While ice on a string would have amused me already, finding out that their actually freeze black tea in the cube made even more sense… Take a peek at the details and a few more pics (and a video!) on the next page…
TO PAGE 2 of "Black Tea Ice Cubes at The Spence, ATL"! ----->
Phew* Sorry i’ve been quieter than usual over here ~ getting sick has sort of thrown a kink in regular posting and the Laser Challenge this weekend, but working through it all and trying to catch up before NY Design Week! Lots of fun inspiration again over at NOTCOT.org, so click the pics above to find out more!
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Laser Challenges #9 and #10 are here! We’ve slipped behind a tiny bit, but the rules still hold that each project goes from idea to post in less than a day… so today we teamed up for a pair of projects that complement and grew off each other. Looking around NOTlabs, i’ve had glass bottles around that are too pretty to throw away, but we also couldn’t figure out what to do with them (other than vases and as “future projects”) ~ including these Aladdin Sake Bottles and the Sofia Coppola Bottles… we also have a yard full of birds, from finches and jays to parrots and hummingbirds and more… so we decided to try turning them into bird feeders, with just laser cut acrylic and paracord. Of course all of this turned into a fun late night experiment playing with finding the perfect curves (and my learning more rhino from shawn), mastering snap fits down to such tiny measurements, and then a late night bird feeder hanging and photoshoot! Shawn’s #9 turns the wine bottle into a beautiful feeder that plays off of the curves so nicely! My #10 plays off of his ideas and takes them one step further with the stacked sake bottles of food and water (yay for the magic of surface tension) which can also be turned into a finches and little birds on top - hummingbirds downstairs set up. Just took the picture above while sitting here waiting to see if the birds come today… but for now, see the process and details of our two bird feeders on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenges #9 + 10: Bird Feeders"! ----->
Today’s NOTlabs inspiration is coming from this furry little visitor that just showed up outside… a Jumping (thanks, commenters!) Spider! Couldn’t help taking a few portraits of his fuzzy little face and rusty colored patterned body before relocating him… take a peek on the next page!
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Here’s Laser Challenge #8! Since Bucky, the NOTpuppy, LOVES paper (receipts especially) and flying/jumping insects (moths and crickets are his favorite)… and he also destroys toys and devours treats nearly instantaneously these days… on a hunt for fun, healthy, affordable, and amusing… for today’s challenge i laser cut SEAWEED! (The everything-free dried seaweed sheets you can buy for sushi making) I figured, it’s dog friendly deliciousness, feels like paper, and cut in the right shapes it flies and flutters like his bugs! And it is AMAZING… with a flick of the wrist (and depending on the breeze) it will fly and float and flutter around in ways he can barely anticipate as he leaps and contorts in every which way to devour them. While it was nearly impossible to get a good video of them (and Bucky’s pretty fast!) the movement of these little guys mimic Maple Seeds ~ the ones that look like little propellers! And while having fun experimenting with shapes for optimal flight, Shawn and i also noticed our home states of California and Tennessee looked like they might work too… and they work awesomely! So take a peek at the laser cutting of these dog treat/toy seaweed flyers and the madness that ensues when we play with feeding them to Bucky on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenge #8: Dog Treat Seaweed Flyers"! ----->
This week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious includes the Dirty Pickle Martini, home-made dumplings, caprese grilled cheese sandwiches and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Laser Challenge #7 is here! When Shawn was teaching me to play poker this weekend, I found it hard to stop playing with the chips (and it was driving me crazy how ugly they were) ~ so naturally the conversation evolved to sparking ideas about how much more fun they could be! So for today’s challenge, he prototyped some gorgeous wooden poker chips that you can BUILD with! They interlock to make fun little structures during the game… we’re still fine tuning it more before we end up with a full set - perhaps the future ones with use different woods/materials for different values, or a splash of lacquered color along the edges, and have deeper notches to help them attach better, but it’s a fun start! See the making of and details on the next page!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
TO PAGE 2 of "Laser Challenge #7: Poker Chips to Build With"! ----->
This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes flat-packed custom bicycles, sponsored heroes, amazing origami and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.
HAPPY EARTH DAY! (And the start of Earthling Month!) To celebrate this crazy box just arrived… and upon opening it smelled like… lasered cardboard! (Yes, we’re VERY accustomed to that distinct scent lately.) And inside was Whole Foods’ “PINEAPPLE Ambassador of the Earthlings” which resembles an armadillo… and it TALKS. Seriously. This fun press kit to celebrate Earth Month of April is all about what Whole Foods is doing for the month of April - “transforming itself into a hub for Earthlings — or humans inspired by the earth’s beauty and bounty — to meet up, share ideas and celebrate our planet online and in stores.” You can learn more about what they’re up to at EarthlingMonth.com, but for now, back to this crazy box - which is the “official vessel of the earthling ambassador”… I love that their creature is actually built from food-safe ceramic and recycled electronics, the packaging is reused cardboard, and the impact from chipping has been offset with verified emission reductions purchased from Renewable Choice Energy… and it goes without saying that the pineapple can be consumed… in fact the TALKING ambassador commands you to “Eat Me!” as you’ll see in the video on the next page! So, if you’re ready to see the full unbox and stab the ambassador parts into the pineapple and hear him talk, head to the next page!
p.s. Just updated the post with a peek INSIDE the electronic guts… and he has a HEART!
TO PAGE 2 of "Whole Foods Talking Pineapple Armadillo"! ----->
This post is part of the NOTlabs Laser Challenge: The ground rules are: Shawn and I are alternating days with executing and sharing a Laser Cutter involved experiment! And most importantly - we’re supposed to have fun, explore ideas, and it’s less about a fully formed product/concept at the end of the day, but more about seeing where the experiment takes us!
Weekends are tougher - especially with guests! But it also means more people to help… or pose! So here’s my Laser Challenge #6 from last night - Vegetable Garden Guys! It’s that perfect time of year to get our vege garden going again, but i tend to forget what went where and it’s a surprise when it all pops up… so i rounded the guys up to pose against the white wall (as if holding massive vegetables) to turn them into wooden garden markers. Of course a few things went wrong for this speed project ~ it was a learning experience for us to see what built in settings for engraving from photographic images the laser cutter hard (total fail, learning about rasterizing/engraving on the side now) - then i decided to just print them out on paper to stick on to the guys - and printer started running out of ink. But the little guys are still pretty fun, and i’ll definitely be revisiting them for a round 2! Take a peek at fun on the next page ~ romanesco broccoli seeds started and cucumbers, bush beans, honeydew, and lettuce on the way!
p.s. If you have ideas, or want some laser cutting done, or want to play with us… feel free to use the contact form or leave a comment! And if you’re curious about the laser cutter we’re using, here’s the unboxing.
