Things I Love #31

Things I have learnt this week:  I am a terrible procrastinator.  If anyone has a magical cure for this I'd love for you to send it my way.  Also, I need to be a bit more organised.  Having a blog schedule is a great idea but I do still have to write the posts.  Anyway, moving along, here are the things I found while procrastinating on the internet this week:

Diana from Our City Lights has the most awesome, pink Hello Kitty kitchen.  If I wasn't allergic to being in the kitchen, I would want mine to be as awesome as this.

Iron Fist have started making nail stickers!!!  And the best part is that they follow the designs they use on their shoes and other accessories.  Even though I could buy them all, I particularly want the Zombie Stompers, American Nightmare and Siesta Skull ones.

Speaking of things I want, I pretty much want all of the nerdy earrings on this list.  All of them.

Also, you can preorder the first issue of the True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys!  There is a variant cover by Gabriel Ba which is equally cool.  After the break up of MCR, my excitement for this comic has increased x 1000.

Mandy from Chocolate and Cream Cake shared this link to a 1987 Nes Great Gastby game and it is too cool.  Also, if you don't already follow her Nerd News on a Thursday you should go and check it out immediately.

Haruki Murakami's new novel was released on Friday.  Its called Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and I can't wait for a translated version to appear.

Humans of New York Captures Punk's Enduring Influence.  A friend posted this link on Facebook last week and it's pretty cool.

Look at this Adventure Time cake!!!  Seriously starting to wonder if I should change my 30th birthday party them from Star Wars to something more general so I can include my other obsessions...

Storm-Tossed Memories is a collection of photos found after Hurricane Sandy.

And on a lighter note, Found Photos collect random pictures found on file sharing sites.  Pretty interesting what some people choose to share...

This is a pretty interesting article about covering your tattoos.  I am planning a much more visible tattoo this time round so this is a topic I've been thinking about a lot.

It's getting colder in this part of the world and I am desperately searching for interesting tights.  In the meantime, I want everything on this site!  Especially the stars, the polka dots and the stripes.  I love the stripes...

Apparently making your dog wear tights is a new fad in China?  I just think it looks weird...

Why Dogs Rule Literature but Cats Run the Web.  I loved this...

I love these Light Socks.  I would hang them EVERYWHERE!!

Floating Letters Made of Hair and Other Unusual Items.  Type with a difference...

Ida Frosk recreates famous art works as breakfast. Honestly though, I think they are too pretty to eat!

Have you seen anything you love online this week? Feel free to share in the comments:)

Things I Love #21

Is it just me or does it seem that the remainder of this year is filling up super fast?  I feel like I often mention how fast the year is going when I do these posts but they do make me unusually aware of the passage of time!  November has but two weeks left and then we will be full on into the Christmas madness.  I just hope we get some good weather somewhere in between all that because aside from a few sunny days, Summer is yet to visit Durban.  On that note, here is Things I Love #21:

If you don't already watch Adventure Time, here are 21 reasons why you should.  Man I love this show!!

Reaon # 2:  Finn has better hair than you

Do you dream of brightly coloured hair like I do?  Yes?  Then check out the Dolls with Dye tumblr.  I am thinking of dying mine bright red, at least I can get away with that for work....

I am not really a cat person but the 25 most awkward cat sleeping positions makes me wish I was a cat. Then, I could sleep ANYWHERE!

Dear universe, please, please, PLEASE can I get a shark sleeping bag?

Edgar Allen Po!  An unlikely combination of horror/crime fiction and the Teletubbies:

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Here are 20 hilariously bizarre tumblr coincidences.  Seriously going to have to keep a look out for these in my own tumblr feed.

Birds are truly amazing creatures.  This article talks about how they manage to survive in hardcore storms like Sandy.

I'd LOVE to get my hands on the Rising Sun Lamp by Satoshi Itasaka.  The designer wanted the lamp to "create brand new feeling and optimism every time the user switches it on."  So cool!

It seems that in many ways this year has been about letting go and moving on.  Here are 9 reason why it's time to move on. 

This Star Wars Han Solo Princess Leia Geek Necklace from the Land of Rapture Etsy store is officially on my Christmas list.

Look at my new cat shoes from Mr Price!  Like I said, not a cat person but really, who can resist cat shoes:

The Forever 21 Hello Kitty range is just too cool.  I pretty much want everything in the lookbook!  It's a pity we don't have Forever 21 in SA yet.

Have you guys heard of the Morning Glory Pool?  It's kind a sad story...it was originally a really beautiful blue colour (caused by bacteria that lived in the warm water) but, because people have been throwing rubbish into it, it now has rings of orange and green (caused by different kinds of bacteria).  It's still really stunning to look at but the reasons why are a little depressing...

The Jim Bob Art Etsy store make some really great, quirky ceramics (among other things).  My favourites are the Cheese Defender Plate and the Handsome One Espresso Cups.

Here are four airplanes with mustaches to celebrate Movember...makes me want to break out my mustache ring so I can take part too.

I went off work early the other day because I was feeling sickly and I have to report that Totoro and popcorn are an effective cure for headaches:

These photos by Helen Pynor are absolutely stunning.  Everything looks like its floating underwater making it both tranquil and creepy all at the same time.

I know this is a bit delayed but have you seen/played Angry Birds Star Wars yet?  Here's the trailer just in case:

They always say that war changes people and these pictures of soldiers before, during and after deployment to Afghanistan are quite amazing.  Some are more dramatic than others to the point where it's hard to imagine it's the same person!!

Pictures of eyes drawn on hands.  Kind of creepy (a la the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth) but also kind of cool.

And lastly, how cool is this dog?  His name is Jeffery and he lives on the same property as the hair salon we go to. Yesterday when we went for a cut all he wanted was love and I was more than happy to oblige...

And that's all for this week.  If you've found anything cool feel free to share it in the comments.  I am off to attempt to bake bran muffins from a box.  I am hopeless in the kitchen!  Wish me luck!!

P.S.  I finally finished my Links I love page.  Click here to check it out.

Paper Toy Obsession

I can't remember exactly how it happened, but a few years ago, I stumbled across an artist called Jason Harlan.  His website promised illustration, papercrafts and fonts so I decided to take a look around.   This is where I discovered his Boxpunx collection and the wonderful world of paper toys.  The Boxpunx are awesome.  They are super easy to make, require absolutely no glue and completely satisfy my need for brightly coloured randomness.   Before I knew it, I had made a ton and covered every available piece of shelf in our flat.  So I started taking them to work and managed to fill up my limited desk space as well!!

The 'Paper Army' from my old office

There is an amazing amount of variety in the Boxpunx range - both in the style and in the designs.  There are nine series as far as I can tell as well as a whole bunch of templates for you to create your own!  Here are a few of my favourites:

You can find the full Boxpunx collection here.  Sadly there have been no new Boxpunx since about 2009 but there is plenty there to keep you occupied, I assure you.

Earlier this year, I found the Proudly One Sided paper toys at the Come Out and Play exhibition.

Created by Reghardt Grobbelaar, Proudly One Sided is described as:

"that explores the daily scenarios one would find in South Africa. Rather than following the stereotypical images, which are normally associated with the country, the project was approached in a lighthearted manner."

You can view them on the website and you can download the templates to make your own.  My favourite is Missing (the Cow-patterned one) and atm: the future of document creation.  I haven't made any of these ones yet but they are still hanging around on my To-Do list!

I haven't made a paper toy in ages and then I found the Adventure Time paper toys on the Cartoon Network site.  I have an obsession with Adventure Time that almost eclipses all others so you can imagine my joy at finding a combination of two of my favourite things!  You can get Finn, Jake, Marceline, Bubblegum and a whole host of backgrounds to set them up with.  The only thing that's not so great about these ones is you need to use glue.  I downloaded Finn, Jake and Gunter to try and they came out really well.  Despite the glue, they were pretty easy to make.

Anybody else out there share my obsession with paper toys?  If you do, feel free to share your favourites.  I'd love to find some new ones to try!

Things I Love #17

Is it just me or is this year passing very, very quickly?  My birthday is roughly three weeks away and Christmas decorations are going to start showing up in stores any day now.  It's weird because every year around this time, I start thinking about all the things I wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the year and how many of those things are still unfinished.  I think my mission for the last few months of 2012 is to try and get as many of those goals/ideas/projects done as I can.  Anyway, that really has nothing to do with the randomness I have found on the internet over the last two weeks so, without further ado, here is Things I Love #17.  Warning, its a long one!!

First up, this article about why weird experiences boost creativity.  Turns out they don't even need to be that weird.  

The amazingly cool Star Wars Force Glove.  I need this in my life...please...

Vintage Confections on Etsy make planet lollipops.  Really.  Filled with edible glitter to give them that space feel, you can now suck on the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  If these could survive the trip to South Africa, I'd order them now.

Sam is back from London!!  Hi Sam!!  Anyway, being the good friend that she is, she bought home Lego Star Wars key rings for us.  Yay!

On the subject of Star Wars, these handbags have officially earned a spot on my wishlist.

Want to see Banksy's street art come alive?  Click here to see some awesome animated GIFs.

My Chemical Romance, one of my favourite bands in the world, is releasing some new-old material in an amazing boxset called Conventional Weapons.  I just wish it wasn't so pricey *sigh*

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Also music related is the new Deftones single!  Download it for free here.

Not one but two friends sent me the link to this Gradient Nail Art Tutorial (thanks Shannon and Miss V).  I can't wait to try it out.  It's the perfect excuse to go out and purchase some new, complementary nail polishes.

What eyes would look like without pupils.  Creepy and cool all rolled into one.

I got some super cute new summer shirts this week.  One with bunnies and the other with apples.  I like them a lot.

Is the pursuit of happiness a bunch of bullshit?  An interesting read from Gala Darling.

Sad Etsy Dogs collects pictures of dogs who are modeling their owners' Etsy creations.

I absolutely love this collection of 60 Freaking Awesome Animal Emotions.  There is no way you can look at these pictures and not smile.

These necklaces contain teeny, tiny pieces of regurgitated animals.  Designer Trixie Khong hand makes these vials using the remains left over by a friend's pet owls.  The site also makes it clear that no animals were harmed to make these necklaces.  Not sure if I think these are awful or amazing.  What do you think?

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On the subject of jewellery, this Bazinga Necklace is to cool for words and would totally match my obsession with The Big Bang Theory.

These illustrations give us an idea of what our favourite movie creatures might look like on the inside.

This week I mentioned my new found love for Terrariums.  While I still have plans to build my own, I'd still love one of these cute terrarium necklaces.  So unusual.

This article about how to get pumped about your work is worth a read.  Also, the site is called Unicorns for Socialism which makes me smile.

Religious icons really appeal to me.  Not necessarily for what they mean but just for the aesthetic value.  I know that some people may not appreciate them but I think these alternative takes on the Virgin Mary by Soasig Chamaillard are really great.

I got my first birthday present yesterday!  Another Genevieve Motley necklace which I have had my eye one.  Thanks Gill:)  Also this super cute bunny brooch.

And lastly, I have the best Dad.  He bought my mom and I these nifty hand and nail care sets and now my nails are shiny and awesome.  Thanks Dad!