Fairytale Abodes: 15 Tiny Storybook Cottages
December 9, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Humble and beautiful in their imperfection, little cottages with hand-made details call to mind the tales of the Brothers Grimm and other fairy stories, making us long for an adorable abode to call our own. These tiny houses provide inspiration to simplify and live smaller, and they’re definitely fun to look at. So make yourself a mug of hot cocoa, settle into some blankets and get ready to daydream about cozy snow-covered cottages brimming with the magic of storytelling.
The Queen’s Hamlet, France
(image via: stuck in customs)
You could say this is a real, authentic fairy tale cottage. It’s called ‘Hameau de la Reine’, or the Queen’s Hamlet, and it was built for Marie Antoinette between 1785 and 1792. Everything from its proportions and thatched roof to its lopsided staircase and beautiful garden serves as ideal inspiration for modern-day cottage copies.
The Storybook Cottage of New York
(images via: storybook-cottage.net)
If you’re longing for a fairytale experience but no where near building a little home of your own, live out your fantasies at Rhinebeck, New York’s Storybook Cottage. This rental home is in high demand, so the wait list is long, but it’s so worth it: the stone walls, warm wood and whimsical design details make it feel like it’s fit for a princess.
English Thatched-Roof
(image via: simply think shabby)
Thatched roofs, as seen in this adorable example, are one of the hallmarks of storybook homes. Thatching methods are used all over the world but are most closely associated with the countryside of the United Kingdom. Over 250 roofs in Southern England have coats of thatch that were applied over 500 years ago!
Rounded Stone
(image via: home-designing.com)
This sweet stone cottage has a sculpted thatch roof, leaded glass windows and multiple chimneys along with a gated garden – can it be any more evocative?
Tiny Cottage in the Catskills
(images via: tiny house blog)
A hunting cabin transformed into an all-white, shabby chic cottage in the hands of Sandra Foster, who uses it as a romantic retreat. The cottage measures just 9 by 14 feet and cost just $3,000 to renovate and furnish into this Victorian beauty.
Picturesque Garden
(image via: 24 media)
This little cottage almost looks too perfect to be real. Its setting, just against the dark woods, contrasts with its picture-perfect topiaries and welcoming steps.
Tiny Victorian House
(image via: Pandorea)
It’s a playhouse and garden shed rather than somebody’s home, but this tiny colorful house with Victorian details could easily house a person inclined to live small. Cecile’s Garden is reminiscent of a Tumbleweed House, which are tiny wooden houses built on wheels or foundations.
Hansel
(images via: tales from carmel, storybook1)
There’s no greater modern-day fairytale village than Carmel-by-the-Sea in California. This community features a number of charming homes built in the 1920s by Hugh Comstock. It all began when the architect’s wife asked him to build her a doll house as a show room for the rag dolls she sold, and the result was ‘Hansel’, above.
Windamere
(image via: redbubble)
Windamere is another Comstock cottage in Carmel, with its most eye-catching and distinguishing feature clearly being its unusually textured roof. The cedar shingles were steam-bent to curve and meander along the surfaces of the roof, a skill that is not easy to find among today’s craftsmen.
Sunwise Turn
(images via: tales from carmel)
Imagined by many a passer-by to be the cottage of the Seven Dwarves, Sunwise Turn is another Comstock creation. Shabby and sweet just as a real unkempt cottage in the woods, the home also known as the Elspeth Rose house is totally timeless.
Obers
(images via: linda hartong)
Obers was Comstock’s own home, made of adobe brick, local stone and hand-carved trim.
The Tuck Box
(image via: linda hartong)
Looking almost like something straight out of Disneyland, the Tuck Box was Hugh Comstock’s office and was built in 1927. It’s now the Tuck Box gift shop, which includes a tea room.
Marchen Haus
(images via:tales from carmel)
One more Comstock house to make you sigh in dreamy envy. Marchen Haus bears all the hallmarks of a lovingly hand-crafted home including asymmetrical windows, curving roof tiles and a misshapen chimney.
Rectory Cottage, Plymouth, England
(image via: bex ross)
Who wouldn’t want to live in an old rectory in the English countryside? This old groundkeeper’s cottage is now a private home, still adjacent to the old cemetery with which it was once associated.
Amazing Wooden Cottage, Poland
(image via: kebabsuperior)
From Poland comes another stunning hand-crafted creation. This cottage is located in Białka Tatrzańska, the Tatra Mountains.
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Windows On The Past: 7 Amazing Creatures Preserved In Amber
September 13, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series & Animals & Habitats & Science & Research. ]
Amber, or fossil tree sap, can contain perfectly preserved plants, insects and animals many millions of years old. These tiny tinted windows to an ancient past have shown us some surprising things, including finely detailed prehistoric animals as large and complex as crustaceans, frogs and lizards.
Spiders
(images via: Wired, Telegraph UK and Wikipedia)
In some ways, oozing pine sap is a miniaturized version of the La Brea tar pits: once you’re in, there’s no getting out. Of course, oozing pine sap is a semi-transparent golden hue and the La Brea tar pits don’t fall upon their victims unexpectedly from above.
(image via: Wikipedia)
Very little would be known of the evolution of spiders if it were not for specimens found encased in amber. Take the spider above – gently now, you don’t want to drop it. It looks like it was living mere minutes ago when in actuality tens of millions of years have passed. What would one think, locked motionless inside a ball of tree sap for so long? If it were me, I’d be very hungry and VERY angry. Handle with care, indeed.
Wasps
(images via: Discover, Hotfrog and Amberica West)
Wasps of all kinds have buzzed through the air for many millions of years – we know this because some of them had the bad fortune of being engulfed in proto-amber. Fortunately for US, however, the potent preservative qualities of the sap and, later, the amber have conspired to show us the history of these creatures as well as their shapes, forms and even colors.
(images via: Mr Blue Amber)
Now this is sweet… literally. The exceptionally rare amber inclusion above is part of a honeycomb or some cells from a wasp’s nest.
(image via: National Geographic)
Fresh tree sap is sticky to be sure, but it’s often free-flowing enough that engulfed tiny creatures are able to spread their wings one final time. Such is the case of the tiny wasp above, frozen in time for 95 million years. It’s amazing to consider that in its next-to-last wingbeat, the wasp shared the atmosphere with dinosaurs in what is now Ethiopia.
Butterflies and Moths
(images via: BioOne, Crystals and Iskandarman)
What are the odds a butterfly’s wing would survive in a state of near-perfect preservation for millions of years? If said wing (and owner) end up as an amber inclusion, then the odds are excellent indeed!
(image via: Nature)
Fossilization in amber allows details as fine as the color of the scales on a butterfly’s wings to be preserved, in the case above for approximately 20 million years. Beware of butterflies trapped in amber that look too good, by the way. Once stuck, any creature will struggle to break free and “perfect” specimens are likely fakes.
Snails
(images via: AmberInclusions.com and Mr Blue Amber)
From butterflies to snails, from delicate to tough, all creatures great and small (but mostly small) must submit to amber’s cloying embrace. Snails trapped in amber are anything but common, however, and even more so when they’re found embedded in blue amber. Amber can come in a variety of shades other than, well, “amber” but blue is especially beautiful. The color change is caused by the application of heat and sunlight to ordinary amber.
(images via: AmberCompany.com and Mr Blue Amber)
Snails in amber is one thing, SEA snails is another. We’re not sure how sea snails came in contact with sap oozing from a forest conifer. Guess you had to be there… 25 million years ago in what is now the Dominican Republic.
Crabs?
(images via: WonderWorlds.org)
Speaking of “fish out of water”, how to explain crabs or crab-like creatures trapped in amber? Perhaps these ancient creatures aren’t crabs at all, but instead are large mites, pseudo-scorpions or some ancient relative of both.
Frogs
(images via: Shutterstock, Cartage, Softpedia and Thomasina)
The image above, bottom panel, isn’t an actual ancient frog trapped in amber for millions of years – if it were, it’d be worth… millions? Frogs, toads and other amphibians are very rarely found as amber inclusions for several reasons: they’re usually larger than most insects and as such have a greater amount of muscle power available to extract themselves from the primordial goo, their moist skin is less likely to stick to the sap, and their usual habitats aren’t in the trees.
(image via: Galaxy FM)
Except for tree frogs, of course, of which the fingernail-sized specimen above is a prime example. If authenticated, this frog would have met his maker approximately 25 million years ago in the area of today’s Chiapas State, Mexico.
Lizards
(images via: FossilMail)
The inch-long lizard above may have only spent a couple of million years trapped in amber, but it doesn’t look to have been there a day over… a day! The tiny hand reaching out to us over an inconceivable span of time is somehow poignant though for the unfortunate lizard, its last living day was probably much like any other.
(image via: Amberica West)
Lizards locked in amber are both extremely rare and extremely valuable: the piece above is listed at $70,000! For many collectors, however, gazing at a vertebrate trapped in ancient amber is the closest thing to stepping into a time machine. Just be grateful those denizens of the past can’t step out of their golden prison and shake (or something) OUR hands.
(image via: Cryptozoology Online)
Alas, our march of sticky progress ends without hide nor hair of any higher creatures… oh wait, I spoke too soon! An unassuming chunk of amber found at the Font-de-Benon quarry at Archingeay-Les Nouillers in Charente-Maritime, southwest France, has revealed the presence of two mammal hairs. Scientists can’t say with certainty what kind of mammal left its hairs for posterity but suffice to say, most fur-bearin’ varmints 100 million years ago were small and shrew-like. They carried within them the seeds of greatness, however, starting with not getting themselves stuck fast for all eternity.
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(Re)Make it Rain: Rainwater Reclamation Designs
September 12, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Big, bulky plastic rain barrels have their place, but there’s more than one way to capture and store rainwater, as these 12 innovative and versatile designs and concepts prove. Dual-purpose garden furniture and rain cisterns, personal catchment systems that attach to water bottles, beautiful self-watering planters and towering public installations harvest the most precious resource of all, and they do it in style.
Rain Harvesting Garden Table
(images via: green launches)
Cisterns take up a lot of room, and not everyone has a huge backyard. This brilliant concept doubles the function by turning your rainwater reservoir into a garden table; the slanted surface of the table captures water. Great for those who only need to harvest small amounts of rainwater, or as a supplement to additional systems.
Downspouts Double as Water-Recycling Planters
(images via: seattle times)
This cool concept for urban gutter downspouts turn an otherwise unremarkable element of the exterior of a building and turns it into a decorative planter, routing some of the water to the roots of the plants along the way.
Lush, Elegant Rainwater Harvesting System
(images via: inhabitat)
Save space and beautify your garden with CISTA, a decorate rain reservoir and planter that stretches tall to take up less valuable room. Industrial designers figforty and architects MOSS SUND designed the 8-foot stainless steel column to hold up to 100 gallons of water; a climbing vine is planted at the base and allowed to take over the frame.
Agua in Situ: Rainwater Purifying Trees
(images via: coroflot)
Blending in with nature and providing a potentially life-saving function, Agua in Situ is a tree-like vertical rainwater harvester made of stainless steel with a UV-resistant polycarbonate internal layer. The opening is shaped like leaves or the petals of a flower to capture rainwater naturally, and a carbon filter on the end of each tower sterilizes the water for safe use.
Accumuwater Water Tower
(images via: coroflot)
Doubling as public sculpture, the Accumuwater is like a smaller, household version of the Agua in Situ without the filtering capabilities. The towers independently capture rainwater for those who, for whatever reasons, can’t use their roofs; a hose or spigot attaches to the base.
Rain-Collecting Skyscraper
(images via: design boom)
When water is needed on a large scale – as it already is in many areas of the world – why not devote an entire skyscraper to the job of harvesting rainwater? ‘Capture the Rain’, by Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak, has a dish-shaped roof and an exterior shell consisting of gutters to do just that. Under the surface of the roof is large reservoirs with reed fields that botanically filter the water for use in toilets, washing machines, cleaning and other domestic applications.
RainDrops: Reusing 2-Liter Bottles
(images via: yanko design)
Not only does this innovative system reuse disposable 2-liter bottles, it adapts to an existing gutter system, providing individual-sized amounts of captured water at a very low initial cost. Designed by Evan Gant, the ‘Rain Drops’ concept could be adapted for use in developing areas where fresh, sanitary water is scarce.
Vertical Garden & Rain Collector
(images via: treehugger)
‘Vert’ is a vertical garden, a way to capture and use rainwater, and a potential screen for unsightly outdoor areas, all in one simple wooden structure. A cotton wick at the top draws water from a tank up to a self-watering planter; the cedar planter boxes can be arranged as desired. Such a system could allow users to grow food in small spaces without increased usage of tap water.
Inverted Umbrella & Cistern Chair
(images via: gregortimlin.com)
Like the rain cistern/garden table, the ‘Volume Chair’ takes a functional object already found in most yards and turns it into a storage tank for water. In this case, an inverted umbrella (which also functions as a sun shade) captures rainwater and transports it with a hose to the chair-shaped tank.
Petal Drops Personal Rain Harvester
(images via: quirky)
Even if you don’t have a single square inch of outdoor space to call your own, you can harvest rainwater for a variety of uses with the clever ‘Petal Drops’, a flower-shaped funnel that attaches to standard water bottles. Made of 100% recycled high-density polyethylene, the design is simple and elegant and takes up very little space when not in use.
Rainwater Hog
(images via: rainwaterhog.com)
The Rainwater Hog may not exactly be a stunning sculptural object to beautify your outdoor area, but it’s not quite as ugly as many rain barrel designs. Better yet, its vertical design saves space, and multiple units can easily be placed side-by-side. Made of UV-stabilized, food-grade plastic, each 50-gallon unit is 100% recyclable.
Massive Glass Funnels at Shanghai Expo 2010
(images via: tonylaw)
At the 2010 Shanghai Expo, massive glass funnels imbedded with LED lights, overlapped with tent structures, served a double purpose: harvesting rainwater on a massive scale, and letting natural daylight into the shaded area while maintaining protection against the elements. The rainwater was channeled into a 7,000-cubic-meter storage tank and used throughout the grounds to water plants.
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21 Magnificent Moon Photos: Phases, Eclipses & More
September 5, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in History & Trivia & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
For a big rock that happens to be trapped in our planet’s orbit, the moon certainly has a lot of pull – literally – on life here on Earth, from the tides to centuries of art, religious beliefs and folklore. We can’t help but be fascinated by its beautiful glow, its changes throughout the month, its movement across the sky and the vast rocky landscape on its surface.
The Full Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This stunning image shows the moon as it was captured by the Galileo spacecraft in 1992. The moon is ‘full’, appearing perfectly round, when it is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. This is the only time when the back half of the moon is truly dark. (See this image large!)
Lunar Eclipse
(images via: davedehetre, wikimedia commons)
The moon can take on an eerie red glow in the midst of an eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon is perfectly aligned behind the earth, with the earth blocking the sun. The phenomenon can be viewed by anyone on the side of the earth facing the moon when it occurs, and can last several hours. In contrast, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun as viewed from the earth; solar eclipses last just a few minutes.
Waxing and Waning
(images via: maxwell hamilton, wikimedia commons, nasa goddard)
As the moon passes through its various stages, its shape appears to change. However, this is only an optical illusion based on the relative location of the moon to the earth and the sun. When the illuminated side of the moon is on the right, the moon is ‘waxing’ or building toward a full moon. When it’s on the left, the moon is ‘waning’ toward the ‘new moon’, when the moon is in total darkness.
Movement of the Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This animation illustrates the moon as it passes through its cycles. It appears to wobble a little bit, a phenomenon called libration, because of the slight shifts in the lunar orbit.
Crescent Moons
(images via: jurvetson, makelessnoise)
Crescent moons occur both at the waxing and waning phases, when the moon is between 1-49% visible. Waxing crescent moons are visible between about 3pm and post-dusk, while waning crescent moons can be seen between pre-dawn and 9am. At 50% visible, it’s a ‘quarter moon’, and when the moon is between 51-99% visible in either waxing or waning phases , it’s referred to as ‘gibbous’.
Earthshine
(image via: wikimedia commons)
What causes that strange glow on the dark side of the moon? Often called ‘earthshine’, this glow comes from sunlight reflected by the earth. It occurs when the light from the sun is reflected from the surface of the earth to the moon and then back again to our eyes. It can be seen most clearly during the crescent phases.
The Moon Beside the Earth
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Unlike most other planets (aside from Pluto, which technically isn’t even a planet anymore), Earth’s moon is relatively large compared to the size of its planet. It’s a quarter of the diameter of the earth, and 1/81 its mass. It takes the moon about 29.5 days to orbit the earth; this time period was the basis of what we now use to divide the days of the year into months.
Lunar Craters
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2, 3)
These images capture some of the moon’s craters including Goclenius, Daedalus and Tycho. The word ‘crater’ was coined by Galileo from the Latin word for cup. They were formed by the impact of meteors and asteroids. The lack of water, atmosphere and tectonic plates on the moon mean there is little erosion, preserving the crates for millennia.
The ‘Seas’ of the Moon
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Centuries ago, astronomers believed that the dark, featureless areas on the moon that can be seen with the naked eye were seas, hence the term ‘mare’ (plural maria) used to identify these areas. We now know that these plains are solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava which flowed into the depressions associated with impact basins between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago.
The Moons of Jupiter
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Of course the earth’s moon is not alone in its beauty; many other planets have moons that are just as incredible. Jupiter has the most moons of any planet, with 64 confirmed. The largest of them are the four ‘Galilean moons’, discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei; this observation marked the first time objects were found to orbit a body that was neither the sun nor the earth. From left to right, the four Galilean moons as depicted above are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The Moons of Saturn
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons)
Saturn is home to the second largest moon in our solar system, know as ‘Titan’. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has an Earth-like atmosphere with hydrocarbon lakes and networks of dry rivers. In addition to Titan, Saturn has 61 moons of vastly variable sizes; 38 of them are ‘irregular satellites’, likely captured minor planets or collections of space debris.
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Chic and Natural: 13 More Rustic Modern Interiors
August 29, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Who says you have to choose between rustic and modern interior design? When blended together, these two seemingly disparate styles provide a beautiful balance of sleek, airy minimalism and weathered natural charm. These 13 (more!) renovated barns, mills, lofts and other aged spaces benefit from leaving time-worn surfaces intact.
A Modern Home in a Historic Mill
(image via: freshome)
First constructed by monks in the 12th century, this structure in Extramadura, Spain then became an oil mill and is today a jaw-dropping home. Architect Ricardo Elizondo added modern touches like large expanses of glass and lofts with steel railings, which contrast with the weathered wood, brick and stone surfaces.
Exposed Timber
(image via: lonnymag)
Aging wooden walls are stunning, but sometimes a bit busy. White drywall applied to the large surfaces of the interior walls break up the texture, while the exposed timber beams add geometric visual interest.
A Study in Textures
(image via: 1kinddesign)
A historic barn in Connecticut was renovated and modernized by New York-based architecture firm Russell Groves. The result – leaving most of the original stone and wood of the structure intact while knocking down a few walls and adding plenty of white – is open, airy and richly textured.
Residence St. Hubert
(image via: mocoloco)
Plasse Rasselet Architects painted the wood in this St. Hubert, Quebec home white to open up the interior.”The materials chosen were left in their natural state, as raw as possible, to create an authentic ambiance,” say the architects.
House of Brinson
(image via: remodelista)
“Our aesthetic is about contrast,” say homeowners Susan and William Brinson, “Black and white, light and dark, masculine and feminine, old and new, rustic and modern.” Their New York loft pairs weathered vintage furniture with sleek, chic modern materials.
Stone Dining Room
(image via: colors of life)
Modern furnishings and accessories fit seamlessly into an environment that looks like a castle in this incredible stone dining room.
White & Wood Townhouse by TBHC
(image via: digsdigs)
Mixing modern and vintage elements, this 4-story townhouse renovation in Park Slope, New York earns extra points for pairing a rustic dining table with ultramodern chairs, not to mention the worn sliding wood door.
Beams, Stone & Exposed Chimney
(images via: delight by design)
Rough textured wood and stone are perfectly offset by angular modern cabinets and tabletops in this kitchen renovation. The exposed chimney draws the eye upward to take in the height of the ceiling.
Built-in Niches in Wood Wall
(image via: imgfave)
Asymmetrical built-in niches give this all-wood wall an interesting geometric look.
Dramatic Staircase
(image via: griege design)
A modern, organically shaped staircase with a solid black balustrade gives this natural, rustic home – complete with exposed tree trunks in the ceiling – even more visual flair.
Black and Wood in the Kitchen
(image via: style files)
Matte black paint goes beautifully with a concrete floor and unfinished wood in this stylish kitchen in the Netherlands.
Renovated Dutch Farmhouse
(images via: style files)
This renovated Dutch farmhouse may have been made modern with sleek surfaces and white paint, but rustic touches still come through in the use of knobby wood accents.
Rustic Loft Interior Renovation
(images via: woovaa)
Peeling paint on the aged bricks of this renovated loft, paired with distressed concrete floors, give the space a sense of history that balances nicely with modern decor.
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Eco Kitty: 12 Great Green Products for Cats
August 15, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats. ]
Dusty clay cat litter, food based on slaughterhouse byproducts and toxic flea treatments aren’t good for your cat, your family, your home or the world at large. Choose healthier, greener cat products instead, from toys and treats to collars and carriers. These 18 eco-friendly options will keep your cat happy, healthy and high on catnip.
Kitty’s Garden of Edible Grass
(image via: only natural pet)
Are your indoor cats chewing up all of your houseplants? Indulge their instinct to chew on grass with a pot of wheatgrass, oat, rye or barley. One good choice is the SmartCat Kitty’s Garden, a kit that contains a pot, peat moss soil and organic seeds.
Recycled Cardboard Scratcher
(image via: uncommon goods)
Encourage your cats to scratch a designated object instead of your furniture. Cardboard cat scratchers come in all shapes and sizes, and are often made of recycled cardboard. Bonus: they can be tossed in the recycling bin once they’re shredded beyond recognition! This cute dog-shaped one is from Uncommon Goods.
Organic Catnip
(images via: petco)
Something about catnip makes most cats go crazy. Catnip, a perennial herb in the mint family, contains an essential oil called nepetalactone, which stimulates cats. Sprinkle organic catnip like that offered by Castor & Pollux on toys, bedding or a cardboard scratcher.
Natural, Biodegradable Cat Litter
(image via: worldsbestcatlitter.com)
Conventional clay cat litter not only tracks dust all over the place, it’s also a significant environmental problem: 2 million tons of it end up in landfills every year. Seek out a biodegradable, compostable cat litter made from renewable materials instead. One option is World’s Best Cat Litter, made of whole kernel corn.
Compostable Litter Box Liners
(image via: biobagusa.com)
Want to compost that eco-friendly cat litter? Line the litter box with a biodegradable liner like the ones made by BioBag. It couldn’t be easier to simply lift used litter out of the pan and toss the whole bag into your compost pile. Make sure you maintain a separate compost pile just for cat waste, and never use the resulting compost on food crops.
Eco-Friendly Recycled Pet Carrier
(image via: amazon.com)
Tote your kitty around in style with an eco-friendly pet carrier. The Eco-Friendly Tote by Snoozer is made of durable recycled burlap and features a large main compartment with four zippered mesh openings for ventilation as well as a large flap packet on the front for accessories.
Crunchy Treats for Dental Health
(image via: drsforstersmith.com)
Let’s face it – most pet owners don’t wrangle up the cats on a regular basis to brush their teeth. To keep up your cat’s dental health, feed them healthy, crunchy cat treats like those from Pet Greens. The texture of these treats helps control plaque; they’re also grain-free and packed with protein and nutrients.
Natural, Holistic Cat Food
(image via: petco)
Most brands of commercial cat food contain some pretty unhealthy ingredients like gluten, corn, rendered meats and animal by-products. Brands that cut out these ingredients and focus instead on natural, holistic food packed with vitamins and minerals are far better for kitty’s health. Halo Spot’s Stew is a great choice, containing wild salmon, whole egg and veggies like sweet potatoes.
Breakaway Hemp Cat Collar
(image via: only natural pet)
A natural renewable resource known for its strength and durability, hemp is one of the most eco-friendly materials available. The hemp collars by Silly Kitty feature a safety breakaway clasp to let cats break free if the collar catches on anything. Available in a range of colors, these collars are breathable and biodegradable.
Cozy Organic Bed
(image via: the premium pet)
Cats love cozy spaces, especially beds with high walls. The Organic Bumper Bed by West Paw Design is soft, comfy and available in a wide range of colors and sizes.
Stimulating Natural Toys
(image via: only natural pet)
Engage your cat’s instinct to chase small prey with a fun interactive toy like the Field Freddy’s Feather Cat Toy. This biodegradable toy is simply a wood wand, a hemp string and cork ‘feathers’ that will get your cat active, helping to prevent obesity. Naturally, you can DIY this for next to nothing.
Natural Flea Care
(image via: only natural pets)
Cats can be sensitive to many of the essential oils that are recommended to prevent fleas on dogs, leaving many cat owners uncertain about how to control these pesky pests. Only Natural Pet offers flea care kits for cats in mild, moderate and severe packages, which include items like flea combs, brewer’s yeast tablets, herbal defense shampoo and an all-in-one flea remedy made with diatomaceous earth, a mineral substance that is non-toxic to people and pets.
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Vegan Summer: 15 Delicious Dairy-Free Picnic Recipes
July 4, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Food & Health. ]
Take your cruelty-free cooking to the park, the beach and wherever else you’re picnicking this summer. Loaves of bread stuffed with veggies and vegan pesto, spicy tempeh sushi rolls, fruity strawberry cocktails and coconut custard pie with spicy papaya sauce are just a few of the dairy-free dishes you could be enjoying on your summer adventures. From appetizers to dessert, these fresh, flavorful and creative vegan picnic recipes will impress even your most skeptical omnivore friends and family.
Antipasto-Stuffed Picnic Loaf
(image via: dailymail)
Stuff a partially hollowed-out loaf of bread with all of your favorite fillings, wrap it up and refrigerate it overnight with a heavy weight on top for condensed picnic sandwiches that won’t fall apart when you try to eat them. This version by The Daily Mail layers pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, artichoke and mozzarella – omit the cheese, use soy cheese or grilled marinated tofu instead or substitute another favorite vegan ingredient like avocado, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers or hummus.
Blueberry Mint Lemonade
(image via: expatrecipe)
Sweet and refreshing, this super-simple recipe for blueberry mint lemonade is the perfect accompaniment to a vegan picnic spread. Sugar and mint leaves are cooked down into a syrup, mixed with lemon juice and served over ice cubes and a handful of tempting ripe blueberries. Use raw sugar instead of white sugar to make it 100% vegan-friendly. Two more delicious non-alcoholic vegan options: canteloupe agua fresca and green apple sparkler.
Fresh Flavorful Pasta Salad
(image via: fat free vegan)
Pasta salad appears at practically any summer event, yet it’s almost always hiding a dairy product, whether mayonnaise, butter or cheese. Vegan versions, however, can be just as flavorful. Check this vegan pasta salad recipe from Fat Free Vegan, which utilize fresh summer produce of all sorts, spicing it up with garlic and cider vinegar. Another version, from Serious Eats, punches up the flavor even more with olive tapenade and capers (omit the anchovies, of course!)
Strawberry-Lime Cupcakes
(image via: sushi♥ina )
Strawberry lime is one of the most delicious flavor combinations of summer. To create a vegan version of tasty strawberry-lime cupcakes, substitute lime juice for the vinegar in the vegan strawberry cupcake recipe at Eggless Cooking and slather on some vegan ‘buttercream’ frosting. Garnish with strawberry and lime slices. You can also punch up the flavor by mixing a teaspoon of lime zest into the frosting recipe.
Veggie Pinwheels
(image via: norwitch nuts)
Vegetable pinwheels are a fun alternative to plain old wraps and sandwiches and can be made with any of your favorite veggies. You just spread a mixture of vegan cream cheese and finely diced vegetables onto wheat lavash or tortillas, roll them up, slice them and wrap each resulting ‘pinwheel’ individually. Another option switches out the cream cheese and diced raw vegetables for hummus and grilled veggies.
No-Chicken Salad
(image via: midwestveg)
Missing the mayo-soaked tang of chicken salad? You can recreate it with zero animal ingredients, either with ‘mock chicken’ or chickpeas. Try simply substituting vegan mayo and a faux chicken product like Quorn in a standard chicken salad recipe, or check out this chickpea salad recipe which pairs soft spiced chickpeas with the satisfying crunch of celery and the sweetness of red grapes.
Vibrant Vegan Potato Salad
(image via: nikki l)
Pretty much any potato salad can be made vegan by omitting dairy-based mayonnaise – be creative! Many potato salad recipes use vinaigrette and/or mustard instead of mayo to dress the veggies, or you could just use vegan mayonnaise. Try adding dill and pickles for a flavor boost, and toss in any veggies you have laying around.
Mushroom Pate
(image via: vegancooking.com)
Vegan Cooking demonstrates how to make a super-easy mushroom pate with onion, garlic, sliced mushrooms in the variety of your choice and sunflower seeds. A little nutritional yeast deepens the flavor and adds plenty of B vitamins. This spread would be delicious with crackers or toasted baguette rounds.
Dairy-Free Banana Bread
(image via: ilovemypit)
Post Punk Kitchen offers up the ultimate vegan banana bread recipe, which comes out sweet and moist with a chewy crust. Try slathering it with vegan double chocolate sauce or dairy-free vanilla frosting.
Chilled Israeli Couscous Salad
(image via: fat free vegan)
Israeli couscous is similar to common couscous, but with a larger grain, so it’s a little heartier – perfect for chilled salads. This recipe from Fat Free Vegan balances sweet and savory with cucumber, baby greens, herbs, tomato, avocado and sliced ripe apricots.
Spicy Tempeh ‘Sushi’ Rolls
(image via: suzettesuzette)
Want to get a little fancier than sandwiches and salads? It would be pretty impressive to present some vegan sushi rolls at the beach or on the trail. Post Punk Kitchen stuffs spicy tempeh, green scallions and sushi rice into sheets of nori to produce flavorful finger food.
Ripe Tomato Basil Bruschetta
(image via: michael_spencer)
So fresh, so simple, so evocative of summer – what’s not to love about bruschetta? Chop three medium-sized tomatoes, 1 vidalia onion and 2 heaping teaspoons of fresh basil leaves. Toss with a tablespoon of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar; salt and pepper to taste. Spoon this delicious mix onto sliced rounds of toasted baguette.
Strawberry Fizz Cocktail
(image via: re-ality)
Another perfect summery beverage to pair with vegan picnic food is the ‘Strawberry Fizz’ cocktail by barmaster Mike Ryan of Chicago’s Sable Kitchen & Bar. Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup and a strawberry is all it takes to whip it up.
Raw Vegan Pesto with Zucchini Ribbons
(image via: la.blasco)
A video by Renegade Health gives you step-by-step instructions for making this nutritious raw vegan pesto made with basil, pine nuts and olive oil. Serve it over pasta or zucchini ribbons, or as a dip with crudites.
Coconut-Lime Custard Pie with Papaya Sauce
(image via: healthy happy life)
This cheesecake-like custard pie is brimming with tropical flavors like coconut, lime and papaya. A homemade oat-spelt crust contains a creamy no-bake filling made with coconut milk and silken tofu. The clear sea vegetable agar-agar gives it a custard-like texture, and the whole delicious thing is topped with fresh spicy papaya sauce.
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Novel Ideas: Books as Furniture & Functional Décor
March 7, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Home & Garden. ]
Unloved and unwanted, millions of books are sent to landfills when their text is no longer valuable in itself; the glue in the spine makes them difficult to recycle. But shift their function from repositories for words and pictures to physical building blocks for furniture and décor, and suddenly they once again become desirable objects. These 14 bookcases, stools, lamps, vases, counters and even planters give old books a new life.
Counters & Desks
(images via: the design files, inhabitat)
Stacked and covered with a countertop, books make a surprisingly strong – and beautiful – basis for a desk or counter. Bookstore Brunswick Bound in Melbourne built a relatively small one, while Delft University went big and colorful for the front desk of its architectural library. The books in the latter were actually salvaged when a devastating fire in the Architecture building destroyed most of the library. The salvaged books represent a physical and metaphoric link to the building’s past.
Invisible Book Shelf
(images via: maydecemberhome)
Invisible book shelves are a fun way to display books on the wall, but look for a tutorial so you can DIY, and you’ll find that most of them require the destruction of the book that will form the base of the shelf. The blog May December Home Accessories uses simple L-brackets to achieve the same look without sacrificing any books.
Books as Planters
(images via: hand-house.com)
As planters, it hardly seems as if books would hold water (literally). But Italian company Gartenkultur specially modifies unwanted books of all sorts, drilling holes into them and sealing the inside of the ‘pot’ with an insulating material. Considering that paper comes from trees, using books as pots for bonsais seems like an especially poetic way to allow books to ‘get back to their roots’.
Book Shelves by Jim Rosenau
(image via: eco-artware, verdelivre)
Jim Rosenau collects thousands of old hardback books, saving them from dumpsters and library discard piles and transforming them into functional furniture. His work ranges from simple wall-mounted shelves created using 3-5 books to large six-tiered bookcases.
Book Vases, Lamp & Stool by Laura Cahill
(images via: dezeen)
Delicate and ephemeral-looking, these books will long outlast the outdated text on their pages in their new lives as vases, lamps and a stool. Laura Cahill uses a band saw and traditional book-binding methods, creating three-dimensional forms from the cut pages. The pages that form the lantern-like vases are formed around a test tube to create a functional piece, while the stool was created by bolting books together along with wood that forms the legs.
Paperback Chair
(images via: casasugar)
This weird one-of-a-kind chair was made entirely from recycled and reclaimed materials including scrap metal for the frame and paperback books from the discard bins at the local library. Made by artist David Karoff for Providence, RI’s Myopic Books, the paperback chair is definitely an eye-catching piece, though its comfort may be in question.
Hanging Décor from Vintage Books
(image via: rpscissors)
Throwing a party for a book lover? Try your hand at some beautiful hanging décor made from vintage books. Cut into shapes and fanned out into three-dimensional forms, this unusual ‘chandelier’ made by NYC event décor & prop resource {found} vintage rentals was a great choice for a themed bridal shower.
Stacks as Side Tables
(image via: real simple)
Using books as furniture and décor doesn’t get much simpler than this. Real Simple Magazine highlights a low-key, stress-free organized home wherein a large book collection is kept visible and accessible in stacks around the room, but also functions as side tables.
Literary Lamp
(image via: thrifty fun)
Craftily-cut pages aren’t the only way to turn old books into a lamp. Using a lamp kit or recycled lamp parts and a drill bit that’s slightly larger than the pole used to support the lamp, a stack of books can form a totally custom library lamp.
Couch Made of Books
(image via: shelterpop)
In the movie Paper Man starring Jeff Bridges, a couch made of books made a memorable appearance. Bridges’ character, an author frustrated both with his work and the ugly couch in his living room, built a sofa using unsold copies of his last novel. The same concept – using any old books you can find, and a roll of tape – could easily be duplicated as a DIY project.
Bibliochase
(image via: nobodyandco.it)
The Bibliochase is a cozy chair and a bookcase in one, making it easy to sit back, relax, read a book and pick up another when you’re done. While it’s not exactly recycling or reusing books in any way, it does cut back on the amount of furniture you need to purchase, which is especially helpful for small-space living.
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Maggot Fangs & Water Bear Claws: Microscopic Insect Images
January 10, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Have you ever looked a wasp right in its faceted eyeball, or seen an image of a flea that you’d call ‘beautiful’? Ever glimpsed the fangs of a bottle fly maggot, or an alien manatee-looking creature that lives in moss? These 15 macro and microscopic photographs of creepy-crawly insects, worms and other tiny creatures give us an incredible look at a world unseen by the naked eye.
A Face Only a Fly Could Love
(image via: the sun)
Maggots are already some of the grossest creatures that exist on earth, feasting on corpses and other rotting matter. But get a good look at one up close, and it will never leave your mind. It’s probably plotting to show up in your nightmares as we speak. This image, showing a maggot’s creepy little ‘fangs’, was taken with a powerful electron microscope by retired scientific photographer Steve Gschmeissner.
Nematode Worm Explosion
(images via: byu)
You may have heard of ‘beneficial nematodes’, microscopic living creatures that you can order online and sprinkle onto your lawn to kill fleas and other pests. But have you ever seen what they actually look like? This image, by Brigham Young University students, shows the aftermath of successful organic pest control using this method as nematodes spill out of their victim, a moth larva.
Unseen Companions: Dust Mites & Mosquito
(images via: inceptive notions)
There’s nothing that dust mites love more than flakes of human skin. That’s a group of them, in the top image, foraging for their favorite treat on a bed sheet. Makes you want to do laundry, doesn’t it? Photographers David & Madeline Spears also captured the mosquito, below, and dozens of other insects for their book ‘Unseen Companions: Big Views of Tiny Creatures’.
Lousy Ants
(image via: brian valentine)
The next time you feel a little slap-happy when you find an ant crawling on your skin, think about this: ants have the same problem. This ultra-close-up image of two red ants shows not just incredible textures on the ants’ exoskeletons and eyeballs, but also an infestation of mites.
A Mite with a Mite Problem
(image via: macromite)
And the chain never ends. This image, captured with an electron microscope, depicts 4 ‘hypopi’, juvenile mites, hitching a ride on a larger mite called an Athiasiella.
Up Close & Personal with a Wasp
(image via: bug faces)
A paper wasp and a yellow jacket give the camera a look of warning in these macro shots captured by Coder. It’s sometimes possible to tell the difference between the many different species of wasps by counting the number of divisions in their antennae. For example, male yellow jackets have 13 divisions per antenna, while females of the same species have 12.
Fantastic Flea
(image via: the telegraph)
Fleas are undeniably gross little creatures, but this electron microscope shot by Steve Gschmeissner could almost be called beautiful. That’s mostly thanks to the ethereal colors produced in this type of photography, which captures light differently than a normal camera.
Spiny Assassin Bug
(image via: uglybug.org)
The spiny assassin bug doesn’t sound pleasant, and doesn’t look it, either. Those two long feeding tubes are quite a weapon: they first inject a lethal saliva into the bug’s prey, and then suck out its insides. Some assassin bug subspecies are bloodsuckers, and have a nasty habit of biting sleeping humans on the soft tissue of their lips and eyes.
Alien Manatee, or Water Bear?
(images via: session magazine)
It can’t be seen by the naked eye – and that’s probably a good thing, or we’d never want to go anywhere near the water. Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are microscopic eight-legged animals that live in lichen, moss, dune grasses and in both marine and freshwater sediments. They have bizarre-looking tubular mouths and on each little foot can be found four to eight claws. Technically, they’re not insects, but related to nematodes.
Damselfly Kiss
(image via: bug faces)
Who knew that damselflies had such cute little faces? Damselflies have two gigantic compound eyes, each of which is divided into 30,000 to 40,000 facets. Like many other insects, they have fuzzy faces, but the biggest surprise in this macro is those almost human-looking lips.
None-Too-Lovable Stinkbug
(image via: uglybug.org)
It’s not a good idea to get this close to a stinkbug. If you can see its eyes, chances are it will have a clear shot of shooting its foul defensive liquid into them in a fine mist. This liquid, for which the bug is named, can actually cause abrasions to the cornea.
Ponder the Praying Mantis
(image via: bug faces)
We’re usually so entranced by the leaf-mimicking body of the praying mantis that we’d hardly even notice its head. But those triangular little heads are pretty cool themselves – they can turn 180 degrees to spot potential prey.
Human Head Louse
(image via: morrisonworldnews)
Your scalp is going to itch just looking at this picture. The human head louse, which spends its entire life hanging out among human hair dining on blood, has two sharp mouth parts perfect for piercing skin that retract into its head when not in use. They love to hang out at the nape of the neck or behind the ears, where it’s nice and dark.
Pubic Louse
(image via: david gregory & debbie marshall)
If you thought the head louse was bad, check out this bugger. The pubic louse – which is surprisingly only distantly related to the head louse – has an appropriately ugly mug. Commonly known as ‘crabs’, public lice are sexually transmitted but can also infest the eyelashes.
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12 Savvy Small-Space Urban Gardening Designs & Ideas
June 14, 2010 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Home & Garden. ]
Think you gotta have a farm or even a large yard to grow enough fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to feed your family all summer? You’d be surprised how much food you can get out of the smallest of spaces – even when you live in an urban high-rise. From innovative vertical gardening systems to hanging pots and easy-access planters, these 12 small-space gardening solutions make homegrown produce possible no matter how tiny your outdoor space may be.
Small but Expandable Step Garden
(images via: urban garden)
How do you squeeze every possible square inch of usable growing space out of a tiny balcony or deck? When space is an issue but you want to grow much more than just a pot full of essentials, stacked raised beds can do a lot with a small footprint. These raised beds by The Urban Garden stack in various configurations and help you ensure that all of your plants have equal access to the sunlight.
Pop Bottle Drip System
(images via: you grow girl)
Unless you’re really conscientious, it’s way too easy to accidentally kill plants growing in small pots under the brutal heat of the summer sun, especially in urban environments where reflected heat can dry out soil fast. A slow-delivering drip irrigation system is the way to go – and you don’t have to spend a dime. An easy tutorial from You Grow Girl explains how to use recycled pop bottles.
Square Foot Gardening
(image via: serene journal)
How much food can you grow in a square foot? More than you think. Square foot gardening consists of 4
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