UK artist Regan Appleton’s Bicycle Taxidermy gives a sentimental nod to defunct objects otherwise left abandoned the shed.
Born out of too many sleepless nights and a bout of homesickness while at the Royal College of Art, the idea came to create mementos from his fathers ‘once prized and now discarded’ bikes giving them the love and care usually reserved for the family pet.

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Its been a while since my last post – lots of shifting and moving happening over the past few months but I have a few cool artworks/creations/things of delight to share with you all – starting with these gorgeous Egglings. You crack the top of the porcelain egg, plant the seeds and water ..then watch the seedling grow. They come in a variety of species – strawberry, basil, mint, sunflower, daisy – I think they are the right amount of cutesy and I love the smell of basil in the kitchen – that would be my pick. I’ve seen these on a few different online sites (aplusrstore.com) but sadly not much about Tsutoma Iseya..so I will leave that to be a mystery.

While searching for kids Xmas presents I came across this great kids wooden toy brand Kiko+ and spotted these ‘Ashiato’ Jandals – Ashiato means footprint and these look like traditional ge-ta from the top but as you walk across the sand you leave a trail of interesting prints in your wake – there are 5 different wooden versions – the Cat or Dinosaur ones are by far my pick

The work of English artist Michael Eden mashes together traditional ceramic ideology with new technology to create objects reminiscent of 18th century decorative tableware. Up until 2006 Eden was known for his slip-cast ceramics but during a two year sabbatical he has been exploring 3D technology and new materials in these works. I like the way that, although abstract in texture the retain their old world charm and I can see them sitting comfortably in my home.

Unveiled at the recent FIAC exhibition in Paris, Germany-based Tony Cragg creates dice sculptures that are quite spectacular. Constructed from thousands of dice, the undulating form that looks like it will at any moment unfurl to expose a hidden secret

This kinetic sculpture by Scott Weaver makes me feel like a small kid again but that could be because this sculpture is of epic proportion and consists of insane minute detail – taking 35 years to complete it uses 100,000 toothpicks from across the world to create a series of tracks for ping pong balls to venture through.

To continue with the theme of things that look like other things I thought I would share my latest crochet creation – a teacup, saucer and spoon. I’ve got a few other crochet pieces to add to this scene that I am hurrying to finish and will share soon.

Walk into any bakery or cafe at the moment and you will be sure to find a plate littered with sugary toned delights, Macaroons it seems have surpassed cupcakes in popularity however the little morsels are far from easy to make. I came across the incredible edibles of Sydney based blogger Diary of a Ladybug and was blown away by her imitations of an infamous burger created in macaroon goodness and also clever cupcakes masked as cups of hot chocolate. Yummy

Yesterday, much to my horror, my favourite pair of sunglasses broke so I am on a mission to find a replacement. Hunting online I spotted quite a few potentials

Top right – Karen Walker, Betty Bunny            Top left – Super, Panama Classic Havana

Bottom right – Dzmitry Samal, 5 dpi black      Bottom left – Shwood x Kicks/Hi, Canby

With a bit of time on my hands and 9 beautiful white eggs from our chicken just sitting there I couldn’t resist baking something a little bit special. A few days ago I spotted this post and decided I’d give these little bite sizes treats a ago – brownies baked in egg shells. I adapted a chocolate brownie recipe online, it was ok but not fabulous so if you have one that you love use that and make about 2 cups of mix

Ingredients
9 egg shells
50g unsalted butter
100g cooking chocolate
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 c sugar
2 drops of vanilla
1/2 c flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
oil

Directions
preparing the eggs:
Put a pin prick at one end of the egg, turn over and repeat on the bottom however make this one big enough to fit a piping bag.
Blow through the smaller hole and remove the contents – remember to keep some for your brownie mix.
Immerse empty shells in salt water (make sure they fill up and sink) and leave for 30 mins.
Rinse thoroughly and then sit them on a paper towel to drain.
Once dry drizzle oil in each egg and spin so that the inside is completely covered and tip out any excess oil.

making the brownie batter.
Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, stir occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In another medium bowl whisk together the egg, sugar and vanilla at low-medium speed until combined.
Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
Stir in the flour and cocoa powder with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Using a cupcake or muffin tin stand the empty egg shells upright
Load the batter into a piping bag and fill the eggs about 3/4 full of mix – if you underfill you wont end up with complete egg shapes and if you overfill they will overflow while baking ( mine did this and I just wiped away any excess while fresh out of the oven)
Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20mins

eat!