Dec
31
Top 40 Posts Of 2012
A few weeks ago I was taking a look through the past year in posts and decided to put together a Top 40 collection for 2012. I had hoped to spread it out over a few days and organize everything a bit, but a family death and extended stay in Pennsylvania over the holidays set me back and I had to lump it all together. Thank you so much for continuing to help make this site such an amazing part of my daily life – here’s to 2013!
15 Chances to Find Your Ultimate Mac + Cheese // Day to Dinner to Party // New Addition //
Berry Lemonade Vodka + Homemade Blackberry Vodka
B-B-B-Buffalo // Best Word Ever // Campfire Cologne // Celebrated
Coriumi // Popsicles + Poptails – Take 2 // Little Corners // Courtney Martin
Electrolux Design Lab // Mojito Madness // Top Knot // Fluffy Raspberry Mousse
You Can Do It: Create a Gallery Wall // What I Learned: Alt 2012 // HP Designer Matchup //
Luxe Liquors
You Can Do It: Golden Glass Bottles // I Like Notebooks And I Cannot Lie //
Mixtape 17: Where All Your Girls Are Pretty // Mobile Foodie Survival Kit
Mosantimetre Turkish Coffee Pots // Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats // Pete //
Paper Sculptures
Pumpkin Marshmallow Pie // Magnetic Wallpaper // Sigils of the Houses of Westeros //
Wall Tape
Song Map // Dream Thanksgiving // Paper Flowers // Tiffin Lunch Kit
Tobias Tovera // Urban Geodes // Mighty Summit 2012 // Camp Brand
SHARE 
TWEET
PIN
Dec
12
Truce Clean
A few weeks ago, in the name of having pets and being chemical-conscious, Truce Clean sent me some of their cleaning products to try out. And since then their Crate Spray, Clean & Brighten, Shampoo for Dogs, and lavender & citrus Room Spray have been in heavy rotation. The crate spray freshens my dogs’ beds with peppermint, the cleaning spray makes my kitchen smell mighty clean, the dog shampoo is easy to use in its spray bottle form, and the room spray isn’t at all cloying. And because all of Truce Clean‘s products are so pure, most have multiple uses – the room spray can even be used as body spray!
The philosophy is simple: use commonplace ingredients (like vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and essential oils), add your own tap water, and reuse the bottle. All of these things make perfect sense and provide a product you can feel good about using all around your home!
Oct
23
Blink
It’s always nice to see pet products that aren’t completely covered in stereotypical patterns (i.e. paw prints, bones, etc.) and Blink is so good at creating just that sort of thing. Every piece feels so wonderfully organic and the leash colors are exceptional, don’t you think? And hey’ve just released some new colors – Midnight, Fawn, Mint, and Ribbon – as well as a cat collar. Check the whole line out at Blink’s shop!
PS: I’m heading to Milan tomorrow for Electrolux’s Design Lab! I have a slew of my favorite bloggers lined up to guest post while I’m out of town, and I know you’ll welcome them with open arms. See you next week!
Oct
19
Happy Weekend
01/ I wish my cats wanted to play dress up with cardboard. They only want to eat it.
02/ Love the Cracked Up Colander!
03/ Amazing water-activated street art.
04/ Buuut… my heads would be way into this book of cat poems.
05/ Beautiful brass button covers.
06/ Ghettoblaster – a giant papercraft boombox with a car inside.
07/ Rothko in RICE.
08/ The New York Times has never looked so good.
09/ National Hero Registration Forms!
10/ Clever temporary tape picture frames.
Oct
12
Happy Weekend
01/ The Growth Table.
02/ The Hip Hop Family Tree. For reference.
03/ Little dogs have all the luck – no longer, check out the Big Dog Purse!
04/ Tiger from Hello Wood 2012 Art Camp.
05/ The Hipster Starter Kit, for real or for Halloween.
06/ Scary Beautiful reverse-designed high heels.
07/ The Litter Bug Series, made from found objects.
08/ Movie Floor Plans explore the spatial dynamics in movies.
09/ High speed photos of food exploding.
10/ Check out the Chameleon Clock App!
Oct
02
Found My Animal
Both of my dogs are rescues, so I’m all about everything Found My Animal stands for. (In fact, I shared them here in 2009 for the first time!) All of their marine grade accessories are created especially for adopted dogs and their people, even the predominant orange color used throughout the line is the color for adopted animals! It had been awhile since I checked in on their shop, so I was really happy to see it flourishing with a vengeance. They have several new accessories, in fact I think Bebe‘s new collar is there somewhere…
Clockwise from top: Found Rescue Patch, Found Tote with Removable Travel Leash, Rescue Bandana, Canvas Waterbowl, Orange Waxed Canvas Collar
Sep
14
Happy Weekend
01/ A handwriting font. For doctors.
02/ GPS shoes to getcha home.
03/ A Coffee Cup Cookie, naturally.
04/ How to Write a Love Letter.
05/ Pi in the sky!
06/ If you have to muzzle your dog might as well make it adorably hilarious with Quack.
07/ Tiny detailed paintings on pennies.
08/ Now this is a well designed tape measure!
09/ Chemistry Crayons – each one is named after the chemical that makes the color possible.
10/ A large-scale charm bracelet for the streets.
Aug
14
Rusty
Hey. Like the picture says, I’m Rusty. Part Irish Setter, part King Charles Spaniel. I’m about a year old and weigh around 20 pounds. I’m pretty awesome. You know, housebroken and stuff. I like to play, rawhide is my drug of choice, and I get along really well with other dogs. Kelly (er, Design Crush) has been fostering me for about a month now through a great organization called Safe Haven. They saved my life, literally. I go to adoption events every. single. weekend. But no one’s taken me home yet because I like to bark when all of the other dogs do, something about me not making a good showing there. Yadda, yadda, yadda. At Kelly’s I barely bark at all, only if Piper starts it first. I like to get up close and personal with her two cats, but only sniff ‘em real good. At night I like to chill out on Kelly’s feet or snuggle with her, sometimes I even help her blog. When it’s time to go to bed I walk right into my crate, arrange my blankets, and am out like a light for a good 8-10 hours. So yeah, pretty awesome right? I love living here, but I’d really like to find my family. So maybe if you live in the Oklahoma City area (or close by) you might want to meet me and love me. You can email Kelly at designcrushing (at) gmail (dot) com if you’re interested! Peace out.
UPDATE! Rusty was adopted on 8-26-12 by a college couple from Wichita, KS. He’s finally found his forever home, and I’m going to miss this guy so much.
Aug
10
Happy Weekend
01/ Hoping my next house is constructed out of concrete LEGO bricks!
02/ I want to buy my eggs in this packaging.
03/ Your dream is a reality, print postcards that smell like FOOD.
04/ The photography alone makes me want to get my hands on this magazine.
05/ Rose-colored glasses!
06/ Daring enough to try a Hairchitecture ’do?
07/ WaterDog!
08/ Wonder if this Woven Desk would make me more productive?
09/ Weird + beautiful ceramic teeth mug.
10/ 100 phone booths, 100 artists
May
01
Peanut Butter + Pumpkin Dog Treats
I’ve never baked for a pet before. But then I stopped and thought about how I’m trying to eat healthier, why not the dog too? I had so much fun making these treats and Piper is absolutely gaga over them. (I even tried one myself, but it only tasted like a cracker.) I don’t like using my rolling pin, but the dough was sturdy and really easy to work with.
Peanut Butter + Pumpkin Dog Treats
• 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C pumpkin puree
• 3 Tbsp all-natural peanut butter
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, use your paddle attachment. Mix on low for about a minute or until the dough starts to come together. It won’t be one big ball yet, but a bunch of smaller ones. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Work it together into a large ball, then roll it out to about 1/4″ thickness. You can use a cookie cutter for shapes or a knife to cut strips. (I used a 1″ 2-sided biscuit cutter.) Roll out the scraps again and again until there’s not enough dough left to work with. Place the treats on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. They don’t expand, so 1/2″ between treats is enough. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Makes 75+ 1″ treats.
