Fans of M.C. Escher should go nuts for this optical illusion shelving system, at BoingBoing.

If you’re wanting to try your hand at canning preserves, but are afraid of the huge time and equipment investment, The Kitchn’s got you covered with a tutorial on small batch preserving. Wish we could have seen this before our first canning effort last year — 12 cups of blackberry jam that never set down the drain!

As you may know, we’re fans of the wonders of duct tape here at Shelteriffic. Over at the LOL-inducing Badder Homes and Gardens, see a new use for that tacky-magic: a creepy portrait made of duct tape.

These Dark and Stormy cupcakes feature everything you love about the cocktail (rum and ginger beer) mixed into a pastry. Brilliant — at Coconut & Lime.

Are Shanghai’s cloned flowers creating the equivalent of a “botanical Jurassic Park”? Looks like they might be, over at BLDGBLOG.

Planning a summer wedding and STILL without your invites? Well, CasaSugar’s got you covered with their roundup of letterpress wedding invitiations.

Over at Shelterpop, we read news that Beyonce is expanding her empire to include bed linens. According to the snippet, she’s a “fan of pintucking”. So are we!

Back in January we had a moment or two with decorative tape. “Moment” is an understatement for artist Rebecca Ward, who creates site-specific architectural installations with the stuff. I waltzed right into her most current work last weekend in the Kate Spade flagship in New York City, and let me tell you, if there’s a more stunning way to market handbags, I haven’t seen it. The hot pink and yellow creation is made entirely of gaffer’s tape, a strong cotton cloth construction used often in stage work to secure or conceal wires. More proof that tape may just be the most underrated weapon in our household design arsenal.

Watch an interview with Ward courtesy of Wooster Collective and view all of her striking installations here. –Sarah C.

There are some products that I generally assume I’ll never see make it to market. They exist solely in movies and in my imagination (hover
skateboards, for example). This mirror from Electric Mirror is straight out of ‘Minority Report’. Widely extravagant, it seems television mirrors are mostly marketed towards luxury hotels, but I like to envision a future where we all brush our teeth while watching ‘Golden Girls’ reruns. –Katie D.

All right, Shelterrific readers: this post off might veer into
too-much-information territory, but I’m bringing it up anyways (and reading the comments section through splayed fingers). At the recent Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, I was startled to see several enormous exhibits, drawing equally huge crowds, devoted to state-of-the-art bidets. They were being fawned over like William Shatner at a Trekkie convention! The whole scene baffled me because I’ve only seen a bidet once in real life and I made it 26 years before facing that one. Could it be that I’m just out of the loop and they’re way more mainstream in the U.S. than I realize? Do any of you use one or own one? — Katie D.

Photo by Flickr user alfadana. (Incidentally, our Flickr search for “bidet” made it clear that bidets are quite popular with cats.)

Having a big family reunion this summer? Or perhaps a rustic outdoor wedding with a huge oak barbecue? Then give what my high school bestie Jaime and her husband Jeremy did: custom spice blends in tiny jars, complete with a custom brand logo, ingredient list and suggested uses. Adorable! We loved our “little jars of magic,” as we dubbed them — they came in handy while we were in town for the wedding, as we were camping out in Redwood National Forest and had a spartan pantry of seasonings. A sprinkle on our camp-grilled salmon was delightful, and, as mentioned on the label, it was indeed great on popcorn! If you’re interested in making your own, a quick Googling brought me these great little jars, a steal at $.37 a piece! And as for spice rubs, I’ve always been a fan of Seattle Chef Tom Douglas’s spicy salmon rub (just use a tad less sugar, maybe), and Epicurious has a spice rub to match any occasion. I hope your guests find these little favors as savory as we did! –Megan B.

We’d all love to hit every estate sale and flea market that comes to town, but when there isn’t time, there is Blue Carrot Shop. Curated by Alexandra Charitan, a graphic designer and pro treasure hunter, Blue Carrot is the home for all the loot she finds and loves but can’t keep. From wooden crates to vintage keys, her keen eye for well-loved Americana and kitchen kitsch makes this site a must-click.

Pop on over to see what’s new or check out Alexandra’s latest musings on the Blue Carrot Shop blog. –Sarah C.

I can’t believe it’s tofu! I bet you won’t, either — this “pudding” is so silky smooth and creamy you (and your guests) will have no idea that there’s NOT a gallon of cream and a dozen eggs in it. It comes together in 10 minutes with a mere six ingredients, and best of all, the flavor is intoxicating: rich, floral dark chocolate (it’s best not to skimp with this recipe) with a healthy dose of heat from cinnamon and chili powder. As someone who has been recently diagnosed with egg and dairy allergies, rediscovering this recipe was like finding a great big, spicy, chocolate hug from Bittman himself. My mind is awash with possibilities with this recipe: a filling for a mocha cake? Oh yeah! Layered with almond cookies? Divine! Or how about changing the flavors up a bit: a little ground ginger and lemon peel, perhaps? Click here for the recipe! — Megan B.

I spotted these LCD “Write Your Own Message” Cards from Yellow Owl Workshop at Upon a Fold the other day, and I couldn’t wait to share them with you. The cards are essentially blank, except for a debossed LCD pattern. All you have to do to personalize them is follow the handy alphabet sticker guide and color away. The cards are limited edition, made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, and come with a custom envelope. Buy a set of five for $18 right here. — Erica P.

We’ve posted before about the sometimes dire state of school lunches, so this contest caught our eye: The American Egg Board and egg farmers have partnered with Scholastic to launch the Good Egg Project Back to Breakfast Teacher Challenge. In short, if you’re a teacher who writes a winning essay about how breakfast can improve achievement, attentiveness, and attendance in the classroom, your school will receive a $5,000 grant to help get lunchroom offerings on a healthier track. But the deadline is coming up fast: Monday, May 17. Visit Scholastic for contest details.

I’ve always had a thing for stationery stores. Growing up, my best friend and I would spend quite a bit of time browsing through the one next door to his parents’ Italian deli. Even more time was spent dumpster diving for out-of-date calendars and broken pen refills to play “office” with. So when I was strolling through downtown Seattle one recent spring afternoon, and was stopped dead in my tracks by the coolest coat rack I had ever seen, I just had to go in to see more. Paperhaus blew my mind in a big way. You want a new stapler? Done — and with more style than even Milton’s favorite red stapler could supply. The Moleskine journal selection alone is worth a peek. It’s kinda like office supply porn — something you could never get at Staples or Office Depot! — Megan B.