Happy Weekend

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01/ Will It Beard, a blog featuring photos of a guy’s beard with household objects in it.
02/ Totally impractical, yet hilarious ice glasses.
03/ One artist is celebrating the Chinese New Year by creating art from makeup.
04/ Oil paintings of old film stills make up Image-Animal.
05/ Etienne Lavie replaced ads and billboards in Paris with reproductions of famous art.
06/ Joseph Barbaccia creates intricate art with thinly rolled pieces of polymer clay!
07/ Do Your Park, humiliating magnets to put on sloppily parked vehicles.
08/ Check out people playfully hiding in topiary trees in Miradors.
09/ Ultraviolet Beauties, unique ultraviolet photos that reveal beauty within flaws.
10/ They’re called Nuzzles and they’re warming huts in Toronto!

This week on Design Crush:
Download these last minute watercolor valentines (psst… today’s the big day!).
Tips&Tricks: Winter Remedies has you covered for health and skin.
Our latest favorite Cheesy Cauliflower Soup recipe!
These 1.5.2 Ray Long and Large Boards are showstoppers when it comes to entertaining.
Fallen captures decay at its most beautiful.
12 printable valentines for today or to squirrel away for next year!
Representations – are they drawings or real life objects? You decide.
Loving my canvas FOTOSTRAP!
I like big storage baskets and I cannot lie.

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Big Storage Baskets

For me, 2014 is quickly becoming the year of the large basket. How have I never realized they’re perfect for just about everything? Use one to house an indoor tree’s ugly plastic planter, grab another to store rolled up blankets in the living room, and put yet another next to your bed filled with magazines and books. The possibilities are endless as are the options, take a look at 14 of our favorites below.

 

Big-Basket-Storage-Design-Crush

ROW 1: Decorative Woven Storage Basket // Blue and White Basket // Bright Band 2 Handle Basket    ROW 2: Snake Charmers Storage Baskets // Bolga Baskets // MAFFENS Basket    ROW 3: African Senegalese Lidded Mini Storage Basket // Load Bearing Round Storage Bin    ROW 4: Black Round Jute Bins // Round Belly Baskets (Set of 2) // Light House Braided Basket    ROW 5: Blue Anansi Bolga Basket // Haute on the Range Basket // Yellow-White Stripe Laundry Hamper

Some affiliate links used above.

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Fotostrap

FOTOSTRAP-1-Design Crush

 

For the past few months I’ve been reviving my love of analogue film, so when Mako Haus contacted me about reviewing their line of FOTOSTRAP camera straps it was perfect timing. FOTOSTRAPS are available in three lines – canvas, leather, and seersucker – and a whole rainbow of colors.

 

FOTOSTRAP-2-Design Crush

 

I went with the most neutral canvas option (because of course I did) called Stone and the first thing I noticed was the quality made in the USA construction. This thing is sturdy and I love how well it balances the weight of my camera on my shoulder. In the past I’ve had others than felt like they were digging into my skin, but the FOTOSTRAP actually makes my classic Rebel 2000 feel light.

 

FOTOSTRAP-3-Design Crush

 

One of the best parts is that with every FOTOSTRAP purchase 10% is donated to Fotolanthropy, a non-profit that gives portraits and short films to inspiring people who have faced adversity. When great products team up with great causes everybody wins!

 

FOTOSTRAP-4-Design Crush

Disclosure: I received a FOTOSTRAP to review for this post. As always all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!

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Representations

Representations-1-Design Crush

 

A simple line drawn series of everyday objects? Guess again. Each photograph in Representations is of a whitewashed and outlined object. I call it life-imitating-art-imitating-life, while artist Cynthia Greig simply refers to it as photographic documents of three-dimensional drawings.

 

Representations-2-Design Crush

 

Representations-3-Design Crush

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12 Printable Valentines

Less than 48 hours until Valentine’s Day and you’ve got nothin’? Don’t stress – we’ve got you covered! Twelve of the best free printable valentines and all that’s required of you is to hit PRINT. From box toppers to sweet sentiments, you’ll have a tough time deciding on just one! (And don’t forget our printable watercolor valentines!)

 

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printable-Valentines-Camille-Styles-Design-Crush

 

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Click on each image to go to the project.
All photos copyright of their respective sites unless otherwise noted.

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Fallen

Fallen, Nº 182, 29.5  x 38", 2011

 

There is a distinct beauty that lies in decay. Old buildings. Decrepit, overgrown parking lots. And in the case of Fallen, the fruit of trees. Photographer Tanya Marcuse has managed to capture the unruly and wild that is lush with rot and overabundance. Her process is not at all willy nilly, read about it in her own words below.

I try to create tension between decay and new life, randomness and order, flatness and depth, the natural and the fantastical. I collect the fruit from beneath trees in nearby orchards, freezing them to preserve the spectacle of their decay. I frequently work on a single photograph for days, or weeks, building up collected plant material, weaving together dead leaves and spring blossoms, adding insects and small creatures to create a tapestry-like density, presenting symbolic patterns of growth and decay in a natural (or perhaps unnatural) landscape.

 

Fallen Nº 152 by Tanya Marcuse

 

Fallen Nº 181, 37.75 x 48", 2011

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1.5.2 Ray Long and Large Boards

1.5.2 Ray-Long-Design Crush

 

I might have mentioned before that a little over a year ago I started collecting cutting boards. It took me approximately 2.4 seconds to fall head over heels for these two exceptional black walnut pieces – 1.5.2 Ray Long and 1.5.2 Ray Large. Food, design, and contemporary craft all combined in a perfect storm to create these beauties that would be just as at home on the wall as are as on your kitchen table.

 

1.5.2 Ray-Large-Design Crush

(via bltd)

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Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Cheesy-Cauliflower-Soup-Design-Crush

It would appear finding the perfect cauliflower soup is my annual winter mission/pastime (see Cauliflower Soup). This one is made all the better with the addition of sharp cheddar and crusty bread – I like to tear up a slice and put it right in the soup itself to make an extra hearty meal. It’s been great to have a pot of this around in these absurdly frigid temperature – maybe I should have named it Winter Vortex Soup instead.

 

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

• 1 stick butter, divided in half
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped small
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 6 Tbsp flour
• 2 C milk (any fat content)
• 1 C half and half
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large pot melt 4 Tbsp butter, add onion and cook until it begins to brown. Add the carrot and celery and cook for an additional few minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine, then cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Afterwards, pour in stock and bring to a boil. The reduce heat to a simmer. In a medium saucepan, melt the other 4 Tbsp of butter. While it melts, in a mixing bowl whisk together the milk and flour. Slowly add to the melted butter, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add half and half, then add mixture to the soup. Add salt and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Add sour cream and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

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Tips&Tricks: Winter Remedies

Tips&Tricks-Winter-Remedies-Design-Crush

If you’ve made it past the halfway point this winter without a major cold or a case of the flu let me be the first to salute you. I was taken down for the first half of January with an upper respiratory infection, and I’m crossing everything that that will be all. Here’s a bevy of tips and tricks for everything winter has to throw at you!

Ten holistic remedies for everyday ailments.

Make your own all-natural herbal vapor rub.

Homemade Vicks Vapor shower disks.

DIY Kool-Aid lip balm.

A DIY lip peel for your flaky pucker.

DIY first-aid antiseptic ointment.

Make a homemade decongestant.

This home remedy cuts through a sore throat, hacking cough, and the croup.

Try this flu season ginger honey lemon tonic.

Another option is this lemon cold remedy.

Cocktail recipes that can help cure the common cold. Ahem.

Five things you must clean during flu season.

Ten natural cold remedies.

Let’s not forget wintery skin, the 10 best winter beauty recipes.

DIY orange coconut whipped body butter and 5 winter skin care tips.

DIY cuticle cream.

Luxurious eucalyptus mint whipped body butter.

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