Nipper's Nook

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Photo of a sink with a clog (shoe) in it: I think my sink is clogged

courtesy of... somuchpun.com

Now, this is what I call Neighborhood Watch...

Photo of a cat manning a machine gun in a front yard

courtesy of... hahastop.com

Seems logical to me...

screen shot of an program to check if your credit card number has been stolen

courtesy of... verydemotivational

I can see this...

photo of a cat tangled in a window blind: inspires lady gaga's costumes

courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

Emila's Illustrated Blog

Cape Town Day 2: Bo Kaap

Posted:

Bo-Kaap is a place that was on the top on my list during my visit to Cape Town. I was dying to find out why it is called Cape Malay. watercolor on watercolor paper The distance from Waterfront to Bo-Kaap is about 20 minutes by foot, but I told my husband that I was too [...]

Cape Town Day 2: A ‘ferry’ good trip to Robben Island

Posted:

This article was published in IMasTravel page. I’m too lazy to write another version for this blog, so I just copy and paste. Me posing at Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town. Robben Island or Robbeneiland is derived from Dutch, meaning Seal Island, and for this reason, I was hoping to at least bump into [...]

Thursday, July 28, 2011

designer's depot

Recycled Tire Sculptures by Yong Ho Ji

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:40 PM PDT

Yong Ho Ji, a Korean artist uses old tires to make cool sculptures of animals including sharks, horses, monsters, etc. The story he is trying to convey is a warning about the dangers of genetic manipulation.

Ho's concept of mutants grew out of his life in Seoul, where there is fierce political debate over genetic engineering. In school, Yong Ho read Darwin and was galvanized by how his theory of evolution applied to man's manipulation with nature. Already, he says, cats and dogs are bred to emphasize their domesticated traits and downplay their wild sides. The sculptures can be taken as warnings; if we're not careful, we may soon lose the ability to see animals in their natural state altogether.

via: thisiscolossal.com

Designer’s Depot: the best source for artists, designers and art lovers.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Indoor Street Art by Paul Baines

Charity Design For Lighthouse

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 02:56 AM PDT

I was approached by Nimet Kalkan at RedBubble.com who's looking for t-shirt design contributions to help raise money for the Lighthouse Project in Australia. The “Lighthouse Project” refers to the “Beacon Of Hope” – a multi-purpose mega-structure (in the shape of a lighthouse) built in capital cities of Australia, designed as a one-stop-shop to help abandoned teens…

All profits from the sale of these t-shirts will be going to a great cause. So I took a little time off from painting and came up with this…

Here are some more artists' contributions, if you fancy purchasing one they cost around £19/$30 each in plenty of currencies and are available in a wide range of colours and sizes. If you're an artist why not send them your own design?

Nipper's Nook

How to Make Calzones

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 03:30 PM PDT

I've been having some fun playing with pizza dough and trying out new things. One of the things I have been playing around with recently is calzones. I got tired of just making pizzas (because I have SO much trouble rolling the dough into a circle) and cheesy bread, that I decided to try something different...hence, I began playing with calzones. This is just like making individual stuffed pizzas and you can have a lot of fun with it. Just let your creativity take over and see what deliciousness occurs.

photo of finished calzone

What you need

Your favorite pizza dough or use My Version of Papa Murphy's Cheesy Bread recipe and just follow the recipe up to the part that says, "...gently roll into a log-shape" (just before the second photo)

Your favorite pizza sauce or you can use my Papa Murphy's Garlic Sauce recipe (a terrific white sauce)

Cheese and any other ingredients you may want to add, such as: green onions, olives, salami, ham, roast, bacon; the list is only limited to your imagination

Parchment paper to line your baking sheet

Putting it together

Take your risen pizza dough and roll into a log. Divide into six (for very large calzones) to eight (regular size) pieces

photo of calzone dough rolled into a log

Roll each piece into a ball, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about ten minutes

After 10 minutes, take a ball and roll into a circle-ish about ¼-inch thick

As you can see from mine, I didn't actually achieve the desired shape, so don't worry about getting it perfect, because it still tastes great

Spread liberally with sauce making sure you stay at least ½-inch away from the edges (if you get sauce on the edges, it will not seal properly)

Add cheese and any other fillings you want. Just remember not to overfill it, because you are going to have to fold the sides together to seal

photo of rolled calzone dough with sauce and cheese

photo of rolled calzone dough with sauce, cheese and meat

Starting with the side closest to you, begin to fold that side together with the side that is still laying on the counter, sealing as you go. You may have to use one hand to keep the filling away from the edges as you seal (If your calzone is really stuffed, you may consider folding both sides together: leaving your filling portion of the dough in contact with the counter, take one side in each hand and bring them to meet in the middle, sealing as you go. This will allow your dough to stretch much easier)

Seal and, using a fork, crimp the sides together

Cut two or three vent holes in the top and then place on baking sheet

Repeat with remaining pieces

When all of them are finished, cover and let rise 30 minutes

OR, if you are making these a few hours ahead of time, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and place in refrigerator

Remove 1½ hours before serving and let rise in warm area

Continue with baking instructions...

Pre heat oven to 425°

Place calzones in oven, mist with water (optional) and bake 13-15 minutes (check after 13 minutes) and remove when tops are brown

Let cool a few minutes and enjoy

Emila's Illustrated Blog

Cape Town Day I: Getting familiar with the town

Posted:

Just when I thought my body was adapting well to the cold weather, the 5-day vacation was over. My blocked nose suddenly turns runny as I stepped down from the airplane. I was like an ice melting. Just few days ago when it was so windy and cold at Cape Town, I was praying for [...]

Commissioned illustrations: Sky and buddies

Posted:

These were actually a 4-piece illustrations of which the backgrounds are connected to each other. It was commissioned by Sky during Floria 2011 in conjunction with his birthday. The first one is his and the other three were for his best buddies. Happy Birthday, Sky. Hope you had a blast!

Juliana's Bits and Pieces

Open House & Real Estate

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 09:34 AM PDT

This will be part 1 from houses series. I made Open House invitations, Real Estate business cards and We're Moving postage. At this moment, there are six clip art houses. I will be continue again later over few days. In between, I am working on different theme. Sometimes, I need take a break working from the same clip arts theme.