Oh yes! It's taken a wee while, but we're pleased to report we've now got a full range of leather MiniCard holders in stock, in a variety of colours.
We've got dark brown, dark blue, lemony yellow, pale green, pale pink, sky blue and white:
We're also expecting to get some more felt holders in soon too, so we'll have more than just black and red available!
And of course, our own MOO-made holders are also on their way. (If we have to hold our breath any more for these I think we'll all pass out - but they are well and truly on the way, and we can't wait.)
So, if you fancied a leather holder, don't sit there reading this - go now! While you can!
What's your favourite web app? The one you just can't live without. Is your social life ruled by Facebook? Do you twitter, obsessively? Plan your holidays around your Dopplr friends and your tunes around last.fm?
Or... is it us? IS IT? Of course it is.
Either way, those nice folks over at Carsonified are doing a little poll, and they'd like your input. They want to find people's top 10 web apps, and they'll be announcing the results on 5th Feb. And why should you tell them, of all people? Well, because it's quite interesting and I'd like to know the answer. Oh! And there's also the chance of winning a Nintendo Wii!
So go take a look and cast your vote.
And while we're on the subject of Facebook, we've already mentioned you can make MOO stuff with your Facebook photos, but now we also have a 'fan' page. It made us blush a little bit at your kind requests that we make one - we're usually a bit more modest - but you asked and so we made it. If you'd like to become a fan, we'd be really flattered.
There's a lot of creativity lurking among the MOO customers. Sometimes it inspires us, sometimes it makes us laugh, and often the ideas are so good we wonder how come we hadn't thought of doing it ourselves. Then... well, then there's the Milk n MOO pool.
'Milk n MOOs? What can that be?' I hear you cry. Well, to quote from the group directly, it's 'Photos including milk and moo cards'. Obviously. What else did you think it would be?
These are just a few of our favourite photos:
This is absolutely fantastic, by emelynilsson. She says 'The evolution of Milk starts with MOO and ends with Butter.' (Click the image to see it larger.)
This lovely looking photo is by Extra Super Cutie. It's a nice photo anyway, but even better when you realise those are her feet, and she took the photo!
This photo by andreasnilsson1976 looks out of place in the pool, until you view it full size. Yes, that's a carton of milk, and some MiniCards right there, reflected in his eye.
And this photo, again by andreasnilsson1976 shows both milk and MOOs in a woodpile...
So, got milk? Then why not add your own milk and MOO photos to the group. Have fun!
There's always something nice about a handmade gift. And if you can't make a gift yourself, well, the next best thing is the wrapping. The link I lost the other day has been found - it's this beautiful paper-heart box. Perfect for a little Valentine gift - your last Rolo, a diamond ring, or a little magnet decorated with a MOO Sticker.
Darren Scott, an Australian based origami artist has made the template available for download as a PDF. If you'd like to make one yourself, you can find it here.
But if that's just too hearty for you, and your Valentine has slightly alternative tastes, then this could do the trick:
It's a folded paper skull - with an articulated jaw! Simply pop the gift inside the jaws of doom, and away you go. Really - what's not to like?
The template is provided via the blog 'Skull-a-Day'. Skulls by name, and skulls by nature, I loved this recent post featuring a skull shaped arrangement of comic books:
Maybe it's the fact it's in an unusual location, but it reminded me just a little bit of epmd's project, of leaving MiniCards around DC, and photographing them. I like the idea of racing into a shop, re-arranging everything like this and racing out again, leaving just a MiniCard behind... Although I have a feeling this was a precision job, and very little racing was involved! If you're in the DC area, keep an eye out for epmd's cards, I'd love to know if they're being found, and where they're ending up.
Don't love Valentine's day? We know. We're worried no one will send us a card either. I mean... Yeah! We think it's rubbish too. Ahem.
So much so that we twisted Meg Pickard's arm, and demanded she add her Anti-Valentines cards to our offering this year. They've been available as e-cards on her own site for the last year or two, and we think they’re great.
We said, "Meg, we love your Anti-Valentine’s cards." She said:
We said, "No, really, we love your cards." She said
.
So we obliged with chocolate, (we wont go into the lingerie right now) and I think we got there in the end. Check out the whole set, they're great. And if you're still worried no one will send you a card, just think...
Except... I don't have a cat. *sob*.
Whilst looking for a link which is so far remaining irritatingly elusive, I stumbled across kirigami. You might know origami, the art of folding paper? Well kirigami is a close relative. It's the art of folding and cutting paper.
If you're the crafty type and you're thinking of making something a little different for Valentines day, then these images might give you some inspiration. If you don't fancy making something yourself, relax, grab a drink, and look at the beautiful photos.
lilzabubba started my introduction to the world of kirigami. She's created a variety of different 'snowflakes'. This one is particularly relevant to Valentines day - but the whole set is really worth a look.
There's an infinite number of designs for paper snowflakes - this one is an ornament, looked after by katrinkles. It also happens to be created by lilzabubba
If you're wondering where the folding comes in, then it's right here. Author and designer Jeffrey Rutzky has created this beautiful card - and many more works can be seen in his Flickr stream
aiai_paperflicker (^o^) has taken this even further with her butterfly card - it's 4 pieces, including the base, and holds together without glue.
If you're planning a weekend away, you could hint at the destination with a card. This cleverly cut image image is by Lucasaci
Or you could create a fantasy, like this - again by aiai_paperflicker (^o^)
If you like the idea, and really want to push it, then Richard Sweeney takes things to a whole new level. This is more like paper sculpture - and it's spectacular!
Happy folding...
Anyone? No one? Someone... but you haven't told them yet? Shockingly, if you want to make a really personal Valentines card or present this year, you need to start thinking about this now. How do I know? Well, because people are already blogging about it. And, lets face it, it takes time to think of what you want to make, get something printed and then to work your own special magic on it.
We're busy working on a few ideas of our own, and will share them with you over the next few weeks. In the meantime,here's an idea to get you started - look at this, by Steve O:
It's 100 MiniCards, carefully mounted into a shadow box frame. Some of the cards are mounted on a little foam board to give a feeling of depth, and some extra interest. Steve worked out the layout before he made the cards, to ensure he had the correct number of portrait and landscape images. He then drew the layout in illustrator, printed it off and used transfer paper to trace the layout onto the foam board.
Sadly you can't actually see the images in situ, but trust me - it looks great - and you should read the comments - for example "This gets the "thoughtful husband award"...award!"
So if you have any pictures of you and your Valentine-to-be together, maybe now is the time to start thinking about how to use them.
If you've got any good ideas of things you can make for Valentines Day, let us know in the comments - we love hearing about your ideas.
Happy New Year! If you're looking for a new hobby to start 2008, or something to get your creative juices flowing, you could do a lot worse than check out the MOO Flickr pool. And I'm not just talking about making MiniCards, I'm talking about all the great pictures people put on the cards. There's a wealth of creativity and extraordinary hobbies and pastimes out there - these are a few we've spotted.
Henna Bee uses her cards to show off the amazing henna tattoos she creates.
If this idea appeals, check out more of her photos, she's created some beautiful designs.
If you fancy something more permanent, how about chainmail? We came across these photos simply because there's a little MOO Sticker on the laptop - but look! trvance is creating a tiny chainmail bag piece by piece. Check out the 'chainmaille set', beautiful photos and some lovely work.
This is the work in progress (complete with MOO sticker.)
And here's another of his beautiful pieces:
If you wanted to make something to wear, but don't have the strength for chainmail, maybe beaded jewellery is more your thing? These lovely cards were created by blamedstarlie, and feature her own work.
This one might need a bit more kit to take up - but c-urchin's stone, ceramic and glassware is really inspiring.
These are her MiniCards
And here's a closer look at one of her pieces.
And finally, not so much of a hobby, but certainly something to pass a few minutes... emelynilsson models her cards, like a true professional.
Happy 2008, everyone!
