Hand lettering tutorial from Ladyfingers Letterpress
There is no denying that receiving a letter in the post these days is exciting. Now imagine if that letter arrived with amazing hand lettering adorning the front…breathtaking! If you’re a bit of a typography geek and want to become an expert on creating such beautiful lettering head on over to the Oh So Beautiful Paper blog to get the scoop. Your mail will never be the same again!
Best Made Company
I’ve died and gone to heaven! I discovered Best Made Company last month and have been obsessed with everything in their shop since. Their products are practical, perfectly designed, and stylish.
Their History
The company was founded in 2009 by Peter Buchanan-Smith who saw a need for a better axe: an evocative tool that played an indispensable role in his life working on cattle farms and paddling and portaging the lakes of Northern Canada. Peter knew that a well made axe — the oldest and most invaluable tool known to mankind — could not only function as a lifeline in the wilderness, but at home it could be a magnificent window into that wilderness and inspire people to reconnect with their hands, craft, and nature.
Beyond The Axe
In the Fall of 2010, with the axe as their perch, they embarked on a new line of products, which included wearable goods, bags, a first aid kit, and the popular limited edition map series: the foundations were thus laid to a more ambitious and sustainable mission. Working closely with esteemed designers and manufacturers the world over they continue to expand our catalog with the same care and precision that goes into the making of every new product they offer.
Like what you see (how could you not?!) visit their site to see more and purchase some of this goodness.
New items – Adventure Range
We know we’ve been saying it for a while now but the day has come!
We have started listing some of our new adventure range products on our online stores today! Keep an eye out on our Etsy and Felt stores for new products will be uploaded throughout the week! Also make sure to check our retailers page to find some of these items in a shop near you!
Lastly we’d like to thank Jo Rusling for taking such stunning images of our new products! We were lucky and had our photo shoot on her first official day in her new studio and it was perfect! Beautiful lighting, great props, and tons of fun!
New potato & green bean salad with black olive and mint vinaigrette
This weekend we hosted our first BBQ at the new house! Yes it may have taken a few months to happen and we still may be short on dishes and cutlery but it was a great way to spend a Sunday.
Apart from the stress of having 11 people at our house for the first time, we thought we would really up the anti and make all new recipes for the salads. Nothing like a little challenge!
Our New potatoes in the garden were ready for harvesting so I started looking at my cookbooks for some great recipes. I decided to go with the new potato & green bean salad with black olive and mint vinaigrette recipe I found in my STOKED book by Al Brown – a really fantastic cook book!
Here is the recipe for you all to enjoy. It’s super easy to make and super refreshing on a hot day.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Black Olive and Mint Vinaigrette
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely diced shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
150ml extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup sliced good quality black olives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
New Potato and Green Bean Salad
1 kg new potatoes, scrubbed and cooked
300 kg French green beans, cooked
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
Step 1: Black Olive and Mint Vinaigrette
Ina medium-sized bowl, combine the vinegar, shallots and sugar. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until all incorporated. Fold in the olives and mint and season with a good couple of grinds of black pepper. Refrigerate until serving.
Step 2: New Potato and Green Bean Salad
Cut the potatoes into large dice and lace in a decent-sized mixing bowl. Add the green beans, toss in the vinaigrette and mix through. Dish out on to a platter or bowls and top with fresh mint. Serve.
Photo credit to Kieran Scott
Weekly Roundup 21 March
A big and happy Friday to everyone!
Things here at Toodles Noodles HQ are buzzing! We’ve been busy packing orders and doing a lot of behind the scenes work – including a fun photoshoot on Monday for our new range!
As you may know we purchased our house back in December and since then have been on the constant lookout for fun new items for our house! It’s amazing how empty a house can feel when our city apartment was bursting at the seams… Here are some fun finds for your Friday.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
- Green Canvas tote – Brika
- Hibernate pillow – Winter Cabin Collection
- Rose Kilim Rug - Izzy & Jean Co.
- Buffalo tea towel - nativebear
- Pocket torch – LET LIV
- Enamel steal cup – Best Made
- Pavo Scarf – Brika
Coconut, almond and tahini cookies
Yesterday I decided to do some baking so I could have some treats with me at the Trade Show (eating at those things can be tricky and there’s nothing like a good sugar boost!). I saw that Lauren from Needle & I had posted what appeared to be a ‘healthy’ cookie recipe that sounded delicious! So yesterday I headed to the supermarket in the morning and purchased a few missing ingredients.
I will warn you now, these cookies are aaaaamazing! I made a couple alterations to Lauren’s recipe to be just a wee bit healthier / it’s what I had at home. This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, and only contains natural sugar and still takes good.
If you’re looking for some new items to cook or bake make sure to check out her In the Kitchen section of the blog, there are some real gems in there!
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS (makes approx. 30 cookies)
150g coconut oil – at room temperature (original recipe used butter)
1/3 cup liquid honey (I used Clove Honey)
85g hulled tahini
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups desiccated coconut
1 cup ground almonds (I used both almond meal and LSA, again it’s what I had on hand)
1.5 cups gluten-free flour (I used barley rice flour as it’s what I had on hand)
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two oven trays with baking paper.
2. Put the oil, honey, tahini and vanilla into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick, creamy and pale.
3. Add the coconut, almonds and gluten-free flour and mix on a low speed until everything is just incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky.
4. Roll tablespoons of the dough between your hands into walnut-sized balls.
5. Place the balls onto the lined oven trays allowing about 5cm between each cookie. Flatten each one slightly with the back of a fork.
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes – set a timer as they will burn quickly if left any longer. They should be a lovely golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8. Store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep well for up to a week – if they last that long…
(All photographs taken by Needle & I)
Note: My cookies didn’t come out quite as thick as pictured here due to using a hand electric blender and using butter but they still taste fantastic!
Little Lot
Little Lot started from a simple but clever idea – that people would give up their computer desktops as an advertising space in exchange for an ongoing charitable donation that didn’t cost them anything. The original team of Dave, Steve, Nelson and Bennor decided this was an idea worth acting on, and on April 11th 2012 Donate Your Desktop went live. They’ve come a long way since then –a rebrand (thanks to Chilli), better technology, more charities, bigger team and a new purpose. Donate Your Desktop was focused on using technology to help charity – but Little Lot is aimed on changing how you connect with the brands you love and give back to the causes you care about.
The Little Lot experience is awesome and now includes an Android app. You’ll get new wallpapers each day from brands that match your profile. You get to rate these wallpapers, and over time they’ll learn what you like and make sure you get more of it (think Pandora or Spotify). They’ll throw in a mix of charity content too, so you can keep up-to-date with what your favourite cause is doing and how your efforts are helping.
We asked Erica McQueen of the Little Lot team a few questions on what keeps her going from day to day.
The title on my business card is… Content Manager
Which really means…Sending emails all day, trying to get some content to manage. I look after what wallpapers go out each day and try to keep up with all the social medias! Pinterest is my favourite.
My day starts with…Food! Off to work. (drive, bus, walk). then checking emails.
I’m inspired by…Anything creative. Simple beauty. Nature. People. Definitely people. And their stories.
I can’t live without…Music. My camera. Being able to create. Books.
True ‘style’ is…Simple. Effortless. Refined. Not me.
My work in three words is…Emails. Emails. Emails.
Being part of Little Lot still costs you nothing, and you’ll be making a genuine difference to the world. Help them show that a lot of littles add up to a lot.
Weekly Roundup 21 February
A happy, bright Friday to everyone!
It dawned on my this Wednesday that the Gift Fair is only one week away – February slow down! As I’ve mentioned in previous posts we have a lot of fun new products and designs on the way. Watch this space for some sneak peeks! I’d also like to give a big thank you in advance to the amazing people over at Trestle Union for providing the display furniture this year.
This last week we’ve had quite a bit going on! There was the sale on Once’it – a big thank you go everyone who picked up some goodies! There was a trip to Auckland to meet up with some clients, stockists, and new collaborators! And thanks to my lovely man I was able to start decorating the studio!
This week’s roundup is inspired by the new tote bags we’ve designed for the Auckland Art Gallery. If you’re on the hunt for a new bag that has a bit of ‘pop’ then click here!
- New tote by Toodles Noodles available exclusively at the Auckland Ary Gallery.
- Versatile rattan basket is great for storage or as a planter from Luca and Eve.
- Set of 3 wooden neon snack bowls by WindandWillowHome.
- The Flamingo by Evie Kemp available at Superette.
- Island Time pillow from Cabin Co.
- Bright statement necklace by BooandBooFactory.
- Neon skull made by nashpop.
For the love of stationery
This week I wrote a wee article for the Design Assembly on the topic of stationery.
As designers and artists two things that are quite close to our hearts are coffee and good stationery. Being in the stationery industry myself, I am a big advocate for high quality, well designed, functional products. Personally, I cannot live without A5 notepads (I have multiple lists going on at once), my Moleskine notebook, and my favourite Pilot pen!
Click here to read the whole store and see the top picks of three local New Zealand artists and what products they can’t live without.
DIY wooden box
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend full of Valentine’s Day festivities and relaxation. We were busy with weeding, gardening, sun basking, eating, laundering, working, organising – a very productive weekend indeed!
Today’s blog post is all about how to create this great ‘hold anything and everything’ box. For step by step instructions and what materials to you need click here and follow Whimsey Box’s instructions. This box has so many great uses, holding stationery on your desk, storing herbs on your kitchen bench-top, keeping all those small makeup containers tidy in the bathroom, the list goes on and on!
Enjoy!
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