Monthly Archives: February 2012

February 29, 2012

Mini Cupcake Factory

Mini Cupcake FactoryThings with tiny size are still a HUGE draw for us here at DeskApe, and itty bitty bite-sized cupcakes seemed to be the perfect fit.  So we decided to check out the Mini Cupcake Factory from our friends over at ThinkGeek.  Now, the MSRP on this bad boy is $24.99, but ThinkGeek seems to think that is just a bit too much to pay for cute cupcake satisfaction, so they are running them out the door for only $19.99.

So what you get is a Smart Planet brand Mini Cupcake Maker, which features a power light, a ready light, a nonstick cooking surface and (my favorite) a place in the bottom for winding the cord.  It produces cupcakes that are just under an inch tall and two inches wide, and the nonstick surface means that not only do you not have to worry about cupcake liners, it is also incredibly easy to clean when you’ve finished up.

What are we planning with our Mini Cupcake Factory?  A Tinycake decorating contest!  A best-tinycake recipe bake-off!  To nom about a thousand itty bitty cupcakes as fast as we possibly can.  It only takes about 10 minutes from beginning to chow-time.

Mini Cupcake Factory from ThinkGeek.

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February 28, 2012

Quilling

In our ever expanding circle, we are always looking for new things to learn, so when we came across the Quilling Beginner Kit by Quilled Creations, we were both puzzled and amused.  This set is supposed to be all you need to get started with quilling.

But…  What exactly is quilling?  Ah yes! That was our first question, which we quickly learned was all about rolled pieces of paper, pinched folded and glued into beautiful and fun arrangements that you can use for scrapbooking, card-making and other great paper-crafts.

So what comes in the box?
Quilling Instructions, a booklet with several techniques and designs to try.
Fine-Tip Tweezers – So your project doesn’t escape!
Slotted Quilling Tool- One way to roll your spirals
Needle Quilling Tool- Yet another great way to roll your spirals or apply your glue
Circle Sizer Ruler- To help you get the perfect sized curls & swirls
1/8″- Wide Quilling Paper- Curl to your hearts content
Cards, Envelopes & Tags for attaching your designs.

The instructions (the important part when your first starting out) is a 14 page booklet that is filled with black and white images that illustrate exactly how to do each of the techniques.  There are 12 different sample designs that can be put together in a variety of ways.

Grab your own from Quilling Creations directly or on Amazon.com.

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February 27, 2012

Geek Sparkles!

Geek Nail PolishAlright geek gals (and some guys!) lets get a little fashion going on.  Today I’m checking out  Geek Nail Polish by NerdLacquer.  ThinkGeek now stocks four wacky colors with totally geeked-out names like Don’t Panic, Antisocial Media, Warrior Ethos, and All of Time and Space.

What I love about these funky flavors is the sparkles inside.  They aren’t your average glitter filled polishes, these each have a unique glitter recipe.

Looking at Warrior Ethos, which is a candy apple red tint that is transparent with the first coat and makes it great to overlay on darker or lighter colors.  The glitter formulation inside is medium black, large copper hexagonal glitter (Which looks cool, but chips easy, don’t forget the top coat!)  then there are smaller glitter flakes in black, copper, iridescent and red.

And what else do I love?  Seeing a great company like ThinkGeek stocking products from small distributors and Etsy products.  It makes me proud.

Geek Nail Polish on ThinkGeek

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February 21, 2012

Knits for Nerds by Toni Carr

Somehow, I got lucky enough to get my knobby little fingers on an advanced copy of Knits for Nerds by Toni Carr (author of Knockdown Knits).  Now, my skills can only be classified somewhere between Basic and Intermediate, but what better motivation to learn then to get to the advanced projects in this book.

What I enjoy most about the patterns in Knits for Nerds is the diversity of nerd-categories it covers.  On the cover, it tells you that there are 30 projects for Science Fiction, Comic Books and Fantasy.  What it doesn’t tell you is that it runs from Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, an inspired pattern for The X-Men and it even reaches into the television world popping on The Big Bang Theory, Firefly and more obscure shows like Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  You get a decent sampling for almost (yes, I did say almost) every nerd on the menu.

For us wee-basic knitters, the back of the book has a diverse and well explained selection of abbreviations and techniques, all with full colored photographs and easy to follow directions.  This book is a great gift for the Nerd, the Knitter, the Mother of the Nerd or the Knitter, and great for all skill levels.

Knits for Nerds: 30 Projects: Science Fiction, Comic Books, Fantasy
By: Joan of Dark a.k.a. Toni Carr
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Released: February 21, 2012
Available on Amazon.com.

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February 17, 2012

Tankbot Go Vroom Vroom!

The world is amazing, everything is changing, evolving…  and toy technology is evolving right along with it.

While it isn’t something I’d hand over to my 6 year old, the Tankbot by DeskPets is an amusing gadget that pairs with your smartphone and drives all over your office.

The Tankbot has three different modes, obstacle avoidance, light and sound and control.  The first two don’t require a smart phone, but let the Tankbot (I’ve named him Tankie) move about on its own.  Obstacle avoidance lets him drive around and he automatically avoids things that might get in the way by turning.  (And beeping at the object!)  In light and sound mode, he wanders around beeping, bleeping and flashing at anyone who will listen.

Then you break into control mode, where you get to attach the remote to the headphone jack of your phone, launch the application, and control where you are sending him and what (or who) you are running him into.  At just under 2 1/2 inches tall, with quite a bit of practice you can maneuver him into interesting places like parallel parking under a co-workers desk.

Charging him is easy, and it doesn’t take  a bulky cord.  Just flip down his “tail” to reveal a USB plug that you can clip into your computer.  He makes a myriad of adorable tweets, chirps, snores, beeps, bops and boops.

Check him out on ThinkGeek.com.

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