Chocolate Times Three

I'm a chocolate lover, not exactly a rarity, although I concede that chocolate doesn't appeal to everyone. So when I saw this video about a chocolate maker who truly makes chocolate from scratch, I was intrigued (because if I can't eat chocolate all the time, I'll gladly watch videos about it).

LE CHOCOLAT - Alain Ducasse from Simon Pénochet on Vimeo.

Of course, that made me remember movies I'd seen where chocolate was a key player...like Chocolat.

This led me to a book on the history of chocolate (Note: there is a newer edition, as noted at the link, but I liked the cover on this version). 

Of course, if you don't want to read an entire history, here's a brief article on the history of chocolate from the Smithsonian website.

Off to find some of the real deal. If you're a chocolate lover, I hope you have some on hand. If you do, enjoy!

Make Your Own Ocarina...from a Carrot

I'm not a musician (there's an understatement), but I've enjoyed plunking around on the piano (and took lessons for a brief time before I realized that I could write or I could devote myself to learning to play piano, but I probably didn't have time to do both well). And back in the day, when 3rd graders all had to take lessons in school on the recorder, I'm sure I learned (sort of) a few songs. So an ocarina from a carrot seems as if it would be fun (what is an ocarina? Is that just another name for a recorder...or vice versa)? Here's how it's done.

In Celebration of Education

I love learning new things, and I love it even more when learning is made available to all. So YouTube videos that teach me how to do things are awesome. Admittedly, if you simply type in "How to" into a YouTube search, some very strange things come up, but there are also exercise classes, cooking classes, woodworking and craft classes, to name a few. Here's a video titled Learn How to Screenprint Your Own T-shirts from the MakeMagazine YouTube channel.

During the past few weeks, I've discovered all sorts of places that offer free college-level (non-credit) courses, including some offered by instructors from Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Northwestern, Duke and others). Awesome!

Here are some great sites to check out:
Udacity
Coursera
Edx
Udemy
Khan Academy

There are many more, but I don't want to overload this post (too much), so we'll leave it at that for now. Have fun learning!

How To Make a Chocolate Rose

Admittedly, I would never even attempt this, but I enjoy watching others do what I cannot (she makes it look so easy)!

A Baker with Flair

This video is long, but I couldn't stop watching this guy bake bread. Such fun!

Drawing a Wolf

Writers get asked how they do what they do all the time. Having been an author for some time, I'm intrigued by how artists do what they do. Here Mark Crilley draws a wolf.



And here he shows you how it's done. Fascinating!

Make Your Very Own Snuggie

I think the Snuggie craze may have passed, but we're expecting colder weather here soon (eventually--it's staying warm far too late for my comfort. Love the warmth, but 60's in Chicago in December is just...wrong and kind of scary). At any rate, when colder weather comes, I love a good blanket, and as an avid reader, the Snuggie makes sense. No more cold arms while you hold your book.

Here's a Tardis one by craftylilthing. As a Dr. Who fan, I love it. Click through to her Flickr stream for more images of the construction process.

Here are step-by-step instructions from Instructables for making your own basic Snuggie. (This one is by Schoochmaroo, who has many other awesome projects available on the site). 

Even More Gift Boxes (with Instructions)

These Exploding Gift Boxes are so amazing! The box itself is a bit of a gift. Instructions are at Glitter Adventure (with another very pretty box).

The inside of an explosion box (in this case a World Map Explosion Box) (all images on this page are by The Gentleman Crafter):

A Paris Explosion Box


And the inside:


Here are some video examples:

There are many videos showing how to make this type of gift box, but most of them are long, so I didn't include any here. If you'd like to look for them yourself, just type in Exploding Gift Boxes or Explosion Gift Box (not sure I like the names, but I wasn't in charge of that). Here's a link to just one of them.

An Engineer Creates a Ring for His Friend's Wedding

And not just any ring. This one is special.

A Craftsman Makes a Work of Art From a Railroad Spike

This video is from 2008, but I'm guessing that a lot of people haven't seen it. Watch as a man takes a railroad spike and turns it into a gorgeous work of art (a knife). Fantastic music, too. (And yes, as several people in the comments said, he should be wearing eye protection).

A LEGO Candy Machine

This is a LEGO candy machine that the builder created when he was about 12 or 13. I don't know what he's doing now, but if I had to guess, I'd say engineer or inventor (or entrepreneur).



Update: I don't know why I was assuming the video maker was an adult. I looked at his YouTube channel and he's still quite young. I'm sure he has a successful future ahead if he can build something this clever and detailed.

At the Factory: A Harlequin Book Gets Printed

Pretty basic stuff, but I'm always interested in how things are made. Seeing books printed is pretty exciting to me (it would be even more exciting if it was one of my own books, but I'd probably just start screaming and making a nuisance of myself if I ever saw that happening, so it's probably for the best that it's someone else's book).

So It's Not Just Me? (People Tripping on Subway Steps)

I'd seen this video circulating last week but paid no attention. This week when it was renamed on another site, I clicked through (yes, they caught me off guard). Nothing much to see but people tripping on a step, but the interesting thing is that it's the same step every time, and there's a reason for all the tripping. As a clutz myself, I'm glad that there's someone else to blame other than the people who are simply trying to walk up the stairs. Unfortunately, I don't see any immediate way to fix this. Maybe some engineers have a solution. (I have to say that part of the reason I posted this was because I liked the music).

Space in Spray Paint

This video of spray paint art as it's being made was fun. I've seen something like this by street artists but it never gets old. The effect of seeing the planets when he pulls off the paint shields is always a treat (and yes, he does need a different type of mask, as someone noted in the comments. Spray paint can be dangerous stuff, especially if you work with it often).

Birth of a Book

How could I resist? (This fascinating video is from the Telegraph).

Simon Draws Mice

I could watch these "how it's done" videos all day.

Behind the Scenes of The Pirates

The people who brought you "Wallace and Gromit" are making "The Pirates" and here's a little preview of how it's being done.

How It's Done - Bottling Bacardi

In case you ever wondered how they bottle Bacardi (the video says that the bottles travel up to 50 miles per hour).

How It's Done: Making a Louis Vitton Shoe

I don't own any designer shoes, but I love watching artisans at work and seeing the process.

La Mer de Pianos (The Sea of Pianos)

A short film about Marc Manceaux, the owner of the oldest piano shop in Paris. At first glance, it sounds a bit boring, but these little "slice of life" films are fascinating to me. And it's a touch of history as well. I wish there were more videos like this.

La Mer de Pianos from Tom & Matt on Vimeo.