Willy Wonka – everydaysparks

DIY Gummy Bears

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Cate

Oh, hello. Yesterday I received a delivery that was so colourful and exciting that I thought it counted as an everyday spark. So here I am, sharing it with you in case it may also bring joy to you and/or yours.

Finding and recommending odd things that you mightn’t have seen is a (free) service I enjoy providing to my family and friends. And I’ve often dreamed about an EverydaySparks Gift Shop, full of things out of the mainstream that spark joy. Here is something that would make it to the shelves of my imaginary shop (and if I was the CEO of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – which I still maintain is probably my dream job – then I would sell these sets in the attached gift shop).

Colour! Gummy bears! Scientific droppers!

I found these on Amazon, while I was buying something completely unrelated (blank canvas tote bags to customise for a charity event, if you’re curious). Amazon has quickly become the online equivalent of Ikea or Aldi for me. Sometimes the algorithm’s recommendations of what I might like to add to my order are way off. And sometimes, as in this case, it’s like they can see inside my brain. Or my heart. And although I know I don’t exactly need this colourful kit of silicon molds and oversized plastic droppers, I nonetheless added it to my order and was not disappointed when it arrived yesterday.

I know, I’m a victim of marketing and manipulative nudges to make impulse purchases. But truly, who wouldn’t want the ability to make their own army of gummy bears? I’m not even sure if I’ll get around to the fiddly requirements of making gelatin-based bears, or if this will just be a summer of tiny bear shaped ice cubes clinking around in drinks. Whatever happens, these make a bright addition to my kitchen. (And I like that two of the bears in the top row are on their sides, as if they are lazy, or the mold designer got distracted or was bound by the ancient gummy bear rule of max. 53 bears per sheet. Man I hope that maths is right, I have recounted about five times now and have a headache.)

And since my Dad is likely reading this and he worries that I am sometimes fiscally irresponsible, I should point out that the kit was under $15 and by my calculations I have already recouped $3.97 of joy value from this investment. And I only got it yesterday! At this rate, I estimate the outsized return (measured in units of joy sparked rather than revenue, obviously) will be realised from its very first use. You know it makes sense, Paddy!

If you too would like to invest $12.99 AUD in “Gummy Bear Mold with Dropper Set 3Pcs Silicone Fondant Molds Chocolate Candy Jelly Mold Gumdrop Mold” you can check it out on Amazon here.

In writing this, I have happily influenced myself (and hopefully my Dad). I am convinced that the ability to make your own gummy bear shaped things in brightly coloured silicon (with droppers straight from the Fisher Price Laboratory) is something we all deserve, especially in these ‘interesting times’.

Food sparks, Home sparks, Sparky gifts

Willy Wonka’s World

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Cate

What a wonderful world that would be, right? With Mr Wonka’s passion for all things sweet and magical, it could be a kid’s dream come true. Not that you’d necessarily want your home or office decorated by Mr Wonka, but if some Wonka-like touches here and there appeal, you might want to check these out…

Ice cream lamps. Sure, why not? They come in a delicious range of colours and are over two feet high. They come with a bulb, but you will need to resist the urge to lick the giant soft-serve (even if the cone is marked ‘Safe-T Cup’) as I don’t want you getting zapped.

Or how about a cupcake cushion? With coloured sprinkles. It looks really cool in this picture, but I should warn you that there was another picture of it on a lounge…where it looked like a squished old piece of cupcake, rather than a fresh and tasty treat. You’ve been warned.

And if you want to listen to some sweet tunes while reclining on your cupcake on a lazy Sunday, you might like these Gummy Bear Earbuds. They’re scented. Uh huh. It does seem a little bit wrong, especially if your Grandma ever told you not to stick jellies in your ears. Although these are attached to a cord, so I guess it’s ok.

This one isn’t in keeping with the dessert theme, but Willy was a fan of messing with people’s heads via distorted sizes and shapes, so I think he’d approve. And I am tipping he liked his caffeine (amongst other things) to keep him so perky. For you, or perhaps to prop up that guy in the office who always seems to be sleeping, I present the giant coffee cup. It can hold 20 cups of coffee. But I am not suggesting that you drink them all at once. (Unless you record it and put it on You Tube.)

Whether you’re looking for a gift or something to make your home a little bit Wonka, you can check out all of these things, and a bzillion more, at fredflare.

Arty sparks, Home sparks, WWWhat?

Help! My Lounge is Mutating!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Cate

I first saw these amazing pieces of furniturart (ok, so I just made that word up) on the fantastic My Modern Met website (and they had sourced them from the very cool peeps at Design Boom) under the heading Mutating Furniture Made of Bubbles. Yes please! You don’t get that at Ikea.

And I was not to be disappointed – like a Miss Teen USA contestant, these are at once beautiful and kinda creepy. I’m not sure how comfortable they would be, but as soon as you contemplate that thought, you know you’re not really worthy of the furniturart. Same goes for wondering how you’d keep them clean of dog fur and childrens’ handprints. Or how they’d look next to your teak coffee table. But we can still look, can’t we?

Belgian designer Maarten De Ceulaer’s Mutation Series will be presented this year during Milan Design Week. Each piece is unique, made from foam spheres covered in “a durable rubber or velvet-like finish”. According to My Modern Met, Maarten says “I want to use my work to tell stories, to stir people’s emotions, to tickle their imagination or to make them wonder.” The Willy Wonka of the furniture (furniturart) world, I guess.

And, like Mr Wonka before him, Maarten’s creativity knows no limits. Apparently he said, “Maybe one day we will be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree.” Yes, Maarten, maybe we will. I kinda like the idea of a naturally grown, fully furnished tree house. Add a glass elevator, chocolate river and an everlasting gobstopper and I’m sold!

More info in the My Modern Met post here.

Food sparks

Kids these days…

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Cate

Some highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be) of a recent survey of Australian school children were published in the Sydney Morning Herald this week. And I still think it’s funny that more than 1/4 of the kids that they surveyed in year 6 (so, around 11 or 12 years of age) thought that yoghurt grows on trees. I blame that Willy Wonka and the edible world inside his factory. He has confused our kids into thinking that you can create trees that grow all sorts of delicious sweet things, so why wouldn’t it make sense for a tree provide us with yoghurt? (Mr Wonka has also misled kids to believe that you can import orange-skinned little people from a foreign land, dress them in overalls and have them run your factory, forcing them to sing and dance on command. And work for chocolate. If only, kids!)

Anyways, I have to go now and check on my backyard crops. I’m growing meat pies, chicken flavoured chips and cherry ice cream. And any kid knows that those ice cream plants start to melt on a sunny day like today.

Sparky gifts, Sydney sparks

Ahoy there, me hearties

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Cate

Today the sun is out after another bout of rainy weather. It’s a beautiful day and there is a breeze that reminds you that it’s officially Autumn now (although this year in Sydney, you might have missed Summer if you blinked for too long). And on a day like today, I often look around and think…I wish [Person X, Y or Z] was here now to see this. I don’t actually know someone called Person X (or Y or Z), but hopefully you get what I mean. Whether it’s someone who lives on the other side of the world, or someone I used to work with, or an old friend or family member, or just Liam Neeson, I often wish there was some way of zapping that person right here. Kind of like Willy Wonka’s Wonkavision, when Mike Teevee gets transported in a bzillion pieces from the real world to tv world. But I wouldn’t want to do that to people I love, especially since we never actually saw how Mike Teevee ended up…And I know there’s texting, emailing, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Skype blah blah blah. But it’s not the same. Which is why I love the Travelling Heart Project. I stumbled across it last year when I found a link to it somewhere. It was started by a Sydneysider as a way to send love and happy thoughts around the world the old fashioned way – by mail. The heart that you adopt comes with cool tags for your message and the person has the option of using an extra tag to send the heart on to someone else. It’s a nice way to let someone know that you’re thinking of them – not just on their birthday or at Christmas time, but when it’s sunny. Or rainy. Or they have news. Or you see a funny looking dog. Or discover a new ice cream flavour. Or remember a silly thing that happened years ago and it makes you laugh. Or cry. I think they’re a great idea and sometimes they’re the perfect thing to send – whether the recipient is overseas, over the fence, over the other side of the table, over the moon or at the desk next to you. If you’re interested, it’s The Travelling Heart Project.