Lego: Design by Me

Design your own Lego set, complete with a custom box and graphic instruction booklet! That's just too cool!

Google

Today's Google home page! Insert Coin! Happy Birthday Pac-Man.

Fiverr

What would you do for $5? Minds out of the gutter please. Fiverr is a place to post real gigs you'd be willing to do for $5. It lets you find experts, writers, artists, musicians, and programmers who post what they're willing to do for just five bucks. AND you can also post what you need and are willing to pay $5 for.

Aisle Dash

Wedding Planning...Yup been there...Done that...But that doesn't stop me from checking out those very cool planning sites out there.

AOL recently launched their very own wedding planning site - Aisle Dash. & I'm diggin the layout. Like the palette, like the clean spread. Like.

IronicSans

Calling all designers and typography lovers:
So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

David Friedman took 20 Helvetica logos, redid them in Arial (blasphemy!), and made a quiz out of it...up for the challenge?

Layer Cake Shop

Hop on over to the newly opened Layer Cake Shop!

From baking cups, toppers, candles, boxes, labels, cupcake kits and more, Layer Cake Shop has all the goodies a baker or even a would-be baker would love! You can even shop by color - so you know I chose BROWN!

So go check it out, it's a piece of cake!

Hannah Montana

FINALLY! No, I'm not a fan. But I'm a fan of her site! Designed by yours truly, it has finally launched. The official Disney Hannah Montana website - dedicated to anything and everything Hannah Montana.

I worked on this project AFTER leaving Disney full time. I freelanced with their vendor of choice and got to work with other ex-Disney folks, so it was a great gig. Disney work, Disney brands, minus the Disney politics, at least on my end!

So please give Hannah some love and browse around, click through and enjoy the best of both worlds!

DJ ORBIT

DJ Orbit aka Darren, recently launched his website djorbit.net! Designed by yours truly, it was great to work with Darren and Kelley (of Picture Perfect Events) again. It's fun to see a brother/sister duo in action.

djorbit.net explains Darren's philosophy and background, provides awesome mixes you can download, a gallery by Ja Tecson, and a contact form so you can reach out and book him for your next event!

Disney Bridal

Who better to turn to for a "Fairytale Wedding" - than the people who practically coined the term, "Fairytale" - Disney! Yes, the hubby works for the Mouse, and recently launched the online registration application for the Disney Bridal website.

So sign up now and receive exciting news, new designs, event information and trunk show dates! So begin your own Fairytale and harness the Disney Princess in you!

What's Your Problem?

Are you happy? Do you live a content, problem-free life? BORING! You clearly lack some problems, and now there's a cool site ready and willing to give you some. OR better yet, send your perfectly happy friends some trouble their way! Need a Problem is your perfect solution to ruin your perfect life with a problem! Just order one online, (ranging from trivial to nearly unsolvable), and within 48 hours, your problem will be emailed to ya! Once you solve the problem, email your solution and you'll be listed as one of the world's best problem solvers!

So go on already, what's your problem?

A side of Bacon

I don't know about you, but I always order a side of bacon with my meals ;) It's just not complete without it. So now every site can also have a side of bacon to go along with it! Bacolicio.us serves it up. Just put it at the end of http://bacolicio.us/ (For example: http://bacolicio.us/http://www.onecoolpick.com) and there you go, your site served up with a yummy side of bacon. How cool is that!

p.s. doesn't seem to work over flash sites

Plum Denim

Raising a mini trendsetter? Check out Plum Denim Shop! They are an online boutique destination for designer kids clothing and accessories. Find the latest from Small Paul, Harajuku Lovers, Diesel Kids and more!

EXCLUSIVELY COOL JUST FOR YOU!
Kristy and Esther over at PlumDenim.com think you're COOL too, so they have an exclusively COOL offer just for our COOL PICK readers! Take 25% off your order! Just enter code PLUMCHICK25 when you check out. So go check it out! Cool offer ends February 28, 2009.

TOMS Shoes

One for one is their motto. TOMS Shoes is a super cool company with an even cooler mission. For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Does it get any cooler than that? So go ahead and shop for a great cause. Cause changing a life begins with a single step...and steps are just that much easier to take with a pair of shoes on.

{Special thanks to my cool pals Gin and Rita for the cool tip!}

Instructables

Instructables is an awesome site that basically instructs you how to do anything. Perfect for DIY'ers and people who'd rather create things themselves rather than go out and buy it. My personal faves are:
Reuse/Remake Crayons - since all moms know there are always crayons lying around that need some resuscitation
Mug Brownie - do we really need an excuse for chocolate?
Rainy Day Tissue Box Guitar - Fun, quick and easy indoor entertainment to cure cabin fever

Ban Comic Sans

There's no gentle way to put it. I HATE Comic Sans. It's a personal preference to preserve the sanctity of typography. Then I found out there are others, and as Michael Jackson said, "You are not alone." Others, like me, who have taken an extra step forward in the fight to rid the world of such typographical negligence! Ban Comic Sans. And then there is MOEY, who shares a way to rid any website of the wretched nuisance completely! As a designer by trade, and a corporate pixel pusher by day, I'm afraid there is no escaping it for me. As there will always be clients - lovable, huggable, rainbow-loving clients who continue to use and abuse the infamous Comic Sans. It is time to put the Sans in Comic Sans.

Note: I hate the font, not the user, as I have several dear friends who use it and don't abuse it. See? Like Sears, I have a softer side. ;)

Picture Perfect

A New Year means a new list of parties to plan, weddings to attend, events to crash...If you're getting ready to host any soirees, and are hoping to hire Colin Cowie as your event planner, well how about the next best thing? Picture Perfect Events is ready to help you plan all your upcoming celebrations. They also do destination events, so even if you are beyond the purple mountains majesty, they'll come to you! My cool pal Kelley is ready to whip your affair into tip top shape and ensure everything is picture perfect! I know you're thinking you can handle all the planning yourself - but trust me, Kelley's party arsenal is jam packed with original ideas. Ask her about her Juicy Couture Teen Party?

Frustration-Free

Ok, I confess that I haven't unwrapped all of "mr. red's" toys gifts yet. We're trying to span it out, so when he's really in need of some rainy day entertainment, I've got some secret weapons handy.

Ok fine, the truth is, I just can't bear another hard plastic clamshell case, with plastic bendy bindings, and wire ties that are impossible to get off, while our very impatient toddler melts down cause we just can't open the darn packaging to release the toy fast enough. My restless tot and sore fingers just can't take any more torture.

So God Bless Amazon. They recently launched Frustration-Free Packaging - an answer to every parents' prayer! Designed to alleviate "wrap rage," they use recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials. The product itself is exactly the same - they've just streamlined the packaging.

It's on a pilot run for now, with only around 19 products in beta. So please support this so they'll continue it and add more to their Frustration Free Line!

Of course I find this out AFTER the holidays. So here's a Frustration Free Start to 2009.

Go Wayback

Now you can join Doc and hop back in time and go Wayback. This cool site lets you input any url and see what it looked like in the past. Not all of the images will load at times, but you get the idea. For those in the online media and interactive industry, this is a fun way to see how site design has progressed. As 2008 draws closer to an end, why not go Wayback in time and check out how far we've come. Note: Marty McFly and the DeLorean are not included.

Oh Christmas Tree

In the spirit of keeping things not only festive this holiday season, but COOL and creative as well, here's some inspiration. Take a look at these unusual creations of the ever popular christmas tree.

Note to self: I want the Plywood Christmas Tree. (and the modern living room to go with it!)

Overdue Ado

Lately, there's been much ado over an email about an overdue account. Apparently, it's real, and boy is it funny. Check it out and read for yourself. So the next time you have an account overdue, try sending a drawing instead...it may make you famous!