Austrian artist and designer Andreas Scheiger came up with this clever, functional piece of art: a taxidermy inspired wall-mounted bicycle hanger.    The project combines two of my favorite previous ManMade posts - a bike hanger created from drop handlebars, and the Picasso-inspired bicycle taxidermy. 

You can see Andreas' full collection for sale at Behance, but I think this is ripe for a DIY effort.

They sell wooden plaques at craft stores, but upgrading to a finer hardwood like oak, maple, or walnut and cutting them out with a coping or jigsaw would make a more elegant and stronger finished piece. You can find all sorts of plague, badge, and shield designs online for patterns. For used bike parts, check out your local bike co-op or community workspace. To attach, take your handlebars to the hardware store, and size the correct pipe straps in the plumbing section, available in galvanized and copper.

See them all on Upcycle Fetish: Crafts, Furniture Design, Sculpting 

Like many of you, I suspect, I'd never heard of Fire Cider until a few weeks ago. It's a homemade tonic, and it wasn't historically something you could buy, and it wasn't a tradition in my family.   But, after stumbling upon a bottle of Shire City Fire Cider at a local market, and I snapped a photo and did some research. Turns out, is this old folk concoction of aromatics, vinegar, and other fermented goodies that's good for whatever ails you. 

Alex Redgrave reports,

Traditionally a cold remedy, many people take a hit of the cure-all every morning, since it’s known to have anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting, decongestant and digestive properties. Needless to say, with all those healing abilities, Fire Cider is not for sensitive palates or lily livers. The heady tonic has a way of making a clean sweep of your digestive system. (Woe to the person who kicks off a daily Fire Cider habit directly following a night of copious drinking…). As with most things in life, moderation is key. We recommend working your way up to gulping down the remedy with gusto. 

Of course, since for hundreds of years it was a homemade product, you can (and should) make some yourself. The Kaufmann Mercantile blog shares a recipe, which uses fresh horseradish, ginger, onions, garlic, chiles, and a full quart of apple cider vinegar. 

Not for the weak, for sure, but I can't wait to give this stuff a shot. Get the recipe: 

Fire Cider [Kauffman Mercantile blog] 

I love reading this story of Yale faculty member Scott Strobel, who takes fallen trees from the Yale campus and mills them into large hardwood blanks, which he turns (literally) into hardwood bowls.

Dr. Strobel, who serves as vice president in addition to overseeing lab work in biochemistry and biophysics, discovered his passion for woodworking when he realized how disappointed he was in the availability of high-quality furniture. "Converting his wife’s garage to a woodshop, he collected large chunks of a walnut tree that had fallen on campus, milled it, and built the lovely, salvaged wood into a coffee table and television stand....After this experience, he became more interested in harvesting the historic trees around the New Haven, Connecticut campus. Some trees, too small to mill and turn into furniture, became the perfect candidates for pens and bowls. Now, fallen trees mobilize a network of arborists and groundskeepers who appreciate his craft."

I particularly enjoy how eloquently Strobel speaks about his craft of lathework. He says, 

Turning wood is very different than making furniture. With a desk, say, you make a design with closest attention, planning everything down to, say, an eight of an inch. Invaria bly you modify it as you are making it, but in the end you make pretty much what you drew. With turning, you walk into the garage and the wood tells you what to do—how can you make the best thing you can with the wood.

Unique features, like the wood’s knots or bark occlusions (bark buried in the wood), tell you which way to go with the design. When you cut the log in half, you can see right away if it is going to have a nice shape with a natural, barky edge, or if it will be better to flip the shape and create a regular, finished bowl with a smooth edge.... It’s a different kind of creative construction...like a deconstruction—tearing the wood away. I’ve tried to do pottery, and it feels completely backwards.  

Read the full piece on Dr. Strobel at Make:, where you'll find cool links, videos, and a story about Yale alum Paul Giamatti. 

Professor Strobel’s Superb Bowls [Makezine.com]

I've gone on record countless times about my love of the standing desk, the research I've seen on the perils of sitting all day, and my own personal solution for long days on the laptop: the 5-second standing desk (on which I'm currently working.)    All that said, I'm super impressed with this take on the standing desk by Emma and Trey of A Beautiful Mess. It's essentially an affordable wall-mounted bar. I love that the default, err...only height is at standing level, and in order to sit down, you have to specifically choose to, in those cool rustic bar stools. (Anyone know where they got those?)

Their version is constructed from super inexpensive softwood panels and extra large shelf brackets, and mitered in the corner for a wrap around design. But you could switch up the materials and mounting technique to customize the look.

There's no storage, and of course, you've have to be staring at the wall all day, but I'm seriously considering something like this for my next office space. (You can see my current one here, if you'd like.) 

Get the full how-to: Building a Standing Desk [A Beautiful Mess] 

It's comes as a surprise to no one, but there's now some official scientific evidence that drinking with your friends is has a positive impact on your mental health.    A Scottish study revealed looked at "men aged 30-50 who drank in groups in the pub. Researcher Dr Carol Emslie asked about drinking habits and was surprised they said pub visits benefited their mental health. 'The most surprising thing was the way drinking opened up a space for men to behave in alternative ways that aren’t so associated with masculinity,' she said. 'There was the idea if you’ve had a few drinks it really helps you to express emotion in a way you might not in your everyday life. I did not ask about mental health. This they raised themselves.'

The two things to note here is not that drinking is necessarily good for you, nor that hanging out with your buddies and many beers doesn't encourage one to consume more alcohol than appropriate. Rather, it's the communal aspect of being in a group, large or small, plus the social atmosphere provided by pubs, and perhaps alcohol, that lends to boast to your mental health.

Emslie says, “There is a stereotype that men are strong and silent about their mental health and it is something they never talk about. This wasn’t what we found. It was very much the idea that alcohol or drinking in these communal groups had this positive effect on your mental health. You’re drinking together, you’re laughing and joking and it’s uplifting. It helps you to open up and relax. Also men talked about it being a way of looking out for each other.”

The full piece features a fair assessment of the study in relationship with the danger of over consumption of alcohol.

Read it at The Scotsman: Socialising in pubs ‘boosts mens’ mental health' 

Delno, a maker from the Twin Cities, MN, built this guy above...which looks like a simply plywood box with a lightbulb inside. But, the project is actually a great experiment in hiding secret compartments inside plywood....and this rather small shape is clandestinely housing a surprising amount of stuff. 

Look at all that hidden storage:    

Delno says, 

This screenshot from the video shows just how much he managed to store inside: 

Check out all the cool tricks and watch this thing come together at Instructables: Secret Compartment Plywood Lamp

For the ManMade take on building hidden bookshelf compartments, check out my tutorial: How to: Make a Secret Bookshelf Stash and Storage Spot

As a full time DIY blogger and editor, I see my fair share of furniture makeovers. Dresser makeovers, in particular, since their strong bones and relative low-level of use make them great fodder for a redo.

In a seriousness and sincerity - this is absolutely, 100% my favorite furniture makeover project I've ever come across online, or in print. 

Check out this after shot:    

BOOM! 

Right? David and Sarah created new walnut legs that transforms this solid but shabby dresser into a huge statement piece. Of course, it helps to have an amazing dresser to start with; Sarah picked this one up an an estate sale for only $8.00. But the real tricks lies in complementing the standard primer/paint makeover technique with this handmade legs. They look complicated, but they were built with just a jigsaw and a drill.

Incredible. And totally doable. Start keeping your eyes peeled for the right piece to try this technique.

See the project in full at Sarah M. Dorsey Designs: Adding Legs to a Mid Century Modern Dresser | How To

Gentlemen, Cupid is in the hood. What are you going to do? Freak out? Nah, that's for amateurs. In this guide, we're showing you how to rock V-Day like a pro.   

No matter whom you're celebrating Valentine's Day with, it always seems to be a huge (expensive) hassle, flowers are overpriced, restaurants are jam-packed, and the available cards super lame. So what's a guy to do? Easy:

Just keep it simple!

Follow these steps and we guarantee you'll have a blast - and all within a budget. And hopefully, actually embrace the holiday and show someone you care.  (Also, baking together is always a win. Try the Finnish pulla bread recipe pictured at top at Kinfolk.)

1. Do not stress:

This is pretty obvious. The more you stress about this day the more you'll tend to spend waaay to much money (and time) and go over your budget. Remember, it's just a day with extra fun and added intent! Make it about spending time with that special someone and the chocolate.

- Set your budget and put that money aside NOW

- Get whatever amount you decided to spend in cash, that way you can't go over it

- Or, if using your card, track your spending with a special budget in apps like Mint

2. Choose a (not crowded) spot:

This one should be easy! Just pick your favorite spot. Unless your favorite spot is a super loud restaurant with crazy lines. For the rest of you/us who are on the same quiet-chill wave, here are some tips:

- Stay home! Clean your place, spruce up the dinning room table and you're done. No line-ups, no resos needed.

- Go into the wild! If nature is your thing, plan an outing near your town. Double check to make sure make sure it's not closed because of winter conditions, and dress accordingly.

- Ask your partner where to go! Why keep it all in secret and break your head trying to figure out "the perfect spot" when you can just ask? Sometimes surprises are really not the way to go. 

3. Get food and drinks the day before:

Whatever you do, do NOT go out shopping on February 14th. Consider that day  the zombie apocalypse and treat it like you can't leave your house for 24 hours. So plan ahead:

- A baguette, a few cheeses, and a nice bottle of wine does the trick

- Stay away from Valentine's displays at the store as those items are probably marked up! Again, who needs heart shaped stuff? If you need some food recipes, here you go

- Make cocktails using stuff you already have in your bar. If you need a few recipes/methods we have plenty over here, and most of them are created with ingredients you can find in your pantry. 

4. DIY for the win!

Even though you only have a few days before Valentine's, you can still create something awesome and useful . Think outside the box!

- What does your better half really need? Not want, but need. For example, a new dog leash, or some super cool trivets for his/her new apartment?  Or maybe a super easy to make canvas wallet? If you need more ideas you can always check our Pinterest board where we have tons of easy "in a few minutes" projects.

- Also, you don't NEED to give and actual object. Maybe just cook dinner and wash dishes so one of you gets to sit down and relax? Or even offer to wash all that salt off their car when the snow melts. Seriously, those simple things are always a hit. 

5. Look Charming

Get your clothes ready in advance as you'll probably need to run around a bit and the last thing you want to do is iron a shirt while cooking dinner or shaking a drink. And definitely don't spend money on new items! Instead dig out your best pieces and....

- Trim trim trim. Beard, mustacho, and anything else that needs trimming. No Yetis allowed for dinner.

- Look sharp but stay comfortable, especially if you're gonna be eating and drinking, you don't want pants that barely let you breathe or a shirt that makes you sweat like a pig. 

- It's all in the accessories: add a bow tie or a regular tie and you'll up your game times 100. Button up, get a little bit of a shoe shine, and - of course - take a SHOWER.

6. Create an epic playlist:

Valentine's day isn't the time to try to introduce anyone to new music, but rather create a playlist with songs you both love, songs that carry a meaning, whether they're "romantic" or not. You don't need to play Sinatra if Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros is your jam!

- Write down special memories on a piece of paper and think of songs that remind you of that

- Quickly go to SoundCloud to create your own FREE playlist (in there they're called "sets"). SoundCloud has a HUGE selection of music that you can quickly add without having to download any files. Save it, download the app to your phone - also free - or play it from your computer and you're good to go.

- Make sure to have at least 2-3 hours worth of music (about 20 to 30 songs).

- Don't make the playlist about you...remember you're doing it for the other person!

- When everything else fails, play Barry White

7. And most importantly...ENJOY IT!

The real meaning of this whole thing is to spend a little bit of time together without having to worry about bills, work, or anything else.  With a simple dinner and a movie you are already saying "I care!" - which is golden, right?

You pretty much can plan the whole evening for $50 or less (pizza and beer tasting would definitely be cheaper and super fun).  Simply do whatever the hell feels right for you and follow the few easy steps above to make sure everything's A-OK.

And juuuust in case you forget something, here's a little TO-DO list for ya:

1. Choose a spot/theme and a budget

2. Get food and drinks the day before (use your phone's note pad for grocery lists)

3. Are you going to give her/him something? Plan accordingly. Also, make it.

4. Create an epic playlist for FREE

5. Get your shoe shine and outfit ready the day before (iron your shirt, wash your jeans, find your tie)

6. Lots of, um, smooching!! (you're welcome).

Hope you have a fantastic Valentine's Day!

"Will It Beard?" is a new series by art director Pierce Thiot and his wife Stacy. I'm guessing you can figure out what it's all about.    

Pierce told Buzzfeed " 'Over Christmas break, my mom had her grandkids do a talent show for her (she’s an adorable grandma). I tried to put as many pencils as possible in it for my “talent.” I got over 20. Needless to say, my mother was very proud.' From there, Pierce and his wife decided to see what else they could get to stay stuck in his beard. "

Pierce and Stacy are documenting their experiments on a Tumblr blog and a dedicated Instagram account. 

[via Junkculture] 

Face it. Sometimes, clothing wears out. Even hard working denim...   

We've all got that favorite piece of clothing that we refuse to throw away. It's comfortable, and the fit is perfect, right? Yeah, we hear ya.

So, here are a few ways to save it:

1. As in the picture at top, rather trying to cover any signs of wear and tear, make them stand out! Simply patch it up with some fabric that's somewhat similar or go the total opposite, maybe use some cool plaid or corduroy, and let those stitches show.

2. Add to the mess: get some sandpaper and work the neck a little bit, just enough so it looks more worn. Another something to dry is to re-dye the shirt: you can try watered down Rit dye, or some leftover coffee or tea. 

3. Update the components: trying replacing the buttons to something like mother-of-pearl snaps. It takes a few minutes and it really switches up the look. By adding a "new" element you balance the whole mess so it doesn't look like a dirty rag.

4. Turn an old pair of pants into shorts: follow our no-sew ManMade guide here: How to: Make Your Own Shorts from a Pair of Pants...No Sewing Required

5. Lastly, you can just fix the problem. We enlisted the help of tailor and seamster Danni Trester to help you through some common repairs. Check out our DIY Tailor series here. 

See? That was easy. You can do all this while watching Breaking Bad reruns, so give it a shot. 

Image credit: Levis

Depending on where you live, these are are known by different names. I'd just call it a "knit cap" or "stocking cap"...some call them tuques, wool hat, toboggan. My hat-loving friend from the Southwest U.S. even calls every non-brimmed hat a "beanie"...whereas in my mind, a beanie is made of rainbow panels, and definitely has a propeller on top. Language is neat.

Whatever you call them, they're a staple item this time of year, and can be worn in a variety of ways to evoke different traditions.     Laura from The Purlbee call this "the boyfriend hat" and note how standard this item can be for guys. She says, "Some things are for the everyman and, as it turns out, for the everywoman too. I designed the Boyfriend Hat with the versatility of any timeless article of clothing. Man or woman, wear it slouchy or cuffed. Pull it down taut or let it hover above the ears. Cuff it twice for a Wes Anderson style watchman cap....This hat is also exceptionally elastic and durable, hugging the head and feeling decadently soft, even through winter’s wear and tear."

I'm not a knitting expert...or even an intermediate, but this is the kind of project that makes me want to bust out the needles and learn more about the technique. 

Get the full how-to on The Purl Bee: Laura's Loop - The Boyfriend Hat

I know how to tie a tie in three different ways...though I really only use the one (Half Windsor). I figured there were, oh, seven or eight other ways to do it, and perhaps I'd learn them at some point Turns out, I was way off on that number. By about, oh, a hundred and seventy seven thousand one hundred and thirty five. Ish.    

See, in 1999, two scholars from the University of Cambridge figured out there were about eighty-five ways to make a tie knot. Then, some researchers in Stockholm built on their findings, and, inspired by The Matrix Reloaded, determined the actual number to be something like 177,147. 

Really? Really. See how in the video from Slate below: 

The 177,147 Ways to Tie a Tie. And what that has to do with The Matrix Reloaded [Slate.com]

Pictured: The J. Crew Ludlow Double Vent Jacket in Glen Plaid English Wool 

We all need an inexpensive way to store little sets of goodies: the ingredients for a project, that paperwork you've meaning to get to, your daily carry items that you take off and out of your pockets each evening. To keep everything in check, allow me to suggest these simple, rugged leather storage bins

Between The Lines calls this a "minimalistic DIY project" and obviously it caught our eye. First of all it's simple enough to make in a few minutes and it can be done with scrap pieces of leather found at any fabric shop (check the discount bin.

You can even pick different hues of leather to create an ombre effect or go for all black to create that sleek, executive look. 

Get the full list of materials and steps over atBetween The Lines - Folded leather basket :: a minimalistic DIY

Backpacker Bill Passman has a goal. An understandable goal for any adventure traveler: he wants to visit every country on Earth, and see what there is to see. So, to keep track of his adventures, Bill got a large scale tattooed back piece on his corpus, detailing the boundaries of each of the 196 countries on our planet. Once he visits one, he gets its borders colored in to document his explorations. 

As of late 2013, Bill has visited the majority of North and South America, Western Europe, Southen Africa, the Mediterranean, Antarctica, Scandinavia and Russia, and parts of Oceania and Eastern Asia. I sincerely hope he's able to finish the piece, and admire his commitment to both the tattoo and his travels. 

Cheers, Bill. See more at TwentyTwoWords: Backpacker creatively and painfully notes his world travels on a huge tattoo 

A fine pair of audio speakers is a common sight at a secondhand store, but, of course, there's a reason the original donor got rid of them. Perhaps it was a failure in the wiring (easily fixable), a distaste for the 80s faux wood laminate case work (um...paintable?), but most likely, it's a simple aging and drying of the speaker's foam that amounts to poor sound quality and projection that caused the speakers to be tossed. If that's the case, there's a simple, affordable fix to get them back in hi-fi quality and pushing the air with whatever tunes you pump into them. 

Usually, it's simply the edges of a tweeter or woofer that fail, and the cabinet and cones in fine shape. So, Instructable-r Andrea Biffi came up with a clever solution to bring them back to life for a mere $15.00.

Get the full how-to at Instructables, and rock out! Re-Foam Your Old Speakers

Some guys have their go-to libation: no matter the time, no matter the place, they want this beer or that drink, and the matter really isn't up for discussion. Others are constantly switching up their poisons, perusing the menu for familiar flavors, taking the advice of the bartender, or simply having what everyone else at the table ordered.

Then, there's the rest of us; those that I describe as the seasonal explorers, who take different chunks of time to learn about a certain style of beer, a region of wine, or a family of cocktails. They never order the same glass twice, because the goal isn't reliability, it's the adventure of comparing a variety of options to learn about what goes into the Platonic ideal of said glass-filler.    

For these people, allow ManMade to suggest - this winter, you should be drinking: The Sidecar. 

The Sidecar is a historic drink, which was invented at some point in the post-World War I era of Prohibition. And, there hasn't been much of a reason to change it since. The cocktail has a perfect balance of sweetness with the energy of fresh lemon and oak flavors of brandy. And it's particularly suited to winter because, well, it's full of winter flavors: earthy aged spirits, bright winter citrus, and plenty of zip that makes it okay to be stuck inside.

It's also dead simple to make, and the basic recipe - 2:1:3/4 - applies to all sorts of cocktails, such as a margarita, Daiquiri, and the other citrus-brightened drinks. And unlike some concoctions - full of not beloved flavors like gin, Campari, or even whiskey, the Sidecar is made with ingredients everyone likes. 

Plus, it's a booze-forward drink, and doesn't require you to get a bunch of speciality liqueurs or mix up and custom infusions to make one. Sometimes, you'll see them with sugared rims or flamed orange peels, but while pleasant, those aren't really unnecessary for a homemade version. Just measure, shake, and go...err, stay. It's cold out there.

The ManMade Sidecar

• 2 oz. brandy (we vote Cognac)
• 1 oz. Cointreau or Gran Marnier
• 3/4 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist or orange peel, or, do what we do at the ManMade HQ and just drink it while you make another.

Cheers!

In 1980, the U.S. men's ice hockey team was made up of a collection of amateur and collegiate athletes hardly known for its hockey prowess in any region south of the Great Lakes. In a medal round match against the Soviet Union - an ice hockey powerhouse and then Cold War-era antagonist - the U.S. team managed to beat the CCCP in what became known as the "Miracle on Ice," and the moment that Sports Illustrated dubbed the Top Sports Moment of the entire 20th century.    The win over the Soviet Union, which had won the gold medal in six of the seven previous Olympic Winter Games, also popularized the now standard "U-S-A!" chant which any U.S. citizen has internalized as the most straightforward way to encourage our athletes.

AT&T, a proud sponsor of Team USA and the U.S. Paralympic Team, invite you to join them in celebrating our U.S. Olympians by joining in the iconic chant. Download the #ItsOurTime app and record yourself shouting the iconic ‘USA!’ chant and help drive Team USA to gold in Sochi. Then, use the #ItsOurTime hashtag to share stories of inspiration through your favorite social media channels.

You can download the app at the iTunes or Google Play store, and upload your video to support Team USA. I just made my own, which you can see here!

To get you pumped, check out this Q&A with Alpine snowboarder Justin Reiter

Download the app at the iTunes or Google Play store, and learn more at att.com/TeamUSA. 

This post was sponsored by AT&T. All opinions mine. 

Each Wednesday, I post some of my favorite can't-miss links, images, and otherwise mindblowing goodies from across the web. 

New York artist Calvin Seibert recently visited Hawaii, where he spent 10 days experimenting with abstract, geometric sandcastles and shapes.

I wouldn't even know where to begin...probably lots and lots of molds, right? See more of this recent series at Colossal.

How to: Wrap your Knuckles for Speed Work, posted on Wizard Varnish

Grape juice can be an amazing motivator “A Handy Tip For the Easily Distracted” by Miranda July 

A Nigerian restaurant was busted for selling roasted human heads. (*Note*: Roasted human heads not pictured)

I like these rugged canvas and leather aprons from Hardmill. (Though I am definitely over brands using the word "Stockists" in their nav bars.)

The backyard earth oven has been taken to a whole new (accessible) level...

Designer Mirko Ihrig came up with the stunning Bread From Scratch. As Mirko mentions, bread has been a part of our diet for centuries, no matter one's social status or ethnic background. Unfortunately in this day and age of mass production, the art and tradition of making things from scratch has been lost; this is where Mirko's design steps in to showcase - in a beautiful, modern way - how something as simple as bread is made.

The design includes an oven, stone mill, bowl to prepare the dough, a boars to knead the dough, and a paddle to transfer the freshly baked product to the table. The earthen oven design works equally well for pizza, tortillas, and all kinds of flatbreads.

To see more detailed photos, check out Mirko's website (and also take a look at his other great designs!).