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Beautiful Works of Art Drawn on Starbucks Boards From the US and Japan 【Photo Gallery】

Beautiful Works of Art Drawn on Starbucks Boards From the US and Japan 【Photo Gallery】

We’ve all seen them; the familiar pitch-black boards at Starbucks announcing the newest coffee flavors or the month’s specials. Usually there’s not much to look at, just some nicely scrawled letters and maybe a decent looking drawing of a Starbucks cup. But take a look at the picture above; it could almost pass as a painting in a museum. The black board above was spotted at the Starbucks in front of the Tokyo University of the Arts. We’re guessing the Starbucks worker who drew it is also an art student. Browsing the net, there are actually a surprising number of artists masquerading as baristas all over the world. Take a look at the most impressive pieces of art found on Starbucks boards from the US and Japan.

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You’re Not Really Japanese Until You Have a Set of Sliding Door Power Outlet Covers

You’re Not Really Japanese Until You Have a Set of Sliding Door Power Outlet Covers

Yes, you can use chopsticks, and yes, you pronounce the words karate and karaoke “correctly” in the middle of your otherwise English sentence, but you’re not a hardcore Japanophile until you’ve kitted your home’s power outlets out with these hugely unnecessary but utterly brilliant shoji sliding paper door covers.

Made by hobbyist and blogger Tori Sugimura, these little wooden boxes feature delicate sliding doors and real washi paper panels as well as traditional Japanese design features like flowers and wading cranes.

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Immortalize Yourself as a Plastic Figure for Just $260!!!

Immortalize Yourself as a Plastic Figure for Just $260!!!

Ever since I saw Han Solo get encased in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a plastic mould of my friends and family, albeit without sealing them inside the stuff…

Thanks to a little company in Japan called Omote 3D Shashin Kan, though, my dream may be about to become a reality!

Using both 3-D scanning and 3-D printing technology, the ingenious company has made it possible to turn yourself or those you love into a tiny, ultra-detailed figure, with three sizes to choose from.

You’ll have to excuse me if I’m jumping the gun slightly when I say this, but this is clearly the best thing ever!

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Cool Japanese Music Video Brings Back 8-Bit Google Maps…Kinda

Cool Japanese Music Video Brings Back 8-Bit Google Maps…Kinda

Remember Google’s 8-bit Google Maps April Fools’ prank from earlier this year?

Japanese four-piece all-female rock band, Negoto, have taken the idea to the next level by integrating their new music video with an 8-bit map of Tokyo so that it tracks the singer’s location as she goes on a grand adventure across the city.

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Turn Trash into Stylish Accessories with “Pick a Jewel!”

Turn Trash into Stylish Accessories with “Pick a Jewel!”

If you were a kid in the era of pull tabs on canned drinks, you must remember pretending that you were giving your friend a diamond ring when you placed it on their finger.  Maybe you collected pull tabs and made chain necklaces!  With a little imagination the pull tabs were beautiful pieces of jewelry, if only for a moment.

These days pull tabs have given way to stay-on tabs and, sadly, soda can accessorizing is no longer possible.

What is possible is making lovely jewelry out of items you’d normally throw away.  Things like paper, leaves, and netting can all turned into stylish jewelry with Pick a Jewel, a series of simple clip accessories that transforms trash into treasure—if you’ve got the creativity to use them!  

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