A couple of weeks ago, I helped my parents’ neighbor John, build a floating raft. Nothing fancy, a wooden box and some foam billets for flotation. We hustled and built it in two nights, so his kids could jump off of it as soon as possible (”Is it done yet? Is it done yet?”). It felt really good to come up with a plan, execute it, and see people enjoying it in such a short time.

They’ve named it the S.S. Minnow.

John’s son Matt liked the Minnow so much, he made me a model of it out of popsicle sticks. It looks great, I can’t wait to hang it on my Christmas tree.

Well, sort of. Dave and I took home the coveted “Special Jury’s Meat Lover’s Honorable Mention” at the Jell-O Mold Competition. Dave get’s most of the credit for his beef consommé with horseradish and pork consommé infused with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and star anise gelatins.

The event was a ton of fun, but it was hot. We put our Jell-O sculptures up on the wall and they did pretty well for the first 30 to 40 minutes. Long enough to get them photographed and for a couple of judges to get a look. But the heat turned out to be too much. After an hour or two of lying flat, they finally gave out and melted into a bovine/swine puddle. Yum.

We met some great people and saw some amazing pieces by the other competitors. I can’t wait for next year.

My friend Dave “Big Dog” Gould and I are entering the Jell-O Mold Competition at my studio. I went last year, and it was great. If you are in town, you should check it out.

Dog and I are going with two savory gelatins: Beef Consomme with horseradish and Pork Consomme infused with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, star anise (Both Dog’s idea). They will be in the shape of a bull head and a boar head. The plan is for them to hang from a diorama-like wall, similar to mounted hunting trophies. Pics of our mock-ups below.

The very talented BDan designed this great label for Finn’s Army (cough, going to be sold at the model citizens nyc show, cough, cough).

I love the look of this.

My friend Cherry Sunshine asked if she could use my Upper East Slide idea for a baby hoodie.

I think it turned out great.