Vintage Porcelain Painted with Tiny, Lifelike Ants: Teaparty, Ruined!

German artist Evelyn Bracklow paints tiny, realistic black ants on vintage porcelain, making the pieces appear to be crawling with the insects. Why exactly, I’m not sure, but they certainly make for an interesting conversation piece. Or my wife screaming we’ve got ants in the house and breaking a piece of expensive dinnerware with a thrown shoe.

Evelyn makes some of her pieces available for sale through her Etsy shop, but they’re not cheap. So if you fancy yourself an artist, you might want to consider buying some used dinnerware from the thrift store and try painting your own. That’s what I did, and let’s just say maybe Evelyn’s prices aren’t so unreasonable after all.

I love whimsical objects, and these certainly fit the bill. The hardest part is going to be convincing my wife to let me spend $360 on an antsy teapot when I don’t even drink tea. Now I’m not trying to sound too hoity-toity here, but I’ve always been more of a grape soda kind of guy.

[via Colossal]

Giant Ant Toys: There Goes The Picnic

Makers of the entirely unnecessary but absolutely wanted, Archie McPhee is selling these giant ant toys for $8. Available in a package of six, each hard vinyl insect measures 2-3/4″ long from antennae to ant butt and is sure to get a rise out of my wife when she finds them in the pantry. I think it goes without saying, but breakfast in bed will probably be out of the question that morning.

The six-pack includes two each of black, brown, and red ants. I remember getting stung by a bunch of red ants before. Not my fondest memory. My fifth birthday either. I asked for a Nintendo Game Boy, but do you know what I got? Poison ivy.

Be sure to bring some along on your next picnic! Maybe they’ll scare the real ants away. Or maybe they’ll mate and give rise to a new race of giant killer ants. If that happens though I will tell everyone it was all your fault.