It started when I made cupcakes for everyone in the office one Tuesday, it’s the day of the week that usually is the most stressful, not Monday and not quite the middle of the week, so as a fun way to share a little joy a week later Martin made some yummy flapjacks and coined the phrase ‘Free Food Tuesday’. We posted to Twitter using the hashtag #FreeFoodTuesday.

The rules of Free Food Tuesday are simple.

1. 1. Items MUST be homemade, not from a packet or shop bought.
2. 2. Items can be anything you like, savoury or sweet.
3. 3. Items must be shared on a Tuesday. (This rule has been broken a few times!)
4. 4. There must be enough food for everyone to try.
5. 5. You must write on the list what you intend to make at least 1 week before.

We’ve had everything from cakes to trifles and here’s a look back over the last 6 months at the ones we managed to get photos for.

After my cupcakes and Martin D’s awesome flapjacks we decided to open the floor and ask people to sign up to a list! So Rachel S (well her brother since she spent the night in A&E) made chocolate crispy cakes, and plenty of them! We then saw shortbread from Iain, and chocolate brownies from Clair that were eaten so fast we didn’t get a photo!

We had lemon drizzle cake from Mike and two types of cake (fruit cake and vanilla sponge) from Ben E. Scott wowed us with his raspberry & white chocolate cookies while on my second round, I made fruit mini pies (pictured above on left), a spin on the new fad of pie pops. After that Graham treated us to a pineapple and cherry upside down cake which got us in a fruity mood for James‘ genius trifles (pictured above in centre) which had us all ooooooing and ahhhhhhing followed by yummy vanilla and chocolate cupcakes made by Sarah (pictured above on right).

September said hello to a cake made by Martin P and a late entry from Rachel S with some melt in the mouth shortbread. We were then all in cake heaven when Martin D stole the show with his coffee and walnut cake (pictured above on left and centre) which he transported to the office in a frying pan because his cake tin wasn’t quite big enough. October was finished with Jo’s double chocolate cupcakes, Rachel A’s brownie muffins (pictured above on right) and I made some Halloween inspired cupcakes, cinnamon and apple topped with apple and caramel (pictured below on left).

Lee swooped in with a triple surprise. Three cakes, and yes, all three were yummy. He made (well Hayley his talented wife made shall we suspect) a chocolate brownie cake, a lemon drizzle cake and a cherry loaf cake (all pictured above in centre) Mike took another go and gave us a lovely soft marble cake and Clair gave us another delight of her chocolate brownies. For my final attempt in 2011 I made lemon biscuits for my birthday (pictured above on right).

Finally in 2011 we have the last stars of the show. Chris broke rule 3 and decided to treat us to his cinnamon buns on a Monday (pictured above on left). They were good so we let him off. And if one rule breaker wasnt enough, Hayley also broke rule 3 with her stain glass window biscuits and Gingerbread Cake with Orange Festive Icing. Made by Hayley, decorated by Iz (age 5) (pictured above on left and right).

We have one more week for this year and so we’ve already started a list for 2012 and we’re hoping to have a few savoury options next year too. We have names on the list to fill 2 months and a few beyond that. So go on, try it in your office, see who bakes like a king, and who can barely bake a cookie. Get a calendar printed up with a name and food column and get baking!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

The photos were then edited and used to promote American Soda’s new video review feature and featured products page, and will be used for new and exciting developments in the future. We got some great results and over 1000 photos for the client. If you want something similar, give us a call on 0161 368 9814 and see what we can do for you.

Willow Wood Hospice provides specialist Palliative Care to those suffering with life-threatening illnesses. The Hospice first opened its doors for Day Hospice patients in May 1999 and for In-Patients the following September. Since then, the Hospice has cared for more than 2,000 patients and their families.

The Charity lays personally with the staff at Fluid Creativity, with some of our friends and family using the purpose built Hospice, and so it was an easy choice to choose Willow Wood as our free charity project for 2010/2011.

With the Logo and Stationery already designed, 2011 sees the launch of the re-brand for Willow Wood and re-establishes the friendly face that’s been apart of Tameside’s history for over 15 years. Fluid Creativity are proud to be a part of this exciting change.

It’s that time of year where the BBC dusts off Terry Wogan and the country comes together to embark on various zany schemes to raise money for a range of worthwhile children’s charities.  You may have noticed that we’ve decked out our homepage to help spread the word and we’ll be throwing in a few quid for the kids.

We hope that you’ll join us and dig deep – make a donation directly here!

The toys act as bargaining chips around Walt Disney World as you dont know which in the series you’ve bought. Each series comes in a different box, and inside is a sealed bag containing your Vinylmation and collectors card. You can then swap with other collectors, at swap stations within Walt Disney World or online!

It became my husbands quest to buy a Woody Vinylmation after getting a buzz on the first buy, and then a Jessie. We came home at the end of the holiday with 7 in total, swapping 2 Wheezy’s and 2 Jessies… and finally finding Woody on our last morning. (Please, no giggles, it was a serious matter!)

Here a few more of my favourites…

Music inspired Vinylmation by Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante

Kermit the erm Frog!

Animal Kingdom series

Websites have recently taken a slice of homemade pie, embracing old techniques, textures and influences from print processes to create truly unique examples, all while using modern examples of css and html.

We will look at a few examples of what to spot in 2010 and hopefully influence you for 2011.

Textures

Paper textures are very popular and enables a website to have depth and a warm inviting feeling. Websites using this technique have the fun effect, which is why it is more commonly used on ecommerce and info websites.

The easiest way to introduce texture is with actual resources, handmade and not digitally created. This way you really get an authentic feel of rustic charm!

Letterpress has come back in a big way thanks to css3 techniques that allow the nicer browsers to render text with drop shadows, done correctly and you can really get the wow effect. Together with hand drawn elements it’s a winning combination!

Retro & Vintage

Retro is the new contemporary, it’s a fact, and there are many websites popping up that can carry a good ole fashioned design and cheek to match. The style and class it brings with it lends well to kitchy subjects or product showcases.

Think beautiful typography, retro patterns and muted colours for a perfect retro or vintage look.

Bright and Loud

Nothing says fun and exciting more than a colour way that ticks all the boxes. It’s like sucking a sour sweet and hitting the centre; it’s a nice surprise.

With bright comes loud, and they sit so well together. Break out promotions; stickers and explosions of colour sit nicely with blocks of flat colour or a balancing background all to give focus to the areas that really matter.

Will you be bold enough to try this trend?

Wonderful Grids

Grids are back, and in a big way! (to be fair, we should have been using them all along..) More and more we are seeing websites that fall into beautiful thirds or adhere to grids so military, a pixel out and the whole illusion can be ruined (well in IE anyways). Grids are being used more so in design orientated websites, such as agencies, ecommerce and brochure websites.

We love that designers are thinking about space and using grids more strictly. We even think its kind of you to use consistent spacing giving developers a nice time during the build process. But remember, curve balls are always nice, even in the strictest of grids. (Sorry developers)

Interactive Elements

Flash hasn’t quite disappeared yet, and we shouldn’t discount it before seeing the clever additions it can give to websites in 2010. Yes, we can now create interactive websites that use JavaScript or clever css techniques that in term can be search friendly and accessible, but we haven’t quite mastered the same effect flash can have on a users interactivity – and that warm feeling inside.

Nifty rollovers, impact promotions, the ideas are truly endless, and as technology grows, so do our ideas and what we can do with flash. We have no idea how flash will appear in the future of modern web design, but lets love it while its here.

Mobile Versions & Apps

Apps, apps, apps. Lets face it, the iphone has made a huge impact over the past few years and apps have blown up in a big way. You can get an app for almost everything, and we mean everything. But, in another way, companies have jumped on the idea that people are using iphones more than their computers, so having a mobile version of their website makes complete sense.

Need to check your twitter, or your facebook? You could use the app if you have an iphone, but if you are using another device, websites like twitter and facebook have mobile versions which cuts down on screen size, load time and sometimes features, which means browsing becomes fast and easy! Who doesn’t love fast and easy??

Meet Skinput, a technology that hopefully will soon be changing our lives… imagine this bad boy with implant technology, wireless and completely customisable…

What possibilities can you think up? Human Computers and bio linked chips, no more identity theft or online fraud? How far can we take it before people start shouting about ‘human rights’?

*just a note that we all love Britney here at Fluid…

… Only Joking. We just think he looks like a cross between Jamie Oliver and that guy out of Fallout Boy. Plus he is into his food, so its a perfect wind up. Enjoy!! And for all those that dont know what Wayne looks like… here he is (left) with MD Lee Turner (right)

It’s very easy to do yourself, simply create a square .png 57 x 57 pixels without gloss, transparency or rounded corners and the iphone will create the rest of the magic!

Link it in your website header with the code:

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/images/iphone.png" />

Its as easy as pie!