House Blend

The flexibility, affordability, and vast selection of FLOR's modular carpet tiles have long appealed to creative types, but a new offering will really add interest underfoot. A pattern called "Be My Neighbor" features a photo-satellite view of a leafy neighborhood printed on soft, smooth tiles of cropped velvet. Configure one or more sets of six 19.7-inch square tiles to create your own surburban landscape. It's the perfect choice for Google Maps addicts or those feeling nostalgic for the neighborly world of Mr. Rogers. And if you ask nicely, FLOR just might throw in speedy delivery at no extra charge.

Show the world that you know good design and great literature with the help of Out of Print, which sells t-shirts printed with iconic and often out of print book covers. "We work closely with artists, authors, and publishers to license the content that ends up in our collections," note the founders, who are currently offering wearable versions of American Lit. syllabus standbys such as Catcher in the Rye, Invisible Man, and Of Mice and Men. Meanwhile, the vintage vibe goes beyond the graphics. Each 100% cotton shirt is treated to feel soft and worn "like a well-read book."

While surveying the New York Toy Fair for the latest in playthings, we happened upon the ultimate tool for the multitasking creative: edible playdough. Developed by a German company and manufactured in Canada, Yummy Dough might be a tough sell for the toddler crowd (what with communicable diseases and skyrocketing childhood obesity), but we think it has a bright future in the design world. Just mix the Yummy Dough powder with water to create a smooth, kneadable modelling clay. Once you tire of your creations, eat them. More patient types can opt to make it and bake it: Yummy Dough cooks up in 10-20 minutes.

There's no shame in painting by number. The kitschy technique, developed in the 1950s by Detroit's Palmer Paint Company, has been used by artists such as Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst. But if you associate paint-by-number more with boring landscapes and sorry still lifes than artwork worthy of your walls, head to Easy123art. The Louisville-based company will transform your digital photo (or a hard copy submitted by mail) into a custom paint-by-number kit, complete with paint brushes and a 42-hue palette of acrylic paints. Prices range from $49.95 for an 11-by-14-inch art paper kit to $90 for a 16x20 canvas version. Increase your chances at creating a masterpiece by specifying edits when placing your order: crop at will, change up the background color, and airbrush away those glasses.

Whether you adore Valentine's Day or believe it to be one more scheme foisted upon us by greeting card companies and chocolatiers, we suspect you'll find something to appreciate in Williams-Sonoma's Valentine wreath. The homegoods giant has reproduced antique Valentines and arrayed them around a sturdy wire base to create a two-layered paper wreath that only looks better with age. The Victorian images -- heavy on the cherubic youngsters, doves, flowers, and old-fashioned modes of transport -- recall the quirky titles of Monty Python's Flying Circus and are the perfect way to ensure that love is in the air (or at least on the wall) at your home or office.

As if the Internet didn't offer enough ways to lose vast tracts of time, we've found an impossible-to-put-down desk accessory (OK, toy) to challenge your creativity: BuckyBalls Magnetic Building Spheres. The tiny (five millimeter) balls are super-powerful rare earth magnets that can be sculpted into shapes, patterns, jewelry, or the distinctive molecular shape from which they get their name. "Trying to find something more useful is useless!" boasts Zoomdoggle, the company behind the BuckyBall craze. Each set includes 216 magnetic balls as well as a plastic storage case—just don't expect to get much use out of it.