If ice cream trucks are rolling symbols of childhood happiness, abandoned ice cream trucks are sadder than a dropped double-scoop cone on a hot summer day.

This forlorn former ice cream truck has found an odd sort of peace, marooned amongst fellow relics of good times (not to mention Good Humor) past at the Pearsonville Junkyard in California’s High Desert. Kudos to Flickr users cins_city (top) and codywbratt (above) for capturing this one-eyed metal monster basking in the eerie twilight glow. Curiously, the decrepit van appears to have moved to a different location on the lot during the year between the two photographers’ visits.

Colorado Low

“Is there anything sadder than a junked ice cream truck?,” asks The Truth About Cars’ Murilee Martin, to which the answer is none… none more sad. This unusual minivan-style ice cream truck is destined to count down the days before it’s fed to the crusher in a Denver-area pull-your-own-parts salvage yard.

The clapped-out 1998 Ford Windstar van’s dayglo paint job and copious stickers haven’t faded much and from all indications it sold Blue Bunny brand ice cream, frozen treats and cold drinks – you’re a long way from Iowa, old friend. Sadly, it seems they’re sold out of Rice Pudding Bars… make that “gladly”.

Desert Desserts

You can get your kicks on Route 66 but don’t expect to enjoy a cool, refreshing frozen treat afterwards… at least not from these abandoned ice cream trucks beached amidst the tumblin’ tumbleweeds somewhere in the Great Southwest. Doubtless these old blue Dodge ice cream trucks were once a welcome sight for tourists, travelers, cowboys and ind, er, Native Americans. Now they’ve been relegated to the modern equivalent of a bleached buffalo skull.

Forest Dumped

From baking deserts to baked Alaska, abandoned ice cream trucks are everywhere it seems. “This is what happens to ice cream trucks in Alaska when they play the same annoying tune too much!,” notes Flickr user Van Vickle Photography after posting the above image taken in early August of 2013. One wonders, though, if an abandoned ice cream truck plays an annoying tune in an Alaskan forest, does anybody hear?

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Meltdown 12 Dripped Dropped Abandoned Ice Cream Trucks

When the rest of the house is carefully furnished and decorated to be both practical and a visual representation of the adult residents’ style, why should kids’ rooms be a primary-colored afterthought? These 32 bold, modern bedrooms for children by 8 interior designers and furniture manufacturers around the world offer smart solutions for little ones’ needs, often with compact modular all-in-one sets.

8 Compact Colorful Bedrooms by GAB

Some modern furniture retailers offer incredibly compact, function-packed bedroom sets for kids and teens that make use of every inch of space. Italian company GAB is among them, with colorful bunk beds and trundle beds that provide sleeping space for more than one child while maintaining organization and privacy. The sets are visually cohesive, with desks, storage, wardrobes and other components on wheels so they can slide around as needed.

5 Fancy Bedrooms by AltaModa

For parents who want their children’s bedrooms to match the rest of their traditionally decorated homes, AltaModa offers a range of furniture and decor concepts that are like adult rooms in miniature, but with a dash of whimsy. The same attention to detail that would be seen in the master bedroom is applied here, with themes like horses, poodles, nautical, baseball and aviation.

Sophisticated Puzzle Panel Bedroom by Geometrix Design

The adults in the house might get jealous of this cool, sophisticated kids bedroom idea by Geometrix Design. A soothing palette of silver, gunmetal and gold is carried from the eye-catching puzzle-piece wall to a built-in closet, entertainment center and storage area on one side of the room.

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Kids Rooms Rule 32 Creative Fun Bedrooms For Children

LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys … what do they have in common? They each represent a universe of constructive possibilities, but each is incompatible with the next, like alien planets with their own unique atmospheres. Until now, that is.

With the advent of 3D printing technology, individuals can now print their own pieces and connect the dots (and logs and bricks) between ten disparate worlds of childhood fun: Lego®, Duplo®, Fischertechnik®, Gears! Gears! Gears!®, K’Nex®, Krinkles®, Bristle Blocks®, Lincoln Logs®, Tinkertoys®, Zome®, ZomeTool® and Zoob®.

Adapters can be downloaded from Thingiverse.com and other sharing sites as a set of 3D models in .STL format, suitable for reproduction by personal manufacturing devices like the Makerbot (an inexpensive, open-source 3D printer).

“The Free Universal Construction Kit is a collection of nearly 80 adapter bricks that enable complete interoperability between ten popular children’s construction toys. By allowing any piece to mate with any other, the Kit encourages totally new forms of intercourse between otherwise closed systems — enabling radically hybrid Constructivist play and the creation of heretofore impossible designs. (For example, one of the pieces adapts Legos® to Tinkertoys®.) As with other grassroots interoperability remedies, the Free Universal Construction Kit implements proprietary protocols in order to provide a public service unmet, or unmeetable, by corporate interests.”

Adan Banuelos is a Tucson-based artist and designer working in multiple mediums, from drawing to sculpting to screen-printing and everything in between.

Childhood In The Gallery

(images via: ARTST)

Banuelos’ art is a realm where squirt guns, candy and sneakers can mingle with brass knuckles, switch blades and low-riders. Says Banuelos, “My artwork is mainly inspired from childhood memories. I like to analyze emotions and desires as they evolve from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood.”

His Father’s Son

(images via: ARTST)

When asked who he most looks up to in the art world, Banuelos proudly says his father. His dad, an immigrant from Mexico, might’ve had a huge impact on Banuelos’ style but he never became a full time artist; he’s a janitor. Says Banuelos: “My dad was, and still is, a very talented, self-taught muralist and sign maker. He always had side jobs and spent most his free time in the garage and job sites. I loved watching him paint. I learned a lot about lettering and composition.”

Great Art By Design

(images via: ARTST)

It’s no accident that the design acumen of Banuelos’ paintings, sculptures and T-shirts is a cut above the rest; after years of art school under his belt, Banuelos now works for CreativeMachines.comdesigning and fabricating museum exhibits. He welds, does wood working and crafts machine parts for
exhibits that have been seen in museums all over the world, from Norway to Egypt to New York and even his native Tucson.

You can see more of Adan Banuelos’ work at his profile on ARTST and on his website, AdanBanuelos.wordpress.com.