I grew up in restaurants. My dad was a restauranteur and we had a few, he liked the process of starting them, but would get bored soon after and sell it to start a new one, some are still going today. When I looked at this brilliant interior vignette by builder MarcelV I was reminded of those mornings when the place was quiet, there was a bit of a mess from the night before and it was time to start the day. After a bit of clean up and kitchen prep, it would be time to open the doors once again, but for now it was quiet. It was a peaceful time, with wonderful smells, good stories and camaraderie. Original linkOriginal author: Tommy

I love seeing Bionicle and constraction parts used outside of character builds, in scenery. Wildlife is an uncommon treat with those parts, and the outlandish plants in Grayson's Extraterrestrial Garden are a lovely example. I wonder if the robot gardener has to water them, or oil them? Original linkOriginal author: Kodiak Sanders

One of the highlights of San Diego Comic Con for me was the Laika Experience. The stop motion movie studio Laika took over a space a couple blocks from the convention center in the historic Gaslamp District and converted it into a miniature version of their studio in Portland. In addition to tons of excellent displays of props, sets and figures from many of their films, they had a functioning model shop and shooting stage, with artists on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. They even had free themed ice cream when you exited. But I'm here to tell you about something at the beginning of the tour, visitors waiting in the queue got a great view of this fabulous LEGO Ideas hopeful from Laika's very own Holly Webster, Coraline's Pink Palace. Yes, it is generally the policy of BrickNerd not to feature LEGO Ideas campaigns unless it's very special circumstances....

Builder Kingmarshy is getting a little ahead of himself since it's still Year of the Dog, but this entry for the Bio-Cup contest looks like a winner to me!  I'm normally not a Bionicle fan, but this gluttonous creature, Zhu Bajie the Pig, and the fancy spread he's enjoying has a great blend of system parts, really bringing him to life.  And even though Kingmarshy spent quite a bit of time on this awesome creation, he was actually ready to build something else in a half an hour. Original linkOriginal author: El Barto

I don't know what this robot's job is, based on his proportions I'm guessing picking up and moving large, heavy stuff. I mean, just look at the size of those hands, they're huge. It turns out that's where this MOC by m_o_n_k_e_y started, with his hands, and the rest took shape over time.  Original linkOriginal author: Tommy