Author: crawcraftsbeasties

I make monsters, then send them out into the world to have adventures. Join in the fun!

Weekly Photo Challenge – Monochromatic

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Weekly Photo Challenge

Victorian Explorer Beastie on Bray Beach - CrawCrafts Beasties

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Monochromatic.”

Beasties tend to be quite colourful little creatures, so a monochrome Photo Challenge really is a tricky one! However, I thought it might be a good opportunity to fiddle around with some effects… so I sepia-tinted some photos of Victorian Explorer Beastie’s day out in the old seaside resort of Bray, which is just over half an hour south of Dublin city centre by train!
Victorian Explorer Beastie on the Promenade - CrawCrafts Beasties
The retro effect quite suits him, doesn’t it?
Victorian Explorer Beastie on Bray Head, by CrawCrafts Beasties
If colour’s more your thing, though, you can check out the original pictures here!

Sweets for my Beast…

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Wedding Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties
…Monsters for my hoooon-eeeeeey!

Yes, I know that’s not how the original song goes… but I like mine better. It really sums up the magic that happens when a Beastie meets that one special monster they want to spend the rest of their life with. And these two are definitely ready for their big day… let’s find out a bit more about the happy couple, shall we?

Let’s meet the groom first – I believe tradition dictates that the bride should always arrive a little late!
Groom Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties
He’s looking sharp in his wedding suit… a bit of bespoke Beastie-sized tailoring to make him extra handsome for his lovely bride!
Groom Beastie's Tie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesGroom Beastie's Smile - CrawCrafts Beasties

And who could resist that smile?

But should he really bring that pint with him?

Groom Beastie's Pint - CrawCrafts Beasties
Of course he should! Groom Beastie makes his own beer, so what better way to celebrate than a toast with his delicious homebrew? Oh look, here comes the bride… WOW!
Lovestruck Groom Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties
Bride Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties
Her simple but super-elegant dress is entirely hand-stitched…
Bride Beastie's Dress, by CrawCrafts Beasties

…And check out the back!
Gold chain detail on the back of Bride Beastie's dress - CrawCrafts Beasties
Then of course she had to have her hair done nicely…
Bride Beastie's Hairdo, by CrawCrafts BeastiesBride Beastie's Hairdo (Again) - CrawCrafts Beasties

… And now all that’s left to do is to drink to a long and happy life together! Cheers!

Bride Beastie's Wine Glass - CrawCrafts Beasties
Finally, there was just time to get some photos in the garden before they headed off on honeymoon with their human counterparts!
https://me.sh/111h7gn6

Thanks for being a part of this special monster day!

These Beasties were specially commissioned to celebrate Linda and Cormac’s wedding! If you would like to invite a pair of personalised little monsters to your own big day, or to someone else’s, drop me a line at crawcraftsbeasties@gmail.com!

Paddy and Plunkett's Gift From Scotland - CrawCrafts Beasties

Paddy and Plunkett Come Home…

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Paddy and Plunkett's Gift From Scotland - CrawCrafts Beasties
… And look, they brought me back a present!

As some of you already know, I am a little bit Scottish – the “Craw” in “CrawCrafts” is taken from my family name, Crawford, a legacy from my Glaswegian grandfather. UK residents will probably also associate the name with a popular brand of Scottish shortbread… although unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a family connection there!

Anyway, it turns out that the Crawfords have their own family tartan… and the boys were able to scavenge me a piece! I’m already plotting ways to use it – and I love the fact that it’s red and green, two of my favourite colours!

However, these restless Beasties barely had time to hand over their gift before they hit the road again…
Paddy and Plunkett take the train - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Or rather, the rails. Here they are taking the train north, to get a sneak preview of a rather special new vistor attraction in Northern Ireland. They’ve promised to share the full story next week, but in the meantime, here’s a peek at where they’re off to…
Paddy and Plunkett's Mystery Destination! H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Does anyone know where they’ve gone?

Big Beastie’s Big Day!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Big Beastie, Ready for Graduation - CrawCrafts Beasties
It’s been a while since I made a Big Beastie… which is a shame, because knitting Beastie bodies is one of my favourite downtime activities, and Big Beasties involve a good deal more knitting than the regular-size ones! So I’m sure you can imagine how excited I was to get a request for my first Big Beastie of the year… And the fact that it needed to be personalised as well was just the icing on the cake!

Big Beastie’s new friend has just finished studying for a Masters in Trinity College, and she wanted to pick up a memento of her time here in Ireland before heading home to Singapore. What better way to commemorate a stay in Dublin than a locally-grown monster? And this Big Beastie, with his navy and white colour scheme, is a literally dyed-in-the-wool Trinity student!
Trinity Beastie, in College Colours - CrawCrafts Beasties
I also kitted him out with a diploma and mortarboard hat, so he’s ready for the Commencement Ceremony…
Trinity Beastie's Hat, by CrawCrafts BeastiesTrinity Beastie's Diploma, by CrawCrafts Beasties

…And I embroidered a patch of the Trinity College crest, to remind him of his Alma Mater!
Trinity Beastie's TCD Crest, by CrawCrafts Beasties
And finally, to help him through those long nights in the library, I’ve given him a pair of stylish specs…
Trinity Beastie's Glasses - CrawCrafts Beasties
Then there was just time to take a few photos around campus before he set off on his travels! Here he is in front of the old Long Room Library, home to the famous Book of Kells…
Trinity Beastie at the Book of Kells - CrawCrafts Beasties
…And this sculpture is outside the Berkeley Library. After all, you can’t graduate without clocking up a little bit of library time!
Trinity Beastie at the Berkeley Library - CrawCrafts Beasties
And finally, a shot in front of the Campanile… the first thing that catches your eye when you enter the College through Front Arch!
Trinity Beastie at the Campanile - CrawCrafts Beasties
Have a safe journey, Big Beastie… and here’s wishing you and your new BeastieBuddy every success in post-college life!

Weekly Photo Challenge – Connected

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Weekly Photo Challenge

Beasties at Work - CrawCrafts Beasties

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Connected.”

I’m a bit slow off the mark with the Photo Challenge this week, since I couldn’t turn up anything to fit the theme in my vast reserve of monster photographs! I know, I was shocked too!

The prompt got me thinking about how, since I started making Beasties, I’ve had the opportunity to revisit a lot of the crafting skills I thought I’d never get a chance to use again. Although Beasties began as a way for me to feed my knitting addiction, in recent times I’ve also found myself sewing, making clothes, drawing and embroidering! So I set up these photos to show the “Beastie Connection” that has brought all my favourite activities together. Enjoy!
Beasties at Work Collage - CrawCrafts Beasties

Paddy at the Kelpies - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Wild Horses, Country Residences and Little Woolly Monsters!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Paddy at the Kelpies - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
After an enjoyable trip to the Orkneys, Paddy and Plunkett have finally decided to head back to the Scottish mainland! The next stop on their journey was to visit the giant Kelpies sculptures in The Helix parkland, just outside the town of Falkirk in central Scotland.

These two massive horses stand guard over the eastern entrance to the newly extended Forth and Clyde canal, and they’re fast becoming one of Scotland’s most recognisable landmarks! Kelpies are mythological water creatures that feature heavily in Scottish folklore – pretty much every major stretch of water in the country has a resident kelpie. They usually take the form of a large and powerful horse, and their rather spooky modus operandi is to tempt humans to hop aboard, before plunging back underwater and having them for dinner! However, though the Kelpies statues may take their name from these otherworldly aquatic beasts, they are intended to represent the hardworking horses who pulled the barges along the canals back in the day… a fitting tribute, I think! The boys had lots of fun posing with the sculptures, despite the photography challenges posed by the breezy weather…
https://me.sh/3bk69gt

They also watched a barge full of visitors passing through the lock gate on the canal!
Plunkett at the lock gate - H Crawford/Crawcrafts BeastiesPlunkett, still watching the lock gate - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

They resisted the urge to join them though… They had an appointment with royalty!
Plunkett at Dumfries House - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
This rather lovely place is Dumfries House. Back in the mid 2000s, its future was looking a little uncertain… the house was due to be sold, and its original Chippendale furniture (including some custom-made pieces) auctioned off. At the eleventh hour, the house, the estate in which it stands and its entire contents were purchased by a consortium headed up by Prince Charles, so that it could be preserved intact, and used to bring revenue to the surrounding area.

The house was opened to visitors in 2008, and since then other parts of the estate have been repurposed and put to use as well, providing education, employment and income to keep the project running. And there really is a lot going on there… for starters, you can stay on the estate! Paddy and Plunkett snuck into this beautiful, cosy room in the old stable block, now converted into a pretty spiffy guesthouse…
Paddy and Plunkett in the guesthouse at Dumfries House - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
…And then took a tour of the Walled Garden, to check out the conservatory and herb garden!
Dumfries House Walled Garden - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Although the boys were also tempted by a tour of the house or a visit to the Arboretum, they realised that the date on their ferry ticket was…
Today.

Uh-oh… RUN!!
Paddy and Plunkett make it to the ferry - JUST! H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Phew! Made it, with seconds to spare!

Have a safe trip home, boys!

A Pair of Piemaker Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties

High Time for Pie Time!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties

Piemaker Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties
Anyone who knows me AT ALL will be familiar with my long-term love affair with pies, both sweet and savoury. In fact, so enamoured am I of the humble pie that when I first started to sell my knitwear (in those distant pre-Beastie days), I labelled my pieces “Good Pie Handknits”!

So as you can probably imagine, I was delighted to be asked to make some Piemaker Beasties to grace the counter of Farmhouse Direct‘s mobile pie shop… Although I will admit to craving tasty pastry treats throughout the manufacturing process!

Anyway, let’s meet these lovely pie-toting ladies, shall we?
A Pair of Piemaker Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties
I wanted these Beasties to be recognisably a pair, without being identical… so I made one crimson with yellow stripes, and the other yellow with crimson stripes. Plus, as you can see, they have different hairstyles, smiles and pies!

So while Red Piemaker Beastie has one big felt pork pie…
Red Piemaker Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties
Red Piemaker Beastie's Pie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesOne Big Pie, by CrawCrafts Beasties

… Yellow Piemaker Beastie is carrying a tray of smaller pies, based on Farmhouse Direct’s own Brandsby Pies! Needless to say, I really enjoyed looking up reference photos for this project… YUM!
Yellow Piemaker Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties
Miniature Felt Pork Pies, by CrawCrafts BeastiesYellow Piemaker Beastie with her tray of pies - CrawCrafts BeastiesOh, and I also made them some matching green felt aprons as a work uniform!

Piemaker Beastie Apron, by CrawCrafts Beasties
Let’s hope their first outing as pie sellers is a successful one!

Aaaand in other news, I’d like to say a massive thank you to Cheri at The Daily Post for including my entry for last week’s Weekly Photo Challenge in her list of “Photos We Loved” from that prompt! Look, the Beasties even got a shout-out in the intro!
Beasties in the Daily Post! (Image taken from dailypost.wordpress.com)
Do go and check it out if you get a chance – there are some truly awesome photo galleries in there, and I’m proud to have my work shown alongside such amazing photography! And if you’d like to put together a Mesh gallery like the ones used in the post, you can get started here!

Have a monster week!

Indie Rock Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

Weekly Photo Challenge – From Every Angle

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Weekly Photo Challenge

Indie Rock Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “From Every Angle.”

For this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge, I thought I would revisit a Beastie I made at around this time last year… Indie Rock Beastie!

Once he was ready, I took photos of him from a couple of different perspectives, to showcase his handsome smile…
Indie Rock Beastie closeup, by CrawCrafts Beasties
…And the details on his totally handmade guitar – a miniature Gibson ES325, lovingly rendered in felt and thread!
Beastie Guitar, by CrawCrafts Beasties
I don’t often photograph Beasties from so many different angles, but I thought this guy was worth it!

Enjoy!

More From Orkney!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Paddy and Plunkett are still in the Orkneys! H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
I have to say, I’m incredibly impressed by the amount of interesting things Paddy and Plunkett have found to see and do on Orkney! For some relatively small islands, there’s a lot going on!

After their visit to Skara Brae, they decided to pop down the road to visit Skaill House, which is the “big house” of the Breckness estate, where Skara Brae is located. In fact, it was the 7th laird of the estate who first started excavations at Skara Brae back in 1850. According to this article I found, he used the house’s dining room table to display his finds from the site! Skaill House has been open to visitors since 1997, and it is just full of treasures, including this rather fearsome tigerskin rug…
Plunkett at Skaill House - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Hey Plunkett, watch out for those teeth!

The boys also got to see the actual dinner service from Captain Cook’s ship! These well-travelled plates made it back from the famous explorer’s ill-fated final trip to Hawaii, and ended up here because Orkney was the ships’ first port of call in Britain on their return journey.
Paddy and Plunkett admire Captain Cook's crockery - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Am I the only one who’s having a hard time imagining intrepid explorers and salty sea dogs eating their dinner from one of these pretty floral plates? It certainly looks like the Beasties are bemused by them too!

After a spot of lunch, the lads thought they’d check out the Ring of Brodgar, which is part of the same UNESCO World Heritage site as Skara Brae.
Paddy and Plunkett at the Ring of Brodgar - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
This stone circle (officially described as a “Neolithic henge and stone circle) is the third largest in the British Isles, and the most northerly. It’s quite a mysterious place – its age is still uncertain, and although an archaelogical excavation took place in the summer of 2008, many questions about the site, such who built it and why, remain unanswered.

Unfazed by unsolved historical riddles, Paddy and Plunkett were at least able to establish a purpose for one of the stones now – as a handy viewing platform!

Then they rounded off their day with a visit to the working blacksmith’s workshop in St Margaret’s Hope…
Paddy and Plunkett visit the blacksmith - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
… And a wee dram*!
Paddy and Plunkett treat themselves to some liquid refreshment - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties
Uh-oh… Too much, perhaps?
Paddy and Plunkett overindulge on the local brew - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Let’s hope this doesn’t spoil their holiday! I wouldn’t like to be in their woolly little shoes tomorrow morning…

* “A wee dram” = “A spot of light liquid refreshment”

Hurling Beastie's Hurl - CrawCrafts Beasties

Last Days of Summer…

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Knitted Beasties

Hurling Barróg Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties
Hey there, sports fans! It’s new Beastie time again!

And since this is the last full week of August – and, in my mind, the end of the summer – I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to one last Summer Barróg Beastie before we head into the autumn. So, without further ado, let me present – Hurling Beastie!
Hurling Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties
I have to confess to having had very little contact with Gaelic games and the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) before I moved across the border to Dublin. I suppose my profound lack of interest in any kind of sport (Irish or otherwise) probably didn’t help matters. But I do remember the first time I saw Gaelic football and hurling on TV… I was watching the news on the ancient 1980s TV I had in my college dorm room, and I didn’t get a chance to switch it off before they moved on to the sports. The football coverage was on first, and what made me stop and watch open-mouthed was the extent to which the players seemed, to my very untrained eyes, to be just whaling on each other. Then they moved on to talk about the day’s hurling, which was the same story… but this time the players had weapons!
Hurling Beastie's Hurl - CrawCrafts BeastiesI was transfixed – this seemed so much more fun than regular football, where the players fall over clutching their knees and wincing if someone so much as looks at them, or the lacklustre hockey and netball I was made to play in school.

So when I was trying to think up a sporty-themed summer Beastie with an Irish twist, I just had to have a go at making a hurling player. In some of the larger parks in Dublin (like the massive Phoenix Park, for example), a sunny day will see kids taking their hurls (that’s the stick, traditionally made from ash wood) and sliotars (the hard little ball) out for a knock-about, to hone their skills. And it is a skilful game… you can hit the ball on the ground or in the air, and although the rules allow the ball to be carried over short (4 paces, officially) distances, most players choose to keep possession by balancing it on the end of their hurl and running with it. Given the trouble I had with the egg and spoon race in primary school, this kind of ability is pretty much superhuman in my book… and don’t even get me started on the goalies, whose job it is to stop the rock-hard, speeding sliotar and prevent their opponents from scoring. They must have nerves of steel!

Anyway, having kitted Hurling Beastie out with his hurl and sliotar…
Hurling Beastie's Hurl, Closeup - CrawCrafts BeastiesHurling Beastie's Sliotar - CrawCrafts Beasties

It was time to let him outside to play!
Hurling Beastie goes outside for some training! CrawCrafts Beasties
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he lost his ball in the long grass!
Hurling Beastie loses his ball in the grass - CrawCrafts Beasties
Ooooops! Something tells me he has a long afternoon of searching ahead… I’ll let you know how he gets on!

In the meantime, if any of you would like to find out more about Gaelic games, you can check out the GAA’s official website here!