Beastie Family – Page 18

(Mer)Made Just for You!

Posted on February 14, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

After Explorer Beastie’s trip to the northwest coast last week, it seems like a good idea to carry on with this maritime theme for a little longer! How do you all feel about meeting a real, live Mermaid Beastie?Look, there she is… elegantly running her paws through her tresses, as mermaids are wont to do. Now, at the risk of running aground on some treacherous rocks, let’s take a closer look at this elusive Beastie… You may never see her like again!

First, you’ve probably noticed that she’s wearing a rather fetching seashell bikini top… A girl has to keep up with fashion, even if she does live underwater.
She also has a friendly starfish in her hair, to keep her lustrous locks out of her eyes.
But of course, you probably want proof that this isn’t just a regular girl Beastie in a costume. So, here you are – check out her beautiful, scaly, sparkly tail!
Sharp-eyed Beastie spotters will also notice that her tail is stitched in such a way that she can lounge coyly on rocky outcrops, rather than sitting bolt upright…
… Although this shot captured her just as she got tired of posing for the camera, and she prepared to swim off to new and exotic shores! Since she left just before Christmas, I’m sure she found the waters around Ireland pretty chilly, but fortunately it wasn’t long before I received confirmation that she had arrived safely in her new home!
Heehee! It looks like she’s settling in well – and possibly challenging the Christmas fairy bear for her spot at the top of the tree!

Thanks for joining me for another New Beastie day – I’ll have the last of my Christmas commissions to share with you next week, so be sure to drop back in for that! And join us again on Friday for part 2 of Explorer Beastie’s trip to the very top of Ireland. See you then!

Roooooad Triiiiiip!

Posted on February 10, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Explorer Beastie

Alas, poor Explorer Beastie! He doesn’t get out nearly as much as he’d like. So last week, when an opportunity for a bit of an adventure in Ireland’s wild north west presented itself, it was all I could do to stop him from sleeping in the car the night before.

Ready? Off we go!
Because this is such a small island, we soon felt like we had left the city far behind…
… And of course, it wasn’t long before all this fresh air gave us a bit of an appetite. Time for a pitstop – and that most important meal, Third Breakfast.
YUM! We also had a chance to hang out with some of the locals…
… And sign the visitors’ book!
Tempting as it was to stick around for dinner, there was exploring to be done! We piled back into the car, cranked up the cheesy 90s dance music to 11 and made for the coast. Next stop, Five Finger Strand!
Nice to feel the sand under your paws, Explorer Beastie? Thought so!
There’s plenty to do here – look for bird tracks, clamber over driftwood, hide in the grass… And the view’s not too shabby either!
In fact, it would all make a Beastie feel very small and insignificant… Well, if he wasn’t busy photobombing all my pictures.
As the daylight started to fade, we took the high road away from Five Finger Strand… and stopped on the side of the road to get a different perspective of the beach and the surrounding countryside.
How cool is that isolated little church?

Next stop, Ireland’s northernmost point – Malin Head!

Buuuuut in keeping with the coastal theme, we’re going to leave this post as a cliffhanger! Part two will be coming your way this time next week, AND there’s a marine-themed new Beastie for you to meet on Tuesday too!

Are any of you hitting the road this weekend? Tell us all about it in the comments!

FYI – We got our delicious fry-up in Café Donagh, Carndonagh… Highly recommended if you’re planning a hectic day of Donegal-based exploring and/or Beastie-wrangling. This quirky little café serves generous breakfasts all day long, and I have it on good authority that their coffee is excellent too!

Strangers in a Strange Land

Posted on February 7, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

It’s been a while since we heard from intrepid globetrotting Beasties Paddy and Plunkett, hasn’t it? And now I’m beginning to think there might be a good reason for that… Take a look at their most recent set of holiday snaps and you’ll see what I mean!

What a weird, alien landscape… Are they even still on Earth?
“Paddy, look at these – they go on for miles!”
Of course, Plunkett was in his element – a field full of precariously-balanced rock towers? YES PLEASE!
But then Paddy spotted something else off in the distance, and he just had to climb down for a closer peek.
“Hey! Plunkett! Check it out…”
“…ROCK POOLS!”
And they were absolutely teeming with wildlife…
…Including this sea anemone, hermit crabs and one rather luxuriant sea slug!
Paddy could quite happily have watched this fellow grazing away on the rich pastures of underwater algae all day, but Plunkett was a little less keen…
Sorry, Plunkett! I promise we’ll stick to rocks next time!

What’s the strangest creature you’ve ever found at the beach? Let us know in the comments!

Oh, and be sure to join us again on Friday… I’m doing an extra bonus post this week to share photos from the day trip Explorer Beastie and I took to Ireland’s northernmost point! See you then!

Get Along, Lil’ Beastie!

Posted on January 24, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

Yeeeeee haaaaaa!

It’s been a while, but at last… It’s New Beastie Day again! I’m so happy that I’m FINALLY able to share my pre-Christmas commissions with you all. And we’re going to kick off 2017 in style, with Cowgirl Beastie!
She’s got everything she needs for a long day out on the ranch – first, a classic blue and white checked shirt…
… A toasty jacket…
… With real leather fringes on the front and back…
… And of course, a lariat tied with an authentic lasso knot!
This miniature cattle wrangler was requested for a real-life rancher, and she was already looking forward to helping her new friend out on her huge farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. She’s expecting to work hard, so I put her hair into a nice chunky braid to make sure it doesn’t get in her way!
Then I added one last finishing touch…
…A felt cowboy hat, complete with a star on the brim in tribute to sharp-shooting queen of the cowgirls Annie Oakley!
Ta-daaaaah! Ready to go!

With a long journey to her new home ahead, I sent Cowgirl Beastie on her way good and early – and luckily, she arrived well in time for Christmas! Here she is – looks like she’s settling in nicely, don’t you think?
The new Beastie bonanza continues next week, so be sure to join us for the intriguing tale of a little woolly monster who got lost in space… See you then!

Plan Your Life the Monster Way - CrawCrafts Beasties

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Posted on January 17, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Crafting, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! It’s great to be back!

We hope you all enjoyed the holiday season and that 2017 is treating you nicely so far. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’m ready for another year as eventful as 2016 was!

Anyway, after rather a lot of this…
… We’re excited to get back to reality!

But, as you might have guessed from the title of this post, some things are gonna change around here, and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks having a big ol’ think about the past year and where to go next. Overall, I reckon 2016 was generally Beastie-friendly – for starters, I’m still reeling from our success at the Dublin Christmas Flea!
In 2016, I also enjoyed meeting and collaborating with other craftspeople…
…Seeing the world through the eyes of Beasties who had left home…
…And getting to write for the Olann And Blog!

My Featured Craftspeople! CrawCrafts Beasties — My Featured Crafters! Clockwise from left: Dinah’s Dolls, Guadalupe Creations, Niki Collier Design.

And outside of my Beastie-making activities, I also landed a new job – one which I’m really enjoying, and which I hope will better complement my hectic monster manufacturing schedule!

So, if everything’s so rosy, what am I going to be changing? Well, I felt I spent most of last year lurching from one panic to the next – it seemed like there was always a deadline looming, and time just zipped by! I’m still trying to figure out what happened to April, July and September… Oh, and then the last quarter of the year hit, and somehow I found myself with hardly any market stock, and several commissions whose trickiest elements I had sensibly decided to leave until the darkest days of the year. GAAAAAAH! By Christmas Eve I was totally frazzled, and badly in need of a few days R&R&MW (rest and relaxation and mulled wine) with my family.
But with that (and a few healthy portions of Christmas dinner) under my belt, I was ready to start scheming for the year ahead. It’s the first time I’ve really taken the time to sit down and plan what I want to do and how I might get there, and I was surprised by how much it felt like time well spent! So, without further ado, here’s what I’ll be doing differently in 2017.

Make more, more often! Last year it seemed like I spent more time talking about making than I did actually making. This year I want to get back to what I love most – making monsters!
Prepare for Christmas, starting NOW. I’m planning to start assembling a crack squad of Beasties throughout the year, so we can take the Christmas markets by storm, AND save more of those precious December daylight hours for creating special bespoke monsters for anyone looking for a seasonal commission.
Set a stricter timeframe for commissions. I’ll be making myself stick to a 4-week turnaround time from first sketching to completed monster masterpiece! I’m also going to be learning some new skills to help speed up some of the parts of the process that I find trickiest… more on that soon!

And finally, this might raise a few eyebrows – but I’ve decided to cut back my posting on the BeastieBlog to Tuesdays only, at least for the foreseeable future. I’m hoping this will free up more time to actually keep up with all YOUR blogs, and feed my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts more frequently!

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How about you? Are you doing anything differently this year? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Happy 2017, everybody! Thanks to everyone who visited us here on the BeastieBlog in 2016… Here’s wishing all of you a year filled with fun, laughter and lots of monster adventures!

We’ll be back with some fresh Beastie fun in a couple of weeks… In the meantime, what have you planned for the new year? Let us know in the comments!

Explorer Beastie at Christmas - CrawCrafts Beasties

Merry Beastmas Everybody!

Posted on December 24, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Explorer Beastie

Phew! We made it!
It’s been a hectic month, and the more observant among you might even have noticed that my Tuesday post went AWOL this week! So the Beasties and I are looking forward to putting our toes up by the fire, getting some well-earned R&R, and catching up with the rest of the WordPress community at last!

So, all that remains is to wish each of you a very happy holiday season, and we’ll be back with more monster fun in the new year. Hope to see you then!

Beastie Meets Beasties at the Oregon Zoo

Posted on December 6, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Wow, it’s been a busy week here in Beastie Towers… AGAIN!
Fortunately, not all of the global Beastie family are entangled in Christmas market preparations. So today I’m going to leave you in the capable hands (and paws) of Tammie and her mischievous monster companion Finn McSpool, as they have some close encounters with the residents of Oregon Zoo. Enjoy!

Tammie Painter

I know I promised a continuation of my tales from Orvieto for today’s post, but I thought I’d take a little break from the Italian adventures and share a recent outing that’s a little more local.

As you know, Finn McSpool recently moved to the U.S. from Ireland (although he’s thinking about packing his bags and returning after learning the results of our latest election). He’s done a little local exploring to Portland’s Japanese Garden, but this week was his first trip to see some local beasties at the Oregon Zoo. Late November may not be the best weather for wandering around a zoo, but Mr. Husband and I discovered a few years ago that on the Monday after Thanksgiving, you pretty much have the place to yourself.

I know many people hate zoos and think they’re cruel, but the Oregon Zoo is an outstanding steward for animal, environmental, and ecological issues, including…

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Paddy Scales the Walls - H Crawford/CrawCrafts Beasties

Paddy and Plunkett Rock Out!

Posted on November 29, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

All the leaves are brown… and the sky certainly is grey here in Dublin today! But it seems like not all Beasties are reaching for their hats and scarves, or bedding down on the sofa to rewatch “The Muppet Christmas Carol”.

Not Paddy and Plunkett, anyway… They’re still on holiday in Lanzarote!
Today, their wandering paws have brought them to a part of the island that’s all rocks. Paddy’s not impressed – he had his fuzzy little heart set on building sandcastles. But Plunkett is in his element!
These local rocks are ideal for making stone walls, and Plunkett is determined to examine all of them!
This is starting to remind Paddy a lot of their trip to Arundel Castle, back in the summer!

Some of these walls even deserve a closer look…
…And at least that’s something Paddy can enjoy!
By the end of the day, I reckon he’d even forgotten about those sandcastles!
Where would you like to be spending this wintry Tuesday? Let us know in the comments!

Aaaaand don’t forget to pick up your Beastie calendar, while they’re still hot! A mere €12 each, with free postage within Ireland, or €3 to anywhere else*. Get in touch to reserve yours!

*These rates are for one calendar – larger orders might cost a little more!

Paddy and Plunkett, Livin’ it up in Lanzarote!

Posted on November 11, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Paddy and Plunkett

After last week’s post, some eagle-eyed readers were able to figure out that Paddy and Plunkett are currently enjoying a bit of winter (or late autumn!) sun in Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. Lucky them! Shall we see where their wandering paws have taken them this week?

It seems like they’ve been making friends with some more of the locals, for starters!
Having spent a lot of the early part of their stay enjoying the delights of the hotel they’d snuck into, this week they decided to venture further afield.

“Come on Plunkett, let’s head for the hills!”
Paddy – full of beans as usual – was keen to see the island from the top of this mountain. All the more so after he found out that it used to be…
…A VOLCANO!

Plunkett was a little less enthused at the prospect of encountering pyroclastic flow and rivers of red-hot lava – he hid behind the sofa when we were checking out Grim Reaper Beastie’s last set of travel pics – but once we’d confirmed that it’s a looooong time since this volcano last erupted, he was happy enough to continue with the climb.

Well, as long as there were frequent stops to admire the view, of course…
“Are we nearly there yet, Paddy?”

“Almost… Just around the next corner!”
“Woooooooah! Look at that!”

Mind you, it was pretty breezy on the edge of the crater, so the boys didn’t stay long. On their way back down to sea level, Paddy spotted their next destination – he was all for making tracks to visit that lighthouse, way off in the distance!
However, Plunkett put his paw down.

“We’re supposed to be on holiday!”
And it turns out that it was surprisingly easy to win Paddy over to catching a few late-afternoon rays!

We’ll be back with more monster madness on Tuesday. In the meantime, have a great weekend… And Dubliners, don’t forget that you can catch us at the Creative Collective Ireland Craft Fair in Ranelagh this Saturday and Sunday!

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