Hey there Beastie friends! I hope you’ve all been having a good week. For the last while, a couple of big commissions have been keeping me super-busy… So many accessories! I’m really looking forward to being able to share the finished projects with you all very soon, but in the meantime I thought I’d use this Flashback Friday post to revisit some of my most challenging Beastie accessories EVER!
Weekes Album Cover, 2017
I was reminded of this when I looked back at “Definitely Maybeast” in last week’s Flashback Friday post. This project predated the arrival of my magic magnifying lamp, and I’m still wondering how I managed to see to do those stitches in the dead of winter. You can read more about the creation of this Beastie in the Gallery – she has some pretty cool stuff!
Carcassonne Board Game Box, 2016
Another bit of teeny sewing that somehow fell into the BMML (Before Magic Magnifying Lamp) era. I look at these now and wonder how I’m not blind! This appliquéd felt and embroidery board game was an important part of the accessory lineup for a wedding commission though, so it was totally worth cutting all those tiny felt pieces and stitching them in place.
The TARDIS (x2!)
I made my first Doctor Who Beastie for a Christmas order in 2015… And how can a little woolly Time Lord travel the galaxy without a specially-adapted old-style police phone box?
The Beastie TARDIS was made of felt, and reinforced with foam and interfacing so it didn’t collapse in like a woolly tent! I lined the inside with shiny silver material for a space-age feel, and embroidered on the window panes and lettering. The doors also close with velcro so the Doctor can travel in safety.
And when I posted about this make, despite the fact that my photos back then were hardly top notch, one of my regular blog readers decided that the man in her life would appreciate a Beastie Doctor of his own! So…
… I made a second one! And I took more photos that time. You can see the original posts about these commissions here and here.
From what I can remember, the trickiest part was cutting out the square panels under the windows. I invested in a rotary cutter, mat and metal ruler to help, but it was still slow going. Beastie Doctor Who seemed happy enough with the results though!
A Beastie-Sized Camera, 2018
Oh, I had fun with this one! It’s got it all – teeny sewing, a bit of embroidery, and I was able to incorporate a knitting pun to boot. I made this for Laura from A Pict in PA – she’s a keen photographer, and, like me, she still likes to use a proper camera for her pictures. That’s worth celebrating! So I copied the shape of her DSLR as closely as possible…
… And only went a bit overboard by making the lens and strap removable.
Oh well, sometimes you just have to! Laura’s little monster left Beastie Towers with a whole heap of other accessories too – check them out here!
And then finally… Sometimes Beastie accessories take a while to get right. But this one stands out as the most challenging ever – even now! Paws up if you remember…
The Beastie Dragon, 2015
This was one of those projects that just wouldn’t behave. I’d get one aspect sorted, only to have something else start causing problems! But I learned a lot about prototyping and materials choices from making it, and despite many, many discarded templates…
… I did end up with the ferocious-looking gold and silver dragon that my customer asked for! You can relive the entire, um, interesting experience here.
Well, that’s it for this time… But don’t worry if your favourite accessory didn’t make the cut this time around! I so enjoyed putting this together that I might do a second Beastie Accessories Roundup in a couple of weeks. Suggestions welcome, if you want to pitch in your two cents in the comments!
Have a monster weekend!
“Look, there’s still cherry blossom here!”
Hey, who’s that?
Yay! 
A little further up the hill, we wandered into the rose garden. And although there aren’t many roses in bloom yet, there was plenty of other greenery to explore!
We’ll definitely have to schedule another visit later in the year to catch it at its best!
And 
The last time I saw that sweet teal-coloured Beastie in the red scarf was at the Christmas on the Square market back at the end of November. He was hoping to find a home to call his own, and he really lucked out! A few weeks later, I received a lovely email from his new family. They told me he was settling in well, and they’d called him Felix because he’d brought them so much happiness. Well, that Beastie has some serious happy-making powers, because hearing that made me smile too!
… Learning to ride a bike (I’m not sure how he’s working the pedals, but that doesn’t lessen the achievement)…
… And taking the family car for a spin.
Let’s hope he’s a better driver than our good friend Paddy!
Well held!
Well, an ice cream would definitely be a good start. Hopefully he’s planning to share all that with someone… It’s nearly as big as he is!
To further his career, he asked me to share this photo of him recreating a classic pic of U2 (image not my own, I should say), taken around 2000 in Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock.
Hey there, FrankenBeastie!
Woooooooo! SCARY!
Finally, I dressed him in a ragged-edged shirt and faded charcoal trousers.
Let me know if you bump into him when you’re out for your daily half hour of exercise!
Bake Off Beastie had prepared treats…
Any chance I can use my scissors, lads?
“No, sorry. This is the bar now. Sláinte!”
Turns out my cutting mat makes a pretty nifty dancefloor… And oh great, they’re dancing on the tables now too.
What’s this? MORE BEASTIES?!
Oh, come on! Some of you are aren’t even finished yet! And hey, get down from there!
Uh-oh. This can only go one way.
“Um, we got you a present?”
Now, I don’t mind admitting that this was a pretty big project. All Beastifications are important, of course, but it was hinted that this pair would be joining the wedding party on the day. They’d be given the monster task of looking after (not eating!) the wedding cake, and the ceremony and reception were to take place in the oh-so-fancy Merchant Hotel in Belfast.
The jackets close with a snap fastener, and are completely removable. Underneath, a shirt with felt collar and cuffs completes the look… Then a black ribbon bow tie adds a final flourish. Here’s Mr P Beastie to give us a close-up!
Let’s just take another look at those jackets… First of all, they’re fully lined!
I used a lighter weight wool and viscose blend felt for this, to make sure the jackets kept their lines and didn’t end up looking like bulky winter coats. They’ve got black satin collars, and…
… I even copied the cuff buttons from the human-sized version!
… And then sending them down the aisle with a special accessory each!
Meanwhile, Mr D Beastie decided to toast to the success of the marriage with a refreshing Beastie-sized pint.
Strategically-placed magnets mean that the Beasties can set their goodies down and hit the dancefloor at the end of the night, too!
And while they’re off honeymooning, we might indulge in a bit more holiday reminiscing ourselves! Join us next week for more from 
“
It’s our old buddy 
“Ooooh, check this out!”
It’s almost possible for Beasties to get lost in among all that colour. Can you spot them?
The treetop walkway is really spectacular… But the boys really had to hold on tight! It was a little breezy up there!
“Look, it’s the Temperate House! It was closed 
“Oh yeah! Look at that!”
Then…
Alright, time to get back to the studio! We’re heading to the 
…But there’s still plenty left for curious Beasties to explore! Let’s join them as they’re taking a breather in the peaceful environs of the arboretum. What great, deep conversations are they having on that elegant stone bench, I wonder?
“Reminds me a bit of the scenes on Endor from Return of the Jedi, this place.”
Or how about a round of hide and seek? There must be millions of good hiding places in here!
“Found you, Paddy! Now it’s my turn to hide.”
“…I’ll be able to see everything!”
It originally graced the entrance of Bamberg Cathedral in Germany, and is 240 years old! It also recently had a facelift, and even the attendant eagles on the pillars got a shiny new coat of gold paint.
“Come on, Plunkett! Nearly there!”
“This had better be worth it… Oh, look at those statues!”
“And what’s that up on the hill?”
And, at journey’s end, they find themselves in a very peculiar place.
It’s the old family pet cemetery! Much less scary than the one in the Stephen King story, this one has memorials to faithful hounds and, if you look at the older headstone on the right, less conventional “pets” like cows get a look-in too.
It seems the locals are pleasant, too. We all know about how well 
Then, on the horizon… Look, a lighthouse!
“Look, Paddy! It’s open!”
But alas, Paddy will have to stick to admiring the lighthouse from ground level. The Beasties’ small stature has 
Paddy is planning to take it a step further. He’s pretty sure everyone wants to hear his rendition of “Ode to Joy” blasted out over the sea at 120 decibels.
How could any adventurous Beastie resist a signpost like this one? So many possibilities!