Life at Beastie Towers – Page 5

Tae (Tea) Beasties, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Beastie News Roundup!

Posted on October 16, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hello there Beastie friends! How’s your week going? This week’s post is going to be a bit of a mixed bag, as we catch up with a few snippets of Beastie news that I’ve been meaning to share for a while.

So, without further ado, let’s start the show…

Beastie Autumn Fun Worldwide!

Explorer Beastie isn’t the only little monster who’s been out and about enjoying the fall colours. Before he even stuck a paw outside, tierneycreates Beastie was enjoying the great outdoors with her mini-miniature schnauzer Mikelet!

tierneycreates Beastie and Mikelet - T Hogan — Picture sneakily borrowed from https://tierneycreates.com

This woolly little lady was so excited to change into her handknitted Aran sweater and kick through the fallen leaves… Although be advised that this post contains – SHOCK – Beastie nudity! You have been warned! Be sure to skip over to Tierney’s blog and check out the full post – it really made me smile.

If you’re in the mood for something more blood-curdling though, you might want to swing by Tammie Painter’s site and see what Finn McSpool encountered on his autumnal wanderings.

Finn McSpool at Hallowe'en - T Painter — Image spirited away from https://tammiepainter.com

Portland, Oregon is already gearing up for Hallowe’en, and the city is sporting some truly spine-chilling finery! Finn caught up with some celebrity spookies at City Hall, but the true horror was lurking in someone’s garden on the walk home. And if that wasn’t enough to turn you into a gibbering wreck, Tammie also used my October calendar page as the basis for a tale of Beastie terror that will scare the stuffing out of even the most courageous woolly monster!

Spooky Beastie Colouring - T Painter — Image Beastie-napped from https://tammiepainter.com

And Also in the Blogosphere…

Now, I usually like to keep things nice and upbeat here on the BeastieBlog. I mean, life is serious enough, right? But wow, this year September was tough! A couple of side projects that I’d invested a bit of time in came to nothing, and then I found out that I’d managed to completely miss the application call for my favourite Christmas market. Disaster!
Fortunately, I stumbled on some good readin’ among my fellow bloggers that helped perk me back up again. It was super cool to hear all about Weekes finding her creative feet again, and how taking photographs helped Paula of Typewriter Girl discover that she has an artistic streak after all! So thanks to both of you for making me smile!

Oh, and my mood lifted completely when I learned that the market I thought I’d missed out on had added an extra weekend, so I’m in! Hurrah! Full steam ahead on the Beastie-making!

And Looking Further Ahead…

While we’re on the subject of Christmas markets, I’m in the process of confirming a few for this coming festive season! Check out my scedule so far!

The Dublin Christmas Flea is the big one, and, all being well, I’ll be there with bells on for the second weekend (that’s the 13th-16th December inclusive). If you’re in the neighbourhood, come on over and say hi! Entry is free, and there is always SO MUCH GREAT STUFF THERE! (Besides the Beasties, obviously.)
I’m also going to be selling at the Dublin Cat Fair for the first time! So I’m currently working on a few feline sidelines that will be exclusive to that event, as well as some cat-themed Beasties. That’s on the 25th November.

There are a couple more in the pipeline, which I’ll post about as soon as the details are finalised.

Phew! Beastie news roundup complete! So I’d better get on with some crafting now, or those market stalls are going to be a little bare!

How about you? Are you prepping for festivities, or planning to remain blissfully in denial until the 15th of December? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

October View - Calendar Pages - CrawCrafts Beasties

Wrapping up the Year – Last of the Calendar Pages!

Posted on September 29, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! OK, I know I said that this would be ready yesterday, but due to some computer-related issues, I totally ran out of Friday. Who would have thought that uploading crazy giant image files and trying to play around with them would really slow down the editing process?! Ah well, we’ll chalk that one up to experience. Anyway, even with that little hiccup, I’ve managed to cobble together the final installment of this year’s free downloadable calendar pages!
You can grab yours right now, from our online store!

I’ve put them together as one file, so you only need to download once. After that, you can print them all out together, or page-by-page as you need them! And as usual, you can ignore the part of the order form that asks for your postal address – all we need to deliver this deeeelightful free goodie to your inbox is your name and email.

If you don’t get your download immediately, check your spam or promotions folder.

And here’s what you’ll get…

October

Grab those crayons… It’s another colour-it-yourself bonanza! Hallowe’en is still my favourite festival, so October’s page is all about the best bits of the spookiest night of the year. Sparklers and toffee apples were the highlights of Hallowe’en as a kid – am I the only one who mysteriously lost their appetite after eating all the sticky sugar shell from the toffee apple?

Pumpkin carving is a more recent addition to the festivities, and I’m making up for my apple-dodging younger days by using all the pumpkin’s insides once the carving is done. Pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin seeds? Yes please! As for the broomstick aerobatics… Well, maybe someday.

Of course, we’d love to see your finished calendar pages, so don’t forget to share! Use #Beastiegallery on Instagram and Twitter so we don’t miss your masterpieces!

November

Explorer Beastie is back for November! We took a lovely sunlit wander through some of Dublin’s parks yesterday, and I thought this photo of him kicking through the fallen leaves and conkers would be a nice reminder of how lovely autumn can be. Yes, the days are getting shorter and it’s not as warm as it was… But when the sun shines, there’s no finer time of year!

December

And finally… Well, I wanted to avoid getting full-on Christmassy, so Explorer Beastie and I braved the spines of a selection of local holly trees to bring you a nice cheery picture to wrap up the year. And after all that prickliness, the best of the bunch proved to be this smooth-leaved one!

So, that’s it – 2018 calendar pages complete! And I’d be interested to know how this experimental calendar delivery method has worked out for you. From my end, it’s been a bit more work through the year… But not having to deal with under/over supply, delivery problems and getting overcharged at the Post Office has been brilliant! What do you reckon? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and we’ll be back on Tuesday with the second part of my latest Beastification – I promise!

September Featured Image - Calendar Page - CrawCrafts Beasties

Hello September!

Posted on August 31, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Yes, I know I’m jumping the gun a little here! But over the last couple of days, the cooler breezes and suddenly shorter days have been signalling that the season is about to turn. And much as I enjoyed our very un-Irish Irish summer this year, I am SO ready for September! Autumn has long been my favourite season, so I’m already looking forward to digging out all my favourite cosy knits, cooking up giant pots of soup, and kicking through piles of fallen leaves.

And, as I’ve mentioned before, there’s something about this time of year that makes it feel like a good opportunity to start a new project… Or even to finish up one or two that you’ve let slide over the summer!

So, what better moment to announce that the free September calendar page is now available for your downloading pleasure?
I’ve been seeing sunflowers all over Dublin these last few weeks, so this picture was the obvious choice for this month’s page. I love their bright, friendly blooms, and Explorer Beastie thinks they really complement his yellow stripey legs.

As usual, this printable costs a very reasonable €0/$0/£0! Also, don’t forget that you only need to give your name and email address for delivery. All the other fields in the form are optional, so it’s ok to skip ’em!

Of course, the arrival of autumn also signals the start of the busiest time of the year for a Beastie-maker. So, this is going to be the last Friday post for a while. There are still a few outstanding summer orders to ship out… Then I’ll be starting to assemble squads of market-ready monsters to grace the stalls of Dublin’s seasonal craft fairs.

Buuuuut I’ll still be here every Tuesday! And over the next couple of weeks, there are new Beasties to meet, plus more shenanigans from Paddy and Plunkett. Be sure to join us then… And here’s wishing you all a monster weekend!

Santa Paws is Comin' to Town! CrawCrafts Beasties

It’s That Time Again…

Posted on August 21, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Crafting, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

It’s just a quick one this Tuesday, as deadlines are a-loomin’. But I have an important public service announcement about orders!

I know it’s reeeeeallllllly early for this kind of nonsense, but…
… If you want to find a Beastie under the tree for a certain festival which rolls around at the end of every calendar year, now is the time to place your order!

You see, with Beastifications becoming ever more elaborate and complex, and after the wall-to-wall craziness of the final quarter of last year, and, well, most of this year, I’ve realised that I need to put out the call even earlier than in previous years.

From past experience, I now know that I’ll also need to move the cutoff point forward. So that means that…

Orders for Christmas close on Friday 19th October

to ensure that all custom Beasties reach their new homes in good time.

So please, if you’re thinking of picking up a bespoke Beastie buddy for yourself, your friends or your family, drop me a line now to reserve your spot! Here, you can even use this form…

Go back

Your message has been sent

And if that all seems a bit scary, don’t worry! I’ll be hitting up the usual markets closer to the time, with a whole gang of little monsters in tow… All of them eager to get out and ~~start wreaking havoc in other people’s houses~~ find their forever home.

Alrighty, time for me to get back to the teeny sewing! We’ll be back on Friday with some proper monster shenanigans to share… See you then!

In The Frame – A Learning Experience

Posted on August 14, 2018June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Crafting, Life at Beastie Towers

Well hello there everybody! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. For any of you who missed Friday’s post, I introduced this brand-new family of Beasties…
… But I did also mentioned that there was something special ahead for this bunch of little monsters and their faithful Beastiedog. Something that meant that they needed to have specially-adapted sticky toes!
So what’s the deal? Well, I can now reveal that these Beasties are going to live in a frame!

The idea of framing Beasties, so that they can lead a life untainted by fears of dust, moths and over-friendly pets, is one that I’ve been toying with for a while. I’ve even gone as far as to mention it to customers at markets… But no-one had ever taken me up on the offer.

Until recently.

And WOWEE, it’s been a steep learning curve! So in today’s post, I wanted to talk about how I went about framing a whole family of Beasties… And what I learned along the way.

Lesson 1 – A Frame ain’t cheap!

When I first estimated a price for this project, I assumed that IKEA would have a suitable Beastie habitat among their vast range of picture frames and display boxes. Errr… Nope. And when I started to research the alternatives online, the price nearly took my breath away. YIKES! Turns out a nice deep box frame in the size I needed involved a custom order, and would significantly increase the cost of making this piece.

So, I had no choice but to go back to my customer – but I was at least able to give him a couple of options if he wanted to stick to the original quote. I figured I could make the Beasties flatter, so that they’d fit in a narrower frame, or create a sewn or embroidered piece for him instead. Fortunately, he preferred to stick to the original plan and pay a little more for “real” 3D Beasties in a custom-sized frame.

All that was left to do then was to have a quick word with Pigbert E. Banks, our financial advisor…
… And we were good to go! But then…

Lesson 2 – Go Bigger or Go Home

Before I ordered my frame, I got Explorer Beastie and a few friends together to help me estimate the size I’d need. I obsessively measured and remeasured, and then added in a couple of extra inches just to be sure.

Let me tell you, I’m so glad I did. Because as the family of Beasties began to take shape, I realised that their hair and outfits were making them considerably bigger than my models had been. The frame was already en route, but would the Beasties all fit inside? I was so worried they wouldn’t that I even considered ordering a second one in the next size up! But when it arrived (please excuse gratuitous Beastie nudity and bed-head hair)…
Saved! What a relief. But then I noticed that raw wood and MDF inside… And it was time for the next hiccup.

Lesson 3 – When the order form says “Would you like a mount board?” the correct answer is YES

Why did I opt out? Well, my uncertainty about getting everybody inside the frame meant that I was reluctant to put anything else in there that might eat up valuable space. I also thought “How hard can it be to get a mount board?” – talk about a rookie mistake!

So, I did the rounds of art supply stores and stationers, in search of either a board that would fit or a nice person who would cut a standard board to size for me. The lady in K&M Evans was especially lovely, even offering to call a nearby printers to see if they would help! But in the end, I realised that I would need to go back to those oh-so-pricey local framing companies.

Fortunately, in my Googlings, I stumbled on a real gem. Dublin Picture Framing have a studio in the very heart of the city, in the most awesome old building. They were super-helpful, and sent me on my way with 3 different boards so I could pick the one that best fitted my frame. Talk about saving the day!
Then all we had to do was to find a matching paint to take care of the sides…
… And the inside of the frame was transformed! Surely that’s everything taken care of now? Not quite… Mum and Dad Beastie can’t very well hang in the air, can they? Looks like we’re going to need something for them to stand on!

Lesson 4 – Make Friends with your Local Builder’s Merchant

At this point, I should have known better than to utter the words “how hard can it be?”, but that’s exactly how I approached the problem of getting a piece of timber cut to create a riser for some of the Beasties to stand on. A tour of the hardware stores revealed that, on a Saturday at least, this service is near impossible to come by. The good folks at Decwells do have a resident handyman who would have sorted this out for me, but alas! He doesn’t work weekends. However, they suggested I try Chadwicks, a local builder’s merchant, which I had always assumed to be trade-only.

Not so! Even though I arrived just minutes before closing time, they directed me to a pile of offcuts and let me take my pick. Best of all – it was free! Then, armed with my Junior Hacksaw, a file and some sandpaper, I set about prettifying my plank.
And with a couple of coats of paint…
Success!

And that just leaves one last lesson to share…

Lesson 5 – Don’t Panic!

If you keep chipping away at any problem, you’ll figure it out. I had plenty of nail-biting moments with this one, but I’ve learned HEAPS along the way. I also found plenty of people who were happy to lend a hand!

So, after all that… You’d probably like to see the finished frame, right?
I’m almost scared to ask, but… What do you think? Any helpful framing tips for next time? Please feel free to share in the comments!

We’ll be back on Friday with something I DO know a thing or two about – Beastie photoshoots! See you all then…

Explorer Beastie at Glengesh Pass, Donegal - CrawCrafts Beasties

Coast to Coast

Posted on August 7, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! It’s great to be back after our little blogging break – and Explorer Beastie and I even had time to squeeze in a quick adventure while we were away! On Saturday, we took a trip right across the top of the island of Ireland to spend an afternoon in the beautiful rugged countryside around Glencolmcille in Co. Donegal.

Of course, when you find yourself out that way, it’s impossible not to stop at Nancy’s pub in Ardara for a tasty lunch. You’ll have to go a long way to find better fish dishes, and washing it down with a glass of their farmhouse cider is a must! I would have photographed my food for you all to enjoy, but I fell upon it like a pack of ravenous wolves… So here’s Explorer Beastie enjoying the cosy ambience instead.

Feeling pleasantly full, it was time to continue our journey… Next stop Glencolmcille! Although we did have to take a quick pause along the way to enjoy the dramatic landscape at Glengesh Pass…
…And to let Explorer Beastie stretch his legs by climbing all over the signpost.

Then, back in the car…
… We watched the scenery zip by the window, and the sheep-spotting really began in earnest!
And once we arrived in Glencolmcille, Explorer Beastie decided to hitch a ride in a slightly more rustic mode of transport!
We had high hopes of exploring the Glencolmcille Folk Village, but we’d arrived a little too late to be able to take a proper look around before closing time. We were still able to take a peek over the wall though, and it’s going on the to-do list for our next visit!

And hey, what’s that over there?
Looks like Explorer Beastie has found a quicker way to travel around Ireland in a day.

“I can see our house from here!”

He also spotted some more woolly friends from his lofty perch. So, we had to go and take a closer look!
And is that a beach I spy in the distance?
Why yes, yes it is! That would be a perfect place to wrap up our day trip, don’t you think?
Not too bad at all.

“Aaah, this is the life!”
And after a quick game of hide and seek in the long dune grass …
… Maybe it’s time for a paddle?
Very refreshing!

And then, with one last look back at the cliffs in the distance (we’ll definitely have to tackle those on a future trip too)…
… It was time to head back home!

Have your summer wanderings taken you anywhere interesting lately? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments! And we’ll be back on Friday with a whole family of new Beasties to share. See you then!

Calendar Page August - FREE Downloadable Calendar by CrawCrafts Beasties

Just A Quickie…

Posted on July 31, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Oh wow, it’s all been a bit nuts here at Beastie Towers lately! I’ve been working my way through the veritable avalanche of special Beastie requests that came in while Explorer Beastie and I were away in Germany… And while that’s been fun, it doesn’t exactly make for an exciting blog post. Buuuut we did just have time to put together an August calendar page for you, and it’s available to download now!

Looking back through all of our holiday photos did give me a good dollop of inspiration… It was even quite a challenge to whittle down the main contenders to choose just one!

In the end, though, I just had to go for this!
I can almost smell the scent of sun-warmed grass and hear the singing of grasshoppers every time I look at this picture… So I thought it would be the perfect image to see us all through to the end of the summer.

You can grab your downloadable version of the August calendar page on our website store now… And as usual, the only information you need to provide to place your order is your name and an email address!

Phew! And now, the whirl of summer activity continues… One of my best friends from school is getting married TOMORROW! So I’ll be taking a couple of days away from the internet to help her celebrate her big day. Then it’ll be BeastieBlog business as usual next Tuesday, when we return with more monster antics.

See you then!

Beastie-sized Vinyl, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Friday Social #8 – Beasties, Books and a Blast From the Past

Posted on July 13, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody, and happy Friday to you all! It’s been a busy week here in Beastie Towers… But I’m not able to share the fruits of my recent monster labours with you just yet. Fortunately, other members of our Beastie family have been out wreaking their own particular brand of woolly havoc in the wider world – specifically, in the library!

Diligent readers will no doubt remember tierneycreates Beastie’s very first adventure a couple of weeks ago… To her local library!

tierneycreates Beastie in the Library — Photo borrowed from tierneycreates.com

Now, I’ve always known that Beasties had a love of the written word… As you can see in this totally legit archive picture of a REALLY early monster friend (seriously, this might be one of the first 5 I made) hanging out with famous fictional crime novelist JB Fletcher!

Schtocks, She Wrote - Classic Beastie Picture from the Beastie HQ Archives - CrawCrafts Beasties — Image may have been digitally manipulated/entirely falsified.

However, there does seem to have been a spate of Beastie library visits lately… And in fact, one Beastie has gone so far as to convince his local book-lending establishment to give him a job. Look at him there… hard at work!

David Beastie at the Library — Image borrowed from tammiepainter.com

Of course, it probably goes without saying that this little woolly guy’s first day on the job didn’t exactly go without a hitch. Check out the full story here – it’ll have you in stitches!

And Sinéad Beastie has also been out and about, enjoying the sunshine in her local park.

Spent the loveliest of afternoons with @juliamusings and Sinéad Beastie on the common 👗🌳🍃🌤

A post shared by xWeekes ll @weekes (@dazeandweekes) on Jun 23, 2018 at 2:29pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Extra points for the sterling example of Beastie twinning in this picture!

Oh, and for anyone who’d like to see more of Sinéad Beastie, I just added her profile to the Gallery on the Beastie HQ website. Check it out here, or take a moment to revisit Mermaid Beastie from a couple of years ago!

So, have you any monster activities planned for the upcoming weekend? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments below! And we’ll be back again on Tuesday with more from Explorer Beastie – see you then!

Finn McSpool Storms Kilkenny Castle - T. Painter/CrawCrafts Beasties

Friday Social #7 – What’s Goin’ On? Beastie Family Update

Posted on June 22, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Life at Beastie Towers

Well, as you all know, I’ve been taking a bit of a break from the computer these past couple of weeks… But luckily for me, other members of the Beastie family have been busily snapping and blogging away in my absence! So today, I wanted to say a big “thank you” to those hard-workin’ folks, and to make sure everybody gets a chance to share in these monster adventures.

First up, a familiar monster face…

Yes, Mr Finn McSpool is back, and is sharing the first of his Irish adventures! Check out Tammie’s blog to see what mischief he got up to in Kilkenny Castle!

Also, those of you who follow Tammie already will know that she released her latest novel, “The Bonds of Osteria” at the end of last month. And fortunately, she had a heap of Beasties on hand to help her with her marketing efforts… This is my favourite promo shot!

Beasties Promoting "The Bonds of Osteria" - T Painter/CrawCrafts Beasties — Also borrowed from tammiepainter.com!

If that made you chuckle too, you’ll find more in this post… And don’t forget to check out the Books section of Tammie’s site for more info on the Osteria Chronicles, where you can buy your copies, and all ongoing special offers.

Next up… A sneak preview of a new Beastie!

tierneycreates Beastie, A Personalised Knitted Monster by CrawCrafts Beasties — One of my own photos, for once!

Meet tierneycreates Beastie, a brand-new addition to our ever-expanding global tribe of little knitted monsters!

I’ll be formally introducing you all to this Beastie lady on Tuesday, but I was so overwhelmed by Tierney‘s welcome-to-your-new-home post on her blog (not to mention the comments from her own loyal band of readers) that I couldn’t NOT share it with you! So please take a sec to jump over and read “I’m A Monster!!!“, and its hilarious followup “Beastie Outing: Trip to the Library“… In which an overzealous knitted monster demonstrates how NOT to use a barcode scanner.

@crawcraftsbeasties The tierneycreates beastie got a little silly today at the library and she tried to make her new library card work under Library’s barcode scanner…

A post shared by tierneycreates (@tierneycreates) on Jun 14, 2018 at 5:42pm PDT

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Tierney’s site tagline is “A fusion of textiles and smiles”, and it definitely delivered on both those counts for me this week!

So, that little lot should provide you with some fun weekend reading! We’ll be back on Tuesday to see what tierneycreates Beastie has in that shoulder bag of hers… Then Explorer Beastie will be presenting the first of many, many posts about Germany next Friday!

See you then!

Sunday Morning in the Park - CrawCrafts Beasties

Saturday Slip-Up #1

Posted on May 19, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Life at Beastie Towers

OOOOOOPS!

Oh, it’s been a busy old week here in Beastie Towers! In fact, it’s been a busy month… And yesterday I kinda ran out of hours in the day, and kinda didn’t have time to post anything.
Ah well, sometimes these things happen. And the upside of all this frenzied activity is that you can expect to see HEAPS of new Beasties over the coming weeks, as well as pictures of some of the fun stuff I’ve been doing over the last while. All that, and Paddy and Plunkett are still touring around Devon and Cornwall! So June on the BeastieBlog should be a party… As long as I can find the odd spare minute to write it all down!

And now that I’ve said my piece, I’m off to enjoy the last of today’s sunshine!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, wherever you are, and I’ll be back on Tuesday with more from Paddy and Plunkett!
(I promise)

	tierneycreates: a fu… on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	crawcraftsbeasties on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	quietwatercraft on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	crawcraftsbeasties on We Wish You A Merry Beast…
	The Hidden Spain on (Mer)Made Just for You!