Well hello there, Beastie people! And look, the weekend is very nearly here! So I thought it might be fun to catch up with some other members of the far-flung Beastie family… it appears that a couple of them have been taking advantage of the (vaguely) improving weather!
Finn sees the future! Picture from tammiepainter.com
… Plus, if you happen to share my complete lack of horticultural skills, I bet you’ll really enjoy a virtual wander around a garden in which things actually grow!
Jump on that Bandwagon, Sinead Beastie! Photo from dazeandweekes.com
For your convenience, Sinéad has visited some of the highest-quality (ahem!) tourist traps that this great European city has to offer, and she can’t wait to share her findings with you all!
Aaaaand if all that has you counting down the days to your own summer break, I can help you get your planning started! May’s Beastie calendar page is in the store now!
As usual, it’s totally free… And you only need to fill out your name and email address in the order form, then the internet pixies will drop your copy directly into your inbox!
Alrighty, that’s all the news from Beastie Towers and beyond… And now I’m planning to spend the weekend working away on the next batch of Beasties! If you’ve got any monster plans, be sure to tell us all about them in the comments.
Finally! I’ve stumbled on proof that unicorns are in fact real!
Except maybe they look a little different to what popular culture and centuries of mythologising might have led us to believe… Perhaps they look a little Beastie-er! Hey there, Unicorn Beastie!
This sweet little monster maiden kinda knows that she’s special. I mean, look at her magical multicoloured hair, for starters… … And unlike most Beasties, she gets to have a TAIL!
Plus, she woudn’t be a real unicorn without… Taaa-daaaaah! There’s the evidence we needed.
And Unicorn Beasties have revealed themselves to be surprisingly similar to rhinos – which we know exist – in that their horn is made entirely from super-compacted hair (ie, carefully sculpted needle-felted wool). Even the most hardened uni-skeptic couldn’t argue with that logic.
Of course, being a Unicorn Beastie meant that this monster lady had a few very specific wardrobe requirements. But her tailor-made floral print dress was easily adapted to accommodate her long, flowing tail! Perfectly stylish! Then I thought she’d also need a handy satchel to hold all her magical unicorn accessories… What’s inside, you ask? Well, since Unicorn Beasties primarily eat pink heart-shaped cookies… “I’m just going to tuck this away safely for later…” Hmmm… We’ll see how long that lasts!
Aaaaand if you feel like you need a little monster magic in your life, you might be interested to hear that this particular Beastie is currently in need of a home! Click below to be spirited away to the virtual shelves of the Beastie HQ Store!
Are there any mythical creatures which you think deserve the Beastification treatment? Let us know in the comments! And we’ll be back on Friday to share some more adventures from the Beastie family, so be sure to join us then!
Hey there everybody! I’m mixing it up a bit this week, thanks to a recent round of blog updates… Which you can check out in Tuesday’s post here, if you haven’t already!
I figure since you got your behind-the-scenes news on Tuesday, it’s only fair to get you ready for your weekend with a monster mini-adventure! So let’s join Paddy and Plunkett, who have stumbled on something curious in their home… Plunkett reckons that since it’s sitting on a pedestal, it’s probably art and he shouldn’t touch it. Paddy, however, has never been the type to let pedestals or velvet ropes stand between him and a good time, so… “Plunkett, I think it’s some sort of hairy football! Here, I’ll bring it down…”
“Um, Paddy, I really, really… “…Don’t think you should kick it!” “Oooooops!”
At least they’ve managed to establish that it’s a kiwi fruit. And this knowledge came in very handy later on, when they stumbled on one of my old craft projects! “Hey Plunkett, this is just like the kiwi from earlier!”
“Yes, it does… But look, there’s a zip hidden in the middle! Hahaha! They’ve found one of my old school art projects – a kiwi fruit dress! I had heaps of fun making this back in the day… So much so that I made a handbag and shoe covers to match! Unfortuntely, kiwi fruit style is yet to catch on in mainstream fashion circles – but it sure makes a good Hallowe’en costume!
Oh, and Paddy decided he just HAD to try it on himself! “What do you think – is this my colour?”
Looking good, Paddy!
What about you? Do you have any memorabilia from your school days, or old arts and crafts projects lurking around at home? If you find them this weekend, be sure to tell us all about them in the comments!
Aaaaand we’ll be back on Tuesday with a new Beastie to share! See you then…
Hey there everybody! I hope you’ve all had a good week… It certainly seems like it’s been a busy few days in the Blogosphere! I’ll get to that in a second. First of all, I should probably explain what the title of this post is all about.
Poor Explorer Beastie is almost afraid to look!
Alas, it turns out the BeastieBlog needs another facelift. Although I really like how it’s set up at the minute, and my last overhaul was only last summer, I noticed a while ago that my Shop page wasn’t working properly…. And when I consulted the good people at WordPress, their diagnosis was that my lovely theme isn’t getting along with WooCommerce any more. Oh no!
Fortunately, they sent me a list of alternatives that should play nicely with the shop’s internal gubbins (yes, that IS the technical term), but I will be shutting the blog down for a week while I rejig all the bloggy bits and bobs (more technospeak there) to fit a new layout.
I’m planning to start work on Monday, so if you haven’t grabbed your free calendar page for this month yet, make sure you download it from here before then!
And to keep you entertained in my absence, I’ve picked out a couple of choice nuggets of online goodness!
I’m not sure how much album promo work she was able to do after downing that human-sized glass of wine, but at least she looks like she’s enjoying herself!
And for those crafty folks among you, I’ve been finding a whole heap of inspiration in the blogging community lately! Fellow knitter Shirley has been branching out into felt softie making, and I love this thoughtful post about her creative process.
And Tierney from Tierneycreates shows how one crafter’s leftovers can be another’s creative goldmine!
Last but not least… Since I’ve started teaching weekly knitting classes in my local yarn store, I’ve realised that I’ve been a bit of a lazy knitter these last few years! It’s a while since I tackled a project that wasn’t a) A Beastie or b) Something for a Beastie. So, I’ve cast on a sweater FOR MYSELF! And to help me do it properly, I’m going to be following Melissa (of Knitting the Stash)’s Better Sweater podcast series. If you’re thinking of taking on a sweater-sized project yourself, here’s the first episode to get you started!
Oh, and one more thing… Just because it made me laugh. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this before!
See you all in two weeks, with a (hopefully) snappy new-look BeastieBlog!
You know, I was almost concerned that I’d have no monster shenanigans to share this week! Winter is yet to release its grip on Dublin, and with plenty to keep me busy inside Beastie Towers, getting out and about has been pretty far down my list of priorities.
Fortunately, Paddy and Plunkett have bailed me out yet again! It takes a lot to keep this intrepid pair indoors, and last week saw them hopping on a train, then a bus…
… And heading north to Glenarm, where the sun is apparently still making an occasional guest appearance!
Plunkett was especially keen to check out Glenarm Castle. He loves a good castle! That’s it in the background there.
Glenarm Castle is owned by the Earls of Antrim, whose ancestors built Dunluce Castle.
Look familiar? The craggy ruins of Dunluce (albeit with a little digital alteration) pop up in Game of Thrones as Pyke, the home of the Greyjoy family!
However, it was this place that caught Paddy’s eye… A castle on a more Beastie-like scale! (And one that still has its roof!)
The pair had to have a closer look!
And Paddy checked if anyone was at home.
“Paddy! Stop kicking the gate!”
“Awwww, Plunkett! I’m pretty sure this place is MY ancestral home!”
Fortunately, Plunkett was able to win Paddy back around by mentioning how close they were to the sea. It’s just a short toddle downriver from here!
And Glenarm village is looking especially pretty today. Check out that sky!
The boys enjoyed having a good look around the harbour, which was originally built to ship out limestone from the local quarry to Britain.
The quarry has closed now, so when the sea wall was damaged in a storm about 30 years ago, it was rebuilt to create the marina you can see here today! Then…
“Hey Plunkett, what’s that?”
“Well, over there is Straidkilly Nature Reserve, one of the last places you’ll find wild red squirrels in Northern Ireland…”
“… And THAT is the old police station, which my guidebook says is now a B&B!”
“You know, Paddy, I think that might be more your kind of place than the castle…”
Unfortunately, the photos stop there – so there is no evidence of how Paddy reacted to Plunkett’s suggestion that a night in the cells might suit him better than a weekend of being lord of the manor. Let’s hope Plunkett didn’t end up taking a surprise swim!
What did you lot get up to over the Easter weekend? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments, especially if there were monsters involved! We’ll be back on Friday with the latest Beastie news… Oh, and if you missed it, April’s free calendar page is in the store now! Don’t forget to pick up yours!
And since it’s the end of the week, my mind has wandered in an artsy direction for this Friday Social. In school, it seemed like art class always fell on a Friday afternoon, and it was a much nicer way to wrap up the week than, say, double maths or – gulp – SPORTS. That said, school art and I had a somewhat troubled relationship. While there were a few standout moments – making a kiwi-fruit inspired dress, or modelling cartoon frogs in clay – I seemed to spend A LOT of time drawing not-very-interesting things. In one particularly awful session, we were asked to copy the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait. For those of you unfamiliar with this highly detailed painting, with its lush textures and crazy use of perspective and reflections…
Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck (Image from Wikipedia)
We were given an hour and a half to complete this task. “And if you have some time left over,” our teacher added, “You can write a short piece about the artist’s life and work.”
No wonder I left school with the firm conviction that I couldn’t really draw! Since then, I dabbled in doodling comics now and again, but it wasn’t until I started creating tailor-made personalised Beasties that I actually had a reason to up my drawing game. I figured a quick sketch was the best way to show people what to expect from their finished monster, and with each sketch, I started to feel a bit more confident about my drawing.
That said, these “quick sketches” weren’t really quick! As each one was hand-drawn and coloured with what I had to hand (colouring pencils), they were taking forever!
So, as some of you may remember, last year I asked my lovely friend Julie from Juleco to show me the basics of Adobe Illustrator, in the hope that I might be able to get the computer to take on some of the more time-consuming tasks (I’m looking at you, colouring in). Our session was really helpful, and I could see the software being super-useful, but WOOOAAAAH is it expensive! I really couldn’t justify the outlay, and after availing of more week-long free trials than was right or proper, I let it slide.
But then, enter Simon from Planet Simon, with this handy post about how he was creating illustrations using free, open-source drawing software! I had actually looked at these programs briefly myself, but then I’d scuttled back to Illustrator because I found them utterly baffling. Once I knew which tools to use to make them work for the projects I wanted to complete, I was away!
And so, last month, I was finally able to present my first ever computerised commission sketch!
I’m still hand-drawing the outlines, but the real time-saver (even though I’m working out the angles as I go) comes when I’m ready to colour in. Now I can fill a large area with one click, and I can match colours much more closely to the materials I’ll be using. Also, check out the skirt on that Beastie in the lab coat… rather than trying to replicate patterned fabrics by hand, I can photograph the swatch and just drop it into the picture! So much quicker – and my customer knew exactly what I was offering her, too.
So, which programs am I using? Well, I scan in my hand-drawn outlines first, then open those files in Inkscape, where I use the “Bitmap trace” to smooth out the less desirable bits of the scanned images – paper textures, ink smudges etc. I save that, then switch to GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to do the majority of the work… correct wonky outlines, erase any pencil marks that survived the tracing, and most importantly, pop in those colours!
And, as I get used to the process, I’m not just using it for sketches any more! I created this image for my March calendar page, and thanks to the wonders of digital drawing, I’ve been able to rejig it into an Easter colouring page as well!
You can download the full-size version for yourself from my store… Just in case you have any little monsters of your own to entertain over the Bank Holiday weekend! It’s free, and you can print off as many copies as you need to!
Oh, and while you’re there…
… April’s calendar page is also ready to go! I’m hoping this nice sunny image will help to kick-start some warmer, brighter weather for us all!
How about you? Do you use any nifty programs in your artwork that we need to know about? Be sure to tell us all about them in the comments below!
Have yourselves a super (B)Easter weekend, and join us again on Tuesday for more monster fun and games! See you then!
The terrible twosome are back! I was looking through my old emails the other day, and I came across an unblogged Paddy and Plunkett adventure from – ta daaaah! – a bright sunny day last June. I’m not sure about you, but Spring is taking its time getting into full swing here in Dublin… …and with more chilly weather forecast for the weekend, I think we could all use a little extra sunshine!
So come and join us as we explore a wild and very typically Irish landscape…
…A peat bog!
This blanket bog is at Cuilcagh Mountain in Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, and it’s one of the most intact blanket bogs in Western Europe. But what’s a blanket bog, you ask? Well, it’s a thick carpet of peat that forms over a large area of flat or gently undulating ground, covering it like a blanket. The peat is usually about 2-3m thick, and takes thousands of years to form… Even in areas like Cuilcagh Mountain, where the high rainfall and poor drainage make for perfect bog-growing conditions!
Paddy and Plunkett were lucky enough to visit the Cuilcagh Mountain Park on a rare day when it wasn’t raining, and they bravely took to the boardwalk to explore this unusual habitat.
I don’t think they realised just how long the walk ahead was going to be, though.
The boardwalk was built after the area became a park in 1998, so that rangers could begin conservation work on the bog without damaging it further. Their main task was to dam 17 miles (that’s 25km) of drainage ditches – which had been dug to facilitate peat cutting back in the day – and restore the natural water level of the bog, so that it could start to grow again. This was an immense undertaking, as all the work had to be done by hand… so it’s hardly surprising that it took the guts of 13 years to complete!
However, Paddy was a little underwhelmed by the appearance of the bog itself…
“Ah, Plunkett! It’s just grass and squishy bits! What’s special about this?”
“You have to look a little closer, Paddy…”
“… Because although they’re not very big, the plants here are specially adapted to life in these strange, squelchy places. And look at those colours!”
Plunkett also explained that bogs are one of the best weapons we have against climate change, by being massive carbon sinks. It’s estimated that boglands in the northern hemisphere alone have about 450 billion tonnes of carbon squirreled away in long-term storage, and undisturbed peat bogs are continuously adding to this stockpile at a rate of 0.7 tonnes per hectare per year. You can find out more here!
“We’re also very lucky to have so many of them so nearby, Paddy! Less than 2% of the earth’s land surface is made of blanket bogs, compared with the 7% covered by rainforest!”
Talk about a turnaround! That rousing speech had Paddy galloping ahead to see as much of the park as possible!
“Keep up, Plunkett!”
And the view from the top of the mountain was definitely worth waiting for!
They even met a couple of distant cousins on the way home.
Hope that’s got you all in a nice summery mood! And have any of you had a chance to visit one of these wondrous landscapes? Let us know in the comments!
We’ll have more Beastie adventures next Tuesday – plus I’ve an artsy Friday Social planned for the end of the week, so don’t forget to swing by for that! See you then!
Hey there Beastie peeps! The weekend is very nearly here, so that means it’s time for another peek behind the scenes here at Beastie Towers… And this week, it’s all about community!
As some of you may already know, I recently started teaching knitting classes at my local yarn store, The Constant Knitter. It’s a lovely yarny haven… That’s located a dangerously short toddle away from my home.
The shop is just one street over from St Patrick’s Cathedral, and as I mentioned in last week’s post, they got in touch to see if we’d like to host some free social crafting sessions in the weeks running up to the biggest event in their annual calendar… The St Patrick’s Day festival!
The idea was to make simple knitted, crocheted or wet-felted items that could be displayed at the Cathedral, and then given to visitors to take home as a memento of their visit. Oh, and it gave local people the chance to stop in and try out some new crafty skills… Or indulge in old favourites while drinking tea!
So, last week was the grand finale… The great giveaway! Unfortunately, by the time I arrived for my stint in the afternoon, quite a lot of the pieces had already been given away…
… But thanks to one of the other hard-working knitting groups, there were still plenty of little spring chickens to add to the lineup!
There were some bigger pieces to enjoy too, like these knitted landmarks of Dublin 8. This masterpiece included the gate of the old women’s hospital at The Coombe, the now-demolished Fatima Mansions flats and even a woolly Luas tram!
Local fibre artist Niki Collier also moved some pieces from her latest exhibition over to the Cathedral for the festival…
…Oh, and of course there was a little bit of last-minute knitting and crochet going on!
A few of these good people were even brave enough to try out this squiggly snake pattern, which I put together for the event!
And after we wrapped up, I took the opportunity to have a quick look around the Cathedral on my way out.
I can’t believe I lived across the road from this place for years and never went inside! It’s beautiful!
Hopefully we’ll get to do it all again next year… And if you’ve been involved in any crafty happenings lately, be sure to tell us all about it in the comments!
Have a super weekend, everybody! We’ll be back on Tuesday with another monster adventure to share!
Hey there Beastie friends! I hope you all had a super weekend… Especially any of you who were celebrating St Patrick’s Day on Saturday!
Today on the BeastieBlog, we’re weighing in on an issue that has been troubling humans for centuries – the ongoing battle between the arts and the sciences. And is it really true that if you have an interest in one, you’ll have no aptitude for the other?
For Beasties, the answer is a big HECK NO! Why would you ever limit yourself to just one? Meet this little monster lady, who just headed off to her new home last week.
With her long, flowing blonde locks and winning smile, she’ll look every inch the ballerina when she’s in her dance studio… This Beastie loves her ballet! So I made her a pair of pumps with ribbon laces…
… And a very feminine pink net tutu as well.
As you can see, the tutu actually fastens with snaps, to make sure it doesn’t fall off mid-pirouette! But she’s not going to dance away the whole day! Time for a quick costume change…
… And it’s off to the lab! Because like her new human friend, this Ballerina Beastie is also a scientist!
Hey, don’t forget your bag!
Because Ballerina Scientist Beastie’s human counterpart is especially interested in DNA and associated fields of research, I thought a little personalised embellishment on her bag might be in order. And what’s that inside?
It’s a Beastie-sized laptop! This little felt computer has an embroidered keyboard, appliqué felt details and magnets inside to make sure it closes with a nice neat “click”.
So, with that safely packed away again…
…It’s time to head off in search of adventure!
Thanks to my lovely customer Arlyng for requesting this special Beastie as a gift for her friend! I enjoyed the challenge of capturing all her interests in one Beastie project.
As for you, where do you stand? Do you think of yourself as more of a scientist or an artist? Or, like this Beastie, do you make time for both? Let us know in the comments!
We’ll be back on Friday, with a look at the community crafting project we took part in recently… See you then!
It’s been all go here in Beastie Towers. Earlier in the week, I had a birthday… I was *cough* 29!
(Again)
And I hope none of you are hungry, because I celebrated with THESE. Thanks, Boyfriend!
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It’s hard to see in the photo, but the box and tissue paper lining are printed with pictures of monsters, too… Now I’m NEVER going to be able to put that in the recycling!
Also from the Twittersphere… Another completed colour-in calendar page! Thanks for sharing, Tammie!
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I was delighted to get Beastie greetings from some monsters overseas as well! Climber Beastie dropped in from this rugged mountain range…
…And here’s Sinéad Beastie. She brought a friend to the party!
You can see more of Sinéad’s adventures on Daze and Weekes, here!
Speaking of adventures, Paddy and Plunkett were at large again earlier in the week. And while Paddy’s reimagining of “A Knight’s Tale” got the most laughs…
… There was also a murmur of interest in this traditional Irish river curragh, housed in the same museum.
This is extra exciting for me, because my Dad made it! So, I thought I’d pop in a link to his curragh-building Facebook page today, in case any of you wanted to find out a little more about these awesome historical boats and how they’re constructed!
And finally, don’t forget it’s St Patrick’s Day this weekend! I’m starting the celebrations early with a spot of knitting (what else?) at St Patrick’s Cathedral. You see, for the last 6 weeks, my local yarn shop has been hosting free knitting, crochet and felting sessions, led by me and my fellow crafters Aoibhe Ní and Niki Collier. We’ve been helping people from the local community to get together and make little handmade gifts, which will be given away to visitors to the Cathedral over the festival weekend. So, if you’re in the area, pop along and say hello… and maybe learn a new skill!
Otherwise, swing by again on Tuesday to meet the latest addition to the Beastie family! See you then!
May’s Beastie calendar page is in the store now!
