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!
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 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!
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!
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!
Woweeee! It really has been all systems go here at Beastie Towers lately – and in between getting Christmas commissions ready and starting a new job, I haven’t been able to go to half as many of the festive markets as I would have liked. Fortunately, I booked my spot at the Dublin Christmas Flea at the end of October, and I decided that come hell, high water or complete sleep deprivation I was going to be there!
It’s one of the markets I’ve been hoping to go to since I first became a Maker of Monsters, and this year they annexed an extra space in the Point Village in Dublin’s Docklands to make it their biggest event yet. So many stalls of crafty goodness… Plus some excellent vintage and food sellers as well!
Oh yeah, and the Beasties and I were there too! Here we are, all set up and ready for Day One… And then a few more Beasties and beanies arrived throughout the weekend… …Then it was all paws on deck come Sunday! Hallowe’en Beasties don’t usually hang out at Christmas markets, but the prospect of new friends and a new home was too good to miss… By the time 6pm rolled around on Sunday, almost every one of my little monsters had toddled off with their new family!
Thanks so much to everybody who stopped in to visit us over the weekend – it was lovely to meet you all, especially those of you I already know a bit from your blogs, or from Instagram and Facebook! And a big thumbs up for the Dublin Flea team as well, who put in an immense amount of work to beautify the venue and let all of Dublin know that the market was happening. Best of all, they gave me a spot right next to the tea stall! You guys are the best!
Right, I’m off to start getting ready for next year’s market now… And for anyone who left the Christmas Flea with a new monster friend in tow, please feel free to share photos of your Beastie’s adventures with us back here at Beastie Towers! You can post to Facebook, share your Instagram pics with the hashtag #beastiesofinstagram, or email photos to crawcraftsbeasties@gmail.com to feature in a blog post in the new year!
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!
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…
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!
2017 Beastie calendars, that is! This year’s calendar features all-new photos – for those of you who are proud owners of the 2016 version, there won’t be any repeats in the coming year! Explorer Beastie is hogging the limelight as usual… …But I snuck in a few of my favourite Beastie friends from the last 12 months as well! I’ve chosen a slightly different layout this time, which I think looks clearer and allows more space to write in the details of your busy life. Now all you have to do is decide how to spend your year! If you’d like a Beastie calendar to call your very own, head to the Contact page and drop me a line, or PM me through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
The Science Bit…
A single calendar will set you back a mere €12, and postage anywhere on the island of Ireland is free! If you live elsewhere, P&P will be an extra €3 for one calendar… Or if you’d like a few, I’ll calculate the postage based on the total weight of the parcel. Ping me over payment by PayPal, and your calendar(s) will be in the post that same day (Post Office opening hours permitting, of course)!
Oh, and get your order in soon – I’m only doing one batch this year!
And while we’re on the subject of time management and busy lives, Silly Season is now officially in full swing! So much crafting to do… and since most of my latest Beasties are destined to spend a little time under the Christmas tree before meeting their new families, it’ll be New Year before I’m able to share their photos with you. With that in mind, the BeastieBlog will be scaling back to just Tuesday posts for the time being. Normal service will resume in 2017!
So, the clocks have gone back and the evenings are starting noticeably earlier every day. And, after a slightly rainy start to the autumn here in Ireland, the sun finally showed his face – fortunately at a time when Explorer Beastie and I were away in the countryside for a couple of days! The bright sunshine made for some great photos… although the slight nip in the air was a reminder that winter is very much on the way! Care to join us on our stroll?
Oh, but we’ll just have to wait while Explorer Beastie climbs a couple of trees first… Amazingly, there are still some flowers out brightening up the garden at this time of the year… …Even if everywhere else is starting to look a little less colourful. But when the leaves fall, they sometimes reveal hidden treasure among the branches – like this cosy, mossy bird’s nest! You need to be careful where you perch though… I think you’ve picked up some extra accessories on your hat there, Explorer Beastie! Further down the lane, we found some natural treats – sloes, blackberries and rosehips! In fact, the whole hedgerow had become one beautiful natural tapestry, dancing in the sunlight. But despite the bright sunshine, it was starting to get a little chilly out here! So after a quick pitstop in a sheltered spot… …It was time to head for home!
How is winter arriving where you are? Or are you somewhere that’s already looking forward to long, lazy summer days? Let us know in the comments!
We’ll be back on Tuesday, when I’m hoping to have a preview of next year’s Beastie Calendar to share with you all! See you then!
Uh-oh! Try as you might to ignore it, there’s no denying that it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! And while I’m already preparing to be haunted by my least favourite seasonal song (“Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time”) as I wander around Dublin’s city centre over the next couple of months, the ever-earlier arrival of the festive season has its advantages too… Top of the list being CHRISTMAS MARKETS! I do enjoy going to markets – obviously there’s a Beastie adoption motive underpinning every one I attend, but I also really like the buzz of market day. Not only is it a super way to catch up with other craftspeople (and probably, let’s face it, leave a substantial chunk of your earnings at their stalls), I also love meeting my own customers face to face! For a crafter, markets are a great (and non-creepy) way to get to know the people who admire your work, and to see which aspects of what you do appeal to them most.
This past weekend, I spent Saturday and Sunday at my first Christmas market of 2016 – the Creative Collective Ireland Craft Fair, which is held annually in the Multidenominational School in Ranelagh, one of Dublin’s most charming suburbs. The Ranelagh Fair is always a special one for me… BeastieBlog veterans may dimly remember my first market update back in 2013, when I launched my Beastie-making career at this very market! And although my stock and setup have changed a bit since then, it was nice to see to see some familiar faces, both behind the stalls and among the punters!
I also thought it was time to crack out the party season finery for my stall… My spooky Hallowe’en setup has made way for bright red felt and cheerful fairy lights on my (only slightly Scrooge-y) black Christmas tree! There were a couple of festive special guests at the table too, of course… … And on day 2, I managed to get my banner up behind the stall as well! By the end of the weekend, we’d found new homes for some Beasties… And a whole lot of cuddly beans! Hopefully they’ll stay in touch, and share their adventures with us in the new year!
We’ll be doing more markets as Christmas draws closer… Be sure to follow us on Facebook to see where we’ll be popping up next! And don’t forget to call back on Friday, when we’ll be doing some wintry countryside rambling with Explorer Beastie. See you then!
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!
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!
