Tag: blogging

Beasties, Bears, and Other Venetian Creatures

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

Hey there everybody! And happy Tuesday!
I’m doing a little bit of reblogging today… Well, how could I not share this? It seems like long-time BeastieBuddy Tammie Painter’s little knitted tearaway, Finn McSpool, has been out enjoying the sights and sounds of quirky Veneta, Oregon… And luckily Tammie was there to take pictures! Thanks to her, you’ll all be getting a double helping of BeastieBlog this week… I’ll be back on Friday to share some of my current bloggy favourites.
In the meantime, take it away, Tammie!
(Oh, and if you’re in the Portland, OR area, don’t forget to swing by her latest art show, in West Linn Lutheran Church Creative Spirits Gallery! Find full details on her blog)

https://tammiepainter.com/2017/07/08/beasties-bears-and-other-venetian-creatures/

TammiePainter's avatarTammie Painter

As you may know, earlier this week was Independence Day in the U.S.. Due to my disgust and embarrassment with our horrible excuse for a president, I had no intention of celebrating the holiday, but I did manage a little getaway during the long weekend since my dad invited me to the wild and crazy town of Veneta, Oregon.

Okay, Veneta (not to be confused with the region of Italy called the Veneto) isn’t really all that exciting, but it’s where my dad has set up camp in his RV for the time being and the tiny town has some fancy new lodgings he wanted me to try out. So, with invitation and reservation in hand, Mr. Husband and I headed south. And of course, Finn had no intention of being left behind.

We spotted our first bit of excitement while cruising down I-5. A bear sighting! And not just…

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Out and About With Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

The Big Five-Oh-Oh!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Hey there everybody! And this is an extra-special post for me today, because over the weekend the BeastieBlog got its 500th follower!

So of course, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you… Especially those of you who take the time to come and hang out with me and the Beasties here every week. We thrive on your likes and comments, so please keep ’em coming!

I thought this might be a fun time to do a bit of a retrospective… So join me as I look back over some of my favourite Beastie-making moments, and introduce you to a few of the awesome blogging folks I’ve met along the way!

Let’s start at the very beginning… with this photo that is, now that I look at it, not good AT ALL. This is Schnocks, the very first Beastie!
Schnocks, the very first Beastie - CrawCrafts BeastiesWow, haven’t they changed? Unsurprisingly, this first post of mine got no likes… at least not until Noémie from Focal Heart took it upon herself to scroll back through ALL my old posts last year to find him! Noémie has since invited 3 Beasties to come and live with her, and has been good enough to share photos of their adventures with me. Why not check out the first one here?

Although Schnocks was created in around 2010-11, it was a couple of years before I thought of adding to the Beastie family… Or encouraging them to head out and invade other peoples’ homes! All that changed after my first market, though.
Craft Fair Stall - CrawCrafts BeastiesUrrrgh, again with the terrible photography! Isn’t it lucky that I was trying to rehome Beasties that weekend, rather than photographs? That said, I was pretty surprised that I had to put up this sign on my table halfway through Sunday afternoon…
Sold OutAnd thus, a Maker of Monsters was born! From there, it was a short leap to taking on my first commission…
Justin Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties… And by now, I’d picked up two of my longest-standing followers, who I still try to keep up with. Knitters will find lots to love on Funky Air Bear‘s site, and Mrs P‘s tales of daily life in the Cottage on the Green always crack me up.

OK, let’s skip forward a bit, and see if we can find some better pictures, shall we?

Check it out! Explorer Beastie’s first away trip!
Ampelmann and Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts BeastiesLook at him there, hanging out with Ampelmann in Berlin! And by the time he’d taken the first of many trips to Co. Roscommon, in the western midlands of Ireland…
Explorer Beastie with Mountain… We’d picked up another BeastieBlog lifer, The Snail of Happiness. Jan’s blog is a beacon of contentment and good sense in a world that sometimes seems to be going off the deep end, so it’s one I heartily recommend you check out!

Inspired by the scenery of the Roscommon countryside, I decided it was high time I made some Beasties with a more Irish twist. And so, Barróg Beasties were born – any excuse to grab a bit of locally-made yarn in some glorious rich hues, and get cracking on some new accessories! Here’s the first one, clutching a lovely mug of hot milky tea.
All-Irish BeastieBarróg Beasties (the name is the Irish word for “hug”) have gone on to become some of the most popular Beasties out there… Especially the ones with pints of Guinness or little Aran sweaters! Oh, and it’s around this time that LucyAnn and Tricia joined the party – they’re both great crafters, and I love sharing the adventures of their dachsunds as they explore Tricia’s beautiful garden.

Of course, there are two Barróg Beasties who have really made a name for themselves since their first adventure back in 2015. Yep, that’d be Paddy and Plunkett! Here’s a picture (a decent one) of their debut away trip to the mossy forests of Co. Fermanagh!
Paddy & Plunkett by CrawCrafts Beasties/Heather CrawfordBy now, we’d been joined by Jem Arrowsmith Knits and Tajana from Tatie’s World, and I’ve so enjoyed following their crafty journeys over the last couple of years!

2015 was the year that commissions really took off for me, and that resulted in some pretty elaborate monster creations… Anybody remember these?
Dog Lover Beastie with her Dog by CrawCrafts Beasties

Fireman Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties

Harry Potter Beastie Recaptures The Monster Book of Monsters! (CrawCrafts Beasties)That year, I also found some great new blogs through WordPress’s Blogging 101 course – including one of my favourite travel blogs, Travel Magnolia. Maggie finds herself in some truly fascinating places, and somehow she always finds the best foodie spots to share wherever she goes!

More recently, the BeastieBlog seems to have grown in all kinds of directions as I share more of my own adventures and experiments alongside what the Beasties are up to. Explorer Beastie at the Etsy Offices - CrawCrafts BeastiesMeeting Other Crafters - CrawCrafts BeastiesIt’s also been fun to see more people getting in touch with pictures of their own Beasties’ adventures – like Tammie Painter, whose Beastie friend Finn McSpool always seems to be up to some sort of mischief! It’s a wonder she ever gets a chance to pursue her writing and artwork at all when he’s around…
Of course, she’s not the only one – thanks to all of you who have sent in pictures of your Beasties at work or play… They always make me smile!
Beasties Abroad - Various Contributors/CrawCrafts BeastiesAaaand that’s probably enough gushing from me for one day! I hope you enjoyed this whistle-stop tour of Beastie history – it’s actually been fun for me to look back through the archives as well. It’s also made me realise that, although there are a good few people who have been with me since the early days, I’ve encountered a whole LOAD of interesting and inspiring bloggers in the last few months. So I’m saving my “who I’m reading now” list for a future post, coming up in a couple of weeks!

In the meantime, be sure to join us next Tuesday for a bit of a catchup with Paddy and Plunkett. See you then!

Bee Excellent to Each Other - CrawCrafts Beasties

How to Make… Little Buzzy Bees!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Crafting, Ideas, Tutorials

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Is anyone out there feeling crafty?

After I put up pictures of the little felt bees I made back in April for The Snail of Happiness’s Craftivism event at The Make It Shop in Manchester, there was a quiet murmuring of interest in response to my offer to share the pattern. So, when I found myself with a clear calendar and the need to do a little bit of computery drawing practice, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to publish the templates and put together a quick tutorial! If any of you take the plunge and give the pattern a try, please let me know how you got on… or share your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #crawcraftsmakes! Ready? Let’s go!

You will need:


Bee Making Equipment - CrawCrafts Beasties

  • Felt in black, yellow and cream (make sure it’s quite thick, or your bee will have sad floppy wings!)
  • Sewing thread in black, yellow and cream
  • Sew-on googly eyes
  • Pink or red embroidery cotton
  • Toy filling
  • Sewing kit – Pins, needles, scissors, pinking shears, fabric marker

And here are the templates you’ll need:

Bee Templates - CrawCrafts Beasties

  1. Start by printing out your templates. The pattern is designed to print onto a single sheet of A4 paper, and please make sure the “fit image to page” box in your print options is unticked before you print! I’ve included the dimensions of my original templates so you can check if yours have come out the right size. (Update! Early testers have told me that the best way to get an accurate printout is to download the image, then open it in a drawing program like MS Paint. So, click the template image, then right click and save it to your computer. Open Paint, find the file, open it and send it to print… And don’t forget to set your page orientation to “landscape” before you click OK!)
  2. Mark out the pieces on your coloured felt sheets, as per the instructions on each template. Don’t forget to flip over the yellow body template before cutting out the second piece, to make sure that it’s a mirror image of the first! The fiddly bits (like the antennae) are best cut out roughly with big scissors first, then you can pin the template to the felt and trim a little closer with smaller scisssors like I’m doing in the first photo.
    Bee Tutorial Step 2 - CrawCrafts BeastiesYou’ll also need to cut out a strip, 9.5cm x 1.5cm, for the bee’s stripe. So, you’ll end up with 2 yellow body pieces, 1 black body base, 1 cream wing shape and black pieces for the face, tail and stripe.

OK, let’s start putting these together! Pin your two yellow body pieces together, and sew from point 1 to point 2 along side A, as marked on the template. Keep your seam around 3mm from the edge of the fabric.

Bee Tutorial Step 3 - CrawCrafts Beasties4. For a smoother curve, cut a few notches at intervals along the edge of the felt, near to (but of course not actually touching) the seam. Then turn the body “shell” right side out.

Bee Tutorial Step 4 - CrawCrafts Beasties5. Pin the yellow body pieces to the black body base. Secure the nose and tail first by pinning point 1 of the yellow shell to point 1 on the black base, and point 2 to point 2. Then pin each side. Next, sew almost all the way around the edges with a simple in-and-out running stitch in black thread.

Bee Tutorial Step 5 - CrawCrafts Beasties6. Don’t stitch all the way around, though! When you’re within 2cm of the beginning of the seam, take a break from sewing and get stuffing. Gently push the toy filling inside, making sure it gets right up into the top of the bee’s back! I find a chopstick or pencil really helps with this bit.

Bee Tutorial Step 6 - CrawCrafts BeastiesThen continue sewing to close up the opening.
7. Now for the features! Sew on googly eyes (or stick them with glue) and use backstitch to embroider a simple smile underneath using 3 strands of embroidery floss.

Bee Tutorial Step 7 - CrawCrafts Beasties8. Pin the face to the front (point 1) of the body, then use whip stitch to sew along the bottom edge (side C) first, and then along the top. I’ve done a couple of stitches in orange for the photos, so you can see what’s going on!

Bee Tutorial Step 8 - CrawCrafts BeastiesWhen you get to the antennae, sew a couple of backstitches across the base, so that they can stand up from the bee’s head.

Stitching the Antennae - Bee Tutorial - CrawCrafts Beasties9. To make your bee look nice and fuzzy, trim the long edges of the stripe and side D of the tail piece with pinking shears.

Bee Tutorial Step 9 - CrawCrafts Beasties10. Next, attach the tail piece to the bee’s bottom (point 2) in the same way as you attached the face piece. Side C covers the line of black stitches at the base, while the zigzag edge goes over the bee’s back. Pin in place, then stitch as before…

Bee Tutorial Step 10 - CrawCrafts Beasties11. …And then repeat for the stripe as well!

Bee Tutorial Step 11 - CrawCrafts BeastiesNearly there!

Flightless Bee - CrawCrafts Beasties12. For the wings, fold the wing shape in half and sew a seam 2mm from the short edge in cream thread.

Bee Tutorial Step 12 - CrawCrafts Beasties13. Then attach the wings by placing the folded edge in the centre of the bee’s back, and sewing a quick line of stitches through the fabric between the seam and the fold.

Bee Tutorial Step 13 - CrawCrafts BeastiesFinito! Ready to take off for all sorts of new adventures…

A Finished Bee - CrawCrafts BeastiesA Little Felt Bee - CrawCrafts BeastiesThese bees make fun little gifts (for you or someone else), or why not use them for a little craftivism of your own? I reckon the pattern could also be simplified for kids (or the short of time) by gluing the features in place, rather than sewing them! Or why not mix up the colour combinations to match the bees who live in your garden?

We’ll be back next week (hopefully not so late in the day!) with some more new Beasties for you to meet! See you then… and happy making!

Beastie-Sized Photo Studio! CrawCrafts Beasties

What’s Goin’ On?

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

Beasties at Work - CrawCrafts BeastiesPhew! It feels like it’s been another busy old month here in Beastie Towers… but when I looked into my “Ready” box earlier, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of little monsters living in there yet. So much for my master plan of getting ALL my Christmas market stock made in the first 2 months of the year, eh?

That left me wondering what on earth I’d been up to, so I thought it was high time I offered another sneaky peek into life as a maker of monsters – hopefully it will help us all to solve the oh-so-intriguing Mystery of the Vanishing February!

First off, I ventured Northwards… And many of you will already have seen the photos Explorer Beastie and I took of our whistle-stop tour of Donegal.
Donegal Days with Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties(If you haven’t, catch up with Part 1 and Part 2 now!)

But that wasn’t the only reason for my trip. I was also planning to catch up with my buddy Julie from Juleco, so that she could teach me some new skills! Loyal BeastieBlog readers might remember the super revamping she did on the humble Beastie Passport last year…
Hooray! New Passports! CrawCrafts Beasties… So I thought she might be able to help me figure out a better way to do my commission sketches as well. I spend a HEEEEUUUUUGE amount of time on these – time I’d really rather use for knitting! With Julie’s help, I’ve been taking my first steps with computer illustration using Adobe Illustrator, in the hope that I’ll be able to re-use elements across numerous sketches, colour-match better with the yarns from my stash and (best of all) colour in with a single click! I already feel that I’m making progress – I just hope I can get the basics down before my free trial runs out. I’ll keep you posted!

I’ve also been having fun playing with the new toy I mentioned in last week’s post. Ever since I went to an Etsy product photography evening last spring, I’ve been meaning to make a lightbox for myself… It’s so easy, and yet I never seemed to be able to scrape together the 20-odd minutes it would have taken to throw one together. I was tormented by questions of where on earth I was going to keep the thing once I’d made it, and how I would extricate it from its hiding place when I needed to use it. Fortunately for me, Boyfriend was taking notes – and look what showed up in my Christmas stocking!
Beastie-Sized Photo Studio! CrawCrafts BeastiesIt’s a Beastie-sized photography studio! It came complete with daylight lamps, backgrounds in 4 different colours and a tripod… And the best bit is that it folds down into an entirely portable (and stowable) 42cm  square carry case. Now even the gloomiest winter mornings can be photoshoot days… I can’t wait to share my new-style pictures with you all, starting next week! I’ve had a few commissions on the go over the last while, and before each Beastie shipped out, they all got a little time in the studio.

In fact, commissions are probably what’s been munching up most of the month – they really do take time! And sometimes they demand a little bit of extra focus. So a couple of weekends ago, I did something that I haven’t done in… eeek, I don’t know how long! I unhooked myself from the internet. It helped that Boyfriend and I were heading off to the farm for a couple of days – in my mind, it makes a lot more sense to be offline when surrounded by wild countryside. As I made my way to the bus station on Friday evening, I caught up with all the notifications on my phone and then switched off data and WiFi for two whole days. I didn’t even take any pictures… Apart from the odd one down at the lake.
Down at the Lake - CrawCrafts BeastiesIt was just the break I needed. Much as I love being part of this vast online community and meeting people I’d never have encountered otherwise, it was nice to spend time talking, reading and crafting without the distraction of a steady stream of beeps and flashing lights. I also couldn’t get over how much longer my battery lasted! It was like being back in 2005!

And when I switched my phone back on the following Monday morning, it didn’t explode with a sudden influx of unread notifications – catching up didn’t take that long at all, and I was excited to see what everyone had been up to while I’d been away. The world didn’t end because I tuned it out for a couple of days, and I didn’t miss out on a massive order, a life-changing opportunity or a genuine email from an exiled prince who needed me to hold onto his fortune for a short time in exchange for serious ca$h mon€y. In fact, I might be tempted to do this more often!
Paddy Admires the View - H Crawford/CrawCrafts BeastiesHow about you? Do you reckon you could go on an internet crash diet? Let me know in the comments! And normal service resumes next week, with another new Beastie for you to meet. See you then!

 

Plan Your Life the Monster Way - CrawCrafts Beasties

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Crafting, Life at Beastie Towers

Out and About With Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts BeastiesHey 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…
Relaxing Times! CrawCrafts Beasties… 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!
Crawcrafts Beasties at the Dublin Christmas FleaIn 2016, I also enjoyed meeting and collaborating with other craftspeople…
New Friends - S Twist Yarn and Niki Collier - CrawCrafts Beasties…Seeing the world through the eyes of Beasties who had left home…
Beasties Abroad - CrawCrafts BeastiesFinn doing his best David Attenborough impression.…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.
Explorer Beastie at Christmas - CrawCrafts BeastiesBut 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.

  1. 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!
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

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

Calendar Time! CrawCrafts Beasties

Theeeey’re Heeeeere!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Knitted Beasties, Life at Beastie Towers

2017 Beastie calendars, that is!
It's the 2017 Beastie Calendar! CrawCrafts BeastiesThis 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…
Explorer Beastie Calendar Shoot - CrawCrafts Beasties…But I snuck in a few of my favourite Beastie friends from the last 12 months as well!
Beastie Calendar Models 2017 - CrawCrafts BeastiesI’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!
Plan Your Life the Monster Way - CrawCrafts BeastiesIf 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!

Rugby Girl Beastie Closeup - CrawCrafts Beasties

A Very Beastie Birthday Surprise!

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Knitted Beasties

Well, THIS has been a while coming! Today’s new Beastie actually left Beastie Towers back at the end of September… But since I devoted all of last month to Hallowe’en-themed monsters, this is really the first chance I’ve had to introduce you to this little lady! However, now that the days have suddenly got much colder, and tickets for the Six Nations have gone on sale, it seems like a good time for you all to meet Rugby Girl Beastie!
Rugby Girl Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesRugby Girl Beastie was commissioned as a very special birthday gift for a devoted Munster Rugby fan! So of course she’s proudly wearing her team’s jersey…
Rugby Girl Beastie's Jersey - CrawCrafts Beasties… Featuring a hand-embroidered crest and a personalised number, to mark the occasion!

Rugby Girl Beastie’s new human friend also LIVES in her Converse trainers, so I made her a pair of her own to match!
Beastie Cons! CrawCrafts BeastiesAnd so that she can join in on the pitch if needs be, she got a hand-embroidered rugby ball too!
Beastie-Size Rugby Ball - CrawCrafts BeastiesThis Beastie girl’s new human buddy is a busy lady! When she’s not following her favourite rugby team’s exploits, she loves going to gigs and festivals… and so that Rugby Girl Beastie can tag along, I included a special VIP wristband to help her sneak backstage.
Access All Areas Wristband, by CrawCrafts BeastiesThen, as a final finishing touch, an accessory to celebrate her love of travel!
Travelling Beastie Suitcase, by CrawCrafts BeastiesThe hand-embroidered felt “stickers” are from some of Rugby Girl Beastie’s new friend’s favourite holiday destinations… and since she often travels to see Dublin band The Coronas play overseas, I’ve included a nod to them on there too!

Now I think we’re ready to hit the road!
Rugby Girl Beastie Hits the Road! CrawCrafts BeastiesThanks so much to Katie for requesting this commission!

Oh, and thanks to all of you as well! Last week the BeastieBlog hit the 400 followers mark… And we literally couldn’t have done it without you. So… CHEERS!
Cheers! CrawCrafts BeastiesJoin us again on Friday for more overseas antics with Paddy and Plunkett… And don’t forget that this weekend we’ll be at the Creative Collective Ireland Craft Fair in Ranelagh, Dublin 6!

Flashback Friday – My First Beastie Hallowe’en

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Flashback Friday, Knitted Beasties

Who sewed this guy together? CrawCrafts BeastiesAs you may have noticed, I’ve been having fun recently putting together a couple of Hallowe’en-themed Beasties. And regular readers will already have met this charming Frankenbeastie on Tuesday… but he wasn’t the first seasonal monster I’ve ever made! Over the last couple of days, I’ve been chatting to Ivonne at Aurian’s Blog about Hallowe’en accessories she could give to her own knitted and crocheted creations, and that made me want to look up some of my first ever Autumnal Beasties. Perhaps you’d like to meet them too?

First up (since we’re not quite at Hallowe’en yet) is Autumn Leaves Beastie!
Autumn Leaves Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesThis was one of the last Beasties I made before I moved back to Dublin. As you can see, he’s being helpful and clearing up the fallen leaves from the garden… and his armful of foliage contains maple, oak and ginkgo leaves!

As it happened, Boyfriend was working in a small indie bookshop at the time, which made the perfect backdrop for some more photos…
Autumn Leaves Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties…On more than one occasion! Skull Beastie really enjoyed looking through these macabre titles…
Skull Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties…And with his mouthful of little pointy teeth, he’s definitely one of my spookier creations!
Skull Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesAt around this time, I also made a Beastie with a little felt pumpkin, and I was hoping to share him with you today as well. But, despite combing my monstrous Beastie photo archive, I haven’t been able to track down a single picture of him! I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere – probably stashed away in the memory of a defunct mobile phone – but at least my knitting journal remembers everything! I was able to find my preliminary doodle, and samples of the yarn I used to make him.
Jack O'Lantern Beastie, by CrawCrafts BeastiesSo if anybody happens to see a purple and yellow Beastie clutching a Jack o’lantern when they’re out trick-or-treating this year, be sure to take a photo and send it to me!

How about you? Do you like changing up your crafting to reflect the seasons? Let me know in the comments! And we’ll be back on Tuesday with another Famous Monster… see you then!

Baker Girl Beastie in the Kitchen- CrawCrafts Beasties

Flashback Friday – Baker Girl Beastie

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Commissions, Flashback Friday, Knitted Beasties

It’s time for another browse through the BeastieBlog archives… and since we’ve been talking a lot about treats already this week, it only seemed fair to have another treat-y Beastie to see us into the weekend! Hands up who remembers…
Baker Girl Beastie, by CrawCrafts Beasties…Baker Girl Beastie!

I made this Beastie at the start of 2015, and she was one of my first “real” commissions. It was exciting to be making a monster for someone who I didn’t previously know… and a little nerve-racking, too!

Fortunately, the lady who requested this little monster girl had a good idea of what she wanted. First up – red hair, to match her own…
Baker Girl Beastie's Fabulous Hair - CrawCrafts Beasties… And a cute little printed cotton dress, protected by a hand-embroidered apron!
Baker Girl Beastie's Outfit, by CrawCrafts BeastiesBut the most important accessory was her big pink cupcake!
Baker Girl Beastie's Cupcake, by CrawCrafts BeastiesIn fact, I recently revisited this idea, and made some larger stand-alone felt cupcakes!
Felt Cupcakes, by CrawCrafts BeastiesThey’re really fun to make, and right now I’ll take any opportunity to flex my newfound felting muscles!

One thing I noticed while putting this post together was how much my Beastie photography has improved in the past year and a half, even if I do say so myself! It just goes to show that practice makes… um… maybe not perfect, but definitely better!

It’s been a while since I heard from Baker Girl Beastie… hopefully either she or her human will see this and drop us a line! Then again, perhaps she’s training hard for the next season of “The Great British Bake Off”! Are any of you planning to spend some time in the kitchen this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

Tumble in the Lava - Oooops.

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Monster-Makers…

Posted on by crawcraftsbeasties in Info, Life at Beastie Towers

Oh dear. Ever just have one of those days?Tumble in the Lava - Oooops.Yes, I know I promised new Beasties galore today, and I even have a couple of little monsters who are oh-so-keen to meet you all! But alas, they’re just not quite ready yet… A small matter of one accessory that is refusing to coooperate. However, the good news is that I think I’m finally close to breaking its spirit and bending it to my will, so you’ll definitely be able to meet them all next week!

You’ll also surely be reassured to learn that I haven’t spent the whole weekend cussing at tiny pieces of felt. It’s been a busy one here at Beastie Towers! There have been commission sketches to prepare…

… And, in case you missed my all-over-all-the-social-media-announcement last week, I did a guest post for local crafty magazine Olann And!

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

It was great to have a chance to introduce their readers to some of my favourite Dublin craftspeople – two of whom (Niki Collier and Ann from Dinah’s Dolls) are also fellow WordPress bloggers. So do stop by their blogs if you get a second, they’re some seriously talented ladies!

And if that wasn’t enough to keep me out of mischief, I’m also gearing up to head to the Ha’Penny Market at The Grand Social again this Saturday!

We had such a great time on our last visit, and this is the first Saturday we’ve had free since then, so we’re really looking forward to it! As always, feel free to pop in and say hi – we’d love to see you!
Market Stall - CrawCrafts BeastiesAlrighty, time to recommence battle with those accessories! We’ll be back on Friday, with photos from the day trip Explorer Beastie and I took last Saturday. See you then!