Explorer Beastie – Page 6

A Beastie Backpack for Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

New Frontiers For Explorer Beasties!

Posted on January 30, 2018 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Commissions, Knitted Beasties

Happy Tuesday, everybody! And, after a brief wintry wander with Paddy and Plunkett last week, we’re going to dip back into the pile of pre-Christmas commissions, and meet another new Beastie!

So, you all know Explorer Beastie, right?

…And some of you might remember a few variations on the theme over the last couple of years, like Explorer Beastie’s little sister…

… And this rather retro gent, Victorian Explorer Beastie!

But here’s the newest addition to the Explorer Beastie clan, and he’s a little bit different!

First of all, he was made as a very special commission for fellow blogger Simon at Planet Simon. Although Simon’s blog mainly focuses on science (both fact and fiction!), his posts also drop in the odd slice of humour or snapshots of his day-to-day life, and it’s always a fun place to hang out and have a chat! But back to that Beastie… Can you tell what makes him stand out?

So far, so similar… But check out his paws!

Simon always seems to be fixing or making things, so I thought it made sense to create a useful companion for him who could lend a hand if needs be. One leap forward in Beastie-volution later, and here’s a little monster with magic magnetic grippy paws! And that, dear readers, means that he can hold onto stuff!

Mmmm, lunchtime!

Ready to fix stuff with his handy spanner!

I made him a compass as well – that’s essential kit for an Explorer Beastie, after all.

And of course, he can’t carry all these cool things in his paws ALL the time, so a Beastie backpack was called for too!

Let’s get everything packed away there, shall we?

Perfect!

I can’t wait to see what exciting exploits this pair get up to! Oh, and if you’re planning some adventures of your own, why not grab your free February calendar page from my shop?

It features the ever-intrepid original Explorer Beastie, enjoying the balmy (ahem!) Donegal coast at around this time last year. Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE?

Have a great week, everybody… And don’t forget to join us again next Tuesday to meet another new Beastie! See you then!

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2017June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family

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!

Explorer Beastie, Sommelier - CrawCrafts Beasties

Social Beastie-Flies!

Posted on May 24, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin, Info

Phew! What a busy week it’s been! After our Etsy photography course a couple of weeks ago, Explorer Beastie and I decided to keep our socialising momentum going… so when an invite to a special sneak-preview-tasting-menu dinner at Oscar’s Bar and Kitchen dropped into our mailbox, we were pretty quick to RSVP! As an extra bonus, the event was being organised by the Irish Blogger Association, which meant that we’d get to meet some more bloggers – in person for once!

Now, I hope you’re hungry… Here come some of the highlights of the meal!
Clockwise from top left – wild boar black pudding starter (proof, if any were even needed, that black pudding is more than just a component of your typical full Irish breakfast), the bbq ribs that were so tasty that I forgot to photograph them first, rhubarb panna cotta for dessert and Explorer Beastie looking on enviously at my Moroccan lamb with aubergine.

Yum! There were also plenty of opportunities for Explorer Beastie to pose with an almost-Beastie-sized wine glass…
… Relax among the tasteful decor…
… And atone for the rest of us eating all that black pudding.
Looking back at my photos as I was putting this post together made me think about how I wouldn’t even have been there enjoying all these delicious delicacies if I hadn’t started writing a blog about the Beasties and their adventures. Blogging has introduced me to people I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise – people who share my interests, or who have introduced me to new ways of looking at the world. People whose work inspires me, or whose stories make me laugh out loud when I read them. In the last week, I was delighted, excited and a little surprised to see I’d passed the 300 followers mark! So thanks to all of you for reading, and especially to those among you who regularly like my posts or comment on them. The Beasties and I are so chuffed to have you all along with us on our adventures!

Further “thank you”s are due to Fiona and the Irish Blogger Association for organising a great night out, and to the staff at Oscar’s for looking after us so well. It certainly looks like I wasn’t the only one who left happy!
Join us again on Friday, when we’ll be checking in with another Beastie abroad! And if blogging has taken you to interesting or unexpected places, we’d love to hear about it in the comments!

The Trouble With April In Dublin…

Posted on April 12, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin

… Is that we take the concept of “April showers” to a whole new level. I’d promised Explorer Beastie a day out yesterday (Other Work kept me pretty busy over the weekend), but on Monday morning we were greeted with teeming rain and grey skies. What to do?
Anything outdoors was totally off the menu. And all of our lovely free museums and art galleries are closed on Mondays! Fortunately, I remembered about the Book of Kells!

The Queen at the Book of Kells, from www.tcd.ie — Good enough for the Queen, good enough for us! Image borrowed from http://www.tcd.ie

So I grabbed my umbrella, and Explorer Beastie hopped into my bag for the journey. But when we arrived…
Oh no! Clearly everyone else had the same idea! What now?

“Hey, why don’t we go in here?”

“Here” is the Douglas Hyde Gallery, a small, FREE art space located just inside Trinity College’s Arts Building. I must have walked past it thousands of times when I was a student here, and I never thought to go inside! Time to fix that… Good call, Explorer Beastie!
The exhibitions change fairly frequently, so there’s always something new to see. The current one will be running until the 4th of May, and is definitely worth a look. We especially enjoyed Bill Lynch’s work!
Unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped raining by the time we went to leave…
… But we did get to pose with Douglas Hyde himself on the way out! It’s not often that little woolly monsters get a chance to rub shoulders with former Irish presidents!
As for the Book of Kells… Well, we’ll take you there another day. And it definitely won’t be on a rainy Monday morning!

See you all next week, when I’ll have some more new Beasties for you to meet!

Happy BEASTer!

Posted on March 27, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Beastie Family, Explorer Beastie, Knitted Beasties

Happy Easter, everybody! The Beasties have been busy organising their own festival, featuring a traditional Beaster Egg Hunt…
Let’s see if they can gather up the last few eggs before Explorer Beastie’s backpack bursts at the seams!

Hope you all have a great weekend… We’ll be back on Tuesday with more monster mayhem!

Out and About With Explorer Beastie - CrawCrafts Beasties

Exploring Georgian Dublin

Posted on March 18, 2016June 19, 2021 by crawcraftsbeasties in Explorer Beastie's Dublin

Hello there, Beastiebuddies, and happy Friday!

Today, Explorer Beastie and I want to take you to another part of Dublin you may not have seen before. Come and join us as we wander down the side of Merrion Square, and head towards the Grand Canal!

Around here, you can see some great examples of Georgian townhouses – a style of architecture which still dominates large areas of Dublin’s city centre, both north and south of the river. The first “Georgian-style” buildings date back to the 1720s, when many of Dublin’s narrow mediaeval streets were widened, and a property boom encouraged developers to build new houses on what were then the very edges of the city. It’s strange to think that what I consider to be the heart of Dublin was once almost the countryside!

Unlike modern-day developers, the Georgian builders were given pretty strict guidelines about how their houses should look. So in these areas, you can expect to see big, often brightly-coloured front doors, with a semi-circular “fanlight” window over them…
There are usually steps to raise them up above street level, and they tend to be tall (by Irish standards) with a basement underneath. To pick up extra Georgian status points, add an imposing door knocker…
… Or an elaborate iron boot scraper!
And of course there’s a prize if you spot a house with a famous former resident!

You can also find out more about what life was like inside these houses a little further down the street, at Number Twenty Nine – a faithfully restored Georgian-style house, which is open to visitors all year round. We didn’t go inside this time, but we’ve been before and it’s definitely worth a look!

Further down Mount Street, we stopped for a quick game of hide and seek…

…And then carried on to find one of Dublin’s lesser-known landmarks – St Stephen’s Church, affectionately known to Dubliners as “The Pepper Canister”!
Building work began on the church in 1821, as more people starting moving to this part of the city. It’s a perfect spot to stop for some photos…
… Before heading back home!
I wonder where Explorer Beastie will pop up next? Tune in next week to find out!

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