Here’s wishing all our BeastieBuddies a very happy St Patrick’s Day! Hopefully you’ll get a chance to raise a glass (or at least a mug of strong tea) sometime today to celebrate all things Irish… Sláinte!
Tag: Holidays
Fun In The Winter Sun II – Monster Holiday!
It’s a hard life, being a Beastie… All that travelling, exploring and discovery can really take it out of a little woolly monster! Sometimes you just have to put your paws up and relax by the seaside. And that is exactly what Paddy and Plunkett have been doing these last couple of weeks! Let’s see what they’ve been up to since last time.
Well, Plunkett decided to really take a weight off, and check out the spa…
And Paddy? Um, Paddy decided to check out something else…
But what’s going on here?
RAIN?!
“This is exactly what we were trying to avoid by coming here! Still, it seems to be easing up now…”
And sure enough, it wasn’t long before the sun came back out again…
… And the boys were able to get back to their sunbathing!
“Aaaaaaah, this is the life! Eh, Paddy?”
“Not bad, Plunkett. Not bad at all.”
Later, they met up with some friends for drinks…
And then there was just time to pose for one last photo in the garden before heading to the airport!
“Hang on. Did you feel that? Is that…?”
Gaaaaaah! More rain!
“It’s not looking good, Paddy. The board says we’re delayed by 3 hours… Still, isn’t it lucky you remembered to pack the Travel Scrabble?”
“Ummm… About that…”
Uh-oh! Will the lads ever make it back home? Or will the combination of foul weather and a lack of miniaturised board games to pass the time prove fatal to their friendship? Stay tuned to the BeastieBlog to find out!
Fun in the Winter Sun, Part One!
It’s been a while since we heard from Paddy and Plunkett, and now I can reveal why… These two intrepid Beasties, clever little monsters that they are, decided to head south to escape the rather grey and gloomy winter we’ve been having! Like I always say, it’s pretty easy for a Beastie to sneak aboard a suitcase or stow away in a handbag… after that, it’s just a case of choosing where they want to go.
And this time, it was destination Gran Canaria! A bit of sun, sea and sand always helps the Northern winter pass a little more quickly. The boys made landfall after sunset…
… And made sure they got an early night, so they could make the most of…
…The breakfast buffet!
Recipe for a healthy Beastie: One bowl of cereal with fruit juice, then a big ol’ Full Irish, and then…
… Hit the baked goods!
“Hey Plunkett, grab me a few of those Beastie-sized doughnuts from the basket in the middle, would you?”
Next, feeling pleasantly full (but having effectively bankrupted the hotel restaurant), the boys headed out to explore! First, they found a giant sundial… A much more useful thing here than at home in Ireland!
(Loving the sunglasses, lads!)
Then, a jaunt on a penny farthing bicycle!
“Gaaaaaah! Paddy! Why do I always let you drive?!”
And now, a quick cup of coffee – just to keep their strength up.
It’s also a good opportunity to check out the photos they’ve taken!
So far, so good… But it’s not the whole story! Be sure to drop back in next week for the second instalment! See you then…
Beast-Skis!
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with Garcia Beastie… so I couldn’t have been happier to get a (virtual) postcard from his post-Christmas ski trip, complete with photos!
This little monster loves an adventure in the great outdoors – it’s the perfect chance to take a break from the hectic life he leads in London. So, let’s hit the slopes!
One of the best things about being a Beastie is that it’s easy to hitch a lift to wherever you need to go.
But maybe you should rent some gear of your own, Garcia Beastie.
“Um, you wouldn’t have any Beastie-sized skis, would you?”
Much better.
Wheeeeeeee! Time to show those humans how it’s done…
… Or not.
Still, dinner will help him to thaw out…
…And then there’s the après ski to look forward to!
Oh, and at the end of the night, you can take a sparkly reindeer taxi home. It’s lucky someone was there to take a photo – this is the kind of story people don’t believe when you tell them the next day…
All in all, a successful trip! Thanks to Suzanne for sharing the photos!
What are you up to for the weekend? Let us know in the comments! We’ll be back next week with more new Beasties on Tuesday, and another day out with Explorer Beastie on Friday… see you then!
Monster New Year!
Phew! I might already have mentioned how busy December was for me and the Beasties, but with Christmas now under our (considerably tighter) belts, it’s time for us to start looking forward to another year of monster mayhem!
There’s going to be plenty going on over the next couple of months… starting with a veritable deluge of new Beasties! They’ve all had to keep their identities secret up until now, for fear of spoiling Christmas day surprises, but it’s finally time for them each to have their star turn on the BeastieBlog. I’ll be introducing you to a fresh Beastie face every Tuesday, so be sure to stop by! To whet your appetites, here’s an oatmeal stout-swigging Pint Beastie who made it to his new home in the UK just in time for Christmas!
2015 was a great year for Beasties abroad, and I’m so grateful to everybody who shared photos of their little woolly friends exploring the furthest reaches of the planet! When I said “hey, send me photos of your Beasties”, I never expected to see them gadding about in Canada…
… Enjoying ice-dripped coffee in Taiwan…
…Polishing off Christmas dinner in Argentina…
…Or scaling cliff faces in France!
Please please PLEASE keep them coming! I’ll be sharing photos every other Friday, in my Beastie Family posts! And that leaves two other Fridays each month for…
…Explorer Beastie!
He’s had a bit of a quiet time in 2015, but this year I’m hoping we’ll get out and about more to show you a few of our favourite places around Dublin. And of course Paddy and Plunkett will be back with more tales from further afield… Last I heard, they were heading off somewhere in search of some winter sun. I can’t wait to see pictures – they’ll be the perfect antidote to the blustery drizzliness of an Irish January!
So, that’s what you can expect from the BeastieBlog this year… Plus we have lots of other schemes, capers and new ideas in the pipeline. I can’t wait to share them with you all!
But what do you have lined up for 2016? Be sure to share your hopes, dreams and plans for world domination in the comments! And now all that’s left for me to do is to wish you all a happy new year… may 2016 be your beast year EVER! Cheers!
Merry Beastmas Everybody!
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks here at Beastie Towers, but now it’s time to kick back and relax beside the Christmas tree! Hope you all have a super day, wherever you are!
We’re off to enjoy another helping of Christmas pud now, but we’ll be back next week to introduce you to some of the Beasties who headed away to new homes in time for the festive season! Until then… Happy holidays! 😀🎄🎁
Beastie Newsflash!
Well, there’s no getting away from the fact that Christmas is in full swing! We’ve been BUUUUSYYYYY here in Beastie Towers, and there’s still a lot for us to do over the next couple of weeks before we get to put our feet/paws up by the fire and enjoy some festive treats!
For starters, we’ll be heading out to MART in Rathmines, Dublin 6 this coming Friday (that’s the 18th) for their Christmas market. This is going to be the Beasties’ last outing before Christmas – so if you’re around, do drop in and say hello!
We’ll be sharing the space with lots of other great artists and craftspeople, and there’s a fancy dress photobooth too – so we’re looking forward to a fun day out!
And if you’re still trying to figure out the best way to get 2016 off to a good start, I heartily recommend getting your paws on a Beastie calendar!
Explorer Beastie certainly got good use out of his last year…
This year’s edition can be yours for just €10, plus P&P. All you have to do is email me at crawcraftsbeasties@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there!
Righty, better get back to work! The Beasties and I will be back next week… see you then!
The Post-Holidays Post
Hello everybody! After a couple of weeks away (which seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye, by the way), we’re back in Beastie Towers and ready for more woolly monster fun! Our “holidays” actually ended up being pretty action-packed, so I’ll have lots to share with you over the next few posts.
First of all, let’s do the shameless plug… My first craft fair of the Christmas season is coming up this weekend! I’ve been busy assembling an elite squad of Beasties to bring along, and there will be some other new characters joining them at my stall as well. So if you should happen to be in Dublin, we’d love to see you… be sure to drop in and say hi!
And of course, the Beasties and I couldn’t let Hallowe’en pass without celebrating a little…
And with spookily apt timing, look who came to join the party…
Hey there, Gizmo! He was happy to strike a pose for the camera, as long as I made him an honorary Beastie for the day.
Later on, Explorer Beastie and I were looking for somewhere interesting to take a few seasonal photos. So Boyfriend suggested we take a trip to Lissonuffy Cemetery – perfect!
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Beasties and I spend all our time hanging out in graveyards, but Lissonuffy is really worth a look.
It’s small, and you could almost say it’s a close-knit community in its own right. You’ll see the same family names cropping up time and again on the headstones, and some of the grave markers are really, really old. I wonder what this one used to say?
It’s also incredibly peaceful out here, since the graveyard is surrounded on all sides by farmland.
There’s also a ruined church in the centre of Lissonuffy, which has some interesting tombs in its walls…
…Some of them perfectly suited to this time of year!
Then there was time for a quick break under the yew tree before we headed home to carve the pumpkin!
Hope you all had a super Hallowe’en! We’ll be back on Friday with news from Pirate Beastie, who set sail from Beastie Towers a couple of weeks ago in search of adventure. See you then!
Time For a Break!
Phew! What a busy year it’s been – it really seems to have flown by! But I’ve had some good news from Other Work… it turns out that with everything else I had going on, I forgot to take any holidays!
Of course, I felt that this was a problem that required my immediate attention.
That said, “holiday” might be a bit of an exaggeration for what I have planned for the next couple of weeks. There’s still market stock to be made, and Christmas commissions to be finished! So with that in mind, the Beasties and I will be taking a short vacation from the blogosphere as well – just to give us a moment to enjoy the season…
…And catch our breath before the Christmas madness starts!
I’m also hoping it will give me a chance to read a few more of your awesome blogs!
We’ll be back at the beginning of next month, with some new woolly creations and monster adventures to share. In the meantime, keep in touch on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!
Weekly Photo Challenge – “Grid”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Grid.”
Turns out that I didn’t need to look too far for pictures for this week’s Photo Challenge! Going through the holiday snaps from the trip Explorer Beastie and I took to London last year, I found a surprising number of grids – in Kew Gardens (above and below)…
… At Shakespeare’s Globe…
… And on the banks of the Thames!
Lucky we decided to take a city break, isn’t it? Grids are a lot harder to come by in the country!
See you next time!