a Christmas story about A Penguin Story

I wanted to share with you the Christmas present I made for my nieces and their parents. It started with a walk down the street from where I live to Green Bean Books, a wonderful community bookstore for readers of all ages. (Heavy focus on younger readers) I found a great book in their front window called A Penguin Story, which seemed perfect to me because it's wintry, has cute animals as the stars that I already know how to render, great color scheme, and talks about science which is good for any young girl to start contemplating.
I read through the book and picked out elements of the story that seemed important, and made them in my Bunny with a Toolbelt style. Then I wrapped each gift separately and put a number on the top. I put a correspondingly numbered post-it note in the book so that the pieces could be opened as the story unfolded.

Sadly, I did not get to see either family open their gifts, but it was a fun project. Happy holidays everyone!

happy holidays!!

Video by United Fakes

cute commissions

Phew--got all my shipping out finally. Now I can tell you about a few last minute commissions I got this year. First, another dog owner wanted me to render her pups. This one's Boo, a Jack Russell who has a snaggletooth.


Her second doggie is a little chihuahua named Hammy. This hamburger squeak toy was one of her favorite playthings, so the customer asked if I could make a hamburger to put atop Hammy's head. I wasn't sure if it would fit, but am really happy with the results!


And then she had me do a third dog for her grandmother, who's in love with her new puppy named Wilma. She decided to have me add a crown atop her head to let everyone know how important she is!!

epicutealicious

mmmm....my rumball Santa was just discovered by epicute, a blog devoted to cute food. Wow--I'm going to have to visit this one at least once a week to see more images like this miniature scene above by virginhoney. Or the banana nutella sandwich by bentomom. Thanks epicute!

little things

The Little Things show at Guardino Gallery continues.... Oregon Public Broadcasting's KC Cowan wrote an article about this great show where you can get your holiday shopping done in one fell swoop. You can read her article by clicking here. (My Santas even got a mention!)

and the winner is.....

Phew! Of course the internet went down just as I was sitting down to tally votes. But I am now back on board and ready to announce the winner of the first Bunny with a Toolbelt photo contest. (Did you notice I typed the word "first"?? Details at the end of this post!)

I had to use my reserved rights to not count votes that didn't follow the rules, as well as adjusting for the fact that the two highest vote getters were submitted by the same person (one prize per person)

So without further ado, I present to you the winner in the MOST HILARIOUS category:
Flower Guy by Susan! Congratulations--you get one of the $100 gift certificates to my Etsy shop!



There's a tie for MOST ORIGINAL, with eight votes each going to.....

Succuphant by Ashley


and Dog Walk on Haunted Hill as portrayed by Tashina.
You will split the prize, each getting a $50 gift certificate!

And by a landslide,the PEOPLE'S CHOICE award went to the cute little mooooooo cow!
Congratulations, little doggie, you get a $100 gift certificate! I hope you'll share it with your mom Janet!


I decided to also offer a consolation prize to Rebecca, who had plenty of votes but unfortunately they were split between most hilarious and most original. I couldn't agree more, plus I think anyone who's willing to wear their food deserves a little something. Rebecca, I will be mailing you the fungi and feathers piece for your heroic efforts in the name of Bunny with a Toolbelt.


Thanks for playing everyone, that was fun! I decided to do it again this summer, so put your thinking caps on now. I have planned many more contests for 2010 if performance art isn't your thing. If you want to be sure not to miss any of them, sign up for my email list, join the facebook fan page, or check back on the Bunny with a Toolbelt blog or Etsy shop announcements. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Let the voting begin!!

Okay folks! It's time to vote on your favorite photos in my holiday contest!! Voting will be open until midnight, (Pacific Standard Time) December 14th. Look back in the recent archives at the Bunny with a Toolbelt blog or the Bunny with a Toolbelt Facebook Fan Page and view all eight entries. Then leave a comment to this post (in either place) telling me your three choices for the following categories:

1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

I reserve the right to not count votes that don't follow these simple rules:
One vote per person, please, and you can't vote for the same entry for more than one category.

I will tally the results on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 and award the three $100 gift certificates!

holiday contest entry #8!!

Okay, here it is, what seems to be the last contest entry! If anything else comes into my inbox in the next few minutes as we count down to midnight. Tomorrow I'll set up a voting system, so stay tuned for those details!

Here's the entry, based on this piece in my Etsy shop.

holiday contest entry #7!!

We're seeing a lot of pets who are obvious fans of my Bunny with a Toolbelt critters. I have long been intrigued by animals dressed up as other animals, so here's the dog's interpretation of my Mooooooooooooooo cow.....time is ticking away folks! Read below for contest rules!!



***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

holiday contest entry #6!!

We have a sixth entry in the Bunny with a Toolbelt Contest! It's a rendition of another one of my fall pieces inspired by Edward Gorey--Dog Walk on Haunted Hill. Time's ticking down--all entries that make it to my inbox by midnight (Pacific Standard Time) will be entered!!



***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

holiday contest entry #5!!

Here's yet another entry....a Trompe-l'œil tribute to my fall-inspired kitty on a pumpkin sculpture, made way back when I only had a vague notion of what it meant to be chilled to the bones. Oh, the folly of youth.

***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

holiday contest entry #4!!

Okay folks....here it is--entry number four! A culinary tribute to my little bird on mushroom piece, also known as Fungi and Feathers Flock Together. Drum roll....and be sure to look at the rules again below. There's a little over 24 hours left to enter the contest!





***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

holiday contest entry #3!!

Okay, folks...we have three entries for three prizes! This one is for one of my favorite pieces, the Succuphant. Thanks for playing--keep those entries coming! Two days left to make it a real competition and win one of my three big prizes! (Rules below the pictures)

***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

holiday contest entry #2!!

A second entry has emerged for my gift certificate challenge! It's a rendition of my brand new Christmas Turtle!

***DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

gotta love it!

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (one of my favorite museums ever!) is selling these fantastic temporary hand tattoos designed by Héctor Serrano. Pick between monsters or animals and let the wild rumpus begin!

holiday contest entry #1!! (deadline extended)

Yippeeee! I just got my first entry to the Bunny with a Toolbelt contest--hard to believe that nobody wants to win one of three $100 gift certificates to my Etsy shop! This entry is an homage to my brand new Hanukkah penguin set, pictured below!


I decided to extend the deadline just a bit, in case you have just gotten motivated to participate. ***NEW DEADLINE IS SATURDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 11:59PM PST!***

Here are the contest rules again just in case we've caught your attention!

This time it's a photo contest--take a gander at the items in my Etsy shop, blog archives, or Facebook fan page and pick one to emulate. It's up to you how elaborate you want to get, but take a picture of yourself acting like one of my figures in whatever way you see fit.

I'll post all entries here on the blog between now and December 12th at midnight. Then we'll have a two day voting period where you can all help decide the winner. Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded in the following categories:
1. most hilarious
2. most creative
3. people's choice

You can enter as many times as you want, but each person who enters can only win one of these gift certificates. The winners will be announced on December 14, 2009.

So get your thinking caps on and send photos to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com If you're not in the mood to dress up and look like a fool in front of the whole world, you can always click here and buy a gift certificate for the Bunny with a Toolbelt afficionado in your world.

a custom order for a respectful child

I had a really cool request recently, from a close friend whose daughter is nuts about Duplo blocks. (Think Legos on steroids) She has a lot of animals that were made to accompany the set, but the daughter was sad that there was no bird. Making sure that she knew that it wasn't as durable as the Duplo blocks, I agreed to make her wishes come true.

They gave me a block to use as a template--the hitch is that all the Duplo animals can snap onto the basic four bump unit. I made the base to fit that size and drilled the holes accordingly.

She loved it and played with it for at least six months before the dog got a hold of it. I recently fixed it so she's back in business. Here's a picture of her with bird v.2

And here she is with her entire Bunny with a Toolbelt menagerie! It's nice to know that some children are respectful of the handmade objects in their lives.

three more days to enter the contest!

I have three $100 gift certificates to give away--who wants 'em? Click here to read the details.....and here are a few images for inspiration: