Thursday

meet Mondrianiphant and Neopoliphant

Let's explore the middle of the alphabet today--our representatives for letter M and N from the Elephabet Book are ready to meet you!

First we have Mondrianiphant, named for Dutch De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian. I made two examples for this letter and these diptychs show how the painter's distinctive style extends around this 3-d object. These figures will be priced around $75 apiece when the book is completed.


The letter N is represented by Neapolitaphant, named for Neapolitan, one of the tastiest ice cream flavors that combines strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. I added a cherry on top and a ice cream cone hat. I made two of these figures, changing around the distribution of flavors. Still deciding on the pricing for these--probably around $100.


Want to be alerted when these babies go on sale in November? Sign up for my Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of my Elephabet Book! Click here to learn more!

Wednesday

elephabet!


I've crossed the halfway mark for my Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book, but still have a ways to go to reach my goal and publish this fall! Click here to make your pledge today! Anyone who pledges $5 or more gets a set of cute elephabet buttons!
Feeling cash-poor, but want to make sure this project happens so you can purchase later? You can still help me realize Elephabet by helping me get the word out there. Use Facebook or Twitter to share within your online communities, or if you know a luddite or two who might love this idea, message me and I can mail them a physical postcard. I really appreciate your help in making this dream a reality!

Here's the link to pledge or share: http://bitly.com/elephabet
Thank you, beautiful person!!

Tuesday

Limerick Contest Entry #13!!

I now present the thirteenth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! It's another one by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. Here's an 80's tribute to the tradition, a limerick about my boom box monster!

He proposed with a diamond ring,
She said “No” and made his heart sting.
So he thought and planned
Then took his last stand
In homage to "Say Anything."


There's still a few days to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

ionlylikemonsters

Do you have one of these? I recently bonded with a fellow blogger over a finger puppet--I acquired one of these somewhere along my travels, and apparently on another part of the planet, it was the inspiration for a great blog called ionlylikemonsters. I was asked if I could make a Bunny with a Toolbelt version of this hilarious little puppet, so I was happy to imagine what the rest of his body would look like, rainbow socks and all.

Sunday

S is for Sushiphant!

Hey Kids! Do you know what time it is? It's time to meet the newest members of the Elephabet Book, Sushiphant!

It was hard to stop making work for this letter. First of all, I LOVE sushi, and second of all, I LOOOOOVE sushi, and third of all, I LOOOOOOOVE making sushi-inspired elephants! I didn't necessarily pick my favorite types of sushi here, opting for the more iconic ingredients. Above is wasabiphant, who is little, but we all know that a little goes a long way with this guy inspired by wasabi. He is very tiny, so the price might even be less than $45.

Here's Tobikophant, who is sporting three different colors of this yummy crunchy roe. The pattern painted on his lower regions is a funky tribute to painted Japanese porcelain dishware. Tobikophant will probably cost around $100.


Moving over to nigiri-style sushi for a bit, I really had fun with the design of these next three: Sakephant (salmon,) Ebiphant (shrimp,) and Tamagophant (egg.) Note the subtle rice pattern on their white bodies. These were considerably more labor, so will cost between $100 and $150.




And, last but not least, I present Futomakiphant. He will be priced around $75.

Want first dibs on these babies when they hit my Etsy shop this fall? Click here and join my Kickstarter campaign to publish my Elephabet Book, and your wish can come true in a few months!!

Friday

feeling fruity?


I just finished up this work for the shop at Oregon College of Art and Craft! Look for it early next week!

Thursday

Limerick Contest Entries #10, 11 and 12!!


This morning I received three lovely limericks, all about my lemony luverly wedding cake toppers. I have a number of beautiful shots of this piece taken earlier this year by Jill Heupel, so I thought I'd devote this entire blog posting to the theme. Take it away, Margaret!

There once were two birds on a lemon
Both to each other betrothen
They chatted all day
about what, I can't say
Those lovely love birds on the lemon.


Two birds did sit on some fruit
Each thought the other a hoot
They planned and they plotted
And the tie was then knotted
Those dearly wed birds on the fruit.


A lemon did hold two small birds
And set quite a scene for some words.
They chatted and chippered
and peep-cheeped and pippered
on just how to make lemon that curds.


How about you? Got a limerick in you? There's still about a week to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Wednesday

Limerick Contest Entry #9!!



This just in! It's the ninth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is another sent in by father-daughter team Chris and Iris, who were inspired by my lovebirds pineapple wedding cake topper! Take it away, kids!

Two birds sinking in a pineapple fetter.
Getting worse as it was only getting wetter.
"Are we on a table?"
"No, we're stuck to a pineapple!"
Paradise is exactly where you are only much much better.



There's still a few days to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Monday

K is for.....Kachinaphant!


Hurrah! Less than a week into the Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book, and I'm thrilled to be at 40% of the way towards my initial publishing goal!!

Today I'll start to introduce some of the characters I've already made that starred in my Kickstarter video. First, I brainstormed about possible K words to use. I want the book to be educational, fun, reflect my love of words, and I really enjoyed the explorations I did on each letter. Here's the top contenders I wrote in my notebook, just for fun.
As you can see, Kachinaphant was the one I decided would be best for the letter K.

I decided that I will make at least two elephants for every letter of the alphabet. This is, in part, because the stop action video will be more fun if there's a few examples for each word. It's also because I each letter takes some research and/or imagination and it's hard to limit it to just one. Even if every one doesn't make it into the book or the animation, it will be available for sale on my Etsy site later on.

The portmanteau Kachinaphant was coined for the amazing dolls created by Native American artisans--Kachina dolls. I found a fantastic book at my local Library that focuses on dolls in the Hopi tradition and found several sources of inspiration. Reading about the traditional figures within this genre directed me towards a few of my favorite characters.

The Hano Clown.

This is a character who has been reinterpreted in many different ways, but always wearing black and white stripes, and frequently is seen eating watermelon. He is one of many clown, jester or trickster characters, and sometimes goes by the name Koshare or Koyaala.


I decided to call this guy Hanophant.

Another figure that appealed to me was the corn dancer.



And I also loved the deer.


This is the largest of all the figures I've done in this series--stands about 8 inches high. I expect this piece will be $150, and the others will be slightly less. These were definitely some of the more time consuming figures I've made so far, but also the most fun with all their history, colors, and accoutrement. It also gave me the idea to put an index in the back of my book that will explain the origin of all the words and hopefully inspire people to learn more about each one. I would have loved to keep making Kachinaphants, in fact, but it was time to move on--there's 25 more letters to do! I'll come back in a few days and tell you about the letter T, which is for Topiariphant!

Saturday

Limerick Contest Entry #8!!

News Flash! It's time for the eighth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! Remember the father-daughter team Iris and Chris, who kicked off the contest a few weeks ago? Well, here's another one for you--this is one was inspired by my spotted chicken. Bwak!

There once was a leaky blue PEN,
Up in a tree, being held by a HEN.
As she doodled some HERE,
and then doodled more THERE,
What resulted was a cyan CHICKEN.


There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Thursday

Limerick Contest Entry #7!!


I now present the seventh entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! It's another one by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. He wrote this humorous limerick about my happy elephant!

Their friendship was a funny thing
Blind to difference in tail or wing
Elephant and bird
Love was the word
Carrying them through everything


(Speaking of happy elephants, have you heard about my new project?)

There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Wednesday

elephabet!

Yay! I'm excited to finally be able to officially announce the project that I've been working on in the background for at least the last six months--the very first Bunny with a Toolbelt book! This one's called Elephabet and will feature a differently-themed elephant for every letter of the alphabet. I will also make a stop action animation to accompany every copy of the book.

I'm pre-selling copies of Elephabet on Kickstarter, and expect to ship them in November. Of course, all of the original elephants will also be for sale in the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy shop at that time.

Click here to support the Kickstarter campaign. Thanks!

Monday

Limerick Contest Entry #6!!



This just in! It's the sixth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. He wrote this humorous limerick about my smiling gator wedding cake toppers! Dig it!

Their nuptials were a delight
The reception lasted all night
But as the sun rose
The newlyweds chose
To eat all their guests in one bite


There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Friday

Limerick Contest Entry #5!!

Happy Friday! Here's the fifth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is by Lisa, who is about to marry her favorite squirrel in true Bunny with a Toolbelt fashion. Woo hoo!

Now that we're tying the nut,
Smooth sailing? Ha! Anything but!
Pre-teens, we have 2,
Not to mention a zoo,
Slim chance of being stuck in a rut


There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!