memo to customers: you rock!

My super fantastic graphic designer/go go gadget girl Peggy designed and printed some new note cards for me! Yay Peggy! As soon as I get some matching envelopes, every Bunny with a Toolbelt purchase will come with one blank gift enclosure card in one of four different designs! (my choice of gator, birthday dog, topiary, or elephant unless you request a certain one!) Thanks Pegster! You're the BEST!

giraffe family

sneak preview

Bunny with a Toolbelt is teaming up with Ice Cream Truck Face (aka Tripper Dungan) for a two person show next month at Guardino Gallery. (Opens August 27!) We got together the other night to chalk out the gallery space on my back patio so we could see how much work we still had to make. I'm happy that I only have one piece yet to create, but a bunch of finishing to do is in the horizon. Here's some pictures I took of our planning party. Enjoy!









Mark your calendars! I'll post more images of individual pieces as I come down the homestretch the next 30 days. Ciao!

why walk when you can boogie down the aisle!

They're with the band...

This customer was making the wedding cake for her sister's celebration, and wanted to surprise the couple with custom cake toppers. The groom plays the guitar and the bride plays harmonica--thought this made a sweet pair. I hope they'll send photos of the finished cake so I can see how it all came out!

Bunny sighting!

At the Lurie Gardens in Chicago....a doctor wearing his new Bunny with a Toolbelt "Eat your vegetables" t-shirt!

party animals

another special request from one of my special customers!

a wedding proposal to remember

unicorns+giraffes=love

I get a lot of special orders from couples who each identify with a different animal, rather than the same animal sets I usually offer in my Etsy store. This was a sweet commission to make a unicorn bride, and I think she turned out really sweet. I thought the horn should be sparkly, and am glad the customer agreed! The blue flowers are the colors of their wedding.

penguin family

Here's a special set of bride and groom penguins with kidlets I made earlier this summer. It's for a hockey playing family from Pittsburgh who thought everyone should be on the groom's cake. Cuteness!

and the winner is.....

Hello Beautiful People! Well, it's time to announce the winner of the first ever Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! There were 26 entries in our inaugural limerick contest. I invited my sweetie Christian to help me sift through the entries at one of our favorite local joints, the Fifth Quadrant, which serves up an incredible pint of C-Note and a delectable selection of meal-worthy salads, just perfect for an 85 degree Oregon summer evening. First things first: we refreshed ourselves with the basics of limerick writing. The highlights, according to the eHow "How to Write a Limerick" site, cited in the contest instructions, are:
1. five lines of verse (everyone followed this most basic of rules)
2. the following 8 or 9 syllable stress pattern and rhyme in lines 1,2,5: da-DA-da-da-DA-da-da-DA da (last "da" is optional) --a lot of entries sadly had to be disqualified due to an over-abundance of syllables in one or more of these lines.
3. the third and fourth lines should go: da-DA da-da-DA da--and rhyme with each other.
4. "exploit puns and wordplay"--which is, to me, what makes a true limerick.

That said, we had several finalists. Our runner up was Katherine's clever limerick about Emeril Lagasse, which you can read by clicking here.

But the winner of the 2009 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest is....
Garth Johnson's entry about the Public Radio Birdie:


Rest on these speakers a spell, son
To hear radio news that is well done
from reporters acclaimed
with elliptical names
like Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.

Congratulations Garth! You win $100 worth of schwag in the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy store!!

I'd also like to give a shout out to 10 year old Elizabeth K. who submitted three entries! (numbers 16, 18, and 25)

Thanks to everyone who entered. This was so much fun that I decided to have contests more often! To find out when the next one will be, sign up for my mailing list by clicking here.

Limerick Contest Ends!

Thanks to everyone who entered my limerick contest! All entries have been posted on this site and judging will commence. Stay tuned...the esteemed committee meets tonight to determine the winner! It will be announced here on the blog, on the official Facebook Fan site, and on my Twitter feed.

Limerick entry #26!!

There once was a bluebird named Cher,
who was unable to get up in the air.
So henrietta the cow,
made a solem vow,
to ferry her friend everywhere.

submitted by Lindsay Jennings

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight tonight! (PST) Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

limerick entry #25!!

FLASH!FLASH!FLASH!FLASH!FLASH!
"Stop using the camera or you'll get an awful bash!"
The wielder of cameras replied:
"This camera is cockeyed,"
"But for your picture, I still want cash"

submitted by Kathy

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight tonight! (PST) Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

Limerick Entry #24

The man in black seemed to be quite sour
but in his heart lived a small flower
That grew love in the light
Of the lady in white
and tick talked like the old clock tower

Keith & Crystal Waye

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight tonight! Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

Limerick entry #23!!

Let me tell you all 'bout a heart dropper,
Someone ran off with our Cake Toppers
Or they tossed 'em in the trash
At our little wedding bash
They're hard to replace 'cuz we're Paupers

a sad but true story, made into a limerick by Keith & Crystal Waye

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight tonight! Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

limerick entry #22!!

His heart was held on by a string
The girl to him was everything
He thought it quite wise
To play “In Your Eyes”
Like Cusack in “Say Anything”

submitted by Katherine

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight July 14, 2009! Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

lovebirds

This was a custom design I made earlier this summer, combining the ubiquitous Bunny with a Toolbelt simple bird and my wedding cake toppers on detachable base. Great ideas often come from my customers!

limerick entry #21!!

there once was a scary parolee
whose face was covered in pozole
he said with a grin
as he wiped off his chin
that he wished it was Sylvia Poggioli

from Garth Johnson at Extreme Craft

Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest ends at midnight July 14, 2009! Try your hand at the time honored craft of wordsmithing and be eligible to win my amazing grand prize! Click here for more information. For more information about this item, click here.

Robot Fix

Here's a great website I just found about from one of my limerick contest entrants--it's called Robot a Day although the author has recently scaled that promise down to two a week or "as often as humanly possible." They make me smile.