Magical Eggs of Festiveness

So finally time (that evil mistress and/or gigolo) has allowed me to deal with my wonderful lovely decorate egg paper ornaments.

Each decorative Faberge paper egg is beautifully detailed - but is also able to magically transform into a fun paper puppet character. There is a Honey Bear, a Russian doll, an Angel, and a Snowflake God. Each character is ready for some holiday madness and holds it's own small golden egg.





The paper puppet egg ornaments will start shipping November 1st - just in time for the holiday season. Decorate your home, office, some one's desk, loved one's TP stand - hello, these ornaments can make a nifty home everywhere and a simple unique gift for anyone!



Each 3 x 5inch-ish egg is cut, handmade out of paper, hung with golden fabric ribbon and packaged in it's own clear cellophane with sparkly brown backing. Perfect as a lone gift or an additional add-on to that big box you've just wrapped up. There will be complete sets available too!





Pre-sales and many more pictures are up at the Crankbunny shop for the ornaments now. Check it out! Click here! Ornaments start to ship November 1st! (And will also be priced regularly then too)

Pop Up Imagination

Consider this the post where I talk a little about pop up cards.

I love pop up anything and collect alot of pop up books. Not only as reference for my own Crankbunny work but mainly just to enjoy! I've never being formally trained in paper engineering, I look up to Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. Each of them are pop up gods and they've brought back the art form in many fresh new ways. I love love love how all their enthusiasm for the 'pop up arts' spills out with each page turn. Each book seems to get bigger and more complicated and amazing. They sometimes teach classes at Pratt Institute and run their business in NYC with a gazillion little paper cutter gnomes running about (ok, its a small staff of gnomes).

Here is a wonderful movie I recently found of both of them going through a recently finished Fairies pop up book (it's awesome - see I'm loving fairies now!) and also holding one of my favorite books that they did with Tomie DePaola called "Brava, Strega Nona!".

Inside the Pop-Up Studio from paul b on Vimeo.
The fairy book is called "Encyclopedia Mythologica: Fairies and Magical Creatures"

There's also a wonderful interview / article that Babble did on them.
Excerpt from Robert: "....that's why pop-ups I think have survived and are really being embraced because it's magic without electricity. You know what I mean? When you turn the page of one of our books, you think, "Oh my god. How is that even possible?" and it's between two boards that make a book and that's a rare thing in our lives today to feel, very rare...."
Here's a link to it -- click here --! I highly recommend reading it.

Also here are some pictures from : Brava, Strega Nona!: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book







Their studio also has a blog which is fun to read - http://popupstudionyc.blogspot.com/
Most of their staff write the blog posts, so its interesting to see their work as it progresses on projects and also their outside interests too! It's not all about pop up people - it's about imagination!



In this video both of them describe their process and how their work has evolved. What I love most is when they start talking about the interactive experience behind the pop up book. How again, its almost magical yet so simple, and there's no electronics involved.

mo' betta horizons

After a nasty time prolonged flu, a heavy animation workload, and my main computer finally kicking the bucket last week (don't worry kids, I got other puters to get by with) .. I can only see spiffy things in the horizon! The weather here is a good sign - it's finally warm. A nice 80F, thank you very much.

To celebrate my 1st real day off - sans work, sans sickness, sans crappy cold weather - I decided to go see Rob Ryan's work up at the Earnest Sewn store in the upper west village here in NYC. His installation/temporary store called Ryantown USA there is only up till May 17th. I am a huge fan (hello duh- its paper and it's cut). It was amazing to see so much of his stuff in one place. It's a totally different experience in person.

These are some pics from my adventure:

*these pictures taken by brian ewing with his amazing camera.

I scored a really nice foldout 2009 calendar that is still knocking my freekin socks off because it is totally awesome and was only 5 dollars!

He uses alot of laser cutting for his mass produced stuff which is pretty much the only way to get those small super tiny iddty bitty cutouts. The installation stuff was cutout by hand. Oh the obsessiveness that I can't help but to adore!

Luxury American denim label, Earnest Sewn, has partnered up with U.K artist, Rob Ryan, to create two installations that will host collaborative work between the brand and the artist. So far, there are limited edition printed t-shirts, bandannas, customized denim patchwork teddy bears and hand embroidered cushions. The installation will come in the form of pop-up stores in two locations, one in New York and the other in London. For the pop-up store in New York situated within Earnest Sewn’s store in the Meat Packing District, Ryan replicated his East London Shop, Ryantown, for a store-within-a-store concept.

Ryan is known for his signature paper-cut pieces and has already worked with companies like Paul Smith and Liberty. The pop-up store was launched on April 2 will be running through May 17, so be sure to drop by and check out the limited edition knick-knacks.

Rob Ryan - etsy store
Rob Ryan - website
Rob Ryan - blog

Earnest Sewn
821 Washington St Map
New York, NY 10014

Let Them Eat Cake!

Just a quick post to reveal that the new Let Them Eat Cake pop up card is up in both the shops! Yes, that's right... the card that turns into a slice of cake!

Here's some cake porn - please don't start licking the screen... again.

Prints are boring! Puzzles are not--

The Pescado Grande Puzzle is the first of a series of puzzles that reference old star constellation maps, nautical sea maps and numbers in the cuban charada (lottery). Number 10 represents a big fish - pescado grande - which in this case is a large Crankbunny.


This puzzle is designed, glued, cut, detailed with ink and subtle glitters, varnished, and handmade by my lovely marshmallow fingers and a crank press called Maxy. Because every puzzle is cut and detailed with additional artistic materials (ink, paint, etc) - each puzzle is unique, special, and no two,three,four,etc are the same. The puzzle when assembled is 9 1/4"w x 7 3/4"h and is packaged unassembled in a decorative paper gift pillow box (also handmade by me).

It looks pretty darn sexy too when easily framed for a unique display of artiness.




*This puzzle can be bought at both the Crankbunny stores now! Click here & here!

**What is this "charada" you speak of?
Charada is a simple numerological system of dream interpretation used for the divination of numbers to play the lottery in Cuba. Numbers from one to one hundred have a name assigned to them; if you dream about a snake you play 21. I am Cuban, therefore these numbers have their own additional meaning for me... that leak always into the stuff I make. To learn more about the numbers in la charada - click here

sneak peak!

I thought it might be fun to give a sneak peak of the next card.



Let Them Eat Cake!
No more trying to shove icing, cake batter, and sprinkles into an envelope!

Its a birthday card! This zanny idea found it's way into my head about wanting to do a birthday card that turned into a piece of cake and I've been giggling to myself ever since.





The card arrives flat inside a fun 6 1/2 inch square envelope. Once the card is taken out - a pulled tab "pops" and transforms the card into a paper 3D slice of cake. The tab get tucked away and keeps the card expanded in its "cake-shape".

The cake card is decorated with traditional icing, a lit birthday candle, lots of sprinkles, and chocolate-vanilla-raspberry filling!

Stuck in this fat-free cake is a fork which when pulled out reveals a smaller note card wedged into some icing. This note card can be removed from the cake, personalized with a special message for that amazing birthday person and placed then back into its fork/icing holder.

Update! This card is now available in both the Etsy shop or the Crankbunny store!

Hello Sun!

Daylight savings is upon us and that is great news! During the winter - things get a little ruff when there is about 6 hours of sunlight to be used... and don't get me started on kelvin color temperature and how it's not even really good sunlight.

Winter light is plain weak - it just don't cut it!

In celebration of daylight savings this sat night/sun (and missing my flight thus having to sit around the airport for another.. lets say 8 hours GETTING MY PARTY ON) you can receive a free gift with purchase when placing an order at the Crankbunny shop!

Crankbunny orders over 30 dollars will include a fun Crankbunny Jigsaw Puzzle to put together! Some quick fun to keep around for bored desk slaves and kids - or easily framed for a unique display of artiness.



No airport security threat level Orange to deal with either!

Metamorphic Trade Cards!

I learn a new name or term for a particular type of card technique - especially antique ones - every week . Apparently "pop-up" cards doesn't cover it all. Also, cards that move and do fun things have been around for a really long time. It's one of my obsessions to procrastinate and research this sort of stuff on the internet.

This week I added "mechanical cards" and "Metamorphic trade card"(?!) to my vocabulary. Mechanical cards is basically the old way of calling something a 'pop-up' card. A search will lead you to float around in google-space (which currently is the 6th dimension) looking at really cool old valentine cards from the 1940s, 30s, victorian age.



Metamorphic trade card sounds like and is a really old term. Trade cards in general are something that were huge back in the day (way back.. like 80+). If you sold anything, there had to had a trading card for it. Cigarettes, tobacco, liquor, the mail, piggy banks, cars, a can of beans... there was a card for it. It was usually small (business card sized) and pretty much took the place of the real object if you were too poor to own it (and that most likely you were). They were beautiful, colorful and an artist was usually allowed to go to town with the design.

Metamorphic trade card was one that would transform/foldout/move or to us futuristic beings in the 21st century - 'pop up'.








(scary!)

If you'd like to know more or see more - go to this site.

The Crankbunny Shop (or store)

I will now also be selling novelty paper goods through my official super snazzy Crankbunny Online store. That's right... this new years 2009 resolution was to get a little organized and frantic with all the neat 3D pop up greeting cards and paper puppets being sold.

So here is the official introduction! Tada - The store! The shop!


Website - http://shop.crankbunny.com
Things to know:
-Unlike my Etsy shop, this store will be open all year. I frequently shut down my Etsy shop at random times of the year unexpectedly and mainly because of my fulltime job as an animator. This official shop won't get shut down ever.
-Popup Cards and Paper Puppets don't sell out on this site too.
-Prices are cheaper because this shop is easier to maintain and use for both of us.
-I can sell less "handmade" things like my new book on making paper puppets.

Caught up in constellations

Don't ask how, but it was probably the righteous path of google image searching 'vovelles' at 1am in the morning... and leaving a ton of images open for me to look at later on today when there was a well needed "mental health" moment.

Constellation Cards!
by who better than --- Jehoshaphat Aspin!
Apparently the Library of Congress has his stuff on their "High Demand" list. Go figure. They are lovely though... so it's time to share.





Not sure if that's a wig or a hairy octopus or what?