May 2010 Pushing Up Daisies

Sadly because both the Crankbunny Etsy shop and regular Crankbunny shop were closed most of May (May 2nd to May 18th) and the fact that the rescue cards have lost a bit of traction - the donations for May were quiet low.


Please do remember all the sales of the Pushing Up Daisies pop up card go directly to the following rescue groups for French Bulldogs (FBRN) and Boston Terriers (BTRN)! (100% - none of that 25%, 50% nonsense).

French Bulldog Pop Up Card raised 32 dollars.
(Last month was 85)

Boston Terrier Pop Up Card raised 53 dollars.
(Last month was 112)

If you'd like to purchase a Pushing Up Daisies pop up card, please visit the shop links below!
Crankbunny Shop - or - Etsy Crankbunny Shop

In fact, so low where the donations for the French Bulldog Rescue Network that I was so inclined to purchase a nifty Puppia soft harnesses harness for my own dog(that will be needed in the future).

Puppia Harnesses


Available for 22$ (postage paid) - That's actually a nice deal! Free shipping! They have all sorts of colors available too, apparently brown is a big deal. Pink is way better!

Both the FBRN & BTRN have their online shops that sell some great goodies - and it will help those doogies in need directly. Below are links to their shops to def check out.

From the FBRN Shop - click here!
From the BTRN Shop - click here!

Drastication abound!

See! That's it, please commit yourself to cave woman speak for the rest of this blog post.

Because of all my latest distractions (or drastications as so coined above) - the oh so many things I've been meaning to blog about keep getting pushed into the horizon of the 'to-do' list which now amazingly has its own sublists. Great- Love it when that happens. All of them are very exciting I assure you. One of them though is the latest popup card I've been working on.

Here is a sneak!! I can not disclose the nature of this "bird" related card because that would frankly spoil all the fun. This card will come with fun accessories though - so it can be used for many different occasions (we are big into "multi-purpose" here at Casa Del Crankbunny).


There will also be a new summer puppet on the horizon too. It's going to be part of a Etsy Virtual Labs Craft night in early June - so that means I'll be doing a little tutorial virtually on a special night and supplying a free puppet template with instructions for everyone to have and enjoy! More news to follow (it's on my list)!

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

doctors orders

I am still sick. Doctor's orders was to get rest and take it easy - which isn't that hard because my brain can't even facilitate my usual busybody activities. Because of that - I have to make the following announcement:

*-- April 19 to 25th! --*
Orders will go out in 3 to 4 days. I am currently fighting a very bad bug- leaving me bed ridden, weak and not very up to speed. Please contact me if you need an item ASAP.

Sucks (and relatively boring for me), but it is what it is.

In the meantime - keep yourself occupied with Steven Meisel Jigsaw Puzzle! Way expensive, but totally gawkable this puzzle is based on one the photos from the 'Vogue Patterns" Italia spread that he did maybe.. in 2008, 2007? I remember when it came out and friends n we company all went "oooooo ahhhhh mmmmm patttteeernnns." It's some sexy stuff.

So if you got 750 US dollars to spare - by all means treat yourself, and if you probably have this to spare you also have another 750 to get me a copy! Which I would appreciate dearly.

1000-piece jigsaw puzzle Edition of 1000 Signed and numbered Puzzle: 20 x 28’’ (50 x 70 cm) Box: 8.5 x 12 x 2’’ (21.5 x 30 x 5 cm) $750 This limited-edition jigsaw puzzle features a pattern-on-pattern photograph of model Meghan Collison as a tattooed pin-up. The image originally appeared in Vogue Italia, a publication for which Meisel has created every cover and lead editorial story for nearly two decades. Each custom-made cloth box is signed and numbered by Steven Meisel. The jigsaw puzzle is manufactured by Editions Ricordi, makers of high-quality jigsaw puzzles since 1808.

The following pics are some of my favorites from that spread. I now return to my regularly scheduled sitting on the couch under a bunch of blankets. Cherrio!

all the ladies in da houssseee...

First off, this particular lady that's doing the writing is sick. Magically (and not delicious) I woke up with weirdo virus/flu/headachey type symptoms. But anyhoo - I'd still like to introduce two new paper puppet ladies. Lady Fish now has two new friends...she was lonely being the only half female/half animal freak in town.

What I love about these types of paper puppet dolls is how many joints they end up having. There is something so cool about positioning all the arms, legs, head, etc in various different ways with your own fingers.

Lady Spider : A very docile species of spider, this lady prefers to quietly string up golden webs from a heart. The only real way of upsetting her comes from any near hum or sing-song of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

I have a thing with spiders and they've showed up alot in my animation work. Lady Spider is a paper puppet doll that is very large. She's basically around the size of an 11 x17 poster - wow! She's my new favorite really - but don't tell Flying Monkey Lady... I'll wake up to a bunch of rotten bananas on my doorstep. For more information on this puppet - click here

Flying Monkey Lady: Raised by flying monkeys - you can only assume the unexpected from this special lady. While this flying darling has a huge pension for bananas, she is usually seen delivering trinkets and big laughs to everyone she meets.

This particular paper puppet also is very large too and with way more movable parts than some of the other Crankbunny paper puppet dolls. My favorite part of her is the banana necklace which is sort of a keepsake to her flying monkey elders who raised her. For more information on this paper puppet - click here



Both these puppets are available in my Crankbunny store and Crankbunny Etsy shop. They are limited edition to 50 - titled, numbered, and signed. Both these match the Lady Fish Puppet perfectly too!

Flying Monkeys before Fairies

There is something painfully wonderful about starting your day before the rest of the world wakes up. I, for one, get a bunch more work done and have somehow an amazing amount of energy to run around like a wacked headless chicken in my office all day (but those spanish genes summon up a small siesta around noon or so...). Was that chicken metaphor too grotesque? Alright, my Russell Brand knob gets turn back down to the usual 2.4!

I'm not particularly fond or hateful of fairies. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but more likely its a case of "haven't gotten around to it -- I'm still noseying around with vovelles". BUT - in the bookstore a month back or so, I ran into this amazing popup book about Fairies and was blown away! (Apparently the publisher has a few out! Woo!)



How to Find Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker

It's so detailed and intensely illustrated that I had to STOP working on my top secret flying monkey puppet to take a few pictures! They went to town with this series. Love the hidden little areas and use of paper depth.





Looking forward to sitting down with this book and getting all the juicy popup bits in also.

Feel free to also view the amazon.com pictures for the book - which show some of the other pages. I listed the other books in this Cicely Mary Barker series too which all seem to have the "Look Inside" feature to wet your appetite.

How to Find Flower Fairies
Flower Fairies Magical Moonlight Feast
Return to Fairyopolis (Flower Fairies)
Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal
Flower Fairies Paper Dolls - Paper dolls!

Screw the eggs! Now this is easter!

Everytime I look at figurines (ehm not toys!) by the amazing Patience Brewster - I go nuts. She has this beautiful line of oraments, objects, etc that just tap into the stupid 8 yearold head-stuck-in-the-clouds side of me. But honestly, my head is still somewhat stuck up there... especially when my brain needs a retreat from the emails/orders/dishes/animation paper part of life.

Welcome to the magical world of Patience Brewster. Patience Brewster is a gifted and prolific artist, illustrator and calligrapher. Since 2000, she has collaberated with Department 56 to produce the wildly successful Krinkles collection: translating her meticulous pictures and drawings into elaborate dimensional forms. New! Krinkles™ 2008!- a collection brimming with wit and imagination and filled with quirky and endearing characters that are guaranteed to charm and delight.


What's also awesome is some of these are actually affordable for something so hand-painted and special... in the way where you can probably get just one but the hardest part is WHICH *&#^$ ONE?! Oh Boy.

Patience is also really good about talking about her career, work, process, the whole kit-n-kaboodle about illustrating for children's books and then expanding eventually with her own line. One smart inspiring human! Below you can watch her talk briefly about her life and her handmade objects.



You can google Patience Brewster Krinkles to see more pics and where to buy.

Also she sells stuff from her own site since her and her husband now run the show themselves. http://www.patiencebrewster.com/storefront

Fantastic and tactile!

Paper Puppet Palooza is showing its lovely face all over the real "non" internerd world. Fantastic and tactile! Since I don't really leave my nest because of all that animation and those shop orders that gotta be done (ok that's a lie) - it was nice to see PPP on the shelves. At Barnes n Noble no less! (in florida, seen n captured photologically by my dad hehe)

Only more proof that the book is available for immediate gratification purposes at your local chain bookstore!

People have also been saying lovely things about the writing and instructions found in Paper Puppet Palooza. Dropping science like Galileo dropped the orange - lets kick it!

"...love this book! Out standing art work and ideas. Very good templates and instructions. Easy to follow and a good jump off place for your own ideas. Great for movable figures to use on cards, altered work, stages, etc and just about any thing you can think up. I scaned the templates on my computer and printed out on heavy paper rather then cut up my book..."
- Very smart and handy in Deerfield, IL

"...Crankbunny's off-beat sense of humor shows on every page of this book. That alone makes it worth purchasing, but the instructions and illustrations are also very clear and clever. Turns out, paper puppet making isn't all that difficult or expensive, but newbies will benefit from the confidence and encouragement this book provides...."
- Totally got it VB.

Feel free to flip through some of the book with Amazon's "Look Inside" feature or Barnes n Nobles "See Inside".

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.

Tony Sarg and his marionettes

Ofcourse somehow neurotic norma (who is a seperate entirely split personality living in my brain... long story, no way of making it short) added into my delicious list an entry about a Tony Sarg book that can be read on google books. For free. How fantastic.

This book is very fun and nerdy to read if you are into anything that deals with puppetry mechanics. And ofcourse I am. I am not a huge fan of actual real marionettes - but I do know how they work and how they are tied (which is one the reason I'm not a fan of them.... all those strings knotting up at a blink of an eye really freek me out). I am a firm believer you can learn alot from things you don't like. Probably alot more than things you do like.

Anyhoozal, Tony himself (read more about him here) included alot of his own secrets in this book.

The Tony Sarg Marionette Book
By Frederick John McIsaac, Anne Stoddard
Published by B.W. Huebsch, inc., 1921
Original from the University of California
Digitized Nov 30, 2007 57 pages

mmmm sexy monogram

Around here we got big love for useful vintage items ESPECIALLY when it comes to old time tooly stuff. There are so many things out there that work perfectly fine and who need good homes... Someone really should consider a 'adopt-a-thingamajiggy' agency. Seriously folks, adopt a spoon.

Anyway, this made me squeel hard. Your Secret Admiral got it and by the looks of it, also had made a new personalized mark for it (you can get these easily done anywhere and online, its pretty standard size and mark).



Look at that mark. Very tasty.