Crocheted Hats and Conversations with My Fake Boyfriend

My friend Carrie crocheted the hats with the red initials Beeper and Mr Beeper are wearing.  They love their hats and like to wear them around our drafty old house.  She crocheted them during an afternoon she spent sitting on our sofa chatting with me while our husbands watched football upstairs and our kids made their own videos on an iPod, giggling hysterically the entire time.  I wish I knew how to crochet a hat in an afternoon.  

But what I really want you to know about Carrie is that she has this clever and funny Tumblr called Conversations With My Fake Boyfriend.  It features photos of guys--really attractive guys--and snippets of conversations she imagines they are having with her.  Here's a sample--a New Year's Eve post:

“Would I be standing in this library if I didn’t think staying in on New Years’ Eve wasn’t a capital idea? Wearing my jammies and smoking jacket? Of course not. Now put on your yoga pants, glug that Fresca and stay hip deep in your book, baby girl.”

I read it every day because it never ever fails to make me smile--plus it is a minimal reading commitment since it usually contains no more than 2-4 sentences.  Try it out--I mean, if you like to smile, laugh or just look at photos of hot guys.

Oh, and Carrie is actually a writer in her real life.  Her first YA novel is will be published this spring--it's called Sex and Violence--and yes, it does contain both sex and violence in the story.  You can find out more about Carrie right here. 

The Amazing Mr. Finch

Oh, Mr. Finch.  How do I love thee?  There are so, so many ways...

...for the meticulously hand-sewn gills on the undersides of your mushrooms...

...for your dead-gorgeous spider with crooked legs of wire and teeny shell-buttoned posterior...

...for your sweetly macabre hand-painted trophy-mount rabbit torsos...

...for your way with the creepy and crawly, making it so utterly frighteningly lovely...

...for your hand-sized moths stitched from odd bits of upholstery and velvet...

...for your barn owl under a glass cloche with black kohl eyes...

...and for your beautiful vintage tapestry, rainy-water-stained butterflies (and your artful ways with a photo prop)...

These are but a few of the creatures the genius Mr. Finch brings into being from his self-described "rainy fairy-tale mind."  Mr. Finch is a British textile-artist, who stitches away to the sound of rain, in the companionship of his cats, whilst drinking cups of tea.  I wish I could find a corner of his studio in which to crouch and watch him stitch away for all the hours of a gray and dreamy afternoon.

You can see more of Mr. Finch's creations here, learn more about him and his creations at his blog, and peruse his fantastic creations (or buy your own!) in his Etsy shop.  Enjoy!

BottleRobots

Have you seen these awesome robots made from recycled plastic bottles and various other discarded plastic bits?  The complexity of the articulation and the amount of character they manage to express in each pose just kill me.  Beeper thought they were pretty brilliant too, and they have me thinking about saving up some of our own plastic bits from the recycling bin to try our hand at making our own.  You can see more of these amazing eco-friendly creations at the Bottlerobot blog (as well as get glimpse of robots in process).  You can also buy postcards of some of your favorites in the Bottlerobot shop, here.  

A Bit of Surrealism from Erik Johansson

I came across the work of Erik Johansson today and it just made me smile.  So I thought I would share it.  I love the unexpected, the surreal in the midst of the everyday (like Slinkachu's Little People)--and these retouched photos certainly serve that up, with a side of humor.  

You can see more of Erik Johansson's amazing work here, and buy prints of his work here.  

(found via Scandinavian Deko)

Sandra Dieckmann's Illustrations

Sandra Dieckmann's illustrations evoke winter for me.  It is the combination of natural themes, the bright colors on pale backgrounds and the stark black and white lines underpinning it all.  I have always said ours is a house that feels right in winter, something about all the dark wood and the glut of drafty windows and the brick fireplace--the house just feels more at home in winter, if that makes any sense--and for these reasons, I feel like her work would be so right at home in my house.

Digital Artist Magazine says this about her work: The best folktales have a dark edge.  Conversely, the best folk art pops with colour--perhaps as a visual way of whistling in the dark, perhaps a celebration of the richness of northern Europe's storytelling tradition.  Sandra Dieckmann's nature inspired illustration has got that elusive, comfortable yet disquieting quality in spades.  Yep.  

 You can read more about Sandra and view more of her work here.  She also has an Etsy shop where you can buy prints, totes, cards and pocket mirrors--and there is an even larger selection of her prints available here, as well as t-shirts and skins for your i-thingies available at Society 6.    Have a look.  She has a lot of wonderful, wonderful work.

Studies in Positivity: Studio Mela

Yeah, I've posted about Studio Mela here before but I've been having a crappy couple of days and when I came across her Etsy shop again tonight--well, for me, it was just what I needed to see.  So, I thought I would share some of Shelli's brand of optimism and positivity with you.  Because who knows?  Maybe you could use some of it too.  

You can find all the Studio Mela prints above--and then some--here.

Who Knew Post-Its Could Be This Creepy?

Imagine: in your spare time, between raising twins and writing for a children's show, you draw these--on humble post-it notes, no less.  That's what John Kenn does.  He's Danish.  His website where he posts these office supply micro-masterpieces is mysteriously named "Don Kenn".  I really do not know anything else about him--somehow, I think he wants it that way.  

Whatever the case, I love these.  Every single one of them.  They channel Edward Gorey, but also, my own home-grown heebie-jeebies that compel me to still sleep with my bedside lamp on when Mr Beeper is out of town.  They are what we all know are out there, if only we would turn around and look.

You can see more of John's creepy beauties here.

Scott Albrecht's Paper Works

I dig Scott Albrecht's hand drawn typography on found paper.  They are ephemeral,a little irreverant feeling, and simple in the best way.  It is like something you could have found outside, picked up from the street and then attached significant meaning to it--as though it were prophetic, a message meant for just you.  You can see more of his work here, or buy a tote with one of the above messages here.

Musical Lego Minifigures

Beatles circa Abbey Road

Nirvana

Led Zeppelin

White Stripes

U2

It is no secret around here that, for Beeper, LEGO are next to godliness.  Okay, I admit, I was never ever really interested in LEGO myself as a child--but it is lovely the sort of discoveries one is led to as an adult a result of your own child's interests.  As I have worked with Beeper on numerous LEGO projects and models over the past year, I have gained a sincere appreciation for the LEGO aesthetic--the thoughtful construction, the artfulness in their designs, how these simple little plastic pieces are used in a myriad of ways to build something as complex as Hogwarts School or a Star Wars spaceship, not to mention the open-ended creativity they invite.  

Ultimately, this led me to some exploration of LEGO photography on Flickr and the things other big people are creating with LEGO--and this was one of the sets I came across that did nothing else if not bring a smile to my face:   It is a series of LEGO Minifigures constructed to resemble musicians and various rock groups, made by Andrew Becraft (aka Dunechaser on Flickr).  You can see his musical minifgure set here or explore more of his brilliant LEGO minifig creations here.

To me, it is amazing how entirely recognizable specific musicians are when made from LEGO--like Jack White, like the Edge, like all the members of Nirvana.  How can you not love that?  And then in some reciprocal inspiration bouncing between Beeper and me, this morning he saw me working on this blog post, inquired about the minifigure photos then disappeared for a bit and when he showed back up, this is what he presented me with:

This is Beeper's own LEGO minifig interpretation of our family, including Socrates with his green eyes, next to Beeper.  That pretty much made my day.