Come out, come out.......

Guess what Mr Whale had for his last meal.....?

....A long long time ago in a land far far away, lovely Ms Paula send me a sweet mail about how she was after a custom artwork for her soon to be lovely shop!

Well..... it was actually just a month ago, but I'm always inclined for a fairytale opening ehhe.... you know how it is :D Plus!  time runs so frantically irregular in my latest adventures that even a month ago seems like ages.

Anyway......

Lovely Paula from Baby Swan Desing Studio makes the cuddliest vintage-style mohair teddy bears!! Just toooooooo cute! How do i know you ask, since her shop has not opened yet? Well, one of the bonuses of doing custom projects!! :D

Hooray!! for special previews !!!

Can I share them with you ..??? Hmmm let me think...

....NOPE! You'll have to wait to get the first glimpses...all i can say is that they are worth all the waiting :D Her lovely shop will be open in the next couple of months. You might want to fave it now cause you're bound to get a teddy to cuddle :)

There are really few things as enjoyable and gratifying as working on commissioned projects!! And even fewer that are *more* enjoyable!! Like, ....guessing the content of old apothecary jars or playing thumb-wars or painting faces on aubergines, for instance! :D

But anyhow, the fulfilment of bringing your playmate's dreams into reality is indeed priceless!

We worked on it and sweated over it and had long discussions about it and here's the outcome just for you:

Lovely Ms Paula had kindly agreed for me to sell the finished artwork in Hide n Seek, but as i was putting the first pencil strokes on paper, i knew where my whim wanted to take me..... so i let my runaway creativity rest for a while and i focused on the project....

After it's conclusion, i did some drastic changes to it and created my new artwork "Dad, this is the friend i told you about" "...he brought the fish you like..."

Dad, this is the friend I told you about -- Print

I love, love, seriously LOVE whales, especially the antisocial ones!...and believe me,  Mr Whale here is quite the grumpy type. He also happens to be little cute girl's dad... *hungry* dad, might i add!

So let's hope he really likes the fish the little boy brought him..heh hhehehe lol!

You can find it now in my shop along with with many many new goodies :)

I'm currently working on tons of commissions that are very very exciting, but in between i'm working on some new artwork too!!!! hooZza!!!! lol !! So not long for some new surprises! ;)

xxxxEnjoy sweeties and many hugs to sweet  Paula for the lovely project!!!!!!! xxxx

A box full of stories..

So yes, as I said on my previous post, I loved the whole magical feeling of the Christmas season, but I got to admit, I also had a “profound appreciation” for the gift-giving custom(or more likely the gift-receiving part of it)!))

For me it mattered more the way a gift was presented, the circumstances under it was given, the element of surprise n such, but above all, it was all about what story the gift held behind it or what story it would create!

I still have an unreasonable admiration of the actual wrapping and  appearance of a present. --This might explain how I gift-wrap all orders of Hide n Seek too!!--

Anyway, during all my childhood days, a gift that would include any kind of keys, lockets, boxes, old clocks or anything that secretly captured time, seemed as the most reasonable and successful choice to make in order to put a huge smile on my face for days and days to come!

I tried to figure out what was hidden underneath the layers of papers, colours, textures and patterns and the more intricate, challenging and difficult a present was to open, the more my curiosity reached the zenith!!.... Disappointingly, I rarely received one of those items as a gift so I usually failed miserably to guess even the most predictable of gifts to a great extend. I convinced myself that it was better this way since I didn't manage to spoil the surprise...heh

But anyway, growing up I’ve discovered the fulfilment and great joy of the other side, the actual gift-giving side and always tried to exercise this part more than the other. However this Christmas season, I decided to spoil a bit myself with all the amazing goodies Etsy sellers and artists can provide and buy some of my still favourite keys, clocks and boxes!!

So the last day of the year, Santa finally came to my doorstep to bring me the last gift of the year. He was   a little suspiciously and very predictably dressed up as a British postman !! However he didn't manage to disguise those plum rosy cheeks and red nose, probably from secretly gulping lots of strong ale on the way, rather than from the unforgiving cold of the day! I pretended not to realise anything, but I had to offer him some cookies to have for his long journey back....

I opened impatiently the packet to see that I had received the most adorable handmade boxes from Etsy incredible artists, FavorMakers!!! FavorMakers are a talented and lovely couple who create unique and believe me, super well-made amazing boxes!!! ooooh if only I saw them or had them younger!!!!!There were 2 perfect cozy teapots, 2 super cute n magical apples and 2 of the loveliest penguin boxes ever made!! FavorMakers send their boxes full of their own stories and full of care n love, but as soon as I unsuspectingly placed them on my window until I could find the perfect location in the house for them, they started creating their own story!!!!!

At first they all looked so pretty together, but there was something unnatural about the cute penguins...Later I realised they were posing as boxes alone for the camera...

Moments later I caught the little penguin looking so sad:(( ...and after this, they were secretly looking back home through the window with the saddest of the faces..:(

They seemed so sad and miserable:(( but so cute at the same time:D

 

 

A while later,  mummy penguin got used to the place but the little one kept looking back numerous
times throughout the day...Eventually, the little one  went under it's mummy's wing and care for a while and they both started feeling alot better:))   

I know they'll always miss the warm home of Favormakers,  but at least they are happy now:)

Their days start and end full of games!!    

Aren't they super adorable!!?

The perfect gift is the one full of beautiful stories:)