{hop to it}

With a few more days until Easter, there's still time for a last minute rabbit or two if you scramble. As I still have a bit of stencil-fever, I've rounded up a few bunny silhouettes for inspiration.

1. Kinderpendant's iron-on bunny bag tutorial is a lovely way to package a chocolate rabbit or a little Easter gift. Alternatively, trace their image onto freezer paper and simply paint it on.

2. A rabbit with a camera? Could there be a more perfect symbol for our Year of the Rabbit photo-a-day challenge?

 (source)

3. "Two Go Mad in Dorset" is the title of this springy print by Jane Ormes. I love how cat-like the rabbits are!

4. Decorated with super easy stamp outlines, these brown paper bags by mrrabbitsir would be a great last minute wrapper for Easter treats.

So, pull out the stencils and paint, the fabric and paper, and squeeze as many rabbits as you can into this week!

It's Business Time

So, here is the news I had for you: RedRed is now open for business! A colourful little shop of felt, patchwork, and handmade goodies. Click here to pop by for a visit!

I know a few of you have written asking about getting your hands on your very own Travelling Tillberry -- well, I can now tell you that I'll be putting the first ones in the shop this weekend!

Sale!

I'd kind of let me etsy shop slide a little in the last few months, as pregnancy took away all my energy. But today, someone found me, and bought a print of Betsy and her books.

What a lovely surprise! I'm going to put a little something extra special in with this order, as I really feel grateful to the buyer for inspiring me to keep it up, and continue making the effort on etsy. What a wonderful day!

Best of the Red: Robots

Ever since I heard Brett and Germaine singing their Robot Song on 'Flight of the Conchords', I've had a soft spot for all things robotic. And what could be better than red red robots on practical, useful goodies for all the family?

Recycle With Robots:

Insulated Red Robots and Rockets Lunch Bag by JulieMeyer, $21

Wash With Robots:

Lime Robot Love Soap by LoveLeeSoaps

Play With Robots:

Service Robot with Upcycled Parts by blueskyclouds, $85

Decorate With Robots:

Robots in Love Print by mengseldesign, $15

Accessorize With Robots:

Tinkering Robots Pleated Pockets Bag by frankandgertrude, $65

Have a robotastic day!

x0

Best of the Red: Edibles

It's been a little while since my last 'Best of the Red' collection, but this one has so many yummy redibles (red + edibles!), I hope it'll make up for the long break!

Warning: the following images may make you hungry!

For Breakfast, with Toast:

Organic Raspberry Jam by mirasolfarm, $8

With a Pot of Tea, for Elevensies:

Red Velvet Cake Truffles by lollidreams, $13.50

In My Pocket, All Through the Day:

Pomegranate Caramels by CaramelJubilee, $10 for 1/2 lb

With Something Sparkling, on a Special Evening:

Gourmet Raspberry Marshmallows by miaMallows, $5 for 6

Now, I'm sure I'll spend all morning trying to think up a reason to buy myself some marshmallows! Mmm.

xo

(P.S. I knew it! I couldn't stop myself! 18 marshmallows are on their way here... I promise, I'll let you know in detail just how they taste!)

Featured!

How lovely to find little Betsy in this colourful bunch, courtesy of Scoutie Girl!

All the items were selected from Etsy because the artists live in Tucson, Arizona... (ummmm, oops!) ....I guess I forgot to update my location when we moved!

I'm loving those pretty wallets... great colour choices!

We're off to San Antonio in an hour or so for a weekend of fun with family and friends, including a trip to a water park called Schlitterbon.

I'm preparing myself to be very cold tomorrow.

Have a nice weekend!

xo

Best of the Red: Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved the colour red. And she searched all over the land for beautiful red things, and these are what she found:

"Oh, what pretty fabric you have."

"All the better to keep your coffee warm!"

Little Red Riding Hood Sleeve by andreacreates, $10

"Oh, what a sweet face you have."

"All the better to hang on your wall!"

Little Red digital print by katieCatherine, $20

"Oh, what a fuzzy lining you have."

"All the better to keep your ears toasty warm!"

Little Bird Riding Hood by TrilliumArtisans, $45

And the little girl brought the red things she had found back home and showed them to her little old Grandma, and there was much laughter and rejoicing.

The End

Best of the Red: Poppies

I asked the talented artists of Etsy to show me their best red items, and I was blown away...

...so blown away, in fact, that I want to do this every week!

This week, what really stood out were the beautiful poppies:

Red Red Poppy Necklace

by MagnolijaDRESS $28

So much fun! And it'd look beautiful hung up around the house, too (or wrapped around a Christmas tree in a few months!)

Beautiful Hand Stamped Red Poppy Necklace

by Artful Goodies $25

Sweet and romantic, but bold, too. I love it!

Crocheted Poppy Brooch

by natalya1905 $16

Nice! I feel like I could touch that yellow centre and pollen would come off on my fingers!

Thanks to these lovelies for their pretty poppies, and keep those red goodies coming... I'm looking!

Mod Moosies

What with all this knitting, I've been neglecting my other favourite crafty pursuits. Like paper!

These little square frames were a dollar for three a while back at Target, so I got myself a few sets, and filled them with fun squares of scrapbooking paper and cut-out moosies in contrasting colours and patterns. Very Ikea, no?

And speaking of moose, I thought you might like to know that I've started on a whole new series of paintings, inspired by our antlered friends. I've got three designs ready to go, and a heap load of inspiration still bubbling, so... watch this space!

Treasuried

Little Betsy appeared in a treasury for the first time (at least the first time I'm aware of!) with the theme "Mellow Yellow"... how perfect!

Check her out, and add a little sunshine to your day, here!

Featured!

Thanks very much to 88Links for featuring me today as Thursday's Tucson artist! She picked my favourite print to show off: 'Betsy Makes Lemonade'

Check out the feature HERE! And you can see more of my prints in my shop.

I'm very pleased to have been chosen this week, as next Thursday is offical Moving Day, and I'll no longer be a Tucson artist. Eeee...exciting!

Business Lunch

Inspired by Mareika's art (in the post below), I went on a quest for more artists who have fun with business suits in their work.

(It's one of those days where I want to create... well, where I want to paint an exact replica of everything Mareika ever made, but know I can't... but instead, I'm still looking at what delights others have on offer!)

Business Man by retrosprout

There's something about eyes this far apart that really appeals to me. It gives the little business man such a sadness, and I suppose I want to loosen his little tie and tell him it'll be all right. Great colours... I love the blue cloud overlapping his face. Oh, and please note the RED dots!

Business Bear goes to Work by petiteami

It would be even tougher to get out of bed in the morning, I imagine, if you had to unicycle to work! But this bear has got it down. He's all neatly dressed, with his fur brushed, too!

Mixed Media. Alice. Nothing Suits by ArtifactBingo

I love art that uses book pages as a base, and here the business men really bring life to the printed words... they are so energetic! It's almost like an office version of Cirque De Soliel, with Mr. Tight-rope-walker, and the Leapers!

Now, to get down to business myself...

The Brightest Feather

So, these days everyone has peacock feathers clipped in their hair or hanging from their ears. I've got them, I bet you've got them, and Fatty McBeaver wears hers all the time.

But maybe it's time to try peacock style in a more subtle way. Is that possible? Well, from the fun finds listed below, I'd have to say yes yes completely yes.

Maybe you take it to the opposite end of your body... down to your feet with these funky Royal Peacock Vintage Pumps (my size, don't you know!) by norakaren.

Or, bring the focus to a different part of the bird, like in this Garden Peacock necklace by ConnorInspiresAmy, where the neck is way more beautiful than the feathers (which are still nice, too!).

Or just don't wear it at all-- snuggle up with peacock on the couch! This hand silk-screened pillow by sewluckygirl comes in regular peacock colours, too, but I just love the orange and pink together. (Reminds me of curry... and Tibetan prayer flags)

But maybe you think I'm crazy. Maybe you're saying "I just can't get enough peacock!" and wearing your feather clips and earrings day in, day out (yes you, Fatty McBeaver)... well, then, this is for you!

A peacock feather bustier by neworleansmagpie. Wow! (Do you think you could turn it round and have a skirt, too? Or a lamp shade... take note IKEA hackers!)

Poached Brooches

I've never really been a brooch person... it never really occured to me that brooches could be anything other than dull-coloured flowers in chinzy frames. But then I saw this darling little thing, made by LePetitCadeau and my opinion changed completely!

...And, of course, I had the urge to buy it immediately. (As you all probably do now!) But the large stack of felt by my desk said "Astrid, hey, how about you use me and try it yourself?" Oh, stack of felt, you never let me get away with anything! So I tried it. And it was hard. I still want Le Petit Cadeau's... but I'll have to wait until my birthday, maybe!

Not quite so classy as Le Petit's, but here are my attempts, modeled by Mr. Monkey and Fatty Mc Beaver:

Smile, Monkey!

Try not to look quite so gormless, Beaver.

I haven't bothered to find proper pin-backs for them, so I'm just using a regular pin! (It's on the back! Who will know?!)

And yes, well, now I'm pretty excited about brooches! Mine aren't for sale... (Monkey and Beaver would never part with them now!), but check out these other awesome brooches that are up for grabs:

Back Where You Belong Brooch, by tinatarnoff

My Kimono Brooch, by munieca

Armando Portrait Brooch by Utter Rubbish

So, get adorning those cardigans! (Or stuffed toys...!)

Project Runway

Any other Project Runway fans out there? Yes? Well, I'm sure you're familiar with my all-time favourite P.R. phrase: "Pooping fabric!" Here is Blayne's hideously awesome parachute-netting mess:

And here is little Betsy, in the same ensemble. Make it work, Betsy, make it work.

Betsy's Daily Dress

Some people upload photos of their own outfits every day, but I've decided to give Betsy a new outfit every day instead. (Hers'll be much cuter than mine anyway!)

Outfit for June 16th:

Her outfit today is inspired by the saying, "Paint the Town Red", as you could probably guess from her hair! Not only does she love the colour red, but she loves to go out and have a good time while wearing red! Especially her red heels, and this vintage ruffled dress she looks so darn cute in! Available as a print at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26565028

Do you have lovely outfits, or clothes for sale? Ideas for daily dresses are welcome!

New Cards!

So, I finally showed my Mum my etsy shop for the first time yesterday! She's always very good at giving advice on my art, and so I wanted it to look pretty nice before she saw it. And she really liked everything... so much so, in fact, that I made a keep-it-in-the-family sale! But what really helped was her asking the question no one wants to be asked:

"What's going to make people buy this?"

The fact that it's pretty? Hopefully! But I started thinking about more useful applications... and thought that I'd design a few greetings cards, and see how that went.

So far, I've got two designs, both featuring my little Betsy: Thank You, and Happy Birthday.

You can find them here, in my etsy shop (RedRedCompletelyRed).

Hopefully, these will soon be jetting around the world with nice messages inside them!

Blog Blog Completely Blog

I was just asked if I'd mind being featured this Friday on a blog! It's all about people participating in etsy's four day Yart sale (starting tomorrow), and will be at this website: www.theseasonalcottage.blogspot.com.

How exciting! Perhaps it will lead to the elusive first sale!

This is the item that will be featured:

It's a print of my first in the "Girl With The Alphabet Hair" series, and features Little Betsy, who read one too many books, and so alphabets have started appeared in her hair!

I'm so into the series, in fact, that I spent all day today drawing (with the exception of arguing with the horrible maintence man, who didn't seem to think that fixing the corroded hole in our water heater was 'a top priority'). So, by Friday, I should have a good range of drawings available, should anyone think to click the link to my page! I plan to upload them, at intervals, tomorrow, all tagged 'yart', as I'm hoping that's a good way to get a bit of impulse attention! We'll see...

Best of the Red: Red Goccos

A few of my favourite red prints:

"Ruby Slippers" by FlowerPress

"Tea with Pip" by paintergirl

"Note Cards-- Modern Floral" by katelynjane