In the Mail: alleluja

It has been a rough and uncertain time. So much so that, despite previously having been so excited about my new layout, blogging never even crossed my mind. Anyway, to cheer myself up I ordered something adorable from alleluja that was bound to make me smile. Which it did! And now that I'm back, I thought I'd show you what I picked out.

It's a porcelain kitten brooch inspired by the shape of old-fashioned cookie molds. And it has such a sweet face!

I was so excited to receive this little creature! And I hope to be wearing the brooch a lot. I also loved the colorful and careful wrapping, the cute postcard, and even the tiny business card (which I'll keep and use as a bookmark).

I've blogged about alleluja twice before. And though it had been 5 years since I last treated myself to one of Sawako's creatures, the shop is thankfully still up and running; sending out gorgeous creatures to brighten people's days.

Wishlist

I have such a soft spot for adorable made-up creatures. And this one by Woolboon makes me feel especially warm and fuzzy inside. It looks so soft, the colors are absolutely perfect and he has such a cute look of curiosity on his face!

How wonderful it would be to wake up to him on my nightstand or to have him keep me company while I sit at my desk! Anyway, he's definitely my favorite from Woolboon, but check out the shop for more lovely creatures.

Lovely Movies: the Boxtrolls

So I knew about the Boxtrolls movie way before it came out. In fact, the wait was so long(about 2 years), that by the time it finally hit the theaters I was still so stuck in waiting mode that I let it pass me by… But I finally saw it on dvd!

In this day and age, people can achieve the most amazing things with animation technology. However, there are still some crafty folks sticking to good old stop-motion. And honestly that pays off, it's still so much more magical!

And they could have just glued together snippets, but they even made a special trailer for it!

If I can make one complaint about the dvd… I wish it had extras! I would have loved to see some behind the scenes action for this, because that always intrigues me and makes me want to work on such a film myself! Thankfully I did find a very cool article about it on WIRED and there's also a talk at Google that I have yet to check out.

Tukoni Tribe

A couple months ago I happened upon Tukoni Tribe, a truly wonderful Etsy shop that continues to warm my heart. I've been browsing the shop a lot, but somehow didn't get round to sharing it on my blog until today. So here we go!

The shop is filled with beautifully illustrated brooches portraying animals and fantasy creatures. All in the same Tukoni style, but in a big range of colors and personalities. I fell in love with so many that I found it hard to choose!

I often gravitate towards cute critters, but these seem to be a lot more than just adorable. They look like they have their own little world and community, like they're alive. And I find them very uplifting and soothing to look at.

Some creatures just are, but some of the others carry items, and there is even a group of musicians! I secretly wish I could hear the music they're making… There's even one that plays guitar just like me! Needless to say I adopted that one today.

Apart from brooches you can also get art prints for your home, as well as postcards to send or to frame. And laslty, I also wanted to mention the most recent addition to the Tukoni Tribe… families of owl stickers in different sizes!

Anyway, this is one of those rare shops that immediately became a favorite of mine. Everything about it is just wonderful! The creatures, the products, the packaging and even the photography! No wonder I browse it so much.

Lovely Movies: Labyrinth

I only heard about Labyrinth last year. It seems like such a waste of childhood that I didn't know earlier.  Otherwise I would have probably watched it a thousand times. It was so lovely! And… it even has -fake, real and animated- barn owls!

The story can be explained in one sentence: girl needs to babysit younger brother, wishes him away and then has to rescue him from the goblins by going through this labyrinth... So now we can watch a song instead of the trailer!

This is a collaboration between Brian Froud, Jim Henson and a huge crew. Fun fact: the baby is actually Brian Froud's son! The dvd also has an amazing documentary about how the movie was made. I loved seeing that!

Anyway, their earlier joint effort  -the Dark Chrystal- was good as well, but this was faster paced and more exciting story-wise. I might have to re-watch the Dark Chrystal to be absolutely sure, but I think Labyrinth is my favorite.

Wishlist

I am smitten with these adorable miniature forests by brother-sister team 2of2. They look so soft and dreamlike, and of course it helps that most of them perfectly match the color scheme I had in mind for my new place!

And I think that -especially living in the city- it is good to have some things in your home that remind you of nature.

But 2of2 has some other lovely items as well. Like this intriguing iridescent home, that switches between bright neon and light and ethereal depending on how the light hits it.

And there are even a few adorable pocket sized monsters for sale!

Visit the shop to see their entire collection! And if you're as hooked on Pinterest as I am, you might want to follow them there too. Enjoy!

Owl Things Considered

Anna Bratkova makes beautiful animals that are based on vintage teddy bears. All are made with vintage fabrics. And she even sells the patterns in case you prefer to make your own.

You can choose from all sorts of creatures. From beautiful owls to adorable bunnies to prickly hedgehogs.

And lots of cute teddy bears of course. And most even have little clothes or accessories!

For more animals, patterns and even vintage fabrics, visit Anna's shop.

Owl Things Considered

Have you seen these amazing brooches from owlknowhow? They are way outside my budget, but incredibly cute as well. I love those bunnies too!

They even make them as amazing 3D creatures.

And there are also some other items available. Like their beautiful book, limited edition packs, or this fantastic handkerchief!

Click this link to see more!

!CLOSED! Giveaway Time! -> WoodlandDwellers

Good news for all of you owl lovers! Kim from WoodlandDwellers is giving an adorable Owl "Wisdom" Totem to one very lucky reader.

As with all of her creatures, it will come with a beautiful scroll with the meaning behind this wonderful animal.

To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below.

And yes, it is worldwide!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit Kim's shop for more creatures! Or to buy an owl if you're feeling somewhat unlucky or a tad bit impatient.

Pretty Sculptures: Earl Santaniel

I am smitten with Earl Santaniel's creatures. Found them today and already feel like I need one, especially the octopus below. Though he has some pretty stunning owls too! Check out his DeviantArt, as it's full of these creatures, along with amazing drawings!

All images belong to Earl Santaniel of course!

Etsy Shop Tip: alleluja

I don't know about you, but whenever I see an adorable fantasy creature in a movie I just want it as a pet. Of course that is impossible to arrange, but when this pendant by alleluja arrived I really felt like that wish had been granted.

Because it's porcelain I was a little worried about how it'd be handled by the postmen, but when I saw how carefully and well it was wrapped I knew I had nothing to worry about. And doesn't it look beautiful too?

When I held it in my hands I discovered it must be pretty sturdy too, because it is so compact. And it is unbelievably smooth! And it has the cutest little curly details all over the top and back.

This Creature Pendant, as well as nearly all the other items, can also be used as a pincushion, it even came with a beautiful little pin, which I didn't take a picture off, but they're shown in Sawako's shop.

There are still plenty of cute items found on her Etsy, but they can be sold pretty quickly. (As a matter of fact one of these Sparrow Girl Pendant was sold as I type.) So I was lucky to snatch up my own little creature in time.

Sawako also has an amazing flickr account where you can see all the little creatures as well as some "in progress"-pictures.

You can definitely tell that a lot of love and care, as well as imagination, has gone into each and every piece. And I have to say alleluja is one of the most original and special shops I have ever come accross. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would come accross a pendant like that and then to find one I could actually afford was just amazing.