Zombunny

A few weeks ago, Charlotte, an ex-workmate and illustrator extraordinaire, emailed me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to do a zombie-themed art exhibition with her and her mate Kitty, who makes zombie fascinators. Yes, zombie fascinators. Naturally I said yes (and then let out several undignified SQUEEEEEES of excitement, much to the bemusement of my co-workers.) Zombie hamsters aside, I have little experience in making zombie critters - this guy is my first attempt. He seems to be saying it's going to take a lot of guts to do this show. I reckon it'll take braaaaaaaaains, too...Heh.

Suit yourself

Hi, I'm Sally the Victorian governess. You might think I look a bit like a pointy-eared cow wearing a suit, or you might wonder how I walk since it appears I have no legs, or you might simply give up trying to work out what I am and go and eat some chocolate. That would be the smartest thing you could do since no one can really work out what I am and many have starved trying. For convenience's sake let's say I'm a bunyip, OK? Now pass the chocolate.

From hamsters to hamsas

Everyone loves a zombie hamster,
but even I have to concede they might not be quite right as a wedding present. This week I embroidered hamsas onto oven mitts as part of a wedding gift - they are being given along with a poffertjes pan.

If you don't know what poffertjes are, click here to see the pan or here to see the tiny, delicious Dutch pancakes themselves. Mmmm, poffertjes. If you've ever been to an outdoor festival or market, chances are you've seen a poffertje stall. They're the ones with the huge queues of people trying desperately to pronounce ''poffertje'', failing, and ordering ''a plate of the (insert embarrassed mumbling here) with cream, please''. I can't pronounce them or spell them - if it weren't for Google teaching me, this post would be full of ''pfoffertjies" and "pffooferjebbes" and "er, you know, those little Ductch pancake things". Luckily Google understood what I meant when I keyed "pfofferjes'' into the search engine, which initially took me here - and you should go there too, just so you too can have the joy of discovering the word "douchetastic". (The art on that site is pretty awesome, too.) I plan to use it in daily conversation from now on.

At the supermarket checkout: "How are you today?" "Douchetastic!"

When an old friend calls: "It's douchetastic to hear from you!"

When ordering wine at a fancy restaurant: "Is the 2005 cab sav douchetastic, or should I have the 2006?"

Anyhoo, the oven mitts (which are definitely douchetastic) were commissioned for a couple named Nadine and Tom (hence the N and T), who collect hamsas. I have never met them but I hope they have a truly excellent, douchetastic wedding day.

Zombie hamsters! Raaar!

RAAAAAAAAR!

WE ARE ZOMBIE HAMSTERS WITH EXPLODING GUTS!

WE SEEK BRAAAAAAAIIIINS!

And as such, we are quite disappointed with this blog as clearly it is written by someone with no braaaaainnns whatsoever. Hmmmph.

A note from Luna, who is cowering in the corner: this past fortnight, I've made more owls like the one you can see here, and there didn't seem to be much point posting another pic of much the same critter, so I thought I'd show you my zombie hamsters instead. Perfectly logical, eh?
I made these in 2009 for an art exhibition. Since then, they've invaded homes throughout Melbourne and have even made it as far as Luang Prabang, Laos. It's all part of their plan for world domination. As part of that plan, they would like you to think that they've taken over my computer but actually, they are not clever enough for tha- aaaarrrgh! Stop attacking me! Heeeeeeeelp!!!

Clothes maketh the critter

Sometimes, you have to look your best, and a tuxedo - or maybe a cravat - is the only way to go.

I made this adorable pair a few years ago from some old socks, and the cravat is one of my first attempts at knitting. (Please don't tell Mrs Tuxedo that, though, she thinks it's a Hermes scarf.)

Then there are times when you just want to lounge around in your PJs. I custom-made this little guy a few years ago - a customer asked me to make a monster for his girlfriend as a Christmas present, and requested it have brown eyes (to match his girlfriend's eyes - awww). He even supplied an old pair of her PJs for me to use - which inspired me to make PJs for the critter!

If you'd like a custom-made monster for you or a friend, drop me a line in the comments field or visit my etsy store.

Mmm, chocolate

These gorgeous Cacao chocolates are so pretty I just have to share them with you.

Not the actual chocolates, just a picture of them. Sorry.

As soon as some clever clogs invents a 'touch-the-screen-and-the-chocolate-lands-in-your-mouth' app, I'll share the real thing, I promise.

Until then, you can get yours here.