Amazing Stop Motion Videos

Western Spaghetti by PES




Human Tetris by Guillaume Reymond (NOT so NOISY creative agency)




Public Art by BLU


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.


Phil Neary teaches you how to make your OWN stop motion film:



Please comment or email if you have more I should include! Thanks

Tea Time

Prologue: Being Canadian I feel like I was raised semi-British. We have very strong ties with the British! It was always - would you eat like that in front of the QUEEN!?! I think not! Along with Royalty I associate tea with the British and my up bringing. My grandparents, whose parents descended from Britain, had tea every day at 4 on the dot their entire lives, and again after dinner! My grandmother on my other side took us to tea houses every summer when we would visit. There was a lot of tea in my life!

However, as much as I love tea culture... my palate will not accept tea! I have tried tea with honey, sugar, without sugar, with milk, soy milk, no milk, many different types of tea... alas, I cannot taste it for anything other than murky water with leaves in it- very similar to my distain for lemon in water. It's watered down lemonade! Anyways, It is so sad that I don't like tea because I love everything tea related. So with this post I will leave out the taste factor of tea and present to you tea related thingies!

I love love love love love Sea Spray Blue's art, as featured twice last week! This tea cup print is so gorgeous, but sold out : ( Please print more!
Too Many Teacups, Sea Spray Blue, Dresden, Germany

District Thirty from Vancouver creates this hand pierced and cut tea pot necklace that I believe would be a perfect addition to any jewelers collection - including my own!! I especially love their giraffe necklace titled "Look Up, Way Up" after a very old Canadian TV show, The Friendly Giant. Thanks for the reminiscence! Is that a word?
Tea for Two, $48, District Thirty, Vancouver, Canada

This has nothing to do with Tea and everything to do with District Thirty reminding me of the Friendly Giant. If you want to hear the world's most soothing voice, press play:

I told you I was loving Yellow! This teapot has such a perfect design to it. To me it is all that entails gorgeous design, and guess what? It's only 8 bucks... Do I need to buy this too!? I can't buy everything I blog about!! Check out her shop because she has a lot of other neat vintage finds.

Vintage Yellow Tea Pot, $8, Moxie Thrift, Seward, Nebraska,


This teapot design was screenprinted using a hand-cut paper stencil. It is printed in purple on to 90gsm Recycled Ribbed Kraft, and mounted on a 220gsm white greetings card. Comes with a bright orange envelope.
I love Lucy's bio on her Etsy store: This shop is the result of a Graphic Design student with a long summer ahead of her. A few months off from uni gives me the chance to do some self-directed design, just for the sake of it - playing around with ideas I don't have time to explore during term time
(More of my design work can be found here And I've just started a blog) too!

Teapot Greeting Card, $3.00, Lucy Player, Essex, England

These tea tins and the pot that inspired them from Nigella Lawson are so affordable and adorable! I love the colours, they go perfectly with my kitchen colour scheme. Red, baby blue and white. Thanks NIgella for creating such beautiful things for our kitchens! She also creates tins with sugar bowls on them. eek!


I Love Sparklebean's Etsy Store. Love. With a capital! Remember the ice cream sandwich earrings!? She sells the Cutest (with a capital!) jewelry this side of cutesville. Think of anything cute and she has it in the form of jewlery - miniature pan of cupcakes as a necklace? √ poodle earrings? √ berry pie earrings? √ ice cream hair pins? √ my business? √
Well this time she has tiny tea cup rings! cutiepie!

Orange Pumpkin Tea Party Ring, $6.85, Sparklebean, Folsom, CA

My Favourite Anthropologie Tea Cups:
1. Julien Cup & Saucer, $18, Comes in Aqua and Green
2. Amelia Espresso Cup & Saucer, $18, Comes in Turquoise, Red, Pink, Green and Yellow
3. Bluebird Setting, $12, Yellow Only

Retro Cups Gocco Print in Teal, $5, June Craft, Chigaco, IL


I'm throwing this in the mix... anyone else play with this tea set growing up? I did!!!
Get it for you or your kids, or nieces, or nephews! right here on ebay.

Hennie Haworth. Another artist I could go on and on and on about. She has amazing illustrations at her website, including this tea infused one. Get it? Infused! oh man.
Here is a bit about her in some amazing type:

These tins are so neat - they actually probably appeal to me so much because they remind me of Hennie's Tea Print. Since I don't actually own or store any tea in my house I would use these to store many of my other necessities: stamps, buttons, stickers, markers, etc.
Available by emailing Accord Tea or visiting their Website.

New | Old Tea Sets by Christine Misiak


According to Misiak:
Basically I take old, worn forgotten tea sets and give them a new lease of life. I find the old battered metal tea sets at car boot sales or flea markets. 

The reason why these tea sets are cast away and end up on Ebay is probably due to the reason that they are deemed un-cool or unfashionable, however another reason may be because of their dated styling and colour. Also the condition of many of these tea sets means that they cannot be used; silver plating has often come off, surface is dirty and unpolished, dints and scratches are present on the surface.

Therefore the idea of reusing these old things acts as a way of giving them a new lease of life. Reusing and reinventing old tea sets to make them more current and fashionable for today’s market."

The Green Sets: The silver metal parts I have taken off old sets, and cut them off the originals then cleaned them up and made new bodies for them out of metal. Then the components are all permanently fabricated together, then the whole thing silver plated, then the parts I want green are sprayed green (the green sets are prototypes that I am developing and seeking to get manufactured). So its a mixture of old and new, and mixing of the eras.

The Orange Set: When I sourced this set at a car boot sale the previous owner snapped off the metal handle and so no one would want a broken tea pot, so I bought the set, cleaned it up and made a new wooden handle for it, then powder coated the whole set to make it usable and desirable again. The same applies with the black set.

The Black Set: When I sourced it at a car boot sale it was in extremely bad condition. The surface finish was rusty, dirty and scratched, also the inside of the tea pot was very unappealing. Moreover, one of the little legs on the sugar bowl had been snapped off by the prior owner, therefore it had really reached its end life.So I cleaned the set up and applied black to it, and now the surface finish is glossy and smooth and the set can actually be used again. The imperfection with the broken sugar bowl leg is still there, but it acts as character and the set aims to celebrate the imperfections.

Huge thanks to my Source of this interview with Christine, Dezeen.

Repurposed Teacups and Teapots are amazing! Especially when they are used by Raylene Sutton to make miniature worlds. I love miniature things! I couldn't find much else about Raylene, but she does show her miniatures in the Miniature's Club of B.C. (Source)

If you would like to find uses for all those gorgeous or chipped teacup/pots you have either in your (or your grandma's!) home or that you see in thrift stores, follow Martha's lead! Turn them into candles or use them as drawer organizers!

     

She has a step by step guide on turning your teacups into candles at her site. It looks really simple! A commenter suggested using an old tea pot as a double boiler for your wax so that you dont have to search Martha's Housekeeping bible to figure out how to get wax out of a $100 all-clad pan. Thanks! You can also melt crayons into your wax for colour! awesome! Clicky Clicky.

Epilogue: Just a reminder, anyone can leave comments- blogger registered or not, anonymous or leave a name and website, your choice! I love hearing from you and your opinions and additions to my posts! I so appreciate the folks leaving comments, so this is a little shout out to you guys! thanks! People read my blog! sorry about the "!!!'s" I have warned you about my excitement over little things before! ♥

Puppet Play

I was inspired to post puppets (mainly of the shadow kind) due in part to two things:
1. Seeing Owly Shadow Puppets at the Renegade Craft Fair last month and
2. The following amazing video from 1958, La Diabolica Invencion by Karel Zeman. He is considered the co-founder of Czech animated film. 1958! Amazing!

This is a postcard sized archival print created from an original drawing on a vintage book page titled 'The Wolf... ' and is printed on lightly textured, natural white archival paper.
Actual image size will be approximately 90 x 133mm.

The Wolf (mini), $4 (excellent!), Olivia Jeffries for Restless Things, Norwich, UK




I LOVE that these puppets cast colour shadows! What a great idea!

Now T-rex can finally nibble a Steggie Burger for lunch!

Prehistoric puppets are certified by paleontologist Dr. Ewan Wolff. Dr. Wolff says: "Warning, this set is inaccurate! Pteranodon is not a dinosaur, these animals did not live at the same time, and T-rex definitely never nibbled a Steggie Burger."

Lawyerbot says: "Ow! My eye!" Shadow puppet sticks are intended for supervised play with ages 4 and up. Please play responsibly.

Dinosaur Shadow Puppet Set ( in color!), $30, Sisters Meredith and Robin for Orange Moon Toys, Madison, WI
*To see many more of their Shadow Puppets click here!

Have you ever been out and about and suddenly needed to know how to make a rabbit shadow puppet? Of course you have! Now you will always be prepared for that very eventuality with this solid sterling silver charm necklace.

The image of the rabbit shadow puppet is set into a lovely solid sterling silver pendant cup under glass for a quality and enduring finish. It's large at around 2.5cm tall. A tiny little solid sterling silver and glass charm hangs next to the main pendant and reads "rabbit" so you wont forget which shadow puppet you're making.

The charms hang from a beautiful solid sterling silver chain which is 24 inches long so that you can look at your shadow puppet guide whilst you're wearing the necklace.

The Rabbit - Shadow Puppet Necklace, $50 (eek!), Adorapop, Wales, UK

My next door neighbor came over today and asked "Are you gardening today Sarah?" Well no, actually I was putting soil in a pot so I could poke a screenprint of a tiger and a lady on wooden dowells into the soil. You could use these as puppets, unusual birthday cards, planter adornments....however you like. They're screenprints on oak tag (a sturdy paper kind of like a manila folder). They are not waterproofed or weatherproofed, so they would be best indoors, and even so will probably not last forever, but they'll be fun while they're around.

I send you the prints as shown and a set of dowells. YOU assemble them by taping light colored masking tape on the back as shown.

Lana and the Tiger, $20, Two Sarahs, Portland, OR (this is cute: By the way, I am Sarah Landwehr, and the other Sarah (Fitzpatrick) is collaborating with me via Melbourne, Australia, so her presence on the site is currently more theoretical, but I'm still leaning on her glory and genius from way over here.)

Shadow puppets are entertaining. But unfortunately, most of us lack the dexterity to do more than the basic dog or rabbit. So let these nifty puppets do the hard work for you.
The set of four animal puppets includes a rabbit, an elephant, a goat and a duck. Each has an ink drawing on one side and patterned paper on the other, with foam sandwiched between for added support. They measure approximately 7 1/2" tall and 5" wide and have festive wood handles.

Animal Shadow Puppets, $20, Le Petit Monstre, Tifton, GA

Print of an original illustration.
Professionally printed on a heavyweight paper with a lovely texture.
The print includes a white border for framing (frame not included).
Actual image size: 16.5 cm X 23.5 cm
The print is carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and will be shipped flat with a stiff card backing in a padded mailer.

Marionette, $20, Shira for Shirae

Unique, one-of-a-kind, hand-cut Shadow Puppet based on the illustrations of Isabella.
Package consists of a custom made booklike sleeve, closed with a beautiful ribbon, which allows you to keep it clean and safe.

A Dreams Boatride, $24, Isabella's Art, From "The Land of Dreamers" ♥
Pick up a wooden Shadow Puppet Stand to fit your Isabella Puppets, $5

We can't get enough of these two. Burnaby and Alicia were created just recently and have been a popular image for our T-shirts. They are so cute as paper dolls. They hold on to each other lovingly in their snug 5 by 5 inch envelope. These two have a passionate love for one another that's contagious, watch out or you might catch it!

Burnaby and Alicia, $12, , Red Rooster Craft/Pin Pals, Montreal, Canada

This is a DIY paper theatre based on an original wooden puppet theatre.
The characters can be either The Girl and her monster, or Mr I Don't Know, the bear! They are both at home on the sea. Printed instructions for assembly are sent but all you'll really need is some pritt stick glue and either a scalpel or some small sharp scissors.

You will get 4 sheets of 310gsm thick german etching paper with high quality printed parts which you can cut out and assemble. It is sent sandwiched between 2 pieces of 1250 mic card, inside a cello sleeve and then packaged in an all-card envelope. Once constructed it's size is 16.5cm x 28cm x 3cm.

The Heart Revealed - DIY Paper Theatre, $35, Little Robot, Glasgow, Scotland

Why did I do this?
I recently read "Alice in Wonderland" again as an adult,
and began sketching the characters as I read. It only seemed
natural that they should become fully articulated toys. I really enjoyed making and having them- and I thought - why not make them available as a "rainy day project".
The illustrations are Original Character Designs (by me) inspired by Lewis Carroll's famous work. They are high resolution prints prepared on heavyweight paper.

Alice in Wonderland- Paper Puppet Kit, $22, Brian Gubicza for Goobeetsa, Salem, MA



God Bless Etsy Labs! You can learn to make this puppet and many many awesome others. I wish they offered classes outside of Brooklyn for everyone else! More classes (screen printing, gocco printing, freestyle cross-stitch, etc) located at their site, HERE!

Class: Paper Puppet Posse

Date: Saturday, July 19
Time: 1-3:30pm
Location: Etsy Labs, 325 Gold Street 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Cost: $30
ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!

Description:
As a member of the posse you'll learn about what tools and techniques to use in making basic paper puppets. Techniques and hot skills include: basic design, rigging a marionette, using weights, and making different types of joints.

Each person will make and go home with their very own dancing paper marionette and rigged shadow puppet. Students will learn about how paper puppets can be used in photography, theatre, dioramas, animation, crafts and the general poodle pathology of man. The teacher will be bringing examples of her puppets, puppets from other artists, and photos of other people's work to look and play with!

Billy is handmade from 1/2" painted plywood and is playfully posable. His crazy legs, arms and wobbly head rotate on 1 1/2" inch stainless steel hex bolts (with threaded nuts). He's painted with acrylic then given a polyacrylic coat for long-lasting protection and a little extra shine! Wire for wall hanging attached on his back.

Every character such as Billy is made to order, making every purchase that much more special!

Measurements (variable)
2 feet high
1 1/2" feet wide

Billy Sasquatch, $90, Made by Max, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Blog)

Has anyone seen The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello?
Synopsis: Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself.

It looks amazing, and received amazing reviews including an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. Their website promoting the DVD is made incredibly well too, I love the theme. The whole movie reminds me of a Tim Burton Film... love!

Here is yet another video in Shadow Puppetry style, I haven't watched it all but it has 4 1/2 stars on You Tube so I thought I'd include it, incase you are in love with this theme or just bored! (please let me know if it's a terrible waste of time!!)

Holding Your Breath by Anthony A. Lucas