BUNNY TALES - 0127 Bertie

Good news! The Warren has heard from Bertie! Bertie went off to live in St.Austell, Cornwall with GemHeaven. She wanted him as a desk buddy (or bunny!). I can safely say that he survived the posting, something that the bunnies ARE NOT keen on, and seems to be very happy. But the bunnies back home are not! Read on ....

"Bertie ~ my bunny ~ took no time at all to settle in with the family, here he is with his new best friend Charlie ~ of course its early days and Bertie still likes to be supervised when playing with his new friend especially as Charlie likes to chew anything soft and squidgy (we have a hospital with many one arm or legged teddies :( )".
The bunnies are all jumping up and down as I'm typing this, their noses bumping the screen, squeaking "It's going to pounce! It's going to pounce!". That is a cat with a plan, you can tell.


This is a picture of Bertie on Twitter. He is waiting for his bunny friends to say something. Trouble is that the bunnies here haven't signed up yet. I'll have to find one with good ear control (for typing) to be put in charge. I hope his internet access is being moderated - can't have him finding anything unsuitable for a small bun!
I can also report that Bertie is getting a friend! Bitty Love Bun is coming to live with him and she is bringing him a lovely carrot too!

All Rise For His Royal Highness King George!

I haven't told you this yet but The Warren used to have a pig! Quite a nice pink, gently grunting, comforting sort of pig. He went to live with Liv. He did indeed. Now, this pig is a tricky pig because he told her that he was indeed a royal pig! Liv, in dutiful fashion, built him a castle such as befits a king. Here he is on his throne, in the throne room.
Now this is all well and good except for one thing. Two things actually. Two things on the left and right of King George. Bunnies. The Warren bunnies are NOT HAPPY. Liv assures me that Mika and Josephine are very happy living at the castle but the bunnies will not be convinced. They think that if anyone is going to be a king it ought to be a bunny thank you very much. I found 9 of them forming a pyramid wobbling up to the encyclopedia in my bookcase. They had just heaved open one of the volumes when I startled them. The pyramid collapsed leaving the bunnies bouncing like little soft balls all over the floor. On the shelf the book remained open. The page was entitled "Overthrowing the monarchy".

Worry at The Warren.

My brother (click for pic) has bought a bunny and a wave of anxiety has rippled round The Warren.
"Aww, how nice!' you might think, but you are ignorant and that, for you, is bliss. My brother had a toy once, an owl called Mitnoo. It was roughly the same size as this bunny but brown and owlish, obviously. He used to thwack it with his squash racquet, punch it and generally be downright horrible in plain view of his little sister i.e me. I emailed him to say that because of his reputation with small, soft, innocent toys I was slightly concerned over his purchase. His reply was "I'm sharpening my pencil."
So The Warren is universally worried.
I think I might call my sister-in-law.

Shopping List Saturday - the bunnies are taking over!

Well it's been a busy week - *coughs* - in that I seem to have bought quite few bits and pieces. I really do love to buy from fellow handmade sellers - not only are the things so wonderful but they always come beautifully wrapped and it's like a little birthday all over again. This shopping list is going to show some bits that I felt I 'must have'!
I needed a little notebook to act as a diary for Global Sock Bunny who is off to Kenya in two weeks. I had a little search around on Folksy and found the lovely HMSDesign. Helen Smith makes these gorgous fabric covered sketch books and she agreed to make one just for me. I gave her the size I needed (to fit into Bunny's suitcase) and asked, very nicely I hope, if she could put some text on the front. She stitched 'Bunny's World Tour 2009' onto a patch of fabric to go onto the front cover. It looks wonderful! Not only did she make it exactly how I wanted it but it all arrived only a few days afterwards! Unfortunately (for me!) she also makes lovely 'ribbon flowers' and I was already in a loved-up handmade kinda mood I had to buy three. When they arrived they had such a lovely nodding bounce to them, like summer poppies in a warm breeze (january does this to me) and were so soft and yummy to touch that I immediatly bought two more! I now have a beautiful soft, gently bouncing bunch of flowers. I am happy indeed.
And that wasn't it either! I made Global Bunny a little purse for him to put a coin from every country he visits in but something wasn't right with it. Purely by chance I, whilst bimbling around a few blogs, I saw it! A little pink purse with felt appliqued bunnies with button tales! I didn't even draw breath and contacted the Etsy Uk seller Materialised. Oddly enough I had done exactly the same last year with one of her delicious fabric pouches - saw it featured, bought it! Anyway, I asked her is she could make me one to a much smaller size and in any colour but pink. She could and she did! And, in true handmade style it arrived today just a very few days after our first conversation. It is simply adorable and lined with fab funky fabric to boot.
I wish I wasn't such an impluse buyer! It happened AGAIN with this little felt bunny pictured here. Saw it in a blog feature, thought 'that would make a great 'teddy bunny' for Global Bun!' and bought one! Winsome Hollow's shop is a fantasy in felt. Bunnies and trees, wizards and fairies all teased out of felt. I had a bit of trouble NOT buying a tree or several trees to make a little wood. But, you see, a fantasy wood needs fantasy characters and that means a wizard, a few fairies, definately a whole load of bunnies .........
I can't wait to get this little bunny - he is being made 2" high and the perfect travelling companion for Global Bun. I'm beginning to realise that Half an Acre is about to be over-run by rabbits!
Don't forget, as always, there are more Shopping List Saturday features all listed on FancyPicnics blog - so have a visit

A room full of curious things .......

As we have no television, and haven't done so for nearly ten years, the focal point of our living room is the fireplace. We have fires almost every night from when it gets chilly in October until it is too warm in the spring. The room is very important to us and is filled with gathered and found things from our travels and oddments bought because we loved them.
This is the only room in the house with white walls. I didn't want it that way but that is how it has ended up. White walls, to me, are un-painted ones. I have an unhealthy urge to paint all walls in lovely colours and surround myself with interesting, unusual and usually colourful bits and pieces. Dust gatherers I call them! Apparently these white walls are showing off our fabulously colourful sofas. No pictures of them though today. I thought I'd take you on a tour of the mantlepiece as it is full of an ever changing assortment of bits and, inevitably, dust, and a couple of other parts of the room too. So, deep breath - off we go .....

1. Three ceramic discs bought in Zion, Utah. Two have faces on and one a hand with a tree in the palm. We spent a fabulous holiday walking in the National Parks in Utah - eating smash and corned beef hash round our little camp fire and drinking Jack Daniels out of mugs.
2. An original John Bond painting 'The Groundsmen' bought on a total whim after having been given a bit of money that was meant to be saved or to do something responsible with. I saw it and I bought it. End of. Oh the luxury of that moment of wealth!
3. A little picture of fish by Christina Ulander
4. The metal dragon we bought at a craft fair but didn't have any money on us! We wanted it sooo much that we drove all the way home just to get the money to pay for it and only just made it back before the fair shut it's gates.

5. A ceramic pot with bird on top by Susie Lear.
6. My Christmas present this year - a ceramic peapod!
7. The Dragon Pot - by Eddie Kent - bought at another craft fair. It has holes all round it and a glittery inside so when you take the lid off and peer in it looks very magical.
8. see 5 above
9. A clock also by Susie Lear. We've had if for around 10 years and those birdies are about to come unstuck. I brought it home from Liberty's on the bus. We've moved house four times and the birds' beaks are still un-damaged.
10. A very small pointy wooden pot made from diseased beech (I think) wood - the spread of the fungus gives the amazing patterns in the wood.
Also: A small curled up crouched figure - a present for my husband one birthday.
Also: a strange piece of wood, all worn smooth, with a turquiose stone pushed into a hole in the centre (put in by me) - described to the boys as a goblin charm we found in the woods!
11. Two little bees. We spent another one of our holidays, pre-kids, pre-marriage, pre-everything mundane, hiking in Utah. (ahhh those days........). We had spent almost all our dollars but had a few coins left. My husband went wandering around the airport to kill time and came back with these for me - bought with the very last of our travelling money. They are amongst my favourite things.
12. A Half an Acre Pointy fish - of course!
13. A glass suncatcher from Ocracoke Island, NC, hanging on some beady string. I spent the summers of four years over there - hanging out and living the beach life. Heaven.
14. Geocache Geocoins which are too nice to send off!!! www.geocaching.com
15. Our Christmas monsters from Cutesy But Not Cutesy on Etsy.
17. A very strange seed pod found in France - it has opened out to look like the skull of a small rodent. Together with a dried up creeper tendril curled round another twig. I was in Atlanta, GA, staying with my friend Debbie. We were pulling out of a car park when I saw it just hanging down from a tree. I yelled "Hold on!" and lept out of the car to grab it.
18. A curious pot/box with an orange tree on top and exquisit paintings of topiary on all four sides. Bought from a shop in Stratford-upon-Avon - long since closed.


The lefthand picture here shows just to the right of the fireplace with the four masks coming from the same shop in Zion, Utah as the little face discs. The helmet is ceramic and came from yet another craft fair we went to. The glass jar contains easter eggs which I paint each year for my husband. To the right: a lovely wooden painted horse on wheels from Angel Bill. A plastic star globe (£2.99 The Works!) and a box of cashere chocolates made from upcycled knitwear by the fabulous Naive.

And we've made it! A lightening tour of the more interesting bits of my living room - although the chair fabrics are extremely lush, I have to say! So, my husband was right - damn it! He wanted the white wall to show off all the colourful fabrics and our 'stuff' against. Grrrrrrrrr. I would still paint the walls a colour but not there is too much stuff to move............and I'd have to tackle the dust!

Valentine's Day hops into view....

Just when you think you'd got through Christmas the next 'festival' rises its ugly head. The only good thing about Valentine's Day is that it stops the Easter eggs getting into the shops any earlier!! What with those two three events plus anniversaries and birthdays I run out of ideas for gifts for everyone. BUT Half an Acre saves the day!! Actually, that's not true - the bunnies save the day! Yes, the sock bunny empire is threatening to eclipse poor old Half an Acre - *sob*. Today saw the arrival of Love Bun - just in time to solve the 'What can I give for Valentine's Day THIS year' problem. Here she is:

Guaranteed to bring some warm, fuzziness into your day! There is a little bit about her arrival on the sock bunny blog. I didn't see her at first .....

The Love Bun has landed!

Love Bun is here! I heard a little tap tapping at the door yesterday, opened it and noone was there! I shut the door. Tap...tap....tap. I opened the door again, looked out and still nothing. Just as I was closing it again I heard a little shuffling sound. Hopping up and down on the doormat was this little bunny!! I crouched down and she bounced up and nuzzled into my neck! It was Love Bun! I'd forgotten that Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it is her favourite time of year! We took some photos today - it was her idea to have the big heart. She wanted you to know that she was indeed 'made with love'! Some of these bunnies are very willful, you know.
I have put her into The Warren Sock Bunny Shop so you can give her to someone you are a little bit warm and fuzzy about....

Shopping List Saturday - It's bunny madness!

Ever since Christmas I have been concentrating on my other website The Warren at www.sockbunny.co.uk. January, Feb etc are bad months for Half an Acre - as dead as a very dead, quiet thing! So I've been enjoying planning all the new bunny activities for the year ahead. So it only seems right that this week's Shopping List Saturday should have a bunny theme! And so it does!
I bought one of Lucy Players bunny cards for Christmas. It said 'Hoppy Christmas' with all the letters made out of bunnies! Her 'LOVE' card above is done the same way. Very cute. She has also done the whole alphabet on a sheet ready for framing and I am trying not to buy it.
FluffsStuffs makes these lovely bunny badges and fellow bunny-maker Sew Recycled has a whole load of these fabric buns waiting for new homes - its getting troublesome because the more I see her bunnies the lonelier they all look. This tugs at the old heart strings and very soon I shall have to relent and buy one so I can love it and cheer it up!
Claire Payne has these little bunny brooches for sale and A Resin Revival that very sweet floppy-eared bunny pendant. On the end there is an arugurami bunny from Cute Designs (I've typed that arugi thing without checking the spelling!) Now - all these are Folksy shops today as that is where The Warren is.

Shopping List Saturday encompasses a whole load of bloggers - there is the full list on Fancy Picnic's blog - so if you fancy a quick whizz around some lovely handmade shops do take a look.

Too many bunnies and not enough names!

The bunnies at The Warren need your help! Previously they have all had a number but this is getting a little unwieldy an impersonal - the bunnies would each like their own name! I find this slightly demanding of them but what can I do! So - I am asking for suggestions for names for them all! I didn't do this to start with as I think that anyone who buys a bunny has their own idea for the name - BUT there has been so much throwing of carrots and stamping of bunny feet that I am having to review the situation. If anyone has any suggestions then please do add a comment here including any names - trust me, there are A LOT of bunnies to name!

How not to put a map on a kitchen table.

My kitchen table was a mess quite honestly. We willynilly painted all over it, dug scalpels into it and generally abused it's accomodating nature. In return for this maltreatment it wobbled irritatingly. Time for a makeover! I love maps and the enjoyment of them seems to be a bit of a family trait in our household so a map it was. A big map.
So, being the sort of person who just 'starts' regardless, I started at breakfast! All you need is a table and some maps, right? I had the additional aid of a boy eating cereal, a stuffed bunny and a red blood cell. That's that red thing on the table made by the eccentric and fabulous Fur will fly. All very useful.
So I cut and glued and stuck and smoothed until I had all the edges covered. Pretty good, eh? Then came the BIG map. My specially bought, paper, map all cosseted in it's protective tubing. Such a pretty map. I glued one end and stuck it to the table and then called my husband to help. He stood on the table, holding the rest of it up, whilst I tried to glue it. Remember that this IS NOT a tutorial. You cannot spread PVA with a very small brush onto a large sheet of paper being held in mid air. So I shouted at him because it was SO obviously his fault because he was JUST STANDING THERE holding the paper IN THE WRONG WAY!!!!! Spray Mount. Yes, that'll do it! The nozzle was all gummed up and shot out at an angle. So I spray-mounted my wrist and then the floor. Now I'm stomping around with my feet going 'schwrit ..schiwrit...schiwrit' brandishing an aerosol yelling at the kids to GET OUT OF THE WAY! We get the map flat on the table but most if it isn't stuck. Never mind. My husband decides he has something better to do. Damnation!
I spent a very happy few hours (alone - my family instinctively know when to KEEP OUT OF THE WAY) sticking all those lovely information bits round the edges. I love them. Ocean currents, volcanic activity, tectonic plate movements, time zones ...... I was right back in that geography lesson. And the boys are all running in to have a look an pour over the information. How warm and fuzzy I am feeling!
All done!
Then I varnish it.
It all bubbles up.
All the bits where the spray mount didn't go.
Which is most of the centre of the map.
I didn't weep
only nearly........
When it was all dry it looks terrible. Terrible. I shout again. "WILL YOU STOP TELLING ME IT'S BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH GLUE ON IT!!!!" and "I KNOW there is NOT ENOUGH glue on it!". And other variations. So, after much discussion,we conclude that there was not enough glue on it. The only choice is to PUT more glue on it. I cut and lift up flappy sections of the map and re-glue them all. I smooth and smooth and smooth it all out over and over. Then a bit rips! GAH! I won't be defeated!! I am The Map Meister! I flap, stick and smooth for hours until IT'S DONE!!! It looks fabulous! It is still not very flat. There are lumps and bumps but I don't care - it is wonderful.
I'm starting on the chairs now.

MEET GEOCACHE BUNNY!

This is Geocache Bunny. He is a bit of an adventurer! Not all of the bunnies like to travel far from The Warren, unless going to a new home, but this one mentioned he'd like to go out and about more. So we took him Geocaching. He is sporting a new scarf, as today was a freezing but beautiful day with layers of frost everywhere and all the waterways frozen solid. He asked to be pictured with the map as he has some grand plans!
Geocaching is something that The Bunny Maker and her family got into a while ago. It is basically a treasure hunt using a handheld GPS. It is a global activity with caches all over the world wiht the hub being the Geocaching.com website. Some are easy strolls, some are underwater and require scuba diving skills! You chose the ones you want to do. If you put your postcode into the Geocache site you can see where they are in your area. Bet you didn't know there were so many so close! The best way to get a good idea of it all is to watch this little tutorial all about it.

Another great thing you can do is to find Travel Bugs within the caches. These can be any item as long as they have the metal dogtag attached with their tracking number. You register this number with the geoche website and people will move it from cache to cache logging where it has been. You can then see how far it has got and where it has been. You can evenvset targets for them; such as to be photographed at interesting places or to reach Australia. In a few weeks "Travel Bug Bunny" will be put into a new cache, started by us, and sent out to see where it goes. The Bug won't be a sock bunny mainly because it might get a bit damp and because back at The Warren none of us could bear to leave one all alone in a box, in a tree stump, out in the cold, all sad and hungry - you get the picture! So we will be using a special bunny designed for the purpose!

This is Son of The Bunny Maker Number 1 (get that hat!) - the boy who discovered his inner bunny! It is all his fault that the bunny madness has spread and I now have a bunny shop and this blog! Geocache Bunny is riding along as you can see!
He found a cache too - buried in an old tree stump. There was much excited hopping and squeaking from him as we opened it. Inside was the log book, which we signed and dated, we left a badge and took a mirror thing. Then we re-hid it and moved along to find the next one. There were four on our circular walk in total - one was on a long piece of string dangled into an old tree trunk - very hard to find and we almost gave up but got it in the end. Geocache Bunny has a lovely time and is back at The Warren telling the others all about it.

IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE UK....

You can still buy a bunny for yourself! I know that the Folksy shop is all in pounds but from February it all goes international!! You will them be able to buy through paypal which converts all your transactions for you. Up until them if you would like a bunny simply chose the one from the shop (don't add it to the shopping cart), tell me which one and I will send you a paypal invoice. Simple!

I'm cheating ....

...with my Shopping List Saturday feature! I realised after I posted one last week that no one else had done one that week and no one had visited mine either - I usually get a few comments, you see! So .... as i've been stupidly busy this week with the boys going back to school, losing school shoes and general getting on with start of the year stuff I am re-posting it!! Cheating ....... Yes, I know!!! *berates self for a few seconds*

Woo Hoo! I'm starting off the new year organised! I'm actually getting this feature posted on time! I hope this continues.... Firstly, though, my sock bunny blog is up and running - I'm still tweaking bits here and there but essentially it is finished. No doubt I'll change the whole lot next week then. There are even a few 'bought bunnies' featured.

My Shopping List Saturday feature today will be from a seller who brought much happiness and cozy love into our home over Christmas. Etsy seller DKoss2 from Cutesy But Not Cutesy makes monsters! The fuzziest, cutest monsters I've yet to come across. I bought this one, left, for my husband (being a kinda monster-loving guy). The boys have been fighting over him for cuddles - er, the monster, that is, although they do do the same with my husband! He is really soft and has this cute, slightly self-conscious air to him. His new home is on our mantlepiece - he looks great there and we can see him all the time. I keep fluffing his fir in case he gets dusty! Hmmm - he doesn't have a fir with him as far as I can see - just a bird - so I guess I meant to type 'fur'. I thought he should have a friend so I've ordered one for him ...... What do you reckon? I'm wondering if he might be upset that another has arrived. He hasn't spoken yet - I wonder if the plane ride over traumatised him slightly. Check her shop on Etsy - there are all kinds of monsters for sale and almost all of them will make you smile!
Don't forget there are more Shopping List Saturday features listed on FancyPicnic's blog - they make it easier for you to find great things on Etsy because, lets face it, the site is pretty huge! I did quite a bit of Christmas shopping on there this year and was thrilled when one friend said "WHERE do you keep getting all these fabulous things?!"

Newsletter - and a dilemma...

The start of 2009 marks the beginning of the newsletters for Half an Acre! I've been dying to produce one for ages but didn't really know how to go about it. At last, though, I have one! I'm still working out all the 'functions' as this particular one offers all kinds of complex marketing thingumygigs. The boys are back at school now and I can concentrate without being accused of STILL being on the computer! The sign up form is in the sidebar - scroll down under all the new bunny stuff! I have two signed up already - and I know both personally so I guess they just feel sorry for me! HAHA. I've only been signed up for three days so, actually, that isn't too bad really! I haven't decided yet if i'll do one newsletter for both Half an Acre and The Warren, or two separate ones.
All this has made me wonder about 'etiquettte'. Can I email everyone who has bought from me over the last year? Telling them there is a newsletter and they can sign up if they like? Or do I have to wait for people to drip feed in from the blog and website? Anyone out there have one? Send advice please!

Bunny Tales - 0134 and 0135

Passport Numbers 0134 and 0134. These two are superior indeed! They are both made from Boden socks. Whilst high in quality they are short in the ankle so two were needed for each Bun. It does mean, though, that they have storage space in their sleeping bags for bunny things. They have both been whisked off to Deepcut, Surrey to live with two rascally girls Rebecca and Grace.