Photo Time!

Well, I felt a little nostalgic and started looking at old pictures, mostly from last year.. then I had a nostalgia attack. And now you can too, here's some of my favorite behind-the-scene beast pictures!

This is one of a One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater that I made custom for a swell guy named Paul this summer for his daughter, the beautiful Stella.

This is Timothy Tailwobbler, he was a custom beast too! I was absolutely in love with his horns, which are the same kind as the one Ozymandias has. Springbok! I wish I could grow one.

This is Sven the Red, he was a custom guy and Ozy really wanted a hoodie like that. He's like a little hipster beast... he had black boots too but they didn't make it into the photo :(

These are little morning glory seed pods, which consequently had jack-o-lantern faces drawn on them. They were like tiny Hallow-Birthday-Ween favors!! Next year, I see if I can dry them and then make a garland :D

Speaking of Hallow-Birthday-Ween, when new beast mom Elizabeth Kaiser won the Hallow-Birthday-Ween Raffle, this is the beast that she won! He was a special, headless beast for our favorite made-up holiday. When his head was on his shoulders, he would have a long, orange tail with a big black pouf at the end. But, you could also pull his head off of his shoulders and his tail would shorten to a little bunny-like thing. I wanted to keep him in the worst way (when don't I?) but maybe I'll make another headless beast for HBW this year.

This an old picture of Hagatha and I, having a discussion at my mother's house, back in the old country. Hagatha is wearing some pretty fancy gloves in this photo. I however, am wearing a hoodie. These things happen... it can get cold up there! That's probably enough for now! Maybe later in the week I'll do another. Have a great night, friends! xx The Beast Peddler

Berdandwerm Albinos!

Oh dear, I saw this guy on Etsy, and I lusted over him for ten minutes, then I bought him! I am a huge sucker for albino critters. We were all watching Oddities when we were snowed in this weekend, and they had a mounted albino whitetail deer head, it was so gorgeous that I grabbed the Prince by the arm and politely requested that he promise to get me one someday. And that is a rare occurrence for me! I saw an albino deer a few years back, and it was like a spiritual experience, they are so ghostly. Anywho, now I wait with baited breath for my tiny albino dove creature to arrive. Go on over to Berdandwerm's Etsy to see more adorable creatures! xx The Beast Peddler

Trundles in the Kitchen

Just some cute photos of Trundles, in the kitchen while the Prince and I were fixin' some ice cream.

xx The Beast Peddler

Meet Trundles!

Hello everyone, hope you're having a terrific night! Here at the enchanted cottage, we are excited to announce: Trundles Fluffleplooft, or Trundles for short!

It's always love at first sight when the beasts wake up for the first time. But this time, hoo boy did I fall hard. I think it's the fact that he's shaped like the dog-turned-ottoman character from Beauty and the Beast. Here's his little story: On the morning that Trundles awoke, Hagatha was attempting to teach potion-making to some of the beasts. The Homunculus and Ozymandias were working together to try their hands at a potion. They added all sorts of ingredients to their brass cauldron as Trundles slowly came alive in the nearby living room. Ozymandias placed one last ingredient to the cauldron just as the new Trundles was fully awake. A percussive "BOOM" sounded through the whole cottage. Trundles sprang to his feet and bolted from the chalk circle he had been sleeping in. In fact, he ran out of the house so blindingly fast that he ran straight out of the door and did a somersault down the stairs and into the lawn. The other beasts ran after him to see what had happened to the frightened Trundles. For the second time, Trundles sat up slowly and looked around, clearly a little shaken up. This time though, when he moved forward, he didn't sprint. Nor did he run, or even... jog. Nope, Trundles had already had enough of moving around that fast. So, he put one stubby leg in front of the other and ... yes, trundled into the enchanted cottage for breakfast. A little nugget of story for a little nugget of a creature. Oh! And you can see more pictures of him here, in the shop! xx The Beast Peddler

(Some of) the Beast Process!

Hellooo! A couple weeks ago, the lovely Victoria asked me to take pictures of the process of making a beast. So I attempted to document the process with pictures, and (mostly) succeeded in not forgetting to take photos at each step. Here it is, the making of Skrigby Specklerolf!

Usually I start out with a sketch, like this ridiculous thing above. Can you imagine an entire moleskine full of these plump beasts? Instant perma-grin. Anyway, this is the first sketch of Skrigby, before I decided he was going to be a Horror.

Then I sketch the shapes I think I'll need on to my fabric (lightly!) and cut them out. I freehand everything, because I'm sure that if I made a pattern that 1) I would certainly lose it and 2) I like all the beasts to be completely one-of-a-kind so if their bodies turn out all a little differently, that's a GOOD thing.

By this point, my (all) black wardrobe is covered in fur. This is a common occurrence my life. Thank the ancient ones for lint rollers.

After all the parts are cut out, I sew all the parts together! Then I turn all the parts that need to be added to the main body inside out, which is why the legs and tail look furry and the body does not. So I forgot to take pictures of the next couple steps, so immersed in the Monstering Zone was I. After the parts are sewn up, I cut leg-holes and in this case a tail-hole in the body, and individually sew all the parts on. Then, I turn the whole thing right-side out, and stuff the head so I can gauge where to place the facial features. Then I attach all the eyes... more often than not they've had more than two this year. Then I stuff the whole beast, usually pulling it out and re-stuffing it a few times so that it's the perfect firmness. I am a very picky about every detail of the beasts, but especially how huggable they are. They have to pass a few hug tests before they get their finishing seam on the butt. After they're all sewn up, I do any finishing details like teeth or any stitches I need to sculpt the face / body. Then the beasts get a good brushing to smooth their fur.

Guess what Skrigby- it's freckle time.

After freckles, he gets one more brushing and is done! At this point, I hand him over to the Prince for a little bit so he can name him. And that's how I make beasts. Mostly! They're all different, but that's the basic process. As soon as Hagatha lets me photograph her doing the awakening ritual, you can see that too! xx The Beast Peddler

New Horror Tonight!

Saturdays are a good night for Horror updates, no? Meet Skrigby Specklerulf, the latest Horror to terrorize the inhabitants of the Enchanted Cottage!

Here's the tale of Skrigby Specklerulf: One night at the enchanted cottage, there was a terrible storm going on. The wind howled, thunder shook the house and lightning lit up the shadows outside in a horrifying way. The Beast Peddler and Hagatha lit lanterns and candles and gathered all the beasts around them on the living room floor. They told stories and reminisced about how great the Hallow-Birthday-Ween party was. In a lull in the conversation, they all heard a shrill cry. The Beast Peddler looked out the window. "That came from outside," she said. The beasts looked around nervously. Then the noise came again. It was louder this time, more of a cat-like cry. Mootjoot leapt to the Beast Peddler's shoulder, looking out at the storm. "It sounds like a kitten!" she cried. A chorus of "oh no!" sounded from the beasts. Hagatha's brow furrowed, and she shook her head. Ozymandias glanced at Hagatha for a second, then himself spoke. "It's a Horror," he said calmly. That provoked an even more panicked reply from the others. "I'll check it out," he continued. Hagatha looked upon him and nodded. As Ozymandias stepped out of the cottage, all the beasts looked nervously from old Hagatha to the window while huddling closer together. Outside, Ozymandias stepped bravely forward. He was only visible as a shape that was less dark than the surrounding night. His long, curved black horn that grew from the back of his head was virtually invisible. In a lightning flash, a long, black tail flickered from underneath a shrub. Another pathetic meow was heard, but this one was more drawn-out. As Ozymandias closed the gap between him and the shrub, the cry sounded again. This time however, whatever was making the noise didn't care about making him think it was a distressed kitten. It started as a meow and rose to a horrible roar, ending in a shrill shriek. As the cry rose a banshee-like keening, a white creature pounced from the shrub. It was incredibly fast, and came out from the shrub with two white fangs gleaming in the light from the lightning strike. The others, watching from inside, all cried out at once. The Beast Peddler's hand flew to her heart. In one fluid move, however, Ozymandias dipped his body to the side. The pale Horror's attack was interrupted as it impacted with something harder than the soft neck of his next dinner. Then Ozymandias dug his front feet into the earth and flung the creature off of his curved horn. The Horror's body struck a nearby tree. For a moment, it lay still. Then it jumped up on all fours, arching its back and hissing like an angry tomcat. It turned, scrambled up the tree, and was gone. It hasn't been seen since, but every once in a while they hear a cry in the trees that sounds like a lost kitten... You can see more pictures of him in the shop, here! Keep it creepy! xx The Beast Peddler

Now With More Beast Action!

Hello everyone!

It's been a long wait, but there's two new beasts in the shop!



Mootjoot




Spike Montebon

Over in the shop!
Hooray! That's all for tonight, have a splendid evening!

xx
The Beast Peddler