bunny with a toolbelt

I love you (knot!)

2012-02-09T09:14:00.001-08:00

fun facts about animals

2012-02-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Randall Hospital Opening Day!

2012-02-04T09:22:00.001-08:00

Randall Children's Hospital

2012-01-24T16:24:00.001-08:00

I was commissioned to create five large sculptures for the new Randall Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon in winter of 2011-12. Each floor of the building is a different ecoregion of Oregon, so I created two pieces for the Cascade region (bear with lupine and hummingbird and gray wolf with bluebird and trillium,) one for the Willamette Valley (Brush Hare with Western Tanager and Daisies) and two for the coastal region (puffin with sea anenome and Brown Pelican with Silverspot butterfly and violets.)

Here's a slide show that takes you through the process from drawing to sculpture!

planning a Portland wedding?

2012-01-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Reverend Steve Sharp from A Beautiful Ceremony NW will be at the Bravo! Wedding Event on Sunday, January 22 - pop in and see some of my wedding cake toppers in person!

say it with cake

2012-01-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday! Let's make a cool cake!

video and recipe via: whisk kid

what are you waiting for?

2012-01-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll be posting my new cake topper designs for 2012 next month, just in time for your impending engagement!

Looking for a little fun in 2012?

2012-01-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to enlarge it and read about my workshop I'll be teaching next June in Australia, or click here to head straight to the Fibre Arts website.

eat your cuteness!

2011-12-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

from Absolutely Fobulous

Elephabet on OPB!

2011-12-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

Being a big time public radio geek, I was thrilled to be recently profiled in a nice little video piece about Elephabet on Oregon Public Broadcasting's website--by jeweler and erstewhile videographer Sarah Fox!

Click here to watch the video!

Elephabet now available on Amazon.com!

2011-11-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo! The paperback edition of Elephabet is officially available for purchase to the general public on Amazon.com! Click here to order yours!

Amazon is also carrying the companion workbook, Do-It-Yourselfabet. Click here to grab one for a great holiday gift for the little creative people in your life.

I will also have a limited number of hardback copies, plus original elephant figures at two Portland holiday sales! Mark your calendars!!!

Mark Your Calendars!!

2011-11-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

I'll have copies of my books on hand, a big rack of lovely holiday cards, and a bunch of new sculptures including elephants, picketing penguins and critters of all shapes and sizes. This will be my first holiday sale, so come on by for first pick of the litter!

Elephabet off to print!

2011-11-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! I have finally completed and submitted my files for the Elephabet book! I should have them in my hands by Thanksgiving! Here's a few sneak preview pages of the cover and interior:

And here's some images from the workbook, titled Do-it-your-Selfabet, which will be available at Amazon.com in a few weeks!

Sometime before the end of the month, I will update my website to have links to purchase any or all of these! All Righty! No time for rest...there's an animation to make!

photo shoot!

2011-10-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the big photo shoot for Elephabet and I'm just about ready to send it off to print! I can't wait to show you the book, but I'm going to hold off and let you see what you can in these shots I took during the photography session. I used Dan Kvitka for this project--in addition to being a friend for many years, Dan is also an amazing photographer who has documented the work of many artists as well as shooting the exhibition catalogs for the Museum of Contemporary Craft. We worked together to make my visions come to life, adding a little computer magic to float my poofy clouds and ensure a great final project in general. I've been working on the typography and layout this week and it's going to be super sweet. Thanks again to all of you who supported this project!

I also have an exciting announcement! I am putting together a workbook to accompany the alphabet books so that you can design your own elephabetiphants! This was inspired by my recent visit to the Camas Ridge third grade class, where they used my simple elephant template and their imaginations to produce some fun results. In case you missed it, you can see their drawings by clicking here. The plan is to have this and the paperback edition of Elephabet available on Amazon.com, hopefully by the end of November! Here's a sample page of how it will look:

I'll send out the link when it's officially available in case you're interested in grabbing one before the holidays. (Anticipated retail price is $10.) Please note: I am using Amazon.com's on demand printing service Createspace for this book, so orders need to go through them unless you come to one of my two Portland holiday sales this December! Make sure you're on my email list if you don't want to miss out on anything.

Okay, it's back to work for me. I'll check in again in a few weeks when I (hopefully) have my first printed edition of Elephabet in my hot little hands!!

Elephabet (by the Camas Ridge School Third Grade Class!)

2011-10-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful People! Today I had the pleasure of visiting my niece Alex's classroom. They have been following the progress of Elephabet, and invited me to come talk about what it's like to be an artist and how to write a book. When I walked in the door, I could see that they had been doing their homework!

Using the overhead projector, I could show them my sketchbook and talk about the development of several of the letters.

Then I brought out the box with a few of the original pieces. It was a look-but-don't-touch moment, if you know what I mean. I am happy to report that this was a very well-behaved classroom and no pieces were harmed in the presentation.

After answering many questions such as "what do you make them from," "why does the igloophant have big ears," and "how did you make that sombrero on the nacho cheesiphant," we launched into a creative exploration of what other possibilities might be out there. Here's a little video I made that shows the results:

This experience inspired me to see if any of you want to play along. I have created a Flickr Group where people can download a template of the elephant I made, and then add your creations to the online album. I started out with the 32 drawings from the Camas Ridge School, and can't wait to see what YOU add to the mix! Click here to find out more about the Elephabet Flickr Group!!!

I'll leave you with the smiling face of teacher Eric. Two of his students made Ericabets, so you know he must be a great teacher!

C is for Cuckoophant!

2011-09-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! I have finally completed all of the elephants for Elephabet!

Cuckoophant proved to be a challenge, as its namesake cuckoo clock, this tradition is rich with detail! Part of the holdup was that I wanted to get some decorative trim to add to the forms, as well as the cedar shingles for the roof. I'm pretty happy with the results:

This piece is modeled after the more colorful Swiss chalet style cuckoo clocks.

And this is an homage to the original Black Forest style, which are so much more ornate and my favorites of all.

(If you click on either of these images, you can see a larger version of them.)

Don't forget, if you missed out on pre-ordering your copy through Kickstarter, I'm still taking orders on my website. Click here for more information.

So, what's next, you ask? Well, now I can officially launch into the planning of the book. I'll check in next week to fill you in on those details, as well as a visit to my niece Alex's 2nd grade classroom, who have been following the project. See you later, elephagator!

Elephabet from A to Z

2011-09-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! I have finished all 26 of the letter-bearing elephants who will be an important part of the video for Elephabet! Here's a little video I made to serve as a book promo:

I am still taking pre-orders for Elephabet if you (or your loved ones) missed out on the Kickstarter campaign - click here! (note: this is for the book/video only--original artwork created for this project will be listed on my Etsy site when the book officially releases. Sign up for my email list if you'd like to be among the first to be notified when this will happen!)

If you've been following the progress of this project, you might spy one of the pieces from the soon-to-be-finished Cuckoophant series! I am still working out some of the final details, but will be able to show you the two bigger C pieces this week.

wrap me in rainbows

2011-09-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

My rainbow unicorn was featured as a birthday cake topper for a super fun looking birthday party. Woo hoo! Click here to see the full blog posting on the Allanah Rose blog!

feeling a little bit like this today....

2011-09-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

via Florentijn Hofman

success and wobbles

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful People!

Yesterday I celebrated the success of my Kickstarter campaign at a friend's birthday party, where the theme was Jell-o™. I love a good creative challenge, as you've probably already figured out, so I put my thinking cap on and came up with Jell-o™ Sushi as my contribution.

I didn't take photos of the process, but it's very easy to make. Here's how I did it, using images of the real sushi and other things that inspired this art project:

I found this recipe for white Jell-o™, part of a red white and blue "salad." (Okay, full disclosure here, I actually used Knox™ Gelatine, not Jell-o™ for this, but I got caught up in the common nomenclature and party theme. Rah rah for Knox™ for holding true on producing clear gelatine all these years!!!! Henceforth, I will use the true brand-name to protect the integrity of this tasty delicacy from animal byproducts!!)

I used a glass baking dish that would allow me to pour the white Jell-o™ (Knox™) concoction in a thickness of one inch. It took about three hours for this to set, a little longer than your traditional Knox™ or Jell-o™ because, I believe, it contains cream cheese and half-and-half to make it white.

I cut the gelled white Knox™ into small rectangles, about the size of sushi rice. Using a little spatula, I moved a piece onto a cutting board. For the nori, I decided to use fruit leather made from purple grapes, because it was the only thing I could think of that looked like nori. I found the perfect product for this--Fruitabü grape rolls. If you can't buy this locally, just cut a strip about one inch wide and 6 inches long, or enough to wrap around the belly of the white Knox™/"sushi rice" twice for nigiri-style sushi. I say 'twice' because there needs to be room for......

Figuring out what to put on top was another challenge. I used multi-colored Swedish Fish for the pieces around the perimeter of my arrangement to playfully honor the various types of fish found on tradition nigiri-style sushi. I wanted at least two different sushi styles to emulate for presentation's sake, so I looked to my favorite iconic salmon roe ikura for inspiration. I found this jell-roe I spied online, (I betcha anything they used Knox™!) but didn't have the time to engineer the mold to make those tiny round things work! Luckily,

I found some perfectly round cinnamon candies, similar to Red-Hots and filled the top to make three gunkan-maki styled pieces for the center of the platter. I cut the corners off of my previously used rectangles and formed the fruit leather nori around it to make it more oval.

Move the finished sushi to your serving platter with the spatula to keep it formed as best you can. Mine doesn't look perfect, and, honestly, I wish it were a little thicker, but it made me happy, made the birthday girl happy, and it was mostly consumed before the 95+ degree heat took its toll.

Oh sun, you cruel mistress. Don't you know I'm an 80 degree gal?

If you have an Asian grocery where you live, you should be able to find sushi grass for sale to garnish. If anyone tries this themselves and adds some new ideas, please send photos!!

Two more letters before pre-sales end!

2011-09-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person!

It's time to reveal letters H and W from the Elephabet Book, the last of the original work I will be able to show before the end of my Kickstarter campaign. More on that at the end of this posting, but for now, let's get down to it....

Those of you who watched the behind-the-scenes video I posted a few days ago saw the very early stages of the Hulaphants, who will be representing the letter H.

We begin with the actual Hulaphant. She will be $100.

Ukelelephant will be $100 as well

Beachiphant is also $100.

And, of course, pineapplephant, who will be $75.

Letter W is Wanderlustiphant, and was inspired by two pieces I showed you earlier that I thought would be part of the Dwellephant series. Wanderlust is a word of German origin that refers to a love of adventure and travel.

I decided to make a larger version of my VW bus so now it's like mama and baby. The large piece will be $100 and the smaller one will be $75.

I also made a mama Airstreamaphant. The large piece will be $150 and the smaller one is now $100.

Last, but not least, I wanted to pay tribute to the classic family road trip cars from the mid- to late-20th century cars with wood-paneled siding. The kids and pets piled in so luggage was on top. This piece will be $75.

So...now I want to tell you just a little bit about what I'll be revealing in the next few weeks because there's only 24 hours left to adjust your Kickstarter pledge! The one letter of the alphabet I have to complete is C, and those elephants will be inspired by cuckoo clocks. I expect they will be in the $100 to $150 range.

I also need to go back and fill in the rest of the elephants with letters on their backs that will help the animation move along.

These pieces will make up the majority of the $45 elephants, a pledge level that has sold out. Every letter will match its theme, of course.

Okay...that's it! Thank you again so very very much to everyone who has pre-ordered their copy of the book or original elephants. Your affirmation of this project means so much to me and I am so thankful to have the funds to be able to produce a higher quality product with your help! I'll check in next week when I have more to show you. For those of you still waiting to grab your book or original elephant, you have less than 24 hours to get in on the fun! Have a great weekend!!

Let the intergalactiphants roulez!

2011-09-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

As we wind down the last (gulp!) 48 hours of my Kickstarter pre-sales of Elephabet, I have two more elephants to reveal this morning.

First, we have our Intergalactiphants, representing the letter I. (Special thanks to Jennifer at Green Bean Books for supplying the nifty space helmets from her vending machines!)

Rockephant will be $150

Lunaphant will be $100

Galaxiphant will be $100

and little martiaphant shall be $45.

The last letter of the alphabet had some great choices, and I opted for Zydephant, honoring the music and, of course, culinary traditions of the Zydeco capital of the world, New Orleans.

Accordiophant is shaped like an accordion and will be $150.

Zydephant has washboard ears and a fiddle on the gator's back. He will be $100.

And last, but not least....

This rather large foodiephant will be $150 - includes crawfish, pepper, corn on the cob, and a play on the Tabasco logo on the ear. I am still not sure what to call him, so if you have any suggestions.....

Tomorrow I shall reveal the last two elephants I will be able to finish before the Kickstarter campaign ends. That will only leave one last letter you won't get to see, but I expect to reveal that next week. Don't forget--if you've pledged at a level to receive one of these pieces from the book/video project, you get first dibs, next in line are the rest of the Kickstarter supporters, and if you missed the boat on this, what's remaining will be available to the general public in early December. Thanks everyone for your amazing support of this project! It is exceeding my original expectations and I am re-investing the surplus in a better quality book. Until then, laisser les bons temps rouler!

take a peek behind the scenes of Elephabet!

2011-09-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

In the Studio with: Hilary Pfeifer from kiri on Vimeo.

I was interviewed for Hargie, a friend's blog that's what she calls "a self-directed MFA experiment." Take a peek inside my studio and see some of the critters that are in process for Elephabet!

p.s. pre-orders via Kickstarter ends Sunday!!!

gimme an E! gimme a V!

2011-09-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person!

I have two more letters ready from the Elephabet as we tick away the hours on my Kickstarter campaign!

For the letter V, I had a few tempting options, but ultimately chose to have fun with Vice-Versaphants. Like their etymological origin, these elephants are happy to be going in more than one direction.

these pieces will be $65 each.

And now to finally reveal my very difficult E decision: Elementephant, named for the elements. I had a little fun with this one, as usual.....with a Chinese twist, following their five element philosophy:

we begin with Earthiphant - she will be $75.

Airiphant, who will be $45

Wateriphant will be $45

BBQiphant will be $100 (In China, this element is wood, rather than the western fire, so imagine this bird cooking with mesquite chips!)

Robotophant represents the fifth element of metal. This figure will be $100.

Okay--gotta get back to it! One last thing before I go, I have recently updated the frequently asked questions on my Kickstarter page that has updates about overseas Elephabet backers, how the original work will be distributed, and more. Look for it at the bottom of the page!

We hit 300% last night and I'm going in for my first photo shoot tomorrow! Thank you all!!!!
I am doing my royal best to finish up the last five letters of the alphabet this week so buckle your seatbelts!

a little O and P for your holiday weekend

2011-09-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person!

With a little over one week left on my Kickstarter Elephabet campaign, I am coming down the homestretch, trying to show you as much of the book as possible while pre-sales perks and dibs on the original pieces from the book are still up for grabs!

Today I will introduce you to a few friends from the middle of the alphabet. We will begin with O, which is for Operaphant. I picked a few of the biggest divas in town to interpret pachidermally.

Here's Nessun Dormaphant. She's named for the beautiful aria from Turandot, even though she is styled after the title character. This figure will be $150.

Next up is Madame Butterphant. (ha ha ha--someday I will have to do a yellow version of this for my dad who is a big opera AND butter lover!) In case you don't know the reference, click here. She will be a $100 piece.

Of course I couldn't miss Brünnhildephant, named for Wagner's zäftig heroine of the Ring Cycle. Click here to see one of the greats, Jessye Norman, perform the final aria.

Moving along to P, those of you who have been paying attention might be thinking,"wait a minute...I thought we already made P the P-Funkiphant!" Well, there was a change of plans this week when my other B didn't seem worthy, so last week's P-Funkiphants are now back to their previously scheduled B for Boomshakalakaphant. It has been very challenging to wrap up the last half of this book, looking at the entire publication as a whole has great bearing on the themes I choose for each letter.

I have always been a huge fan of the humble handwritten letter, and still think it's pretty amazing how little we pay in the United States for door-to-door service of our correspondence. In tribute, I offer these three Postalphants:

A simple mailbox, the way I remember them when I was a kid. This one is $100.

This one is modeled after an air mail letter. It will be priced at $100, and the one who purchases it can request a custom recipient's name and address on the front (after the book/animation are done!)

Another variation on the air mail envelope, this one will be $150 and also customizable to the buyer, if you don't mind it being written on or below the wing!

Those of you in the U.S., have a great holiday weekend! And for the rest of you worldwide, cheers!! Thanks for being part of this great journey!

Hilary (aka Bunny with a Toolbelt)

L is for Luchidoriphant and U is for Utiliphant

2011-08-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person!

It's time to introduce two new letters from the Elephabet, fresh off the workbench!

I decided to work with the colorful and über dramatic Mexican wrestlers, known to their über fans as luchadors. I made four Luchadoriphants for my letter L, inspired by four real-life luchadors!

First, we have Huracán Ramírez, a fictitious character invented for the 1952 Mexican Lucha film of the same name. In the film a young Mexican, whose father is a professional wrestler, decides to follow in his father's footsteps by adopting the secret identity of Huracán Ramírez, a masked luchador, and he fights in the ring in spite of his father's wishes to the contrary. This figure will be $100.

Next we have El Solar and Blue Demon. Both of these are homages to real live wrestlers. Solar will be a $150 piece, and Blue Demon is $65.

And finally, we have Rayo Tapatio - at $100.

Moving along, I decided that U should be Utiliphant, in the spirit of Bunny with a Toolbelt, my business name.

He's sporting a full toolbelt and will be priced at $150.

I have two more smaller offerings. These will probably be priced in the $45-65 range.

There's a dozen days left to pre-order your Elephabet book and reserve your spot to own one of these actual pieces! Click here to learn more about Elephabet and be one of the pachyderm contingency that is Bunny with a Toolbelt!

Make my P the P-Funkiphant

2011-08-24T00:42:00.001-07:00

Hello again, beautiful people! I'm here with a few more Elephabet characters for your virtual delight!

First we have the letter P, which started out as F and had a brief consideration as B. This is because I felt certain that Elephabet needed some reference to the hardest working band in show business, Parliament Funkadelic. F (funkaphant) lost out to Fromagiphant pretty soon, and I was thiiiiiis close to making it B for Boomshakalakaphant, which was so much fun to say but another B won my heart. (Stay tuned for that in the next week!) See if you can spot the tongue-pleasing inspiration of Boomshakalakaphant in this ditty.) But it was the original stylings of P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins that brought me down to earth. I designed two elephants based on outfits from his fashion repertoire:

both of these pieces will be priced around $100.

And I couldn't resist making a third P-Funkiphant that's a tribute to the freewheeling 70's:

this rather large one, which I will probably call Boomshakalakaphant, will be $150.

I have a second letter to show you as well - R - which is for Radiophant. Radio (mostly public) has always been a huge part of my life, so I had to pay tribute in some manner. I made three versions of Radiophants for the book:

an early model, which will be priced at $150

I wanted to pay tribute to the mid-20th century bakelite models, which was a bit of a challenge, but I like the way this one turned out. I added a little "listen" slogan down at the bottom of the tuning dial rather than a brand name. This one will probably be around $100.

And, last but not least, a full-on boom box elephant. This one will be around $150 as well.

I have a little under three weeks to complete the final 11 letters for the book! Well, that's my goal, at least, to have them all under my belt by the end of the Kickstarter campaign on September 11th. Have you signed on yet?

Y is for......

2011-08-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hello again Elephabet fans! I'm excited to finally bring you my letter Y. Are you ready for it? Y is for Yippie-ki-Yayiphant. It's what the cowboys say, dontchaknow?

I made two of these little dogies:

blue bandana with spur and ten gallon hat $150

and a red bandana with a cowboy hat also $150.

I have a second letter completed today - J - which is for Jeansiphant. If you know me, you know that I rarely am seen in public without my blue jeans, so I couldn't resist this one. Note that it's not Blue Jeansiphant, using the B, because I have a much better entry for my B, which I'm finishing up this week. Stay tuned!

(The eyes are rivets, just in case you can't see it here!) The smaller one will be $55 and the larger one will be $75.

There's about 25 days, more or less, in my Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book! Still plenty of time to tell all your friends about it. Although I reached my initial goal in record time, I later realized that there were so many more hardback books ordered than I initially anticipated, so I am now trying to double my initial Kickstarter goal in order to get a larger quantity of these books at a better price. This will insure that I can keep the retail price the same later, but you only get free shipping, the set of buttons, early notice of the original artwork going on sale, AND my eternal gratitude if you pre-order now! Thanks, friends, for helping me spread the gospel that is Elephabet.

(Oh, and one last thing before I go. I also decided that for all Portland residents, I will personally deliver your Kickstarter pledges wearing my bunny suit. Yippie-ki-YAY!)

This update brought to you by the letters B and X (and maybe I)

2011-08-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hello again, beautiful person! In spite of the recent shocking headlines, I am nonetheless here to introduce two new letters to the Elephabet.

First, we have letter D, which was almost H. Let me explain. I'm assuming that most of you dear readers have seen my Kickstarter video explaining the pieces I had made thus far for the Elephabet book. WELL...at that time I had a number of elephants that surrounded the idea of housing and was thusly dubbing them "Habitatiphants." I have recently decided that the most appropriate name should really be "Dwellephants." Much better, huh? Here's the batch of Dwellephants you saw in the video, with estimated prices:

habitatiphant $150

Hi-Risiphant $150

Tipiphant $75

I haven't included this one here, mainly because I'm contemplating giving Iglooiphant its own letter I. Igloo is such a great word......stay tuned for details.

This piece will also be $150.

I also made this LogCabiphant for the D category:

This piece will also be $150.

Last, but not least, I have these two pieces that were part of the initial Dwellephant concept. But, like Iglooiphant, I am not sure they belong in this category. It started with Airstreamaphant

This piece will probably also be $150.

I made this VWBusiphant to tow the Airstreamaphant through the video, but the trunks prove to be a bit of a logistical problem when put together. It just doesn't look right. I still like him though!!

This piece will probably be around $75. I'll decide when I'm in the graphics stage of this process whether they make it into the book, but they'll definitely be available for sale when the rest of this work goes on my Etsy site in November.

Moving on, I decided to go with the classic alphabet book word for X, X-Ray. And that makes X-Rayiphant. I couldn't resist painting the skeletal graphic design I thought of, plus a view into the recently consumed foods by these pachyderms:

This one has eaten a pear, orange, and apple, as evidenced in its stomach cavity.

This one ate a big circus peanut, and is the same on both sides.

Okay...that's it for now. I am finishing up Y right now and will reveal it in a day or two. In the meantime, let's see if you can guess what it will be!

Meet the Foodiephants!

2011-08-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person! I'm thrilled to announce that I met my Kickstarter goal the other day! Thank you to everyone who has pre-purchased their copies or got their foot in the door to own one of the original pieces from the book/animation! If you haven't pledged yet, there's still time to get yours at a slightly reduced price through Kickstarter.

Today, I'm going to present four new letters from the Elephabet book-- and all are food or beverage related words.

We begin with F, which is for Fromagiphant. This comes from fromage, the French word for cheese. I could have gone on and on and on in this category, but limited it to three for now. (Note: the numbers in parentheses after their names is the price I expect to list them at later in the year when they become available.)

Francophant, carrying a nice slice of brie on his back. ($75)

Nacho Cheesiphant ($75)

and Ham& Swissiphant. ($75)

Next up are the two I made for the letter G. These Guacamolephants are inspired by tasty guacamole themes.

This one has the three main ingredients for making guacamole ($75)

And this one has a stone molcajete on its back, ready for action. ($75)

Thirsty? Meet the Quaffiphants! The term quaff means to drink, so I thought I'd honor my favorite beverages.....

We start with Earl Grayiphant ($45)

Moving on to Coffephant ($75) (my little tribute to New York!)

And HotChocliphant ($45)

SixPackiphant $75

Martiniphant, Margaritaphant and Microbrewiphant are all $45 each.

And we have a winner!!!

2011-08-05T13:08:00.001-07:00

It's time to announce the winner of the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! (insert regal trumpeting sound)

We had a lot of great entries to choose from, and the judges determined that this year's winner is Brad, who penned a pretty funny story about the bride and groom gators, but, most importantly, he also followed the rules of limerick metering to a T. Congratulations Brad! You get $100 gift certificate to the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy shop!

Here's that limerick again in case you missed it:

Their nuptials were a delight
The reception lasted all night
But as the sun rose
The newlyweds chose
To eat all their guests in one bite

Thanks to everyone who entered! Watch for more contests in the future at your favorite wood animal headquarters, Bunny with a Toolbelt!

A is for Acrobatiphant!

2011-08-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

Yippeee! I have another letter to show you from the Elephabet Book, which is inching closer and closer towards realizing its Kickstarter goal! I proclaim that A is for Acrobatiphant, combining the word acrobat with elephant, thinking it would be a good thing to start with a simpler portmanteau to get the ball rolling when one is reading the eventual book from A to Z. Not to mention the fact that I love stacking animals and things on top of animals and things, both in real life and in Bunnywood, where all the Bunny with a Toolbelt creatures live. (Note: it is much easier to do this in Bunnywood!)

Here are my three attempts at Acrobatiphant:
This apple-licious one is the largest, and will probably be priced around $150

This one is only slightly smaller in stature, but more complex, so it will also be around $150.

This one's actually the smallest of the bunch, and will probably be priced around $85.

Before I go, I want to give a big Bunny with a Toolbelt shout out to my niece Alma who affixed over 50 stamps to my Elephabet Kickstarter promo postcards yesterday! I told her about ye olden days when you had to either lick all the stamps, or set up a damp sponge on a plate. The responded as any seven-year-old in their right mind should: Ewwwwwww!

Thanks everyone for your support! I feel so happy that I'm finally realizing this project and, thanks to Kickstarter, it's really fun to be able to do it with a community of well-wishers. I wish you all the best as well!

Not a supporter yet? Click here and join in on the fun!

T is for Topiariphant

2011-08-02T02:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person! It's time for more stars from the Elephabet Book! Today we will meet the letter T. I couldn't resist making a "Topiariphant" to honor my lifelong passion for topiary. I haven't ever actually tried my hand at this beyond making my little sculptures, but I did make a pilgrimage a few years ago to the fantastically creative gardens at Zarcero, and I long to witness Pearl Fryar's work the next time I'm in the southern part of these United States after seeing this movie. For now, I will just live vicariously through these four figures.

These pieces are varying sizes, so will range from $45 to $125. If you have your eye on one of these babies, the best way to grab it when it first goes on the market is to support my Kickstarter campaign! Click here for details!

meet Mondrianiphant and Neopoliphant

2011-07-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

Let's explore the middle of the alphabet today--our representatives for letter M and N from the Elephabet Book are ready to meet you!

First we have Mondrianiphant, named for Dutch De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian. I made two examples for this letter and these diptychs show how the painter's distinctive style extends around this 3-d object. These figures will be priced around $75 apiece when the book is completed.

The letter N is represented by Neapolitaphant, named for Neapolitan, one of the tastiest ice cream flavors that combines strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. I added a cherry on top and a ice cream cone hat. I made two of these figures, changing around the distribution of flavors. Still deciding on the pricing for these--probably around $100.

Want to be alerted when these babies go on sale in November? Sign up for my Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of my Elephabet Book! Click here to learn more!

elephabet!

2011-07-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

I've crossed the halfway mark for my Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book, but still have a ways to go to reach my goal and publish this fall! Click here to make your pledge today! Anyone who pledges $5 or more gets a set of cute elephabet buttons!
Feeling cash-poor, but want to make sure this project happens so you can purchase later? You can still help me realize Elephabet by helping me get the word out there. Use Facebook or Twitter to share within your online communities, or if you know a luddite or two who might love this idea, message me and I can mail them a physical postcard. I really appreciate your help in making this dream a reality!

Here's the link to pledge or share: http://bitly.com/elephabet
Thank you, beautiful person!!

Limerick Contest Entry #13!!

2011-07-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

I now present the thirteenth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! It's another one by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. Here's an 80's tribute to the tradition, a limerick about my boom box monster!

He proposed with a diamond ring,
She said “No” and made his heart sting.
So he thought and planned
Then took his last stand
In homage to "Say Anything."

There's still a few days to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

ionlylikemonsters

2011-07-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Do you have one of these? I recently bonded with a fellow blogger over a finger puppet--I acquired one of these somewhere along my travels, and apparently on another part of the planet, it was the inspiration for a great blog called ionlylikemonsters. I was asked if I could make a Bunny with a Toolbelt version of this hilarious little puppet, so I was happy to imagine what the rest of his body would look like, rainbow socks and all.

S is for Sushiphant!

2011-07-24T15:13:00.001-07:00

Hey Kids! Do you know what time it is? It's time to meet the newest members of the Elephabet Book, Sushiphant!

It was hard to stop making work for this letter. First of all, I LOVE sushi, and second of all, I LOOOOOVE sushi, and third of all, I LOOOOOOOVE making sushi-inspired elephants! I didn't necessarily pick my favorite types of sushi here, opting for the more iconic ingredients. Above is wasabiphant, who is little, but we all know that a little goes a long way with this guy inspired by wasabi. He is very tiny, so the price might even be less than $45.

Here's Tobikophant, who is sporting three different colors of this yummy crunchy roe. The pattern painted on his lower regions is a funky tribute to painted Japanese porcelain dishware. Tobikophant will probably cost around $100.

Moving over to nigiri-style sushi for a bit, I really had fun with the design of these next three: Sakephant (salmon,) Ebiphant (shrimp,) and Tamagophant (egg.) Note the subtle rice pattern on their white bodies. These were considerably more labor, so will cost between $100 and $150.

And, last but not least, I present Futomakiphant. He will be priced around $75.

Want first dibs on these babies when they hit my Etsy shop this fall? Click here and join my Kickstarter campaign to publish my Elephabet Book, and your wish can come true in a few months!!

feeling fruity?

2011-07-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished up this work for the shop at Oregon College of Art and Craft! Look for it early next week!

Limerick Contest Entries #10, 11 and 12!!

2011-07-21T16:33:00.001-07:00

This morning I received three lovely limericks, all about my lemony luverly wedding cake toppers. I have a number of beautiful shots of this piece taken earlier this year by Jill Heupel, so I thought I'd devote this entire blog posting to the theme. Take it away, Margaret!

There once were two birds on a lemon
Both to each other betrothen
They chatted all day
about what, I can't say
Those lovely love birds on the lemon.

Two birds did sit on some fruit
Each thought the other a hoot
They planned and they plotted
And the tie was then knotted
Those dearly wed birds on the fruit.

A lemon did hold two small birds
And set quite a scene for some words.
They chatted and chippered
and peep-cheeped and pippered
on just how to make lemon that curds.

How about you? Got a limerick in you? There's still about a week to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Limerick Contest Entry #9!!

2011-07-20T18:24:00.001-07:00

This just in! It's the ninth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is another sent in by father-daughter team Chris and Iris, who were inspired by my lovebirds pineapple wedding cake topper! Take it away, kids!

Two birds sinking in a pineapple fetter.
Getting worse as it was only getting wetter.
"Are we on a table?"
"No, we're stuck to a pineapple!"
Paradise is exactly where you are only much much better.

There's still a few days to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

K is for.....Kachinaphant!

2011-07-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! Less than a week into the Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book, and I'm thrilled to be at 40% of the way towards my initial publishing goal!!

Today I'll start to introduce some of the characters I've already made that starred in my Kickstarter video. First, I brainstormed about possible K words to use. I want the book to be educational, fun, reflect my love of words, and I really enjoyed the explorations I did on each letter. Here's the top contenders I wrote in my notebook, just for fun.
As you can see, Kachinaphant was the one I decided would be best for the letter K.

I decided that I will make at least two elephants for every letter of the alphabet. This is, in part, because the stop action video will be more fun if there's a few examples for each word. It's also because I each letter takes some research and/or imagination and it's hard to limit it to just one. Even if every one doesn't make it into the book or the animation, it will be available for sale on my Etsy site later on.

The portmanteau Kachinaphant was coined for the amazing dolls created by Native American artisans--Kachina dolls. I found a fantastic book at my local Library that focuses on dolls in the Hopi tradition and found several sources of inspiration. Reading about the traditional figures within this genre directed me towards a few of my favorite characters.

The Hano Clown.

This is a character who has been reinterpreted in many different ways, but always wearing black and white stripes, and frequently is seen eating watermelon. He is one of many clown, jester or trickster characters, and sometimes goes by the name Koshare or Koyaala.

I decided to call this guy Hanophant.

Another figure that appealed to me was the corn dancer.

And I also loved the deer.

This is the largest of all the figures I've done in this series--stands about 8 inches high. I expect this piece will be $150, and the others will be slightly less. These were definitely some of the more time consuming figures I've made so far, but also the most fun with all their history, colors, and accoutrement. It also gave me the idea to put an index in the back of my book that will explain the origin of all the words and hopefully inspire people to learn more about each one. I would have loved to keep making Kachinaphants, in fact, but it was time to move on--there's 25 more letters to do! I'll come back in a few days and tell you about the letter T, which is for Topiariphant!

Limerick Contest Entry #8!!

2011-07-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

News Flash! It's time for the eighth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! Remember the father-daughter team Iris and Chris, who kicked off the contest a few weeks ago? Well, here's another one for you--this is one was inspired by my spotted chicken. Bwak!

There once was a leaky blue PEN,
Up in a tree, being held by a HEN.
As she doodled some HERE,
and then doodled more THERE,
What resulted was a cyan CHICKEN.

There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Limerick Contest Entry #7!!

2011-07-14T19:05:00.001-07:00

I now present the seventh entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! It's another one by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. He wrote this humorous limerick about my happy elephant!

Their friendship was a funny thing
Blind to difference in tail or wing
Elephant and bird
Love was the word
Carrying them through everything

(Speaking of happy elephants, have you heard about my new project?)

There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

elephabet!

2011-07-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm excited to finally be able to officially announce the project that I've been working on in the background for at least the last six months--the very first Bunny with a Toolbelt book! This one's called Elephabet and will feature a differently-themed elephant for every letter of the alphabet. I will also make a stop action animation to accompany every copy of the book.

I'm pre-selling copies of Elephabet on Kickstarter, and expect to ship them in November. Of course, all of the original elephants will also be for sale in the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy shop at that time.

Click here to support the Kickstarter campaign. Thanks!

Limerick Contest Entry #6!!

2011-07-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

This just in! It's the sixth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is by Brad, whose wife runs a cute little Etsy shop called 3 Bears Studio. He wrote this humorous limerick about my smiling gator wedding cake toppers! Dig it!

Their nuptials were a delight
The reception lasted all night
But as the sun rose
The newlyweds chose
To eat all their guests in one bite

There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Limerick Contest Entry #5!!

2011-07-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Here's the fifth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is by Lisa, who is about to marry her favorite squirrel in true Bunny with a Toolbelt fashion. Woo hoo!

Now that we're tying the nut,
Smooth sailing? Ha! Anything but!
Pre-teens, we have 2,
Not to mention a zoo,
Slim chance of being stuck in a rut

There's still a few weeks to get your limerick in and win the $100 gift certificate to my Etsy shop! Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Limerick Contest Entry #4!!

2011-06-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's time for the fourth entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is by Christy, who was inspired by recent historic events, as well as my rainbow unicorn grooms and brides!

New York's Unicorns are delighted
To announce that they'll be united
In a grand ceremony
LEGAL gay matrimony
And Governor Cuomo's invited!

Click here!Where's your limerick, hmmm? Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

In A Town Like Twin Peaks.... by TheSpangledMaker on Etsy

2011-06-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

I just watched Twin Peaks for the first time! (Thanks, Netflix for streaming it!) And, lo, and behold, a treasury has honored this classic TV show. Click here to see In A Town Like Twin Peaks on Etsy

Limerick Contest Entry #3!!

2011-06-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Whoopee! It's time for the third entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! Here's yet another written by father-daughter team Chris and Iris, who are simply craaaaazy for limericks! This piece was written for the dreamy rainbow doxie. (photographed by Jill Heupel!)

Beautiful blue coat, covered with a cumulous CROWD,
Rainbow stretched wide, he’d make anyone PROUD.
Although, I know one day he’ll DIE
And tears will certainly be in mine EYE
At least ,he’ll then be a dog on a CLOUD

Where's your limerick, hmmm? Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

12 Handmade Wedding Finds for Love Birds | Emmaline Bride

2011-06-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Emmaline Bride has a nice posting today about lovebird-themed weddings and my lovebirds cake topper display made the cut! Woo hoo!

Limerick Contest Entry #2!!

2011-06-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for the second entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! Here's another written by father-daughter team Chris and Iris, who have found their muse in this literary form. This piece was written for the geekalicious penguin with an iPod.

There once was a penguin named ROD
Who just loved to always eat COD.
While out one day FISHING
He couldn’t help WISHING
“If only I could store these on my IPOD “

Where's your limerick, hmmm? Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

Love, Happiness, and Equal Marriage for All!

2011-06-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

Proud to have my unicorns featured in this treasury celebrating New York's historic decision!

an Eco-Beautiful Wedding!

2011-06-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! One of my awesome customers just sent me the news that her giraffe cake toppers made it into the summer issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings! Their spread starts on page 79 and if you can't find a print version, you can peek at the online version by clicking here!

Limerick Contest Entry #1!!

2011-06-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! We have our first entry in the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Limerick Contest! This one is submitted by father-daughter team Chris and Iris, who have definitely caught the limerick bug! Today's posting is their first attempt, which was written about a chicken very much like my precious little birthday clucker you see here.

There once was a leaky blue pen,
Up in a tree, being held by a hen.
As she doodled some here,
and then doodled more there,
What resulted was a cyan chicken.

They have submitted a few more, which I'll post over the next few days. Where's your limerick, hmmm? Need a reminder of the rules? Click here!

this is how it works for bunnies

2011-06-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

(thanks Sanjeev!)

Calling all Limerick Writers!!!

2011-06-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Bunny with a Toolbelt Fans!!! I'm kicking off Summer 2011 with a brand contest, open to anyone and everyone with a love of words, cleverness, or just a deep desire to cash in on the amazing grand prize.

Okay, so here's how it goes: I will give a $100 gift certificate to my Etsy store to the person who writes the best limerick about one of my Bunny with a Toolbelt items from my Etsy store, Bunny with a Toolbelt blog, Picasa Album, or website. All entries will be posted on the Bunny with a Toolbelt blog along with an image of the item the limerick is about.

Each entry will give credit to the limerick writer, as well as a website link of their choosing, so even if you don't win the $100 shopping spree, you still win the eternal fame of free publicity. Contest ends at midnight PST on August 1, 2011 so get your thinking caps on and send your entries to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and favorite web link! (It doesn't matter if you don't have a website of your own--feel free to mention a friend or other entity.)

You can enter as many times as you want, but there will only be one winner and I will judge it based on three criterion: originality, humor, and technical wordsmithing. (aka in needs to be written in the style of a true limerick, not just a rhyming poem.) If you need to brush up on your limerick skills, click here.

Good luck! And whether you compete or not, check back here or the Bunny with a Toolbelt twitters for entries as they come in!

new delivery service

2011-06-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Need an order fast? Bunny with a Toolbelt has a new courier team ready to bring your goodies to your doorstep lickety split!

I only like Monsters

2011-06-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

My daredevil kitty was featured in the Grey Catmonster Celebration on the funtastic blog I only like Monsters!

2011-06-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a pair of custom goat cake toppers I made this spring--with markings to match their actual goats, of course!

scrabble lovers unite!

2011-06-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice custom set I made earlier this year for a pair of Scrabble lovers! The forms of the bride and groom are to match the handmade sock dolls the bride was making as mementos for the guests. I think these would be so adorable on top of a cake--need to wrap my brain around a regular design for my Etsy lineup!

but wait, there's more!

2011-05-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here's yet another chance to win a free piece from your favorite handmade cake topper maker. Wow--can you handle it? This time Wedding Bee and I are teaming up for a spectacular giveaway where two lucky people each get a $100 gift certificate towards any existing or custom piece! All you have to do is comment on their blog what your favorite Bunny with a Toolbelt cake topper is. And for a second chance to win, follow Weddingbee on Twitter and retweet this contest. Click here to enter! You have until Friday, June 3rd at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Good luck!

another giveaway!

2011-05-25T15:09:00.001-07:00

Here's another chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Bunny with a Toolbelt's Etsy shop! You can use it towards the purchase of something already in the shop, or a custom item. All you have to do is sign up for the newsletter at the Broke-Ass Bride, a really great wedding blog that helps couples have the best wedding on a budget. Click here to see all the details about this giveaway!

rainbow city

2011-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

I would give my left bunny ear for a chance to see this show!!

got SNAG?

2011-05-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you, especially those affiliated with the Society of North American Goldsmiths, better known by its acronym SNAG.

This week is their annual conference, held in Seattle this time around. I will be representing in two different arenas during Saturday's programming. In the morning, I'll be part of the Professional Development Seminar, a panel discussion about promoting yourself as an artist. The focus will primarily be on the work I do as Bunny with a Toolbelt.
Even if you're not registered for the conference, this is one event that anyone can attend. Click on the image below to find out more details about the Professional Development Seminar.

If you are attending the conference, I hope you got tickets to Exhibition in Motion at the Bellevue Arts Museum. This year's theme is Objects Performed where dancers will wear and perform with the featured artworks. My piece epiphytes|epaulet is part of the body of work I do under my own name Hilary Pfeifer, and will be part of this performance. In a nutshell, Objects Performed is a performance that provides a stage for craft artists and dancer/performers to explore how objects are made to function, and the imagination and improvisation activated in one’s pursuit to use. Curated by Stefano Catalani, Venetia Dale, and Tia Kramer in collaboration with choreographer Amelia Reeber. This is a one-time-only event and sold out but you can see what pieces will be included by clicking here.

and we have a winner! and another!

2011-05-19T08:14:00.001-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person!

I'm excited to share with you the two winners of the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt "How'd ya get Hitched?" contest!!!

The couple with the most votes was Rhian and James, who kicked the contest off with their story. Click here if you missed it! They were neck and neck with another couple, but pulled ahead by a nose at the end with 53 votes. Congratulations Rhian and James!!

The jury convened and decided that James and Jimmy's story was so sweet and, as Reverend Steve said, "Dude went the extra mile."Gator Bride also commented, saying "I love a good scavenger hunt. And the prize being your fiance waiting at the end surrounded by candles, ready to propose? So romantic. Just thinking about it makes my heart flutter. This is by far one of the most unique proposals I've read in awhile! I love the thoughtfulness the Groom put into the proposal." Click here to relive the magic!

If you didn't win, or forgot to enter, there's a second chance happening right now, and you don't even have to do much to get your name on the list! ReadyMade Magazine is giving away a gift certificate worth $50 to one lucky person who comments on the interview they wrote about me. In the comment, they're asking folks to describe the cake topper they'd like me to make, and the entries are really fun to read through so far. This contest ends tomorrow, so click here to go get your name in the hopper!

let them eat cake!

2011-05-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Hey Beautiful Person! I'm thrilled to be interviewed by ReadyMade Magazine for their Wedding Wednesdays feature on their fantastic blog. Click here to read it! And...did you miss the chance to enter the engagement story contest? Never fear--even if you're not currently engaged, you can leave a comment and maybe win a $50 gift certificate to my Etsy Shop!

In other news, I've now added greeting cards to my Etsy shop. Click here to peruse the offerings in the new greeting cards section!

time for voting!!

2011-05-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Okay folks....it's time to roll up your shirtsleeves and help us choose one of the two lucky winners of the How'd ya get Hitched contest! Here's how to play. Brush up on the stories from this year's seven contestants here:

1. Rhian and James

2. Courtney and Michael

3. Simon and Nicole

4. Jamie and Jimmie

5. Dan and Carly

6. Derrick and Lisa

7. Ashley and Jesse

To vote, just comment on the story you think deserves to win the grand prize: a custom cake topper set designed by me! (Please don't comment on this post--comment on the post you want to win because that's what gets counted.) I'll keep the polls open until Wednesday, May 18th at 11:59PM Pacific Standard Time. One vote per person, please.

Meanwhile, our panel of esteemed jurors, Kimberly Farris of Gator Bride, Rev. Steve Sharp from A Beautiful Ceremony NW, and Rebecca Amblin of Origin Flowers will determine a second winner. I'll announce both winners sometime on Thursday. Good luck everyone!

Engagement Story #7!

2011-05-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful People! Here it is...the last entry in the 2011 "How'd Ya Get Hitched?" contest! If you're still thinking about entering, you have until midnight tonight, Sunday, May 15th to send me your entry, so make it happen! This story comes to you courtesy of Ashley and Jesse, who identify with the giraffe wedding cake topper, so I showed some examples from the three designs I have in my Etsy shop!

---

Jesse and I had been living together for about 6 months, and talking about getting married, but he had me convinced that he wouldn't have time to think about such things until after baseball season. Jesse works every Giants homegame at the stadium so it's a lot of work. In mid-June, we were going to go up to his family's vacation house near Clear Lake for Father's Day. We'd both been working really hard, and hadn't seen much of each other, so I was kind of bummed that we wouldn't get a weekend alone. As we're driving up, I was so tired that I didn't even notice we'd gone the wrong way. It wasn't until we were driving around some little neighborhood that I finally realized something was amiss. I was commenting on how cute the houses were when Jesse pulled into one and said, okay, let's just stay here then! It was his Aunt's house on the Russian River that he'd secured for a weekend getaway for just us. I was so excited! The river was beautiful, and sweet Goldendoodle Rusty had the best time running along the grass and swimming. I still had no clue. In fact, I made Jesse assure me this wasn't an engagement set up because I wanted to enjoy the weekend and not be thinking, "why's he bending down there, is he going to propose?!?" the whole time. The next morning, groggy without my coffee, I was laser focused on making it, and didn't notice Jesse running around the house setting up a beautiful brunch by the river. He had bagels and lox (my fave!) juice, fruit, it was awesome. After a while, he started telling me how much he loved me, and giving me this speech which I thought "is this it! No, he said not yet..." I was still clueless, and when he paused in his speech, I went back to my bagel. When I turned around, there he was on bended knee and proposing! Thank goodness I'm totally gullible. It was so nice to be surprised! Tears spontaneously sprung to my eyes, ricocheting off my sunglasses, and I said yes. We had the rest of the weekend to ourselves, and to celebrate with our puppy, and drove up to see his father late the next day. Unbeknownst to me, Jesse had run around all day on Friday before we left to get the ring and all the brunch fixings. Sneaky guy, but it was for a good cause!

Engagement Story #6!

2011-05-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful People! It's the final countdown of our 2011 "How'd Ya Get Hitched?" contest! If you're still thinking about entering, you have until midnight PST Sunday, May 15th to send me your entry, so keep 'em coming. Here's the latest engagement story of Lisa and Derrick, illustrated by my mystical and magical rainbow unicorn bride and groom.

I have known my Fiance, Derrick, since the summer of 2003 when he started skydiving at the same drop zone I jump at. Since we both spend all our weekends out there, and it's more of a lifestyle than a hobby, we got to know each other pretty well over the years. We have been a couple for three years now, and although I knew the question was near, I didn't realize how much so when he surprised me the morning of December 31, 2010. We live in the upper apartment of a duplex, and I was bringing home some laundry I had just done. As I opened the door, I could see that our stairs were lined on each side all the way up with lit tea lights, and there were notes in the middle of each stair that summarized the story of his life, meeting and falling in love with me. The last five stairs had one word each: "Lisa...Will...You...Marry...Me?" And there he was sitting at the top holding the ring! Even though we first fell in love under "extreme" circumstances, this special, surprise, intimate moment he had created for me will be something I remember and cherish forever.

-----

Now we're up to six entries, with two winners--very good odds to win a free custom cake topper! If you're still waiting to enter, send your story in before it's too late! Click here for full details of this year's contest.

super sale!

2011-05-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

I just posted a bunch of my early cake topper designs in the Super Sale section of my Etsy shop! These babies start at just $35, so if you're on a budget but still want something handmade on top of your wedding cake, this is the place to go. Here are a few to whet your appetite. There's also a few holiday sets and other random things. Click here to see them all!

Engagement Story #5!

2011-05-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful People! We're coming down the homestretch of our 2011 "How'd Ya Get Hitched?" contest! I've been enjoying the stories so far--keep 'em coming. This contest ends on May 15th, just a few days away! And Now I present to you: The engagement story of Dan and Carly, illustrated by Mr. and Mrs. Roboto.

I (Carly) had been on a 2 week seminar on Environmental and Social Justice and Sustainability in Nicaragua. Dan and I had not been able to talk the whole time, since I was in parts of Nicaragua without reliable electricity.

On the day I got back to Missoula, MT, Dan asked me for the ring that I wear on my right ring finger, for some “cheap butterfly ring at a thrift store.” I told him, “Ok, but if you want it to be for my left hand, you have to go down a size.” 

A couple days after that, he told me that we were to spend all day together, going out to eat, and that I should dress up a little. So, I awaited his proposal ALL DAY! First he took me out to breakfast at my favorite pancake parlor, but he didn’t ask me then. After, we went to a cute lunch spot called Catalyst, but he didn’t ask me then either. By this time I was really stuffed! We went out to eat at the nicest restaurant in town for dinner, and I sat in suspense the whole time… I couldn’t eat partially because I was so anxious, but mostly because I had already eaten so much food that day. By the end of dinner, he STILL didn’t ask me. I was beginning to think that he changed his mind.

Then, he drove me up to our favorite hiking spot. We call it “Meth Mountain” because we left this freaky wooden angel figure at the top who has all these scary lines on her face (like meth person scary), and each time we have visited, she is still in the same spot, on a rock on the side of the mountain. It was a long drive up the switch-backs, but when we finally reached the top, we hiked up to our little meth angel, and he said, “Those two weeks you were gone was the most time we have passed since we met without talking. I really didn’t like that!” Then, he took out the ring he bought (NOT the cheap butterfly one), and asked me to marry him. And of course, I said yes.
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And there you have it! That's five entries, with two winners--very good odds to win a free custom cake topper! If you're still waiting to enter, send your story in before it's too late! Click here for full details of this year's contest.

Crafty Wonderland!

2011-05-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Portland area, please come say hi! I will be in booth 145 with my amazing cousin Tripper Dungan!

whose birthday is it?

2011-05-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

finally....I present to you my latest animation! All pieces are available on the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy site, while supplies last. Enjoy!

Birthday Birthday Birthday! from Hilary Pfeifer on Vimeo.

Engagement Story #4!

2011-04-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for another story? Here's the fourth entry in our "How'd Ya Get Hitched?" contest, submitted and narrated by Jamie about her proposal from Jimmie. They chose my lemon lovebirds wedding cake topper to illustrate their engagement story. (Cake topper photographs by Jill Heupel!)

My fiancé Jimmie and I had been dating for about eight months before we got engaged. He is in the army and was away at training for deployment. While gone he had come with this master plan to ask me to marry him and had asked some of my friends to help out. Well I am very inquisitive and my friends are not the best at keeping secrets so about a week before all was supposed to happen I had figured out the whole engagement. But I didn't tell anyone cause I still wanted it to happen. So the week before I was getting ready for that Saturday getting my nails done and what not knowing I was getting engaged. Then a death in his family happened the Tuesday before and the funeral was scheduled for the Saturday everything was supposed to happen. So all plans were canceled and I literally had no idea the engagement would happen, especially not thinking the next day. The next day after the funeral we went to church and went out to lunch like every other Sunday. We came to my house and had bought a lot of stuff for a super bowl party we were having that night.

As we got to the door Jimmie said "I forgot my phone in my car, you go inside and I will go get it." So I went inside with my hands full of stuff and to my surprise there were rose petals everywhere and my roommates to greet me. They had me follow the ribbon around the house to different puzzles or clues such a jigsaw puzzle of a photo of us, putting pictures in order of events and a huge card he had made saying why he loved me. After all the clues I was sure he was downstairs ready to propose. But when I went back downstairs he was not there but a note saying “Get in the car and don’t ask questions” I went outside and my best friend from out of town was there with her car. We got in, she drove as my roommate blindfolded me and would not tell me where we were going. As we drove they asked me questions about Jimmie and I’s relationship and if I got them right they would go faster and slower if I was wrong. We finally reached our destination and they took the blindfold off. We were at Opryland Hotel!! I was given a map to go find him (the hotel is huge). Finally I arrived at a gazebo with rose petals and candles and most importantly my man. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. After the celebration there we went back to the house and to my surprise our super bowl party was actually an engagement party as well. It was the perfect day and I couldn’t have been more surprised and happier.

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Are you a currently engaged couple wanting to win a custom cake topper made by Bunny with a Toolbelt? Let's hear your story!! There's still three weeks to enter the contest! Click here for details.

Engagement Story #3!

2011-04-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Okay kids...now we have a contest! This is the third entry in our "How'd Ya Get Hitched?" contest, submitted and narrated by Nicole about her proposal from Simon. They chose the giraffe cake topper set to illustrate their engagement story.
Our engagement story is fraught with a number of false starts which had my fiancé all stressed and convinced that I knew what he was up to. But I was clueless. I mean, I knew we’d eventually get married (we’d been together for 8 years), but I was still surprised when he eventually popped the question.

Around January 2009, Simon was talking to a friend who convinced him that it was time to propose. Simon called his parents to ask them to bring an old family ring when they would be visiting a few weeks later. They came to visit and brought the heirloom ring, but they also started hounding Simon (behind my back) about asking that weekend—it did happen to be Valentine’s weekend. But Simon wanted a more private setting, so he waited, much to his parent’s chagrin.

He was working up the courage when some good friends of our got engaged in a really showy way (a surprise performance at a SXSW show). Simon didn’t want to steal their thunder or have their big engagement overshadow ours, so he waited some more. All the while his parents kept pestering him.

He decided that he’d ask on my birthday, which was coming up in May. He planned the whole day for me—a trip to a park for a picnic and a hike, dinner at my favorite restaurant, and a birthday party with friends and cake afterwards. He carried the ring around with him all day, but the hike was hot, not very scenic, and we got lost—so the moment wasn’t quite right. Then we went to a nearby swimming hole. It was fairly crowded, so we swam to a more secluded area but then got covered in leeches. Yes leeches. Not very romantic.

Later we went to dinner, which was lovely, but the restaurant was crowded, so Simon didn’t want to ask inside. Afterwards we went to walk around the restaurant’s garden (they grown all their own produce). Right as he was about to ask, I got swarmed by mosquitoes and ran back to the car. A second attack of blood-sucking creatures in one day while foiled Simon’s plans. I later learned, too, that the birthday party was supposed to be an impromptu engagement party, but over three months after getting the ring, Simon still hadn’t found the right moment to ask.

A week later we went out hiking again. This park was nicer, the scenery better, and things finally lined up. We came to a clearing and decided to rest for a moment. After a few sips of water and a snack, I was ready to keep going, but Simon started acting goofy and I knew something was up. He got down on his knees, pulled out a beautiful antique ring (which I knew he couldn’t afford), and asked, “do you want to get married?” And what was the first thing I said? “Where did you find that?!” (And then I said yes.)

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So sweet! I love hearing these stories! Are you a currently engaged couple wanting to win a custom cake topper made by Bunny with a Toolbelt? Let's hear your story!! There's still three weeks to enter the contest! Click here for details.

Meet the Juror!

2011-04-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hello again Beautiful Person! It's time for interview number three for the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Engagement Story Contest! Next up is Steve Sharp who has married dozen of couples through his business A Beautiful Ceremony NW.

Bunny with a Toolbelt: What was your path to becoming a wedding officiant?

Rev. Steve: I started my business when my daughter Dionne asked me to perform a wedding ceremony for her best friend. Soon after that, another couple who felt that participating in a wedding ritual held no meaning for them asked me to put together a simple ceremony that would enable them to legalize what they considered a very private commitment. The groom came to me after the ceremony with tears in his eyes and said “Now I get it—There's something about making a public promise that just changes everything”--and that's when I started to see that I could offer people a valuable service by helping them create their own personal rite of passage into a new part of their lives.

Bunny with a Toolbelt: What do you like best about your job?

Rev. Steve: As Reverend Steve I regularly get the chance to be right in the middle of an incredible burst of joyful energy and faith in the future, which is a great antidote to all the doom-and-gloom of world events. Being part of this industry enables me to meet interesting people like Hilary who have created their livelihood by using their natural talents to help people celebrate a momentous occasion. It's one positive, sociable group of colleagues!

Bunny with a Toolbelt: Awwww shucks! Thanks Steve! Would you mind sharing your own personal engagement story?

Reverend Steve: When I met my wife Leslie, she was living on a houseboat on the Columbia River, and as a lifelong fisherman I thought of her as an especially wonderful creature I was determined to pluck from the water and bring home. When I proposed to her at a restaurant (on the river), I slid out of the booth and got down on one knee to propose. At our wedding I recited a favorite Richard Brautigan poem to her called “My Catfish Friend.”

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So I have a few contest entries waiting in the wings....will return to post them after you've let these interviews sink in. Click here to see the contest rules--and don't delay if you want to be eligible to win one of two custom wedding cake toppers!!

Meet the Juror!

2011-04-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hello again Beautiful Person! I'm back to post interview number two for the 2011 Bunny with a Toolbelt Engagement Story Contest! Next up is Kimberly Farris aka Gator Bride.

Bunny with a Toolbelt: How did you start your business? Tell me about what you do specifically that makes your business unique?

Gator Bride: My business actually started, in the very beginning, from a cake topper I commissioned from Hilary! Way back in Spring of 2009, I commissioned two little toppers, one a knight (for the groom), and the other a gator (for me, the bride), after our alma maters. That summer I started a wedding blog, Gator Bride, to have a place where orange and blue lovin' college Gator gals could come and share their Gator weddings. I also documented my wedding planning process there too (which later had me blogging as Mrs. Dolphin on Weddingbee).

From there I launched Gator Bride Designs, a wedding stationery design company for the modern DIY bride. And now, our newest venture, is in wedding videography with Gator Bride Videography!

One of the things I (and my husband) pride ourselves on is providing affordable modern design, and non-cheesy wedding videography, to budget brides!

Who knew so much would develop from such a cute little wedding topper?

Bunny with a Toolbelt What do you like best about being part of the wedding industry?

Gator Bride:I love how the wedding industry is constantly changing and evolving. Every few months there is a new wave of brides, with new ideas, new definitions of what a "wedding" is, they are constantly keeping us, vendors, on our toes! I also love the energy of the wedding industry. Everyone is so happy, excited and chomping at the bit. It's wonderful!

Bunny with a Toolbelt Tell me a story about one of your favorite interactions with another human that came about because of your wedding connections.

Gator Bride: Favorite interaction? Hmmm. This is tough! Through my wedding stationery design company, I've interacted with so many wonderful brides. I think for me, something that makes me feel so amazing, is when brides tell me how much they love my designs and send me pictures of my designs in action at their weddings. That is one of the biggest rewards- helping someone's dream come to life, and seeing it so beautiful placed.

But really, I guess my favorite interaction was the interaction that started our wedding videography company. I had blogged about a few videos we made for our friends/families weddings, and expressed my absolute love for capturing weddings. A few days later I received an e-mail from a local bride asking me if we could capture her wedding! She didn't have much of a budget for videography, so she couldn't afford a professional videography (as they are several thousand $), but didn't want a random guest doing it either. So she hired us! We jumped at the opportunity, updating our gear, practicing every weekend, at every event we could get our video lovin' butts to. And, it paid off. The bride was overjoyed after receiving her highlight reel. She was so incredibly happy. And you know what? That's what it's all about for us. The pure joy our client's receive. I just love it. :)

Bunny with a Toolbelt: What's your own personal engagement story?

Gator Bride: Our engagement story isn't all that exciting. No really, it isn't! My husband and I had been together 7 years before he proposed (since high school). I knew it was coming, as we had picked out the ring together, on a whim, one afternoon. I just didn't know when. My husband kept stringing me along. I never knew when and how he was going to propose. Then, on Valentine's Day, after dinner, he did it.

We were at his apartment (at the time we were living in two different cities), and he got super nervous. Now, at this point, I knew something was up because my husband is never nervous. He started talking about how much he loves me and how he always knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. And then he said those magic words, "will you marry me."

Which I had no idea why he was nervous in the first place, as he knew I was going to say yes. I picked out the ring, for goodness sake!

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In the next few days, I'll post the final interview with our third esteemed juror! Click here to see the contest rules--there's three weeks to get yours in!!

bunnies on bikes!

2011-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

If you're in Portland, and if you have a bike, you really don't want to miss the annual Bunny on a Bike Ride! Artist, bike enthusiast, and event planner extraordinaire Carye Bye will lead the group yet again in a ride that will have a few fun surprises along the way. Here's a picture of me that was used for the poster about five years ago and that's my cousin Tripper above! Grab your bunny ears and click here for more details.

Meet the Juror!

2011-04-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Beautiful Person! I'm going to post some interviews with our esteemed jury for my Engagement Story Contest! First up is Rebecca Amblin from Origin Flowers! But first, an announcement--I decided to change the deadline to the contest until May 15th, after Crafty Wonderland. (Look for me at booth 145!) And now on to our interview:

Bunny with a Toolbelt: Tell us a little about your store and attitude about the wedding industry:

Rebecca: I own the flower shop, Origin Flowers, in the Arts District between 15th and 16th and NE Alberta St. It has been my very great honor to be there for some of the best moments in the lives of the people that live, love and shop Alberta Arts. My job is very much like solving puzzles. Usually by the time I meet a bride, the dress has been bought, the wedding colors are chosen and the venue is booked. My job is to factor all these variables such as what season, or when in the day the ceremony will take place, how many folks might be attending, any themes and the budget of course, and then turn it into a ONCE IN A LIFETIME floral event.

I know I might have taken a very creative process and made it sound a bit cold and mathematical but for me designing a wedding is really very much like painting a picture.Each wedding is a new chance for me to see the way 2 people come together, start a new life, and have a party to celebrate it.

Bunny with a Toolbelt: Tell us some stories of your favorite challenges from customers.

Rebecca: One of my favorite clients came into the shop on the recommendation of her friend whose wedding we had done the year before. This was several years ago and Martha Stewart was talking everyone into "pink on pink with pink accents" weddings which is what we did and it was very natural and springlike with buckets of dewy peonies and wispy greens. It was one part fairy tale and one part garden party. And it was also very, very pink.

So this new Gal comes in with her Sweetheart which was less usual 10 years ago and I admit I thought we'd be doing another pink wedding on Sauvie Island- which I love.... but still.
So this very lovely woman and her fiance tell me they were asking around and the friend that recommended she use us said I could do ANYTHING! and they had sort of a less traditional flower idea. The groom fairly admitted that the other wedding scared the hell out of him:" it was a lot of pink" after all.

It seems they met on a scuba trip and were going diving for their honeymoon and as much as possible wanted the reception flowers to look like life under the sea. Well, no one had ever asked for that before! So I had to re-examine all the flowers I had worked with and we came up with very cool arrangements of green dianthus, pincushion protea, lyco greens and I painted manzanita twigs in coral colors and red to frame the cake table like a reef. I guess it's a very long twisting way to say it was FUN to work with them.

I've put flowers in KFC buckets. And I have also frozen them in sub-zero ice to melt slowly as the flowers seem to magically rise out of the blocks in the heat of the summer sun. I just plain and simple like the difference of events, from client to client and from season to season.

Bunny with a Toolbelt: What brought you to work in the wedding industry?

Rebecca: As to floral training. I lived in Japan for some years and must have failed nearly every Ikebana class I ever came across there. I love the structure and formality of formal training but in the end my American exuberance for color or kinetics always put my instructors' hair on end. I think the Asian aesthetic is very obvious in my work but I'm sure there are 15 folks in Japan right now screaming "not me" were they to read this statement.

Wedding cake topper contest - entry #2!

2011-04-18T14:26:00.002-07:00

Hey Beautiful Person! Remember our wedding cake topper contest? (Click here for details!) We have our second contestant to tell you their engagement story, Courtney and Michael! To illustrate their story, they wanted me to include images of custom University of Florida gator toppers I've made, since it's their alma mater too! (You can see all the sports cake toppers I've made by clicking here.) Take it away, kids!

Michael proposed in his apartment on a random sunday evening, with the sounds of his roommate microwaving a frozen dinner + an espn commentator reviewing the week's sporting events drifting through the air. when i said yes, he gave me the ring and a birthday cupcake -- not because it was my birthday or my favorite cupcake-- but because it was 'the only one left that looked good, at the only cupcake store open on a sunday.'

as the microwave timer beeped and as i pulled off the unnecessary birthday candle, i realized it my perfect engagement.

together for more than 5 years, i had ample time to think about our proposal. we dated long distance for 3 of the years [while michael was in d.c. for law school + i stayed back at uf law]. while apart, i would daydream [probably way too often!] about being finally being back in the same state and marrying him. however, that sunday evening it was the last thing on my mind.

i had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad [work-related] week. law school, the bar exam and all other general life frustrations paled in comparison to the week. and after feeling like i couldn't get anything right -- feeling like despite my very best effort l was just going to fail -- he showed me that it didn't matter. he was going to be there for me each & every time i feel like this. it was an amazing gift.

i know from the outside, our engagement seems to lack fanfare, glamour and romance. each couple has a wonderfully different path. to me, choosing to marry michael -- choosing the one human on the planet to be my ultimate life partner, to be my sounding board, and to be my picker upper when i fall down-- was enough fanfare. michael + i are so different [i seriously once made a venn diagram of our interests and the only place our circles overlapped was pizza, jeopardy! and the beatles (you know, the 'big stuff')], yet we work together. our path led us to that sunday evening last october, with its espn-created background music + celebratory cupcake. michael was there for me that day - and will be until the end.
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Stay tuned this week for interviews with our three jurors! This contest is open for another 12 days, so get your entry in for a chance to win one of two custom wedding cake toppers made by yours truly!!

meet Japaniphant

2011-04-15T10:37:00.001-07:00

I made this special critter to support relief efforts in Japan since they've given so much to my life and inspiration for my artwork. 100% of profits from the sales of Japaniphant items on CafePress will be donated to Unicef's relief efforts for children affected by the disaster. Take a look at some of the cool stuff you can get!

artist's spotlight :: margoblog

2011-04-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Oh happy day! I've been interviewed in Margoblog - click here to read!

question: will you marry me? answer: woof!

2011-04-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a few of the custom dog wedding cake toppers that have come across my workbench this year:

Hey--don't forget we're having a little contest right now and the winner gets a free custom wedding cake topper! We have only had one entry so far so if you're a currently engaged couple, send me your story! Details: Click here for details!

tante netty

2011-04-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to be included in an exhibition at Tante Netty, a new "offline blog gallery" in Einhoven, Netherlands! They asked Share Some Candy to pick their favorite blog posts from their handmade category, and my blue sky elephant made the cut! Here's a few images from their opening.

get your easter on

2011-04-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

I made a few bunnies this year--grab 'em while they're still in my Etsy shop! I also have a few birds on eggs left. Click here to see what Easter goodies await you!

anchors aweigh

2011-04-02T03:12:00.001-07:00

Here's an unusual commission I got recently--a customer saw my sports-themed wedding cake toppers and wanted a model of them in their boat. It was a bit of a challenge to get the shape just right, but I liked the results.

Hey--don't forget we're having a little contest right now and the winner gets a free custom wedding cake topper! We have only had one entry so far so if you're a currently engaged couple, send me your story! Details: Click here for details!

meet Pooto

2011-03-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Faithful readers of the Bunny with a Toolbelt blog will remember Iris, my youngest fan whose collection keeps growing over time and her lovely mother sends me a photo of the new family of animals. This time, I was asked to make a pink poodle. I added some stripes and polka dots for fun. Iris named the poodle "Pooto" and declared she is a 6 year old high school student. I might need to hire her to dictate what happens in my next stop action animation!

Engagement story #1!!

2011-03-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our first entry in the 2011 engagement story contest! Here's the true tale of Rhian and James. (Need a refresher on the rules? Click here!) Voting will commence in early May. The couple chose the Moose Bride and Groom cake toppers to illustrate this story.

Rhian and James met at band camp, yes, band camp. He was a third year section leader and she was a first year in the baritone section. He was dating someone else but after spending every afternoon together in rehearsal it soon became clear that the other relationship would not work and then Rhian and James began dating. They graduated from college and traveled west to begin a life together. After almost seven years of laughter and love, James decided to make things official. While on a walk with their dachshund, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. She said yes and accidentally tackled him. They plan to live happily ever after.

Awwww....now wasn't that special? You can enter your story if you're a currently engaged couple and win one of two free cake toppers! Click here for details on this year's contest!

Nuralagus rex—"the Minorcan king of the hares."

2011-03-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Scientists finally found fossil evidence of a giant prehistoric rabbit weighing 27 pounds- here it is next to a regular-sized bunny. I guess the tool belt was a later evolution. Click here to read more from National Geographic.

how cute is this?

2011-03-20T09:00:00.001-07:00

as seen on Etsy--click here for full listing from the Turnip Truck.

it's time for another round of: "How'd ya Get Hitched!"

2011-03-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hey Beautiful Person! Remember last year when we had a little contest to design a custom wedding cake topper to one lucky couple who submitted the sweetest engagement tale? Well, it's time to do it again. But better. This year I will give not one, but two custom sets away.

Here's the basics:

Tell me your cutest, goofiest, or most swoonfully romantic story of your "I do moment." Then choose one of the designs on the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy site, my online album of cake toppers, or one you spotted hanging out at the Chapel of Bunny Love that I can use to illustrate your saga on my blog. Send a picture of the two of you to sweeten the pot,and I'll publish your stories between now and 11:59 PM, Pacific Standard Time on May 15, 2011.

Then from May 2-7, we'll let the voting begin. One winner will be determined by the one who gets the most unique comments from readers who will declare which story made them go "awwww!" or "ohhhhhh!" or "mmmmmmmmm!" A second winner will be selected by myself and an esteemed panel of judges, including Reverend Steve Sharp from A Beautiful Ceremony NW, Kimberly from Gator Bride, and Rebecca Amblin from Origin Flowers.

The two winners will get a custom cake topper set that I'll make with whatever critters make their hears go purrrrrrr!! I will also give you the keys to the castle where you can order custom invitations, big gifts for the wedding party, or little ones for the guests--all with the picture of your adorable Bunny with a Toolbelt wedding cake topper on them and whatever personalized text you like!

Please limit your entries to 500 words. This contest is intended for currently engaged couples. I'll post them as they come in. Email them to me at bunnywithatoolbelt@gmail.com. Thanks for playing!

and my new giraffes?

2011-03-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

they are hanging out with their buddies on Etsy

did you see my new elephants?

2011-03-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

woody delicious. on Etsy while supplies last!

awwww

2011-03-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here's another custom commission for a couple who became engaged at the zoo near their favorite exhibit--the polar bears! Rather than a bride and groom, this set borrowed from some of my valentine designs with a heart-shaped balloon tied to each tail!

these are a few of my favorite things....

2011-03-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

This set was made for a couple who is clear about their priorities in life:
1. get married
2. drink beer
3. make art

cheers!!

do gators eat bunnies?

2011-03-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Yet ANOTHER set for my fans in Florida!

got some catching up to do around here!

2011-03-04T08:38:00.001-08:00

There have been a lot of lovely wedding cake topper commissions passing through my workbench lately so I decided to share them with you over the next week or so. Don't forget you can see ALL of my cake topper designs and commissions right here!

We'll start things off with a variation on a classic. This couple wanted the flower centers to have sparkly clear swarovski rhinestones. Who am I to deny them their pleasures? I love the way these turned out!

not all bunnies are with toolbelt

2011-02-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

playable angry birds birthday cake!!

2011-02-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

In honor of our founding fathers' respective birth days, I present you with this contemporary birthday cake design as seen on instructables!

It took 10 hours to make and 2 minutes to destroy. More pics can be seen by clicking here.