Ringer

Dear Reader,

Once again you can see our star on someone else's prime-time show!

Check her out tonight as a coffee shop girl on Ringer on CW at 9/8C, the episode is: "It's Easy to Cry, When This Much Cash is Involved."

For me, it's day three of the back-breaking stop-motion :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Countryside - Sneak Peek

Dear Reader,

Here it is ... well the test clip anyway. Check out a short piece of what will be swishing by the car windows we shot in the bluescreen shoot a couple of weeks ago:



Today I'm going to shoot the rest of the stop motion background ... I hope :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

More Flowers

Dear Reader,

As I pulled everything out to start shooting the background plates for last week's bluescreen shoot, it suddenly occurred to me that we were missing something ....

Flowers! You always need more flowers in life :)


And so I set to work on just one last foreground of the background element.

With some luck I'll shoot those plates before Monday!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Bikini: Work Underway

Dear Reader,

As with all whimsical ideas, there's some practicalities that need to be put in place for them to blossom.

And where a knitted bikini is concerned, one of those practicalities is balling the wool. As you can see, the Trouble and Strife is paying close attention to the quality of my work ;)


That is, when her time isn't taken up teaching Alien One to knit ... deja vu anyone?



Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Sit Tight and Trust all is Good

Dear Reader,

Sometimes in life forward motion is not always so much a visible entity, you just feel it; our penultimate casting session yesterday was all that. Pretty soon, Ed will have a wife!

In the meantime, I shall leave myself in the Alien's hands and sit tight ... kind of like their dolls after the construction of two car seats :)

What it is to be lovingly tended to.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Alien One Has a Dream

Dear Reader,

Inspired by Martin Luther King, Alien One had a dream. Without adornment, here it is:

Theat evryone was fearys and planes
were Birds and trans were catapillers
rollypollys were busis and ants were cars
buterflys were Hellacopters and evryone
was Happy

I love my daughter :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration: A Knitted Bike

Dear Reader,

A guiding principle for The Squirrel King is to embrace lucky happenstance.

Yesterday was a perfect instance of such an inciting whim. While searching for a pattern for Robin's bikini (to be knitted by the Trouble and Strife), I accidentally hit "knitted bike" in the search bar ... what a stroke of luck!

Check out these awesome pieces of art.

If there's any fast knitters out there who want to contribute to The Squirrel King, just let me know and I'll find something sensational to that needs knitting ... maybe something for the Catburglar's lair.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

That Blue is Not the Sky!

Dear Reader,

The Squirrel King always embraces the big outdoors, and our driving scenes will be no different!

Well perhaps a little different ...

... the groundwork is now laid for the paper cutout world to flitter by the Mango Goddess.





Of course with The Squirrel King, it's safety first and we had our own fire marshal on set to inspect all the high speed action ;)




Can't wait to add the backgrounds to these scenes, paper and miniature!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Firemen's Jacket

Dear Reader,

Obviously when it comes to the whimsical clothing of The Squirrel King, the Trouble and Strife is the chief crafter.

However every chief needs their minions; the Aliens are always happy to oblige with a pair of scissors!







And me, I've always thought of myself as model material!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS This jacket is really comfortable!

Seeding Watermelons

Dear Reader,

While Alien Two gobbled seedless clementines, I toiled on our living room floor, hard at work making watermelon slices.

Guesses as to my construction included pizza slices and tacos.

What I really needed was a little help from Alien One ... specifically, her addition of seeds! Now we just have to figure out who's been taking bites ;)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Martin Luther King Day

Dear Reader,

Yesterday The Squirrel King took a day off to celebrate freedom and all things tolerant.

What better way to do that, than run free on the beach with the birds! Those Aliens were so happy :)

Hope you too believe in everyone.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration: Japanese Businessmen

Dear Reader,

A friend sent me this clip the other day and I was immediately inspired by some of the choreography, especially towards the end. I'd call it a reference clip, but I haven't figured out how it might be adapted for The Squirrel King. My thinking cap is on ...



Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Bonsai-ing the Christmas Tree

Dear Reader,

Earlier this week we followed up on last year's whim to turn a small potted plant, which doubled as our christmas tree, into a bonsai.

After learning to avoid crossed branches and encourage horizontal shoots (by lopping off all others), Alien One took her deliberate consideration, and the sheers, to the task at hand.

Significant progress was made before the necessity of additional research was acted on. Witness the Aliens examining the natural shape of a real tree :)

Oh, and we do need to remember to water it!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Peloton Progress

Dear Reader,

Our whimsical background elements continue to come together for the driving sequences.

You'll notice that the legs of our cyclists are made up of separate pieces (which have been completed since this photo). We'll stop motion the thighs and feet to create the pedaling :)


Rest assured that the ropes for the hot air balloons have now been attached!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Parenthood - The Show

Dear Reader,

Catch a glimpse of Shi Ne, the star of The Squirrel King on Parenthood tonight at 10/9C. For those checking this later, the episode is "Just Smile", and you're looking for the magazine reporter!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Cardboard Progress

Dear Reader,

We've started on the elements for our cardboard kitchen, and even as the bones alone, it is taking shape to be another awesome set piece :)

Along the way, Alien Two started on her first forays with an exacto knife, and even more fundamental, she's become an overnight expert in ripping masking tape from the roll - something that is surprisingly difficult for little hands.

Rest assured, we won't stay monochrome!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS For those interested, the trick behind ripping masking tape is to pinch the tape firmly, side by side, right on the edge and then rip.

A Little Piece of Happiness

Dearest Reader,

Returning from vacation, I felt an unusual sensation: relaxed and really happy. Walking into my office building, I was smiling and saying “hello” to the strangers passing by. That’s it! For the past few days, EVERY person I saw greeted me with an “hola” or “hello" and a big smile, which made me smile, which made me feel happy. It also made me realize that, while the day may have its rough patches, it doesn’t take much effort to give a little joy to others, which in turn brings you a little joy. So this year, I truly do wish you a “Happy New Year” and truly do hope you find a way to experience a little happiness and give a little happiness every day. It could be a simple as smiling and saying "hello".

Irrevocably yours,
The Trouble and Strife

Inspired by Cardboard

Dear Reader,

After the success of our Thanksgiving cardboard stools - which continue to live on :) - the Aliens and I have decided to move onto an entire cardboard kitchen for Ed's house!



A quick web search for further inspiration turned up this wonderful monochromatic rendition (to see the entire cardboard house check this site).

Time now for dumpster-diving for the raw materials!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Foundation of Food

Dear Reader,

All whims need feeding, sometimes literally. So fittingly we've started our year in fine style with the Aliens in the kitchen again.










Stay tuned for all manner of adventures in 2012.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Champagne Opening

Dear Reader,

Welcome to 2012!

I trust you all opened the year in fine styles of your own.

For us it started by following a whim: we decided to try the classic champagne bottle opening to complement our profiterole tower.

In spite of the danger, we risked it all and in the end ...



Success!


Chin chin
Ruthless Whims