Preparations for a Big Game

Dear Reader,

While Brazil prepares for a few soccer matches of their own, over at Squirrel King headquarters we've cleared the acorns from our living room to make space for a stadium of our own. With a bit of luck, we like Brazil will be ready for action shortly.

 Of course our fields grow grass a little quicker and the stadiums are built by a smaller more manageable team ... probably because the kitchen is in the next room :)

As the aerial shot shows, the stands are already filling up. Somehow we'll just need to get the players off the field at some point so that we can put down lines.

Even if they are mischievous, they seem pretty willing to work with me :) Stay tuned for some actual action soon!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Awesome Squirrely Stop Motion

Dear Reader,

Yesterday an old friend of mine shared with me an awesome stop motion animation filled with squirrels - today I have to share it with you! Check it out:


Following the This Is Colossal link I found Kelli Anderson's site which tells more about what went into the making of this wonderful piece. Lo and behold it turns out she was motivated in large part by a desire close to our hearts: to pull kids and adults into another world by deliberately using lo-fi techniques.

Cheers Kelli, we love what you and your team have done! And we look forward to seeing what you do next :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

In Amongst the Chaos of Construction ...

Dear Reader,

The last week or so our little apartment has been turned into a hub of construction. We've spilled over into the carport where carefully custom-engineered shelves now dry lids because ...

the living room is bursting at the brim with all manner of action.

If you look carefully though, sitting there in a little pool of light ...

Here, peeking through my yarn balling machine you can catch a better glimpse.

She's busy at work too. In a world of her own, happily chirping away as she crafts another squirrel!!

It warms my heart just how much kids love doing what they're doing and the other world that a little imagination transports them too :)

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy some special time with your kids!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Behind the Iron Curtain to Pick Up Acorns

Dear Reader,

Recently there's been a lot of action behind the scenes and I think it's time we shared some of the good news! First off, we have signed with a Toyology, one of the best toy reps on the West Coast, so soon acorns and squirrels will start spreading farther and wider :)

In preparation for the impending surge, Justus and I visited our acorn warehouse yesterday:

Secondly, we are looking into what it takes to send internationally!! This is still early days, but for those of you outside the US, know that it is in the works :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Floral Dresses - Literally!

Dear Reader,


Some of you may recall an awesome broccoli dress I came across a couple of weeks ago, well somehow artistic abstractions of dresses seem to be the order of the month and today it is flower petals!

This sort of representation of one thing using something completely different always piques me. The wonderfully whimsical nature of such realizations has always been a strong part of the Squirrel King aesthetic.

For more amazing floral dresses check out this website - the text may be in a foreign language, but the images are universal!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Spring Planting

Dear Reader,

The other day I caught a little footage of some industrious squirrels preparing for spring with a little planting. Here's a couple of images of the action as it was being recorded ...

Stay tuned for the clip itself some time in the next couple of weeks. Watching the squirrels get carried away after an initial setback should give you a nice smile :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Pendulum of Dance

Dear Reader,

Forced to dance? Sounds like a paradox, but for those of you in England there's a new installation by William Forsythe that kind of makes it happen. Visitors dodge swinging pendulums and in doing so become part of the exhibit! Check it out:


Forsythe's website has some even more dancelike clips from the installation, and This Is Colossal has some pics.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Little Mamas

Dear Reader,

Buoyed by the success of their acorn tote bags, my industrious daughters whipped out the scalpels with the express intention of caring for their own babies :)

And after gouging holes for the legs, the babies were delicately helped into their carry-cases.

All that was left to do was to add the straps (while singing mum a happy mother's day tune :)

Hope all the mothers around the world had a delightful day yesterday!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Rest assured, all scalpel action was overseen by a responsible adult, mum :)

Fun with Cams

Dear Reader,

The other day I was looking at some images of paper crafting and I came across some wonderful uses of cams to help make moving models, you know the ones that bounce up and down again and again. For those with foggy memories, they're called automata.

If you're interested in trying your own hand, Squidoo has some free template downloads to get you started and Kiwi Crate offers instructions for how to make the automata using the super simple image on the right :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Website Overhaul!

Dear Reader,

There's a lot of work goes on behind the scenes at Squirrel King headquarters, but every once in a while it culminates in something visible. Today is one of those days :)

Hop on over to www.squirrelking.org and check out our new landing page! It gives a wonderful sense of just how much fun our Squirrel Craft Kits are :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Little Weekend Gardening

Dear Reader,

With the beginning of the new week, I just wanted to share a little of our weekend gardening :)

I hope the week ahead holds a lot of fun!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Getting Better All the Time

Dear Reader,

Yesterday I crafted two more squirrels.

Nothing so new about that really, as most of you know I'm constantly crafting squirrels, but these two were special. In a couple of short months their evolution from yarn, pipe cleaners and googlie eyes to fully formed furry balls of mischief will be available for all to see. That's right, we've refined our instructions!

After the crafting of hundreds of squirrels a couple of tiny refinements emerged and I feel compelled to share them with future squirrel crafters :)

In the interim, with the whitebox set up I think I might have to  shoot a couple of fun little things to share in the next week or so ... stay tuned.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims