Loving a Wayward Change of Plans

When I was younger I always had visions of a home.

A house made awesome alongside my love.

I also simultaneously dreamed of travelling the world, always coming back to said cozy abode.

 

I love how plans change for the better when we aren't even looking.

I love that this life right now and this little home we've made together is so cozy, so complete,

that we barely want to leave it!  Especially since we've filled it to the brim with bunnies!!

 

 

Sure the dream to travel is still present

but somehow it's not half as pressing, as important or even in some strange way quite so desirable.

Because somehow in the beautiful crazy way that life works,

bundling up and shoveling a driveway whilst buns whip around snowy pathways

and then all going back inside chilly and ready for hot cocoa's and a crackling fire...

just being in the sweet shelter that we've all built together...

can in some bizarre lovely way feel just as delicious &

soul-warming as a trip to any tropical place!

 

I just LOVE that, so so very very much...don't you?

Isn't She Lovely...Isn't She Wonderful?

Here's my latest Ink drawing...

Inspired by our buzzy honey-bee Teela.

 

 

Isn't she lovely?  Isn't she w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l?? (yes I am listening to Stevie Wonder, ha ha!)

Prints are in the shop.

Lionhead Snow Play & Snarls

Emmett hasn't been an easy rabbit.
He hides, he growls, he bites & scratches and fights with the other buns...our poor little babe.

We've actually talked about changing his name from Emmett (Min-Min) to Oscar the Grouch, ha ha!

But we always remember that he's had really rough beginnings...he's extremely untrusting.

Though, he's very well behaved when it comes to using his potties, not chewing, etc.

 

But atleast for some small portion of each day, we see him mellow and trust a teeny tiny bit more.

He allows us to rest our heads against his for a few minutes at a time for a lovely warm snuggle.

He'll climbs all over our backs and legs (he just seems extrememly afraid of hands).

And he popcorns out of the blue, usually in the evenings
....when he popcorns we know we're doing a good job...and that feels SO good.

Moonlit Mountains & A Feathery Friend

This lovely feathery friend sitting amidst moonlit mountains is one of my latest ink drawings.

 

 

and he's anxiously awaiting for you as an awesome 8 x 10" print in the shop.

Awesome, Hard, Sweet & Cute

We had such an awesome long weekend.

We mostly stayed indoors because we reached the freezing -40's....brrrr!

It was crappy at the same time  too though because
we both had really bad migraines & headaches for 3 days straight.

 

 

Anyhow, I was working on these two beauties this morning...
usually I work in the living room in the mornings, as I wake up, eat my breakfast,

drink my soy espresso and keep company with the cutest work-mate ever! Flynn.

How adorable is that face of his, omg!

 

 

So far the head-pain is gone today, so far! So I as I work away
'Father of the Bride' movies play in the background.
I think it's going to be a productive day.

How was your weekend & how's your weeks shaping up??

Kissing In Sunlight, What Could Be Better

With the winter sunshine usually comes a pounding head...

something about the barometric change and the blood vessels in my noggin just not liking it!

 

 

But the sunshine also brings out the cozy's & sleepies in the buns too

So, yep, I am good...even if I get nothing done today by snuggle up by these two.

Can You Blame Me!!!

This is me...with ink pens & sketchbook in hand and a little hottot spot for company.
Flynn is one of the best rabbits to be around,
he's so hilarious & happy & bonkers and the more you laugh the sillier he gets.

 

 

...really! can ya blame me for drawing rabbits all the time!

Makes perfect sense to me, rabbits make up a large portion of my social circle, ha ha.

Here's a sneak peek at one of my newest pictures too, she's so pretty, I can't wait to show you.



It Takes Little

Did you have a good weekend?

For me, more often than not, a great weekend involves staying in...

with good food, good company and a great read....ahhhh.

(oh and binge watching "Mozart In The Jungle", I love it, have you seen it?) 

 

 

I think it's crucial to always strive for the 'big stuff', whatever that may be

but I think it's also so important to never lose appreciation for all the sweet small stuff,

for it's that stuff that binds all together to be just as awesome as the big.

Don't ya think?

Dose of Cute and FUZZY

Frenwyck thought it would be a good idea to pop in and say HI...

 

 

We are concerned about everyone getting their dose of cute after all.

Drawing

I am drawing in the sunlight.

'Road to Avonlea' episodes are playing in the background as I work.

 

 

What are you up to??

Any exciting weekend plans???

Buns & Blubs

The sun is shining and whiles, yes, my head is pounding...

when I wake up to most of my days starting off with this...

with bunnies begging for blueberries...

 

 

Well, it really does kind of snap things into perspective pretty quickly, ha ha.

It really does make it impossibly hard to NOT find the joy and sweetness in a day.

I truly do have rabbits to thank for my joyful heart & happy outlook on life.  Thanks Babies XO.

Temporarily Shut Down

I just wanted to let you know that my Etsy shop is temporarily closed.

I've never shut it down before

but I found it necessary to do so in order to make much needed changes.

 

 

We should be back up and running on the 19th of February...

Prices will change but that's only to reflect the much more beautiful prints that will now be offered.

Hope your having an awesomely joy-filled day.

News From The Whimsical Warren

Hey everyone.

Life is busy as ever...

but we all need doses of whimsy & colour, if not often than at least now and than, I hope you'd agree!

My Studio e-news may perhaps be the answer to your joy & whimsy needs!

As you can see, it's always colourful, playful, full of awesome bunnies & art and most importantly, because your all so busy, it's always quite short & sweet for speedy reading...

like a monthly chewable vitamin C

 

 

Perfect right? 

It is if you don't wanna miss a beat of what the buns & I are up to in the studio...

which is pretty much always joyful and whimsical and therefore a dose of happiness...we hope!

 

You see the spot of the sidebar where you can sign up???

We hope you'll click there now, if your not already receiving our monthly news.

(January's issue went out a smidge late due to my wrestling matches with *+#@*$ printers all week!)

One Thing I Know To Be True

Ahhhh....There are many many things in this life, on any given day, that I am quite unsure of.
BUT I do know one thing to be very very true, a fact so solid & lovely that I can always lean on it.

 

 

The fact is that seeing rabbits, who were previously stuck in cages at a shelter, stretch out and nap

happily away on my studio floor is one of the best things in the world, EVER!

Pens, Sun & Pain

The sun has been shining, my head has been pounding and I have been drawing...

 

 

Drawing more sweet beautiful bunnies of course...now back to my pens, the sun and some Glee!

10 Things

Let's do something a little different which I've not done in a really long while.

Let's do a "10 things you may not know about me" post...

 

 

1.  Before I knew I wanted to be an fulltime artist, I once upon a time wanted to be a stewardess, than a veterinarian and that was followed by a dream to work for snow/water search  & rescue.

2.  I've taken in and taken care of rabbits for over 20 years now...that's over 7 thousand 300 days of
snuggling, nurturing, diligence, worrying, pampering, doting, slaving over, loving, mothering, etc...

3.  I listen to a mix of Spotify streams, RadioTunes 'Datempo' stream & Jazz.fm 91.1 most of the day

4.  I don't always feel like making art everyday.  And I definitely do not usually like to admit that!

5.  I have my dream vehicle.  A Jeep.

6.  Every single time I see a star I wish for 3 things almost exclusively...
to have a very long healthy life with my love and to see the end of animal testing & the seal-hunt.

7.  I dream of staying in Bali & melding into an artist community there for a nice long spell someday.

8.  I dream of spending a short spell by the waterside in Austria someday.

9.  I dream of seeing England via a leisurely meandering train trip someday.

10. I have no idea how I'll do #7, 8 & 9 when I also dream of always having a house full of rabbits!!!

Now you?....do a list of 10 things on your blogs and leave the links below in the comments section.
(P.S Thanks to my friend Deb who did a '10 things' post over on her blog, yayyy:D)

The First Rabbit Inkling of the year

A new ink drawing...
Isn't he just a darling?  The detailing on this one took quite some time.
I am sure you knew the first drawing of the year would have to be a rabbit, ha ha!

 

 

I've been diving into my ink pen work almost as soon as I wake up these last couple weeks
and I have admittedly been drawing rabbits almost exclusively!

(Prints will be listed at some point.  I'll let you know when and where.
Interested in the original before it's listed, gone and sold?  just email me).

The Book Pile

It's that time again.

Time to share my book pile from last year.

It's a bit on the small side again but that's because I was quite addicted and busy with back issues of

my favorite magazines such as Artful Blogger, Coloured Pencil Magazine & Art Doll Quarterly.

 

 

There was sadly only one book that I absolutely loved and is now on my 'favorites' shelf.

 

 

These two aren't favorites but I thought they were quite good.

 

 

All of these ones were just so so in my humble opinion...

 

 

and these 3 I really didn't like at all.

 

 

I hope this year my book pile is twice the size

and I hope that the titles in the 'great' section are twice as well!

(check out last years pile right here if your interested in my reading habits)

 

What was your favorite read of 2014 may I ask???



Wintery Play

This has been us lately, in a nutshell...

outside dealing with loads of snow & bringing a fluff or two along with us for some snowy exercise!

 

Teela, Yuuji and Frenwyck like the snow so they get dibs on this seasons outdoor time

because Henrie, Elsie, Emmett, Flynn and Jaks aren't into the snow and cold quite so much
(and ummm psssttt isn't Teela thee BEST colour ever! Ha ha)

Why Hello There 2015

Ahhhh...

 

That was a good break, I must say.

Thanks for hanging in there and being patient during that rather lengthy break of mine.

I was in my studio after the Xmas holidays getting a lot of sketching done in the company of way too much chocolate, in front of roaring fires, besides napping bunnies & during indulgent trash t.v.!

I didn't get as much work done as I was hoping for because head pain has been super bad and unfortunately very consistent but I did get some needed studio organizing done

and I did get some much needed rest...I admit it, I napped away like 20 year old cat!!!

I did also got an incredibly awesome (and intimidating) new printer & I can't wait to start using it.

 

This break was needed too because to be honest sometimes a sensitive little artist such as myself

just needs to cocoon herself off all safe and snug like to warm up her soul & spirit before once again

spreading her wings and taking off into the big huge unknown world of 'online'.

 

I am ready to be back at it all now though.

 

I am ready to keep on plugging away...

whether people are looking and liking or not!
Whether those much needed and sought after opportunities come or not!

I feel proud of my work last year, I did ALOT, a whole lot, it was my most prolific year yet

which is something to note because it was without a doubt also my worst head pain year yet.

 

 

I step into this New Year full of possibilities and dream-making

with three things I know to be true acting as my sturdy diving board;

I am completely and utterly lucky in love and will unashamedly fully bask in all that goodness.

I am a bunny-mama and I am going to embrace all that that means, lone black sheep & all!

and I am an artist to the very core of my cells and this year I will continue to grown within that...

I want to unabashedly and happily submerge into it all...

to sink into it all the soul vibrating pleasure that unbridled creativity can bring.

 

I am also buzzing with anticipation over some big studio/art plans and changes that are in the works as I slowly transition from the old 'Bijou's Whimsy' illustration identity that no longer suits me
into the new whimsical handmade indie entity I am now meant to be.

 

So dearest New Year

I am strong, I am unique, I am true...

and I am ready for more of all of your abundant beauties.

 

and I really hope that you continue to join me on this blog as I share a bit of my world, work & joys.

 

XO and see you all next week.