Cytherea

I have a brand new picture to show you.

She is Goddess of Beauty, she is connected to this earth & to it's precious inhabitants,

they are part of her and she a part of them, she is...

 

"Cytherea"

 

 

Here are some details...

 

Beautiful 8 x 10" prints of Cytherea are already listed in my shop

for all who are interested in added this bewitching Goddess to your walls and home.

 

Have an amazing weekend and see you next week.



New Inkling With Weekend Wishes

Just hopping in quickly today to show you a new little rabbit inkling

(these will be making their way into my Etsy shop as prints of various sizes VERY soon).

 

 

I wish you all a wonderfully awesome weekend, super busy or really relaxing, however you prefer it.

Ours will be full of rabbit bonding time, BBC travel shows & some gardening if the rain lets up.

 

Another Rabbit Inkling & 6 Years

On top of my exhibition, this week I am preparing for something huge...I can't wait to tell you.
 

I am enjoying more time with my ink pens & more little inklings...doesn't this one look like our Jin.
I just love it and can totally picture it on a tote bag.

Today marks my 6th year of blogging.  Wow.

 

 

I remember my very first post,
I was so nervous, tentative, unsure of who in the world would care about anything I wrote or showed, it took me hours to hit the publish button, ha ha.
I wasn't quite knowing what my blog was about or would become or even if I'd keep it up.
Now 6 years in and almost 1000 posts later, it feels like a cozy home and a labor of love,
a beautiful space for show and tell, a meeting place for new friends,
a gentle spot to lay open my heart and my tender soul...knowing I'll be met with kindness & support.
Well now 6 years down the road, I am planning on blogging for atleast another 6, ha ha!

I am Gonna Gush About Frenwyck

Today is a special day, for it marks a whole entire year that our Frenwyck has been with us.

Yayyy.

 

 

We love him so, I can't even really put it into words...sappy, I know, but true nonetheless, ha ha!

We just can't imagine not having him in our rabbity family. 

He really has healed our hearts.

 

 

This amazing rabbit was at the Toronto Humane Society.
Can you believe someone just dumped him off & in horrible condition too...poor baby. 
He was at the shelter for too long and even though they took stellar care of him, he became a very grumpy boy.  He needed a lot more space to run & be a bunny & desperately needed love & a home.

 

Many of you know the story of how we fell in love with him long before we could adopt him.

(You can read the wonderful story right here if you'd like).
We both just knew he was meant to join our family.

 

 

I must say, going to the shelter (all 3 times) was by far not easy.

We were insanely excited about adopting our new family member

BUT we were also feeling awful & incredibly sad about all the buns we were leaving there.

It was worth the torn hearts though cause we came home with Teela, Yuuji, Flynn & Fren

and I just kept telling myself saving one (or in our case 4) was better than none at all.

 



Now he's an incredibly happy joyful rabbit.  Like a little puppy, following us around the house.

He just loves us so much...it's so awesome to feel that pouring out of him.

He is one of thee most enthusiastic buns we've ever had.

We can tell everyday that he appreciates his home.

 

 

He's just amazing and awesome and fabulous and snuggly.

and he has made my heart grows 10 times it's size.

He simply is 'Frenwyck the Incredible'...that's his nickname around here...also 'Muppet'.

 

So, yes, ha ha, you know me & my bunnies, I could go on and on...

So I'll just say Happy 1 year anniversary Fren.

 

 

Adopting you was one of the best things we've EVER done.

XXOO



Goodwin

I want you to make the acquaintance of a very cool little dude...

 

his name you may ask?

why how polite of you to ask,

his name is

"Goodwin"

 

Read on to hear a tiny bit of his story...

 

 

You may perhaps mistake him for a squirrel or a guinea pig (the latter to which he is indeed related),

however our fair dapper Goodwin is actually neither of these...

he comes from Central America and is in fact an 'Agouti'.

 

Do you know what he does for a living?

 

Well our furry friend here owns a very popular button franchise.

(with a couple of stores just opening up now in South America...how exciting!)

He is proprietor, designer and maker of much sought after buttons made from Brazil nuts.

Ever single button in his shops are created by Goodwin himself with his very own nimble teeth.

You see, Agoutis have a special tooth enamel that is twisted in this super cool way

to make the teeth super extra tough and super strong. (oh that Mother Nature is a clever one she is).

Goodwin's parental background & special teeth really are the makings

for the perfect button nut nibbler/designer....no wonder his creations are so sought after.

They are really quite something to marvel at...and very expensive, naturally of course!

 

See the nifty blue denim jacket he's wearing?

 

Well that's his favorite thing in the world.  He's never without that coat of his. 

It was handed down to him by his father...a great old Brazil Nut farmer named Papa Rojas.

He was the one who taught Goodwin how to find the biggest & best nuts out there.

Goodwin still has a collection of very special nuts which he collected with his dad

when he was still but a wee tiny thing.

These nuts are saved only for the most important of clientele, like kings, queens and huge rock stars.

 

(Prints of Goodwin will be available soon)

(The original is up for grabs, just email me at mandysaile@bijouswhimsy.com)



Loving Days Like This

I love days like this...

 

Days that begin with a good cup of coffee

and the knowledge that I have a whole day ahead of me to be creative...

 

Days that start with a giant fluffy rabbit jumping up onto my lap to say good morning.

 

Oh how I love starting my days like this.

Bunnies and Art...that's where it's at for me...

I am feeling so very very lucky.

 

So very very much in love with my daily bunniful creative routine.  Ahhhh.

 

Hope your feeling lucky and happy as can be too. 

Have a super day Everyone XO.



Back Real Soon

Hi Lovely Peeps.

 

Can I just send out a big massive hug to you.

I am feeling so very very warmly embraced & supported by my blog land circle...

 

Thank You.

 

Things around here are good & busy.

January is always a really great time for me to instigate new healthy changes & routines.

My head is amazingly behaving so I am in my studio a lot &  making lots of new pieces.

I am cleaning my studios big time...ugh it's been quite the job & I am nowhere near being done!

Soon it's back to work on the new website & I just can't wait to launch it.

Also new changes to the blog are way overdue & in the works as well...YAY.

 

(this is one of my all time favorite photos of our Teela)

 

Everybunny is good.

Teela & Yuuji love the newly finished bedroom.

(I think we were the only ones who were measuring the height of bed frames for bunny usage, ha ha!)

Frenwyck loved having his pa around constantly for our 2 week holiday.

Jinny is hanging in there.  She might need a 4th round of antibiotics and we are still quite worried.

The sneezing has stopped but the labored breathing is still present.

 

I just wanted to let you know that I'll be back really soon.

On January 20th to be exact.

I am excited. 

I think that 2014 is going to rock & I can't wait to continue sharing with you here.

 

See you again really soon & Happy Happy New Years.

XO Mandy (aka Bijou)

Happy Holidays

Hi Everyone.  It's the last post of the year, wow!

 

Thanks so very much to all who visited and supported me here on my beloved blog this past year.

Being able to share my art & some of my life in this special space is so lovely & important to me.

 

 

Now it's time for some much needed rest & rejuvenation with my honey & bunnies...

and lots of hot cocoas, roaring fires, movies, books, baths, naps, skiing, etc and of course art time.

 

I hope I'll see you here again in the New Year.

Be Well, Be Kind, Be Joyful and Be Inspired.

XXOO Mandy & The Bunnies

P.S.  The Buns have been entered into a draw for the best bunny Xmas card...
JUST CLICK HERE: 
Teela, Yuuji, Flynn, Jaks, Jinny and Frenwyck sure would appreciate your vote
(We're #28).
If they are the winners they get a lovely package of rabbity goodies from the host Buns Boutique

One Whole Year With Tee-Tee

This past week we celebrated joyously...

For it marked

1 whole year that our Honey Bee Tee-Tee has been with us.

Making our precious orange haired girl just over 2 years old.

 

One year ago on December 8th we were driving a total of 8+ hours and almost 1000kms

in a super duper nasty snowstorm to adopt our Teela from the Toronto Humane Society.

 

 

Every single time I look at her little face my heart just swells.

I just simply can not comprehend how someone can give her away to a shelter...

but in the end I am hugely glad they did because she's finally found her way home!

 

 

She called to my heart & soul as soon as I saw her little face on those adoption pages.

 

 

She was right from the start a balm to my heart

(missing our Ella Luna & during the last difficult months with Roo just 8 months after Ella passed).

She quickly became one of my brightest lights that I can't imagine life without.

 

 

Jonathan says that she & I are soul mates and I believe he is right.

 

 

She is adorably clumsy and so insanely endearing that she melts your heart.

 

 

She is so special. SO sweet, so funny & spunky.

 

 

And oh boy this little one just loves her Yuuji...

I find it sweet that they were across from each other at the shelter for a short spell.

It took awhile to bond them but now they are thick as thieves and so so precious together.

 

 

Jonathan is always saying 'How many different kinds of cute is she..." ha ha.

As naughty as she can get...she has her daddy wrapped around her little paw, ha ha ha!

 

 

and she is a huge foodie...she wants to eat everything! including walls!

The only things she's turned her nose up at so far is pickles, ha ha!

She LOVES her nightly sips of honeyed green tea with us at bedtime...

and buzzes super loud like a honey-bee...hence the nickname.

 

You know me, I could go on & on about my babies!  So I'll end here and just say...

Happy 1 year homecoming to our little Honey-Bee-Tee-Tee.

We can't imagine life without you our little sweet darling. 



Life In The Yard: A Tour By Rabbits

So the rabbits are taking over today...they are going to be your tour guides for this post.
Game???
Here we go...

Teela says "Hi There.

Can you believe that us 4 shelter bunnies have been here almost a year now.
When mom and dad brought each of us home, they whispered to us grand tales of not only a safe home that would be ours forever but they talked of a beautiful yard...that was ours now too.
Turns out they weren't telling tales...
We spent so much time running free outside with mom and dad keeping us all safe and sound.  Making sure we all got pretty equal turns in the yard probably wasn't always easy.
People think rabbits are cute and easy but truth is that we're very complicated & often difficult.

Our first summer here was so awesome...so much space, so much yummy grass to eat...

 

...SOOO many nice smells & trees to prune...

 

 

...Look, look...this is our gazebo...I never thought I'd have my own gazebo, even though I always truthfully felt like I did indeed deserve one. Being the super awesome bun that I am...

can you believe my first so called 'family' dumped me off at the shelter cause they couldn't be bothered bringing me with them in a move...

ANYHOW I am glad they did cause this is where I am meant to be, with my new mom & dad.

 

 

Oh hold on...I am hogging the show...Yuuji says he wants to show you the inside."

 

 

Yuuji says "Oh come in come in and see....me and Teela love it in here...

so many hidey spots with colourful flowers that danced above our heads....

Dad keeps the grass at just the perfect height...

too low gives us little to munch on, too high makes it harder to zoom and play.

I am even allowed a burrow.  I dig and dig and dig and when I get too deep, mom & dad fill it in so I can start all over again, what bun wouldn't want that.  You should see me dig, I am a pro, like Jinny!

 

 

That's where my mom and dad ate dinner many evenings and where my mom drew during the day...

She says she loves how the heat of the summer warms up the wax in her pencils

and that in the background is my dad's workshop...

he never sits still, he putters in there all summer long.

We got used to all of the sounds of the tools but it took us awhile to do so...me abit longer than Teela.

Dad calls Teela, his 'carpenters bunny'...something about her liking the tools & noise like Ella did?!

 

 

and here's where my mom liked to sit with her green teas that she shares with Teela.

 

...Unfortunately we HAVE to be nice and share the yard with Flynn, even though he's a jerk to us...

 

 

...and that pesky squirrel named 'Almond' whose always bugging my mom for nuts!

Apparently she's going to hang around being a beggar for the whole winter too, ugh!

 

...oh boy, wait...that little thug is coming...

 

 

...he wants his turn to show you something too...

we'll let him show you the hammock."

 

 

Flynn says "Hi Hi Hi Hi....come this way, to the other side of the house....

This is where my mom takes naps when she has a sore head OR a good book to enjoy...

 

 

...sometimes I get to play on this side, but mostly it's Jinny and Jaks yard.

Mom and Dad say that Jinny and Jaks are the oldest in the house & get dibs...NOT fair I say.

Look, there's Jinny running under the hammock like she owns the place or something...jeez!

 

...Oh there's Jaks...he's such a knob...we try to fight a lot but we're not allowed...

I am outta here...he's giving me the stink eye."

 

 

Teela says "Hey you guys....come back over to this side....hurry hurry..."

 

 

Frenwyck says "YEAHHHHH come on you GUYYSSSS...there's more to see on our side...

 

 

...check this out.  I have my own bench...I can gaze down into the pond to my hearts content.

The others are all too chicken to jump up here...that's cause I am so tall and big my mama says...

 

 

...come on come on you guys...

 

 

WOHOO....WOOOHOOOOO...there's more....

 

 

...UP here...UP the stairs..."

 

Teela says "Come on Yuuji...we gotta show these people our deck.

Did you all know that Jinny and Jaks and Flynn share one deck but Fren, Yuuji & I get the BIG one...

 

 

...that's it...come on already...up here...I don't have all day, my mom's gonna bring a snack soon...

 

 

...yuck there's Almond again...I don't like her hanging around with my mama so much...argh...

 

 

...anyhow, look at this...we have SOOO much space to stretch out...AHHHH....

 

....SOOOO many things to jump up on...

 

....and it all smelled so good cause of all the flowers...

The chickadees zoom in and out of here all day long...my mama just LOVES it...

 

...Frenwyck doesn't know how to share the deck nicely yet though....

 

...my mama says maybe next year he'll be best friends with us...we hope so...

 

...my heart belongs to Yuuji, he's my soul-mate BUT I gotta admit, that Fren is one handsome bun...

 

...Anyhow...yeah...look at all our flowers we had.

My mama and daddy had lunch at that white table whiles I zoomed or napped...I am so fast....

 

 

...ha ha...Yuuji says that he could often smell the soy dogs dad cooked on the firepit...

We all love being out under the twinkling stars...summer or winter, it's great.

 

 

...and that there is the corner my mom likes to sit in when it's raining...

she sat here with a book and hot chocolate during many rain storms this past season...

 

 

...We had sooo many nice snacks here on the deck this past summer too, grass & clover & yarrow....

 

 

...well, that's it...

the 4 of us feel so lucky that this is our yard...

and atleast mom and dad made themselves nice spots to hang out in since we stop

them from going anywhere far in the summers...

But they are always saying to us

"we wouldn't trade you guys for a trip around the world".

 

 

...Don't ya think it's the best,

we don't like fall so far so much but playing on the slippery snow is kinda fun...

we dream at night of next summer, we dream of digging & munching & zooming....ahhh.

Okay see ya...BYE from all 6 of us, but especially the 4 shelter buns who were your tour guides"

 

The bunnies just really wanted to show you our yard set up this past season, ha ha.

Everything is put away and covered in ice and snow now...we're already dreaming of next year!