A Bunny-centric Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday; it was a quiet but pleasant day, consisting of sewing, watching lots of episodes of Flight of the Conchords and eating naughty treats! But I thought I'd share with you some pictures of some of the lovely books I got for presents. Oh, and do you like the fantastic picture above? It's a portrait of me (uncanny likeness) drawn by my 7-year-old friend Elliot. It was drawn in pencil but I thought it'd look rather jolly in orange. It's brilliant, isn't it?! :D

I have been wanting "Fluffy" for ages since seeing another book called "Both" in the Sheffield Central Library, jointly drawn by the illustrating partners Simone Lia and Tom Gauld . Fluffy is a little boy bunny who lives with a single man. Michael, and Fluffy thinks that Michael is his daddy. But Michael tells Fluffy that he's not, even though he treats Fluffy with the same love and attention that a caring parent would show their own child. I haven't finished reading the book yet, but so far, it's an affectionate and funny story, beautifully drawn in Simone's simple and cute style.

I used to cut pictures out of books too. Did you? I think it's a natural thing to do, innocent and not naughty at all.

Fluffy is a an energetic and irrepressible bunny!

Like all bunnies, Fluffy leaves little presents everywhere. :-)

I hope this story doesn't have a sad ending...

Another book I've longed for, for a while is the Aranzi Aronzo book "Cute Stuff" in which a couple of very cute bunnies show us how to make various simple accessories and decorate them with cute appliqués. I think I really need to make something with the happy train appliqué...

Aranzi Aronzo is actually the collective/company name for a couple of very talented crafty ladies who write and illustrate all the Aranzi Aronzo books. Their catch phrase is "cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable ARANZI ARONZO"! Visit their official website for more information: A Message From Mr. Aranzi and Mr. Aronzo

As well as very clear and engaging diagrams, there are photos of the finished projects, with large bunny toys modelling them with great style!

The bunnies are very knowledgeable and helpful!

Of course, all rabbits are ecological, but I think this bunny just wants to try to push the idea to humans. Reduce, reuse, recycle - it's the bunny way!

Yes, lets! I always take reusable shopping bags with me, but they are bought ones... maybe time for an Aranzi Aronzo bag!

Rabbits are gentle creatures, and always try to encourage and reassure you.

Bunnies don't make fun of anyone. They have a high level of emotional intelligence, you see.

Crafty friends!

Mathew got me this Grange Hill annual from the Oxfam charity bookshop in Bradford. Thank you, Mathew! <3>This is Todd Carty (in the water-filled bin), who played everyone's favourite Tucker Jenkins, in comic strip form! I think they've drawn him a bit curmudgeonly... if I were Todd Carty, I think I'd be rather annoyed! He's not THAT funny-looking!

Oh, but here's a very young Todd Carty (he's the one wearing the blue jumper I think) in a Green Cross Code public information film with Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who). So remember... SPLINK!