Rapunzel in Legos

For Lego enthusiasts, please note the concentric rings used in this construction (wow!). Seriously awesome brick building and tale telling all in one go.

From The Brothers Brick:

Jordan Schwartz (Sir Nadroj) built a very bright interpretation of Rapunzel’s tower. The technique of stacking concentric rings to create a conical tower is very clever, and the effect is one of a kind. The creation looks deceptively smaller than its actual size, which is actually 3 feet tall.

The top level of the tower is modeled after the Peles Castle in Romania while the round part of the tower was based on a Lego design by Deborah Higden (you can see the Rapunzel tower designer's initial questions about the ring construction in the comments).

This 'MOC' (standing for 'My Own [Lego ] Creation') also got a write-up in Issue 10 of the official BrickJournal magazine, meaning the creator (and the fairy tale creation) were both recognized for the feat of 'brick engineering' it is.

You can see more detailed images HERE and see more creations by 17 year old 'Brick Master' Jordan Schwartz (pictured above) HERE.

12 Days: Cardboard Castle Kits

These lovely building playsets are affordable, recyclable and sturdy. And you can customize them because the painting part is up to you (or the clever little one you 'gift' it to). I love things like this because they're great for playing in general for girls and boys of many ages, for adding to storytime but they're also great for grownups who are involved in theater and writing as a creative tool.
The buildings, which include a number of different castles, a tree house, a farm, a windmill, a dollhouse and a fort are by Calafant and come in two sizes. The smaller, less complicated buildings (like the one below) come with non-toxic markers. You can get small toys too which can be used on their own or as accessories, such as this carriage.Creative Toy Shop (which factors recycling toys into the products it carries) is also having a special 25% off sale on these Calafant buildings when you use code CMP25 at the checkout (for orders over $20).
You can buy these buildings and the smaller toys HERE (don't forget to use the sale code!).

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN LESS THAN A WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(Watch for a preview of the prize in the next few posts..!)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Rapunzel Skateboard

A Rapunzel skateboard - how can you not want one?

The art is by by Jasmine Becket-Griffith (a.k.a. Strangeling), whose art is becoming known everywhere and licensed with different stores too and she's selling products with her art through Zazzle (like this skateboard) and through her Etsy store HERE (you can even get her original acrylics through her Etsy store direct from her).

About this gorgeous painting:

"Rapunzel in Rococo" - Rapunzel is shown in a tall tower with a muted French country landscape behind her. The window is impossibly ornate in proper Rococo style, and her hair cascades impossibly long down the length of the painting.

Strangeling has carefully chosen, and in some cases adjusted, her designs for the skateboard shape (and her shoes too!) so these look really nice from all angles. You can order different types of boards according to your needs/preferences and they're less expensive than I expected ($63.50) too. Have a look HERE. The only thing is, I think I'd want another print to just look at... (You can see a close up of details at Strangeling's website HERE.)Strangeling has a whole series of fairy tale paintings (Red Riding Hood, Kitsune, Alice, Nutcracker Suite, Snow White, Beauty & the Beast, Miss Muffet and some other less specific) and various products they're printed on. You can see those HERE (eg. check out the gorgeous 'photo sculpture' of Snow White and Her Animal Friends, shown below, HERE). She also has an official website with even more exclusives HERE.
NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN LESS THAN A WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(Watch for a preview of the prize in the next few posts..!)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

Baba Yaga & Her Baby Chicken Leg Shacks

I adore these!

Not only has Melissa Sue Stanley been creating Chicken Leg Shacks (see my previous post on these adorable plush chicken legged houses HERE) but she's created a Baba Yaga and story to go with them... AND, if you live close by, you can go see them in person at the Stuff This! - the 3rd Annual Plush Show in Columbus, Ohio. It opens today (December 5th) and runs till the 30th. You can also get a chicken leg shack - or a strawberry monster - of your own from the exhibition through HERE (other fibre/plush artist's work available here too). If you're interested in buying, be quick. They're selling out fast!I should probably have saved this for my "12 Days of [Gifts Before] Christmas" series which starts tomorrow (with giveaway!) but I just couldn't wait... consider it an early bonus!

I simply have to share Melissa Sue's Baba Yaga story (per her various blogs):

Baba Yaga and her chicken shacks:
Where did you think chicken shacks come from?She raises them in her garden.They frolic around the blue roses and valerian, and eat healthy amounts of bug legs and children's fingers.In the morning she puts on that old dusty coat and big black boots, and stomps into the chilly yard where they greet her, chirping, and chomping the tiny sharp teeth in their keyholes.The world needs more Baba Yaga.

Isn't that the most adorable bit of creepy ever?

Here's a sketch of her ideas for this great piece - you can see her attention to detail and story very clearly in her notes. I really appreciate that she's been able to handle detail and story without over-complicating the design. Very nice!You can see her blogs HERE and HERE which showcase a lot more of her work and her process and visit her website HERE. She also has an Etsy shop HERE though her chicken shacks aren't listed here yet.

Three Little Pigs Chase in Lego

I don't search for these I swear!

I present to you a chase from (a new version of) The Three Little Pigs. In Lego. With a nod to steampunk style (though there are no goggles - shock!).

This is what's called a MOC (My Own Creation) so, no we can't buy the set, but apparently, if we're very clever (and have access to lots of different Lego and Duplo pieces) we can make a set ourselves!From the creator:

Includes Big Bad Wolf minifig and three piglets!

Help the piglet on his tractor rescue his two brothers!

Tractor measures 8 cm and Big Bad Wolf Chopper Supertrike measures 10cm long!

Lowlug - the Dutch Lego club - had a contest called 'Show them how it should be done' in reaction to the general disappointment about Lego set 8967. So the challenge was to make a better chase scene in order to show Lego how it should be done.

All entries can be seen here. My entry is, of course, the Big Bad Wolf going off with two of the three pigs, with nr. 3, the practical pig, going behind them in order to rescue his brothers.

Pigs and wolf may come back in a fairy tale MOC later without chopper trikes or tractors...

Found HERE and created by talented Dutch Lego MOC artist ".eti" (aka Erik Eti Smit). He has many other unique Lego creations on his Flickr site HERE.

Baba Yaga Told With Legos & Other Storytelling Toys

My son (2 1/2 yrs) has recently discovered - and become obsessed with - Lego. He loves watching the stop-motion animation scenarios people have filmed in their homes so, naturally, I set out to see if I could find some non-violent Lego fairy tales for him to enjoy.

The best one I found was Baba Yaga and Vasilisa, which, seeing as it's turning into Baba Yaga day at Once Upon A Blog, is very appropriate. :) I particularly like how the Chicken Legged Hut was constructed.


And since we're on the subject of Baba Yaga toys, I thought I'd share these plushes I found a while back. The plush chicken leg huts at the head and tail of this post are by Melissa Sue and is available through her Etsy shop HERE. The Baba Yaga plush-with-hut comes from the Here Be Monsters line of plush toys by Toy Vaults HERE.

I also couldn't resist adding this Lego-type creation: The Baba Yaga 2050. It's a futuristic Chicken Leg Cottage (found HERE) and has the following description:

The Baba Yaga 2050 Cottage solves many of the problems humanity will face in the future:

- Scarce resources: your cottage will simply get up and walk (or run!) somewhere better.

- Peak oil: that may look like a huge diesel engine on the back, but I assure you that it's hydrogen powered, and those are hydrogen tanks on the side. Ability to deploy windmill hampered by GW's militaristic attitude to spare parts.

- Overcrowding: stacking is possible, aka the Mimas Hopper-parking solution.

- Zombie Apocalypse: see problem #1

I think you'll agree that it also satisfies the first requirement of the future: awesomeness.

Aaaand now we have the 2nd installment of steampunk Baba Yaga story ideas!