12 Days of [Gifts Before] Christmas & "The Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway

Although the 12 Days of Christmas really starts on December 25th (or in some places the 26th) I thought I'd do something a little different.

Today is the 6th and in exactly one month it's Epiphany (the traditional time when the Wise Men were thought to have brought their kingly gifts to the Baby Jesus). We tend to concentrate on giving gifts on Christmas Day so I thought I'd sort of combine the two. During the next 12 days I'll be showing you a very different range of gifts with very specific people in mind - fairy tale enthusiasts. And there's something special for you too.

Thanks to the generosity of the lovely people at London Particulars, I'm also having a giveaway!
In order to participate you need to know about Professor Aubrey Aubrey Thistlequick and his pursuit of Happiness:

Professor Aubrey Thistlequick was so excited with the fruits of his new experiment (concerning moonlight, earwigs and ale), that he quite forget to keep an eye on Happiness, his beloved cat (who for mutual convenience accompanied him on his journeys securely tied to balloons) and a sudden gust of wind took her up and off and away; floating over Primrose Hill.

In hot pursuit, the Professor sprung up a nearby ladder and was on the rooftops in a trice, but his nimbleness and quick thinking wasn’t enough to secure dear Happiness, who mewed angrily as she sailed across London town.

With his lightning-quick mind, a ball of string and a handful of seeds (which he kept about his person at all times), Professor Thistlequick took to the skies, in pursuit of Happiness, in a race through the clouds that was to last for much longer than he should have hoped…

Had Professor Aubrey Thistlequick known that morning that he would be in such close proximity to the moon, he might have dressed in more suitable clothes and he certainly would have bought along four knitted gloves and a small coat for Happiness...

What happened next? Where did they go?
That's what you need to find out!
WHAT TO DO:

1) Go visit London Particulars (the website is HERE) for more of the story and to see where the Professor and Happiness have been sighted so far.
2) Email me directly at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com and tell me one of the locations they were seen (in the body of the email) - country and landmark's name please. Make sure you put "Happiness" in the subject of the email so it gets counted.
3) Email me with your answer (1 entry per person) before midnight on December 20th, PST USA - which is when the contest closes.

THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS:

3) Correct entries (on which I will check with the Professor to be certain they are accurate) will be given a number then entered into an independent number generator, which will choose a winner at random.
4) I will contact the winner (before December 25th) and ask them for shipping details and for their choice of a lovely poster or a print collection of the Professor in his pursuit of Happiness.
5) I'll announce the winner on the blog AND link to their blog or website too (if they wish).

EASY, ISN'T IT?

There's lots to see and many wonderful gift ideas at London Particulars (some of which I'm showing in this entry) so be sure to have a browse while you're there. I recommend checking out the particulars of the 1888 Fair poster (that may, or may not have happened).

PSST!
Anyone who also tells me exactly what Professor Thistlequick's invention was
that he displayed at the fair, gets an additional entry in the contest!
(Hint: a portion of the poster that has the details is shown in this post,
but you'll have to visit the website for the answer...)

London Particulars can be found on Facebook HERE and you can get all the latest updates on Twitter HERE and at their blog HERE.

I look forward to your mails. Happy gift hunting!

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.

Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Competition at Super Punch

The fabulous all-things-eclectic blog, SuperPunch, is having a December giveaway any artist can enter, and the art theme is Sci-Fi Fairy Tales.

Here's the announcement and details (from HERE):

The art theme for December is SciFi Fairy Tales - - give a fairy tale, fable, or myth a scifi update, like the one James Jean gave to the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf (Edit FTNH: shown at head of post). To enter, simply email me your illustration by 12:00 p.m. California time on January 1, 2010. The best design will win a $100 Threadless store credit. And I will also give a $25 store credit to one randomly chosen participant. You may send as many entries as you'd like, and this contest is open regardless of where you live. No nudity, please.

You can find more details about John Struan, who runs Super Punch, HERE in the sidebar, including his email address.

Giveaway Coming! + Folktale-ish T-Shirts

"Prevailing Dragon Winds"

I have exciting news: Once Upon A Blog will be having a giveaway for the first time ever! Thanks to the generosity of the lovely folk at London Particulars (who have wonderful steampunk and fantasy themed jewelry and prints) I'll be holding a contest starting on the 6th of December during my "12 Days of (Gifts Before) Christmas" post series, so watch this space!

I've been collecting t-shirts with fairy tale themes for a while now and will be showing you a bunch of them during the "12 Days" posts but these few don't quite fit. They are, however, very reminiscient of folktales so I thought I'd show them to you today as Threadless - the creative and fun t-shirt company - is currently having a sale with all t-shirt $12 and free shipping for any purchase over $50 (US - $75 minimum for International).

This one is called "The Cloud Menagerie"...

... and this one is called "Autumn Chameleons".

You can find more information on these design and the designers HERE and HERE. ("Prevailing Dragon Winds" at the head of the post is also by these designers.)

This lovely chameleon one is called "The Midnight Forest"...

... and you can find more information on the design and a link to the designer HERE. This particular designer has a lot of nature-themed tees with a fantastical slant to them so you may enjoy browsing his extensive design gallery too.

Marc Schömann's Match Girl

I found this set of story photos on the Behance Network and it does a brilliant job of telling the story of The Little Match Girl in a modern context, without needing a single word.

The creator is young German photographer and artist Marc Schömann. Click HERE to see his portfolio and, if you like his Match Girl, you can click below the photo set (on its dedicated page) to show your appreciation anonymously.

Hans Christian Andersen set his tale in a snowy, Christmas-time context and both the tale and this photo story remind us to count our blessings and think of others during the season.

Better Watch Out

A little fairy tale humor for the approaching crazy season... :)
NOTE: According to the stamp, the illustration is by Thomas Artner, though his work is actually very modern and abstract. I can't find this piece (or anything else like this style) anywhere on his site! You can view his portfolio HERE.

"Red Hot Fairy Tales Anthology" - Open Call for Submissions

Interested in rewriting a fairy tale?

Samhain Publishing Ltd., has put out a submissions call for any interested author, in any genre, wanting to write a novella for a yet-to-be-titled fairy tale anthology.

Here's the announcement (reproduced in entirety by permission):

How did Belle tame the wild Beast? Did the carriage turn into a pumpkin….or did Cinderella? And just what was going on with Snow White and those Dwarves?

I’m very pleased to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be titled Summer 2010 anthology. I’m open to any genre, M/F, M/M, or multiples thereof. I’m looking for your super-hot take on the fairy tales we grew up with and… there must be a Happily Ever After.

The anthology will include novellas from 20,000 to 25,000 words in length and will be released individually as ebooks in August 2010 and in print in Spring 2011.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material, previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Please be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor. Please note, we are not accepting multiple submissions for this anthology. If you already have a manuscript under consideration with Samhain and would also like to send in a submission to this anthology, please query editor@samhainpublishing.com first.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:

The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 25,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Please include a letter of introduction/query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it’s a special project. As well, when you send your manuscript, please be sure to use the naming convention FairyTales_Title_MS or FairyTales_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my ebook reader.

Submissions are open until February 1st, 2010 and final decision will be made by February 15th, 2010. Please send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Red Hot Fairy Tales Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Laurie M. Rauch (laurie@samhainpublishing.com)

Other submission information as well as details on royalties and contracts can be found HERE. My take on 'hot' here is sexy as well as new and fresh but you may wish to check up on that definition. They're also currently looking for Steampunk Romance pieces too (information on that is on the same page). I wonder which anthology is more likely to publish a steampunk romance fairy tale? ;)

The poster shown is from the famous cartoon by Tex Avery "Red Hot Riding Hood", which you watch see below.

Baba Yaga's Beer

There's a new beer out which is:

"inspired by Eastern European folklore, by woodland, streams, cold dark nights and woodsmoke."

It's called "Babayaga" and is being made for the Winter season by Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. They even have a little poem that goes with it:I'm not a beer person (although I love a lot of the label designs people are coming up with these days) but I admit this one makes me curious.

And if you think this is interesting wait till you read about their 'Baby Tree' beer.
You can find out more about the beer (and the unusual, creative and fun brewing company) HERE.

Su Blackwell Creates Oz Papercuts for Harrods

The amazing papercut artist Su Blackwell was asked to create some Wizard of Oz landscapes for Harrod's and graciously posted the three page spread on her blog for us to see.
I love seeing how the worlds she creates emerge from their respective books.

About this project, she writes:

The December Issue of Harrods Magazine is out already, for which I was asked to create three double-page spreads based on 'The Wizard of Oz'. The kids and cuddly toys were photoshopped in afterwards.

It isn't the first time Ms. Blackwell has created Oz out of paper. Here's a lovely silhouette piece from 2007.About her chosen medium she says:

"I employ this delicate, accessible medium and use irreversible, destructive processes to reflect on the precariousness of the world we inhabit and the fragility of our life, dreams and ambitions. It is the delicacy, the slight feeling of claustrophobia, as if these characters and the landscape have been trapped inside the book all this time and are now suddenly released."

You can see more of her incredible work HERE on her blog and HERE on her website.

Cinderella's Evil Stepmother for Vogue Korea?

Another article from Vogue Korea's December 2009 fairy tale issue. This time it's Cinderella - or, if the write-ups at various blogs are correct, Cinderella's Evil Stepmother.

The model (also a Korean star) is Chae Si-ra.I'd seriously like to get a translation of these articles to find out the stories or if they're purely riffing on a theme. Whatever the case, it's something very different and very interesting.

The Vogue Korea website is HERE.

And there's still more to come. This issue is like a Christmas present for fans of fairy tales!