A Wealth of Wonderful Faux Taxidermy at Hurn & Hurn (& a Discount Code!)

Hurn & Hurn have a wealth of faux taxidermy. There are sculpted felt animal heads which would look lovely in a nursery, as well as a menagerie of beasties bonces made into wall-mountable vases.

I found a bargain I couldn’t resist, a Hurn & Hurn Discoveries Ram half price for £26, I had to buy it. You can see it just below, and you can click any image to enlarge for detail.

There are lots of other bargains, and there appears to be 5% off site wide today using the code FLASH5 . The site has homewares and gifts, and many quirky treats as well as stylish designs.

The Money Fight as Foreshadowed By Castle Ward's Boxing Squirrels- Plus Their Game of Thrones Winterfell Festival

I've been totally and utterly suckered into the hype for the Money Fight. Some guys are boxing in Vegas for billions of dollars.  If you live in the States you have to pay $80-$100 just to watch it. What happens if one knocks the other out in seconds? Is there a refund policy if you get twelve seconds of a match?

Its on at 5am our time, early Sunday morning, and whilst I'm not going to pay to watch it (£20-£24 here, I assume cause it's 5am) I am going to set an alarm to wake up and be on social media for the buzz. I love this sort of thing. 

Anyway, it reminded me of one of my favourite parts of Castle Ward's grand house tour- the taxidermy boxing squirrels.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan (and who isnt? Well, me, but I'm odd) then you might be excited to know Castle Ward is holding a Winterfell Festival on 24th September . 

Festival gates will open at 11am on 24 September and at 12 noon a fanfare will herald the arrival of the King’s procession as he visits House Stark at Winterfell for The King’s Tournament Games. Irish Arms, a historical reproduction company, will perform a series of medieval jousting shows on horseback throughout the day. Sword sparring, archery demonstrations, jesters and falcon flights will add to the atmosphere in the tournament ring where visitors will be able to feast on roast hog washed down with local cider.

Amongst the medieval themed stalls, armourer Boyd Rankin, who starred as Mikken in Game of Thrones will showcase a selection of the weapons he forged for the world famous TV series. Special guests will also include two of the original Stark family Direwolf dogs.

The iconic Winterfell Tower House will be open throughout the day and fans can join Winterfell Tours on a skirmish to Audley’s Castle before having their very own green screen photo taken in the Winterfell Courtyard where the Stark family famously lined up for the King’s arrival. An interactive show and workshop with Shadow Puppets themed on Game of Thrones will take place in the historic courtyard and can be enjoyed by all.

Travellers will also be encouraged to walk down the Kingsroad to the Inn at the Crossroads where they can pull up a pew and listen to stories from A Song of Ice and Fire Series One being performed by Footsteps theatrical company, while dining on venison pie and ale.

• Adult - £22.50

• Child - £10.00 (10 - 16 years)

• Family - £60.00 (2 adults and 2 children between 10 - 16 years)
  *Children under 10 are free

Access to Castle Ward on 24 September will be exclusively for Winterfell Festival ticket holders only. Castle Ward will be closed to non-ticket holders, including National Trust members, from 9am-6pm on 24 September.

You can plan a do it yourself road trip to visit all the filming locations the National Trust work with HBO on Game of Thrones, with this handy guide to where they all are.

So, shall I see you online at 5am on Sunday morning? Who do you think is going to be champion? 

P.S. I made the long list of this year's Irish Blog Awards in the Lifestyle and Best Blog Post categories, but I won't make a song and dance about it as every valid blog that got nominated makes the long list. When the short list, then the finalist lists come out I'll add buttons etc then (if I'm a finalist again this year- fingers crossed!) But thank you to anyone who nominated me I really appreciate it. 

Quite Frankly Bonkers Bizarre Taxidermy on eBay RIGHT NOW (even I am a little freaked out)

In the spirit of my wanting to return to the Blog's roots, and without a charity shop raid this weekend, I thought a delve into the treasures of eBay might be a good substitute.

All these items are on the site right now and can be found by searching 'taxidermy unusual'. Unusual is an under statement. 

Armadillo handbag for your arm-adillo

What even is this? A mouse with rabbit ears sewn on? A freakish nightmare gone wrong? 

Again, what the hell was this when it was alive?! 

This taxidermist has bought a bulk set of the wrong sized eyes for these beasts and has thought, 'screw it, they'll do anyway'. 

Right at first glance this just looks like a rather sassy badger, but looking closer it has a fox's tail and legs. There must be some crazy taxidermy lab somewhere stitching together these freaks of nature. 

Merry Christmas. 

What is this? I give up. 

OKAY THATS ENOUGH. 

eBay Has a Tonne of Anthropomorphic Taxidermy at the Minute, & it's Too Weird Even for ME.

There are about half a dozen eBay sellers listing some really weird anthropomorphic taxidermy at the moment. I'm trying to find something for my husband to buy me for Christmas.

This is my favourite. 

Heisenberg??

Dear god, no.

Bird Taxidermy Inspired Brooches & Hat Pins by Wendy Goode

My lovely parents-in-law bought me this splendid bullet shell & feather brooch for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I received it yesterday and I love it. It's very 'me'. I'm guessing they picked it up for me at the Dublin Horse Show, which they are just back from. One of their horses, Sox-et-set, was the overall Cob winner, so it was a great show for the Smyths.

Wendy Goode's website has dozens of feather accessories to choose from.

There are also some incredible interior items.

Votes for Bunnies- The Stuffed Suffragette

From Amanda's Autopsies on EBay.

Alice in Wonderland Faux Taxidermy by Suzanne Black

I'm a terribly nosy person. I love finding out what old school mates are doing these days. Given my passion for collecting taxidermy, I was excited to discover fellow ex-Sullivan-Upperite Suzanne Black is dabbling in the fine art. I asked her about her inspirations. 

 "I'm an artist that dabbles in different mediums, I take my inspiration from random things I come across in junk shops and photos, for example my faux taxidermy was influenced by some victorian taxidermy pictures depicting life and fashions of the time it influenced me to make scenes from my own life. My love for all things vintage definitely influence my style." 

You can contact Suzanne via email, and I will keep you up to date with her future exhibitions. 

My Recent Charity Shop Treasures, Dead Butterflies & Glass Birds

People often ask me how The World of Kitsch started. If you aren't a long term reader you might not know that it started as a blog cataloging my charity shop buys of vintage knickknacks, taxidermy, ugly paintings and any other oddities I collected to decorate my home.

Then my home became full, and there was no more room for new 1960s' cocktail cabinets to stuff with ugly ornaments, seaside souvenirs and mid-century crockery. So I began blogging about interesting products brands would send me, or local brands I wanted to encourage people to try.

As of 2013 I started including local hotel and attraction reviews, including blogging for Tesco about Northern Ireland's North Coast as a holiday destination for families. Now in 2014 I continue to feature interesting products, local restaurants & brands but I think it's time I return to my roots a little.

I'll be featuring more charity shop treasures, even if I can't take them home! But here are two recent purchases I couldn't resist. I can never turn down taxidermy at a good price, so I had to give these butterflies a home. 

I have a 1960s' boat shaped bar, so I collect mid-century glassware if it's in good condition. These beautiful bird glasses look brand new and I picked them up for £3 for the set.