Look what I "found"!

I found Mortimer in my sewing supplies!! Jack, my son's cat, heard him scrabbling and went to investigate. We saw him dashing across the room with something in his mouth. It was Mortimer.
(This is partly true and partly a story... Jack, the cat, loved the wool I was needle felting with and started munching away on the roving. I bagged that up and thought I was home free. Not so, I found Jack carrying an unfinished Mortimer in his mouth. Since then, I have been very careful to keep Mortimer hidden or with me!)
Mortimer was needle felted from a multi-color wool roving with black needle felted nose , white tummy and pink inner ears. He has black onyx bead eyes and perle cotton accents. His head is jointed and I weighted him with some steel shot so that he sits up.
Mortimer comes with some vintage sewing supplies. I'll be posting him on BearPile shortly.
Mortimer has been adopted !

Happy Holidays!!

I want to wish you all... visitors and followers.. a very "Happy Holidays ". And may 2010 be the best ever!


Don't forget to check back for the big blog giveaways later at the end of January. Last year over 900 blogs participated. This year I'll be one of them! I still haven't decided what my giveaway will be... so that's another reason for checking back. I promise I'll post it BEFORE the hoorah begins!

Happy Holidays from all of us... even the bears!

no new bears... but an apron

As you may have noticed, there haven't been too many new bears lately. .. it' s Christmas and I have been working on presents! I just finished an apron for my granddaughter, Lili, who loves to cook and because I am very pleased with how it turned out ( no pattern... just went with the flow) I am posting on this blog. Luckily Lili doesn't follow me yet!

Magic Carpet giveaways

The more I look into the "One World One Heart" Magic Carpet Giveaway, the more excited I am to participate. Last year, I was too late to sign up. There were more than 900 blogs participating and while I was not a winner, I did have fun surfing through all those blogs. This year I am going to do a better job of bookmarking the blogs I like.
Plus... I am thinking about my giveaway. What should I make?
And, Laurel has decided to do it with me and will have her own item to giveaway.

Sign up starts January 25th...

Another giveaway coming in January...

I am going to do another giveaway in February. There is a link on my sidebar ( right) to the Magic Carpet giveaway hosted by One World-One Heart.
I don't know what it will be, you'll have to check back closer to the date!

packages ready to go... revamped bear...new bear

The giveaway packages are ready for the mailman!

I decided that Lucy would like to be part of the Holiday season and made her a wool Santa hat and found a cute will wooden sled..

...
There are three packages going out tomorrow and there were two yesterday.... and the mailman carefully collected and then delivered all our mail from when we were gone. And he does it all with a smile... I think a little Christmas reward is in order, don't you?

Here is the new one... Darby. I just posted him on BearPile

It's over and I have winners!

Boy... this was fun and I WILL do it again! Hopefully Laurel will too! I know you're all waiting to hear who the winners are, so ( drumroll please!) the winners are #1 Abigail ( ball) and #2 Leslie (bag). I will email as soon as I post this so you can give me your snail mail addresses!

Anyone who wants a pdf file for the full-size clutch ball... email me at bettina.groh@gmail.com
It's the pattern sent to me by my sister-in-law and in her hand writing!

December 2nd Blog/Store Giveaway Day....two items!

I'm going to post this early since we are away from home and I'm nervous about making the deadline!

Many people seem to love vintage clutch balls, so my giveaway is this little one plus a copy of the pattern ( just as my sister-in-law sent it!) I shrunk the pattern down to make this little one. It is three inches in diameter.. just the right size for teddy bear accessory, ornament or pincushion. I used upholstery velvet in forest green and a pinky-brown (terra cotta) -kind of Christmasy!







Giveaway number 2 is one of my daughter's appliqued tote bags... it is navy, pink and green ...lined, about 15" wide with handles/straps..
I will add more details later... I'm away visiting , the bag is in Missouri.

So there will be two winners but not two raffles! They will be chosen on December 6th ! I will have each in the mail by December 12th! I will mail internationally!

Please leave a comment if you wish to be entered and make sure I can contact you by email for your shipping address. One comment will get you a chance for both items!
Good luck! I'm going to check out the other giveaways!

Here's the link back to SewMamaSew

Sorry to be slow moderating comments... we had no phone or DSL when we got back to KC... and the AT&T guy isn't coming till Saturday. I am at the library using their WIFI ! I will post the winners on Monday AM early and will email the winners for their shipping details!

Mousies

Little polymer resin "mousies" in walnut shells.... The instructions came from Roots and Wings Co !

many shops and blogs giveaway

The Sewmamasew blog is organizing a "giveaway" for a group of blogs and shops. It will start on December 2, 2009. All the winners will be chosen on the 6th to be mailed to their new owners by the 12th. I'm going to participate!
I will be posting with a picture of my item early... either late the 1st or early the 2nd.

Atlanta's Indie Experience

It looks like both men have agreed to a jaunt to the Southern part of Atlanta! 100 vendors will have set up for Atlanta's Indie ! I've never seen an "Indie"... they are all over the US but not in the Kansas City area.... I will report back!

Well... it was like walking into lots of little etsy.com shops... tiny little booths... lots of things similar to what I've seen before... some unique things and some booths with a different twist. It was southwest Atlanta...or as my son puts it, in old Atlanta. Not old historic Atlanta but from when Atlanta had 300,000 people not 6plus million! On the way back we went to the Sprull Art Center for their Christmas sale!

Toby's going to Des Moines too!

Toby decided that Santa needed a helper. In exchange for his help, he could have a candy cane! As you can see, Toby is already licking his candy cane....
Toby is ready to go to Des Moines Show on Saturday.... hopefully some of the candy cane will still be there.

Sammy wanted a hat too!

As Sammy was being finished, he let me know that he wanted a hat from that deep rose sweater too ! So I obliged... His is a stocking hat with a pompom on the end. Sammy is 6" tall with reverse fabric paw pads. He comes with a "snow man" ornament filled with candy canes.
Sammy is getting ready for a trip to Des Moines, Iowa for the Doll and Bear Show this Saturday. It's being held in the Iowa Fairgrounds, Walnut Bldg.

new hat and scarf for HappyToo

I found a wonderful deep rose wool sweater... so I felted it and made HappyToo a new hat and scarf. After all it's going to get much colder quite soon!

Eek! a mouse

Eek is a very small furry brown mouse with pink paw pads, tail, ears and nose. He also has dark brown ( horse tail) whiskers.... and loves candy! Nothing is safe from him!

something new... Lapin

I finished him in between Trick or Treaters! I thought about adding teeth ( not really) and turning him into "Bunnilla", but decided that a carrot eating regular bunny would be best.
Lapin is 5.5" long by 4+" tall and was felted from alpaca.

Bebe's upcycled hoodie

I finished Bebe awhile back and thought she looked nice with her pink bow... but when I found a wool sweater ( from Australia) at the thrift store, I knew I had to upcycle it for her. The result is this hoodie!
Bebe is on BearPile and I have changed her pictures. No I didn't put her back on the front page... I know that's a "no-no".

new bears

I've turned off the Halloween button and turned on winter... here are my first seasonal bears! Both are 7 inches tall...
Since I do a different Frosty the SnowBear each year... this is Frosty 09. He's up on BearPile now.







The one on the right is Chris... SOLD


A "Make it yourself" hedgehog kit is now available on etsy.com

Is the knave done?

The Knave of Hearts, he stole some tarts and took them quite away...... He also would herald the coming of the Red Queen !

I think he's done... but you never know. I had fun embellishing his ruff and finding the horn! I had thought about some tarts, but Bob felt that it was "too much"!

Maybe I didn't mention this... the rabbit is needle felted with a needle felted nose, inset needle felted paw pads ( with perle cotton claws), and needle felted inner ears. He is 5-way string jointed and can stand on his own. His glass eyes are vintage - black and white encased in clear glass, obviously hand made since each is a little different.

SOLD !!

Knave of Hearts....

The longer I worked ( needle felting) on this piece of roving, the more it went in its own direction. As the head turned into a rabbit, the "knave of hearts" from Alice in Wonderland" popped into my head. The rabbit is finished and some of his clothing is too. Accessories are in the making...
I am enjoying the process, so I thought I would put up a picture and let others see him!





He's quite tall for a needle felted rabbit!

LillieMouse

Lillie Mouse was my hand work project for the last week or so... She's really small for me ( 4.5 inches)! I had plans to stick her tail in a trap and make some cheese... but discovered the beads and the hairband and thought they would suit her better. Besides EVERYONE felt they couldn't stand to hear her scream when caught in the trap!
She's on BearPile ! (looks like she's sold!)

Tickled pink

The Bill Boyd Memorial Jubilee in Kansas City is over for 2009... next year will be its 20th Anniversary year! I think I've missed only 3 in all those years!
I scrounged around and found loads of pins, buttons and even a bolo tie from the Jubilee, Linda Mullins' show, TBAI show, ABC shows, Mark McCay's New Brunswick show and so on and put them on a beanie ( and bear) for Friday nights' auction for Good Bear's of the World. I had no idea what he'd bring; but when Martha Burch said sold...... it was for $290 ! All proceeds to GBW's cause!
On Saturday , sale day, sales could have been stronger though little things, a few bears and my hedgehog kits did go home with new owners! BUT , one of my little needle felted bears did win a second place ribbon - dressed, 8-13" category!! I'll put up her picture with her ribbon later today!
So....all in all... I had a tickled pink weekend!

Zoo favorites...

The monkeys swim out to this little island and the skyway goes over them!
The skyway takes you from one end of the zoo back to near the entrance! Very different perspective. The animals below ignore you completely.
Totally ignored everyone!
She was watching the lion, coming across towards her, very very intently!

Omaha Doll and Bear Show

Today's show was a little quieter than shows past... maybe they were celebrating Nebraska's homecoming weekend and the record that was set ( 300 home game sell-outs) !
But there seemed to be more bear lovers then in the past and 5 bears plus "other stuff" went to new homes. Several "buyers" plan to be at Kansas City's Bill Boyd Jubilee Sale next Saturday!

I have my hedgehogs kits assembled... and the pattern and directions written. Now to put them on a cd and trek down to Office Depot and have them printed. My time slot is Friday 1.30 to 2.30 pm.

Away from home

yes... we're away but we don't go without the laptop! I have a doll/bear show tomorrow in Omaha, Nebraska, so Bob and I decided to make a mini vacation out of it. We took off from home on Friday morning and arrived in Council Bluffs, Iowa before lunch. No... it's only 2.5 hours by car.
Council Bluffs is the sister city to Omaha... on the eastside of the metro area. The Missouri River is the dividing line.
We discovered that the race to lay track across the western US started in Council Bluffs.. not Omaha. Our first tourist destination was the Union Pacific RR museum.... then onto a RR depot museum... then to see the Golden Spike monument.
Today we went to the Omaha Zoo ! Then to Old Market area... Omaha's version of the old City Market and its surrounding blocks. It's quite close to Omaha's rail yards and refurbished depot!
Interesting area... lots of old manufacturing and retail buildings now housing small specialty stores and restaurants... and some featuring lofts and apartments above.
My feet are tired... so it's quiet time for now!

Nancy's giveaway.... and a new little "Pip"

Nancy of "Dog Patch Critters" is having a giveaway to celebrate her 200th post... here's the link !
Even though it decreases my chance of winning, I hope you will go and check her giveaway out!

I have been having fun making this little bear and his accessories. Pip is 5 inches ( as small as I can go!)... he has a gourd pumpkin and lots of Halloween candy! I will be listing him on BearPile .

Hedgehog pattern and kit

The Bill Boyd Kansas City Jubilee and Bear show is getting closer and closer. I will be doing a little "demo" on Friday afternoon( 1.30 to 2.30pm) with a pattern for my hedgehog! I made one today so that Bob and I could take pictures of the whole process. He will write up the instruction sheet for the hedgehog kits I will have available for sale. If I know him, the instruction sheet will turn into an instruction manual !
By the way... the Jubilee will be from Thursday night October 1st to Saturday ( sale day) October 3rd. The annual Good Bears of the World meeting will be Thursday night... kicking things off to a good start!
Anyone interested in the schedule can email me... and I'll be happy to send them the whole schedule!

Mouser...

I've needle felted a little mouse... the pumpkins must have sparked my needle felting "gene" !
I had a lot of fun with him and his cheese and the cheese's hiding place!

Halloween is coming....

Halloween is coming and I can't resist pumkins! So out came the dye pot and out came orange wool roving, just right for pumpkins!
And those side looking eyes...? Here they are again!
I posted a two-some on etsy....

These probably won't be the last for this season!

Bailey

I just finished Bailey and have posted him on BearPile.... Peppermint's owner didn't want the book safe ( she never wants accessories and I'm happy to oblige! ) so I am free to let Bailey use it as his "hide and go seek" spot.
Bailey is vintage long pile and his glass eyes are vintage too! I found them on eBay and they're really special... black centers with white pupils encased in clear! They look to the side!
Bailey is small for me, 5" tall!

a soft, pink baby bear ...Babette

I just finished this little baby bear. She is 7 inches tall and made from the same wonderful pink alpaca that Peppermint was made from. I don't think there enough left for a third bear.. too bad.
Babette is wearing a smocked vintage hankie dress made by Nancy Hauk ( love Nancy's work... so precise and finished inside and out!)

another new guy

There are times when things don't end up looking the way one wants them too! Not that I don't like FuzzyWuzzy... but I didn't intend for him to look so much like EJ! Fuzzy is alpaca and a very different pattern.. but who would guess? I guess I could point out more differences.. Fuzzy is bigger, fatter, fuzzier and so on.. instead I'll just upload his picture.

ps...I really like the Australian eyelids on Fuzzy!

check out the side bar

My daughter asked me to add a link to the "adopt a classroom" program. The link is on the side bar. The high school she teaches at is an urban one... one that has no extra money... so of course, I agreed. There's a link to her classroom..
thanks for reading this! Bettina

EdwardJay... or EJ

The other day I bought two pieces of a silk and mohair blend on eBay from England. When they arrived I discovered blend is very soft and I was eager to make a bear from it... and so here is EJ ( or EdwardJay for the more formal of you out there!) EJ has an open mouth, scissor trimming and needle sculpting. He is 12 inches tall. I've posted him on BearPile.

Steve Schutt's Teddy Bear Reunion in the Heartland 2010

The 2010 reunion, Clarion, Iowa, will be held June 10 - 13th, 2010 ! I can't believe that 5 years will have past since the last one. I will have a table. Bob and I will be taking our little trailer and parking in someone's barn yard!
I have posted a copy of the "collector and family registration form" on my website ... the show coupon page. If you'd like to attend, click on the form picture to enlarge it for printing. We'd love to have loads of people attend!
I will be mailing my auction piece next week. It has to be there by September1st. NO... it's a secret and I won't be putting up a picture just yet.

Peppermint's secret stash

In my own stash I found this little book "safe"... ie. a fake book with a hidey hole inside. So I added a bear's paw print and some lettering!
Dug around and found some polymer resin peppermint candy canes too. So Peppermint now has a peppermint stick and a place to hide the rest!
There's room on BearPile now... so I have put her on!

Peppermint....pink it is!

yes... definitely pink! This is Peppermint, made from short dense alpaca from England with pink Ultrasuede paw pads and inner mouth, black German glass eyes and a variegated perle cotton nose. Peppermint is steel shot weighted and is just a handful! I'll have to go looking, but I think I have a polymer resin candy cane that Peppermint might just like!

Rudy... a vinatge lap rug bear

I finally decided to use the back side of a vintage mohair lap rug I had found years ago! I had made several from the front side - a wild pattern in golds, browns, reds and green - but not the back. It was , and I say was, because I made Rudy and another non-bear item from it, a huge, soft piece and I was reluctant to make the first cut!

Rudy was made from a new pattern.. he has a big head, large muzzle and round tummy. I decided to play with Ultrasuede eyelids...these show brighter in the picture than in actuality. I hadn't done them before , so that was fun. He also has perle cotton eyebrows. I posted him on ArtFire this morning.....

Thad... my newest little bear

Thad
Thad is a little hand sized bear... standing 6" tall. He was made from matted sparse mohair with Ultrasuede paw pads, black German glass eyes and perle cotton nose and accents. He is cotter pin jointed, stuffed with premium polyester fiberfill and weighted with steel shot.
Thad is wearing a "T is Thad" necklace... and I found a cute little vintage tin Ohio Art child's cup and saucer for him.
His picture will be in the August "Bears & Buds" on-line magazine. After that issue comes out, I will post him on BearPile

Blog giveaway has a winner!

The giveaway has a winner!! I put all the comments/names and the names of those who emailed me directly into a pail... and we drew a name!

The winner is #8 sea and I have emailed her directly... I need her snail mail address so I can send the hedgehog and his pincushion to her!!

Thank you ALL for participating! I will be doing another giveaway around the holiday season. I hope you will look in here and to my ArtFire shop now and again!

Whoo whoo ...made it to 500+ Giveaway

The giveaway is one of my little spiky mohair hedgehogs and his acorn pincushion. He measures, just so you have an idea of his size, 3 inches from nose tip to back. He has German glass eyes, perle cotton nose, polyester fiberfill and leadshot filling and an Ultrasuede face.

Now all you have to do is take a look at my Artfire studio and come back and comment on my blog. Lili, my 7 year old granddaughter will pull a name from a hat on her aunt's birthday July 27th. May the best "person" win!
If you aren't able to comment ...for whatever reason... just email me by clicking on the "contact me" button middle right hand side.

Whatever you do... please make sure I can contact you!

500 ArtFire Sudio Views

I'm getting close... only 10 to go. I will be having a "giveaway" to celebrate... so check back. Want to make it sooner? Visit my studio... Thanks!

Maghee on "top 9"

My Maghee and the hedgehog were chosen by Popnicute for her top 9 of the day! She also posted them on Votehandmade.
Isn't that something!

Pincushion Swap

I received my box of goodies, including two pincushions, from Carole Ann! She must have known about my bears because she included a tiny teddy and some teddy stickers.... but here it all is! The pinwheel with butterfly pincushion is reversible! I will have loads of fun with this!

Carole Ann's blog is carolescalicos.

Thank you!

ribbit ribbit ribbit "Kikker" the frog

"Kikker" is actually Dutch for frog... we had fun with Babelfish picking a name for him. I was tempted by "grenouille" which is the French for frog, but didn't think many could pronounce it!
So... "Kikker" was needle felted from variegated hand-dyed wool roving with black German glass eyes. He'll be up on etsy.com shortly. Dimensions:
4.5"l x 3.5"w x 3"h

Kikker's sold!!

Help Phoenix Family Housing

My daughter is the development director for a non-profit called Phoenix Family Housing here in Kansas City, Mo. One of her "jobs" is writing grants... she posted on her blog that she has written over 1200 pages of grants in the last few weeks!
Here is something I received in an email from her

I just nominated Phoenix Family Housing for a chance to win a $25,000 Social Media Makeover at CommuniCause.com. I'd love to see Phoenix Family Housing be able to do great things with this prize, but I can't do it alone.



Click on the link... and vote! That's all it takes, that and your email address. Grants provide social services at Phoenix Family Housing. Services such as busing seniors to the grocery store, tutoring for kids, craft sessions for summertime kids, and many more! This grant will provide the winner with expert consulting services to help improve their social media presence and fundraising outreach!

in a "Pickle"

Is he called "Pickle" because of his color? Or because he loves pickles... from bread and butter to okra? Who knows....
His fabric( a vintage rayon) came from Australia, from another bear artist who included Australian passports for the bears made from it! Pickle is about 6.75" tall with German glass eyes, Ultrasuede paw pads and a perle cotton nose!

Susan

I was lucky enough to snag this cute little vintage baby sweater and matching booties on eBay the other day... and knew there had to be a bear to wear them. So here's Susan....

She's a new design with a bigger head... like a baby. I used Edinburgh's swirly mohair in an antique gold and have posted her on BearPile.

Lambert

Lambert is an armful... a hefty 18 inches tall! I've been making so many small bears and hedgehogs lately that I had a hankering for a big one. Lambert is the result. He's been posted on BearPile.
While hunting through my stash for a mohair for Lambert I came across a piece of dusty mauve long mohair piece ....I'm not sure what to make from it, so I'm just going to "think on it" for awhile!

Hopper

Hopper was our super-dog ... a frisbee fanatic.. but she's been gone for almost three years. Today was a blast from the past. Our stove had a recall on it and the GE guy came today to replace a connector. He had to pull the stove out away from the wall to make his repairs and what did he find other than crayons, a champagne cork and a toy screwdriver? One of Hopper's well chewed frisbie's ! I was sure I'd thrown all of them away!

Was that a reminder from beyond? Lili, my grand daughter, sometimes rings the doorbell hoping she'll hear Hopper's bark....

back to work

I think I've managed to put away everything from out trip and do a little outside gardening... so now it's back to "work".
I found a great vintage feed sack at an antique store in North central Tenn... my husband found two slide rules ( one of the "things' he collects) too so it was a great morning. He has cleaned and waxed his slide rules and I have turned the feed sack into two bags/work baskets/ buckets and still have more burlap to work with.
I had such fun with the burlap bag that I emailed Kansas City's coffee roasting company and asked about their coffee bean sacks.... they wrote back super fast and offered to give me several! The Roasterie air roasts their coffees and has many blends. AND the company is super involved with non-profits such as WaterPartners. I picked up the bags and they are SUPER with great silk screened graphics.
I also worked on a new bear! I finished "Drew" this morning and posted her on BearPile.

I've also been working on getting the "Artist Bears" blog train organized... Nancy D told me what she was giving away... now I need the rest to do the same.