Happy New Year

FairieBear is in an etsy treasury!!

FairieBear was chosen to be in an etsy treasury!!!

Here's the link ....

I think that's neat!!!

Mr. Mole

I have been working on a series of little animals and just finished Mr. Mole. I had to check out Wikipedia to see just what moles did or didn't have... no tails, non visible ears, large digging feet....
Here is my finished mole.... Mr/ Mole is 6" tall, jointed and made with hand-dyed mohair.

Vote for my entry!???

I entered Noel in the "Better Homes and Gardens" ornament contest and he was chosen to be possibly this week' winner!!

Here is the link to vote for him!

I tried cutting and pasting the email I received from BHG but it wouldn't fit on my blog! I tried all sorts of things... but no luck!

Noel would love your vote!!

Tommy and FairieBear

We are home again! Our Thanksgiving visit to our son's home in Tulsa was great ( except for being rear ended at a traffic light! Everyone, including the cars, are fine!) We had lots of "tasks" to do... wall paper removal, gutter repairs, bookcase assembly - you get the idea.... which we accomplished!
Of course I took down little bags of bear parts for tv time sewing and managed to finish FairieBear and Tommy with his hobby horse (SOLD)! There are some other things that are WIPs!
My son and I ventured again into the world of home canning... we are beginning to feel comfortable with the process and have promised each other to do it again when he comes here for Christmas! I may try some things without him for Christmas gifts!

BLACKFRIDAYBONANZA

etsy is trying something new and I have jumped onto the bandwagon.... a 10% off coupon at checkout. The code is "BLACKFRIDAYBONANZA" and it will be active all this week.
My etsy shop is GlassDragonBearsEtc.

can't believe it...

After spending the last few weeks raking and bagging ,raking and bagging in the cold chilly fall weather... Mother Nature does an about face. Today it's 70 out!! And was it windy this morning!? Now we will have to rake and bag some more... and the leaves aren't all down yet either!

By the way I'm also working on a charcoal gray mole....

Sammi the squirrel...preparing for winter

I was commissioned to design and make a small squirrel... I spent one night dreaming about the project! The next day I put my dream onto plastic for pattern pieces and then made the squirrel. There were changes along the way, but Sammi turned out pretty much how I visualized him. Though if I make another, I'll probably make more changes! I am especially pleased with his tail which is wired and pose - able!
Sammi is 6.75" tall and jointed arms, legs and head.... weighted to counterbalance his tail and can stand with a little help! Currently he is in a resin log and carries needle felted acorns with real acorn caps.

Now she wants a SKUNK... time for dreams again!?

etsy treasury!!!

My mouse in an old wooden shoe ( only found ONE shoe!) made it into an etsy treasury! Hooray !! Here's the link.

Quiet around here!

I am stuck to whispering... Bob hasn't said whether he's enjoying the quiet or not! Tried my needles at another Santa.... changed the head proportions and gave him less of a "hanker" nose. It has been fun! I took pictures and here are the three I liked best. Not having great luck getting really good clear ones.

work while fighting the creeping crud!!

I have been battling the creeping crud all week as friends on Facebook will already know. Luckily I can work in my recliner!!
Last week I dyed a lot of roving... tones of brown, pink and green. Yesterday I started work on a Santa ornament... This is only the second time I have tried a person rather than an animal. I really enjoyed adding rounded cheeks, eyelids, his beard and mustache. He ended up being 4" long by 3" wide... Ithink I will try a smaller version next!

Photoshop and me...

I've been playing around on Photoshop... yes, again. This time I wanted to make some magnetic cards. You know... the kind everyone has on their refrigerator. My son bought me a box of peel and stick "Make a magnet" business cards during one of our many trips to Home depot while visiting him in Tulsa. And here is what I came up with...

US citizens .....Get out and VOTE

No matter what your political beliefs, today is the day to vote! When I was young everyone voted... nowadays too many people don't. How can one let others decide their future ? You may not vote on the winning side, but at least you have had your say.

Non-voters CANNOT complain about our country's direction!

I do love making mice!

Here's my latest... Kris the Christmas mousie. He has found the perfect hiding place... a Santa hat!

Kris has been posted on BearPile.

By the way... Kris is 4 inches long without his tail!

There must be something about the weather

There must be something about colder weather that makes me provide bears with warm sweaters! Isn't their fur enough? It seems not... so here is Kerry with his warm wet felted wool hoodie with white minkie plush trim!
Kerry has a needle felted muzzle... with eyelids, an open mouth and nose. Good thing he's got his sweater or his nose would have turned red from the cold!! Kerry is 8" tall.

Genny's new sweater

It was so cold out this morning... almost freezing... that I made Genny a hoodie from a felted sweater. A pillowcase dress just isn't enough to keep one warm! I posted her on etsy .

I also updated her pictures on BearPile.

giveaway winner

I used the random number thingy.... and #9 was the winner... "Lucky Laurel"! Would you please send me your address?!!

mice and more mice

I have been making more mice... they each come out a little different. A customer wanted an angel mouse,,, and the one with the wings is the result. I wonder whether she'll like her? (She did!!!)

Don't forget to sign up for my Frosty giveaway... it ends the 24th when we get back from the Chicagoland show!

whoo whoo!! I made it...giveaway time

Thanks to all I now have 200 "hearts me-s" on etsy! And I have a giveaway for you. I will close this on October 24th when I get back from the Chicagoland Teddy Bear Show. All you have to do is leave me a comment and make sure I have a way of reaching you by email. I will mail internationally as well !

So here he is...... my first ornament of 2010 ( finished on 10/10/10 !?) Frosty was needle felted from wool roving. He has black onyx bead eyes, faceted black beads for his mouth and a polymer resin nose and pipe.... both of which are sewn on. He is wearing a holly leaf embellished felt hat and wool plaid scarf.

only 3 more "hearts me" till the giveaway

Oh my... only three more "hearts me" on etsy.com until I reach 200 and the promised giveaway. My last giveaway, a hedgehog, was very popular so I want this one to be popular too.....

think ... think... think what should it be?

UPDATE: only 2 to go!

How about a mohair pumpkin?

I had dye leftover from Jacco... so more mohair went into the pot and out came the mohair for this pumpkin!
He's big... about 4" in diameter and 4" to the tip of his scraggy mohair stem. He has clear German glass eyes, wool felt features and a wool felt leaf embroidered with perle cotton blanket stitching. .. a floral wire curlicue finishes things He's stuffed with fiberfill.

Jacco... all set for Halloween

When I started on Jacco I knew I had to have him be ORANGE... so I hand dyed his mohair! He has orange Ultrasuede paw pads, large black German glass eyes with Ultrasuede underlinings, a polymer resin nose, and perle cotton accents. He is cotter pin and hardboard disc jointed, stuffed with polyester fiberfill and weighted with steel shot. He is wearing a tiny Halloween bandanna and a glass bead necklace.. the beads include an orange pumpkin and several candy corns. His pumpkin is a paper mache one with a wire handle.

Frosty the Anime SnowBear...2010

Each year I make a new version of Frosty the SnowBear... there has been a big hefty open mouth one... a needle felted one... a minibear... and so on. This year I made an anime one. Fosty is a little over 6 inches tall and was made from a lovely soft straight mohair with Ultrasuede paw pads, large black German glass eyes and a polymer resin carrot nose. I made the nose and embedded a wire loop into it so that it could be sewn on Frosty.
Frosty is stuffed with fiberfill, weighted with steel shot and jointed with cotter pins and hardboard discs. He is wearing a wool plaid scarf and felt top hat and carrying a broom.

He will be listed on etsy and BearPile soon...

Looking toward colder weather

It's gorgeous and sunny out today but the nights are getting colder .... Dixie decided a warm wool felt jacket with fuzzy felt trim was in order! The she saw the Santa hat and candy canes and decided she just HAD to try them on. She does know that we will get to the Holiday Season EVENTUALLY....Dixie is on BearPile. Do you think I ought to try photographing Dixie with another background? There really isn't much of a contrast using my usual blue one....

By the way I am edging closer and closer to 200 "hearts this shop" on etsy. I have been thinking of a giveaway as a celebration. So keep checking back! Maybe an ornament?

Hiding out ?!

LingPanda is on etsy and BearPile..... where you can see ALL of her!

Long weekend and Ribbon winners

As you can see , it was a long weekend! But worth it... it was fun, saw lots of old friends, made new friends and won two ribbons! Some of my bears, elephants and mice were adopted!
Anastasia Beach Mouse was my version of the federally endangered mouse that lives on one of the islands off of St. Augustine, Fl.
Porter the Peanut loving Pachyderm went to a new home in Ohio!


One of my bunny rabbits has been included in an ArtFire collection! Take a look !

Settled back to normal

The Bill Boyd Memorial Teddy Bear Jubilee in KansasCity is over for another year and our visiting friends have packed up and headed back to Texas. The husband left me with a cd ( he was the Jubilee's official photographer) containing 345 pictures! The wife is a collector and she left with BAGS of bears!
I won two ribbons and will post pictures another time....
"Bears and Buds" the digital bear magazine has called for links to posted bears or friends for its new Holiday section... so I have posted DT on BearPile and sent "Bears & Buds" the link for the upcoming October issue. If you are "into" bears you might want to check "Bears & Buds" out... it's free!


He's all packed up and heading off to the UK tomorrow!

giveaway

Wouldn't it be neat is Lili won this to celebrate learning to crochet? But if you'd like to win youself go to the Sarah's blog

Phillipp the Country Mouse ( Bob named him!)

I found this neat resin tree stump on eBay... knowing a mouse just HAD to be peeking out! Phillipp was made to fit just inside with his little paws on the rim. He is needle felted and stands 4 inches from the bottom of his feet to nose tip!

The Bill BoydMemorial/KC Jubilee is this weekend. Do I save Phillipp for that or do I post him on Etsy and BearPile?

Hive Autumn Challenge

Burr oak trees are shedding their acorns again... so it's time for more acorn pincushions. And what's an acorn pincushion without a baby hedgehog?

Oh what a smirk

Before I tell you about PeterPeter I want to crow a little about winning two (!!) things from the giveaway mentioned on the previous post!! Can't wait for them to arrive!!

So on to PeterPeter... look at the smirk! I didn't intend for him to have one, but these bears have
a mind of their own! PeterPeter loves pumpkins.... and wants everyone to know it!

He's been posted on etsy.com

Peter has arrived at his new home and is settling in... hopefully he's not making too many waves!

Halloween candy and popcorn

There's a great Halloween giveaway at this blog... and some great Halloween eye candy... go and look!

And the third site in this Halloween giveaway is here....Halloween games and puzzles galore!

Porter the Pachyderm

Porter has "run away" and joined the circus.... taking his peanuts along to keep the rumbly tummy at bay!
Porter is 5.25 inches tall... mohair, string and cotter pin jointed... and weighted with steel shot.
His altered candy box purse has circus paper. His ruffles are crepe paper...

He is listed on BearPile and etsy.

If you are into Halloween... check this out

If you are a Halloween lover like I am.... check out this blog and its giveaway! RetroRudolph is well worth a visit!

Aside from surfing the web I have been working on a few bears. The BillBoyd/ Kansas City Jubilee is just around the corner ( September 25th is the sales table date... out at the KCI Expo Center). It looks like Bob will be supplying transportation for the convention goers ...taking them from the Expo Center to the KC Toy and Miniature Museum.... a place well worth a visit anytime ! The tours will be on Friday Sept. 24th.

This is DT who is off to the North Pole.... and Edward and his honey pot.

Harry's new picture

Much as I liked Harry looking at his stash... I decided another picture would show his face better..... and I found this cute little sign!

Teddy Bear Day

While on Facebook I read that today is Teddy Bear Day.... so make sure you hug your bears!
I know... you already hug your bears... well today, give them an extra big one!!
another explanation....

"Look what I got !"

Last year ( after HALLOWEEN) I found a package of small plastic pumpkins... older ones with a 1993 date on the package closure. So when I finished Harry I knew he had to have one of them plus some "candy" made from polymer resin.
Harry was made from Alison McKee's tan NOS mohair with Ultrasuede paw pads, black German glass eyes and a perle cotton nose. He has an add-on lower lip.

The question is... is it too early to post Halloween bears?

Four little elephants.... with their peanuts!

Lately my little elephants have been traveling far and wide... taking peanuts along so they won't be hungry along the way. These are the latest... Lili (my 8 year old granddaughter :>) decided the peach and chestnut one was a girl and had to have eyelashes!
They'll be listed on etsy shortly....

The green and purplish one are heading off to Virginia. The other two have been posted on etsy.

By the way... I've been told an upturned trunk is "good luck"!

meet Genny

Genny was made from some interesting dense highly distressed mohair from Schulte! A "sort of" green with a brownish backing... very different! She has quite a tummy and big feet! Her dress is a pillow case style one...just like I make for my grand daughter.

oh no... another mouse!

This is Minkie.. I was looking at all the wool roving I have in preparation for a trip down to Tulsa to see our son (have to HAVE handiwork ready for those times when my husband and son do "guy" stuff) and just couldn't resist doing something. Minkie is the result.... He's hiding in a cute little Chinese Take out box.
Minkie is fuzzy. I made him from a roving of blended fibers - some long, some short etc. The result is a fuzzy mouse!

Eeek a mouse ...again!

Smidge the mouse has been stealing my veggies... a tomato, broccoli and a cabbage. I think it's almost dinner-time. See the look in her eyes?

Smidge is on BearPile....

collection on ArtFire

Today I worked my way through the intricacies of making an ArtFire collection... easier than etsy and one doesn't have to wait for an empty slot! I "swear" techies don't think the way I do... but I did succeed and here it is

collection

Another thing I like about ArtFire's collection set-up... it automatically informs the seller that you've added his/her item to your collection and provides a link!

learning my way through etsy

I'm still learning my way through the intricacy that is known as etsy.com. This wasn't too big a deal until lately when my sales began increasing... a fantastic thing, wouldn't you say!? So with a little work I figured out how to expand my shipping options and how to do a reserve listing!

I think the techies at etsy don't think the way I do...

I have listed "Lily the lilacpoint Siamese" using all my new shipping knowledge... the "reserve" one is gone, paid for and shipped!

How about a panda?

This is PingPanda.... a little 5.25" anime-style bear. He comes with his own lunch... bamboo ( made from polymer resin). We wouldn't want him to get hungry, would we?

Ping is all boxed up and heading out to California

Scruffie is headed to Australia!

Scruffie and his friend Tammy are headed for Australia!! I was lucky to find his sewing basket on one of our trips back and forth to the lake house ( Gravois Mills, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri).
School has already started for my teacher/daughter... the kids start the 18th. Makes me wish for the "good ole days" when school started the Tuesday after Labor Day ( first Monday in September). The school buildings are HOT... not surprising since the temperatures have been flirting with almost 100's! I'm sure everyone would rather be swimming!

learn bear making

Hi everyone... here's an email I received. I signed up too!

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to tell you all about a free bear making class put on by EbearZ University. It starts today and you do have to register but it's FREE! I'm doing it just for fun and to perhaps pick up a few tips from Nancy. If you've never made a bear before but always wanted to learn how, sign up. You have a week to finish the first lessons. That would still give you time to gather supplies. I think it's fantastic of Nancy Tillberg to do this and wanted to make sure to pass the info along.

Here's a link! http://www.kranbearys.com/Ebearz/Bears/BasicBootCamp.htm

Hugs!

Alison McKee ( eteddys)

Pink elephants

No I haven't imbibed too much.... this little pink elephant is called Belle and she resides in a pink cocktail glass ( tho' it's plastic!).
Belle is helping me in my break away from mice... she is a 5 inches tall, made from scraggy mohair with Ultrasuede paw pads and inner ears.

Brownie... a respite from mice!

It was a week full of mice... mice in martini glasses munching on olives! So as a respite I pulled out some bear brown roving and made Brownie. Brownie is 6 inches tall from ear tip to sole bottom. He's string jointed and has black onyx bead eyes...
Brownie's arms are bent... the better to hold something, but I don't know what, yet!

HEADING FOR TEXAS...

Lucy is a treasury

Lucy has been stomping grapes ala the "I Love Lucy" episode ! I did it once as a kid and ended up with purple feet forever! Little Lucy is purple all over!
Lucy was snagged for an etsy treasury!

Wiley's been in the martini !

All that is left are the olives! And it looks like he's ready to eat those too!
Wiley was made from alpaca fiber and pink wool roving with horsehair whiskers. ( What am I going to do when I run out of Loretta's horsehair?) This is my first try at felting alpaca ...and it felts differently. But I have loads, so I will have to learn!
ps... Wiley is up on BearPile and etsy.

Wiley is headed for Garland, TX.

Joey's friend Fern

Joey's little friend is called Fern... she a lovely green colored mohair. Fern will keep an eye on this wet felted wool pumpkin pincushion for you!
Fern is 5 inches tall and her pincushion was made from hand-dyed wool that has been wet felted. The leaves are wool felt edged with perle cotton embroidery.
Fern is on etsy .... abd will be on BearPile soon.

needle felted muzzles...

My newest, Kerry, has a needle felted muzzle. If I am truthful, I will tell you my new pattern didn't quite come up to snuff. So I improvised.
Kerry was made from some of Alison McKee's wonderful pale pink mohair. It's lightly distressed. Kerry is 8inches tall and weighted with a little steel shot...

a new dress

I have been intrigued with pillowcase dresses for my grand daughter Lili and have made her several. I decided to try one for a bear...and here it is on Daria.

Daria is off to Prince Edward Island, Canada

Lily the Lilac Point Siamese

I just finished Lily ( I have to remember to spell it with a "y" after all these years spelling my granddaughter's name LILI !) ... a little anime_style cat this time. Lili and Lily both love back mollie fish. Lily's was needle felted from wool roving...
Lily is up on BearPile