Online show coming up

I've changed things.... now I have the banner for the Bright Star online show coming up in February showing on the right instead of the one from early December.  I  have started working on the bears and friends I will be offering up for sale... but they won't shown until the show.

Christmas was great here... lots of home made presents  from marshmallows to Chex mix  to Kahlua to cookies, crocheted  coffee cup warmers, hand turned pens  and knives. We are an eclectic bunch so it is reasonable that the presents would be too. It seems like we all tried making some new things.

Next week is vacations time for almost everyone ... so it's a good time to get some house repairs worked on. The chore for tomorrow is fixing my daughter's downstairs bathroom.... there's a leak somewhere so the water has been turned off until my husband, our son and his sister can figure our WHERE the water is coming from.. 

Hope your Holidays were as good as ours!!!

clock clicking down

The clock is clicking down towards Christmas. It was a strange evening here.  Everyone is due tomorrow for brunch and gifts but we are here alone tonight. The usual hectic last minute stuff  didn't happen. We  were DONE... and that feels strange!
So Merry Christmas everyone or Happy Holidays.... whichever you prefer!
Bettina

chestnuts... maron glace

I have a friend with a very prolific chestnut tree and have been gifted with pounds of chestnuts. I roasted quite a few in memory of Christmases in NYC and street sellers offering bags of roasted chestnuts for 25¢ a bag! But what to do next? My Mother used them in her stuffing for goose...but that wasn't my favorite. So I googled recipes and came up with one for candied chestnuts...it's a French delicacy maron glace.  I am in the middle of repeated cooking of the chestnuts in a sugar syrup. When all the syrup has been absorbed , a quick time in the oven to dry and the chestnuts will be done....and we will see!

Show is over...

The Holiday Stars online show is over...... that means cookie time is upon us. We send cookie boxes to Bob's siblings for Christmas so I have been making snickerdoodles, white chocolate with cranberries and toasted pecans, sugar cookies, Wheaties cookies ( a family comfort cookie) and chocolate brownie cookies. The last is a new  recipe for me and is full of chocolate ... 3 cups of chocolate chips and 4 ounces of unsweetened block chocolate. Really really chocolatey!!
I've made other edible  things as well .... and when Bob and I went to Independence's "Best Little Craft Show" we found someone who makes all sorts of jams and jellies. Another booth had shagbark hickory syrup... something new to both of us!  Lucky Bob has to pack all this!! After all they are his siblings!!

ps... 5 of my critters went or will be going to new homes!! Another one went to it's SIX now!!

My bears and friends will be available  from the February Bright Star online show and the Teddies Worldwide show in March.... and , as usual, from my etsy shop and BearPile

Bright Star's online show this weekend

Bright Star's online show.... Holiday Stars starts Friday at 11 am Eastern time .... here is the link
              
                                                                Holiday Stars

If you look for my bear Merry you will be able to link to my page.... I hope you will take a look!

Post Office here I come!

I knew that my IKEA bag would come in handy!!  Here it is , full of packages from the Teddies Worldwide Christmas Treasures show this past weekend!!

waiting to be boxed up...

These are bears I made just for the shows .. not all of them sold, but many are leaving. I spent today boxing up the sold ones  and  getting shipping labels attached.... Tomorrow ... off to the Post office.

Christmas Treasures Show

The show is on and will not close until 4pm Eastern tomorrow.... I am having fun keeping an eye on my "page". I will be spending Sunday evening boxing, labeling  etc bears, friends and gifts that have been purchased!!!  Then it's off to the Post Office on Monday!

I love these online shows. People I would never interact with buy my things... people from overseas for example.  But I do miss getting to meet collectors and interacting with other bear makers at shows!!

Christmas Treasures sale...

Teddies Worldwide Christmas Treasures sale is getting closer and closer.  It opens next Friday at 4pm Eastern Time!
Wish I could post all the bears , friends and gifts I have waiting!!

Worldwide Teddies Christmas Treasures

The Christmas Treasures preview starts today!! Go and take a look!  Here is the link  ....... my preview bear for this year's Christmas Treasures is Frosty The Snowbear 2014...

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween  to everyone out there !

Dickie of "Hickory Dickory Dock" fame

Dickie is headed off to the UK.... he is a 7 inch mohair mouse - blue with a caramel brown backing

His "clock" is a wooden box with a clock face, hands and a steampunk variety of gears and a key...

Mother Nature ?

It looks like Mother nature is encouraging me to work more on my bears and friends. It has rained everyday... sometimes just sprinkles but other times it pours, which it is doing again right now!!  I feel like I will be turning green with mildew anytime now!!
However the rain does make for great snuggle down and sew days!!  I will post a few pictures when I can get enough light through the windows into my "studio" to take reasonable pictures.

Getting ready

Even before we left for Ireland I began working of my bears and friends for the two online shows and one actual show I have scheduled.  I am headed for the Des Moines Doll and Bear show Saturday November 8th at the State Fairgrounds - 30th and University. Then the Teddies Worldwide online show November 21 through 23rd.  Then the Bright Star online show December 5 through 8th. They should keep me working like mad for the next few weeks!!
I must admit that even though many complain about stores having Christmas item on display ( stores like Hobby Lobby and Michael's and JoAnn's) I like being able to find seasonal stuff when I am working ahead... like this past summer! AND some stuff doesn't get reordered. If I don't buy when I see something... it probably won't be there closer to the holiday.

Here is Liam... I do find time to be in-sync with the calendar!

This is Thomasina.... I was working on needle felting a pumpkin for her. But when I took it off the Styrofoam ball and was felting it even more, it morphed into a cloche hat... lol. I added a flower with leaves  from  wet felted sweaters. Her muzzle is also felted with a polymer resin sewn-on nose. Her black German glass eyes have Australian eyeliners.

Back home... more later

Here's Paddy riding  on a Hop On/Hop Off double decker bus in Dublin ... he enjoyed visiting the Guinness Station where he learned all about brewing beer... visiting a sweet shop... making pots and pots of tea ( each hotel room comes with an electric kettle and supplies) ... going to Kilarney   - seeing  its lakes ,the National Park, Ross Castle, neat old downtown with loads of shops - then onto Ennis and the Old Ground Hotel and Ennis' wonderful cafe and bakery and shops  - then onto Doolin and a ferry out to the Aran Islands where we saw  the ruins of a monastery build around 800 ad  and a fort built even earlier.  He  received a kiss from an Aran Island sweater knitter ! Then it was back to Dublin...

where a very tired Paddy relaxed in a luxurious four poster bed in the Clontarf Castle Hotel  - a real castle built in about 1200 ad and added onto over the years. The newest part is the entry to this hotel!!!

Bob, Paddy and I are enjoying our trip to Ireland!  Getting here was a story all to itself. Our first plane from Chicago  was first late and then deemed un-flyable due to hydrolic system problems. No other plane available until one from London arrived.... in four  hours.  When that one arrived it was reported to have door seals problems and the mechanics would have to go through a pressurization routine..... luckily for us it passed and we flew out about six hours late!  More later about our time in Dublin.........We spent a day and a half roaming all over Dublin either on foot or on a "hop on hop off "bus. We went to the Natural museum of history and saw the skeletons o HUGE giant Irish deer. We went to Guiness Storehouse...learned about beer and Bob learned to pour a perfect glass. We went to Trinity University saw the exhitibs in the old library.. including the Book of Kells which is a huge illustrated Four Gospels done about 1100 ad. We went to Marks and Spencers and Tesco...two stores I have always been curious about. By bedtime each night we were exhausted. Today we headed west and Bob leaned how to drive on the left
  Too bad he had to start by getting us out of Dublin! Tonight we are in Killarney ... 300 km away, highways are ok but little turny roads..narrow to boot and roundabouts are harrowing!

who's going to Ireland with us?

Who's going to Ireland with Bob and me next week? Well... Paddy of course!  I think I will have fun taking pictures of him wherever we go ... Dublin, the Aran Islands, Kilarney etc.  Since fall is fast arriving, I made him a scarf and hat  and his own backpack  for his souvenirs ( not sure he'll find anything small enough!) . Paddy is only 4.5 inches tall so I will be able to fit him in anywhere in my luggage.

FIRST TIME

For the first time ever I have sold out at a show!! The Bright Star Online show started yesterday... by 10 am this morning all the bears and friends were sold!!  Fantastic...amazing...wonderful!  I am doing the happy dance.....

Bright Star's online fall bear and friends show

 

The Bright Star online bear show starts tomorrow at 11 am Eastern ... that's Friday the 5th.  Look for my bear with pumpkins to get to my page.... here is the link

Bright Star's The Fall Stars 

Hope to see you there!

Back to bears and friends

I have been working on things for the Bright Star online show coming up in September...

and am all set. The pictures are uploaded... the PayPal buttons added so now it's time to wait. I will add the link just before the show starts.

I've also made another mouse with a needle and wet  felted pumpkin. He is going to my mouse collector in the UK!

Here is a poem sent to me by Matt the Mouse's new owner in the UK

There is a mouse now,
With sharp teeth now,
And he's called
Matt the Mouse.
He has chewed his way,
Around a pumpkin
Now that pumpkin
Is his house
When it's cold out,
Matt the Mouse is,warm and cosy
Curled up deep inside
As the raindrops
Splash on his rooftop
He sits inside with such pride
His only worry is
That his pumpkin house will soon
Become pumpkin pie.
          Jane.

(Sang to Mac the knife)!

There are more bears in the works but some of them will have to be kept secret until the Teddies Worldwide Online Christmas show!

Cooking hot dogs on the firepit etc.....

We went back down to the lake house for another weekend.... this time is was cooler with some rain. The kids decided to "grill" their lunch hotdogs over the fire pit with help from Mom and Grandpa. Guess it was a success!
School starts Thursday so summer is at an end.

Success!!!

We just spent a long weekend down at the lake.... Lake of the Ozarks that is!  My granddaughter has become a fishing obsessed person and finally caught a decent sized bass ( we think).

Dominic, her little brother caught the first two fish, but they were tiny.  After Lili caught her fish she found time to swim, canoe and just have fun!

We had fires in the firepit... made s'mores... played with the dogs  and since there was no tv and no internet, Lili and Dominic had to entertain themselves the old fashioned way!!

Lili stayed with us (her grandparents) for a night after everyone else left....she wanted to stay up late so we went off to bed. Grandpa snuck out and took this picture...

Later on we found her in bed....

Cement planter

My visiting sister-in-law and I made cement planters from a facebook posting. One takes cement and water into which one dips cloth till totally covered.Place the coated fabric over something and allow to drape. I used a plastc containers stacked. Allow to dry. Remove the plastic containers! This one is mine....I will add planting soil and some plants.

Art Rogers' eyes

Here's Cupcake with Art Rogers' type eyes..... ( Art was the creator of Tommy Turtle below!)

First sold

I thought that maybe someone would like to see what sold first and very quickly....

at the Teddies Worldwide show this past weekend. Kitkat is about 7 inches tall... and has horsetail whiskers and a , not so visible, yail!

Thank you

Thanks to all who visited the Teddies Worldwide online show this past weekend!  Bears and friends that were purchased are now on their way to new homes!       I have another online show comingup in the beginningof September. More info to come....
We are having a family reunion this coming weekend! Keep you fingers crossed for good weather.....

The  Teddies Worldwide online show starts today at 4pm Eastern time. I have 8 bears and friends listed on my page! Here is the link...

TeddiesWorldwide  

This pair of bears is my preview bear and where one can click and get to my sales page...

Tommy Turtle and St. Louis Bear Show

My husband and son have decided to take two workshops the weekend I an going to St. Louis for a bear show.... bowl turning and black smithing. So I am taking the Tommy Turtle workshop the day before the bear show. Art Rogers will be teaching it! I am really looking forward to it. 
The workshop is followed by some antiquing in St. Charles and then dinner for all who are in town for the show!!  Better than sitting home while Bob and Robb take their classes!!

Another online bear show coming up in June!!

Teddies Worldwide will be hosting an online bear and friend show June 20 - 22nd!  Join us?!

I am working on my bears and friends already....

Sunday morning

Our grandchildren spent Saturday night at our house.  Their Mother  was a chaperone for the prom! She teaches Junior Advanced Placement English at a local high school. The prom was held at Arrowhead Stadium . Their Dad works nights.
After dinner Saturday night ( at Pizza Street) we went for a walk around one of Blue Springs little man-made lakes. People were fishing  and the kids started clamoring that they wanted to come back Sunday morning and fish! Grandpa said "no!"  But when Sunday morning rolled around, grandpa changed his mind! After getting all the poles and fishing equipment together... off we went!

Here's Lili casting... while Grandpa helps Dominic ready his fishing rod.

Here's Lili again...casting!

This is one of the wild redbud trees that Missouri seems to have so many of!  It is in full blooms!  

No one caught anything... I don't know what the grandkids would have done if they had!  We do advocate for a catch and release program!                 

Teena the ballerina

Teena was going to have her debut on the upcoming online show.... but instead she is going off to the UK early!!
Lili helped me find ribbon etc. on a shopping jaunt and was happy with the final result.  She will be happy to hear that Teena will be headed to a new home in the UK!

Here's what her new "person" sent:
Now Bettina's done her magic
And made another mouse
This time this ones a dancer
And is going to dance her way to our house
Her name is Teena
She is a ballerina
She wears a little tutu
Ribbons and bows
And on her pretty feet
She has roses on her toes
Her cousins in the Mousehole
Can't wait till she arrives
I think they'll throw a party
Because she'll be number five
                            Jane.

setting up page for online show

I have been accepted into Bright Star Promotions online spring show!!!  And have been working on the page where my bears and friends will be displayed!! The show will open Friday May 9th at 11 am and will run all weekend until 7 pm Monday May 12th !!  I will post the link closer to the show!!

Country Mouse

The Country Mouse will be heading out to the UK shortly!!

Since he is over 6 inches tall... I'm not sure I'd want to find him either in the garden or my house!!
Lili decided his name is Henry the Country Mouse.... and he left this morning!

Here's what  The Country Mouse's new owner sent!!

The Country Mouse has packed his bags
He's on his way to the U K
He's coming to the shire of Hereford
Where he is going to stay
His new home is at Mousehole
Where all the mice there live
He'll be cared for with lots of attention
And plenty of love we give
So thank you Bettina
Your skills are very great
We love your mice so much
The next one we await.

Des Moines Doll and Bear Show

What a great show!! Our 4 am drive from Kansas City to Des Moines, Iowa was quick and uneventful. We watched the planet ( probably Venus) glow on the Eastern side!! It was cloudy enough that there were no stars but the planet glowed through no the less! There was a huge red sunrise just before 7 am!
We unpacked the bears and set up in one of the State Fairgrounds buildings. At 8 am the early birds started arriving. By 3 pm 13 bears or friends had found new homes... as did lots of needle felted eggs! Packing up to go home was so much easier!!!
Bob took pictures with my birthday Kindle Fire and as soon as we figure out how to do it.. I will post a table picture!!

Easter is on its way...

needle felted eggs... over Styrofoam

chick with its egg

vintage mohair Chocolate bunny with eggs

needle felted bunny head from alpaca roving

I  finished a really large hollow needle felted egg which will probably have a duckling inside last night... but the duckling isn't quite done. I will add it later.

Quakker, the duckling, in his felted egg

Coco Bunny with carrot and vintage egg ( from E. Germany)