Missing?

I know I've been absent for awhile... but for a good reason. My sister-in-law drove from South Carolina ( we live near Kansas City, Missouri) for a nice long visit.  We toured Kansas City's The Roasterie (coffee!!),  The Country Club Plaza ( The US's first mall built in the 1920's!), the Brookside Art Fair.... and lots of other family type stuff. Plus she brought some projects along that she needed help with.

While she was here I didn't make any new bears ( boo hoo)  but she headed home yesterday and I pulled out the mohair and needle and thread. Edgar is the result!  I  just posted him on BearPile .

Farmer Dominic

We were invited to our grandson's first kindergarten music program last week. He was so excited to have us all there ( Dad was at work so he had to miss it). It was great to see that Dominic knew all the words to the songs... which were farm and animal ones!
I took pictures ( of course) and Grandpa took a video which Dominic is eagerly waiting for Grandpa to download.

busy elsewhere

It's been a long week.... we helped our son move into his new home ( QuikTrip transferred him from Tulsa back here to the Kansas City area) , my birthday and then Easter.
In the midst of all that I did find a few moments to make a few bears! And here they are:
Bitsy, Oliver, Hopper and Smidge

Luckily they are all hand sewn... that means I could take a " bag of parts" along with me and sew when I took a break!!

Our Easter egg hunt went well! we finally realized that the bunny should leave a list of what was hidden so Lili and Dominic wouldn't leave any surprises! The weather was cool but sunny so the bunny left everything outside which gave him many more "hidey spots"! There was a special egg for each with which they could earn their basket. This year Lili has a mouth full of braces and pistons so the bunny had to be careful... no jelly beans, no toffee, no caramel eggs, nothing with nuts. Next year Easter comes earlier.... will the bunny be stuck hiding things inside?

do I sell my bears?

There was a comment today on "what one can make from a scrap" asking whether I sold my bears.. The answer is YES! A resounding Yes! I started selling at craft shows and as my bears progressed I switched to Bear shows or doll and bear shows. Then came the internet and I added a website ( http://g_dragon_teddy_bears.tripod.com .... yes we were new and my husband chose this unwieldy name! I am currently revamping the site.) Then came BearPile and etsy ! I'm also in "Bears and Buds" a digital bear magazine.
I hate to see some of my bears leave but for me the fun is in the making and seeing what the end result is. I just finished my 6,000th bear and could I really have all those bears sitting around my house? Besides... the money I make provides the cash to buy more supplies! It's a make, sell, buy supplies, make sell... circle!

6,000 milestone!!!

I've been slowly creeping up on the big "6,000 milestone" .... today I hit it! This means I have made 6,000 bears and bear friends since I started keeping track back in the dark ages. My daughter, the one who is the Mother to my grandchildren, still has #1 which she brings out whenever she wants to embarrass me!


Here she is:
Sammie is 10 inches tall and made from two very different mohairs.

Bright Star Promotions' St. Louis Show

Valerie of "Bright Star Promotions" has chosen one of my bears for her post card ( I think) advertising the St. Louis show!! We'll be there! We're going a day early so we can join some of the others exploring St. Louis and St. Charles! And then we're all going to dinner... should make for a fun weekend!

What one can make from a scrap!

I discovered a little scrap of mohair in my stash.... kid mohair... soft and a little curly and long! Longer than I usually use for small little bears! Not enough for the usual size bear I make from this type of mohair!
Leo is the result...he's a greeny beigey color with a brown backing and a multicolored perle cotton nose! BTW he's less than 5 inches tall.