Teddies Worldwide online show preview

The preview bears for the online show are available for viewing.... and for voting on!!  Here is the preview page !!  Lots of bears! Big and small!

76th Annual Sanibel Island Shell Festival

Here are some pictures I took at the Sanibel Island shell festival today!!

update?

Just a quick update.... we've been having a great time on Sanibel.... long bike rides, shelling, dips in the heated pool, investigating little Sanibel shops, trying out all the beaches ( Sanibel has loads at $2/hr for car parking or free for walkers and bikes)
   Different beaches seem to have some different shells... All of them have loads in common, but each seems to have some that are more common there than at the other beaches.  I have found a goodly number of the shells I like!!!

  I've also sewn two bears and a rabbit ( during night time/ tv time).  I'm not  sheller with a hat with a built in head lamp for night time shelling!!

Sanibel shells....

Here's my first batch of shells.... and the reason for my Sanibel Stoop !  I found whelks,banded tulips, lettered olives. lace murex, conchs, scallops and more. Some are perfect... some not, but I have ideas for the non-perfect ones!  They've been soaked in bleach and washed and are now out drying on the porch!! I was very careful not to take any with "creatures" inside!! Today's batch is being bleached!!

Sanibel escape....

Well... if you hadn't figured it out, we are down on Sanibel Island, Florida! We left Kansas City the morning before the first big snowfall!  Great timing!!!
 We rented a condo in a complex just off the gulf side beach. We also rented two bikes! Our first bike trip took us out to lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant after which we continued on our way to the beach park where the actual lighthouse sits!  Our second bike trip took us to Pinocchio's a wonderful home made Italian ice cream store where we shared a two scoop bowl !!!
The pictures are from a shelling visit to Bowman's Beach where I am doing my version of the "Sanibel Stoop"! By the way... these are the biggest waves I've ever seen on Sanibel!

Four leaf clovers

I can't resist looking for four leaf clovers whenever I am " in clover".... and I'm pretty good at finding them. I have even found 5 and 6 leaf ones. Does anyone know whether they're lucky too?!

I have just finished a little 4.5 inch mouse that has found a four leaf clover! So I have named him "Lucky"! I've posted him on BearPile  .... you can't see it, but Lucky has a nice long wired tail and his whiskers are horsetail.

Facebook group challenge

Chad  the Bunny is the result of a challenge  in one of my Facebook groups. Clare, of Chatham Bears. provided the original pattern which I shrunk  in order to make a rabbit (6.5 inches tall) which would fit in this vintage cardboard Easter egg! Chad also has two polyester fiber filled Ultrasuede carrots. I have posted him on BearPile !
Chad's mohair is really soft and dense... and is "old Ivory".







After seeing some of the other challenge bunnies I noticed the whiskers.  So I'. trying out Chad with some horsetail ones.  They're not glued yet.... so if the adopter doesn't like them, I can remove them!