Teddies Worldwide Preview now on

I'd like to introduce you to my latest Teddies Worldwide preview bear, Pansy... Hop on over to check out the wonderful pieces on offer and vote for your favourite bear, and don't forget to stop by once the show starts to see the rest of everyone's gorgeous pieces!:)

Just click the link in the banner above and enjoy!

Teddies Worldwide on show again!

 

It's Showtime again over at Teddies Worldwide! Do stop by and see some of the fabulous, imaginative creations on offer. It never ceases to amaze me how creative my fellow bear artists can be.... Don't miss out on seeing- maybe buying:) - these beautiful works of art, the show will be over and done Monday morning Australian time, Sunday evening US eastern time..... Just click on the banner above to get to the main page. And yes, these are some of my babies on offer:)

On Vacation....

No, I'm not on Vacation, tho from my blog updates you'd think so!:) Its actually preview time for the next Teddies Worldwide online show..... Here's my girl, for the theme "Making Memories".
Her name is 'Memories of Paris', she sits in a little leather suitcase, dressed in vintage French lace from a Parisian flea market, with a miniature handmade box of pastel coloured macarons, an antique Paris souvenir fan ( also from a Parisian flea market ) vintage flowers and a golden Eiffel Tower charm.... I do hope you like her!
She will be on sale, along with more of my bears, when the show opens in a couple of weeks- but until then, why not pop over and check out all the preview bears.

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Showtime Again:)

Well Show Preview time at least!:) The Teddies Worldwide show is on again soon, and the preview has started.... Here's a couple of photos of my preview bear, Sunday and Spot. As always, there's a wonderful array of bears to drool over, getting us all looking forward to what's to come in the show itself:)
Daphne as always has a wonderful collection of artists from all around the world for the show which starts on 20 March ( US time, early morning on 21st for us here in Australia and NZ) and I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with... Mind you, I can't wait to see what I come up with either, as I've yet to finish the rest of my pieces:) Wish me luck and see you at the show!


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A New Year and a New Design...

The process of designing something new, for me, can vary wildly- sometimes I get an idea and I rush to bring it to life, and it can be a matter of a day or two before I've finished it. Other ideas can take a bit longer- I have a few pieces that remain half finished for a week, month or few years:) because I've hit a creative block and I'm waiting for the right mood or idea to finish it. Then there's the ideas I've sketched out into one of my 'idea books' which sometimes stay there for years before I pick the book up on a whim, flick through and find something that speaks to me in that moment.
Thennnnn there's those pieces that remain in my head for days, weeks, months or even, as with this case- years- before I'm brave enough to tackle them:) Sometimes it's because the idea isn't quite there yet, but often it's because I am intimidated by the idea of such new pattern shapes. Like with my Hippo, squirrel, and this little guy, a Pug puppy:)
I've wanted to make a Pug or French Bulldog or similar type dog for so long, but the idea of such a different head shape kept making my head spin. Well round New Years Day I sat down and told myself it's time..... I've made this pattern up twice now, in both mohair and viscose, and I'm loving it! As is usual with designs I've put off forever, I want to make more more more!
So exciting to start the New Year with a completely new design! Basil sits about 4" tall, is sewn from distressed viscose, and is filled with pure wool and glass sand so he's just a teeny bit weighty in your hand. Here's to more adventure and new faces for us all for 2015!



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Teddies Worldwide Christmas Treasures Preview

The Teddies Worldwide Christmas Treasures Online Show preview has begun! As always there's some fabulous pieces to drool over and get us all excited for the main event which starts on November 21st ( or early 22nd in my neck of the woods )
Here's my little offering, Sugar Plum Fairy, which I hope captures the preview theme "Sparkle and Shine" -right up my alley! She's made from vintage long pile, with a silk tulle tutu sprinkled with Swarovski crystals, a silver tiara and a crystal topped fairy wand.
As always, you can vote for your favourite piece- and it's a hard decision as always!:)

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Getting Ready for Woodend!

Boy how fast has this year flown? October already and won't be long before it's Christmas! Before then though, two shows for me- one close(ish!) to home, at Woodend, and the online Christmas Treasures show run by Teddies Worldwide.
At the moment I am hard at work on new creations for Woodend- here's a sneak peek of a few of them- as you can see they need a wee bit of work yet!:) A giant Panda...an elephant...a bunny... A pink koala.....a kangaroo, even a squirrel will hopefully be part of the lineup on my table, fingers crossed!:)


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Chloe

I'd like to introduce you to my new bunny, Chloe! I've been loving the distressed viscose fabric lately, such pretty colours and unique texture. Chloe is a bit of a giant for me, standing at 6" not including her ears, and she's wearing a little lace vest made from lace I found in Paris, real genuine antique French lace.... I always feel like I've struck gold when I find it!:)
Chloe is listed on Bearpile, http://www.bearpile.com/item/88683

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Finis!

I'm loving this new design body, even if I do say so myself!:)
In honour of Spring, I've named this little girl Blossom, and she's now available on Bearpile:)

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Work in Progress

Bears have taken a back seat for quite a few weeks now- only time to squeeze a little sewing in now and then, sadly. Hopefully things are a little less hectic now and I'll be able to finish off some of the poor little creatures who've been waiting patiently for me to return to my workbench:)
Here's one of them- this little one has a very different body shape, with bent arms and legs, a big pot belly and cute chubby cheeks. I can't wait to get back downstairs and figure out how to dress her:)

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Teddies Worldwide Online Show now open!

Thought you might like to see my Teddies Worldwide online show pieces... The theme is Teddy and Friends on Vacation, and I created some new critters I've never attempted before- including a kangaroo, koala, seahorse and mermaid.
There's some wonderful creative pieces in the show, do pop by before it's closed and check it out! The way many artists have interpreted the theme is terrific, so many brilliant ideas!

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So, now I'm coming back down to earth and trying to knuckle down and be productive... Easier said than done, which I'm sure you can well relate to!:) For some reason I've been inspired to try some needle felting. Now, like many I'm sure, I've had felting supplies for many years... Always intending on having a go but not really achieving much... So I thought this time when I give it a go, if I put pics up on my blog, it might push me to actually finish something!:-D
Whether my plan works or not is another thing, but here is one of my experiments so far. Not perfect of course, learning new techniques usually doesn't result in perfection first time out does it?:) But I'm encouraged enough to plug away and have another go- or two:)
I had already redesigned my head pattern a little, to reduce the snout area to allow for the felting, but I soon discovered to get the depth in the mouth that I was hoping for, I needed to remove yet more snout from the mohair parts. So, another head was sewn up and felted snout begun- only to have the mohair backing fray away, meaning my second head had to be tossed....
In front of me now I have another snoutless mohair head, with extra fray stopping on the face seams, waiting to be stuffed.. Wish me luck!:)
(Please forgive the not-quite-focused pics, I took them for my own entertainment not intending to post them, but I thought someone might find them interesting even if they aren't perfect- sort of like my felting attempts in general! lol)

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What I've been up to....

You may have noticed in the sidebar that I was heading to TeddyBear Total in Münster Germany in April... As usual I was bad in blogging and here I am home again after a great show and a lovely trip... I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze in some time in my 'favouritest place in the world' ( yes I know that's not really a word hehe), Paris! as well as a few days in Amsterdam after the show..... What a perfect time to be there- Monet's garden in Giverny was in full bloom with gorgeous bulbs as well as pansies, lilac and other beautiful spring flowers, as were the tulip gardens in Keukenhof, Holland. We got the tail end of the blossom trees and the beginning of the peonies... And beautiful weather, only a few cold days. We also squeezed in a day trip to beautiful Bruges where we indulged in some yummy chocolate and waffles!



First on the list when we arrived however, was a visit to the local Ladurée shop- a convenient 10 minute walk from the apartment, and a box of macarons to eat by the Seine... While we pinched ourselves, we were in Paris!:)

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I'd like you to meet my little "Spring Bunny", just listed on Bearpile. She's a tiny 2.5" bear dressed up for the season (northern hempisphere of course! :-D ) with a removable bunny hat- her own fuzzy teddy ears 'bearly' peek through!

And the Show Begins!

  At last the Teddies Worldwide show is OPEN! I do hope you have been to visit while you can. While Daphne usually provides a theme for us to work from, this time the specification was just that each piece had to be a bear.. so I thought I'd challenge myself to my *own* theme- April in Paris! Pretty Spring like pastel colours, outfits fit for strolling the Champs Elysees, and each one comes with a teeny weeny little golden Eiffel Tower charm along with her hang tag.

I'd like to share some photos of my pieces- some had special details I thought needed extra showing off:)

All the girls are available at the Teddies Worldwide online show- simply click the banner above and it will take you to the main page, then you can scroll to my name and click to my page. And of course after that, do browse through all the other fabulous pieces:)

Above is Coco.. a tiny 2" standing, with a tiny replica Chanel shopping bag...the lucky girl!:)

And here we have Water Lily, inspired by the beautiful water lilies the great Impressionist artist Monet painted....

This little lady is Gigi, dressed in silk tullle, faux pearls, sitting on a vintage powder box with a miniature Chanel perfume  bottle...

              Gigi's vintage powder box is trimmed in dark olive green vintage ribbon and beautiful                               antique wax orange blossoms from a bride's headpiece, and a faux pearl 'necklace'

And little Belle, who comes nestling in a teeny tiny pink satin pointe shoe, trimmed with vintage flowers and silver metallic embroidery.

Belle really is a tiny girl!

And here is a closeup of her little face...

This pair is called "April Showers"..

They come nestled in their little pink parasol, surrounded by vintage silk millinery flowers....

Two teeny little girls!

A full view....

Odile, a veritable giant at 6" tall!:) I wanted to be sure to show off her beautiful custom made leather shoes..... I also hand crocheted a little cardigan for her...

look at that little face!

And last but not least, Madeleine, who is taking her favourite dolly for a stroll in a pretty pram.

Here is a closeup of the pram and dolly....

Don't forget if one catches your eye, they are just a couple of clicks away via the banner at the top of the page:)

I do hope you enjoy the show- as always there are lots of wonderful pieces from very talented artists- I may be slightly biased;) but I think the Teddies Worldwide shows are the best in the online Teddy show world! Daphne does a fabulous job of selecting the best artists from all round the world, it truly is an honour to participate.