Another day at Nonna's house

Chelsea and i had another day at Nonna's house today. Which was great in terms of bear making-ness, as i had a few pairs of sculpted eyelids, noses and claws that i needed to bake in an oven that wasn't broken!

The kids loved the clay and made some very cute little creatures (as you can see). There's a penguin, a parrot, a dancing lady, two fish - mum and baby) and and evil pig in a basket (made my Nonna herself!).

So stay tuned for some more special bears with sculptured eyes (and possibly clay noses too! That will be a first for me if i can get it to work/look right).

Dying mohair with beetroot

ok, so this is something i've been wanting to try for ages. But i didn't have any pieces of white mohair big enough to make it worth while. Then i got my new mohair supplies, and figured now is as good a time as any to give it a go.

Every thing i'd read seemed to suggest that the results would be disappointing. And that the colour would wash out (of clothing) after a few times in the washing machine - even if set with an alum. I figured, however, that seeing as the fabric i want to dye won't be washed, i might be able to get better results.

So i cut out my pattern. Chopped up the beetroot. Popped it all into a pot with some boiling water and salt. This is the mohair freshly placed in the pot.


I let it simmer for about an hour, then sit overnight (approx 8hrs).


This is the beautiful rich crimson red that greeted me.


The is the colour left after a quick squeeze of excess liquid. (getting a little less exciting now...)


And this is the colour after I had rinsed it under the tap.


And these are the pieces all rinsed and drying. The colour isn't too bad. Its kind of a cross between apricot and salmon pink. But it's still wet, so we'll see if it changes as it dries...

New Guinea Pig - Merlin

With Mark home today, and Chelsea in a good mood, I managed to get the fantasty rainbow guinea pig completed. And he is crazy!!!


I've called him 'Merlin' - seemed appropriate! And he is currently listed on bearpile. Soon to be listed on etsy... if i can do so quickly before Chels comes crawling back from the bathroom where she's 'helping' daddy run a bath!

New Bear - Pepijn

This little sweetie is Pepijn. He's so new i haven't even listed him on bearpile yet! I managed to salvage some red embroidery thread and matching red lace from the destructive clutches of Chelsea to sew his little nose and collar. I think it looks brilliant. Bright, but brilliant. And Chels was quite taken to him as well. She kept pointing at his nose and wanting to scratch it. :P

I had some fun last night after Chelsea and Mark had gone to bed cutting out new ideas for bears and guinea pigs.

I've got two jumbo fantasy guinea pigs in the works. One is a rainbow and silver sparkly one. And the other is made in a gorgeous 'big cat' like fur. Am so curious to see how they work out.

New Guinea Pig Family - Tabitha and babies

So the latest guinea pig family is complete! Tabitha, Bambi and Biscuit. So so cute! I think these little guys have to be my favourite thing to make at the moment!

Messy afternoon of cooking

Was halfway through making another guinea pig (gorgeous three colour, long haired one), when i remembered that if i didn't cook up another batch of baby food, there would be nothing for Chels to eat tonight.





So this was the reality of my afternoon. Not quite how i wanted to spend it. But productive nonetheless.

My collection

I received my copy of the latest Australian Bear Creations magazine today, and in it they have asked for photos of people's bear collections. So I thought what a good opportunity to actually take some photos of my collection in its entirety!







These are most of my bears. I have others scattered about.