The new look blog

I'm going to be pretty bold and assume that if you're reading this blog post, you've probably noticed the new website set up!?

I decided that as part of my mission to improve this page, I wanted a whole new look for the blog as well. Again - something I would never have thought I was capable of doing myself. But I did! And I am so proud to call this little corner of cyberspace my own.



So - now that all the site modification is out of the way, I can get back to work on my secret show bears, and the last pink bear (you might be able to see his/her head rolling around at the back of this photo. I promise to have photos of a finished 'Mr Pinky' to you by the end of the week.

You better hold me to it as well. My procrastination levels have hit 'uni student' heights lately! ;)

Sneak Peek - pink bear's feet

I thought I'd take some progress photos as I painted my pink bear's paw pads. At this stage I've free-hand painted the first paw, and now I'm attempting to get the mirror-image on the other paw. I'm 100% sure there would be easier ways of doing this (ie. templates), but I'm a bit impatient for such planning!



Two paws fully painted in light lavender.



A bit of mid-tone lavender is added for some (really) subtle shading. (so subtle you can't even tell in this photo!).



Then I mix in a bit of violet to get a darker lavender. I'm trying to match the two purples in the teddy's head bow which can just be seen in the first photo.




Using the handle of the paintbrush I decided to do some spots in a tonal pattern to match the spots on the ribbon.




The finished feet. Still wet here, but not too bad considering I was entertaining a two year old at the same time :P

Sneak Peek - pink bear

It seems to be taking me SOOOOO long to do anything at the moment. I think we've gotten past the phase where Byron will happily fit into my schedule. Now he is demanding his own way of doing things. And this has upped my work load just that little bit too much that the bears are now really taking a back seat.

It's exciting watching him become more independent. But also sad. And a little frustrating, because making bears is my stress relief. My 'meditation'. My down time. My addiction.

I feel like an addict that can't get a good fix! :P (probably not the most poetic way of putting it mind you!).

I think trying to make too many bears at once has added to my frustration as well though. I might have to just pull back and finish them

One
By
One.

This is the little lady I managed to get almost finished last night. I actually embroidered that nose freehand while watching TV with Mark last night. In the crappy light of my lounge room too. I am so proud of that funny little nose! These photos were just snapped quickly this morning, so the lighting is Terrible and the colour all distorted - so I turned the full shot into a black and white image so you can see her fur better... I should manage to get her feet finished tonight, which means proper photos and a name tomorrow!

Christmas Treasures

It seems a little too early to be talking about Christmas yet - but I'm hoping this will explain my severe lack of presence online for the last little while... I'm busily working away on my bears for the Teddies Worldwide Christmas Treasures Online Bear Show!

I can't show you what I've been doing, but I can tell you that my theme is Black, Gold and White! My FAVOURITE colour combinations in teddies! I'm so excited about these guys too! But you'll have to wait until November. (Which is good, because they are taking a long time to do! :P)

I can show you the non-bear show bears I've been working on simultaneously though. These guys really will be this bright too... this is some funky fur!

Sneak Peek

This is a little sneak peek at one of my latest bears made from cotton. (something a little experimental).

I'll upload some much better, colour photos tomorrow when I have some sunlight to take them in!

Wool bear in progress

I went to finish the last two spotty bears like Zaire yesterday, and realised I'd run out of 12mm eyes. The others I had in stock (8mm and 18mm were both terribly wrong!), so I made a quick order of some new supplies online and decided to work on a different bear until they arrived. Which, due to the fact that it's Friday today, won't be until after the weekend.

So I cut out the bears I had drawn on the back on my disastrously dyed wool fur. The bigger one has to sit in the 'waiting' pile with the spotty bears, cause he'll need 12mm eyes too, but the little one was fine to be assembled.



He's going to be old-style, and my plan is to cut back the pile in places to make the fur look worn as well as matted. It makes quite a dint in the shape though... I hope I can pull this off!!!

My Silly Bear

Look who arrived for me today! Her name is Lucy Jane, and she is a fantastic bear by 'The Silly Bear'.



The quality of this little lady is fantastic! I have to admit that bear collecting is addictive... and not 'helped' by getting another bear! Every time a new bear arrives for my collection it just re-kindles the love of this works of art, and makes me want to find the next 'special one'! Ah dear... at least I can make a few of my own in the meantime to help buffer the cost of such an addiction...

...and at least it's a nice addiction, not detrimental to my health, not detrimental to my family(Maybe slightly detrimental to the space in my house though!)

Oh, and here is a sneak peek at my lastest project. This MASSIVE piece of gorgeous animal print faux fur has been sitting in my craft room, begging to be chopped up for months now. So chop it up I did! This will be 3 gorgeous big curvy bears like Jaguar, and one fatty-fat bear like Ikey (but with a bit more hair!).

Work in progress

These three are the little bears I planned to make before I got sidetracked by the guinea pigs (real and plush!).

They look a little creepy sitting there without heads... but it shows the beautiful fur quite nicely.

Sneak Peek

This is my latest project. He (or she) will have a white with blue tipped mohair head and body, and darker blue batik dyed mohair limbs and ears.

Still deciding whether or not to give him/her coloured eyes (blue seems the most obvious choice) with eyelids, or ordinary black... choices, choices...