Byron's Octopus

This is the result of my toy-making adventure, attempt no. II. It's still basically an octopus. Only with longer, individually sewn legs this time, that I've left quite floppy. This gives Mr Octopus a lot more movement.



Of which Byron seems to respond to really well. The long crazy legs also seem to be quite useful for chewing on! So, at this stage the new toy is ok, but definitely no 'Mr Elephant'. We'll see how the relationship between boy and octopus develops over the next few months though...





Oh - and just because I know you guys appreciate cute fluffy things - how gorgeous is this Koala mum and baby we spotted at my mum's place today. They are so lucky to get these incredible creatures sleeping only a matter of metres from their house!

Can I do it again!?

Byron is 8 months old now and just starting to figure out how to get what he wants. A lot of the time he wants what Chelsea has. And vice versa. Pretty normal behaviour, but pretty exhausting when it happens constantly, ALL day! His latest target has been Chelsea's most beloved 'Mr Elephant' that I made for her (exactly) a year ago. Every opportunity that Mr Elephant is left unattended, and within reach, Byron snatches him and starts munching away! Needless to say, Chelsea does not handle this very well at all!

Mr Elephant comes with us everywhere. Chelsea sleeps with him, travels with him, plays with him, and is comforted by him. In fact, there are some situations when only Mr Elephant will comfort her! Not even a mummy or daddy hug will do!







I don't know what it is/was about the home made elephant cushion that became so magical for Chelsea, but with the current squabbling over him, it is time to try to work the magic again for Byron.




This was attempt no. 1. An 'octopus'. Lets just say it kind of looks more like a mutant flower with eyes! :P Byron doesn't mind it. But's it's no 'Mr Elephant'.
So I'm going to try again with a less bulky design. Fingers crossed there's still a bit of magic left!

Sewing on a nose

I was recently asked if I could help finish two bears that had been lovingly hand made, but work had stalled on their faces. This is like my ideal situation - all the hard work (cutting, pinning, sewing, jointing, stuffing...) is already done, and I get to focus purely on the face!


Shortly after this discussion, these two cuties arrived in the mail.



I set to work on the little one first. Had to put him down a few times thanks to busy little 'helpers'. But eventually got him trimmed and looking cute.





With a bit of trimming and shading to the big bear as well, we had a funky looking duo on our hands. My 8-month old was particularly partial to the little bear... I think he would have chewed him all up if given half the chance! (mind you, he'd chew anything up at the moment... Obviously 8 teeth aren't enough for one little mouth - more are coming in!).

Beres - the second pink bear

Meet Beres!

The second, and last of the two pink bears I was able to squeeze out of the piece of crazy fur mum gave me for my birthday back in July.



I did question whether or not a bright pink bear could actually be a 'he', but look at that little face. If that's not the most handsome little man than I must be getting a bit confused! Plus - he has a blue bow. That's all the masculinity he needs ;)



I actually finished him last night, but like to photograph my bears in the daylight. So first thing this morning (after breastfeeding Byron, cooking up porridge for all of us, trying to get more porridge into their tummies than the floor, having to clean 80% of the porridge from the floor/table/high chair/clothes, changing two very soggy nappies and soiled PJs, and then grabbing a quick shower myself), I finally got a chance to pop outside with Beres. Thankfully the weather was behaving for me, and we got some nice true-colour shots. He can be seen on my Available page now too.

This was my audience while I posed and snapped away. (Oh, and yes, Chelsea has a cast again. She'd had the previous pink cast off for about 2 weeks when she and Oliver were messing around on the trampoline and he knocked her off - quite badly breaking her arm this time. I knew immediately - her arm was in a zig-zag formation! She had snapped the top arm bone clean away from her elbow and has had to have wires put in it. She got the purple cast on yesterday after they checked that the wires were still in position. She's doing really well considering too. Such a little trouper!)

Emma's Bears - published!!!

My copy of the latest 'Australian Bear Creations' magazine arrived this afternoon. Thank you Mr Postie. (Or as Chelsea likes to call him 'Mona-bike MAN!')



I knew to expect my two bears, Eden and Quinn to be featured as a project, but I was totally unprepared for the amount of photos/pages/other articles I'd find my bears featuring in.






There is an awesome profile on my bear making history too, with a story about the death of my puppy Molly over 10 years ago that made me cry when I read it. And I wrote it. How sad is that! :P (the relevance to the bear-article is explained in the rest of the profile! I don't usually like to throw horrific tear-jerking stories in to mess with people! :P).


Fortunately I managed to get these photos of the magazine while it was still in one piece. Somewhere in the 2 mins after I'd put it and the camera down, turned my back and gotten distracted by something else - either Chelsea or Oliver (they're both as bad as each other at the moment) got hold of the magazine and did a bit of editing of their own.

I found it in numerous pieces under the table!

I've since stuck it back together with lots of thick sticky tape, but I think I'll be making a trip to the local newsagent this week to buy a nice new 'keepsake' copy!



Oh - and as part of the Quinn and Eden project - the magazine includes my pattern. So you can have a go at making your own!

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! ;)

About Me

I've finished my first stand alone page for the 'new and improved' Inner World of Emma's Bears Blog/Website. And what better way to start than with an 'About Me' section. Feel free to check it out and let me know if you think I need more information in there? (It's really late here, and my tired, fuzzy brain can't concentrate any more!).