Rosa (Bithia, version II)

This is the newest version of the head I designed for Bithia (the hedgehog-like bear). All I did was extend the forehead up about half an inch, change the curve to bulge outwards slightly at the top (Bithia was an inward scooped shape), and change the angle at the point where the face pieces meet the back head piece. Sounds WAY more complicated than it actually was!



The result was this head shape. A little more aesthetically pleasing, but still with the cute pointed face. Combined with traditional Emma's Bears eye placement and a sculptured nose, Rosa looks a little more mainstream than Bithia!



I have designed this head shape to work with some new safety eyes I've ordered in from etsy though, so once they arrive I'll have to see if the head works with bigger eyes and a wider spaced placement.



Rosa's body was 'borrowed' from my Willa/Attila pattern, and I think it works really well with this new head. I've always loved the big fat head look with the little stumpy arms. The Willa/Attila pattern was originally designed to have the same proportions as Chelsea when she was a chubby 6 month old baby.



My next project is going to be a trio of bears in the original Willa/Attila pattern using three gorgeous pieces of mohair hand-dyed my Alison of eTeddys. I've purchased so much of her amazing mohair that I thought I'd better start using it! So watch this space for 'Heather', 'Pumpkin Spice' and 'Sunny-Rose'.

eBay. Need I say more! :P

I have a very fickle relationship with eBay. For years there I had a bear for auction every week. Then I just got sick of the uncertainty of it. Would the bear sell or not? Would it get to a level I considered reasonable, or finish at little more than a 99c starting price? So I stopped, preferring to only list on bearpile and etsy.

But I noticed this afternoon (while browsing for a tiny baby-size tuxedo for Byron to wear to a wedding in a months time) that listing is free now if you start your item at 99c. And, at the moment the gallery image fee is free as well. Not sure how long this has been like this, or will be like this, but I thought I'd give eBay another chance.

I may regret this, but what's life without a little risk! :P



So I now have all the remaining 'bear army' bears listed at 99c, no reserve, 7 day listing if any of you are keen to check them out. Great way to score one of my bears for cheap!

Two for One Patterns in my ETSY store

After another spending spree in Allison's (eTeddies) Teddy Bear Mohair store, I've decided to offer two for one patterns in my etsy store to try and get my account looking a little healthier again! All you need to do is purchase one pattern, then let me know in the checkout comments section which other pattern you'd like. This offer will be current for one week from Now (8th April) till next friday (15th April).

My patterns aren't particularly complicated, but they work, and I give you full freedom to sell any creations you make from them. (and they're all in PDF, so you can have them immediately - no waiting for the post!)

There are also a couple of bears left from my big sale last month too. Mostly 40% off or more.

Allard

I'd had this bear sitting on my desk, half finished, for a while now and decided to bring him to life before I continued with my experimental bears.

I will NOT be working with this fur again! What a mission! And, after all that I couldn't even get good photos due to the contrast between the two colours in his fur!




You'll all just have to take my word for it that he's pretty cool... in an 'old-man-with whiskers' kind of way! I've called him Allard as it seemed an appropriate sounding name for a big 18" boy like him. This time, hopefully, I should have a box big enough to post him in!

Sweet sweet baby...

Rare moment with the two of them together. Chelsea will actually seek him out to have cuddles now. I think we've finally turned the corner on the violent streak!

the experimentation continues

After taking into consideration the odd-ness of my last creation Pomona, I decided to design a new bear head shape to see if that would look any better with the big eyes I've been using. I've never been very good at conceptualising pattern pieces in 3D. Give me the simplicity of arms/legs/bodies/ears, even feet, but heads have always been my sore spot.


But I bravely drew, and traced and cut and sewed... and Bithia was born. She was less shocking on the 'turning right way out' reveal than Pomona was, but still a little more odd than I was going for. I designed her a squat little body to add to the cartoon-ness of her look, and have to say that I quite like her overall appeal. So much in fact that I've made some adjustments to this pattern and have the second generation bear in the works right now too! I'm hoping to make the head a little more rounded and less triangle, but I still want to keep the essence of the pointy nose... so stay tuned for more experimental updates!

So ugly she's cute?

The plan was to try and incorporate my new floating eyelid technique with one of my established designs, for a somewhat more traditionally shaped bear than Pax or the bear army.

After receiving the gorgeous photo of Booth and Toulouse from one of my collectors, I thought maybe that would be the best pattern to try the new eye technique on. After all, the design has a nice big head, plenty of room to play with!

Lets just say things didn't quite go to plan... I was a little worried after I'd set the eyes, sewn the head and put a bit of stuffing in. That was one ugly little bear staring back at me! I think in moments like that it can be very tempting to just chuck the offending thing away. But being the frugal person that I am, I couldn't bring myself to waste perfectly good mohair, (which serves me right for experimenting with my good fur!!) so I persevered, determined to make the bear look semi reasonable. I wrote on my facebook page that I was hoping to get it to the 'so ugly it's cute' stage... and I kind of think I might have succeeded. She's unique though, there's no doubting that!





I've called her Pomona, and for all intensive purposes she is perfect - fully jointed, stuffed with polyfill and beads, neatly closed seams, rounded paw pads, awesome funky tufted batik-dyed mohair, big 3D embroidered nose... and THOSE eyes!






Pomona is now on etsy and bearpile.