Happy Valentines Day everyone!

New bear!

I have one bear left from the show in Chester, Vt! I don't make larger bears very often but I had fun designing this pattern. He is more softly stuffed also for huggability!
He is for sale on my new Esty shop . We just opened it to sell some of the things we collect all year from auctions and yard sales. AND my crafts! Hope you will stop by and check us out ..will be adding more things this week!

Wonderful find!

I am so pleased that I finally found a bear on all fours! I have always wanted an older
standing or wheeled bear. And here he is! I had to drive to Southern Vt to see him but it was worth it! ( besides it was a stunningly beautiful day and we had lunch on Lake Bomoseen! )
Have you ever just discovered a bear at auction or at a yard sale? I have been very lucky over the years. I have a few older Steiff bears and animals that I have found that way. We waited through a whole auction one night to buy one Cheeky bear at the end of the night, for a dollar! I bought one lovely artist bear that was just meant to be mine..she has hearts on her ears and paws.( trapunto) sp? They sold about a dozen Boyd's bears for $ 15-20 each.. I bought this beautiful bear for $10.00! Mohair!
You just never know! Here's my find..do you have any to share ?

Spring Fever in Vermont

Mother nature has been toying with us this year..not much snow..milder weather. This past month we had spring birds weeks early, Blue birds in February?! and yet they are here.It was 57 on Thursday and 30 on Friday. Cold blustery wind, light snow. Up went the new bird houses because the birds are here and the weather promises to reverse itself yet again. Our construction projects and the total mayhem it resulted in means i still have not gotten back to bears! I just spent a rare morning checking out everyone's new spring bears and hares,,such fun! I have passed the time learning new techniques that i can do in my lap in front of the TV at night, and hopefully they will wind their way into my bears later this year! In the meantime than you all for sharing your talents they made my morning!

Happy Valentines day everyone!

May you all have the love and happiness i have found in my life! I plan on celebrating my husband today who made all this possible!

Repeat performance!

This silly bear is getting rather lonely on the shelf! All of her siblings and friends have gone off to homes! So she has been guilt tripping me about not  doing more to show her off! So here she is!

While I have been trying to get back into the rhythm of bear making ..i find myself sort of collating and re arranging new ideas and skills ..seeing how they fit into my furry friends. I have been learning alot about layers recently. It started in digital scrap booking and carried over into my jewelry making. The more I explore and learn , the more I stretch my imagination.
When I looks into this bears eyes how deep can I go? It may just be an unconscious process for some people as they grow and improve in their craft. The first bears I made were cute..but I know they weren't where I wanted to go eventually. The subtle differences created by needle sculpting, shading,trimming...all add up to layers . Layers of personality! Much has changed with the economy and I am trying to regroup and make some changes I how and where I sell bears.
( and my other crafts !) so stay tuned folks! More to come in the next few months!
Meanwhile I am greatly enjoying all the amazing talent I find in blog land! It's wonderful to be part of such talented generous friendly artists!