Meet Winston

He is a new big bear design.

He measures apx 8"

Winston is made out of vintage long pile synthetic fur.

It is similar to Kathryn's only a darker tan and not as soft.

Hi I'm Cody and this if my little friend Buttercup.

I am 5" and made from a dark chocolate mohair.

Buttercup is 3" and made out of a camel colored felt.

We wear matching ribbons in brown with blue polka dots.

We are looking for a new mommy or daddy and are available in Yvette's Etsy shop.

Come and visit us!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=410917

Spring Break!

My kids are on spring break this week.

Two bored teenagers with nothing to do! LOL

I have several things almost finished. I am working on two new bears, some new doll pins, a mermaid and another doll.

Hopefully I will get these completed by the end of next week.

I am so honored and excited. :o)

I was named Artist of the month at Edinburgh Imports.

If you would like to read the interview you can visit here. :o)http://www.eii2.com/Community/viewtopic.php?t=1608&sid=5f39577a9901d6bf76102deee0087c48

Edinburgh is a wonderful place to buy all your bear making supplies.

Their mohair is fabulous and yummy. And the people that work there are all very nice and extremely helpful!

They are also starting to sell doll making supplies.

Check them out here.http://www.edinburghimports.com/

The little bear in the picture is one of my flutterbys. She is about 2.5" and lives in her own little gourd house.

Happy Easter!!!!

I hope every ones day is filled with lots of chocolate bunnies, jellybeans and marshmallow peeps!

Our Easter weekend is starting out with some snow!

Snow in April how wonderful!!!! :o)

Meet Kathryn.

She is another big girl. Apx 9 inches.

She is made with the same pattern as the sleepy flower bear below.

I made her out of a vintage synthetic fur. This fur is very soft and fluffy. It is the perfect size pattern to use this fur. She has black suede paw pads.

The fur is very special to me as it was my Mom's.

She wanted to make a fur coat out of it but never got the chance to. It must be 30 yrs or so old.

I named the bear Kathryn after my Mom.

In the beginning..

I thought I would share the first mini bear that I made.

It is quite different from what I make now.

He is just under 2"

I started to make miniature bears in 1999 when my husband was deployed with the Navy Seabees.

He would be gone six months home six months -- it was a really hard time for me with having two little kids at home and I missed him so much.

Anyway I saw a big bear dressed as a bee and wanted to have a little one. So I went home and figured out how to make one. I carried this little guy around in my purse for a long time. He would make me smile whenever I saw him.

I had a swatch book that I picked up somewhere in my stash of treasures and it was full of vintage upholstery velvet. So I used a piece of that to make him.

I now know that those swatches are valuable and rare. If I knew that then I probably wouldn't have cut it up. LOL

I then found a copy of Teddy Bears and Friends magazine. It happened to be the miniature edition that they put out every year.

WOW

I didn't know people actually made miniature bears or artist bears. I found that there were supplies available for them and people actually collected them.

So that first little bear lead to another and another and will lead to many more in the future.

Do you ever think about your first doll or bear that you made?

Little Spring Bear

She doesn't have a name. Anyone have any ideas?

This little girl loves flowers. Only she is allergic to them.

They make her sneeze and her eyes water yet she still picks them and loves the way they smell.

She is a big girl - measuring apx 9 "

She is made from mohair and ultrasuede.

I wanted to try to make eyelids. Since she is a bigger bear it was easier than putting them on a mini. Her eyelids are ultrasuede and embroidery floss.

Her flowers are hand painted muslin attached to wires.

She wears a fringed collar with a tiny daisy button. Her little hair ribbon started life as several different color hair scrunchies. It has a daisy button as well.

She is made from a pattern by Laura Lynn Matthews.
You can see her adorable bears here.
http://www.teddiesbylauralynn.com/

She has a wonderful website for teddy bear collectors here.
http://www.teddybearcollecting.com/

Ivan the Terrapin

I was asked about this little guy when I posted his picture the other day.

So I thought I would tell you all about him.

I made him last year as a special request from a lady whose husband collects turtles.

She saw my bears on Etsy and wondered if I could make her a turtle.

I wasn't sure as I had never made a turtle before but I told her I would try.

So that is how Ivan was born.

(She named him. I think it is a cute name.)

He is about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches tall.

He's body is made from a textured velvet and his shell is stretch velvet.

He is shaded and needle sculpted.

I was quite pleased with how he turned out.

And his new owners love him too!

Two new Artist Trading Dolls

Hazel is featured in these two cards.
She likes to be the center of attention.:o)

The first one is a folding ATD made from Judi's pattern. http://www.artdolls.info/
The second one is made from Sherry's pattern. http://www.sherrygoshon.blogspot.com/

I am finished making these for a bit. Time to make something else.

I have a new bear in the works.
He is a big fellow. Or maybe he is a she. I 'm not sure yet. I will know when I finish stuffing and add the face. When I get to that stage he/she will let me know what it wants to be.
It will be about 9 inches or so.

I also have a new doll traced out and ready to be sewn together. She may be an Easter prim doll. I won't know until she is finished either.

I always picture something in my mind of what I want to make and then it comes out totally different. My bears and dolls take on a life of there own and tell me what they want to be when I am at the finishing stage. So we will see what I end up with!

Spring is here!

The flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. The sun is shinning and all is beautiful with the world.

Well except for the giant bees and wasps that are flying about - I could do with out those!

I wonder what happened to winter? It didn't seem to last as long as it usually does. We only had a few cold days and very little snow.

Well off to do some quick spring cleaning.

Enjoy the sunshine.

I am moving so slow this morning.

We had a family emergency and had to leave suddenly Thursday night to drive to Louisiana.

We got back last night.

I am so tired I think I could sleep for a week. Driving all that way sure does take it toll.

My kids were so good they just slept the entire way there and back.

I will hopefully be able to get back to my projects by tonight.

I have several things I would like to complete by the end of the week.

Primitive Raggedy Artist Trading Doll

This is my newest ATD.

She is an original design.

The pattern needs a little adjustment so I can joint her arms. I didn't make her dress shoulders wide enough.

I made her using cardstock, embroidery floss (for her hair) markers, tissue paper and gel stain.

The flower on her apron were cut out of the Kleenex box. It had a really pretty flower design. :o)

My hubby want to know why the box had holes in it LOL. Oh well nothing is safe when you need paper.

Hello!

I am just hanging out today to see what Yvette is working on next.

I hear she is in a bear making mood so we will see what is next!

Perhaps a new friend for me!! Yipee!!

And Speaking of gourds - come and see my friend Lisa's new gourd doll.

(Ok we weren't speaking of gourds - but now we are :o)

Stella Glitzgerald The Queen of Bling Can Really Sing!

www.twincubs.blogspot.com

Lisa is a wonderful bear artist who is now making wonderful dolls!!.

Artist Trading Dolls

This is my third and fourth attempt at making these.

The pink one is made from cardstock, tissue paper, lace ribbon, beads and a bit of fabric.

I sewed the beads and fabric on. Her face is made out of air dry clay.

She has been enhanced with markers.

Bubba the cowboy is a photo of my dog.

I wanted to do something in a different color scheme (I tend to stay with pinks, blacks and fall colors - can't you tell LOL) so saw the boots in orange and yellow and started from there.

The shirt, hat and pants were printed on my computer from my print shop software.

I couldn't find a face that I liked so used Henry's.

I colored the objects with colored pencils and markers.

My family thinks I'm crazy but I am having so much fun with these.

I went shopping at Michael's for supplies on Saturday and ended up with nothing. There were so many papers and neat stuff to choose from that I couldn't decide LOL

Bendi mermaid doll and tuffet -







This is my first attempt to alter a bendi doll. I wanted to make a mermaid and try some new (well new for me :o) techniques.

I used tissue paper and paint to give her a textured body.
I also wanted to try to make webbed hands. They came out slightly big but...oh well she also has way to big fins/feet LOL

She has a cloth covered clay face and little tiny sea shells in her hair and on her lace dress.
Her dress was also painted with fabric paint.








The little tuffet is a tuna can (tiny size can) covered in tissue and painted. The top is stretch velvet and it has beaded shell trim attached.





My mermaid didn't come out exactly like I envisioned but she is finished and I can move on to the next project. Yeah!!

Second Art Paper Doll

This is my second attempt at making an art paper doll. The template is Judi's ( http://www.artdolls.info )

It folds to the size of a regular ATCThe little face is from a very nice Etsy seller.

She makes adorable artworkwww.menta.etsy.com

Artist Trading Doll.

This is my first attempt at a paper doll and an ATC. I used Sherry's pattern to create this little jester/clown. He is about 8" tall.

As I was taking his picture his little balloon fell out of his hand. Maybe he doesn't want to carry it. hmmm????

He is done in reds and golds with sewn on beads. I am not sure if you are suppose to sew on these but I did anyway :o) I just happened to have this face laying around. It has been waiting for a body.

Bendi Doll

My doll club http://www.potomac-poppets.com/

is doing a challenge with bendi dolls. I am not sure what to do with this thing.

I have taken it out of the package and noticed how cheaply they are made. The seems are coming apart and well it really is not a pretty object. LOL There is some kind of reddish brown spots on it. It might be rust from the wires.

Oh well I will see what I can come up with. I guess that is why they call it a challenge! :o)

I still haven't found the new paints that I bought. I wonder if my 15 yr old daughter "borrowed them" ????

She loves to paint and draw. Although when I asked her about the paint she looked at me liked I lived on the moon!! and was speaking a foreign language. Sheesh teenagers!!

Hi - I'm Stanley

I decided to pop in here today and hang out and see what all this blogging stuff is about.

I see Hazel and Emily are here. Hi Girls!!

Yvette is tearing up the house looking for a bottle of green paint. She can't find it anywhere and says she can't finish what she is working on with out it.

Do you know where it is so she can get back to work?

She is not happy!! She has been looking for it for two days now. Oh my you crafty sorts. You get an idea in your heads and just won't let go until you finish! I say move on to something else or paint it purple!

You should be like me and just have fun swinging on the chandelier, lounging on the couch and eating chocolate!!

Anyway she is calling so I better go and help her look!

Bye. "o)