RUFUS, AN OLD CHRISTMAS TEDDY

I really love to make themed pieces.  I love making special old fashioned decorative pieces for display and Rufus really fit the bill for me today.  He is a 4 inch fellow, is made from mini German mohair and is quite distressed.  He has German glass eyes, is fully disc-jointed, has German glass eyes and a lightly waxed nose.  Rufus is filled with excelsior, like all the old bears, and he is gently weighted with stainless steel shot.  I hope you will take time to view his auction and even leave me feedback, which I love to get.  You can view Rufus's auction by clicking Ebay Listings. 

HOW FAST THEY GROW UP

It has become VERY apparent to me this fall, that children grow up far too fast. Our 5 year old grandson, Corson, has managed so many milestones these past 4 months, I'm lost track of them all! He learned to ride a two wheeled bike, he played soccer, his first stint at organized sports, he mastered reading and he is learning how to play hockey. Corson has gone from a small boy who has grown out of all his clothes, to a tall big boy, who is only a couple of inches below my shoulders, a fact he relishes. Yes, he's right, it won't be long until he is patting me on the head.

We go the the local rink each week, to watch his team at practice and games. It's fun to watch this large group of boys, who were unco-ordinated, just a few weeks ago, mastering stick handling skills, learning to stop, skating and then diving onto the ice and getting right back up. They have improved tremendously. Our son didn't like hockey, so we never had this chance with him, so it's all very new to me, but I think we are going to be spending a lot of time in a rink, over the next several years.

So, I'm posting a few pictures of Corson on the ice and with his new team jacket and pants. I should also say how much he loves posing for pictures - he chose all of his poses, to show off his new "cool" duds. Maybe we should add modeling to his activities :o)!!!

NOELLA, A CHRISTMAS TEDDY

I love white bears and when I got this piece of vintage mohair, I knew it would make a gorgeous Christmas bear. It's not a true white - it's a vintage cream/butter colour, just perfect for Christmas. The length was a bit longer than I'm used to so, I held my breath and cut out the pieces, hoping it would be just perfect and I was so happy with the result. Her name is Noella, and her face reminds me of a little Steiff bear. She has an antique look, so I teamed her with some vintage style Christmas accessories. I hope you like her.

Noella is 4 inches tall and is fully jointed. She is made from vintage mohair, and is stuffed with excelsior and gently weighted with stainless steel shot, like the old bears. Noella has German, amber glass eyes, wool felt paw pads and a gently waxed nose. I didn't distress her, as I wasn't sure of the strength of the mohair. She has a shaded face, ears and paw pads and wears a red,wool felt ruffle around her neck. It ties in the back with a vintage silk ribbon and is removeable.

I stumbled across this vintage style silver bottle brush tree and knew it was a perfect accessory for Noella. Noella's collectible Christmas box is paper mache, and she fits snugly inside. The bottom of the box is covered with an old printed text book page and the top is decorated with a picture of Thomas Nast's Santa, and lots of glitter.

Postage for Noella is $12.50 by expedited mail or $15.00 by UPS, within North America. For shipping overseas, please email me. I will leave Noella here for a day or so, before deciding to move her to Ebay or Etsy. If you are interested in Noella, or if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
SOLD

ROSEY POSEY

This is Rosey Posey - she is just over 3 inches tall and made from cream, German Shulte Mohair. She is fully disc-jointed, like the big teds and is stuffed with traditional excelsior and gently weighted with stainless steel shot and granulate. Her mohair and ultra-suede paw pads have been aged and distressed, for a lovely antique look. There are tiny bald patches in her mohair and wee holes in her paw pads, for the excelsior to poke through. A simple pink, silk ribbon was all she needed around her neck.

Rosey comes with a tiny reproduction vintage purse. I stumbled across these in a gift shop, on our recent trip to Lancaster, PA and I knew exactly what I could use it for. The purse is decorated with embroidered organza roses and it is the perfect compliment for Rosey.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I hope you enjoy her as much as I enjoyed creating her.

SOLD

HALLOWEEN ALTERED ART ORNAMENTS/PENDANTS

I love dabbling in other things besides teddy bears and I've come to love soldered ornament/jewelry.   Vintage reproduction graphics are so available these days, that I thought I'd use some for Hallowe'en fun.   Each piece has graphics on both sides, is mounted on acid free paper, and decorated with glitter and foil swirls.  The papers are soldered between two microscope slides, with a black glass rhinestone hung on the bottom.  They have a black organza ribbon hanger, but I will be happy to replace it with a longer ribbon for a pendant, if requested.   They are listed in my Etsy shop and you view them by clicking Duffyantiques Etsy Shop.  Thanks for peeking and if you have any questions, feel free to email me.

CIARAN, THE HALLOWE'EN TEDDY

I've been busy this week, finishing up Hallowe'en projects before it's too late. I don't make many black bears, but I decided that Hallowe'en would not be complete without one, so I'm pleased to introduce Ciaran, the Hallowe'en Teddy! The name Ciaran means "little black one" in Gaelic.

Ciaran is 4 inches tall and is made from hand dyed German Shulte mohair. He is stuffed with excelsior and stainless steel shot, is fully jointed and has amber, German glass eyes and a sparse, slightly waxed nose. Ciaran has slightly distressed mohair, with a few tiny bald patches and distressed ultra suede paw pads, with small holes in them, so little bits of excelsior shows through.

Ciaran comes with a cream molded hat, decorated with black pompoms and a ruffle around his neck, both made from wool felt. They are removable. He also comes with his own hand-made Hallowee'en altered art, soldered ornament, made from vintage Hallowe'en graphics and decorated with glitter. It could also be worn as a pendant, if hung on a ribbon. As all of my pieces, this is designed and made entirely by me, Brenda Power, and is a collectible, not suitable for children. It will come with a signed hang-tag. Thanks for peeking at Ciaran and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
SOLD

AUTUMN'S BEAUTY

One of our favourite passtimes is to go for long drives in the country. I have always lived in a town that was situated on water, and when we were on one of our jaunts around the local countryside last weekend, I realized how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area. Fall is my favourite time of year, with the colourful autumn leaves, so I brought along my camera.

We've been across the Picton ferry and up to Lake on the Mountain, which is gorgeous. No one knows the origin of this self contained lake, located at the top of a mountain, but it's worth a visit if you ever come this way. On Sunday, we started by travelling to a couple of small towns, Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon, both located on water and with gorgeous scenery. Then it was on to Lindsay, and then Cobourg, Port Hope and back home along Lake Ontario. I've taken lots of pictures so I hope you enjoy them.

View from top of Lake on the Mountain

Picton ferry crossing

Bobcageon

Locks at Bobcageon

View from the beach at Fenelon Falls

Gorgeous trees

Beautiful trees everywhere on the way to Cobourg

View along the drive home from Port Hope

Tunnels of trees

Hallowe'en pumpkins everywhere

Geese enjoying the beautiful day

Daylight is starting to fade

View coming into our small town