Mark Your Calendar- 1st Bear Artists Online Show

The very first online bear show for Bear-Artists-Online will be taking place on June 30th, so mark the date on your calendar. Over 100 bears and critters will be waiting to welcome you. Forty talented bear artists from around the world have produced the very best of bears and critters for you to enjoy.

Opening Time: Midnight 29th June through to Midnight 30th, Great Britain time - an entire 24 hour showtime to allow for collectors in differing time zones to be able to access the show at a reasonable time for them! For those of us in North America, using Eastern Standard time, that means the show starts at Friday, 7:00 p.m. EST, June 29th and running through to 7:00 p.m EST, June 30th. It will be three hours earlier for those of you on the west coast using Pacific Standard time.

How to Purchase during the show: Simply visit http://www.bear-artists-online.com/showentry.html and click on the link to the show pages, there you will find a list of all the Bear Artists taking part - just click on any name and you will be taken to the artists online show booth. When you find the perfect bear for you just use the direct email link provided to contact the artist and purchase your bear! The artists will be hovering around their computers all day ready and waiting to hear from you. All transactions are direct with the individual artist so you will have the opportunity to talk to them, ask questions or maybe even commission a bear.

I'm really excited about this new opportunity and I'm delighted to include a preview of the five pieces I created for the show. You can view a larger image by clicking on the individual pictures. If you wish to see a preview of other bears that will be included in the upcoming show, check out the Bear Artist Online website now and click on the "Summer Show" banner.

Violet the Bunny is 5 inches long and comes with her own reproduction antique postcard, decorated with glitter. Violet is made of German mohair and hand painted with many layers of heat-set paint, to give her a realistic look. She is jointed at the head only.

Gemma and her Purse is a set. Gemma is 5 1/2 inches tall and is made from hand-dyed, German Shulte mohair. She wears her smocked dress, decorated with embroidered red roses, to match her vintage reproduction purse.

Liam II is a wonderful little sailor boy, who stands 5 1/2 inches tall and is proud to be named after his grandfather. He is fully jointed, made of German Shulte mohair and he wears a hand made button with a picture of his grandfather, on his sailor suit.

Henrietta the duck and Gabrielle the Goose are miniature working toys, made from German mohair. Henrietta is 2 1/2 inches long and Gabrielle is 3 1/2 inches long. Their bodies are wired for durability and their wings are wired for posing. When pushed forward, the feet simulate a walking motion.

All of my toys are stuffed with excelsior and weighted with steel shot. I hope you have a chance to drop in and visit the show. We'd love to see you there.

Grand Gardens

Last week my hubby was on holidays and we had the opportunity to take a day trip to visit some very special friends. We have known each other for 29 years and have shared a myriad of memories. We raised our children in the same small town and spent Christmas together for over 17 years. Our little group included four families and none of us had relatives living nearby, so we formed our own family. Our children felt like they had four sets of parents. Friends like these are rare indeed and even though we all live in different parts of the country, we stay in touch and treasure all of them.

The funny thing is, my friend and I were never gardeners when our kids
were small - no time, I guess. Now we both love to garden and my friend's garden was picked for their local garden tour this year! It's a wonderful place that has such a peaceful, calm feeling. She has a fountain surrounded by lavender and an incredible variety of plants AND a "blue bottle tree", that I just love. It's made from copper tubing and looks like a tree, and is covered with hanging blue bottles - it's spectacular, especially with the lights on at night.

My garden is small now, because I have trouble maintaining a large
space with my arthritis. However, I laugh at just how many different plants I've managed to cram into my tiny space. Oh well, once it matures, there certainly won't be any room for weeds LOL! My lupines are the only thing blooming so far, but we have roses and delphiniums that are just about ready. My trilliums are gone, boo hoo, but my lilac is blooming along with the northern azalea bush, and the jack-in-the-pulpits have survived the move - yeaaaah! We have a ton of landscaping to do in the back yard, but I do enjoy a nap on our lounger. Enjoy the pictures.