MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone had a lovely day, celebrating with their families - I know we
did. There is nothing like a five year old boy to keep things hopping on Christmas morning LOL! For all our friends and family, who don't get to see this ball of boundless energy very often, here are this year's Christmas pics. Enjoy the rest of the season and I hope you all avoid the nasty bugs going around.

CHRISTMAS PARADE OF ARTIST'S FAVOURITES!!

Today is the day for the Christmas Parade of Artist's favourites! It's hosted by Ellen Borggreve Designs and Ellen has done a wonderful job. There is lots of eye candy so just click on the parade link on the right, and then just sit back and enjoy the show!

OH CHRISTMAS TREE!

I think one of the things that I find most frustrating about Christmas is putting lights on the tree. It has been my job for as long as we've been married. I managed quite well, until last year, when Neil brought home a 7 1/2 foot tree and it took me half the day AND a ladder to get the lights up. Well, when trees went on sale last year, he suprised me by bringing home a pre-lit, 7 1/2 foot tree- YIPPEE! Best of all, it comes with a remote control, which switches from white lights, to coloured lights, or both white and coloured lights - hallelujah!! One thousand lights and I didn't have to string one and no more arguing about which is best, white lights or coloured lights - I just have to hide the remote LOL! All I needed was my little helper, our grandson Corson, and all is well.

TWO NEW BEARS!

What a month! I have finally finished two more bears that I thought I would list here. Although these two bears don't look too different, I've changed the patterns, to emulate what I feel is a more antique style. I am forever trying to make that "perfect" bear that emulates what I love about the old teddies. I have also changed my stuffing methods and although I am still using excelsior, I am adding a granulate that gives it a more aged feel. They are much squishier - if that is a word - :o) I hope you enjoy them.

1. "MacNaughton" is a bit bigger than usual - he is a wopping 6 2/3 inches! I seem to be getting larger all the time. He is made from semi-distressed, hand-dyed German mohair that has been extensively aged (that means bald spots!). He has a longer body than usual, short legs (like the old Steiff) and he is stuffed with excelsior and granulate. "MacNaughton's" face, ears and paws have been shaded with permanent heat-set paints, for a vintage look. He has German amber glass eyes, distressed leather paw pads and is adorned by a simple vintage red silk bow around his neck. Shipping within North America is $12.00 Expedited mail or $15.00 UPS. Please contact me for international shipping.
SOLD



2. "Miss Tilly" is 6 inches and is made from semi-distressed, cream German mohair that has also been extensively aged, leaving a few bare spots. She has amber German glass eyes and a lightly waxed nose. "Miss Tilly" has been stuffed with excelsior and granulate, for a nice squishy feel. Her face, ears and paws have been shaded with permanent heat-set paints, for a vintage look. She has distressed wool felt paw pads with tiny holes for the excelsior to show through and is adorned by a simple vintage pink silk bow around her neck. Shipping within North America is $12.00 Expedited mail or $15.00 UPS. Please contact me for international shipping.
SOLD

3. I am also offering a hand made hallowe'en hat and ruffle, along with a reproduction pail (filled with mini pumpkins, mini leaves and hallowe-en confetti. The hat is made from heavy paper, trimmed with layers of black, orange and white crepe paper. The complimentary ruffle is made of the same colours of crepe paper. This is suitable for a 4-5 inch bear.
PRICE: SOLD

I will finally be updating my etsy shop tomorrow, with more soldered jewelry and mini shadow boxes. The following picture is a sample of what I will be listing. I have some new Alice in Wonderland and Flower Fairy pieces this time. I hpe you have time to check out my shop http://www.duffyantiques.etsy.com/

Places of the Heart

I've been meaning to write this post for a while. In August, my daughter and I took a trip back to Deep River, the town where our kids grew up. We lived there for 18 years and it was a wonderful childhood for them. Although it's in the middle of no-where, it is situated on the Ottawa River and close to Algonquin Park and it's absolutely beautiful. It's a strange little place and even though we've been gone for years, we keep running into people we knew from our time there.

Our kids were exposed to all kinds of sports and outdoor activities and they really learned to appreciate nature and the out of doors. Summers were filled with canoeing, boating, parties at Pine Point or weekend camping at Frazer's landing (across the river and out of parents prying eyes). The down side is that almost 100 percent of the kids leave Deep River after High School, to go to university and then to the cities to work.

Every two years, Deep River hosts a weekend "Summerfest" and it has become a reunion time for the town. The high school campus is turned into all kinds of activities and a massive beer tent is opened and it's a three day long party. Kids come home especially for Summerfest and bring friends and families that have moved away often come back for that particular weekend. For those 3 days, the tiny town of 4000 swells to over double it's size. Every house has a driveway full of cars and tents pop up in backyards, all over town. Hubby and I have been back for several Summerfest weekends, but our daughter had not returned since our move in 1994. This year, she discovered Facebook and has re-connected with many of her high school friends and decided to return for Summerfest and I jumped at the chance to go with her. Sarah took her dad's tent and a quick call to old neighbours had offers of backyards to pitch it in and a bed for me :)

There is nothing like having friends that are more like family! I walked through our old next door neighbour's front door and was greeted with a huge "hello" and a dish towel and "would you like to wash or dry" - 14 years were wiped away in a blink of an eye. It was a wonderful feeling. Their son was home and had brought six friends with him for the weekend and there were 21 people coming for a barbecue! It was amazing to see old friends and make new ones. Since they obviously had a full house, I stayed with another neighbour, and it was lovely to see their children, who were two and four when we left, all grown up and almost read for college - where has the time gone! The following day, a trip down town to see the campus and all the activities was fabulous as I re-connected with literally hundreds of people. Talk about a trip down memory lane!

Monday morning came all too soon, and on our way out of town we stopped for gas. I had to get my camera bag from the car as the day before I had put my bank card and cash in it, on my way down town. The counter was crowded, so I put my camera on the floor at my feet and promptly left without it, not realizing it until we were back home, 4 hours away. I didn't know the name of the gas station, so I quickly phoned our old neighbours to find the phone number for me. He volunteered to get it for me and UPS it back, which was wonderful, but I had to confirm they had it and someone hadn't walked out with it. When I phoned the gas station, the lady quickly confirmed that it had been turned in and when I told her my name, she hesitated. She said she had "Sarah Power's" name on it already. I was confused and she told me her son was working that day, and had recognized her from school - 14 YEARS AGO! I couldn't believe it. He had commented to his mum that Sarah looked exactly the same, which thrilled her to no end, especially since she didn't recognize her son LOL! Anyway, our neighbour picked it up for me and sent it back and wouldn't let me reimburse them for the cost. It's safe and sound, back with me. Only in Deep River LOL! I count our family extremely fortunate to have nurtured friends like these - what a gift!

HOME AT LAST!

Boy, it's been a long time since my last post! The summer is flying by! My husband has been on holidays for three of the last four weeks and I am ready for some quiet time, creating new things. We did have a great time, visiting friends and relatives and going back to the town where we raised our two children. We also enjoyed time with our grandson, going to Marineland, in Niagara Falls, as well as the Butterfly Conservatory, which Corson just loved. As soon as I have time to sort and tidy up our pictures, I will post a few. Bye for now.

TRYING SOMETHING NEW - BEARS FOR SALE!

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post! Life just seems to be getting busier and busier, between holidays and babysitting our grandson, especially since he is finished school for the summer. Not much time to make bears! Add to that making a major mistake - I thought it would be faster to make a group of bear at once - NOT!!! I am definitely a one-at-a-time girl! Anyway, since I've not been selling on Ebay since their last group of ridiculous changes, I thought I would list a few bears for sale on my blog. I will leave them up for five days. It will be a first come basis, and I love feedback so if you have any ideas how I could showcase them better, please let me know. Thanks for taking the time to have a peek - enjoy!

1. The first teddy is Emma Rose. She represents all the little girls who like to dress their dolls or teddies and have a little bed to put them in. I found myself thinking a lot about my oldest sister, when making this little teddy. She was a lot older that me, and passed away 13 years ago. One of my most distinct memories of her is her doll, Emma Rose, that she adored and took everywhere with her. The name seemed to fit this teddy, perfectly.

Emma Rose is 4 1/4 inches tall and is made from Shulte mohair, that has been overdyed and distressed, so that she has tiny bald spots. She is fully disc-jointed, has German amber glass eyes and distressed, ultra suede paw pads (wit tiny holes) She is stuffed with excelsior and steel shot and has a lightly waxed nose. Emma Rose is dressed in a hand made, cream antique silk, pleated dress, trimmed with green silk at the hem. She wears an onyx heart on a thread, around her neck and a preserved miniature rose on her head.

Her shaker box is 4 1/2 x 3/1h/2 and has been painted green and then distressed. to look antique. I have decorated the front with a lovely vintage picture of a little girl and her teddy. The inside of the box has a mattress made from a tiny green paisley print, that is decorated with beads. Emma Rose fits snuggly into the box. SOLD

2. My next teddy is Nigel the Sailor. He is 5 inches tall with his hat on and 4 1/4 inches without it. He is made from hand-dyed, semi-distressed, German mini mohair, that has also been aged further, giving him a few tiny bald spots. Nigel is fully disc-jointed, has tiny amber, German glass eyes, distressed ultra suede paw pads and a lightly waxed nose. His face, paws and ears have been lightly shaded for an aged look.

Nigel wears a hand made sailor suit of wool flannel. He has a silk tie and and and had made badge, along with an aged, paper sailor hat. His jacket is removable, but it requires tweezers to undo the buttons. SOLD





3. My next bear Jangles, wears a simple collar, decorated with tiny vintage bells. The collar is removable. Jangles is 5 1/4 inches tall and is made from over-dyed mohair, that resulted in a cinnamon/rust colour. He is also stuffed with excelsior and steel shot, for a vintage feel and is fully disc-jointed. His mohair has been distressed (leaving a few tiny bald patches) and his face, ears and paws are shaded for a vintage look. His leather paw pads are also distressed, with tiny holes. Jangles has black, German glass eyes and a lightly waxed, sparse nose. SOLD

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I enjoy Mother's Day, as all mother's do - who doesn't enjoy being pampered LOL! This year is special as both of our grown childen are home for the first time in several years. However it's always tinged with a little sadness for me, as my mum, Joan, is no longer here. Mum passed away suddenly, almost thirteen years ago, and there isn't a day goes by that I don't think of her. She taught me all my sewing skills and she encouraged my passion of all things artistic. She allowed me the freedom to make mistakes when creating, but then always challenged me to figure out how to fix the mistakes.

Mum was brilliant at making things - she could virtually create out of nothing, and she did for years, when we were kids and money was very short. We always had new clothes for special occasions, although as I was the youngest, lots of my outfits were re-made from my older sisters' outfits. I never really minded, because they always seemed new to me!

Mum was kind, non judgmental, gave easily to people and was married to my dad for over 54 years. I think her generation of mothers were the last of a breed. The stay at home mums, who were there for us, when we needed them. I'll think of mum a lot tomorrow, while I enjoy my family. Happy Mother's Day, mum, I love you and I miss you, where ever you are! XOXOXO

HOME AT LAST!

Well, we made it - three days in a car with a 4 year old, driving to Disneyworld, 5 parks in 5 days and another two days in the car driving home!We are all exhausted but happy. I haven't even had time to download all of my Disney pictures, but I'm posting some that were taken by Disney photographers, and I think they say it all.

Our grandson was a bit overwhelmed on his first day at the Magic Kingdom, but by the last day he was crying because he hadn't had a chance to see the Haunted Mansion a second time and he didn't want to go home. LOL! He was also thrilled to be chosen Honorary Cruise Director for the "It's a Small World Afterall" ride, on the last day we were at Disneyworld.

We also spent two days a Seaworld, but I'll post about that when I have my pictures cleaned up. Other than a few minor speedbumps, we all had a wonderful time, and I'll post more pictures when I get a chance.