FINALLY, NEW BEARS FOR SALE!

It seems to have taken me forever to get over the Christmas upheaval this year. That said, I finally have three bears finished and am delighted to share them with you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

1. "Tuppence" is 5 inches tall and is made from hand-dyed golden brown, German mohair that has also been extensively aged, leaving a few bare spots. She has German glass eyes, a lightly waxed nose and has been stuffed with excelsior and granulate for weight. Tuppence's face, ears and paws have been shaded with permanent heat-set paints, for a vintage look. She has distressed leather paw pads with tiny holes for the excelsior to show through. Tuppence wears a hand made dress, designed from a vintage hanky, with embroidered roses on the bodice. She wears a tiny silver heart around her neck and a preserved rose on her head. Tuppence comes with her reproduction tin toy easter chick. The chick bobs up and down, when wound with it's key. Shipping is $12.00 for expedited mail or $15.00 UPS, in North America. Please contact me for international shipping costs.

SOLD

2. "Molly" is 4 inches tall and is made from hand-dyed gold German Shulte mohair. The mohair has been gently aged and distressed, leaving a few tiny bare patches. Molly has German glass eyes, gently waxed nose, distressed leather paw pads and has been shaded on the face, ears and paws with permanent heat-set paints. This shading gives her a lovely vintage look. She is stuffed with traditional excelsior and granulate for weight and has a vintage blue flower on her head. Molly wears a hand made dress, designed from a vintage hanky, with embroidered flowers on the bodice and a blue organza ribbon around the waist. She comes with her own tiny porcelain tea cup and saucer.

SOLD

3. "Emma" is 4 inches tall and is made from over-dyed brown/beige mini German mohair. The mohair has been gently aged and distressed, leaving a few tiny bare patches. Emma has German glass eyes, gently waxed nose, distressed leather paw pads and has been shaded on the face, ears and paws with permanent heat-set paints, which adds to her vintage look. She is stuffed with traditional excelsior and granulate for weight. Emma wears a hand made dress from very pale blue, Swiss batiste cotton. It is hand-smocked across the bodice and ties at the shoulders with cream silk ribbon. Emma wears a pale blue vintage velvet flower on her head and she keeps warm by wearing her hand knit, cream mohair sweater.

PRICE: $200.00

WINTER SLUMP!

Boy, January and February are definitely my lowest production times. It seems I need January, just to get over Christmas and get the house back in order. I was thinking how lucky I was to be "cold and virus free" so far this winter, but I should have known better. Hubby went to a conference and brought back a nasty bug, which he has passed on to me, so for the past week it seems my only goal has been to be able to breathe properly so I can get some sleep at night, and it's a goal I have been losing. Snatching sleep in three hour increments, (no matter how many you get) does not equal 8 hours of uninterupted sleep! I've been trying desperately to get new bears finished for a retail shop and my blog, but I'm working at a snail's pace. Hopefully things will get better, soon.

I did manage to get a brooche made for our daughter's birthday, last week. It was a new project, which gave me a bit of energy to play. It's made with my Stampress and black polymer clay, which I have decorated with silver and gold Mica powders and made a tiny indentation for a picture of our grandson, covered with a sheet of Mica and a sweet silver frame. I was really happy with it. I want to play with this medium more in the future, but for now it will be bears, bears and more bears. Hope to have some to share with you soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm a tad late for New Year's day, but better late than never LOL! This entire year seems to have sped by. It feels like yesterday that we moved to the Toronto area to be closer to our daughter and grandson but it's almost three years since we arrived!

I hope 2009 brings the promise of good tidings to everyone - I am glad 2008 has come to a close, with all it's doom and gloom. So, here's to 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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/