bearbits

Sebastian’s Grand Endeavor – Part I

2012-01-30T03:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday as I was busy sewing and sewing, I heard Sebastian sigh.
He seemed a bit out of sorts but I kept sewing.

Then he sighed again. What is it Sebastian? Don’t you have anything to do?

Maybe you could read some of your books.

Oh, you’ve read them all twice, huh? What about doing something else?
How about playing with your race cars?

Vroom, vroom. Vroom, vroom. Sigh.

Alright then. How about playing with your trolls? You haven’t done that in a while.

What? You’re tired of bossing them around already? Okay, okay. How about something that would challenge you? You could see how many monkeys you can link from your Barrel of Monkeys game.

Sebastian, I am running out of ideas. Okay, here’s one. Why don’t you work on perfecting your yo-yoing skills?

It won’t come back up? Well, that’s the whole idea. You try to get it so that it will come back up.

Too frustrating, huh? Give me a few minutes and let me see if I can think up any other things for you to do . . .

I must have taken too long to come up with something, because he pulled out his harmonica. Oh dear me. That is a woeful sound.

There must be something Sebastian can do to entertain himself while I sew. That’s when I came up with an idea – a fairly good idea. The thing is would he be game enough to give it a go?

Please tune in next time for Part II of Sebastian’s Grand Endeavor.

Friday in the Studio

2012-01-27T17:27:00.001-05:00

What began as a sort of dreary and sometimes rainy day ended with some happy sunshine and a bit of a blue sky. Our winter here has been very mild so far and I keep thinking to myself, “Okay, if you’re not going to show me some seriously pretty, incredibly peaceful, landscape-altering snow, then let’s get on with spring”.

I mean today we could have easily entertained outside in flip flops and short sleeve shirts. And that’s very weird considering this is January 27. I’m not complaining mind you because while the snow could be very beautiful to look at and delightful to play in, the cold and I cannot agree on what is an appropriate temperature. (I’m always in favor of one that is warmer.)

Today in the studio, I had a visitor.

He kept me company while I worked on this little guy.

He (or she) is a small ted created from two previous patterns. I wanted to see how he would turn out. When the head turned out okay, I kept going.

It’s not an efficient method of operation – one limb at a time, but each advance made me want to keep going until he was completed. And now he is and measures in at 4½” tall.

Thus I have created a new problem for myself – I want to make another but then I have other bears I want to make too. Such is the dilemma – decisions, decisions.

Parallels in Progress

2012-01-24T17:27:00.001-05:00

Wrapping a birthday gift.

Updating my calendar.

Making hotel reservations for shows.

Trying to figure out what the weather will be the next day.

Finally ordering some mohair.

Sweeping the kitchen floor.

Finishing lunch.

Making spaghetti sauce for dinner.

Letting the dog out for a bit.

What have you been up to lately?

Here it is.

2012-01-22T00:07:00.000-05:00

Just a little past midnight.

It’s time to announce the winner of my giveaway!

Thank you all for your sweet and kind participation. I’ve met some lovely new people and discovered some fun blogs to follow. If you are new to my blog, thank you for joining in as a follower. I hope you find some fun reads here.

I was looking back at my past giveaways and I was amazed at the variety of places these little guys have gone. For the first one, I sent a small bunny to Maryland. Then Posy went to live in Oregon. Peeka BOO! settled in Michigan. Noelle went to Spain. Blossom happily resides in the big state of Texas while Jilliana is around the world in Germany now. Maybee lives in Serbia and now we are all wondering where in the world will Bouton live. So . . .

On with the show!

The winner is E.V. from Spain

or should I say España?

Congratulations and enjoy your new little friend.

Bouton is busy packing his suitcase and will be arriving at your doorstep soon.

Happy Trails my little friend!

Bouton’s Goodbye

2012-01-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

Who knew that something could become a tradition on a blog? Yet that is what has happened over the last couple of years with my giveaways. A couple of days before the winner’s name is randomly chosen the giveaway teddy bear gets to take over the blog to say goodbye to all you lovely people who have made him feel so loved.

Bouton and I would like to wish each of you the very best of luck in the drawing this Saturday. Thank you for entering and for all your wonderful and encouraging comments. Now I hand it over to Bouton who wants to wave so long and farewell to each of you.

Goodbye. Au revoir. Auf Wiedersehen. Farvel. До свидания. Tot siens. Slán leat. Arrivederci. Adiós. Viso gero. La revedere. Näkemiin.

Vintage Buttons and a Pin

2012-01-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

First, the pin. Some of you had asked to be notified when Sebastian’s pins were available. In that regard, you can find them at the link below. They are $5 each. Sebastian wanted me to put $50 each on them, but I convinced him that his friends would appreciate a much more reasonable price. After all, what would he need the money for anyway?

Click here to be whisked away to Sebastian’s buttons.

The little guy has just about every luxury one could want; a wardrobe full of clothes, cookies and coffees to his heart’s content and a nice place to lay his head – even his very own tent when it comes right down to it. No, he has no need of any kind of extravagant financial compensation. Let’s just leave it at $5, shall we?

Secondly, the vintage buttons. A week or two ago, my sisters and I went to a Quilting and Fiber Art Marketplace. It was a gathering of small business owners whose focus was quilting fabrics and supplies. It was my kind of place – second only to a bear maker’s marketplace, if only there were such a thing!

There was a vendor who dealt in Vintage Buttons and Linens. I had never seen so many beautiful old buttons in one place before.

She also had tablecloths from the 40’s and 50’s – she must have washed and ironed for ages to get them so pristine.

I probably could have stayed and rummaged through her baskets of buttons all day long. They were so different from what I see in the fabrics shops. Temptation was everywhere I turned.

I heard a little voice inside my head that kept encouraging me to say “Yes, ma’am. I’ll have one of everything please.” Thankfully, I paid ~~no attention~~ little attention to it.

I eventually tore myself away from her booth only to find myself drooling in yet another one. I’m sure you’ll understand when I say I often forgot I had a camera with me. I did snap this one though.

Leave it to someone with a like mind to wish you the best in language you understand.

What Bears Do After Christmas

2012-01-14T23:03:00.000-05:00

Well, let me clarify. This is what some bears do after Christmas.

They hang around with the leftover Christmas decorations until the “After Christmas Christmas Party” is over.

These photos were taken at a friend of mine’s house tonight. Yes, we all know that it is January 14^th after all.

However, she has discovered that people get really, really busy during the holidays and they sometimes find it difficult to slow down enough to get together with friends.

But after the holidays have passed and the calendar turns from one year to the next, they have more time for such things.

So we fixed a dish to share and scurried on over to her house which quickly filled with familiar faces – including some furry ones.

Sebastian wouldn’t let us out of the house unless he was allowed to come along. “Why sure! Come along Sebastian. You’ll meet loads of bears there.”

And so he did.

We all had fun.

The kind of fun that you wish wouldn’t end.

The Unveiling.

2012-01-11T19:29:00.000-05:00

Hello again. Sebastian here. Finally, it’s my turn at this blog thing again. Sometimes it seems like it takes for-ev-er when I have to wait.

I have some news to share. It’s the sort of story that kind of goes wiggly and you might not be able to follow it but I’ll try to make it easy for you.

When I have been out with other bear people and then again at Disney, I noticed that a lot of them had pins. Not pens like you write with although they probably had those too, but pins like you wear on your collar or lapel.

I know you’ll forgive my namedropping, but my friends down at Disney – Duffy, Cinderella, Donald, Mickey and so on, they all have pins. They are so colorful and it got me to thinking.

I got to thinking I should have a pin because well, because, I should. So I approached you-know-who with this idea and she surprised me. No, she shocked me actually by saying, yes; she had been thinking that it would be a good idea.

At that point, it occurred to me that perhaps she had been thinking way too long. Like, way way too long. Over thinking it. She does that occasionally.

So, I asked, “What’s the hold up? These things don’t just magically appear. You have to DO something.”

Her reply?

“Yes, I know. I know. I know.”

So I said to her, “Well then, go and DO it!”

And then she said, “There are steps to it. You can’t just say to someone “Make me a pin.” And then, Poof! You’re a pin. There’s finding just the right person to carry it out, then finding an artist and describing exactly what we want. Then you have to wait for them to arrive and hope they are right. Then there should be some way to explain them. Like a card or something.”

To tell you the truth, I began to lose a little hope. It all sounded so complicated, but since I can feign ignorance very easily, I said again, “Just go and DO it!”

I was very surprised when she did. I mean she really did. She did it. She did all those things – although finding the artist wasn’t very hard as I have my own personal portrait artist just a few hours down the road – or up the road. I can never remember which it is.

So, here they are – my pins. My very own pins.

I am so excited! Do you think it looks like me? I couldn’t decide if I should wear my glasses or not. In the end, I decided they added to my allure, don’t you think? The pins aren’t huge nor are they tiny – they are just right at one inch across.

I think the plan is to make them available for purchase. I am going to encourage her to put them on my her teddy bear website.

Then if I see someone on the street wearing one, we can do a thumbs up kind of thing. Like a secret club or something. Although it might have to be paws up since the thumb thing still has me baffled.

signing off for

Finished Teddy.

2012-01-09T16:36:00.001-05:00

I know you know that I do my best to follow up on things I have said I would do. In that vein, today’s post is the finished teddy bear from the post before last.

The size of this bear is the size that I made frequently a few years ago. It is a bit more challenging these days to make one 12 inches. I think it’s mostly stuffing the head that works on me.

Yet when I get past that bit, some parts are easier than the smaller ones. The seams aren’t as tiny and the options on what kinds of trims I can use are greater.

What I learned is that it reminded me a little of having children. You soon forget the difficulties. In spite of the extra effort it takes, this teddy has convinced me that I might need to make another rather soon,

if only to satisfy my creative inclinations. In fact, maybe I’ll just toss the bear making plan I had laid out and pilfer through my “larger bear mohair” and do another.

Did you just read that I had a plan laid out? Okay, let’s go with that. Yeah, I had a plan. That’s right. Now I’m changing it. I like to live dangerously.

Addendum

2012-01-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

Katy Cameron requested a photo of the finished teddy above with Sebastian so she would have a reference for scale. It is a bit difficult to tell how big bears are without something to go by. Sebastian is 6 inches tall - half the size of the larger bear who is 12 inches tall.

Strangest House in the World

2012-01-06T16:29:00.001-05:00

Every once in awhile, I daydream about all of us (all of you and me!) going for coffee, drinking tea, indulging in chocolate, going to Disney World and so forth. You get the idea, but until I become filthy rich and can sponsor such things, we’ll just have to do it this way.

A few days ago we visited what has been called “The Strangest House in the World”. It had been on my list for a few months and finally we had the opportunity to visit. Welcome to Körner’s Folly.

It was built in 1878 and is less than two hours from our place.

It is a three-story house on seven levels with 22 rooms. Yep, you read that right. Are you beginning to get the idea of its strangeness?

It has fifteen fireplaces and they are all different. No two doorways have the same molding, trim and details.

Körner was an interior designer and he used his home as his showplace,

hence, all the varied rooms with differing woodwork and interiors.

What amazed me in addition to its quirkiness, was that as old as this house is, 90% of the furniture is original to the house and much of it was designed by Körner himself.

Another example is this triangular shaped piece of furniture that was designed especially for this, the Rose Room.

The little round tiles that make up the flooring throughout the house were laid one by one over two years by a single artisan.

There are painted murals on most of the ceilings – the artist who painted them would stay in a small bedroom that the children of the house once occupied.

It is the location of America’s very first private Little Theater.

The children in the area were given the opportunity to perform puppet shows in this theater.

It is still in need of a lot of restoration but I am amazed that so much of it has survived this long. If you are ever in the area and you like to tour old homes, especially Victorian era homes you might enjoy this one. It has been called an Amusement Park with a Front Door!

I’m joining Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday where everything is pink almost every weekend!

This is as far as I got today.

2012-01-05T00:37:00.001-05:00

After reading all your good wishes from my last post, I must say I feel I had better get busy sewing! But first, before I continue here - if you commented on the last post, I replied to each of you in a comment somewhere near the bottom.

Now that the holidays are behind us and my husband has enthusiastically and cheerfully returned to work (ahem!), I began to finish something I started last year. Sounds like a long time ago eh? But we know last year was only last week.

Anywho . . . this is as far as I got today on a big (for me) bear probably about 12 inches tall when finished. It didn’t take me long to catch on to how different it is making a bear this size as opposed to the little ones (for me) I usually make.

After sewing, here’s an empty head. Not for long though.

The stuffing has begun.

All stuffed.

My son asked me this question today:
Why didn’t the teddy bear eat dessert?

Because he was already stuffed!

On goes the nose. Just like that - in a jiffy! That’s a jiffy in bear making time which translates to seemingly forever sometimes. Remember I’m used to the small ones!

Then the eyes.

Eyes take half a jiffy – which is half of seemingly forever.

A little detailing.

And then some ears. Ears go on last for me. I don’t won’t to hear them complaining about how my idea of a jiffy doesn’t quite match up with theirs.

Is he perfect? No. There might be some tweaking here and there. Will he be perfect then? No. But that’s the way it is – you just keep aiming for that elusive and magical goal.

Trying to Start 2012 Right

2012-01-03T00:12:00.001-05:00

Here we are at the start of a brand new year and I want to do it right. Or as right as possible. Therefore, I will begin by thanking you for reading and making blogging so much fun. After all, if you weren’t there, I might as well write these crazy things on paper and put them in a drawer.

Then I’d have a crowded drawer and I’d have to make some sort of resolution to clean it out. Where in the world would I start? So you see, just by being there you are a tremendously huge help. No telling how many drawers you have helped free up around here!

Also, thanks so much for all the wonderful wishes from the last post. In addition, if you followed the tiny mocha post, just so you know, the following evening Daniel won the local Throwdown. But since you already know how really good he is at the art part of barista-ing, you aren’t surprised are you?

Now what kinds of things would you like to see on bearbits the coming year? When I looked back through the year’s photos, I was surprised at the twists and turns – who knew the directions it would take? Perhaps this year will be the same: some things expected and some surprises. I am open to new adventures – all good I hope!

Over the past few days, I have managed to check a few things off my list. One was to dye some fabrics to give myself some options – options on bears in new colors and fairy bears in new colors. I just love a new beginning. So many ideas and 362 days to go.

A reminder about my giveaway: Time’s a-tickin’ but there still is some, so drop on by and sign up if you are inclined. Just a little over two weeks left.

Quick Last Grins from 2011+1

2011-12-30T23:45:00.001-05:00

Perusing the year’s photos . . . at top speed.

January

Left behind . . .

February

Sneaking in a pocket for a trip.

March

Getting fitted for glasses at the Optometrist office.

April

Hiding in plain sight in a gift shop at Disney World.

May

At the beach.

June

Saying goodbye to a friend.

July

At a birthday party with friends.

August

Camping out inside.

September

Meeting Cinderella.

October

Getting his fortune told by Zoltar.

November

Rescuing the Pirate Turkey.

December

Here’s a new one for you: Herding horses just yesterday.

Wishing you the best for 2012!

A Mocha Challenge

2011-12-28T22:17:00.000-05:00

If you’ve wandered by to see what kinds of bear projects I have going on, I am working on some things which I will share after the first of the brand new year. In the meantime, we are still in holiday mode here making the most of these last few days of 2011.

Let me round out the year by introducing you to Daniel. Daniel Faucette – Barista Extraordinaire. Why extraordinaire, you may wonder. It is because he embraces a challenge. Let me explain.

If you recall from my last post, Sebastian has a new mug all his very own. He had been hinting (like every 5 minutes) about how “it must be time to go for coffee”. We also heard this: “I’m sure you and your other half would enjoy a nice cup of mocha, right?” And this: “It’s sure is a sad, sad day when you have a new mug but you haven’t been able to use it.” Yeah, he broke us. But that’s just the beginning.

Arriving at our favorite coffee spot (Jubala Village Coffee) we were met with the greeting of “The ususal?” And then, “Can I get you anything else?” That was when Sebastian started prodding me from inside my pocket. “Um . . . Daniel . . . would you - could you make a little mocha – a decaf mocha - in this little mug for this little bear?”

Daniel is a good sport and a great barista so he took up the challenge. How many people do you know that would go along with such craziness? Sebastian was in seventh heaven. It was such a tiny mug – could he do it?

Here’s Daniel in the process of pouring the milk in.

What will the art be? Will it turn out in such a small cup? Sebastian waited with baited breath.

Ah, look! It’s a heart. How fantastic is that?! A heart for Sebastian, Daniel’s littlest and greatest fan.

Sebastian was so pleased he almost didn’t want to drink it.

But eventually, he succumbed and drank it all.

“Can I have another?” he asked.

Sebastian and I would love it if you would say hello to Daniel. He said he would drop by and check out the photos of his accomplishment. Thanks Daniel for making Sebastian’s evening and entertaining us as well. Oh and by the way, our mochas were excellent as always.

What does a bear get for Christmas?

2011-12-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

I wondered this myself. I should have known this year would have been a little different from previous ones when Christmas cards began arriving addressed to Sebastian. Some were sweet and some were funny but we enjoyed them all. Yes, Sebastian, who was thrilled, let us read them too.

Then I noticed that under the Christmas tree was a package all wrapped in tissue addressed to Sebastian. I asked him to wait until we arrived at our Christmas morning destination to open it but he was impatient.

“What difference will a few minutes make?” he continually asked me until I relented and let him open it.

So what does a bear get for Christmas? Why he gets his very own teddy bear Christmas mug in just his size.

See how his paw fits the handle? Now he claims there is no reason, no reason at all, that he cannot go with us to the coffee shop and get his very own mocha. You do realize he has an extremely valid point.

Just out there.

2011-12-24T00:04:00.001-05:00

I took this photo not long ago when I was considering writing a post on some local time-honored traditional Christmas outdoor decorations. I don’t know if this scene falls into that category because I am not sure exactly how long ago this display began. So, the question became is it time-honored yet?

It seems to me that we noticed it a few years ago – at least three and now we look forward to seeing it every year. For us, it has become sort of a tradition to drive by slowly, taking a moment amid the hustle and bustle to admire the scene and remember exactly what and why we celebrate.

It is one of the nicest nativity scenes we have seen around. It sits just off the road I travel frequently and I pass it several times a week if not more. The best time to see it is at night when the lights focus your attention on the manger.

If you celebrate this most special of holidays, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas! I hope you have some wonderful memories to carry you into the New Year. I also want to thank each of you for the gift of your readership and encouragement. I know that it can be a bit strange on this blog sometimes, so the fact that you return to read, comment, laugh, poke fun, offer advice makes me think that this planet has some really terrific people inhabiting it. Thanks for being there. Yes, there. Just out there. There in blogland. It’s so nice to know you’re nearby. Enjoy the holidays!

It’s here! As promised . . .

2011-12-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

Back when spring turned to summer I had a giveaway. I also promised that I would love to do another before the end of the year. That time is quickly approaching. And since I announced the last winner on the first day of summer, I decided to announce this new giveaway on the first day of winter.

This is my way of saying thank you to all of my blogland readers and friends. Of course, I have another reason for having a giveaway. It’s fun, fun, fun! And I am quite ready to kick back and have some fun with Christmas just a few days away and the New Year following shortly after. I think this is a very good time to celebrate. Let’s get on with it shall we?

I am pleased to introduce you to Bouton.

Bouton is a pocket-sized one-of-a-kind, fully jointed teddy bear measuring a mere 6” tall.

He is made from warm beige colored mohair with Ultrasuede paws. Stuffed with both polyfill and glass beads, he is sit-able, squish-able, huggable, and tote-able. Okay, so most of those are not real words, but you get the idea, don’t you?

He wears a handmade button necklace that is accented with tiny seed beads. This is where he gets his name – from the buttons. I was all for calling him Buttons but he thought that sounded a bit like a circus clown, so he fancied it up a bit using the French form of button hence, Bouton.

He comes with his own button-like cushion to sit on. It is created from wool felt and provides him with a little security knowing he will always have a place to perch.

Here’s how to enter:

- In the comment form at the bottom of this post, please leave your name as instructed below (very important) and I will enter you in Bouton’s Giveaway. All comments will be private and unpublished. You don’t have to have a blog to enter.

- IMPORTANT! Please leave your first and last name and email address as part of your comment so I can contact you if your name is drawn. This info is for the purpose of this giveaway only and will not be shared, sold, traded, given away or added to any list. No email = no entry. Sorry but them’s the rules. The bears insist on my contacting the winner personally! They are very steadfast about this.

- If you have a blog and post a link to this one about my giveaway, I will enter your name in the drawing an additional 5 times. Please let me know once you have posted it on your blog.

- I will take comments until 6pm EST (Eastern Standard Time – New York City time) on January 21st. On January 22nd, a name will be drawn randomly from all those who entered. (We will be using a random number generator to insure fairness. I can’t trust bears with sticky fingers to draw a name properly.) I will post the winner’s initials only and state/country in a new post on that day.

- Bouton and his cushion will be mailed via USPS to his new home. As you know my bears and I love to travel. He is looking forward to his first trip in the New Year! I will be waving him off before you know it.

The best of luck to all of you!

Handmade

2011-12-18T23:26:00.001-05:00

These hands are doing something very special.

They are wrapping a handcrafted item.

Here it is just inside the box before the lid is put on and sealed.

It started out at the very beginning looking like this.

Those bits were put into the roaster shown here.

We watched the making of these things through glass windows.

Here are the samples they were encouraging visitors to taste.

Have you figured it out yet? It’s Raleigh’s newest “bean to bar” chocolate factory. When my husband insisted we go and check them out, they had only been open three days.

What a treat both literally and figuratively.

The boxes are pretty with each type of chocolate bar represented with a different color combination.

I love the fact that they put a little nod to our state on the front of every box.

Now you can see we are sort of back where we began. With a handmade, hand wrapped, hand packed dark chocolate bar.

The tag line on each box reads “from bean to bar to bliss”. I’ll agree with that.

Why Sebastian - S-e-b-a-s-t-i-a-n - is having a good giggle.

2011-12-16T23:37:00.001-05:00

A little while back Sebastian received a gift in the mail. It was a book, but not just any book it was a book about his friend Duffy, the Disney bear. But that’s not all.

When he opened it up to the very first page, he saw that it had some writing there.

“Why Sebastian, you lucky bear! You have a book that is signed by the illustrator!”

Sebastian looked at it and then looked again. Then he giggled a little. Then he giggled a lot. “What is it that is making you laugh so hard?”

“Oh, I see now. They spelled your name wrong. That is pretty funny!”

Later on I could see that he was enjoying reading all about how Duffy became Mickey Mouse’s teddy bear.

After he finished reading it, he found Duffy and read it out loud to him.

I have a feeling this is going to be a treasured book for both of them for a long, long time – and they’ll probably giggle every time they open it up too.

A New Temptation

2011-12-13T21:37:00.000-05:00

If you are a regular reader here, you know that we feel fortunate to have discovered a delightful coffee shop within walking distance. Please don’t tell the bears or they would all want to come. As it is now, they just wonder where we disappear to when we go. They are going to get really suspicious now.

You see just around the corner from our favorite coffee shop, which also makes it within walking distance; this wonderful place has just opened. The Chocolate Boutique. Be still my heart.

It is bright and airy in two of my favorite colors,

but let’s get to the good stuff – the product. Chocolate.

Not only is this place a visual temptation, it tempts the taste palette as well.

They also sell something that is new to me. Have you ever heard of Chocolate Salt? I am certainly going to have to do some research on this. I think my pantry needs something called Chocolate Salt!

Yes, we did taste a few chocolates and

yes, a few came home with us. Were you hoping for pictures? Oh, well, with a camera in one hand and chocolate in the other, I had to put something down. The camera lost.

While we were enjoying the taste test, these particular words resonated with me.

The best part about this new shop, aside from the chocolate, is that it is within walking distance. The worst thing about this new shop is that it is within walking distance. How much willpower do you think I have? Probably about as much as one of their mini truffles which are delicious. I am thinking I can be there and back in just a few minutes. You won’t tell anyone where I’ve gone, will you?

The Power of a Curve

2011-12-11T23:31:00.001-05:00

I have been working on a new small bear head and picked up one of my old reliable stuffing sticks to stuff his or her head. It occurred to me that I have not posted about some of the tools I use for my bear making in quite a while. I thought I would share this one because it’s just a little bit different from the normal ones.

I purchased this particular stuffing stick from a fellow bear artist who is also responsible for its design. I am unsure if she is still in business, but I think she may have moved on to other things now. I wasn’t exactly sure at first how well it would work for stuffing.

I had been using regular stuffing sticks, chop sticks and some I made myself which seemed to do the job but I like to give new ideas a spin to see if they work. Now I wish I had bought two. Here’s what it looks like.

It’s a gentle “S” – oh so slightly curved and tapered on both ends. It was well finished when I bought it but over time with repetitive use it is very smooth.

It works well for stuffing roundish things – like a bear’s head. Using one of the bears from my studio, you can see how it would align for stuffing a bear’s cheek

or forehead

or the back of his head.

It also does arms quite nicely too.

I think it would be possible to recreate this stuffing stick with some patience and the talents of someone who can work with wood. Maybe it is time to give that some consideration.

We’re not New York City.

2011-12-10T00:03:00.001-05:00

In today’s newspaper, there was a feature on Christmas windows around town. We sought them out and added a few of our own. While we drove around, we talked about how one day we would like to see the Christmas windows in New York City. We have seen videos of how they work on them all year long and have a great unveiling for the waiting crowds. Yes, maybe one day. Until then, we have a few pretty ones of our own. No, we are not New York City, but some stores really make an effort to create interesting windows. These are photos, and the occasional close-up, of some that I thought stood out from the rest.

a clothing boutique

close-up of details – look at those little pixies!

a vintage shop – yes, it’s a bit quirky

at the other end of the spectrum – an antiques shop

a candy shop

If I was a little kid, I’d have my nose plastered up against that window.

this shop makes their window a tradition

here’s a close-up

a stationery shop

and lastly,

a dance shop

reminds me of The Nutcracker!

Holiday festivities are really beginning to pick up here. We like to look at the lights, the decorations and Santa’s elves. I’ll bet you are one of them. Come on. Admit it. Santa can’t do all that stuff without a little help. Why, I might even help a little myself!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E?

2011-12-07T20:39:00.000-05:00

It has been nearly a week since I have sewn anything at all. This spelled trouble for dear Sebastian I am afraid.

You see I have been doing things – accomplishing things, but my enthusiasm for those things (i.e. laundry, dishes, etc) wears out pretty quickly. I did make this cake for a potluck dinner but I much prefer sewing. You probably could have guessed that, right?

Looking for an excuse, any excuse really, to change tasks, I wandered by my clean desk and found Sebastian slumped over. The poor soul – he looked like a deflated balloon. It was then that I began a quite delicate, yet wholly selfless conversation with him.

“How ya’ doin’ there, buddy?”

A sigh was his only reply.

“Is this cloudy overcast day beginning to get to you?”

Another sigh.

“You know you can tell me anything, anything at all. I’m here for ya.”

That is when his sad story came tumbling out. He told me how he admired all the young bears heading out the door with their straight backs and tight joints. He said he felt rather dismal by comparison.

I assured him that he was loved but this didn’t seem to do the trick. He still seemed low.

Then I suggested that dreaded word – surgery.

“Surgery?!” he exclaimed a bit louder than I had anticipated.

“It would be outpatient. You would be in and out in no time at all. I could tighten your joints and fix your back problem.”

“Can you fix my bald spots too?”

“Um, no. Not in time for you to celebrate Christmas – that is a much more delicate and involved surgery. So, what do you think? Shall we fix you up?”

“Okay,” he replied.

“Yea!” I said. Which is something I hope you won’t misinterpret, but I’d much rather fix up Sebastian than do laundry. I’m funny like that. I’m not sure he quite understood where I was coming from but he was optimistic about the results.

Here is the part that is much too graphic to share here. I know some of my readers are quite squeamish about such things. I am too but hey, remember; I’m getting out of doing laundry.

Sebastian is now out of recovery. He’s already looking more dignified,

more chipper,

and more energetic.

As for me, that little bit of time with a needle and thread and a thimble and some scissors, well, let me just say, I don’t think my desk top is going to be clean and neat for very much longer. Another yea!

Same and Different

2011-12-05T04:44:00.000-05:00

The two bears in this post are created from the same pattern but very different fabrics. One of them is the one I promised to show you last week. The other one was just a twinkle in my eye at the time but I’ll share her as well.

I’ll show you the last one first. Here she is. Her name is Willow. She found a home over the weekend during my Internet show.

This second photo shows you Oriana with her wild colors and her wool mittens. She is still waiting for just the right person to come along.

After packing up the bears from the show and sending them on their way, I did get a chance to enjoy seeing the top of my desk for a change. I had begun to think it was all an illusion but it is still there after all!

I took a deep breath and enjoyed just sitting for a moment. It was so much fun that I think I will do it again tomorrow. Same activity, different day.

Annual oohs and aahs.

2011-12-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite places to visit to get in the spirit for the holidays is The Container Store.

Last year I posted photos of their Christmas wrappings display. This year, quite by accident, I was there when they were in the midst of putting it out.

How exciting!

I got to see things being unpacked from boxes and arranged just so.

And that was back in October!

It gave me a little boost of adrenaline to see all the pretty things.

I waited until now to post these photos because

#1 – It was STILL October and

#2 – It wasn’t EVEN November yet and

#3 – I wasn’t quite prepared to embrace the whole “Get ready. It’s coming!” scenario.

Now, it is December and time to turn my attention to these seasonal sorts of things – decorations, holiday happenings, presents and wrapping paper.

It has sort of snuck up on me while I was doing other things, but this could turn out in my favor.

I will have to start being very purposeful sometime soon – oh, let’s say, next week? That gives me at least a couple of weeks to get my act together. Piece of cake . . .

Chin up.

2011-11-29T23:59:00.001-05:00

Hey there little bear.

Yes, you. You’re the only little bear I see.

Chin up little bear. I want to take your photo.

There you go. Now you can go play.

#21-22 & #23-26

2011-11-29T00:26:00.001-05:00

As a follow-up to the 32-piece teddy that I mentioned in my last post – I have finished him - mostly. I surprised myself doing so but it took until now which is after midnight. I will show him in all his completeness next week since he has yet to have a few details added.

Those I haven’t yet decided on. Should it be a bow or some other something? I’ll make up my mind soon. In the meantime, here’s a peek at pieces 21-22 . . .

and pieces 23-26.

Finally, a note to the readers here:

Thank you for being one.

What’s up. & What’s up?

2011-11-27T23:58:00.001-05:00

I saw a sign today - a countdown to Christmas and there were 27 or so days to go. Really? Not only did it have me wondering where the month has gone, it had me wondering how this year has passed so quickly.

I haven’t spent a lot of time contemplating the answer though. Time marches on either way.

The past four days here have been wrapped up in all kinds of celebrations.

We helped my sisters at a craft show where I bought a bar of soap. Too bad this blog doesn’t have Smell-O-Vision. I think it has a great scent.

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice. This was the first one.

By the time, the second one arrived 3 hours later, the camera was a long forgotten entity.

We attended a very special birthday party for a very special birthday girl – with sparkly candles and everything.

We enjoyed a delicious mocha at the coffee shop while reading the newly added chalk board.

Some of the answers to the question were quite entertaining. For example, beards and quidditch!

Currently on my desk, I have 32 pieces to assemble into a six inch teddy bear.

That’s what’s up here. What’s up with you? Or if you prefer, what gives YOU joy? Do tell. I need something to keep me entertained while I sew.

The Pirate Turkey – An Original Thanksgiving Story

2011-11-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

This is a turkey story. Or – as some of you may come to decide – a turkey of a story. It began when I was making preparations for Thanksgiving. If you aren’t from the USA, do not draw any conclusions about the holiday from this story. It is atypical to say the least.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was making Thanksgiving Day preparations. I had been upstairs but had come downstairs when I caught Sebastian by surprise. He was up to something. By the way, as you know, that is not unusual. I was just trying to figure out this “unusual” activity.

“Hey Sebastian. Whatcha doin’ there?”

As you can see, Sebastian is holding of the end of a rope.

It was a long rope.

Where does your rope go, Sebastian? A box?

You are pulling around an empty box?

Um. Sebastian? What is that stuff on the floor? My clean kitchen floor?

It looks a lot like bird seed.

And what are these feathers doing here?

Sebastian, that is not an empty box, is it?
What are you hiding in that box?

A turkey! You’re hiding a turkey?! In my kitchen? Do you want to enlighten me on this?

Here’s how he explained things:

This turkey was on the run. On the run from Thanksgiving – well, not Thanksgiving exactly. Just on the run from being Thanksgiving dinner. He just barely got away – he lost an eye in the process. That is why I decided to call him The Pirate Turkey.

I love him. Can we keep him please? He can sleep in my bed with me.

Sebastian, do you know what it will be like to sleep with a turkey? Do you even know how to look after a turkey?

I can do it. He won’t be any trouble at all. Just like me!

Sure, Sebastian. Sure. Okay, your Pirate Turkey gets a Thanksgiving reprieve. Now let’s take a photo so we’ll remember the Thanksgiving you rescued a turkey . . .

as if we’ll ever forget.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
From me, Sebastian and The Pirate Turkey

Asking for your thoughts.

2011-11-21T21:27:00.000-05:00

I have gotten quite enamored with making a few bears in a smaller size. This one is 4.25 inches tall. You have seen him here before, but I wanted to remind you what he looked like because I am interested in your thoughts.

He is made from this fur fabric. It is very soft and I enjoy working with it. It’s the same fabric that Sebastian is made from although he is a different color.

Recently I finished this bear. On first glance he probably looks quite a bit like the one before.

When I was at the Hunt Valley Christmas Teddy Bear Show, I succumbed and purchased one, just one, small piece of fabric that is similar, yet subtly different. I created the bear pictured above from it. The photo below is that fabric. It has a much shorter pile.

Perhaps if you see the fabric side by side the difference between them is more noticeable.

Here’s a close-up view – the pile is almost non-existent on the new piece seen at the top of the photo.

Now, as for the bears, can you see much of a difference?

Candy Canes & Gingerbread

2011-11-17T23:27:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share a bit of a festive preamble to the upcoming Christmas holidays. Two of the following photos I did not take. Nor have I seen them in person. I very much wish that I had. I doubt the chances are very good that I will before the season is over but I think these are very, very cool. And when I come across something that perhaps you will enjoy as well, I try to share. Check these out. These are holiday overlays on Cinderella’s castle at Disney World.

One with candy canes . . .

Photo by Mark Goldhaber

and the other with a gingerbread house theme.

Photo by Mark Goldhaber

And I thought when I took this photo last year that the castle draped with icicles looked amazing. I wonder what they will dream up next?!

Prologue, Story, Epilogue

2011-11-16T20:47:00.000-05:00

I’m in the mood to tell a story. Many stories have a prologue. Some have pictures. Mine has both.

Prologue

As I sit in my studio in a short sleeve t-shirt on this rather warm fall day in the South, I am thinking if this weather holds through the weekend, we might be able to get our decorations put up outside and maybe inside too. In the past, we have had to battle drizzle, freezing cold and blustery winds. Winnie the Pooh we are not.

It might be a little too early for some – decorating for the holidays. Some may already be enjoying the twinkling of Christmas lights. Would you like to know how I decide when to decorate?

I look at the calendar and find the one free day that exists sometime in November or December and decide “Okay! That’s the date!” It just so happens that it arrives this weekend. Where am I going with this, you ask? I was wondering the same thing myself.

So here’s the tale:

The Story

We have lots of Christmas tree ornaments. Many of them were gifts – from extra special people we love and bringing them out each year reminds us of them. Some we purchased as mementos of our travels or special events. And when you’ve been together as long as we have, there are a lot of memories and a lot of ornaments. I made the first one for our first tree when I was about 16 while we were dating. Yes, I know, you thought I was 16. You’re so funny! Here it is:

As time went by, our children also contributed to the decorations.

I also have some of the best sand dollar ornaments that my mom and dad made when they were in the business.

My sister has started making them now.

One year after I had hung the last ornament on the tree, I stood back and looked at it and thought to myself, “Something is missing”. Have you ever had that feeling? You can’t put your finger on it but something is just not right. I decided there must be a box of ornaments I had not added. But how could that be? Then it dawned on me. I smacked my hand to my forehead and said “Silly me! I’ve forgotten the box of teddy bear ornaments! No wonder the tree didn’t look right!”

I don’t intentionally look for more teddy bear ornaments. I love the ones I have and they are enough. But it does happen that sometimes when I am out and about one or two end up in my possession with the thought, “This teddy bear would be a great addition to the tree this year.”

Artist made ornament I found at a teddy bear show back in the Spring.

This year we have four to add. It will be fun to bring them into the mix. And a mix it will be too.

This one came home with us from the beach in August.

There are days when I so admire those of you who do themed trees with that special artistic touch – ribbons that match, ornaments that coordinate and of course, all your lights burn, right?

Duffy the Disney Bear – came all the way from Florida this year.

Our tree is a mix of old and new, memories and mementos, fat and skinny, fuzzy and plain.

This one is unlike any others I have. More on that at a later time.

When we’ve finished decorating it, we sit down with a ‘whew!” and turn off all the lights except the ones on the tree. We sit and enjoy its twinkling. To me there’s just something really magical and peaceful about a lit Christmas tree in the dark.

And many stories have an epilogue too right? Here’s this one:

Epilogue

I have good intentions. I don’t really have a game plan to decorating. Just a goal. One simple, forthright, easy to understand, goal. This is it: To get finished so we can get to the sittin’ and enjoyin’ part. It’s our winter counterpart to our summer porch sitting. You are welcome to check back to see if we were successful.

Photos from the Hunt Valley Christmas Teddy Bear Show and Sale – Grab a cup of coffee.

2011-11-13T23:25:00.001-05:00

So, if you are not interested in seeing snippets of various things from the show, including artists’ tables, this post will be very, very bor-r-r-r-ing to you. On the other hand, if you are interested, then you are in luck.

I must confess that I have often photographed the same artists’ displays from show to show so I made a concerted effort to mix it up with some different ones this time. Of course, I still love the work of many including Darlene Allen, Penny French, Cindy Malchoff and so on, but if you have read here for any length of time, you have seen their work on this blog frequently.

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, on to the show . . .

First we had to set up. Something festive, something seasonal, something that went along with the theme – the holidays!

This is my table before the bears came out. It was actually pretty easy to set up but that is because I had a playbook with architectural renditions of what it should look like and where everything should be placed. Okay, not really. I’m just joking but I had given it a dry run at home so that helped on the day.

We then went off to have a bite of breakfast and left Sebastian as our sentinel. He promised he would make sure all the boxes stayed in place. It gave me a great feeling of peace to know he was watching over things. To be honest, I think he saw a pretty little girl bear across the way and he wanted to impress her.

I took this photo of him from behind. I didn’t want him to know we had sneaked a peek to see if he was doing his job.

I’ll get back to my table in a moment. Very nearly right after the show opened, Karen and Elysa came by for a visit. I thought perhaps they were there to say hello to me, but alas, I realized it was Sebastian they wanted to see. Truly, who could blame them? He was offering chocolate kisses to all the pretty girls!

I took two quick snapshots of the show as it opened. One looking to the east of the room

and one looking to the west. I think you can see some of the decorations in these photos.

Later in the afternoon, I had an opportunity to take a tour of the showroom and take a few photos. The first one here is my neighbor, Diana Lee Palomba – Timeless Expressions. She has a very recognizable style and her bears are sweet and demure.

Not far from me you could also find Sandy Czaja’s table – Notchlok Bears. Sandy traveled to the show in Maryland all the way from Arizona.

A bit further down the aisle I discovered an artist at work – Allen Hsu (left) and his assistant of Teddy Bear Barn. He was busy working on a request when I walked by and if you look really closely you can see his current project in his hands.

Now as I said before, I was taking photos near the end of the day and you will see that some of the tables had noticeable bear spots – I mean empty spots. Like for instance, here on Jackie Melerski’s table. Gilmur Rudley Bears.

Let’s keep going. Here’s a peek at Gail Griffiths bears – Bear Bottom Bears.

As Sebastian mentioned, we were encouraged to come festively dressed for the occasion. As I was walking, I came across several very interestingly costumed artists. I think my personal favorite in originality, as well as its rustling sound, was Donna Nielsen’s self styled Christmas package.

Here’s a photo of her table too – also cheerfully adorned!

At the Teddies of Mt. Holly table you could find work of artists from many places such as these Forget Me Not bears

and this cutie from Nadja Bears I would have loved to bring home with me.

Barbara Burke seldom has any bears left to be admired by this time but I was lucky to catch a photo of this little one. She was probably around five inches tall. I was surprised anyone could look into those eyes and be able to leave her sitting there.

This is Marjan Jorittsma’s display. These Tonnibears come from the Netherlands.

Here’s close up of one of the pups. Aw-w-w.

We’re approaching the end of our tour. Here’s Judith Eppolito’s table with an assortment of critters from lions to bunnies to monkeys to camels.

Turning the corner we find my other neighbor’s table: Martha Bumala – Waverly Crossing Bears. She always has an entertaining tale to tell.

Now we are at the end of our tour – at my table. I took this photo right before the show opened so almost all the bears are on display here. I think Sebastian had to coax one or two that there was nothing to be afraid of – that everyone would be friendly.

The day passed rather quickly I thought but that could be because hugs make the day go faster.

Soon it was time to hit the road. We had blue skies almost all the way home.

Now I’ve got to put on my thinking cap and figure out what is next on my teddy bear agenda.

Sebastian subs.

2011-11-11T00:07:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. Sebastian here. I love taking over the blog. Do you want to know why? It is because you and I can talk confidentially and tell secrets and giggle. I even love the word giggle. Say it with me – Giggle! Just saying it makes me giggle. All those g’s and the iggle part. What’s not to love?

See this? Yep, it’s my suitcase. And I am heading out. Oh do you want to know where I’m going? I am going to a Christmas Teddy Bear Show one way or another.

I don’t have a lot in my suitcase this time because I’m not going to be gone for very long. I am only taking two things.

Since it is a Christmas bear show, I heard they want you to dress up. Ol’ stick in the mud says she didn’t have time to sew bears and a costume, but I have one even if it is kind of simple.

How do you like my hat? Does it make me look silly?

The other thing in my luggage is what I am most excited about. I decided that I needed some business cards of my very own.

These are extra special because they don’t have a lot of words on them. I designed them myself and I thought why have words when a picture is worth a thousand of them? So I told the guys at the top, who do these sorts of things, keep it simple with a big picture of me on both sides.

They put this doohickey thingy on there and told me it was the latest thing. I am sure it is a mistake. I mean it doesn’t even look like a cupcake or anything! But I didn’t want to make them feel bad, so I exclaimed, “Cool beans!” And they all grinned like I had said the right thing.

I am getting kind of sleepy now. Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes for a few minutes and take a short nap. I don’t want to miss getting in the car because it is a long walk, especially if you have to lug a suitcase.

If I’m still here when the car starts up, please wake me up. I want to say hello to all my friends in Maryland and if all goes well, perhaps I can get you-know-who to take some photos to share. That is if she stops talking long enough to snap a few. It’s hard to find good help around here. You know this bear’s work is never done.

Love ya to pieces!

writing today for

This is not really a test.

2011-11-09T02:17:00.000-05:00

A test means there will be a grade at the end – and that might take the fun out of this post. Just a couple of questions for you . . .

Remember this bear head in progress from a couple of posts back?

And from even further back, this photo of a couple of unfinished boots on a hat rack?

Stick with me. It will all make sense eventually.

The boots begin life like this.

They are made from paper maché – I didn’t make them though. I bought them this way. But as you can see they definitely need some work at this point. Mainly, it’s that they do not stand up straight. That takes a bit of effort and patience after which comes the painting and finishing.

Next you will see that I have given the little bear his body, arms and legs and he looks like this now.

If you take one small bear and one small boot, what do you get? (No grades remember?)

You get a bear that fits right inside ol’ Santa’s boot.

He can stand in his boot while the boot sits on a table all festive-like for the holidays, welcoming every visitor and keeping an eye open for Santa. (Let’s just hope Santa comes to leave presents and is not in search of a missing boot.)

odyssey

2011-11-08T00:34:00.001-05:00

We took a short break from the preparations for the teddy bear show this coming weekend and went on a search which turned into an odyssey of sorts.

We headed down this trail hoping it would take us back to the past. We weren’t even certain it was the right trail – after all it has been a long time since we were sixteen.

You see, love makes you do silly things – especially when you are young. We decided to see if we could find the tree from a long ago memory. One like this.

If we found it, it would read GT + JB but more like this:

It seemed like a promise to the future; that we might return some day and look at it and smile. Of course we would be able to find it – in the future. We crossed this stream. Look at that funky tree in the forest. It was the first of many.

There were lots of trees that had fallen over time.

Let’s take a closer look at this one. What is that?

Oh, it’s Sebastian - taking a break from this crazy odyssey. Yeah, I don’t think he was doing much hiking. It was more likely he was wondering why we didn’t bring any cookies along. I was thinking the same thing!

These two trees have spent years together.

And check out who is taking yet another undeserved break.

We came across another initial tree but it did not seem familiar.

We also stopped to try and figure out how this tree ended up growing like this.

When we got to the dam, we decided it was time to give up the search.

If we had found the tree from long ago right when we started, we would have missed all these forest treasures. We would have missed our odyssey. Maybe we’ll find that tree someday – or maybe not.

Work in progress . . .

2011-11-03T03:47:00.000-04:00

What I’m Going to Do

2011-11-02T02:37:00.000-04:00

Hello to all of you once again. Thank you for your kind comments and participation over the past few posts up to October 31^st. I was excited to read that so many of you were familiar with the Christmas shoeboxes. Yea for you!

Our marble infused pumpkin that you saw here and here is doing quite well. I thought for sure it would be history by now. It must be the cooler weather that is keeping it well preserved.

And now that Halloween has passed, I can reveal which of the bears from this post was my favorite. I had a few people guess correctly – many by email. Which one was it? It was Number 7 – this one:

While many of you looked at size or costuming, it all boils down to the face and this one was the one that did it for me. I probably should have kept him but you know how that goes.

In between making posts about orange things, I was working on what else? Holiday bears! Doing so really plays with my mind. Is it Halloween? Is it Christmas?

As is usually the case, I am flush with ideas but I’m sure to run out of time. My trick? Just keep on sewing. And that’s what’s I’m going to do.

What is that?!

2011-10-31T00:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween – but I’ll get to that later. Really, I will. First I wanted to have some photo fun. Seriously, I am not above messing around with visual effects on Halloween. Before you get too excited that you might see something fantastic, let me say I’m sorry. You gotta aim low around here.

“What is that?!” my husband exclaimed peering over my shoulder at the photo below.

Could it be a freakish Halloween scene from a movie?

Nope, sorry folks – nothing quite that lively.

Here let me show you where that came from, okay?

It’s a snippet from the far left end of the photo below that I took of some pumpkin carvings at the State Fair a couple of weeks ago. Do we have some pretty cool talent around here or what?!

I hope you enjoy these faces . . .

because there is nothing like this on our porch on Halloween.

I have loads of ideas for pumpkin faces and stuff . . .

but I’ve directed all my time and attention towards making bears and um, well, messing around with these photos. See how I prioritize?

Now to the important stuff – to all the dear readers here –

Sebastian and I would like to wish you a very, very

Two Kinds of Boxes

2011-10-30T00:07:00.000-04:00

What is it with my posts having numbers in the titles lately? Never mind. Let’s proceed.

Here we are one day away from Halloween and I thought I would mix it up a bit today – combine a couple of holidays in a strange and bizarre sort of way. All in good fun, of course. And it has to do with boxes.

I love creating my bears&boxes pieces. The exciting bit after they are all done is seeing them from the outside and then opening them up to reveal the surprise on the inside.

Here are a handful of Halloween boxes from the last few years. And even though the pleasure from making them has passed, I still remember how delightful it was to create them.

This one even has a poem I penned which tells the Halloween tale of the kitty inside.

Now for the mix-it-up bit.

See these shoeboxes wrapped in Christmas paper? They have surprises inside them too, but not of my making – unless you count shopping for things like toys and toothbrushes.

They will be delivered to children somewhere in the world who might not otherwise receive any gifts at Christmas. If you want to have some shoebox packing fun, you can get the details by clicking here.

One day left in the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

A Fearsome Foursome

2011-10-29T00:03:00.000-04:00

I am looking with fondness at two photos from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. The reason is because I think we are having our first taste of a cold, nearly freezing, wet and rainy autumn day and these take me back to Florida where the weather was wonderful and warm.

The costumes that Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and Pooh were wearing were terrific and so appropriate for each of them - almost. Pooh as a bee and Piglet as a butterfly really reflect who they are. Tigger too as a pirate! But I have to say; I think in this case, Eeyore is my favorite because his clown outfit doesn’t quite go with his lovable gloomy Gus personality. I think I have a soft spot for the old donkey.

Sebastian is in there if you look closely – again in his fried egg Halloween costume. What a scream!

I also thought I’d include this photo I took of the castle during the fireworks show. You don’t often see the castle this color – at least I don’t think you do. What a great show it was too.

Now for the rest of the day, I am going to sew and dream of the warm and happy memories we had in Florida and at the beach while I warm my toes by the heat in my studio.

Day 3 of the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

Zoltar in a Coffee Shop

2011-10-28T00:05:00.001-04:00

We discovered a relatively new and delightful coffee shop near where we were staying at the beach. One thing that made it unusual was its resident fortune teller. Not just any fortune teller, but Zoltar.

Did you ever see the movie Big with Tom Hanks? Zoltar was in the fortune telling machine that transformed the character that Hanks played.

Sebastian was fascinated by Zoltar, who wore a gold turban with an orange feather. He asked me if Zoltar could really tell him his fortune. See Sebastian peering up at him?

I explained that with a few coins deposited in the machine it would return a card with a fortune, but that it was just for entertainment; that what the card said should only be taken at face value.

He looked so longingly up at Zoltar that I thought perhaps we should give it a try – just for fun, of course.

Zoltar kept his part of the bargain and presented a small yellow card for Sebastian. Are you wondering if he was happy with what it said?

I should say so! It said he had a very sympathetic nature and devoted hours to the welfare of others. It also said he had a fine mind and would be successful. The next bit about being fond of sports I wasn’t so sure of, but Sebastian said he thought that was referring to his champion cookie eating skills to which I conceded. He really latched onto the last part which said unending happiness would be his.

Here’s a photo of Sebastian clutching his precious fortune. I don’t know about the unending happiness bit but for now he is definitely a contented little bear.

Day 4 of 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

A Scary Dozen?

2011-10-27T00:07:00.000-04:00

Looking back through my photos of previously created Halloween themed bears, I was surprised at how many there were since I rarely have time to make more than just two or three each year.

#1 ↓

I also noticed that most of them were dressed.

#2 ↓

I picked out a chosen few that I especially liked and decided to share them here as part of the countdown since they all had a bit (or more) orange in their outfits.

#3 ↓

Nearly every one of them is carrying something. I imagine that’s because I have such fond memories of Trick or Treating when I was growing up.

#4 ↓

Looking at these bears makes me want to revisit my patterns for twelve inch bears . . .

#5 ↓

and revisit my teddy bear clothing patterns and fabrics. I love fabrics.

#6 ↓

Maybe that’s what I’ll do as soon as I have finished a few other things currently on my table.

#7 ↓

In the meantime, if you’ve read this far through this post, I have a game for you.

#8 ↓

Soon it will be time for me to have another giveaway as I promised back when Spring turned to Summer.

#9 ↓

I really enjoy giveaways this time of year. They’re so . . . so . . . festive! That’s the word! Yes, festive!

#10 ↓

So for an extra entry in my giveaway, guess which bear in this group is my personal favorite using the numbers above the photos. One guess only.

#11 ↓

You’ll get one entry just for trying. And if you get it right, I’ll give you another. Email guesses welcomed as well. This game will only last until Halloween so if you want to play, make it quick!

#12 ↓

I’m doing this because apparently having a 10 Day Countdown to Halloween isn’t enough to keep me out of trouble before my upcoming show on November 12^th!

Hopefully, I will be able to announce my giveaway in the near future. Until then, it’s on with the countdown!

Day 5 0f 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

Orange Squish

2011-10-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

We were oh so fortunate four years ago when this young lady accepted our son’s marriage proposal. I have to say she’s the sanest one in the bunch – no offense to any of the rest of my family members – really. As you will see, she’s a big Disney fan and has converted the rest of us – without trying very hard at all. She has friends all over the place and here’s a few Disney ones showin’ her the love.

First up, our teddy friend and Mickey’s too, Duffy. Duffy’s Halloween costume was to dress up as a jack-o-lantern. An orange one, of course.

Here she is with another one of our favorites – Stitch. Stitch had just finished a stage show and came out for a dance party. So I guess you’d say she’d been dancing with Alien Stitch in his orange costume.

Here she is with Winnie the Pooh, or as we fans call him – Pooh. Of course, Pooh is not orange. Everyone knows that. We just like this photo and we’re all about bias when it concerns family and bears. And we couldn’t show the next photo without first showing Pooh. I think it’s in his contract – or at least it should be.

You see Pooh and Tigger go together like peanut butter and jelly or peas and carrots or candy and apples. I like all of these photos but I have given this last one a title that I think is apt – Orange Squish. Even Tiggers like to hug pretty girls!

Day 6 of the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

Funky Punkins

2011-10-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

We went to the Farmer’s Market a week or so ago and saw an amazing number of pumpkins right from the pumpkin patch. They all were such gorgeous colors –

– even the funky ones were fascinating.

I liked the striped ones.

The pumpkins came in all kinds of shapes and sizes too – from very small ones

to those you could make into jack-o-lanterns.

Choosing the right one wasn’t easy. I mean is there really a ‘right’ pumpkin? I decided to leave that big decision to the one who offered to carry it to the car. After all, I can see faces in all of them so it really doesn’t matter much to me.

For $1.00, we also brought three of the little striped ones home. You wouldn’t want the big one to get lonely.

Day 7 of the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween!

Bills and Webbed Feet

2011-10-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Since I made the rule, I guess I better live by it, huh? Doing so is going to make for some very, um, very split personality type posts. Here we are on Day 8 of the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown to Halloween.

As I mentioned previously, we were at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and saw many of our favorite characters dressed up for the occasion. Sebastian wanted to get in on the fun so he also dressed up as a fried egg. (Don’t ask!)

We took him along and he was thrilled to meet Donald and Daisy, or should I say, Daisy and Donald? Ladies first as the saying goes.

These two ducks must have the patience of saints to put up with crazy people like us. But they did so with such flare and finesse. I can guarantee that we did not see their eyeballs roll back once!

Now in my opinion, Daisy’s and Donald’s bills are kind of orange, as well as Donald’s webbed feet, but alas, I wasn’t completely sure you’d agree with me so I’m playing it safe by including a few more photos of the pumpkin at the beach. After all, it was such a fleeting thing and all we have are our memories at this point. Memories and sand – in my shoes and in my car, but you know how that goes; just bringing home the beach a little at a time.

Pumpkin at the Beach

2011-10-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

One down and nine to go since yesterday’s post was the first of ten. I took the following photos today – or rather at sunset. And a beautiful one it was too.

One thing I’ve never seen myself is a lighted pumpkin at the beach. We set out to correct that with one that I drilled holes in and added clear marbles and a candle.

Here’s another view.

Here’s a close-up photo. It has an abstract feel to it.

Now that I have succeeded in following the one rule to this series of posts, I thought I’d add this last photo just because I thought someone besides my husband and me should see the colors we saw.

A Little Bit of Crazy

2011-10-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve decided to do a little bit of crazy here on the blog. I know. I know. You are probably thinking, “This is different, how?” Okay, so maybe not too crazy. As I’ve mentioned here before, I am working towards the deadline of the Hunt Valley Teddy Bear Show on November 12^th. If you know artists, we are a super organized group of people who find ourselves at loose ends when a show approaches. We hardly know what to do with all the spare time besides twiddle our thumbs. (You know I’m joking, right?)

So . . .

I have made myself a blog project to fill those empty hours of time that are stretched out before me because I want to keep out of trouble. It would look very bad for a bear artist to find herself in the midst of trials and tribulations before November 12^th.

I know. I know. Get on with it already. Here it is:

Because Halloween is such a fun holiday, I’ve decided to do the 10 Days of Orange Crazy Countdown. The rule, which I’ve just made up all by myself, is that each day until Halloween every blog post here on bearbits must have at least one photo with the color orange in it. That means I’ll be posting something new every day – because I have so much time on my hands . . .

Let’s get started. I thought Sebastian could kick us off with some photos taken at the fair. He loves being a star.

Hey Sebastian! Whatcha doin’? Playing? ‘Hangin’ around?

Oh you are a brave, brave little bear. Aren’t you afraid at all?

I sure would be if I were you! I am afraid of big orange monsters.

I have to say, you’ve earned that hot cup of apple cider I am going to get for you – as long as we can share it.

Not your typical . . .

2011-10-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

fair photos. I thought I would share a couple of pictures that I took somewhat off the beaten path at our state fair. It might be hard to imagine, but this area was not very far from the midway.

We strolled through here one evening enjoying the water, the plants and the gardens on display. It was sort of a peaceful refuge from all the hoopla that lay beyond – the carnival games, the barkers, the rides, and the congestion. It’s not exactly what you might think of when someone says, “I’m going to the fair.”

It’s Not What It Looks Like

2011-10-18T00:42:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share something with you that I found amazing, but first I have to give you a little bit of background. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you may remember this post where I admitted to being married to a State Fair Fanatic. We go every year – at least once. In the past here on bearbits, I have shared photos of the rides, the food, the lights, the animals and other typical State Fair things.

And being the sort of person/blogger that really, really doesn’t want to bore you silly by posting photos of the same ol’ thing every – single – year I am going to attempt, yes I said, attempt to amaze you.

I took this photo of these handmade Native American moccasins which were part of a vignette. It’s not what it looks like.

Here’s a photo of the entire grouping.

And another one from the top. As you can see from the
ribbons, it won best of show.

Now this is where I hope to amaze you – in the way that I was amazed. It could be that I’m easily entertained as you well know. Nevertheless, does this photo have any clues about what makes this scene so incredible?

Or this one? Do you see what other things are displayed next to it and nearby?

Yes, now you see it don’t you? It is a cake! A remarkable work of edible art. The beads on the moccasins were candy sprinkles. I’m guessing fondant was used for the rawhide part of the drum.

Is that creative or what?!

Short Short Stories

2011-10-16T00:36:00.001-04:00

Where to begin? Here?

No, I’ll get to that momentarily, I think.

It’s best if I proceed chronologically. Something about how my brain is working at the current time.

Making a Pink Point.

Sometime in the past few days, we were here.

One of our favorite laughing places and the lights around the village shops were mostly pink. You couldn’t help but notice them. And I do believe that was the whole point – to make a point, to be aware, to think pink. It was their way of saying, “It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.

Pink pumpkins could be seen around too. This one was outside the coffee shop.

Mr. Bike Car Man.

Shortly thereafter, perhaps the next day, I went to visit my dad (Hi Daddy!) and my husband’s mom (Hi 2^nd Mom!). After a fun filled day, I started home. In an effort to make traveling smoother, the transportation department tries to avoid working during rush hour. It’s very considerate. Instead, they might work later, much later, in the evening. It’s all good. Who rides around on the interstate at that time of night anyway?

Um, me? Me and Mr. Bike Car Man . . . and a few others. I got to know him quite well, Mr. Bike Car Man. He has furry kids. This I know because I read all his bumper stickers. And he has two bikes, at least. It was a fun relationship while it lasted. After some time, the traffic cleared out and I was just a rear view memory to Mr. Bike Car Man. I guess some relationships aren’t meant to last.

It Makes Sense to Me.

The day after I said so long to Mr. BCM, we were looking forward to the arrival of our daughter and her friend. Of course, I had to spruce up the house. I had the kitchen table covered with projects and it needed to be cleared. What should I do with the boots that were drying? I tried them here.

But I eventually settled on this spot. You see, it’s not only my husband I like to confuse. Doesn’t everyone dry their works-in-progress boots on the back of a chair? It makes sense to me.

The Arrival of a New Friend.

As evening approached, we decided it was a perfect time to light the lanterns. Some people leave bread crumbs for people to find their way home. We light up the porch. That way if anyone says, I couldn’t find your house, we can say, yeah right.

When our daughter and her friend arrived, we had the opportunity to meet Teddy. Teddy is a bear dressed as a bunny. He has been around a lot longer than Sebastian and has been loved and loved. As you can tell from this photo he is missing a bunny ear. Sebastian instantly took a liking to him. I had to tell him that Teddy was only here for a short visit but perhaps he would see him again sometime.

Back to the Beginning.

And now, back to the beginning which is really the end. I am starting to wonder about Sebastian. It wasn’t too long ago that he received a letter. In the mailbox. With a stamp. Addressed to him. He wants to write back and he needs my help. We’re working on it.

In the meantime, he is over the moon. Why? Not only did he get a letter, he also seems to have his own personal portrait artist. I can’t let him know, but secretly I love this drawing. It so captures his . . . essence, his je ne sais quoi, his inner king. No, let me correct that - his outer king.

Now to find a hammer and a nail . . .

Two Kinds of Magic

2011-10-11T17:01:00.000-04:00

Oh my! Thank you all for your sweet and kind comments about the newest addition to The Piece Parade line up. They were magical; at least, they were to me. He and other teddy bears will be going with me to the Hunt Valley show in one month. Egads! One month!

While I was pondering this revelation, as if it was news (!), I began to think back to more leisurely days. Those blissful days when we were traipsing about the Magic Kingdom during Disney’s Halloween Party, meeting the ever delightful Mickey and Minnie dressed up especially for the event. What terrific costumes they were too! Very colorful and detailed. But then that’s what you can expect from the folks at Disney.

If you’ll notice, Sebastian had also donned his costume for this occasion. He was quite proud of his creativity. I can honestly say I did not see another guest dressed up as a fried egg. It could be there was a reason for that. I have no clue where he got that idea or how he carried it out, but he’s resourceful and sneaky and I’ve gotten to the point where I just don’t ask too many questions if I really don’t want to know the answer.

Mickey and Minnie were, as always, superb, gracious, and kindhearted. Sebastian was treated so well.

Is it any wonder that so many people make the trek to spend a little time steeped in the magic of this fantasy world? Where you can wear mouse ears (or other funny hats), eat sprinkle covered treats and be sped through a dark cavern at incredible speeds and come out laughing on the other side?

That’s the kind of stuff I was thinking about on this rainy day as I sewed after voting in the municipal elections. My only regret was that neither Mickey nor Minnie nor Sebastian was on the ballot. Maybe next time . . .

From my desk –

2011-10-09T23:29:00.001-04:00

another little one

next to the last little one

in a crooked line

and by himself

Diminutive

2011-10-05T18:06:00.001-04:00

I completed the bear from the last post. He’s rather diminutive at 4¼” tall. I wasn’t quite sure how he was going to turn out when I started. Here he is posed with Sebastian for a size comparison.

I think Sebastian approves.

Halloween Approaches

2011-10-04T00:13:00.001-04:00

Here we are four days into October and it’s time to share some photos from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. It was our first Disney Halloween party so we learned quite a few important things about the parties in a short amount of time.

First, there are characters that come out on Halloween that are not frequently seen in the park; for example, Timon from The Lion King. It was a surprise as he was just hanging about saying hello to anyone that happened to pass by. What a friendly character as you can see as he posed here with Sebastian. Sebastian was waiting until it got a bit darker before he put on his costume.

I’ve always thought some of the best bits of Disney are in the details. It’s easy to miss the most subtle of things but if you take a moment to stand still and look around you will notice some fun things. Here’s a couple of carved pumpkins decorating the Fire Station on Main Street – one has, what else, but one of the Dalmatians from 101 Damnations and the other, spots!

Another set of characters that you rarely see all together except during the Halloween parties is the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White. What a colorful group and many people had lined up to have their pictures taken with them. There was so much to see in such a short amount of time that we did not but I am happy to share this snapshot of them having a seat next to their glowing buckets of jewels.

Another special thing about the parties is that it is the only time that visitors will see the characters dressed up in costumes. And their costumes are really cute too. I had heard that Duffy the Disney Bear would be in his own special location dressed as a pumpkin. We loved that he was so kind to Sebastian and the rest of us crazy fans and allowed us to take lots of photos.

We were given treat bags so that we could go trick-or-treating in the park and that’s just what we did as we discovered ‘candy trails’ decorated with carved pumpkins. Here’s one with Brer Rabbit. I’d show you all of the candy we collected but well . . . let’s just say it’s been distributed.

I’ll have more photos as Halloween approaches but I did want to show you one of a bear in progress to prove that I am actually working on some things. This project is going to be like trying on something in a shop fitting room. If it turns out well, I’ll show you the rest of it. If not, just remember, I had high hopes.

Sebastian also insisted I include this photo. He says: “This is how I ride in the car sometimes. I think a good caption for this picture would be: Yes, I’m safe here, but I also can’t see out the window.”

Hold on Tight

2011-10-01T21:41:00.001-04:00

It goes like this. It’s the first day of October, a day that a bear should do something special, right? I put Sebastian in the car and my husband said to me, “It’s been a while since Sebastian has been out.” I responded, “Yes, I think he wanted to do something interesting.”

I doubt that running errands to the bank and the post office were very exciting by his standards. Remember, this is the guy who got a kiss from Minnie Mouse a while back. More errands and Sebastian was starting to look, not only bored, but perturbed. As if to say, “You brought me out for this?!”

It was then, just by luck, that we passed the ponies. The village market near our house, the one with the wonderful coffee shop, was celebrating that last days of Oktoberfest. As part of the celebration, they were offering pony rides.

Sebastian was all for it – that was until he found out how big a small pony really is.

Isn’t he sweet? Just look at those big eyes. You’ll have fun, I promise. No, I’m not going to ride. I’m too big, but you are (almost) just the right size.

Yes, he is much larger than you, Sebastian, but still smaller than a regular size horse. It’s a good place to take your first ride. Yes, I am sure.

No, they don’t come with seat belts.

Yes, that definitely means you should hold on tight.

Can we take you out again tomorrow? H-m-m. Let me think about it.

The Graduates

2011-09-28T23:29:00.001-04:00

These were the first graduates of Professor Sebastian’s Halloween 101 class.

These little bears are all ready with their masks in place to head out into the neighborhoods with their diplomas.

I hope they have lots of good fun and collect some delicious treats on their tour.

And if they are generous, maybe they’ll share a chocolate or two with me and Sebastian!

Halloween 101 – Sebastian Style

2011-09-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

This is my current creative schedule. Halloween first – nearly done, and then bears, display and so forth for the Hunt Valley Christmas Show. I began creating the show bears and then took a break because I had this idea for a couple of things in celebration of Halloween. But I’ve been so busy, I forgot about education - the education of three new bears. I turned to Sebastian and asked if he could lend a hand. Now that he has had a Halloween or two under his belt, I thought he could pass along his knowledge. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway; he took to the teacher roll immediately.

I am here to tell you all about Halloween. It is the time of year when regular ol’ pumpkins, like this one here,

turn into jack o’ lanterns. Carving them is messy but fun.

In the evening, all kinds of monsters, ghosts and skeletons come out to play. Don’t worry though. They’re friendly.

Now this is where it gets serious. This is the most important part so listen carefully. First you put on your Halloween costume and get a big sack or bucket like this one. Then you go ‘round knocking on the neighbors’ doors saying “Trick or Treat!”

When you do, they give you candy! Lots and lots of candy. Yummy! And remember to say “Thank you!” and come back home and share it with me!

Since you have been such good students, I am going to award you your diplomas. These diplomas can’t be earned just anywhere. You have to pass Professor Sebastian’s Halloween 101 Class.

Congratulations! Now take your diplomas and go get us some candy on Halloween!

Unexpected Discovery

2011-09-24T21:47:00.000-04:00

Each of my bears has a jingle bell on him somewhere. Most likely my affection for them began when I was in college in an art class. Over the years, I have collected them here and there – for fun when I would see something out of the ordinary. I’m not very serious about it, but since they don’t require a lot of space new ones take up residence in my jingle bell jar from time to time.

As I was looking through them for some Halloween ones, I came across these bear head jingle bells

and these carrot ones – for bunnies, maybe.

Some Christmas ones, but it’s not quite time for these although it’s getting close.

Ah, here are the Halloween ones. The witchy one is kind of unique and I do think the skull is kind of cute – if skulls can be cute.

I began this whole thing when I got on the Internet to do a search

for these.

Even though I probably have enough of them for a while – a long while – I like to discover new colors.

In my searching,

I accidentally came across these.

Can you see how I found them hard to resist?

Halloween and Mary Poppins

2011-09-21T23:11:00.001-04:00

The last few days I have been working on some Halloween pieces which I hope to make available before too much longer. The best laid plans and all that. We’ll see.

Speaking of Halloween, we had the good fortune to be able to attend Disney’s first Halloween Party of the year.

We had a great time and took loads and loads of photos. But – rather than bog down the blog by posting them all now, I am going to wait until at least October and then have an intermittent celebration of Halloween here and there throughout the month with various snaps from our trip – stuff that is exclusive to the Halloween party.

In case you are curious – Sebastian went as well. I don’t think we would have been able to live with him had we not let him tag along. He had his own very – um – let’s say – unique, yes, that’s the word – unique costume. Again, it was entirely his creation.

By the way, does his suitcase remind you of Mary Poppin’s bottomless carpetbag?

He managed to keep pulling surprises from it the whole entire trip. Luckily they were small things – no lamps, mirrors, coat racks or rubber plants.

I think I’m going to have to talk to him about how he managed that. It’d be pretty cool to be able to take all kinds of stuff in a small bag. Can you imagine how it would simplify the carry-on situation when you fly?

A Disclaimer and a Duck

2011-09-18T19:37:00.000-04:00

First, the disclaimer.

Even though I made Sebastian, please bear in mind that he is a bear of his own mind. He, and he alone, is responsible for the crazy situations, and sometimes zany pictures you see here on this blog. That being said, I must say, we do love the little guy. Just don’t tell him how much, please.

Now for the duck.

Sebastian packed all kinds of things in his suitcase. He begged me to share these photos with you. Apparently it all started when he heard that in addition to meeting princesses, fairies and famous mice at Disney World, it was entirely possible to meet Donald – Donald - as in Donald Duck.

Can’t you just see the little gears turning in his little bear brain? “What to wear?! What to wear?! What does one wear to meet THE Duck?!” I won’t tell you what this studio looked like after he finished making his outfit. Let’s just say there were bits of felt all over the place.

Here’s what he came up with:

I think Donald was a bit surprised to have such a small and ardent fan but he took him under his wing and showed him lots of love. Sebastian was thrilled to be able to hold such a lofty position – literally.

Donald Duck is a real sweet quacker and we had the best time meeting him in person – or rather feather to fur – in Sebastian’s case. We can’t wait to go back and say hello again. It was one of the best parts of our trip.

Hey Donald! We love you!

Tea parties will never be the same again.

2011-09-15T23:10:00.001-04:00

Hello There. Sebastian here. I decided to write this post myself due to the fact that no one would be able to tell my version of events. I had a unique perspective throughout.

It all began when the five of us – you-know-who, her husband, son, the son’s lovely wife and me - were in the Magic Kingdom. We were strolling leisurely through Fantasy Land when we met the White Rabbit. Notice I said THE. As in THE White Rabbit. You know, Alice’s White Rabbit. What a hoot! I instantly took a liking to him.

Seeing as we had all become instant friends, he invited us to a tea party. ‘Isn’t that nice?’ I thought. A tea party. It was when he suggested we all pile into a teacup that I became just a wee bit concerned. Yes, you heard me right. The five of us. In. A. Teacup. Granted it was bigger than your usual teacup but still. It was a tight squeeze. Apparently this was not just any tea party. It was a Mad Tea Party. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to sit in the seat like a regular person. After all, I’m not a regular person, am I?

It was a ride unlike any of us had ever been on before – except maybe the White Rabbit. I sort of got the impression that he might have done this a time or two.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

All I can say is tea parties will never be the same again.

Sebastian’s Foray into the Magical World

2011-09-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

Sebastian dug deep into his suitcase and magically produced some wings. If you look back a couple of posts, you will see a portion of them was protruding from his suitcase – the bright green bit. I do think he did quite a remarkable job of solving the problem of how to attach them since he isn’t really a fairy. Tying them on with a bow seemed to be pretty resourceful.

Now why on earth would Sebastian want fairy wings? This you gotta see.

Apparently he had a lingering desire to meet Tinker Bell. How do you think he managed that? First we all had to shrink really small because Tinker Bell is the same size as Sebastian.

The result of which, if we all weren’t really small, none of us could have seen him. Here’s another view of what the world looks like from a fairy’s point of view.

We knew that Vidia was tinker Bell’s nemesis so we were a little worried that Sebastian might not fair too well, but she was really sweet to him. He has that effect on both humans and fairies it seems. Here’s Vidia having an earnest conversation with Sebastian.

At first Tinker Bell was a little confused by such a small bear - with wings no less.

But then she realized how big of a fan this little bear was. It must be time for some flying lessons. The best place to take off from? Why Tinker Bell’s head of course!

Alas, there were other admirers waiting to meet the famous fairy so we had to leave. Here’s Tinker Bell wishing Sebastian a fond farewell. Meeting her was wonderful – for all of us.

There was one last surprise to this portion of Sebastian’s fairy foray. We had the best of luck when we happened upon Peter Pan. Yes, the real Peter Pan - hanging about not far from Tinker Bell’s fairy forest.

It must be something to be such a small bear. You get to perch in some pretty amazing places.

Oh, Sebastian has two things he wanted me to add. First of all, he said I had been remiss in my last post because he had no evidence of having met Aurora, also known as Sleeping Beauty. So here’s she is in all her sweetness with Sebastian.

And secondly, he wanted me to tell you about his very wild ride.

“Sebastian, I think that is going to have to wait until next time. I’m having trouble keeping up with you!”

Therefore, he asked me to ask you to please come back later and read about his madcap adventure.

Two Kinds of Royalty aka Sebastian’s Plan Partially Unveiled

2011-09-14T01:47:00.001-04:00

Today Sebastian finally let me in on part of what he had hidden in his suitcase. He had to actually - because he needed a photographer and I happened to be it.

It seems with the rhinestones he created himself a crown – fit for a very small prince.

He believes that way back in his family tree there is some royal blood and he set out to find his long lost relatives. I do not know whether or not he is actually related to any of the royals pictured here. If he’s not, I’m not going to be the one to tell him. In any case, he wanted me to share with you photos of his adventures meeting two kinds of royalty.

Here’s the first kind – the ones who have proven fairy tale royal lineage.

The lovely and ever so affectionate Cinderella.

He’ll never wash his face again, I’m sure.

Then in the royal castle he met Snow White and her prince.

It would be difficult to find a more charming pair.

Since the beast was no where around Sebastian felt quite safe enjoying Belle’s attention.

Sebastian was very excited to meet Rapunzel even though he was a little concerned he might get tangled up in her long tresses. He thought Flynn was pretty cool too!

For the second kind of royalty, Sebastian met a real prince of a server named Michael. He was kind enough to pose with Sebastian and my very own prince.

Just between us, even though Sebastian has some wild ideas, I’m glad he needed a photographer. We met the nicest people. I know for sure he’s only just begun this adventure because his suitcase would hardly close. I wonder what else he has up his furry sleeve?

To be curiously continued . . .

Sebastian is up to something.

2011-09-11T22:37:00.000-04:00

Sebastian asked if he could borrow my desk for a while. I said, “Sure. Whatcha up to?” But he wouldn’t tell me. He simply asked that I leave him to his creativity. Then I asked if I could watch and he said no. Sebastian is up to something.

I tried to be nonchalant when I walked by him very, very slowly – with my camera – several times.

The first time this is what he was doing. He had poured out my rhinestones. H-m-m-m.

“Are you playing stoplight, Sebastian?”
“Don’t you have something to do?” came the reply.

This is Sebastian’s “you’re not supposed to be in here” look.
“Okay, okay. I’m leaving – for a bit,” I said.

When I came back Sebastian was trying to close his suitcase.
“Uh, Sebastian, something is sticking out there.”

“Sitting on it won’t help,” I advised helpfully.

“Well, now something different is sticking out. What is that?”

“Nope, try again. Whatcha got in there, buddy?”

“All secure, huh? Won’t you give me a little hint?
What’s in the suitcase?”

Yep, Sebastian is definitely up to something. I wonder what it is.

9-11-11

2011-09-10T23:57:00.001-04:00

Inspiration Hunting

2011-09-09T23:17:00.001-04:00

Do you ever go Inspiration Hunting?

for whatever reason, these caught my attention

Every so often I like to wander my favorite places for inspiration.

the colors on these pencils seem fresh to me

It’s not that I don’t have a notebook full of – as of yet – unfulfilled ideas. I do and sometimes I look through it and realize that I have completed many of them without even knowing it. That’s a fun discovery.

leftover from Spring but still such a pretty shade of orange

But going Inspiration Hunting is an activity that breathes fresh air into my work and enthusiasm.

the Halloween gears in my brain are starting to move now – not a moment too soon either. it will be here before we know it

I especially enjoy the seasonal changes that I find in stores – new colors, new ideas. It’s all very exciting for someone who tries very hard to stick close to the studio and the tasks that wait.

new colors for the upcoming holiday season – already

Sometimes while I am out and about, a voice will pipe up and suggest that I might do well to return to my studio and begin something more tangible.

these hit all the right buttons –
bells, bright colors, and some glitter

Then I have to overrule the little buttinsky. For one, I am having way too much fun being inspired and two; these little forays into the Land-of-Possibilities usually net something, sometime, somewhere along the way.

this line of charms originated with the author of a favorite book of mine – one I like to peruse just for the originality and creativity – Making Connections by Susan Lenart Kazmer

Then when I return to my studio the dilemma becomes – what do I work on first?!

a glittered bird to look at – just for the pleasure of it