Awards??!!! Thank You!!!

Thank you so much to all of you who read and enjoy my blog and my bears even when I have been away from Teddy Bear making, and blogging. I came to my blog to finally post some new work, and found that three of my Teddy Bear making/loving peers have chosen me for blog awards. Vicki, of Baggaley Bears and Donna, of Donna and the Bears chose my blog chose my blog as the recipient of this award



and Jennifer of For the Love of a Teddy Bear chose my blog for the


Please visit Vicki's blog. Vicki makes wonderfully detailed tiny Teddy Bears which are sure to make any heart smile! The intricacy of them fools the eyes into thinking they are much larger bears in the photographs. I have occasionally made tiny bears with varying degrees of success, and I am so impressed with artists who make miniature bears with such lovely expression and craftsmanship!

Please visit Donna's blog. Donna is an award winning Teddy Bear artist who is also a lovely person! I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Donna at the 2005 TOBY Awards ceremony where we were both honored with a TOBY Award--very exciting. I got see her again last year at the Handmade Treasures Holiday Show and Sale in Hunt Valley, MD where I was lucky enough to adopt one of her sweet Teddies. He makes me think of Donna and that makes my heart smile!

Please visit Jennifer's blog . Jennifer's blog is a Lovely Blog indeed full of wonderful photos of the many things she creates and collects. Dolls and Teddy Bears make regular appearances of course as well as beautiful decorative items, sweets, and even her cat Max! (To my cats: Cats make great blog material, don't they Missy and Cinder!)

Next, I am supposed to pass the award along to ten deserving blogs...which I will do as soon as I get my kids fed! More later!

I Wish I Was a Teddy Bear

I came across the lyrics to this song on a forum and thought,"That has got to be the saddest Teddy Bear poem I have ever read!" Then, I noticed it was credited to Waylon Jennings, so, as always, I consulted my friend Google on the matter. I found out that the song, whose title is "The Teddy Bear Song", was written in 1969 by Don Earl and recorded several times by country singers including Barbara Fairchild, and Tanya Tucker as well as Waylon Jennings. Upon hearing the lyrics sung with the musical accompaniment, I was smitten! It is still sad, but very, very sweet. I was inspired to create my own music video for the song using photos of my Teddy Bear creations. I chose to use the Waylon Jennings recording of it because I like it best. I hope you enjoy this, my first ever music video!



I wish I had button eyes and a red felt nose
Shaggy cotton skin and just one set of clothes
Sittin' on a shelf in a local department store
With no dreams to dream and nothin' to be sorry for

I wish I was a teddy bear
Not livin' or lovin' nor goin' nowhere
I wish I was a teddy bear
And I wish that I never had fallen in love with you

I wish I had a wooden heart and a sawdust mind
Then your mem'ry wouldn't come around hurtin' all the time
With a sewed-on smile and a painted twinkle in my eye
And I never would have ever had to learn how to cry

I wish I had a string you could pull to make me say
What you want to hear from me to make you stay
Then I'd know every time I spoke the words were right
And none would know the mess I made of my life

I wish I was a teddy bear
Not livin' or lovin' nor goin' nowhere
I wish I was a teddy bear
And I wish that I never had fallen in love with you

Misha, the Little Bear

Like many Teddy Bear artists, I collect bears as well as making them. The same thing is true about dolls. And the latest edition to my bear collection is actually a doll!

This is Misha, the Little Bear. He is a Fairyland ball-jointed doll. I bought this doll to wear this little costume, which I bought because it reminds me of the one I made for my sons when they were toddlers. (You may see the costume on my nephew in this post.)

I chose black and white for these photos for a change of pace.








I am completely obsessed with these dolls. I really enjoyed painting his little face. I can't wait to finish a sculpt of my own.

Catching up...cleaning up...growing up.

I am slowly catching up with my orders, having several things in progress as usual. A new Teddy Roosevelt set for Teddies of Mt Holly is in progress(the bear and the doll) as are a couple of bunnies!

At the moment my studio is a shambles though! For hubby's 40th birthday we redecorated our basement family room and bought a big screen TV. Guess where we moved all the old furniture and the kids toys and stuff--my studio of course! The furniture is now out, but my floor and tables littered with bins and boxes of the kids things that we haven't decided what to do with yet. Today's project is to get it all put away so I can get back to the fun stuff.

Lastly, I thought I'd post a new picture of my studio cat, Missy, to share how much she has grown up! (and to add some visual interest to this post) She is a year old and we love her so much. Cinder has learned to love her too. He lets her lick his ears and head.


And to give Cinder equal time... here is a picture of him engaged in his favorite pastime-- snuggling with my husband, Sean. AAAAW Cute! If Sean sits down, Cinder is in his lap!



G'night!

Sharing the Love!

A couple of weeks ago my nieces visited my studio on a "field trip" along with their American Heritage Girls group. The girls were great listeners and they asked good questions. I was thrilled to have the audience (Twist my arm--make me talk about bears!)
Here are the girls, my nieces are in the center back row and the far right in the front row.

Playful Panda~Bears Repeating

Here is an alpaca panda I have finished for an order. This cuddly little fellow is an older design, and he is the final bear of this design. I made a limited edition of seven in mohair and three in alpaca and I've finally completed them all. He is Mei Sheng. I was inspired to design him when my son brought home a Scholastic News magazine from school with a darling baby panda on the cover.



I love the playful posing this body style allows.



Don't cry Mei Sheng! There will be more pandas, but no more just like you!

A Little Behind...

*Sigh* I'm feeling a little behind. Actually, I'm feeling a LOT behind, but the "little behind" was definitely a cuter picture!

I have not posted here since Christmas, but it is not just my blogging that I have fallen behind with, it's everything! I have never been a good juggler of tasks, and I often find it challenging to balance my life, choosing instead to channel my energies in only one or two directions at a time. And yet there are always so many things I want to, and need to do at any given time. When I keep up with the housekeeping, I fall behind with my bears, and when I am focused on my creative endeavors, household responsibilities get ignored. When I get my excercise in, I sacrifice getting the sleep I need. When I focus on my teaching career, I find I spend less time enjoying my sons and husband, and when I focus on family, I can't do as much planning at home for my classes. Things always seem to swing one way then the other. But right now, somehow, I have managed to fall behind with everything. I mean absolutely everything! I don't know how I got to this, and I'm not sure how to get back on track. I'm feeling frustrated with myself, depressed,and overwhelmed. *Sigh* I'm feeling a little behind.