My newest bear . . . almost finished

Please meet my newest little friend . . . I've called him Spice.

I'm busy at the moment making his female counterpart . . . wait for it . . . Sugar, lol !!!

Here's another recent teddy that's almost finished, just ears and a mouth to sew.

I'm getting better with the noses too

Thanks for visiting

Julie

Bear #4 My Work in Progress

Here's my latest work in progress . . . my first bear to be made in Schulte mohair, how much easier it is to work with than faux fur which I found to slip around quite a bit but much more expensive.

I've taken great care with this one and took my time with the nose and I'm so thrilled with the result, very near perfect although not quite.

This is as far as I've got so far and the ears aren't even sown down yet but I couldn't wait to share.

I'm still not sure whether this is a girl bear or a boy bear yet but it is cute.

I've taken to making bears so much that I've decided to try to sell my bears too . . . Pickle Pop Bears were born today, lol !

I'll finish this one this week and post the finished article soon.

Warmest wishes, Julie Ann x

Bear #1 and Bear #3

Meet my first finished bear . . . definitely a boy bear!!  He's a 12" bear made from cinnamon faux fur [which is so soft you can't help but stroke it]

I haven't named him because he now belongs to my daughter who has claimed him and who has ordered a hand knitted scarf for him too.  I'm going to be busy!!

Bear #2 is still a work in progress, she [this one is definitely female] needs some attention to her ears and then she's done.

And . . . Bear #3 who is just 7.5" big is adorable

She's made from 10mm pile faux fur, fully jointed and I made her in record time, just a day and a half to hand stitch everything.  

Her name is Lucy Locket, I've decided.  

I was particularly pleased that stitching her nose seemed to go smoothly [ I do find this the most difficult thing to do at the moment]

Anyway Bear #2 will be finished soon and Bear #4 has been cut out and is ready to come to life soon . . . please watch this space.

Warmest wishes

Setting out on a new adventure . . . and a lot to learn!

I was ill over the festive period and I retreated to my bed for a few days.  To pass some of the time I was surfing the Internet.  I stumbled across the blog of a lady who made both cards and 'artist bears'.  

I was intrigued and I loved her cards, they were stunning but her bears were out of this world.  WOW!

I'd never heard the term 'artist bears'.  I explored her blog list and found myself hopping from bear blog to bear blog and well I think I'm hooked, oh dear, not another obsession.

So I've started on my own bear making adventure . . . I spent approximately £100 on eBay equipping myself and for the last two weeks I've been almost permanently covered in bear fluff and I'm loving every minute of it [big silly grin on my face].

I've loved teddy bears all of my life and have lots which I've collected sporadically over my adult life [I'm a child in an adults body, lol] but I never considered that I could actually make one for myself.

This is actually bear number two . . . after doing a lot of Internet research most bear artists advise having more than one project on the go.

This is a 12" bear in tan ombre faux fur.  The body piece has been darted and sown and is ready to go and as you can see one arm is finished with another ready to sew.

Here is my very first bear . . . by no means finished but its something I can post here as I make progress with him/her, not sure which yet . . . I guess the face will decide this when finished.

This is a 12" pattern too and this time I've used a cinnamon 25mm faux fur (from eBay); its super soft and I can't stop myself from stroking it.

I've hand stitched it, I did start to use my sewing machine but I didn't feel I had enough control over the result so I reverted back to hand stitching . . . slower, yes but much more accurate.

Only one leg, head and body is stuffed at this stage . . . all the detailing is yet to come, how exciting.

All stuffed and sewn now but still no face or ears, poor thing.
The bears paws and footpads are made from latte ultrasuede; they give a nice contrast.

It's been remarkably straightforward up to this stage but all my information states that the hard bit is the face and ears etc . . . I'm a bit worried about wrecking my bear but I know I can't leave it like this so . . . will have to take the plunge.

I've been busy with cardmaking today [ I don't intend to give cards up, I want to do both, greedy guts that I am, lol] but have a day off from work on Tuesday and so I intend to finish my first bear then . . . will post some more photos soon.

Thanks for visiting