Mmmn Treacle!

So, life goes on, storm 'Doris' rages around the UK and amidst everything, a new teddy bear is born!

15" Treacle is available to adopt

This mohair is one of my new favourites from Schulte ... it creates such characterful bears, as you can see!

I finished Treacle yesterday and making him has cheered me up this week. Thank you for that Treacle Teddy!

Treacle is now ready for adoption and hoping someone who likes chubby bears will invite him home to live in comfort with them ... and if there happened to be a pot of honey in the pantry, so much the better!

For full details, please visit Treacle on my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Treacle has been adopted

A Daisy in May

A sad weekend, saying goodbye to our fat little cat Daisy, a springtime kitten who sadly didn't quite make it to her seventh birthday.

Daisy was such a gentle, sweet tempered girl and she has left us far too soon. Sometimes that's just how it is with cats .. I have owned cats all my adult life and you never can tell how long they will stay. Saying goodbye always hurts, they are such unique characters and so much a part of our family. 

Daisy

 May 2010 - February 2017

So my pretty, lazy girl, sleep tight in your garden, free from pain. I am so very sad you have left us.

xxXxx

The story of my cats ...

A tale of seven cats and a Daisy

A travelling companion?

After compiling my 2016 portfolio of teddy bears, I noticed I hadn't made any little bears last year ... not even one! I had a piece of Doodle's mohair left over, so I decided to put it to good use by making a tiddler sized teddy. I think this cheeky wee chap would make a lovely companion for a bigger bear, so am hoping he will find a special friend to sit with, after he is adopted.

8.5" Little Mac

I don't think I will ever make a smaller bear than this as little bears are quite fiddly and almost as time consuming as the big 'uns, but I do like this size. Little Mac sits comfortably in the palm of my hand and would happily slip into a pocket to keep his owner company on an outing.  In fact, now I come to think about it, he would make the perfect travelling companion!

If you would like more information about this pint sized teddy, you are very welcome to visit my website. Little Mac will be delighted to see you there!

www.allbearbypaula.com 

:-)

Update: Little Mac has been adopted!

The annual teddy review!

At the beginning of every year since 2006, I have set aside a little time to create a portfolio of my teddy bear creations. Having a book of the previous year's work to flick back through from time to time, is very satisfying and also a great way to remind myself of where I was with my designs and where I would still like to go ...

2016 All Bear portfolio

My 2016 portfolio arrived a few days ago and although there are fewer bears featured than in previous years, I was very happy with it.

2006 All Bear portfolio

Back in 2006, the first portfolio was designed to be part of my exhibition display, so my photographer sister Tina helped me by taking some fabulous photographs of my bears in her studio - this is still one of my all time favourite portfolio books!

Looking back through these old photographs always makes me smile but not only that, I find it interesting to see my work evolve across the years. To help me recall what was happening in my world during any given bear crafting year, I have more recently started to include a brief review on the first page.

2016 review

I wish I had made portfolios for my earliest teddy bears, but unfortunately, I didn't think to do that. However, I do still have a few old photo albums featuring some of the first bears I designed (sadly not all) so perhaps it's time to buy a little scanner to create a book of my first decade of work (1996-2006) and keep those precious teddy bear memories safe too!

:-)

Time together .. a birthday celebration

Yesterday, yet another birthday crept up on me, so determined to enjoy it to the full, I invited my husband, kids, their partners and my grandson to my favourite local park for a family tromp with the dogs and then later in the day, my sister, nieces and great nieces came to my house to share birthday cake with us. 

Happy Birthday to me - a fun family selfie taken by my daughter.

February birthdays are always chilly, so we wrapped up warm and kept on the move.  The dogs had an absolute blast charging around together and young Toby made the most of his time exploring for sticks. As for me, I had the best walk of all laughing, chatting, strolling and generally loving having my family around me for some special birthday 'outdoorsing'!

Polly and Betty enjoying their birthday blast

Exploring the playground with my grandson

My thoughtful future son-in-law made certain my happy birthday memories were kept safe, by discreetly photographing my day as it unfolded. Thank you so much Neil, I will always treasure these super birthday photographs.

Strolling with Toby and Betty

And of course, there was a birthday cake and candles ... and believe me, by the time you reach my age, a little help blowing out all those candles is much appreciated! 

Never too old for candles and birthday cake!

To my very precious family, thank you so much for your lovely cards and gifts, but most importantly, thank you everyone, for showing me you care by sharing time with me on my birthday ... I loved spending it with you xxx

Gute Reise Doodle!

Between dog training sessions, a fun-filled day with my grandson and a hair appointment this week, I have been working on this little chap.

10.5" Doodle has been adopted!

It has been a while since I made any small teddy bears, so I thought it would be fun to make a couple for my website. 'Doodle' is only ten and that all important 'half' inches tall and as you can see, turned out cute as a button! He hopped into the shopping cart soon after settling onto my website, so my apologies if you missed him.

The other little bear I have in-progress, is the same mohair but even smaller (about eight inches) ... that is if I can remind my fingers and thumbs to how to work neatly on such a weeny one! All going well, that wee teddy bear will be ready for viewing on my website later next week. In the meantime, I am delighted to tell you, dear Doodle will be up-sticks-ing to live with fellow 'All Bears' in Germany. 

Gute Reise Doodle!

:-)