Santa's Sack is now open!

The brighter side of missing Sunday's Brighton show is that I have been able to fill 'Santa's Sack' with the Christmassy, wintery bears who couldn't make their debut in Brighton ... they are now available to travel to collectors across the world!

My 2013 Christmas Collection

Big Balthazar (back) has been adopted, but little Jolly and Wee Nick (8") are both currently available to share in your Christmas fun!

20" Merry, a beautiful traditional centre-seam teddy bear, is also hoping to share Christmas with you!

And 15" Star promises to share peace and harmony throughout your festive season!

  I plan to add a couple more special bears before Christmas too, so I hope you can pop back soon!

Please visit my website www.allbear.co.uk to meet these lovely seasonal bears ... they are all eager to hop onto Santa's sleigh to spend Christmas with you!

Christmas Wonder

I was starting to wonder if I would ever find time to complete a Christmas bear this year, so was very relieved when I put the finishing touches to this fine fellow yesterday afternoon!

19" 'Christmas Wonder'

Usually I would have made several Christmas bears for Santa's Sack by this time of year, but everything has gone haywire, so Santa's Sack is running late!

A bear is for life, not just for Christmas!

We drove through a blizzard to reach the supermarket on Saturday and everything looked so beautiful in the snow, but the downside of the snow is that it causes havoc in the UK because we aren't properly prepared for it; our airports have closed, our trains can't cope with the icy conditions and horror of horrors, many of our delivery companies can no longer guarantee parcels will arrive in time for Santa's big night out! 

13" 'Clara'

My last bear of 2010 is a pretty little girl called 'Clara' and she would make a super Christmas present for any bear collector, but sadly with the weather meddling the way it is, I would need to whistle up a magician to ensure she could sit under your Christmas tree in time for the grand present opening on Christmas morn! 

I have popped Clara on my website in the hope she finds someone special to love her, whether she arrives with them this week, or a few days late for the Christmas celebrations ... after all, a bear is for life, not just for Christmas!

Buttons in Santa's Sack!

I'm supposed to be tackling some Christmas shopping today, so I'd better get my skates on, but before I launch myself towards the festive frenzy, I want to take a moment to introduce 'Buttons', the first of the three bears I told you about yesterday ...

'Buttons' is now available from www.allbear.co.uk

Isn't he a sweetie?!  I finished him last night and must admit, I wouldn't mind finding him under my own tree on Christmas morning!  

Dear old Buttons will soon be hopping into Santa's Sack, so if you are still searching for your special 2010 Christmas bear, please pop along to www.allbear.co.uk to find out all about him!

Update: I am delighted to say, Buttons has been adopted in time to spend Christmas with his new owner!

Bah Humbug!

Well, it wouldn't be Christmas without a festive (bah) Humbug, would it now?!


20" Humbug is now available at www.allbear.co.uk/

This Humbug bear hopped into Santa's Sack on my website a couple of hours ago; he's not a true bah humbug though, because unlike Scrooge, he's hoping to spread a little peace and goodwill over the Christmas holidays.

Humbug update:  Humbug will be spending Christmas with his new owner in America!

A sprinkling of fairy dust ...

My Christmas cards have been written, my first little tree decorated, tickets for the panto booked, so I am at last ready to mix the all important Christmas pudding (a little late I know, but tradition dictates the family pud, made to my Grandmother's receipe, must still be made!)  Yes, I think I can safely say, it really is beginning to feel a little like Christmas!

I still have a festive bear or two up my sleeve, yet to be brought to life and even though the days are now hastening towards our seasonal celebrations, I'm certain that with a little fairy dust blown in my direction, will soon have those Christmas bears ready to hop into Santa's Sack ... just in the St. Nicholas of time!

A Christmas Wish for Santa's Sack!

Last night I mentioned I was about to wax a bear's nose, since then I have photographed him and can now share 'Christmas Wish' with you.  He hopped into Santa's Sack about an hour ago and was adopted within minutes!  I am delighted to tell you, this lovely bear will soon be flying over to Singapore to spend Christmas with his new owner.

19" Christmas Wish

Christmas in the US!

This little lady flew out of Santa's Sack within moments of settling herself there.  No sooner had I finished uploading 'Christmas Evie's' photos, she was adopted and invited to spend Christmas in the US!  What a super result for a hard Saturday's work photographing, editing and updating the All Bear website!

19" Christmas Evie

Later next week I'm planning a few days of dolly doings, but first I have a rather magnificent length of mohair to work on ... it's absolutely glorious fabric, so I'm really looking forward to starting work on my collector's special bear!

Santa's Sack is now open!

I can hardly believe we're nearing the end of 2009 already ... the year has raced by!  Christmas and bears go hand in hand and I love the festive inspiration this season offers, but I do have a problem at this time of year because taking photographs while the weather is so dark and the garden so bare, is a nightmare!  I recently had a long chat with my sister Tina and she pointed me in the direction of a set of basic studio lights to enable me to take the bears' photographs in my lounge - perfect!  Needless to say, I also had to master the manual settings on my camera with Tina's guidance and after several long hours yesterday, my first three Christmas bears had been photographed and uploaded to 'Santa's Sack' on the All Bear website.

My indoor photographic studio

Creating new web pages for the site is also very time consuming and I must admit, I do occasionally wonder if collectors realise how much work is involved in presenting new bears online.  To give you an idea, yesterday's photo shoot and website update took all day and well into the evening to present just three bears!  Then as soon as the Christmas bears went online, email enquiries had to be answered and sales processed ... I finally logged off and staggered from my swivel chair to bed, at about eleven o'clock last night.

23" Christmas Rose

I nervously submitted my first studio shots to Tina for assessment and you could have knocked me down with a feather when she cast a critical eye over them and gave them the thumbs up!  There's hope for me yet!  I must admit I have missed being able to visit Tina in Hampshire this year because it's lovely to catch up in person, but we're both so busy with our businesses, this seemed a sensible solution to my immediate problem.  I'm happy to say Tina will be popping up for a pre-Christmas visit in mid December and we're looking forward to having a good ol' natter over a festive mince pie then!

21" Yuletide

By the way, I am absolutely delighted to be able to tell you all three of my Christmas bears were adopted from Santa's Sack last night and they will be spending Christmas in Singapore and America!

17" Robin Red

Time for me to head up to my workroom now to work on my next Christmas offering, a pretty lilac bear this time ... I will let you know when she's ready to hop into Santa's Sack!

It's beginning to feel a little like Christmas ...

The days are galloping away and there are only a few weeks until Christmas!  I braved a visit to my local Hobbycraft store yesterday, to find some Christmassy trims for my first 'Santa's Sack' bears.  It was a glorious day, so Stuart and I walked over the Millenium bridge into town (against all my principles on a Sunday, but needs must!) for a spot of shopping.  It's only mid November, but already the town is decked in festive lights, windows are decorated with colourful baubles and Santa tunes are warbling from shop doorways.  I can't say I'm in full festive spirit yet, but yes, it is beginning to feel a little like Christmas!

Maidstone's 'Millenium Bridge'

The little chap below will be going into 'Santa's Sack' on my website in a few days ... he's not quite finished yet, but I wanted to share him with you because he is the result of the new design I was working on last week.  Rather than use a traditional three piece head pattern, I've drawn a six piece pattern to create a lovely round head shape ... he is still a classic bear, but with a very different look.  I think I'll work with this shape again, I really like it!

Head in progress!

Profile

Back view

Aw!  Cute eh?!

So, as you can see, I have been hard at work lately!  My new bear is not quite ready to debut - I will be finishing him this week so that he is all ready to hop into Santa's Sack in a few days' time!

Last one for Santa's Sack?

20" 'Tiddly Pom'

'Tiddly Pom', may well be my last bear for Santa's Sack this year ... I'm not sure I have enough time, (or energy!) for a 'just one more' bear this side of Christmas. I still have my tax return to file (groan ... I really should have taken my own advice and completed it when it was issued in April!) and my workroom to organise (the term 'bomb site' doesn't even come close) so that I can work more comfortably in the New Year; then of course, there will also be the inevitable Christmas shopping scrum - I've done what I can online, but there's no escaping the fact I am going to have to visit the shops sooner or later; face facts Paula, it's time to hunt out those hobnailed boots and muster enough determination for a serious retail onslaught!

Tiddly Pom is now ready to hop into Santa's Sack at a moment's notice! For full details please visit www.allbear.co.uk

Whether I do manage to finish one last festive bear in time or not, Santa's Sack will definitely be closing its doors on the 19th December for yet another year. Much as I have loved making my Santa's Sack bears, I confess I am more than ready to put away my stuffing stick and gently wind down towards some special family time.

Sugar and spice and all things nice!

I was starting to wonder if I would ever find time to finish my latest bear before Santa's Sack had to close, but by some miracle, I did and here she is! I'm not sure what the more traditional bear collectors will make of this flamboyant bear, but I must admit, I love her sugary pink girlyness!

24" 'Sugarplum' - sugar and spice and all things nice!

Focusing on Frostina

'Frostina'

This snowy little cub has been so tricky to photograph today! I'm impossibly impatient when it comes to taking bear pics, I want them done and I want them done as soon as the last teddy bear stitch has been sewn, so I can show my latest bear off! Unfortunately little Frostina wasn't ready for her photo session until late this afternoon and of course it's November, so the days here in the UK are short and dismally dark. By the time we were ready to shoot, the light was fading fast and twiddle hopefully as I might for white balance, shutter speed and flash, I still wasn't entirely satisfied with the outcome. I'll have another try a bit earlier in the day tomorrow ... fingers crossed for a more photo friendly weather day!

16" Frostina, an alpaca snow cub

One of these days I really must organise myself so I can take my bear photographs indoors, but at the moment I'm still fighting shy of constructing a mock studio until I have Tina firmly planted by my side to guide me through the lighting set up!

Santa's International Shipping System

This is proving to be a particularly busy week! Once the Ho Ho Show finished (did I mention I completely messed up my international time zones and missed the Sunday half of the show?! Oops ... insert scarlet face right here please ... there I was, perched on my swivel chair in dressing gown and slippers at 10pm, mug of coffee to hand, wondering where everyone had gone and why on earth the showroom was firmly closed to my frantic mouse clicks, when I had a lightbulb moment, checked the start times and realised I was eight hours late for my own show! Ooh the humiliation!) anyway, as I was saying, once the show had finished and I'd given myself a sound telling off, ("oh Paula, you DO make me cross at times ... de da, de da, de da ...!") I decided to sit up late on Sunday night and open Santa's Sack on my website, as penance for my sins.

Well, as you can imagine, all the festive twinkly sparkle soon had this little magpie completely losing track of time and my head eventually caught up with my pillow at about 1am. I mustn't whinge about lost beauty sleep though (even if at my age, I really can't afford to take liberties with it!) because Santa's Sack is always a popular feature and this week, all four of the Christmas bears tucked inside, found lovely new owners and are now busy making their travel bookings for Santa's International Sleigh Service!

I have one or two more Christmas treats in store for Santa's Sack over the coming weeks and to say I am absolutely drooling in anticipation over the stunning pale pink and pearl alpaca fabrics which arrived here yesterday, would be an understatement! I also have an adorable winter white alpaca bear with frosty silver paws, underway in my workroom ... so, as you see, bear making is still very much a priority on the run up to Christmas; in fact, I also have a special clown bear on commission for a customer too and I'm really looking forward to starting work on him in the next few days.

Ho, Ho, Ho ... Visting Father Christmas in 1974

Well, as I don't have any new bears to share with you today, instead I'm going to close with this nostalgic picture from my family album ... taken back in 1974, it features Dad (he's the clean shaven chap on the right, not the bearded gent on the left!) with my two youngest sisters, on a special trip to visit Father Christmas. One, two, three, altogether now ... aaah!

A wee Sprig ...

The Ho Ho Show is now over, I can hear Christmas tunes being played on the television and the shops are bursting with festive twinkle, so I have decided, all things considered, now would be a great time to open 'Santa's Sack' on the All Bear website! My apologies if you are still resisting the festivities because December is not yet quite upon us, but with global posting dates to consider, this bear maker must ensure her bears are ready to hop into Santa's international shipping system at a moment's notice!

13" Sprig

If you would like to visit Santa's Sack to see the treats I have tucked inside for you, please pop over to www.allbear.co.uk where I have now hung up a few festive decorations in preparation for our season of goodwill. Also, my first little Christmas sprite is now ready to reveal to you! Introducing 'Sprig', a dear little fellow of just 13" and my smallest bear to-date!

Noel, Noel!

My goodness, no sooner did I pop 'Noel' in Santa's Sack, than he found his special someone and announced he was moving to France. Oooh la la, this must rate as the fastest ALL BEAR adoption yet!

Still, I did promise to share the outcome of that fabulous piece of Schulte mohair with you as soon as I had finished working on it and a promise is a promise, so here it is, in all its glory. I hope you like it! I used the green twinkly eyes too ... they suit him well, don't you think? By the way, that super velvet bow tie is a genuine vintage find from the 1970's ... very Starksy and Hutch! Suave, sophisticated, it is the perfect dressing for Noel!

Changing the subject somewhat, I must ask, do you ever get frustrated with your computer? I certainly did today! I couldn't for the life of me work out why the text on my screen had shrunk to such a miniscule size, my poor ol' lady eyes could no longer read it. I fiddled with this setting and that and eventually had to shamefacedly ask for help. Luckily for me, several helpful folk soon rushed to my aid and helped me reinstate my text size.

And the moral of the story is? Well, the moral of this story is: 'don't let your kitten press buttons on the keyboard while you are trying to work'! Puddle is such a helpful soul and by lazily reaching out a black furry paw to press the 'control' button while I was trying to scroll, she successfully reduced my text sizing to almost invisible! Kitties eh?!

Brandysnap!

Yesterday I promised I'd share my latest 'Santa's Sack' bear cub with you, so here he is! This is 'Brandysnap', one of my new 18" bears, but this time with a growler. I have used a wonderful mohair for this bear, the colours are absolutely fabulous; the shades range randomly from palest peach through to rich cinnamon. Warm velvet paws in a complementary shade of cinnamon work perfectly with this mohair and I've used the same soft velvet for his inner ears, which are a little bigger than usual and I think they really suit him.

I didn't want to over clutter this bear because the mohair really needs to speak for itself, so I have kept his overall design traditional, utilising plain black glass eyes and a neatly hand embroidered black nose. Do you recognise the ribbon? Yes, it's in the picture I posted yesterday, one of my festive findings from my local haberdashery! It's a beautiful shade of burnt orange and it is embossed with glittery holly leaves ... just perfect for my Brandysnap bear!

Next week I'm going to start work on the fabulous piece of Schulte mohair I told you about, it's definitely time I made another big bear! I have a panda cub to make for a collector too, so all in all, I think I can look forward to a most enjoyable week's bear creating!

Festive findings

Well that was quick! Snowdrop was snapped up from Santa's Sack within no time at all yesterday, so today I packaged her carefully in preparation for her long journey, destination 'Downunder'!

Naturally, with all things festive filling my head this week, I couldn't resist popping to my favourite haberdashery after I'd visited the Post Office. I spent a very pleasant half hour browsing and came home with an assortment of pretty bits 'n pieces for my planned Santa's Sack bears. It's times like this when I wouldn't swap my job for all the tea in China!

I made my final decision this week. Here is the evidence. My 'TOBY Awards' entry is now duly submitted and on its way across the Atlantic as I type. There's no turning back now; please wish me luck!

A very special email landed in my inbox earlier today. I was thrilled to be asked to submit work to one of the UK magazines for a special double page showcase. Such a generous offer! I'm determined to do it justice by making some really special bears, after all, this will be the perfect excuse for me to indulge myself in some sumptuous fabrics and create some of my big 'uns ... I can't wait to get stuck in! I'll let you know nearer the time which magazine and when it will be published.

Thank heaven's Susan at Bear Basics in the UK is now stocking a fabulous range of luxurious Schulte mohair; I'll be like a kid in a candy store selecting my special fabrics for this project. Which reminds me, I've just received the most lush piece of mohair from them, and I am simply dying to start work on it ... watch this space!

Before I forget, I must tell you, I have another new bear for Santa's Sack tomorrow. I can't show you pics just yet though, because I've only just sewn his ears on and it's too dark to take pics now, but I promise I'll share him with you tomorrow. His name? Oh go on then! He's called 'Brandysnap' ... I hope you have time to pop back tomorrow to take a peek!

Santa's Sack

I checked my calendar this morning and couldn't believe my eyes! Less than six weeks until Christmas! How does that happen? One minute I'm gaily taking photographs of Autumn leaves and then poof! All of a sudden the leaves are on the ground, there's a real chill in the air and the town is sparkling with tinsel!

So, I've decided to go with the flow and start my festive preparations today, without delay! I've given my website a makeover ... snow, bells, angel, the works ... and I've opened 'Santa's Sack' too. It will give me a lovely focus for my bear designs for the coming weeks, after all, what could be more special than making Christmas presents for people?!

I decided to introduce a new size of bear to my range recently and have utilised my new pattern as the basis for 'Snowdrop', the first of my Santa's Sack bears. She is 18", which is a wee bit bigger than the Half Pints, yet still much smaller in proportion than my armful of 20"+ bears, so the perfect size for folk who love bears, but are perhaps struggling for space!

When I first set out to create Snowdrop, I wasn't sure which direction to take, so I simply let the bear evolve. Sometimes that's they way it is with bear design. Snowdrop's face was pretty without the tiny eyelids, but a little voice in the back of my head told me to try them and hey presto, she burst into life! Fundamentally, Snowdrop is a classically styled teddy bear, but with a smidgeon of contemporary wizardry, she has become a totally modern Miss!

I will be working on more bears for Santa's Sack over the coming weeks and I'll be back to share them with you, as they come to life!