Wild 'n Windy in Cornwall

Just back from a late holiday in wild 'n windy Cornwall with my family.

We have walked our legs off along the West Coast of Cornwall, seen seals and sea lions, visited a castle, eaten pasties and cream teas, laughed heaps and been blown to pieces by gale force winds!

I loved the opportunity to spend quality 'away' time with my family, especially my son and daughter as work takes so much of their time in the real world.

The scenery, as always, has been spectacular, whatever the weather ...

And family laughs have been a-plenty!

Polly and Betty also had a lovely holiday with their favourite people around them and returned home very sleepy, after their week in the Cornish fresh air!

Thank you family, for making time for us to share together in Cornwall. 

It has been so much fun and I am so glad we made it happen!

Oh and Happy Anniversary to us too ... unconventional perhaps, but we celebrated our wedding anniversary with a hike to Lands End and a Cornish pasty for lunch. 

Perfect!

:-)

Hug Me

A lovely soulful teddy bear ... yes, 'Rochester' definitely achieved that all-important 'hug me' appeal!

19" Rochester has been adopted

In fact, Rochester's 'hug me' appeal was so strong, he flew from my website within moments of arriving this week and is now en route to his new owner in the USA!

Bon voyage Rochester!

:-)

Cheeky Chappy

After my series of Harris Tweed teddy bears, I decided to take a break and head back to my mohair stash this week. The weather has been so warm, my bear-making has been slow going, but I did manage to finish this cheeky little chappy. 

Scamp is 13"

Scamp is just 13" tall and what he lacks in height, he certainly makes up in personality! He is a traditional centre seam design teddy bear, which gives his head a lovely rounded shape.

I used vintage boot buttons forScamp's eyes as I think they really suit his laid back vintagey style ... and I gave him a lovely shiny waxed nose too.

If Scamp is your kinda bear, please pop over to my website to find out more about him. As I write, this lovely teddy bear is currently available for adoption.

www.allbearbypaula.com

Tweedy Teds

I am delighted to report it has been all go on the 'Tweedy Teds' front of late. My lovely cloth teddies have been very well received around the world and that beautiful Harris Tweed from the Hebridean Isles of Scotland, has now travelled as far afield as America and Australia in teddy bear form!

Pippin now lives in Wy Yung, in Australia

Thistle and Lullaby emigrated to America!

McBlue found his forever home 'Downunder' in Victoria, Australia.

Lovely Annabel found her special someone in the UK.
I love making these teddy bears, so expect more to come ... especially as I have just taken delivery of these beautiful pieces of Harris Tweed!

I have also taken delivery of some beautiful new mohair, so don't worry if cloth bears aren't for you, there will be something for everyone in the weeks to come! :-)

No sooner said than ..

..done!  After my earlier post I decided to take the bull by the horns this afternoon and made a tweedy bow-tie and buttons for McBlue ...

And I am very pleased with his new look, in fact I think he looks quite the city gent now.

McBlue is still looking for his special someone. He is definitely cuddly enough to love and hopefully, smart enough too in his new bow-tie, so if you think McBlue could be the teddy bear for you, please pop over to my website for further details and pics ... www.allbearbypaula.com

Thank you!

:-)

Business as usual

I had planned to introduce Duchesse on my blog but she sold within seconds of appearing on my website, then in the flurry of paperwork and packaging to send her on her way, I completely forgot to write my promised blog post ... sorry! She was a pretty, gentle looking teddy bear, created from lovely Schulte mohair.

20" Duchesse

After finishing Duchesse last week, I made another teddy bear from lovely Harris Tweed cloth.  I sized him down to be a bit smaller than the first Tweedy Bears, and at 17" 'Pippin' is a perfect size for cuddles. By the way, I used gorgeous autumnal shades for this bear, so he looks very cosy!

17" Pippin

Pippin is now available to adopt from my website, together with big brother 'McBlue', a very handsome 20" Tweedy Ted. I am planning to change McBlue's buttons and ribbon, as after mulling things over, I think matching grey tweed buttons and bow-tie would suit him better.

20" McBlue

I am looking forward to starting work on another Tweedy Ted this week, a special commission order for a collector. This one will be a teddy girl in pretty herringbone lilac and pink stripes,  hand woven by an independent weaver from the Isle of Lewis. It is such a joy to create teddy bears from such special cloth!

I also have a more vintage style teddy bear in the pipeline and maybe a Tiddler or two on the cards ...  or at least a couple of smallish bears; in fact, I have a head full of teddy bear waiting to bring to life at the moment!

So, it will be business as usual this summer in the All Bear workroom, then hopefully a change of pace and scenery in the Autumn, when I plan to squeeze in a ramble along Cornish cliffs and indulge myself in a spot of gazing out to sea and soaking up the view. 

Can't wait!

:-)

Work in progress

Work in progress ...

This super pretty bear will be arriving soon!

Watch this space ...

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

McBlue

I have just enough time to squeeze in one more Tweedy Ted before heading back to my mohair ...

 Introducing 'McBlue', a very dapper fellow in soft grey, contrasted with a smart blue check Harris Tweed.  I love the soft feel of this fabulous hand woven cloth; the colours and patterns blend so beautifully, they seem to have an essence of the beautiful Hebridean Isles, woven right through them!

McBlue is currently available to adopt from my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Tweedy Teds

I find it's good to take a break from mohair to experiment with different fabrics now and again. This week, I have been having heaps of fun creating cloth bears from Harris Tweed. I absolutely love this beautiful hand woven, pure wool fabric, which is produced in the Scottish Isles.

This special Tweed is available in an unending array of fabulous colours and patterns, is strong enough to withstand the rigours of bear-making and produces wonderfully characterful, traditional bears, with a twist!

I daresay I'll introduce a few smaller bears along the way, but to start with, I've been making larger bears ... Thistle measures 21" and Lullaby 20". I was so thrilled when both bears sold within moments of making their appearance on my website!

I have several other gorgeous pieces of this fabulous fabric in my workroom and another couple of tweedy teds in the pipeline, so if you missed this pair of tweedy bears, please pop back again soon!

All things nice

I must confess, I can't resist a royal wedding, least of a fairy tale wedding such as the one Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared with us on Saturday ... but that wasn't the only important event that day, as early on Saturday morning, a very special little girl was brought safely into the world by her mummy and daddy and for the second time in my life, I was blessed to become a Nana!

The birth of a new baby into a family is an incredible blessing, reminding us all that life is to be celebrated and cherished, that family is all that matters and when everything is said and done, a new generation within a family offers us all happiness and hope for the future. 

I couldn't be more delighted for my son, daughter-in-law and grandson, on the safe arrival of their beautiful baby girl. 

Welcome to our family little one, 

I am so thrilled to be your Nana!

xxx

Snow in March, sunshine in April

For the past few weeks, my life has been a busy whirl of Mother's Day, Easter and birthday celebrations, the obligatory Easter Bank Holiday decorating project and of course, daily dog walks.

And on those dog walks, we have experienced every kind of weather from snow in early March, through to glorious Spring sunshine today!

Snow in March ...

Spring sunshine in April!

There's rarely a dull moment when it comes to the British weather as it never seems to hand around long enough to bore; although I must admit, I am tired of the endless swampy mud puddles and longing for dry earth to walk on!

We celebrated my son's 33rd birthday yesterday and my daughter's 35th birthday three weeks ago. My goodness, I know it's a cliché, but where on earth does the time go?! It only seems yesterday I was holding each of them in my arms for the very first time. I loved being a young mum and will always have a deep nostalgia for those happy days, but I am so proud of the adults my two have become ... independent, well respected, hard working and loyal, they quietly go about their daily business with good grace and a twinkle in their eyes their Granddad would have mirrored in his own, had he still been with us. 

Happy Birthday you two. 

Much love to you both, always.

Your Mum xxx

A perfect couple

Celeste and Albert looked so perfect sat together on my bookcase, I decided to photograph them together. The pics came out really well and now I am considering whether to feature them on new teddy bear hang tags.

It has been a while since I ordered new tags, so I think now is a good time to update. It's always fun to freshen things up and Spring time is the perfect time for such things!

And on the subject of Spring, at last it seems to have arrived here in Kent, in the nick of time for Easter. Last week we were battling sub-zero temperatures, snow and icy blasts from the East for the second time this year and today, the snow has melted, the sun is shining, daffs are blooming everywhere and thankfully, my woolly hats and scarves are back in the drawer where they belong!

:-)

PS. Celeste has been adopted but if you are looking for a big, beautiful, traditional boy, Albert would be delighted to hear from you! 

Full details can be found on my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Happy 5th Birthday Polly!

Five years ago I really had no idea bringing up a Goldie pup could be such hard work, but having Polly loyally by my side every day of those five years, has made every training challenge, wet walk and bark at the postie, worthwhile. She has worked so hard to become a good girl for me and my family and she is a super big sister to little Betty. I am immensely proud of all my very special girl has achieved and all that she has taught me.

Wishing my beautiful bossy 'Big Bird' a very Happy 5th Birthday today! xxx

Snow Day!

It has been snowing heavily here in Kent today, so of course, there was nothing for it, but to go outside to play!

Polly and Betty had so much fun. I couldn't resist taking a few pics to share ...

The scenery was so beautiful as the snow fell heavily and it was a joy to watch my daft doggy girls playing together. The walk home was a bit slippery though and I landed on my bum rather heavily a couple of times (ouch!) but we're home in the warm again now and the girls are sleeping off their snowy excitement while I sip a mug of hot coffee.

There's more snow predicted this week, so we'll be wrapping up warmly to make the most of it!

:-)

One Snowy Day

Snow is falling here today. There I was hoping Spring was just around the corner but instead we have 'The Beast from the East' looming large and have been warned to batten down the hatches!

Inspired by snowdrops and other early Spring bulbs starting to bud on my walks last week, I painted a sweet teddy wearing her Spring bonnet, but now I'm thinking I should probably have given her a pair of furry snow boots and a cosy ski jacket to wear, like the bears in the sketch below!

Ah well, I suppose at least the cold weather means it will be a good week to stay warm indoors while I work on my latest mohair teddy bear!

:-)

Keeping it in the family

It just so happens I am not the only one in my family to have an arty crafty leaning and this weekend, the arty crafty gene brought three of us together, along with my niece, to give us a lovely opportunity to share an afternoon of inky, painty, messy play around my dining room table. My sister Lynda packed up a small shop's worth of art materials from her extensive stash and drove all the way from Hampshire to my house in Kent, to share her hard earned creative wisdom with my youngest sister Laura, my niece Erin and I. My sister Fiona and her husband also popped in for a cuppa and a catch-up. I have four sisters and as we live far and wide across the South of England, we don't get to see each other often, so having four of us together in one house at the same time was a special occasion and definitely worthy of a quick snap for posterity!

Lyn has a wealth of knowledge about how different art materials work together and she makes fabulous craft items - in fact, she has even recently had her work featured on the telly! Laura, Erin and I were very excited to have an opportunity to receive some sisterly art tuition from our very own expert.

It was lovely to share sister time together. After growing up as the eldest sister of five sisters, through all the rough 'n tumble of a large and lively family, I must admit I have missed sister time as we've grown older and our lives have taken us in varying directions. Yesterday was proof though, that no matter how old we get, or how far apart life takes us, given half a chance, we all still love to play together!

Lovable Rogues

It is Rodney's first birthday today!

Not that he is in the least bit bothered, as he'd rather be eating sardines and hunting for 'who-knows-what?' in the garden.

Young Rodders has grown into a mighty fine looking tiger-cat in his first year, although I am sure he believes he is a dog as wherever my dogs are, you'll usually find him either chasing their tails, claiming their bed, or just hanging out on the floor with them. He has definitely made himself 'one of the pack'.

He was such a tiny kitten when he first came home last April and was always getting into scrapes, but since then he has become an affectionate, cheeky fellow and is now very much one of the family.

Oh ... and as you can see, I am happy to report, he did eventually grow into those ears!

Happy First Birthday Rod xxx

:-)

I think ginger cats have huge personalities. Rod's predecessor Toffee sadly left us a few years ago. He too was a tiny scrap when we adopted him from a local farm, but he soon settled in and became a crafty, lovable rogue. He was a big part of our family for many years. I don't have many photos of him, but I found this picture of him enjoying his sunny spot recently and it made me smile, so I thought I'd pop it here to remember him on Rodney's birthday.

:-)