THREE O'CLOCK THOUGHTS

BOO!

We had great fun carving this pumpkin..my son Oliver and my son in law Wayne did it between them and the children were so thrilled to see it all lit up!!

Have a spooky Halloween!!!

 

Two new bears and a new technique...

These two new bears, Cleo and Gwendoline are off to A Bear Place in Singapore and are already reserved . I thought I would show them off as I am very pleased with my new eye technique which involves lots of stages to reach this final look, I have long been admiring the Ball Jointed Dolls and their eyes and was thinking hard about how that eye style would transfer to a bear. I am very pleased with this look and will be doing more similar bears. Before that I have a couple of bears to do and a little baby style one I have pictured in my minds eye!!

 
 

Teddy Bear Guide 2011...four free copies

I have four copies of the Teddy Bear Guide 2011 worth £5.95 which I will send to the first four people who get in touch. I will pay the postage if you are in the UK...if you are overseas you can still have one but I will charge you the minumum postage charge I can for sending it.

I get one every year and it's a good reference book...you also get 2 free tickets to the Hugglets Bear shows!!

Good deal all round really!

All Have been claimed now, thanks!!

 

Why can't we make coffee?

Sadly I am still mourning the fact that I miss the Cortado Espresso Steve and I would have every day in Spain. Spanish coffee is so lovely and these delicious little cups are the best ever.

But no matter where you go in England the coffee is horrible....Starbucks, Costa, Nero...you take your pick... I'd rather drink the dishwater. The question I ask is why? Why do we have to have 'buckets' of scorched milky stuff...why can't someone take a leaf out of Spanish books and make nice cups of coffee that have some coffee included in the recipe. Why can't we have smaller cups of COFFEE!!

You have a Latte in the UK and it's a wishy washy milky concoction that tastes of nothing....in Spain, France, Italy...anywhere else in fact ..it is delicious...but here...well, I think we should stick to making tea!

 

Decision time

There is so much going on in my life these days and it's hard to prioritise and be sure that I did it right. Along with everyone else on the planet who cares, I put my family first.

So as Lucie, my daughter, is pregnant with what may very well be our last grand-child in April I have decided that 2011 will be a year when I am not doing any fairs. It's a hard decision to make but as the Stratford fair falls at precisely the time when Lucie is going to need me around I think I want to give her that time. So apologies if you were hoping to see me in June at the Stratford fair.

However I do have plans  afoot for fairs for 2012 and also I have a 'date' in October which I will reveal very soon.

Also on my list of decisions has been my dealings with shops. I have decided that I am going to supply only one shop Silly Bears in Aberdeen. I feel that I can only offer my bears to one shop as I am inundated with work and in order to maintain quality, individuallity and creativity I have to limit orders to shops. So from 2011 I will be supplying only SILLY BEARS in Aberdeen . I do feel that Julieann Bruce, the owner of Silly Bears, has the same ethos as me and I am happy to work with her. She understands me and I like her very much..so it works for both of us.

This year has been a year of plotting and planning ...2012 sees my tenth year ...yes that's TEN whole years...of bear making. I am planning a couple of things for then and 2011 will be busy getting  those things sorted out.  But more of that later ....

 

Miss Mima ...a new design...

This is a new design ....she is a 13 inch girl bear who has slightly shorter stubbier legs and has a rounder face. I gave her a pretty 'hairdo' which I sculpted to a 'bob' style..I think it's really cute on the rounder face shape. I also gave her stitched eyebrows which give her a slightly sad expression but I think it adds to her cute look. She has a wobble head joint and wired arms...I also made her a sweet outfit in pure linen.

Miss Mima may already have a new mom but I am working on similar designs as I am really thrilled with how she turned out!

 

Norah...just an Old Fashioned Girl

This is Norah...she is available for immediate adoption. She's a 13 inch alpaca girl ..she has wired arms and can stand if balanced. I made her a sweet wool coat and she has a hand knitted beret. She is a very old fashioned girl and so I picked a name to suit her...Norah just fits perfectly.

Norah has now been adopted...thanks!!

 
 

It's National Poetry Day

 Anyone who knows me knows how much I love poetry....Today is National Poetry Day...got me thinking of my mum...here's a nice short poem about mums by Robert Louis Stevenson..

To My Mother by Robert Louis Stevenson

You too, my mother, read my rhymes
For love of unforgotten times,
And you may chance to hear once more
The little feet along the floor.

...and the brilliantly clever and funny..

They Should Have Asked My Husband  by Pam Ayres

You know this world is complicated, imperfect and oppressed
And it's not hard to feel timid, apprehensive and depressed.
It seems that all around us tides of questions ebb and flow
And people want solutions but they don’t know where to go.

Opinions abound but who is wrong and who is right.
People need a prophet, a diffuser of the light.
Someone they can turn to as the crises rage and swirl.
Someone with the remedy, the wisdom, and the pearl.

Well . . . they should have asked my ‘usband, he’d have told’em then and there.
His thoughts on immigration, teenage mothers, Tony Blair,
The future of the monarchy, house prices in the south
The wait for hip replacements, BSE and foot and mouth.

Yes . . . they should have asked my husband he can sort out any mess
He can rejuvenate the railways he can cure the NHS
So any little niggle, anything you want to know
Just run it past my husband, wind him up and let him go.

Congestion on the motorways, free holidays for thugs
The damage to the ozone layer, refugees and drugs.
These may defeat the brain of any politician bloke
But present it to my husband and he’ll solve it at a stroke.

He’ll clarify the situation; he will make it crystal clear
You’ll feel the glazing of your eyeballs, and the bending of your ear.
Corruption at the top, he’s an authority on that
And the Mafia, Gadafia and Yasser Arafat.

Upon these areas he brings his intellect to shine
In a great compelling voice that’s twice as loud as yours or mine.
I often wonder what it must be like to be so strong,
Infallible, articulate, self-confident …… and wrong.

When it comes to tolerance – he hasn’t got a lot
Joyriders should be guillotined and muggers should be shot.
The sound of his own voice becomes like music to his ears
And he hasn’t got an inkling that he’s boring us to tears.

My friends don’t call so often, they have busy lives I know
But its not everyday you want to hear a windbag suck and blow.
Encyclopaedias, on them we never have to call
Why clutter up the bookshelf when my husband knows it all!

'Mr Grimsdale'!!!

It's a sad day for slapstick fans.....Norman Wisdom ..one of my very favourite comedians died yesterday aged 95. There will never be another Norman Wisdom...

It was harmless,unsophisticated, silly humour but still makes me laugh even though I have seen the films over and over again....

I like nothing better than a good old black and white movie....an escape to a less complicated time...

R.I.P Norman....fond memories of the funniest clown.