Garland- A sparkly bear !

Garland is the outcome of that sparkly mohair I showed you the other day. I made him a special mink trimmed, velvet hat and clay bear ornament. He also comes with an extra handknit has for after the holidays. He is available on my website.

Friday's Festive Favorites

As the Christmas season fast approaches I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas songs each friday. Some you may know, others may be new to you. The first is "I heard the Bells" from my new favorite Christmas CD , Peace on Earth by Casting Crowns ,which was released in October. I've been listening to it for weeks :) I love love love Casting Crowns and was thrilled to see them live in Darien Lake, NY, in 2007.

The story behind this poem/song also begins on a sad note. Written during the American Civil War, the poem was inspired by tragedy in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s personal life: the death of his wife a few years before and the wounding of his son in battle much more recently. Apparently depressed that Christmas, Longfellow’s poem expresses the sadness he felt over his personal losses as well as the state of his nation.

However, the speaker of the poem (and presumably Longfellow himself) was reminded by a church’s bells on Christmas day that there is still hope in the world. Right would prevail, and the world would be made right again, with “peace on earth, good will to men.”

Something Sparkly

My fingers need a break from real fur so I dug out this piece of mohair the other day. I thought it would be fun to make a sparkly bear since Christmas is the perfect time for sparkle. This fabric is really neat with gold glittery strands woven throughout. Watch for this new little bear soon.



Gotta run.....the tow truck just arrived. I'll tell you about that in another post :(

It looks like Christmas here

What a day. I am worn out. We got our first real dumping of snow last night , about 12 inches/30cm not counting the drifts. Hubby used the snowblower and I grabbed the shovel to help out. I think I spent about 3 hours shovelling between our driveway and my mom's. Living on the coast it tends to get mild and the snow is sooooo wet and heavy. I prefer the light fluffy stuff. The older I get, the more I really don't like snow much. I agree that it is beautiful to look at , but can be so dangerous to drive in and not fun to clean up.

The little dusting we got the other day was a good reminder for our kitty. Today she really wasn't impressed at all. The snow is over her head ! I bet she wished she could hibernate like a bear LOL.

Meet Cubby !

The weather was more suitable for Cubby's photo shoot today, so here he is in all his furriness. I think he is a very playful cub ,and I am happy with his open mouth. They can be a challenge, especially on an 8' bear !

He will be on EBAY for 5 days , beginning at 6:30 Atlantic Time tonight until Tuesday.

People often ask how I do my photos , so I thought I would share my "elaborate" set-up LOL. It is very simple really , provided the weather co-operates. I find a spot on my deck out of direct sunlight . I use poster/bristol board for a seamless backdrop, and sit at a chair with my camera on a tripod (sometimes). My hand is getting steadier so sometimes I am lazy about the tripod and just kneel on the ground.

I usually take many , many photos and often have to do a second shoot. Days like today my fingers were frozen after sitting outside for almost an hour. I'm sure my neighours must think I am crazy "playing" with teddy bears LOL.

My camera is an Olympus SP-550UZ. for the price I am really pleased with the images I can capture. Someday, I would love to own a DSLR camera though :)

Where is the bear ?

You have seen the note on my website that a new bear is coming this week. And, it is ! I had hoped to post some photos as I was working on it. However, the weather has been too wet, snowy ,windy and cold to take outdoor pictures. Indoor photos never do justice. Winter has arrived !!

The bear is done and is an open mouth mink bear. I think tomorrow looks hopeful for photos, fingers crossed.

Yesterday my kitty was not too pleased when she decided to go outside. She stared at the first snowflurries of the season and reluctantly ventured out. I could almost read her mind.....Oh no, not this stuff again ! It must be so cold on her little paws.

Tonight it is soooo blustery , with freezing rain & snowy. Brrrrrrrr.......

Donor DOWN !

Have you ever heard those words ? I just did about 90 minutes ago and it was, unfortunately ,referring to me !

You see, I decided to donate blood for the first time ever tonight , and convinced my hubby to donate along with me. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time.
I was a bit nervous I have to admit.

We'll, the donation part was relatively easy and painless for the 16 minutes it took, until a couple of minutes after the needle came out and my head started to spin. I got very hot and apparently very pale according to many of the nearby donors. The nurse looked over at me and asked if I was o.k. and I nodded "NO". Then I heard those words, " Donor Down" and she immediately raised my feet and lowered my head. Some others nurses put cold clothes on my headand neck , and handed me a barf bag. Then I got cold and shaky. What a nasty feeling and how embarassing.

I had to stay there for a long time, eventually sitting up and getting some juice. I am feeling fine now. As for my husband, he was fine, and had fun taking pictures of me with his phone ! Thankfully he came so he could drive me home.

Would I donate again....yes, I hope I will. Now that I know to drink lots and lots of fluids in the 24 hours before. Afterall, it is a small sacrifice to help give someone the "Gift of Life". I hope I haven't scared anyone off and that you will consider donating too.

Look Out...It's gonna blow !!!

I am having a hard time getting motivated lately. But, I have figured out why !!! Look at my work room....can you believe it, what a DISASTER ZONE. It looks like it is going to explode !!! I can hear you gasping LOL. I am soooo embarassed to show this, but thought maybe it would force me to clean it up.

I have a tidy house otherwise , but this room is just beyond . I am really messy when I am working , but I feel so overwhelmed when I walk in this space, I just sit on the computer in the corner and waste time. Lately I have been taking my supplies to my bedroom to work, but that is not a good idea. The stuff is migrating everywhere. How can anyone be creative in this mess ?

So, now I have to decide on better storage, declutter and make this a fun , creative place again. it is a small 9x9 room so it gets disorganized really fast. I'd really like to rip up carpet, and paint the walls. That will have to wait I think !

Oh , where do I begin ????

Lest we forget ...

Nov 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada. In honor of our fallen soldiers, today we remember and are humbled that they paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

He's All Smiles :)

It is an exciting day at our house today. My son is finally getting his braces off after 18 months and $4500 - Ouch !!! Thankfully dental insurance pays half. He can't wait, but I know there will be a struggle to get him to wear the retainer. I can't wait to see his new smile all perfect ,polished and white. Only 2 hours in the dentist chair and he'll be all smiles, rubbing his tongue over his pearly whites, and feel like his teeth are floating :)

My daughter will probably be getting hers on in December $$$ -Merry Christmas kiddo. Lucky me to have 2 kiddos with crooked teeth. Oh well, they inherited that gene from both my hubby and I. He had braces and I did too.

I was supposed to get them on at age 13, but waaaayyyy back then it wasn't so popular and kids were tormented and called mean names with a mouth full of metal. So, I chickened out LOL. I waited until age 23 to get mine. I'm sure my parents were happy anyway because at that age it was me who paid the bill.

Up for adoption

Please meet Benji who is looking for a new home. He will be on EBAY for 3 days starting tonight, ending Sunday. He looks much better with his head attached don't ya think LOL.

A new bear , almost

I've been working on this bear for a couple of day. It is starting to come together and I hope to have it done by weeks end. It does look rather silly as it is though, and it was a quick pic so not the best lighting. I always think the headless body looks like a turkey waiting to be cooked LOL. If the rain holds off, I'll get it photographed and listed on ebay or my website. Not sure where yet.

Ebay has really been making a lot of changes recently, many of which are not to the small scale sellers advantage unfortunately. The fees are continually climbing, placement in listings is totally wacky(random almost), the feedback system has been unfairly changed. I do think it is a great venue to sell, but I fear that they are trying to drive away the smaller sellers and make life miserable so we just give up. Too bad really :(