Mason is looking for a new home

I am bit slow getting this posted today ;) I kind of got caught up in the USA history making event all over the TV. I'm not interested in politics at all, but I have to admit it is neat to witness this monumental event.

Yesterday school was closed due to the very slippery roads so I got behind on business stuff. Then today I had a frustrating time trying to mail some things . My friendly, reliable post office closed and the new location won't be open until March 3rd. Uhm, they neglected to mention that in the notice that came out in December ! The location the gal suggested to me didn't have a post office either. The 3rd place finally took my packages.

Anyway, please meet Mason, an 11" mohair teddy wondering where his forever home will be . You can learn all about him on my website.

My Bears Down Under

I am always so thrilled to receive photos from my collectors showing my bears in their new home. Since I usually make and sell one at a time, it is rare that I have a whole group together. So, seeing a group photo is so exciting. (Or seeing them in person with their new mom like when I went to Winnipeg this fall )

Here is a Beckoning Bears Hug that now resides in my dream vacation land of Australia. (Thanks M & C for sending me the picture) They are owned by 2 great people that I am enjoying getting to know. That is one of the best parts of my job, "meeting" such terrific people from all over the world !

One of these days a collector may just find me packaged up with a bear headed their way LOL. I may not get to visit many of the places my bears do, but at least a part of me gets to travel there. How cool is that!!!!

Hugs little bears from your snowy birthplace :)

p.s. If you have a little hug of my bears, please send me a photo anytime !

pps. I have a new bear ready as soon as I can get photos taken. Hopefully tomorrow- weather permitting.

"Hope" for 2009

I am so excited to introduce my first bear of the New Year !

Hope is another one of my smaller mink bears , measuring in at 5.25" tall. May she bring a little hope to her new home when she finds one. I found a blue iris collar in my stash which blended so nicely with the lighter grey mink giving her such soft muted shades. Hope will be listed on Ebay from Jan. 13-16th, 7:30PM Atlantic Time.

A day on the slopes

First, let me clarify that I was just a spectator....this time ! We took our daughter and niece to the local little ski hill for their first time ever. My daughter was sooooo excited. Our son is a snowboarder, but he was busy doing other things with a friend so did not come with us.
It was a chilly but gorgeous day yesterday to be outside in the fresh, crisp winter air so early in the morning. Being at the ski hill brought back some wonderful memories of the few times that my hubby (then boyfriend) and I skied with friends in high school and university. I remember the excitement coupled with butterflies in my belly every time I looked down from the top of the hill. It looked so steep and I was , well, a slow skier. I notice some things that have changed, like very few people use poles, helmets are highly recommended, shorter skis are prefered to longer now, and there are so many snowboarders. Of course there was no snowboarding way back in my day LOL.

The girls had a 90 minute lesson on the "bunny hill" then were rewarded with the lift pass and quickly headed to the big trails . Only 2 trails were open due to the lack of snow, but they had a great day regardless. I was amazed at how fast they learned and how confident my daughter was. My niece was a bit more apprehensive, but both did great. I think I may have even convinced myself that I'll have to strap on some skis next time and relive my youth . Or not LOL. Falling will be much more painful this time around I am sure.

Back to working on bears this coming week.

New additions to my collection

I've been meaning to show these for awhile, but never seemed to get around to it. I have a couple of new additions to my collection that I am excited about.

The first is the Annie doll and bear that I mentioned I won from Shantell's blog. They arrived from Oregon, USA on Dec 24th , just in time for Christmas. I LOVE them both and they are so well made. Aren't they just the cutest !!!
The second bear is from the 3rd annual ornament swap I participated in again this year. I was not told who my ornament was coming from but I knew to whom I was to send mine. Turns out mine was going to Shantell . Yah, the same Shantell from whom I won Annie & Babette . I thought that was so funny and she didn't know I had her name. Here is the ornament I made for her.The ornament I received came from a bearmaker, Ming, in Taiwan. I love the cute anime style, and the color was a bright spot in the darkness of winter. It came with a cute cell phone holder.

A new business approach for 2009

I've spent the past few days reflecting on my business and my life and ways to improve both. I think it is important to make changes sometimes. Keeping in mind that sometimes change is good and sometimes not so much !
So my work room is all organized, I just need to get myself organized !! I've decided to take a new approach this year with my bear making. In the past I have usually worked on 1 bear from start to finish before going on to the next. This isn't really the most productive method, but worked well for me most times. The problem I found however, is that I dislike the "grunt" work of cutting, trimming pinning etc. I want to skip all that and get straight to the creative aspect. I think this has caused me to procrastinate starting a new bear on several occasions.

So, onward and upward I go with the intent to cut out several different bears at one time. Kind of like an assembly line , doing the "grunt" tasks all at once . I'll then place each partly assembled bear in a bag just waiting to be jointed , stuffed and finished as I feel inspired. I want to try some new techniques and really stretch myself way outside my comfort zone in 2009 too. Sounds good to me....here's hoping that my plan works LOL.

I also intend to spend MUCH less time on the computer, re-invent my business image, redesign my website, work on advertising etc. (Oh....that actually means more time on the computer to get those tasks done LOL.) I'm trying to decide if I should continue with my blog too ??? I just don't know ?

The kids are back in school today so I cut out 2 bears, got some paperwork in order for 2009 and did some planning. So far so good ! So come with me as I either soar or fall flat on my face this year. I plan to enjoy the ride anyway :)

Did someone say blizzard ?

To my Aussie friends who have never seen snow , this is for you LOL . I can't imagine not seeing and feeling snow. Everyone should get to experience it at least once.

I mentioned last night we were expecting a blizzard overnight and today. Yesterday there was no snow to be found, tonight there is lots. It was so blustery that you could hardly see so we stayed off the roads today. The winds created lots of snow drifts in our yard and it was -21C with the windchill. We waited for the wind to stop and fortunately the snow is light and fluffy for shoveling. My daughter had fun jumping in the snow tonight.

Now,enough posts about the weather...sorry, it is a Nova Scotia thing to talk about the weather all the time LOL. I'm looking forward to getting back to bears once the kids are back in school.