Artist Bears & Friends Etsy Team

It is now official! We have an Etsy team of 34 Teddy Bear Artists. One of our goals is to get an Etsy category for Artist Bears. The Art Doll makers are also working towards a separate category. Since Artist Bears are considered collectible and are not made for children we are kind of in limbo on Etsy-not belonging in any category. Hopefully, this will soon be resolved. We will be planning some promotions in the near future. Stay tuned. If you are an Artist with an Etsy shop and interested in joining contact shelley@ursaminorminiatures.com .
In other news.....I have won the Bid 4 Bears Survivor Challenge. I will be listing lots of bears and critters for sale there. Keep an eye on the right column of my blog for my current auction.

We came out OK!

Fay is now hitting the Florida panhandle. We saw the sun today, for the first time in 5 days. There was a lot of flooding in our county, Brevard, and surrounding counties. We only had some small limbs come down. I was worried about the pool overflowing as we had more than 10" of rain. It reached just below the rim before the rain finally stopped. It did end up with a lot of leaves, small branches and FROGS in it. Bill spent this morning scooping them out and sweeping the pool deck. The pic of the banana tree shows how the wind shredded the leaves.
We are now in prime hurricane season. Hopefully, this is the worse will will get this year.

Fay is Coming

I love living in Florida, but there is a price to pay for living in paradise. Although she is not a hurricane, tropical storm Fay is headed directly for us. We are expecting 4-8 inches of rain and 35 - 40 mph winds with higher gusts. We moved to Florida just in time for the hurricanes of 2004, so we have been thoroughly initiated. Bill is trying to get the water delivery route done today before the worst weather hits. The thing is, when there is a threat of hurricanes or storms the demand for water goes up. Many people are on well water which they won't be able to use if the power goes out.
I have tried to get all my computer work done this morning-in case we lose power. Hopefully, if we do, it won't be for long. In 2004 there were areas that were without power for weeks.
We are under a tornado watch because this type of tropical storm develops them with no warning. We are ready with flashlights, battery operated radio, water, and extra batteries. I have plenty of hand sewing to keep me busy. So we will hunker down and ride out the storm.
The photo is the pool and backyard this morning. We'll see what it looks like after the storm moves through. Hopefully, none of our big trees will come down.

Playing with Kool Aid

I spent part of 2 days this week dying fur with Kool aid. I had a lot of fun and the kitchen smelled like all kinds of sweet flavors.


I'm working on two different projects. I used orange Kool Aid for the first.




This is going to be one of my Kitty Kibbles.




Then I used lemon-lime, cherry, blueberry, and some more orange. The purple is Rit dye because grape Kool Aid comes out more mauve than purple.




Can you guess what this is going to be? Well, now that I have posted the photo I sure hope it turns out like I have imagined!

Finally...

I have actually been sewing. I finished several things this week - 2 bears and a kitten. I'm not sure if they will go straight to my etsy shop or to Bid 4 Bears. There are also some more ideas rattling around in my head.
First this is Pinky Dink, another in my Kitty Kibbles series. She is just 6" tall and made with a fluffy Schulte mohair.

Next is Hamilton, who is just 9 1/2" tall. His mom wants him to learn to write his name before kindergarten starts but he just wants to play with his truck.

Last, but not least is Livia. She is 9" tall and dressed in her Sunday best.

I really like the pattern I designed for the 2 bears(Livia legs are a bit shorter). I drew a slimmer body to go with a larger head. I think they are more child like.

Spiny Lobster

Well, here in Florida, the Spiny Lobster season is in. Personally, I am not a fan of seafood, but Bill loves it. Last night we took a drive to the port at Cape Canaveral. It's actually south of the Kennedy Space Center. A number of cruise ships dock there and of course fishing boats. There is one company that we deliver bottled water to -a wholesale seafood market. Bill found out that lobster would be available. He bought a couple and after buying me dinner(non seafood) we headed home with the critters in a bucket. Out comes the big pot. Bill actually felt sorry putting the live lobster in the boiling water but he'll forget that tonight when he dines on lobster.

New floor

I am so happy with the new floor in our master bedroom. I was really sick of the once(long ago) off white carpet. Between the Florida sand, doggie traffic(& occasional accident) the carpet had really had it. We had laminate installed in our living room almost 2 years ago. If you have dogs, you can't beat it. There are so many types and styles to choose from. The only carpet in the house now is in the 2 other bedrooms-one used as my office/sewing room and the other as guest/critter room. Critter meaning my bears and other critters are displayed in there. Eventually, I would like to have laminate in them too. But the dining room, kitchen and foyer are probably next. They all have wood parquet. We would like to tile the foyer & kitchen and laminate the dining room to match the living room. Only as the finances permit!

Check out Zazzle

In case you didn't notice I added a Zazzle panel to the left column. It's a site where you can upload photos and graphics to make products. So far I have just made cards using photos of my critters. If something you list sells you get a percentage of the sale. They have a lot of neat products.
I have also been working the Bid 4 Bears survivor challenge. Trying to list enough items to keep up. Keep an eye on the right column-I will try to make sure it's has some of my current listings.
Now, I have to go finish cleaning the bedroom - we're getting new flooring in there tomorrow-YEAAAA!