Now in my Etsy shop

Toby and Ola, the Chihuahua, have made their way to my etsy shop. The two Halloween kitties, Scare D Cat & Fraid D Cat, have left my etsy shop and are on their way to New Mexico.
Artist Bears are now a subcategory of the new Dolls & Miniatures category on etsy. It's not really what the Artist Bears and Friends Etsy Team was hoping to achieve but it's a start.
I have finished a couple of bears for shows in Feb but don't want to reveal them yet. I will be revealing my Christmas creations next week including 3 critters that appear in the current issue of Teddy Bears and Friends.
In the meantime please visit Toby and Ola or Tessa, who is on Bid 4 Bears this week.

I'm no gardener

My mom had a wonderful green thumb. The home I grew up in didn't have a yard - only paths through the gardens. Often you had to dodge the bees going from flower to flower on your way to the front door. My aunt and grandmother had a way with flowers too. My cousin, who is a pastor, spoke at my mother's funeral. In closing he said, "I know the three of them are tending God's garden."
I did not inherit the green thumb, though. I can't use the excuse that it skips a generation because my grandmother had one. I would rather be sewing!
Bill had mentioned a few times that he would like me to get out of the house more. Do a little work in the garden. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers! I just am not good at gardening. Bill loves to garden, mostly vegetables and fruit. We have picked out flowers together-then he plants them.
Yesterday he thought I should plant the marigolds he had grown from seed in the flower garden in front. I relented and got out some gloves and a little trowel. I was very proud of myself, seeing the little plants in a nice row around the edge. I went in the house to get fill the watering can. When I came out of the house and walked toward the garden a 4-5 ft black snake slithered across my path. AAAAAHHHH!!! That was the end of my gardening.

Another Fur Dying Day

Well I did a little experimenting this time. Trying to get a light peach was a little more difficult than expected. After doing some research, mixing yellow and pink seemed to be the best way to get the color I wanted. Using saved white scraps, I kept adding color, timing how long each piece was in the bath. Then I decided it was too yellow, so after removing several cups of the dye bath I added water back in and some more pink. My results were actually brighter than I originally wanted but I think it will turn out alright. These pieces will be used to make a Panda.


Then it was time for purple! The piece on the right started off as a cream color as opposed to white. It turned out a nice shade of lavender. The other piece was a sparse matted white. I added a little brown to the dye bath because I was trying to achieve a more vintage look. We'll see. Of course the little squares were white wool felt thrown into the dye bath so they match.


I also did a little tea dying to a cotton print to age it a bit. Now it's time to go dye my roots. I still think I'm too young to be gray!

Helpful Husband

I finished this little bear a couple of nights ago. While sitting on the sofa with Bill, I was holding this bear and trying to decide what kind of dress to make for it. Normally the most I get out of Bill is "That's cute." I must have said something out loud about deciding on a dress. Bill took the little bear and said "Dress?" "This is a boy bear."


I looked at the little bear again and said "Your right!". Bill was amazed as he rarely hears that phrase from me. Now I had to figure out what to put on Toby(the name came to me immediately). He needed something more than a ribbon around his neck. So I went digging in the fabric boxes and Toby is now properly dressed.

Halloween Past & Present

I have made several critters(several black cats) for Halloween in the last couple of years. The first is Spooky, who traveled to a new home just before Halloween last year. The next are Scare D. Cat and Fray D. Cat. They are still available in my Etsy shop along with the grave stone.



This year I made Ginger in her cute little fall print dress. She took her pumpkin and traveled to a new home a couple of week ago.



I made Celeste(another black cat) for a Halloween Doll swap. She went to Georgia last week. I received a really cute witch doll yesterday and will post a pic of her later.


Lastly my favorite. This guy helps decorate my home for Halloween. He is sweet and scary at the same time... Frankenweiner...




Happy Halloween!!

Toni the Tiger

Remember the mohair pieces I dyed with orange kool aid back in August. I finally got around to putting the pieces together(sewing them actually). They were sewn together before the end of August but kept getting set aside for other projects. Toni the Tiger is another in my Kitty Kibbles series and comes with her own bowl. I usually put a collar or a ribbon around the neck but I'm not sure Toni needs anything. Tigers generally don't wear collars. She has a needle felted face and hand painted glass eyes. She will be ready for adoption soon and will probably appear on Bid 4 Bears.