Dogs & Cat

Whew! It's been a long time since I have posted. I was busy making some cats and dogs to send to The Bear Scout. Felicia Hymer is the Bear Scout. She takes Teddy bears and other critters to shows and shops made by artists from all over the world. Recently I went to the big doll and bear show, IDEX, in Orlando. I had the pleasure of meeting Felicia there and showed her some photos of my work. So a box of 11 dogs and cats are now in St Louis, ready for the Brightstar show on Sunday the 19th. I will post more pictures on my facebook page this weekend.

Mean while, these two Teddies are on sale in my etsy shop. There were 4 on sale but Dodi and Russell have already been adopted.

Valentine Special and Nancy's Notions

Baby seat cover finished and on it's way. Soon I will get back to bear making....several shows coming up. Valerie and Tino have been listed on Bear Pile for a special price.

Today was spent photographing and listing yard sale finds in my Nancy's Notions etsy shop. Some vintage crochet books(I wish I had learned to crochet) and some vintage brass drawer handles.

I also spent some time researching this garage sale find. The marking on the bottom reads Rosenthal Group Germany Classic Rose. But the flowers are hand painted and signed so it wasn't a reproduced pattern. How does that effect the value. It is in very good shape with only some of the gold edging worn off. Back to researching....

Etsy Shop Sale

The "critter room" is getting crowded. If all the ideas in my head get finished I'm afraid there will be a population explosion! So, hopefully, to help some creations move on to new homes I have reduced prices on several Teddy Bears in my etsy shop. It isn't too early to start Christmas shopping.
I went to the library this morning and checked out 2 books. One is the latest JD Robb(Nora Roberts). I have read all in her "In Death" series about a woman police detective in the future(2060). Not sure when I will find the time to read it but once I get into it I'm sure I won't be able to put it down. The other book I checked out is about basic crocheting. My mom crocheted a lot and because she would make something for me if I asked I never learned to do it myself. Now I want some little dresses and maybe hats for bears and dolls. Hopefully I can learn enough of the basics to make a few simple things.

Spring is coming down under..

The deadline for the Spring Challenge at TBACA is almost here. That's right Spring is arriving in the southern hemisphere. My entry, Flora, was finished a couple of months back, while it was still Spring here. You can see all the entries here. They are available for purchase.
I listed some fur in my Nancy's Notions etsy shop. There are some great prices on all.
I am thinking of having a 200th post giveaway. Less than 10 posts to get there so I will probably decide next week. I just love to get comments...let me know what you think!

New Etsy Shop

Nancy's Notions and Things is now open on etsy. It was time to move out some accumulated supplies. Many things were purchased almost 20 years ago. I hung onto them, thinking they might come in handy some day. They traveled with me from Virginia, to North Carolina and finally to Florida. Since I haven't used them in all this time I thought someone else might need them.
So far, there are novelty buttons, safety eyes, dog noses, and cat noses. I spend this morning doing a little reorganizing of my supplies and now have more things to list in the shop. So, if you want to add some of my overstock to yours check it out.

My First Blythe

I took the plunge and purchased a Blythe doll from ebay. I feel guilty about spending the money but I wanted to join in the fun. She is actually bigger than I expected. She has a big head but that is what makes her so cool. There are thousands of photos on flickr of Blythe dolls. Many are customized(not sure I could do that) and all are wearing really neat clothes. I have made her one dress and have material for several more. I need to get her some shoes and socks(I might try to make some socks), probably from ebay or etsy. Lots of cute handmade clothes on etsy.
She needs a name. Because of my Irish heritage, I am thinking Riley or Shannon. Maybe Shannon Riley but I think I am leaning toward Riley.
Well, enough playing for today....back to work.

Merry & Chris Meese

These two are Santa's littlest helpers. They are already busy decorating their little tree. What would Santa do without them?
Last year they helped at my house. They could help at yours this year. Merry and Chris are available in my etsy shop.

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.

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.

Bernadette Buttons gets a face lift.

I finished Bernadette over a month ago but I was never happy with her face. I felt like her nose was too big and her eyes too far apart. So she got a face lift, which actually consisted of a whole new head! Don't you wish you could do that sometimes? Get a whole head transplant? Maybe you know somebody else that could really use one.
I'm glad I worked on her because I am much happier with her face now. I haven't decided if I am going to put her on Bid4bears, on my website, or in my etsy shop. Maybe all three! I did add a new page to my site with some new bears for sale. One of them is Sally by the Seashore pictured in my summer header. You can get there from here

Pixie the Puglet & Oscar the Dachshund

I had meant to post several days ago but there have just been too many things going on. We closed on the new business on Wednesday April 30. We are now official. There are still things to do and I have a long list for tomorrow.
Maisy, the little bear in my header, is on her way to Australia. I sold her through my etsy shop. I finished 2 more little dogs and haven't decided if I'm going to put them in my etsy or try to auction them on Bid 4 Bears. The Artist Power campaign on Bid 4 Bears is winding down but I did very well. I'm hoping it continues to be a good auction venue.
I guess I'll decide this week where Pixie and Oscar will make an appearance.

Greta the Schnauzer

Just a quick post. Yesterday I added Greta the Schnauzer to my Etsy shop. She is a sweet little puppy and comes with her own bed.
I finally purchased a pair of spring action Fiskars today. Now I can cut out the critters I have drawn out on fabric without sending that nerve zing through my thumb. I have also contacted another Teddy Bear artist about purchasing one of her ultimate stuffing tools. I have been using hemostats for years and I'm pretty handy with them but they bother my thumb too. It's going to take me a little while to learn to stuff with the new tool. I guess I will still use the hemostats for turning unless I find something better.

Luli the Panda in my Etsy shop

Little Luli is just 7" tall. Her pretty turquoise color came from dying with Berry Blue Kool-aid. I like dying with Kool-aid because you get such vivid colors. I found the little "take-out" purse box first and thought it would go well with a little Panda. Please visit Luli and the other critters in my Etsy shop.

I also wanted to mention how excited I am that Hopalong and the Chick Roundup won it's catagory in the Softie Easter Parade. There were a lot of great entries and Lisa did a wonderful job of putting the parade together. Check out the new blog Plush Parade for more great softies.

Japanese Fabric

I spent a good hour today looking at Japanese cotton prints on etsy. I just put Japanese fabric in the search box and all these wonderfully cute little prints come up. There were owls, bears, pigs, flowers and even mushrooms. You can get fat quarters or more of most fabrics. Mixed in with the fabrics were neat things made with Japanese prints that you can get from various etsy shops. There were hair clips, little bags and doll clothes. I ended up get a fat quarter of a prints with little panda faces. I'm thinking about the prints in the pic. They are from an etsy shop called fabricstash. Etsy definately has a better selection than my local fabric store. Actually the closest fabric store is 40 miles away. Think what I saved in gas!

I've opened and Etsy shop

Ebay just doesn't seem to be working for me right now. I know a few well known artists who are doing well on ebay. Although I feel that I am putting unique and well made critters up for auction, they are just not getting noticed.

Etsy is a website for selling hand made items. The fees are reasonable and the presentation is good. The search pages seem to load kinda slow but that might be because of all the great pics.

I have spent several hours today taking and editing photos. I wish I was better at it. If I get the lighting right - I'm not happy with the pose. If the pose is good - the lighting is off. I take dozens to get a couple of decent ones.

This is Tinker -a Dog Patch Puppy, who will be listed in my Etsy shop sometime tonight.

http://dogpatchcritters.etsy.com