In Limbo

We were supposed to close on the house we are trying to buy June 30....still waiting. I don't think we have ever had a real estate closing go through without a hitch. This one is no different. These days closings are more complicated than ever. So we just wait. I have been trying to keep busy and finished a bear this week. Now I am trying to make her a toy bunny to hold. I want it to look well loved and floppy...kinda worn. This might take more than one try. I am 3/4 of the way finished and not happy with it so far.
My mind starts to wander toward Christmas about this time of year. There are a couple of ideas for Christmas critters floating around in there.
Bill and I went to the beach today for a little down time. The local beaches are beautiful and we hope they stay that way. The east coast of Florida isn't in danger...yet.
Well, you can tell what kind of a state I'm in.....non-cohesive rambling. Maybe next week I will be thinking straighter.
The photo is of Lexi in her favorite napping spot. I'll have to make sure I find a good spot for that table in the new house.

New Critters & News

Now our home purchase is up in the air. If it goes through the closing is again supposed to happen June 30th. So to keep myself busy and not fretting and wringing my hands, I finished a Teddy and a Puppy Grrl. Jenny is the bear. She is ready for some summertime fun with her jump rope. She is available on Bear Pile. Betsy is the latest Puppy Grrl...just in time for the 4th of July. All of the other Puppy Grrls have doggie print dresses but Betsy, the all American Boston Terrier, was begging for red, white, and blue. I hope to get her listed on Bear Pile in a day or two.
My other news....Rebecca has been nominated for an ABC(Australian Bear Creations) award. ABC is a beautiful Teddy Bear magazine published in Australia. I was very pleasantly surprised to see my name on the list of nominees.

Now I will go back to twiddling my thumbs, waiting to here about the house.

Happy 4th of July!

I know it's a little early, but I have a lot going on between now and then. We close on the new house June 30th. Anybody that has ever had a real estate closing knows these things never go smoothly. Something always comes up at the last minute. I am trying to get it all lined up so that won't happen but the odds are probably against me. Even after closing there will be a ton of stuff to do before we can move in. The roof will be replaced right away. A 26 ft above ground pool has to be taken down and removed. It just takes up too much of the backyard and Bill wants to plant a vegetable garden. Wallpaper needs to be removed(and there is a lot of it). Then the walls need to be painted in almost every room. Since we can afford to put in new floors right away, and the carpet is yucky, we are thinking of pulling the carpet up and painting the concrete floors. Concrete floors are not that unusual here in Florida. They can look really nice and there are many colors to choose from.
Then there is the packing and actual moving. Also selling off or donating what will not be going with us. So if you don't here from me for awhile ...you'll know what I'm up to..

Visit the Fantasy Ball

It has finally arrived!! Gerome the Gnome and Sadra the Sea Sprite are available. Chester was adopted immediately upon the show opening. He was the most fun to make. I dyed the fur for his body with fushia and purple dye, making stripes. His toothy smile is needle felted.
There are a lot of wonderful creations at the ball. Make sure you click on "Day One" to vote for the People's Photographic Choice Award category in the ACDA awards. Then "Day Two" will take you to the artists. You click on an artist's photo to see their creations. I really loved this theme but am already mulling over ideas for next years theme, Beatrix Potter.
You can get to the ball by clicking here

Fantasy Ball

It's finally here!! The ball starts May 30 at 6 PM US eastern time. It will last through June 6th. Fantasy critters started running around in my head months ago. Photos of the finished critters were submitted for the ball by May 1st. I will have 3 critters and Whisper the Wood Nymph available. I submitted Whisper for the TACDA awards and although she wasn't nominated, I am proud of her.
There will be a lot of amazing creations at the ball from very talented artists. There will also be voting on the nominees.
There is a sneek peek photo of my 3 creations and a photo of Whisper above. Check back on Sunday for full photos.
To visit the Fantasy Ball click here

2010 Golden Teddy Nominee

I am doing the happy dance!!! Yesterday afternoon I received word that "Misty Lou" has been nominated for a Golden Teddy Award. I am beyond over the moon. This is my first nomination ever. I had all but given up. There are some wonderful nominees in all the categories and some stiff competition in Misty Lou's category. But as they say "I'm thrilled just to be nominated." Photos of all the nominees in each category will be published in the August issue of Teddy Bear Review. Then the public votes. The awards will be given out at the Doll & Bear Expo in Winston-Salem, NC in October. I probably won't be attending.
Right now....I'm on top of the world!

Decorating help

I can now elaborate on the reason I haven't been sewing much lately. We have been house hunting...looking for a smaller home that will fit our current budget. Finally after several months of looking we made an offer and it was accepted. Closing is the end of next month. The house needs a little work and most of it can be done after moving in as we get the funds. We would like to eventually replace carpet with laminate and kitchen needs a makeover. Some painting will be done before moving in. The master bedroom is currently lavender, a definite no no(especially as far as Bill is concerned). I'm thinking a sandy beige. The room I'm not sure about is the family room. It is currently red. There is a beautiful stone fireplace and we think the red walls take away from it. I was thinking a chocolate brown but Bill wants a little lighter like maybe mocha brown. Not sure what to do with the windows on either side of the fireplace. The previous owner had half of a priscilla curtain on each....not really my taste. I have a nice valence on the front window in my home now and might see how they look. It would save some expense and we would like to do that as much as possible

Each pointed piece is a separate piece so I can divide them between two window. Just not sure if they will look right. I will have a bay window in the living room in the front of the house I will have to figure out too.Don't know yet if the brown blinds are going...haven't measured the windows in the new house yet. Down sizing means each of the bedrooms will only have 1 window instead of the 2 in each in our current home.
This will mean a big change for Lexi and Lucy too. Currently they have a doggie dog that fits in the sliding door. The new house has french doors, which means they will have to ask to go out, something they haven't had to do for 5 years.


As you can see the wallpaper is coming down. Don't like wallpaper anyway but I have never had to take it down before, hopefully it won't be too difficult.
Well, we are looking at this move as another adventure...after all isn't that what life is...one adventure after another.