Sharing some before and after pics

Hi everyone,I thought I would post the before and after pics of the bears from yesterdays etsy shop update(all the bears have now been adopted and will be off to their new homes tommorow).I wanted to post them last night but things just got so hectic with trying to take pics for the blooming bear preview and getting the bears listed in my shop I just didn't have a chance.So here are the photos showing the before and finished bears.Sometimes I get a bit too involved and don't know when to stop when I am creating a new design.I often find that I need to add extras like the sculpted nose and extra tinting and highlighting to add some realism to the bear which can turn a two day bear into a week or more to complete lol.I also found that working with these tiny bears,the cotter pin joints can be a bit tricky......I needed my reading glasses to be able to see the pins to turn them correctly.Of course I shouldn't complain because I find the larger cotter pins very difficult to turn smoothly and at least the little ones are soft and pliable.Well I hope you enjoy the pics!~~~~~Sharie

*New bears now in my etsy shop*

Wow it has been a busy day~~~~I am totally wiped out but I did manage to get my preview pic off for the blooming bear show(after taking over an hour to decide what pic to send lol!)and I got the new bears ready and in my etsy shop.The new gang consists of a mama bear and her baby,mama Gretta measuring just 6 inches tall and her little one Byron measuring just 5 inches tall.I tried to give them some realistic features and each is dressed in vintage dolly clothes.Next is a sweet panda girl,Lacey also just 5 inches high also wearing a vintage dolly dress.Then there is Nemo,a blue/black one piece panda measuring 5 inches tall.I also wanted to share some pics of the kitty in progress and as you can see she is coming along quite nicely.Some of the teds for this etsy update were pictured below as works in progress.You can probley guess by looking at their before pics.Well thats it for now....off to have some dinner and list the last panda soon.~~~~hugsxxxxSharie

~~Happy Valentines Day!~~New bears tommorow~~

Just popping in to wish everyone a happy Valentines day!No candy for me this year as I am watching what I eat carefully to drop some unwanted pounds and get my cholesterol down to a healthy level.As you can see I didn't complete my deadline today for my etsy shop update which is a bit dissapointing,but I did try like mad to finish but it just didn't happen.I had shopping to do today and have been fighting a nasty head cold that has been hanging on strong.I do have the bears ready for their photos so I will do the photo shoot tommorow along with the preview ted for the blooming bears show~~~~oh the stress lol!So I am off for now to take my cold meds and will have the bears ready tommorow 100% possitively for sure!HugsxxxxxSharie

~~Slight Delay~~Shop update moved to monday~~

I was hoping to have my etsy shop update today,but the bears have so many finishing touches to be added they will not be ready until tommorow.It's always funny how little things like adding ears and stitching openings closed sounds quite simple,but a little set back can happen in a blink of an eye to become behind schedual.I will be busy the rest of the day getting the gang ready for tommorow and will be posting their pics as soon as they are completed.~~~~~sharie

***Busy as a bee**deadlines and new etsy shop update coming soon!**

Hi everyone,I have had a busy week working on the new bears so didn't have much time to post any new pics of their progress.Also what set me into high gear is that I remebered that my preview photo for the teddybears online blooming bear show is due by Tuesday......good heavens I had been working so hard on all the other bears I almost forgot about getting the main bear done so I have been on overdrive trying to get teddy ready for picture day.I can't say much about the bear for the show because we all have to keep it a secret until the preview day.I can tell you I am proud of him so far and I think you will love his look.Another thing I have been working on is to get some of the new designs finished and listed in my etsy shop by Sunday(fingers crossed!)I will have at least 3 in the shop and maybe if time allows the tiny kitty that was in progress pictured below.Kitty has had quite a transformation since you last seen her and I think you will be supprised at her finished appearance.So thats it for now but I will hopefully post on sunday with pics of the bears in my etsy shop update~~~~~Sharie

*Pics of new antique style bear designs in progress*

Hi everyone!I finally found time to take some pics of my new teddy designs in progress.They are all antique style and will be fully jointed.I have added lots of photos to try to show their size and their sweet antique look.To give an idea of sizes,the white teddy mearsures just 5.5"tall and the tiny kitty is a tad under 4.5".The blonde bear is 6.5 as is the fluffy beige tan ted.I am really pleased with this design so far and plan to make many more in this style.I will be working hard through the weekend in hopes of having a pair listed on ebay and some in my etsy shop next week.I hope you like this new design as much as I do!Hugs~~~~sharie

Kenosha blizzard was horrible!

In my last post I was talking about the blizzard warning issued for or area but I would have never guessed how big it would be!Wow,it was a monster storm that shut Kenosha down for two days.It also hit other southern parts of Wisconsin hard and as many of you might have seen on tv,Chicago was like a nightmare.To make this event even more stressful I was home alone during the entire blizzard!My husband works for a towing company so he had his first call early(then working straight for over 30 hours!).....of all things a snow plow and my son ventured into town earlier in the day and could not make it back home so it was up to me to hold down the fort.I can't even describe the force of snow driven by winds of nearly 60 miles per hour.....it just takes your breath away trying to breathe air in instead of snow.The roads here were completely impassable an the national guard came in to help rescue the stranded people stalled on the roadways.Now being alone was bad enough but around 1:10 am my cable went out meaning no tv,phone or computer and I am still a bit old fashioned and do not have a cell phone.I just kept telling myself nothing bad will happen here but if it does I'll just run outside and yell as loud as possible for help if needed.Isn't it something how your brain plays games with you during stressfull times picturing every bad thing that could possibly happen?I was up alomost all night and starting the shoveling around 4:00 am and all through the day to keep entrances open.I had a small radio and a weather ban radio to try to get an idea of what was happening with the storm.My son finally made it back home the day after the storm late in the afternoon and my husband around 6:00 pm.I was so glad to have company again and a tv that kicked back in around 5:00pm.I have posted some pics from around the Kenosha area and put on a youtube link for videos on my sidebar(if it works!)

**A blizzard and new bears in the making**

Hi everyone,I hope you are all doing well during this awefull winter weather so many of us are experiencing.The good news I wanted to share with you is that I have 9 new bears in the making.....all brand new designs that I am totally thrilled with,but the bad news is we are having a blizzard here in southern Wisconsin so I don't dare list anything in my etsy shop because I think I'll be stuck inside for awhile.I started on my new bear designs before my brother became seriously ill.I was on a bear designing high(so to speak lol)but put everything on hold after the bad news.What makes me so pleased with these designs are that the bears are mainly minis,4.5" 5.5" and 6.5" and fully five way jointed and look like perfect little antique bears!I have been trying for ages to get this style of bear to my liking and believe I finally achieved the look I was after.Maybe tommorow I can post some pics of them.I might even try to finish a couple and list them on ebay this week.I also wanted to thank those who were so kind to comment such kind words after losing my brother.I appreciate it so very much,your all so kind!I also discovered my brother knew his condition was very bad and he did not want us all to worry about him and insist he go through any more treatments.I can certainly understand his decision and can feel more at ease that he had one last good year before he left us.So thats it for now and the weather is really getting bad but I will be back to share some pics of the new designs as soon as I can!~~~~~~sharie