American Girl Dolls

I was in Atlanta a couple of weekends ago with some friends to do a little shopping. This time we decided to stay in Alpharetta just about 20min NW of Atlanta. There was an American Girl store in the mall, so I went in a took some pictures. I knew my daughter would love to see them. The displays are really fun with lots of little details. The store was so crowded you could hardly see anything. We saw little girls everywhere we went carrying their dolls around. They even have a little cafe where you can go eat with your doll. I thought it would be fun to share some of my photos....

Fun New Christmas Pieces...

Whewww....man am I tired! :) Well, I've been working hard here in my cozy little studio the past few days. I have a darling new Christmas bear listed on Ebay and 2 new really fun mixed media pieces on Etsy.

I love the way everything turned out....it's all so whimsical and antique looking. It reminds me of all the fun I used to have at Christmas as a kid. I love the imagination that the idea of Christmas brings out. The colors, the images and how happy it makes you feel.

Anyway, if you have the time, stop by for a peek...

new Shabby chic Victorian bear on ebay

I have a new Shabby chic Primitive bear listed right now on ebay...Her name is Miss Francis, she is so darling. Miss Francis is wearing a dress made from antique ticking material, which probably dates from the early 1900's. She is also wearing a vintage child's sweater. I just love how antique she looks!

Benjamin Bear on Ebay

I have a new primitive style bear listed on ebay right now... He's from my new pattern and is just darling. He wears a jumper made from antique ticking material and comes with his prim stocking and ornament.

If you'd like to see more, just stop by my ebay auction, closes Sun evening Nov 22st.
Sorry Benjamin has been adopted :)

Photoshop FUN!!!

I've been playing with photoshop the past couple of days, trying to learn some new things. I love creating banners for my work... it's like making a piece of art. I love going through all of my clip art and coming up with fun ideas & putting it all together. Here is a new banner I came up with, I thought it was really cute and fun. Now I'm off to work on some new ideas and hopefully learn some new creative techniques!

McCollum Christmas Bear

I have a new Christmas bear listed in my etsy store right now. He was inspired by a house a friend of mine recently purchased, he's named it "The McCollum Farm" after the original owners. The original part of the house dates from the
1850's and is in desperate need of repair. It sits on 5 gorgeous wooded acres of land. The property consists of the house, 3 original buildings, plus a barn. The house has great bones and is going to so awesome when it is finished. My new little bear Alexander was inspired by this house. There were lots of fun old objects left behind. Some of those objects were old boots, perfect for an antique primitive bear. Little Alex is named after one of the past McCollum family members. If you would like to see more, just stop by my etsy store.

Blog Award!

I was very honored to receive a blog award from Lena Smaga of Lost Bears
http://lenasmaga.blogspot.com/

I have to say I can't take all the credit...I have to give a lot of it to Jan over at Big Brown Dog graphics for designing my blog....I just fill in the blanks with my bears, art and other things I find interesting.

If you have the chance stop over and check out Lena's blog...she makes darling antique style bears!

new Girlie Victorian Bear on ebay....

I have a new bear listed tonight on ebay...she is a sweet Victorian bear that I custom dyed a nice pink color. She wears a vintage doll's dress and hat. She would be darling with antique toys and dolls...

Auction ends Tuesday evening, Nov 10th.....sorry I've been adopted :)

Just a Note....

My TDIPT mercantile update will happen as scheduled between 9-10pm est...I will be away from my computer until late tonight or early tomorrow. I will email back as soon as possible with any questions or purchases. I take emails in the order they are received....
Thanks so much for looking and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Come see what's going on this Weekend

Here are just a few things that are coming up this weekend....First off the TDIPT mercantile updates this Sunday November 1st!!! I can't believe it is almost November...October went by way to fast. We have lots of excitement for you this month on the mercantile....we are having our Christmas Open House. That means if you stop by our blog and leave a comment OR you purchase something from an artist on the mercantile, you are registered to win a prize. Several of the very talented artists in our group have generously made something to be given away. You DON'T want to miss out on this opportunity to win!!!




Below is a peek at the prize I donated for the give away.



My next announcement is for anyone living in the Massachusetts area...Marie from Basically Bears will be doing a show this coming weekend. So if you love Teddy Bears, stop by and check it out.

Country Plus will be at the Folk Art Festival of New England

Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center

Marlborough, Mass.

Friday, October 30th 5PM ~ 9PM

Saturday, October 31st 10AM ~ 5PM

Sunday, November 1st 11AM ~ 4PM

So all you bear collectors…..Basically Bears as part of the gang of Country Plus’ skilled artisans will be bringing lots of wonderful artist bears…..

Stop by our booth and meet the gang…Judy, Nancy, Lynn, Karen and of course me….Marie….I’ll be working a little on Saturday morning, but all day on Sunday……

Save the date! We hope to see you there!

Lots of New Arrivals....Watch for the Web Update

See my profile on EAL online Homepage

My profile is on the home page of Early American Life magazine right now. They rotate artists who have been selected for the directory. It will probably only be up for a day, so head over and check it out!

http://www.ealonline.com/

New on Ebay, Oct 18th

New on ebay tonight is a darling new bear....he is really old and primitive looking. He is one of my large bears measuring 18" tall. I altered my pattern some also. This guy has a longer snout and slightly shorter legs. His face is just so cute! He would look fabulous with antiques and primitives. He would also be darling for Christmas in his suit made from a red ticking fabric. I can see him under the tree surrounded by antique dolls and toys.

Auction ends Friday Oct 23nd.

Halloween Fun!!!

I love Halloween! It's one of my favorite holidays. I also love to decorate for Halloween. Pumpkins, witches, owls, & black cats are all such cool images. One of my wonderful customers also loves Halloween. She's been telling me about her ideas for decorating this year. I asked her to send me photos as soon as she got everything put up. WOW! It's so cool and fun. She has a fun display of Hallmark singing pieces, my kids would absolutely love that! Then she decided to make a circle of witches. With the help of several of my witch bears, she set up this awesome display. There's a cauldron surrounded by witches with spiders, cobwebs and black cats. There is a little witch on a shelf and then another display with a couple of Hallmark Hauntington town houses. She also has several of my Halloween mixed media pieces displayed with her vignettes. Thanks Julie for sharing, I hope everyone enjoys seeing her fun displays.

New on TDIPT mercantile

The mercantile is all new for Oct 1st...stop by and see my Warlock Halloween cupboard hangers. These are the only 2 I've made for Halloween so far this year, so they are quite rare. I don't know that I will have the time to make any more. Stop by and check them out before they are gone.....just click on the button to the left of the page.

A Fair Winner!!!

I posted pictures a few weeks ago that my 7 year old was going to enter at the fair this year. This was her first time entering an art competition and she was really excited. We were so proud of her...she entered 3 photographs in the 18 year old and under category. She won 3rd place for a photo she took of her little sister. She also entered a painting and won 4th place for that! She got $5.00 for placing
3rd in photography. I thought that was super!

Here they are....

the finished bears for the Chicagoland show coming up in October. I mailed them off last week to Marie at Basically Bears. I just hope they arrive safely and on time! I'm really please with they way they turned out. They photographed so cute all together. Now I'm busy working on another order, my pieces for the mercantile update and a new bear for either Ebay or Etsy.

Just a reminder... the TDIPT mercantile update will be this Wednesday evening Sept 30th between 9-10pm est.

Chicagoland Bears

Ahhhh...well they are sewn and stuffed, half the work is done. I've been working on this group of bears for Marie of Basically Bears. They will be off in a few days and will make their way in October to the Chicagoland Teddy Bear show. They still need their finishing antique touches. Right now I am trying to decided how they will be dressed and what colors to use. They need to look cute displayed together. They will be totally finished in just another day or two. I will let you know then how each bear turned out....

There's still lots of work to be done on these guys. Who will be girls and who will be boys. Their faces always tell me. Sewing and stuffing is only part of the work. Making them look like they came out of the attic of an old Victorian house takes more time. They need to be antiqued, so they look like well loved little bears.

Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed when I have several bears to finish. They all need to look cute displayed together, so I try to have a game plan. Laying out fabrics helps me focus on color and design. I might not use any of the fabrics I have picked out, but I might land on a certain color or get an idea for a theme. Today I ended up gravitating towards reds and pinks. Those particular colors really pop out against the brown tones of the bears. They can also be seen from a distance. If your bears are going to be at a show, you want them to stand out as much as possible.

What have I been doing????

I've been busy working the past couple of weeks. I usually try to keep new things listed either on Ebay or in my Etsy store. I've been so busy with orders, that I just haven't had a chance to make anything new for either site. I thought I would just show some of the new bears I've made for customers.

The pink bear is named "Juliette". She is a darling pink bear. She's wearing a blue swiss polka dot dress that I made for her. I love the deep pink color of her mohair. She's off to a lovely new home soon.

The next 2 bears are really fun Halloween Witches. The first one is named "Myra the Magical". She is made from mohair that I custom dyed a nice old grey green. The next one is Esmerelda. She is made from a deep Emerald green mohair and she has a black torso. They are flying off in a few days to a really fun home filled with other Halloween bears.

I'm also working on several bears to send to Marie of Basically Bears for the Chicagoland Toy show coming up in October. I need to have those finished in less than 2 weeks!!! I need to get busy. :)

I have some other orders to complete after that, but I'm hoping to work in some new bears for either Etsy or Ebay. I'll keep you posted.

Fall Swap TDIPT

The group of ladies who are members of To Dwell in Primitive Thymes (TDIPT) have a swap every few months. It's totally optional, but always lots of fun. It's a great way to get fabulous new pieces of art for your collection with out having to spend a lot a money. It's also a really nice way to get to know everyone. My swap partner for the Fall swap was Mare of Oak Hollow Primitives. She makes gorgeous Izannah Walker dolls and Victorian/Early American style Santas. I was so privileged to receive one of her beautiful dolls, plus some other fun goodies!!!

Mohair

Ever wonder where the mohair comes from that all those lovely bears you see are made from???
This is your guy or gal or Angora goat...all that might one day become a wonderful old teddy bear...it is shorn from the goat and does not harm it.

Shearing is done twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. One goat will produce 11 to 17 pounds of mohair a year. Shearing is done on a clean swept floor with extra care taken to keep the hair clean and free of debris. The hair is then processed to remove natural grease, dirt and vegetable matter. Mohair grows in uniform locks. Angora is a single-coat breed, and unlike Pygora or Cashmere, there is no need to dehair a mohair fleece to separate the coarse hair from the down hair. (taken from Yahoo! answers)

Our Biltmore Trip

We went to Biltmore in Ashville, NC a couple of weekends ago. We go there a lot since we're only an hour and a half a way. I took a bunch of photos out in the patio garden. It was gorgeous and has the most beautiful views. I love all of the statues. That was the focus of my photos that day.

We also spent a lot of time down at the petting area and herb & vegetable garden. This section is fairly new. It's only been there for a couple of years. The kids absolutely love it. They tire of the house pretty quickly, so that is what they look forward to. If you've never been, it's down next to the winery. They are also building more shops and display space in that area. The Biltmore Inn is also right up the hill.

I have a lot more photos post on my BradyBears@home blog, if you would like to see them.

Fall 2009 issue of Teddy Bear & Friends

I'm really excited to have my bear included in the new Fall issue of Teddy Bear and Friends. It's a fabulous photo of my Halloween bear named BOO! He's pictured on page 51 in the "Bears to Fall For" article. I really appreciate having my work included in this months issue. :)

I thought I would add some more pics of my recent Halloween bears. I love to take family photos. Halloween Harry and his mouse friend Walter are for sale right now on the TDIPT website....Magical Matilda Witch made her first appearance Monday night, but was quickly snatched up by a wonderful customer. Matilda will miss Harry, but will be off soon to her new home filled with other Magical Halloween bear witches. Harry and Walter are still searching for a perfect home...stop by to see them on the TDIPT mercantile....