Flutter And Flowers

Bears and painting!  Website update soon!

Hugs, K.

~*~Jinan~*~

I know I haven't been posting much this week, but I have been crazy busy again.  I did want to do a panda in honor of Chinese New Year.  I am a little late, but better late than never!  So please meet Jinan. 

She is available on my website at http://www.blondheart.com/

I should have a new piece for you again in a week or two.  I will be getting ready for the Teddies Worldwide show in March, and I have a couple orders.  Never fear I won't neglect you though!

R will be going out of town for the next couple weeks and while I will miss him desperately, it will give me lots of extra time to work!  I am also going to make a bigger version of this new pattern.  So stay tuned!

~*~ Sugar Plum ~*~

I have to say, I was beginning to think I was never going to get this bear done!  I have been working on her for DAYS!  She was in the works even before the last two were finished.  I hand dyed her mohair a dusty plum, I did the polka dots on her legs...I made her SHOES! There was so much gathering on her tu tu...she wore me right out.  But I think she was worth the effort.  By all rights, I should charge five hundred dollars for this bear!  Of course I am not going to...

So meet Sugar Plum!  She is available on my website at http://www.blondheart.com/  for much less than five hundred dollars!  *giggles*

Now I am going to go collapse in the chair and watch a movie!

Hugs, K. <3

~*~ Cupcake ~*~

I have been playing with my pattern again, and I have come up with a slightly different proportioned bear.  Not to worry, there will be the regular ones still as well...but I wanted to do something a little more chibi style.  It's something I have wanted to do for ages, and I am finally getting around to it.  I have to work up to it slowly though, since my brain has done traditional for so long.  Miss Cupcake is the first step in that direction, and has a little bigger head and shorter body than bears in the past.  She still comes in at a hair under 7 inches, so she is the same size as the others.

I also hand made her collar and flower on her bow from German wool felt.  I was inspired by a vintage pair of felt baby shoes I bought ages ago.  Naturally winter white wool gets a bit stained and moth eaten over the years, so I have done my best to recreate that feel.  I am really happy with how she turned out..if you ask me she is a confection!  (Ok that was kind of a bad pun!)  At any rate...you can visit Cupcake on the bears page of my website at http://www.blondheart.com/

Edit:  Cupcake has been adopted.  I want to thank everyone for their inquiries from Bearpile about her.  I was surprised how many people were interested in her!  I had quite a few requests for her when I got up.  I guess I will continue on with this style of bear!

In other news...I will try very hard to get to the Q & A tomorrow, you have waited so patiently while I have been cleaning/entertaining/working/going for follow up visits to the doctors, and I appreciate it.

As for my follow up...now he seems to think that I have arthritis in my knee and a ganglion cyst under the knee cap.  But my question was...why didn't any of that make it hurt before I fell?  He didn't have an answer but offered to give me a shot behind my knee cap.  He said I would feel much better if he did, I said probably but that he wouldn't.  So I respectfully declined the shot.  I have gotten better over the years with needles, but not that good.  To have a shot behind my knee cap I am pretty sure I would have to be sedated.

I also had my bi-annual checkup today with my regular doctor.  I have to go in twice a year so I can get a blood test to check my thyroid and my kidney function, so while I was there we discussed my knee problem and he is going to request my x-rays and MRI results and review them himself.  I like that idea, because the other guy keeps changing his mind.  I trust my regular doctor so much more, so we will see what he has to say about it.

The other bear and the snowman should be along shortly!

Hugs, K. <3

~*~ Ghostly ~*~

I have made my first Halloween inspired piece...but I am easing into it slowly.  It's still summer and it's hard to think of Halloween just yet.  So Ghostly has been made to look like a long lost loved one in an old sepia toned photograph.

I have one more bear in the works and then more Halloween pieces will be coming!

Until then...I hope you had a lovely day!

Hugs, K. <3

~*~ Flora Bunda ~*~

For such a usually chatty girl, I can't believe it's been nearly three weeks since my last post.  There really hasn't been a lot to tell...but I am in the process of getting ready for Kansas City next month.  Flora Bunda is my latest creation. 

I am also happy to report that my brother, Aunt and friend are all doing well.  My toes are on the mend, and I have been weeding the garden.  I am not sure you could call it weeding considering how tall and dense the weeds were...I think it was closer to de-forestation.  My battle with the snakes has been continuing, but I am sure with the onset of Autumn we will see less and less of them.  I am not ready for Summer to be over just yet, but it's time to think about Halloween pieces.

I have one in the works and you should be seeing her soon!

Hugs, K. <3

~*~ Good Time Charlie ~*~

Cause sometimes only a classic bear will do!  Charlie is brand new, and he is available on the Bears Page Of My Website.

I'm Still Alive

If I go for more than a few days without making a post or answering e-mail, people start inquiring as to my health and well being.  I really appreciate your care and concern, but other than another stupid mistake I am fine and there is no need to worry. 

This was a different kind of mistake though.  I am just so accident prone sometimes.  I always have been.  It seems as if it's one little cruddy thing after another.  Saturday I was going along pretty good.  I got up early, cleaned the kitchen and worked outside getting the garden ready...then I came in to sort laundry.  When I was sorting I was throwing stuff for the first load into the washing machine when the double doors snapped back closed rather quickly and caught the back of my hand in between where the doors hinge in the middle.  I felt a searing pain in my hand.  When I looked at it, at first it didn't look so bad.   It just looked like a large blood blister about an inch long, there was a cut on one side that was very neat, as if it had been made with a fillet knife.  But it wasn't bleeding.  It hurt a great deal more than it looked like it should have.  In fact it hurt so much I started to hyper ventilate.  It was weird, I have never done that before and I have certainly done worse things to myself.  Then I felt a little dizzy.

R came running downstairs to see what was going on.  He told me to sit down for a minute.  I decided to respond to an e-mail while I was sitting there and that's when blood just started pouring out of it.  Apparently I had sliced open the vein length wise that runs across that first knuckle.  I bandaged it up, but every time I moved my hand for the first couple days it broke open again.  It was quite the mess and I wasn't able to do much.  It's still bandaged, but it's finally doing better and I am going to live.  XD

Aside from that I have been feeling a combination of introspective about work and a bit reclusive.  Basically I haven't felt much like talking.  Sometimes it's like that when I get stuck inside my own head.  I am trying to get back out.  I just have to work out a few things for myself.  Having to cancel the show threw me off a little.  Plus I feel like I am on the verge of an idea, but it's just a whisper in my brain and I can't quite make it out yet.

Then R was sent to Fresno *shudders* rather unexpectedly last night to sort out things on a job that isn't going very well, and the weather is like a Fall day today.  It's cold, rainy and windyyyyyyyy!  I just want to curl up in the chair with my quilt and a good book.

Now if you're curious about the picture...well...I didn't think you wanted to see my hand because...ew!  So instead I am giving you a sneak peek of the weird idea I had before Christmas.  It's not done yet...but soon!  (And no, I am not making an inside out bear!)  However there are two new bears in the works, and with some luck and lack of accidents I might even have them done for you soon!

Have a lovely day!  K. <3

Stupid Mistakes

I think we have all been there.  That moment that hits you when you realize you did something stupid.  If you're lucky you can fix it.  But sometimes you can't. 

I had one of those moments yesterday.  I realized I had made a mistake.  I have no one to blame other than myself, so I accept full responsibility for it.  I realized it too late and there isn't enough time to fix it.  So for the very first time ever, I had to cancel a show.  I will not be in Philly next week.  It cost me more ways than one.  I had to cancel my flight which of course you take a very large penalty for, and I feel as if I let everyone who was expecting me to be there down.  I can't apologize enough to those of you who had said you were going to come to the show to see me, and also to my friends who were doing the show as well.

I am just sick about it.  All that work, all that stress, all those nights of not sleeping properly and days of not eating right.  Running myself ragged to get ready...and now I won't be going.  Sigh~

However, Sidhe is now available on my website.  If you would like to visit her, you can do that at http://www.blondheart.com/

~*~ One Eyed Jax ~*~

The rumor is that Jax once belonged to a sea captain. He had a great many adventures until that fateful day when they hit a storm so violent that not even the most accomplished sailor could sail through it unscathed. All hands were lost, save one...Jax miraculously washed ashore but he lost an eye in the process. Only Jax himself knows if it's actually true. If you ask him about it all he does is smile mysteriously.

I have noticed more and more artists are making distressed bears lately.  I love distressed bears and I am happy to see there is an upsurge in popularity.  However it pushes me to go that extra mile...or inch in this case.  He is super distressed, and I sat plucking him for three and a half hours.  My hand looked like a claw last night!

A long time ago I was setting a pair of eyes and one broke.  I finally got to the end of the bag and had that one extra eye left...so I was inspired by it.  The result is Jax.  He is the first bear I have ever made with a button eye, but I like it.  He has a sweet demeanor despite it.

You can visit Jax on my website at http://www.blondheart.com/

(Edit: Jax has been adopted and will be heading to the South of France very soon!)

~*~ Happy O'Day ~*~

Happy is just strollin along singing a song in his heart.  He is one happy little bear!  But how could be anything else in his jaunty scarf and strawberry color! You can visit him on the Bears Page Of My Website

We hope you have a happy day too!

~*~ Junie Moon ~*~

At last you can see one of the brand new 7 inch bears!  This is Junie Moon, isn't she a cutie pie. 

Also as I told you earlier in the year I would be doing some blog offerings, so my blog and facebook readers get the first chance.  She is completely hand stitched, has black glass eyes and her jumper has lace and velvet trim and carved mother of pearl buttons.  She is 175.00 and that includes shipping.  To adopt Junie just send me an e-mail and include your paypal e-mail address so I can send an invoice.  She is a one of a kind, so it's first come first serve!

Junie has been added to my website, you can purchase her there.  Thank you!

Hugs, K. <3

Ta Da! New Bear

I can finally show you one of the new bears!  I am really happy with them.  They cuddle in your hand and they are the perfect amount of "squishiness."  They are right under 7 inches tall and completely hand stitched.

This one is adopted, but there will be more at the Blooming Bears show next month.  So until then, I will be working away!

Hugs, K. <3

~*~ Bastian ~*~

While it may take me a long time to design a new animal pattern, it does not take me long to design new bears.  I have made a couple thousand bears in my lifetime and I kinda know what I am doin at this point. 

I don't usually save old patterns once I stop making them.  I feel that it's better not to because I have to keep making new ones in order to always move forward.  Not to mention that after three decades if I kept them all, I would have patterns stacked to the rafters.  That's not to say I won't revisit an idea though.

Quite a few years ago I made a very long, lanky bear pattern.  I made about 20-25 bears from that pattern and everyone really loved them.  They were nice and slouchy, very loosely jointed and a bit under stuffed in the limbs and body so they were really huggable.  I had been thinking about making that style bear again for a while.  So night before last I decided to sit down and design the pattern.  I made it not quite as long as the first lanky bear pattern, but I like this one a great deal.  He is just right!

I spent all of yesterday making the bear.  I think he turned out splendidly if I do say so myself!  I have a feeling he won't be here long, and when he goes I will miss him.  If you would like to visit Bastian, you can do that on the Bears page of my website.

PS...I figured out what to do with the hearts I made!