Happy New Year...Meet Sno!

Happy 2012!  Here we are on a brand new year...isn't that exciting!  What better way to start off the new year than with something brand new.  So without further ado I would like to introduce you to Sno. 

The idea for him began about ten days ago.  I was rummaging through my supplies and found a bag labeled lost eyes.  Even though I use the premium quality eyes, they are hand blown glass and occasionally one will have a defect and pop when I set them.  There were two spare eyes in the bag that didn't have a mate.  In my hand they reminded me of my favorite emoticon which looks like this:  O.o

I started thinking that could be cute on something.  I went back and forth...bear...snowman...snowman...bear?  Hmmm.  Then I thought since I am wanting to do something chibi-esque...why not combine both!  Sno is a brand new pattern though.  He has been adapted from my existing snowman and bear patterns, but with some changes.  His head is much larger than the previous snowmen, and his body and limbs are shorter than the bears.  He is the very first fully jointed snowman.

I hope you like him, as cute as he is in the pics...he is much more charming in person!

You can visit Sno on my website from the animals page.

I hope you all have a wonderful year!  I have all sorts of surprises in store for you.

Hugs, K. <3

Halloween

I hope you all had a wonderfully frightful Halloween!  We had fun passing out the candy to all the kids in their cute little costumes.  Also as you can see from the pic above, Mozzie got both of his wishes...he got a fancy mask and got to pass out (in the) candy!

I apologize for these two pics because they were taken with my small camera which obviously I should set aside some time and figure out how to use.  But we had fun pumpkins again this year.  R carved the one on top.  He always does fancy ones, and this one was a haunted house.  I decided to forgo my usual cutesy-Hallmark style and made a scary one based on the pumpkin scarecrow in the movie Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp.  The bottom one was inspired by Martha Stewart.  They looked great all lit up, but unfortunately I couldn't get a pic of it with that camera.

I found it a bit curious that only one other house in our neighborhood had any decorations out.  I always like to do it up right and decorate outside.  I think it's more fun for the kids...ok and me too.  I do love holidays!

Saturday night we decided to engage in something a little more on the grown up side of Halloween fun and went ghost hunting with a professional paranormal team.  We didn't find any ghosts (nor did I expect to) but it was fun and we got out of the house on a nice night...45 degrees, which for this time of year is rare.  Plus I got to wear my new coat.  R was really happy about that part.  He couldn't have cared less that I bought something new, but actually getting me into a coat is next door to a miracle.  He nags me constantly to wear coats and scarves and socks and shoes and all sorts of unnecessary articles of clothing.  Men and their kooky ideas!

I also managed to get a whole lot of work done around the house, do a mountain of laundy, bake a chicken and brownies and just basically work my keister off all weekend.  This week, I need to do some prep work for his painting the living room while I am gone on my trip.  So it's going to be a busy week for me.   I have also been toying around with a new design for a brand new animal.  But that will have to be put off until I come back from Montana.

Lastly...the first wave of pieces sold from the sale will be going out tomorrow.  Remember you have through Friday to take advantage of the sale!

Hugs, Kelly

A Catch Up Post

I am so exhausted!  I have been working myself to the bone the last few days.  But let me back up a little.

So Friday I went to get my highlights.  First he took me to the beauty supply place and let me pick out anything I wanted at his cost.  It's probably a good thing that I had a raging headache or I might have spent much more than I did.  It was one of those kid in a candy store moments!  The best two things I came home with are Moroccan oil for my hair and a pumice peel for my face.  I kid you not, I scrubbed off five years!

 I must say it turned out a little lighter than I had anticipated.  I am one step away from  highlighted playboy bunny blond.  I guess it's ok, I am not quite used to it.  I am also a little concerned what it's going to look like when it grows out.  Maybe by then it will be warm enough that I can be outside to let the sun do it's job.  I know you guys wanted to see a pic, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get my webcam turned on, on my new computer.  Maybe I need to download the software.  So I had to take a pic of it myself.  No easy feat!  That's why for now all you get is a close up. 

Saturday I made R take me to a specific restaurant because I have a new piece in mind I want to do a pattern for.  You will have to wait and see!  It won't be for a while yet though.

Sunday he went off to run errands while I worked and he came home feeling sick.  I spent 16 hours working since he was sleeping.

Now about all this work...you know how sometimes you want to make a certain thing, but you don't because you get too caught up in unimportant details in your head about it?  That's what happened to me.  For ages I have wanted to make a smaller sized bear.  But I didn't have the right size joints and I needed to make the bear so I could order some but I needed to order some so I could make the bear and....aaaauuuuggghhh!

Then along came a friend who wanted me to make a smaller size bear for a reason.  It was just the push I needed, even though it still took me 3 1/2 months to do it.  And here is the interesting part...I discovered I had bought some small joints somewhere along the line.  A whole bag full, and they were exactly the right size for the pattern I made!  Crazy kismet I tell ya!

So I have made two of them already, and have a third cut out.  I also cut out a snowman for a special request I got.  I am completely in love with this new size.  They are just a shade under 7 inches.  I wish I could show them to you, but one will be going to my friend and the other will be for the Blooming Bears show next month.  I can't show you that bear, and I am not sure which one she wants yet.  Once she chooses I can show you that one.

Actually she may have already chosen, I haven't gotten a single e-mail in two days.  Not even spam.  That happens occasionally with my server, so I am sure tomorrow I will wake up and have 9000 e-mails when they finally make their way through to me.  In the mean time, I am going to go fall into bed before I collapse!

Sweet dreams!

~*~ Sweetpea ~*~

The very first bird from the new pattern is finished!  I like it!  You can visit Sweetpea on the Animals page 2 of my website.

~*~ Nod ~*~

So here he is....Nod.  He is made from the new bear pattern.  It's a tad bigger than the previous one, the pattern pieces are quite a bit different.  He is chubbier and he will actually stand if coaxed!

You can visit him on the bears page of my website!

A Little Night Magic

Nothing like being late for your own party! Last night at about 12:15 I was half way through this post when my usually reliable Internet went down. Apparently it went down for our whole area for 12 hours! So I wholeheartedly apologize for the lateness of this post!

Welcome to the party!  On warm nights during mid Summer anything can happen...and does.  If you are very quiet, you might catch a glimpse of a fairy in the work room.  Fairies love teddy bears you know!

 Sometimes they help me out when I really need it.  Last night I needed all their help.

You see I had this wonderful idea I have been keeping tucked away for a long time.  I found these little unfinished wood cabinets.  They were rouned in the front, had windows in the doors and two little drawers.  I looked at them and thought they would make perfect miniature theaters. 

I set to work painting.  I knew exactly what I was going to do.  I was going to do a fairy forest scene and make two tiny marionette fairy bears. 

But into every life a little chaos reigns. 

R split his head open, we had a brutal hail storm that required a lot of clean up, and we got a new dog that needed training.  I also had forgotten how long it takes to paint wood pieces, and make them all fancy.  Time started slowly slipping away.

Last Monday I began to realize I wasn't going to get my project done.  By Tuesday, I decided to "downsize" it and make one miniature bear in a shadow box with some fun things.

Maybe my heart wasn't in it, because the little bear simply wouldn't turn out right.  Sadly last night at 11:45 PM I tossed him in the waste basket.

I had no project for my own party!  I didn't know what to do, so I went to sit in the work room where it's quiet and think for a minute. 

Maybe the fairies sprinkled me with a little fairy dust?

It was midnight and I picked up a pencil and started drawing.  I drew a new pattern for a bunny.  Normally when I do a new pattern it takes me at least a week to even start drawing.  I like to think it through first, mentally adjusting it as I go.

This time I didn't think too hard, I just let the idea flow onto the paper.

One of the secret dreams I have had for a while is to design some new patterns. 

So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Carlotta Lu!

Isn't she sweet?  She could have only come to life with the help of a little night magic...

...and fairy dust!

And so my friends I may not have gotten my original plan done, the road had a few bumps. but when it comes to secret dreams I learned maybe it's best not to over think things! 

A little fairy magic doesn't hurt either!

Thank you all for coming, and don't forget to visit the other blogs participating in the party at A Midsummer Night's Secret Dream Party!

~*~ Yuletide Squirrel ~*~

As promised, today is the unveiling of my new pattern. I am proud to introduce Yuletide Squirrel. He is available on the animals page of my website if you would like to visit him!

Transitions

I am sure if you read my blog on a regular basis, you may have been wondering why I haven't been posting. I guess I just haven't had a whole lot to say. I kind of feel as if I am going through a transitional period right now. It's kind of hard to define exactly what that is in words. I am not even sure I know just yet.

I feel as if I want to go in a slightly different direction both with the bears and animals, and with my blog. I am still sort of working that out in my head.

I did finish a bear tonight, and he should get photographed tomorrow...so you will be seeing him very soon. I have also been designing a whole new kind of animal pattern, and haven't had a chance to sew it yet. Once I am happy with it, you will get to see what that is.

In the mean time, just bear with me (no pun intended) until I sort through everything mentally and am ready to go back to my usual wordy self. I will get it all worked out soon I am sure.