Are You an Arctophile?

Well it has to said I definitely am!  I have always had a penchant for teddy bears.  There have been periods of my life where they have been squirrelled away as they `weren`t what grown ups did`, normally because we were moving.  Its never really gone away and recently has really come back with avengeance.  Mostly instigated by Charlie Bears on QVC (yes, guilty admission, I do enjoy a  bit of QVC).  They are just lovely and quite affordable, but, produced in some numbers, and I do indeed own bears in the name of myself and my husband. Old romantic I am, I couldn't have one without the other.  I am, however, one of those people that likes to have one of a kind things, as nice as the others are.  There are some wonderful independent bear artists out there that have truly inspired me, but I just cant afford their lovely bears at the moment.  Its really not a case of justification, they are worth every penny.  Some of my favourites are Jackie Slade at Sew Special Bears and the gorgeous diddy creations of DiddyBears.  I will do a feature on some etsy bear makers I have found at a later date.  Well, fraying purse strings and a need to add to my hug, made me think.  So I did some research, bought some plush and some joints and `had a go`.  Its not perfect, but I know for next time.  I am really quite proud that I have made the first ever Cutey Critters jointed bear.

She is a 17" fully jointed pale toffee plush bear.  I wanted to call her Fleur because of the floral fabric I used for the pads, but Mr. Cutey Critters, declared he did not like it (so sorry if you are called Fleur - I do like it), so Daisy was thus christened.  I am really quite chuffed and cant wait to make another.