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.
Fleur/Daisy is absolutely gorgeous - what an amazing achievement! Not heard of Charlie Bears on QVC, but I'm definitely a proud arctophile too. When I was younger, each morning my mother would take most of my (many) teddy bears off the bed and place them on the window ledge: for years our house was known locally as "The Teddy Bear House"!!! Erika
ReplyDeleteOh I love the idea of The Teddy Bear House. Dont look at the aforementioned bears on the shopping channel. You will be broke! x
DeleteWhat a cute cuteycritter! Fleur would have been good! However, Daisy is good too.....
ReplyDeleteBrilliant work! x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Joy...a real little cutie and I love the addition of the floral fabric paws...so pretty!
ReplyDeleteSusan x
WOW Daisy-Fleur is absolutely gorgeous. I'm very impressed, even more so because she's your first bear!
ReplyDeleteThankyou all for your lovely comments on Daisy/Fleur. Needless to say there have been more bears.
DeleteOh dear:) Your first jointed bear - you are well and truly hooked now.
ReplyDeleteI can remember making my first one - Uno I called him. Now, many years and hundreds of bears later I am still enjoying producing these fascinating and endearing artist bears.
Good luck, and welcome to the world of artist bear makers. Fleur is lovely, much prettier than my Uno was.
Hi Polly, thanks for stopping by. Yes, it is another obsession I think. I am loving it though.
ReplyDelete