Custom Teddys

One new face and a couple of old ones to enjoy!

2012-02-16T19:38:00.001-09:00

The big white bear watching over the group is Jeffrey. He is the new face.

The others are James,

Griswald,

and Wabbit,

..all of whom have been around for a bit.. looking for new homes on Etsy.

I just received a box of mohair and alpaca from Intercal Trading Group and I am very excited for new bears to be born.

Hugs from Vicki and the bears.

Happy Valentine’s Day…

2012-02-13T20:12:00.001-09:00

… to everyone! AND, Happy Anniversary to my husband and Me, as we celebrate 9 years today!

Every year we take our picture so here goes ..

Our wedding 2003

1st Anniversary ‘04

2nd Anniversary ‘05

3rd Anniversary ‘06

4th Anniversary ‘07

Missing 5th Anniversary..

6th Anniversary ‘09

Missing 7th Anniversary…

8th Anniversary ‘11

Looks like we skipped the pictures on year five and seven… hum… I can’t let that happen again.

I’ll take our picture tomorrow and hope for many, many more.

Just sharin’ the love. Happy Valentine’s Day All!

Photographing a Personality

2012-02-02T07:52:00.001-09:00

One of the challenges of working in a teddy bear world is trying to capture the personality of the teddy bear. Sometimes it just doesn’t work by using a plain black or plain white background. Dawson is such a case. Although I was able to capture his sweetness in a couple of photographs using a plain background, he insisted that I photograph him surrounded by the “fun” stuff that teddy bears love.

So, how could I resist. He promised to cooperate, and so shall I. We started with, of course, a favorite of the teddies, the big rocking horse.

And from there to the bamboo plant by the window sill;

… then over to the little clock by the bookshelf;

And, by all means, we had to pose on the bookshelf next to some favorite Steiff bears;

Next we went over to “Mom’s” chair;

….. then to the dining room table;

Oh, and a favorite was next to the baby orchid plants that Mom brought home from Hawaii;

And finally to rest next to the globe of the World, to dream of his new home.

Thanks for sharing the magic!

Hugs, Vicki and Dawson

P.S. And my Mom is doing much better for those of you who read my previous post! Thanks for your thoughts.

A Rough Week

2012-01-25T20:17:00.001-09:00

Last Tuesday my Mom became ill and after a day in the ER, it was decided to put her in the hospital until she got better. Needless to say, it was a very stressful week. The good news is that she is better and back at home this week.

I worry about my Mom … a lot. She is 82 years old and very independent. She lives alone and does very well for herself. But I worry. I can’t help it.

I guess what happens, is that our roles do reverse as we age. I have become the Mom. And when things don’t go as they should, I take the responsibility on myself.

I spent almost every waking minute at the hospital, and it was a good thing I did. Many elderly people just don’t know how to ask for what they need. Even the most basic things.

My little teddy bear life has been on hold for a bit. And that is as it should be. As hard as it is for my Mom to accept, she is my priority. I would do anything for her.

I feel very blessed to have her in my life and to be able to share “old age” with my “little Mom.”

I love you, Mom!

The Bears of 2011 (Part 2)

2012-01-08T14:50:00.001-09:00

Here’s part two of all the bears I made in 2011.

Thank you all for joining me here in 2011. Hopefully, we’ll have a lot more faces to post here in 2012.

Many hugs from Vicki and the 2011 Bears!

The Bears of 2011 (Part 1)

2012-01-08T13:55:00.001-09:00

I thought it would be great fun to remember the faces of 2011 by posting pictures of all the teddy bears I made last year… perhaps as inspiration to create another parade in 2012. Here they are, in order of date created!

Thought it would be better to post this in two separate blog posts.

Thanks! Vicki

The Mink Bears

2012-01-03T19:38:00.001-09:00

A few weeks before Christmas I posted a picture of “Great Grandma’s Mink Coat” and reported that I had been commissioned to turn the amazing fur into teddy bears for someone’s very special Christmas.

I promised to post pictures of the bears, after Christmas, as I didn’t want to spoil anybody’s surprise.

Just in case you didn’t see the previous post, here is a picture of the coat….

And here are the bears!

And a few close-ups of bear #1.

What a joy it was to create these two sweethearts.

Now that the vacation, the Holidays and redecorating my teddy bear room are behind me, I feel renewed energy to put into the teddy bears.

Soon there will be new teddy faces to post in 2012.

And on that note, to all of you, a very Happy New Year.

Hugs, Vicki and the bears

All I Want For Christmas….

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….. Is “Mew” ….

Merry Christmas from Katrina …

Two New Bears!

2011-12-14T19:46:00.001-09:00

Finally, I’m ready to post two new additions to Custom Teddy’s ready for adoption. The first I’ll introduce is little Whipper. She is made from faux fur and has my recently incorporated “open-mouth” style.

And here is little Gracie! She is made from apricot-colored mohair and stands 6 inches tall.

They are both available on eBay at this time. Click on their pictures and that will bring you to the listing.

Thank you!!

Where Have You Been?????

2011-12-10T10:01:00.002-09:00

In the land known for it’s beautiful sunsets;

It’s abundance of floral life;

Palm trees, banyan trees, ocean views;

And the occasional Christmas tree.

OK, you guessed …. we’ve been in Hawaii for close to three weeks. And, yes, I realize how absolutely fortunate I am to be able to experience that … and, yes, we are happy to be home with our kitties and our Mom and our teddy bear world.
Just wanted to share a bit of the Islands with you. What an amazing and wonderful place to visit.
Hugs from Vicki

See this lovely old mink coat…

2011-11-08T15:10:00.001-09:00

This has been my project of late. I am lucky to have been commissioned to make two bears out of great grandma’s mink coat.

And they are both sitting here looking at me with their beautiful wide eyed teddy bear wonder.

And I can’t post their pictures because they are going to make someone a very special Christmas present.

So, it will have to wait.

In the meantime, just thought I’d share a bit of what I’ve been working on.

This is what my work space looks like right now. I have four bears waiting for names and finishing touches and three bears cut out and pieced together.

We are going on vacation here in a few days. I’m so ready to get out of rain country for a little while… ! I’ll have some pictures of that to post here too within the next few weeks.

Until then, love and teddy hugs…. from Vicki and the bears

A Real Bear Story

2011-10-17T19:24:00.001-08:00

Living in Alaska gives one an opportunity to view bears in the wild. Unfortunately, one also has the opportunity to view bears in our own neighborhoods.

This picture was taken from my deck this past summer. The bear was in a neighbor’s yard across the street from where we live.

Although bears are amazing and fun to watch, what you don’t want to see is a bear in your yard or in your neighbor’s yard.

This picture was also taken from my deck in July of 2006. The bear was right below me as you can see from the following picture.

We have a big problem with “garbage bears” here in our community.

A few weeks ago, our neighbors were continuing to have problems with a bruin who had gotten into their garbage weeks before. Once a bear has found what he is looking for in your yard, he is very persistent and will continue to frequent the vicinity until he is removed.

After numerous visits from what my neighbor referred to as “a very aggressive bear,” Fish and Game was called in to set a “live trap.”

A few days after the trap was set, I awakened to loud clanging sounds at approximately 11:30 p.m. on a Friday night.

The bear was caught. As he continued to clang and struggle to get out of his cage I felt scared for sure, and sorry for him that his path in life had led him to a cage and subsequent transport into unfamiliar territory.

Fish and Game arrived within the hour to attach the cage to their truck and cart the bear away from our neighborhood, hopefully to an island far away from people, where he can live out his life in peace.

To my surprise after conversing with my neighbor the next day about the bear, he admitted he was angry at the bear. He was angry because the bear continuously came around his yard and showed no fear when confronted by the man. My neighbor told me he wanted to torment the bear and punish it for getting into his garbage.

Although my neighbor didn’t follow through on his desire to torment the bear, I was taken aback by his comments.

The bears are not the problem. People are the problem. My neighbor’s garbage was accessible to the bear.

A bear’s sense of smell is many many times that of a human and this particular bear was able to smell my neighbor’s garbage through the shed that the man had it stored in.

Consequently, the bear broke into the shed.

Bears are simply following their instincts. We have moved ourselves into their territory. And we provide easy food.

I am sorry for the bear. Sorry for my neighbor. And sorry for all the other garbage bears out there that we have forced into our properties.

My neighbor didn’t know what was to be done with the bear. Normally Fish and Game will try to transport the bear to a vicinity unpopulated by humans. My hope is that is what happened.

The second alternative is to put the bear down. Especially an aggressive bear that is not afraid of humans. My hope is that this alternative was not taken.

I watched as the Fish and Game truck transported the wheeled cage containing the bear down the hill from our house. I felt good and bad at the same time. I felt bad for the bear’s uncertain fate; I felt good that we no longer had to worry about a bear in our neighborhood, at least until next time.

Because there will be a next time.

At least once a year a bear wanders into our neighborhood and finds what it is looking for.

It’s up to us humans to ensure that doesn’t happen.

I wonder how we’ll do next year.

“Oh My, What Big Teeth You Have!”

2011-09-23T12:01:00.003-08:00

Introducing my most recent creation, Landau, and yes, he does have teeth!

I’ve been obsessed for many years with not only the teddy bear, but with real live bears like the kind that live in Alaska. Mind you, I don’t necessarily want to run into one of them while walking in the woods, but I find them fascinating creatures and incredibly beautiful.

One of the directions I envision my art leaning is in the creation of more realistic type bears and Landau is my best so far.
I’ve picked up a number of picture books that have the most awesome pictures of bears in their natural environment. I use these books for inspiration and to help me with the details of airbrushing and yes, even the placement of the teeth.

Another book that has helped me in my endeavors is “101 Bears To Make” by Nancy Tillberg. This books tells me the how of it all and gives detailed, easy to follow instructions on how turn what I envision into a work of art. So if you are a teddy bear enthusiast and need a little help creating your own awesome teddy bears, I highly recommend purchasing this book.

Thank you all for joining me! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! If you are interested in adopting Landau, he is currently listed on eBay.

Hugs from Vicki and Landau!

Two New Teddy Bears!

2011-09-12T11:55:00.001-08:00

Miss Abelene is 15” tall and made from feather finish off-white mohair. She is wearing a crochet collar that kind of drapes around her middle. I like it.

And her buddy, Graham.

…also made from the same mohair, only dyed a golden tan.

Graham sports my new “open mouth” style. Both bears are available for adoption. Please visit my website www.customteddys.com for more information.

Thanks for the visit!

Remembering 911

2011-09-11T13:17:00.001-08:00

One of my FIRST Open-Mouth Teddy Bears is the Wonderful Walt!

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And the reason I say “one” of my first is because I dabbled in the “open-mouth” style when I first started making bears a very long time ago. I just couldn’t get the hang of it so I gave up.

I have recently been working harder on quality rather than quantity in my teddy bear world. So I decided to dabble a bit with the open mouth style.

I must say I am pleased with the results and will have to try another one soon.

I had a very hard time with the photo session yesterday. I am sure I took over 100 pictures indoors using my black background and then practicing with white. I could not get the photos to accurately display this bear.

So, I took him outside and sat him on the deck.

Pontus wanted to know who the stranger on the deck was (and he wasn’t getting any closer than three feet).

Katrina said “hey, who’s the new guy?” and went right up to say “Hi!”

I am grateful for a day without rain here in our Northern rainforest Juneau. It helped with the photo session and also the demeanor of the photographer, as we have had steady pouring rain most of this month.

Love and hugs to all. Thank you! Vicki

Mo Li & Ping, Mama Panda and Cub

2011-08-15T20:55:00.002-08:00

Mo Li and Ping are my two most recent creations. I had two bears cut out of this beautiful mohair I purchased a few weeks ago.

Both bears were gorgeous white; one was big the other very small.

I’ve never created a mama bear and a baby bear before. So I thought it would be a splendid idea to just that!

Their sweet little faces are sitting and smiling pretty over on eBay. If you are interested in purchasing the pair, please check out my listing.
Thanks for the visit! Vicki

Time to Meet Juno from Juneau!

2011-07-23T15:26:00.001-08:00

Another sunny day in Juneau means my most recent creation, Juno, gets to pose outside in her natural habitat here in Alaska.

Well, natural habitat meaning under our deck or sitting in the rocks … it’s good enough!

She was great fun to create. I dyed some white mohair this stunning gray, airbrushed a little around her eyes and ears, used my Alaskan Grizzly pattern, and she’s ready to go.

I’ve listed her for sale on eBay and thank you for the visit.

Hugs, Vicki and Juno

Why do I do it?

2011-07-14T21:08:00.001-08:00

I honestly can’t tell you. But it drives me crazy when I do… and a month or so later, I’ll just do it again.

What is “it” you ask?

See this, this is “it.”

One of those teeny, tiny, hand-held little critters that I almost have to wear magnifying glasses to create.

It is difficult to describe the process and the hours it takes for me to make one of these guys. And this particular bear, I HAD to make those silly little clay footpads that I’ve been adding to my bears of late.

His face must have taken me two hours to do… at the very least.

He had three different sets of eyes, before I finally settled on the onyx beads.

He is tired. I am tired. But here we are again… ready to introduce my latest bear, my mini named Smitty.

I know after this almost week long project that I won’t soon get the urge to do “it” again any time soon, but trust me, I will….

….I just don’t know when.

Heavy sighs, yawns and hugs from Vicki and the mini bears.

Time to Meet Martin!

2011-07-09T19:13:00.001-08:00

Introducing Martin, birthday yesterday, made from beautiful 5/8” mohair and standing tall at a whole 9” (22.86 cm). I used a combination of white and honey tan mohair for this guy, and made him a little bead collar, of which he is proud to wear!

I’m having a lot of fun making paw pads for my bears. I make them out of polymer clay and securely glue them onto the clipped mohair.

He is currently available on eBay!

Thanks for dropping by! Vicki

Introducing Molly!

2011-07-06T07:50:00.001-08:00

OK, I did it…. I ordered another yard of that beautiful white mohair from Intercal Trading Group (thought I’d give them a little plug here) and have begun the process of creating a new crew of bears.

Molly is the first to appear. She is 12” (30.48 cm) tall and lightly airbrushed a chocolate brown.

She is currently listed on eBay and hopes to find a good home very soon!

Thanks for stopping by, Vicki and the Bears

Happy Go Lucky, Lamborghini!

2011-06-21T20:44:00.001-08:00

I was down to my last scraps of mohair and other remnants the other day. And so arises little Lamborghini, from the ashes… so to speak.

She is 6 inches tall and is made from some alpaca that I found in my stash and, guess what… yes, you guessed it…. a remnant from that yard of mohair I mentioned in my previous post.

You know, I am so pleased with the way she turned out. She is simply delightful… oh, and by the way, she loves to dance.

She’ll be up either on Etsy or eBay later today (tonight, that is) or tomorrow. Hope you enjoy her photos!

Thanks for the visit! Vicki and the remnant bears…

What can you do with a yard of white mohair?

2011-06-12T20:15:00.001-08:00

On February 4, I bought one yard of 5/8” semi-sparse white mohair. Beautiful, isn’t it?

My intent was to be able to use it for whatever struck my fancy as far as colors go.

The first bear I made was Link. A little air brushing turned white mohair into a panda.

Then there was Rhapsody, made from a tea stained portion of the mohair.

And along came Angelo with a bit of tea staining and air brushing.

Next came Lightening. In addition to using a tea stained portion of this mohair for Lightening, I also used a bit of golden tan mohair I had on hand.

Another panda made the scene after that.. Her name is Tink. I dyed a portion of the mohair black and airbrushed in her panda eyes and chest.

Then there was Hemlock (formerly Tim). I dyed a portion of the mohair a beautiful light brown.

And the last bear created was Ching. I used the leftover dyed brown mohair and airbrushed in her panda features.

Pretty neat, huh? I love the versatility of the white. You know…. I think I’ll do this again and see what the next yard turns into.

Stay tuned…

Introducing Tim, My Alaskan Spirit Bear

2011-06-08T15:00:00.001-08:00

I finished him a couple of days ago and he is almost ready to go! Although it is going to be hard to let him go.

I know “spirit bears” are typically white, but this is a brown one, just because he is. I decided (actually, it was decided for me) that he would be a spirit bear because creating him has helped me through a very challenging week. He even went with me to the OR and I stuffed him while waiting for my husband to come out of surgery.

I named him Tim after the ER doctor who took such good care of my husband.

And during his process, I photographed every step of his creation so I can soon share with you exactly what it takes to make a bear. That will take place on a post to come sometime in the future.

The sun is shining again today and we are all on the road to recovery in our house. We are grateful and blessed, for sure.

Thank you for joining in the magic!

Hurt Hubby…

2011-06-01T21:25:00.001-08:00

When I woke up Monday morning (Memorial Day) I saw a note on the counter from my husband telling me he was out for a short motorcycle ride and it was signed “I love you.”

Monday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Juneau and since it was a rare day off for him, it was a perfect time for him to go out for a bit and have a little fun on his motorcycle.

The call from the ER came in at 8:40 a.m.

The first thing the nurse said was “he is OK.” The ambulance had just brought him in and my presence was requested.

I jumped into my clothing and ran to my car for the five minute ride to the ER. Scared to death, my heart beating way too fast and my stomach tied up in knots, they directed me to his room.

The only things in the room were his cut off clothing, his battered and bloody helmet, goggles and eye glasses. They had taken him immediately to xRay.

We spent all day at the ER. His injuries range from a small fracture above his right eye to a broken arm, scrapes, bruises and generalized trauma all over his body.

We have more doctor’s appointments and a surgery tomorrow to repair his arm.

We love the motorcycle… I love the motorcycle. I love riding with him, arms wrapped around him, feeling the wind on my face and feeling free.

But now, I don’t know. Somehow I don’t think I will ever have that feeling again.

Life seems to rob us sometimes. But I don’t think it’s really like that, at all. Because when something seems to be taken away, there is always a gift in return.

For me, it’s the gift of a second chance. Another day to say “I love you, too.”

New Bears to Introduce!

2011-05-25T18:59:00.001-08:00

Remember Sunny Days and Teddy Bears, when I brought you into my work area and introduced you to the “works in progress?”

Well, I just thought I would introduce you to the results of those bits and pieces I had on my desk.

Angelo was the first bear finished and he was featured in my last blog post.

This little guy is Lightening. He is 6 inches tall.

This Panda Bear is Tink. She is also 6 inches tall.

And lastly is Jasper. My latest Alaskan Brown Grizzly bear at 9.5 inches tall.

I have listed all three bears on eBay. The details are on the right hand column here on my blog.

The brown mohair is still waiting … soon. Yes, very soon.

Thanks for welcoming these new guys into the world! Vicki

Introducing Angelo

2011-05-18T08:11:00.001-08:00

Little Angelo made his final appearance on the work table on Monday. He is now finished and ready to find a new home. His listing is on eBay for the next five days.

He is 10 inches (24.4 cm) tall and is made out of tea stained mohair that I lightly airbrushed cinnamon brown.

His photo session took literally hours and many digital photos were sent to the “trash.” By the time we were finished we were both worn out.

I just couldn’t seem to get the camera to correctly display the color differentiation the way I wanted it to.

I finally had to quit and call it a day, as Angelo said, “I’m done… no more posing.”

So I followed the good bear’s orders and put the camera away for another day.

Thanks for visiting. His brother “Lightening” will be posted soon.

Hugs from Vicki and Angelo

Sunny Days and Teddy Bears..

2011-05-15T20:49:00.001-08:00

… if you live in Juneau, Alaska, sunny days are not conducive to sitting indoors and working on teddy bears. Sorry bears.

Juneau is located in the Southeast Panhandle of Alaska in what is described as a rainforest. Not the kind of rainforest you might think of in terms of warm and tropical. This is the kind of rain that looks like 44 degrees and raining… really raining.

My favorite place to be on those rainy days is right here in the teddy bear room, creating to my heart’s content.

But when it sunshines here in beautiful Alaska ….. it is next to impossible to stay indoors. You might even say we are somewhat frantic to “get outside” if you have lived in Juneau for any length of time.

For the past two days it has been sunny and warm. I have planted my vegetable garden, gone for a motorcycle ride with my hubby and poked around in my greenhouse. I am saturated with sun and loving every minute of it.

But you know, even though the sun is gorgeous and wonderful and I need to be in it…. the teddy bear room beckons me even now as evening approaches… I feel that urge inside of me that isn’t satisfied doing anything but creating bears.

I have five projects that are sitting here patiently at my work desk.

Two little bears… one needs a little extra airbrushing, the other a face and a name.

A new little panda to be created from mohair I dyed this weekend… (I did stay inside long enough to do that).

An Alaskan Grizzly type bear to be made from this gorgeous tipped mohair… that I boiled up to make it look a bit distressed.

And another what I hope to be an Alaskan Brown Bear from some white mohair that I dyed a chocolate brown.

I hope to have some finished bears to show you here in the next few days…. but it might have to start raining first.

Hugs to all of you! Vicki and the “potential” bears

Rhapsody

2011-05-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

Introducing another of my newer creations, 16” Rhapsody.

She is made from tea stained white mohair and has wool felt paws. I’ve done a little airbrushing around her eyes, ears and paw pads to give her a more realistic appearance.

Her collar is hand crochet and also airbrushed a bit. Her sweet little nose is made from polymer clay that was baked and sanded to make it look a little old.

She is stuffed with poly pellets and polyester fiberfill so she is squishy and completely lovable.

Currently she is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Hugs from Vicki and Rhapsody!

Handcrafted Teddy Bears By Michelle is Giving away Rosebud!

2011-05-03T14:16:00.001-08:00

Drop on over to Michelle's Blog and she’ll explain the details.

Good luck with your giveaway, Michelle!

Introducing Reinhold!

2011-05-02T11:43:00.002-08:00

I’m sure it has been over a year since I discovered this gorgeous plush at our local fabric shop, but I was hesitant to buy. What put me off from purchasing enough to make a bear was the color, which, believe it or not has a sort of yellow/greenish hue. I just wasn’t sure it would make an attractive teddy bear.

A couple of weeks ago, the plush won me over and I couldn’t resist buying a yard. And I couldn’t be happier with the results

Although the color on the computer doesn’t appear to be a yellow/green tone, the bear once finished actually took on more of a creamy color….

The soft attractive “feel” of the plush was what won me over. And the result was a pretty nice bear, of which I am pleased.
He is available in my Etsy store at the moment.
And, thank you for visiting my blog.
Hugs, Vicki and Reinhold

Mission Accomplished….hopefully

2011-04-26T20:25:00.001-08:00

In my previous post entitled Lost In NYC, I made reference to a “secret mission” that hopefully would dispel the despair felt by one who had lost his favorite teddy bear while visiting in NYC.

I’ve been very busy this past week, trying to recreate a suitable likeness to the “Lost in NYC” teddy bear. The soft, squishy teddy bear pictured above is the result of my attempts to recreate a very loved bear. As I write this, he is speeding his way towards his intended new owner and may even be aboard Alaska Airlines at this moment.

Although the bear’s photo has been accepted by the intended new owner, we will anxiously await the final hug and acceptance at the destination site.

We shall stand by and hope it is love at first site.

Holding our breath,

Vicki and all the other bears

Lost in NYC…..

2011-04-20T10:46:00.001-08:00

….. but despair no more.

A secret mission is about to take place….

Stay tuned for more will be revealed soon.

Hugs, Vicki

Time to Change the View

2011-04-17T14:40:00.001-08:00

… and Jones, one of my favorite bears, has decided to help me do just that.

Every time I looked at my last post, it just looked too depressing. It is time for a little sunshine and today it is doing just that.

Happy Spring everybody!

Let’s Take A Spring Stroll…

2011-04-11T12:10:00.001-08:00

together in the snow… and if we’re lucky, we might just find a little touch of Springtime magic.

Today is April 11 and this is what it looks like outside my sliding glass door.

I’m trying to be patient with Father Winter, but it is time for him to go away.

Perhaps I’ll go for a little stroll… outside the sliding glass door, onto the deck…

Turn to the right….

Oh look, it’s a greenhouse!

Open the door…

…. and say hi to all the little buddies I planted about a month ago…

sunflowers and cucumbers,

tomatoes and begonia starts.

Springtime really is here in Alaska… honest. Even if I have to rush it along a little bit.

Love and hugs from Vicki

Time to Meet Lex!

2011-04-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

Lex is a lovely two-toned mohair teddy bear that is about to make his Internet debut.

He has actually been around a little over a year and recently stated his intent to join his fellow bears over on Etsy.

So if you are interested in learning a little more about him, please visit my Etsy store for all the specifics!

Lex and Vicki say thanks for stopping by.

Introduction to My Sister’s Doilies

2011-04-05T12:06:00.007-08:00

I decided to start a blog for my sister, Pat.

My sister lives in a tiny little apartment in Bismarck, North Dakota. She doesn’t get out much, but she is a very crafty individual.

She crochet’s the most beautiful, intricate doilies.

Every year she sends me some of her hand crocheted doilies to sell at our Alaska Juneau Public Market, alongside my teddy bears.

And between markets, I simply keep her remaining gorgeous handmade doilies in my closet, until next year.

I decided to start her a little selling blog. I will then begin the process of posting some of her creations, hopefully to generate some income for her.

I know she could do it herself, but hard as it is to believe, she doesn’t even have a computer.

If you would like to visit, click here or go to my profile and click on My Sisters Doilies. It may take me a little time to get it all finished, but I will be posting her first item here in a few minutes.

I am excited for her and hopefully this will turn out very positively.

Thank you for visiting!
Vicki

A Panda Bear Named Link

2011-03-31T13:07:00.001-08:00

Today is photo day. I don’t know why I dread it so. Once I have my table and background set up, it goes rather quickly, especially if the bears cooperate. And today they did.

I am so happy with Link’s session, I decided to post his photos right away.

He is made from 5/8 inch medium density white mohair that I airbrushed black (actually it turned out dark gray, but I like the subtle look) to accentuate his panda features.

He stands 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall, has glass eyes, a handmade nose, paw pads (handmade also out of polymer clay), and wears a simple chain and key around his neck.

Soon to be for sale on Etsy or I might even do eBay on this guy.

Contact me for details if you are interested.

And Thank You for stopping by to visit.

(I’ve been learning a lot about “linking” recently…. and today when I took his picture and realized I had named him Link a week ago upon his completion day, I had to laugh)

The Story of Raywen

2011-03-24T10:20:00.004-08:00

More than two years ago my husband came home with a bag of clothing given to him by the wife of one of his co-workers. The bag contained an old suit and a couple of retired jackets she had extracted from the back of her husband’s closet, thinking I might be able to use them in my teddy bear business.

I love being able to use recycled clothing when I make my bears. The patterns and colors in some of the more vintage styles add character and a bit of the unusual in the adornment of my bears.

I proceeded to dismantle the rejected wardrobe and used a portion of the wool suit to make paw pads and a bow tie for my recent creation, Raywen, born on July 6, 2008.

For some unknown reason, Raywen had to hang around the teddy bear house and was never listed for sale.

Well, I must admit the “uknown reason” was because I just wasn’t confident in his ability to sell, frankly because his little face was less than appealing…. I know, it sounds cruel, but it was true. I had sculpted around his muzzle and used a purchased plastic nose….. oh, I just wasn’t a bit happy with the results. So, he sat on the shelf here in the teddy bear room for two years until the inspiration developed for me to dismantle what I had done and give him a face lift.

So, riding on the wings of new inspiration, I redid his nose (with one of my own handmade ones), removed the sculpting, brushed him up and got him ready for the 2010 Alaska Juneau Public Market, still wearing his original bow tie and, of course, he got to keep his paw pads, too.

A couple of hours in to the Public Market, the woman who gave my husband the rejected clothing came into my booth. She exclaimed that she was expecting her first grandchild and wanted to buy a bear, not necessarily for a baby toy, but to hang out on a shelf and watch over the child for a few years.

She looked and looked and couldn’t quite make up her mind. Finally she said, “I just don’t know which one to pick.” I told her that one of the bears would just speak to her and she would simply “know” which one to buy. She looked over to the little bear sitting by the Christmas tree and said, “I keep noticing this one over here.” As she picked up Raywen, I felt the goosebumps tingle across my spine. It hadn’t even occurred to me that some of the material she had given me was on display at this year’s Public Market.

I then explained to her that her husband’s old suit was the material used for the bow tie and paw pads. She started laughing and purchased the bear on the spot.

Sometimes you just have to wait… the perfect person does happen by at just the right time in a teddy bears life.

Thanks for joining in the magic.

New Bears….

2011-03-23T19:27:00.001-08:00

Spring has sprung and the snow is melting fast. I spent all last week working on teddy bears, but this week it’s Spring cleaning and getting the greenhouse fired up. I was able to complete a few cute little faces, and I’ll have them photographed soon.

In the meantime, here are the individual shots of some of the bears I made from recycled jackets.

Hugs to all.. Vicki and the Bears

Another “has been” to share..

2011-03-12T11:22:00.001-09:00

.. with you. Yet, another coat was given to me by my Mom a few months ago to see what I could do with it, if anything. So, this is the before picture…

.. just an old brown coat. The plush, however, is extremely rich and thick.. I had a hard time sewing it on my machine. However, with a little clipping and some fray check and a few hours of my time, please meet Arthur, a 16 inch Alaskan Parka Bear.

Good luck to all of you participating in the Blooming Bear Show this weekend. I browsed through some of the listings and I, as always, am amazed at the incredible teddy bear talent in our world.

Hugs from Vicki and the Bears

Before and After…

2011-03-10T13:37:00.001-09:00

I love before and after pictures. I love taking pictures of the yard in early Spring and through out the Summer to mark the progress and progression of the plants.

So, to follow through with my love of “befores and afters” I am presenting four bears that I made from the same jacket. I am thrilled with the results, and happy to see an old coat transformed into four lovable teddy bears.

The tall bear is Charles at 16” (40 cm), the bear with the purple ribbon is Honeycomb at 10" ( 25 cm), the little one is Amberly at 6.5” (16 cm), and finally little Anthony is the bear in the parka at 8.5” (21.59 cm) tall.

Each bear is due their individual photo and I hope to have them posted on Etsy today.

Hugs from Vicki and the Bears!

From This…..

2011-02-17T10:36:00.001-09:00

….. To This…

Aren’t teddy bears just magical!

The bear posed as sitting is Charles and he is made from the first jacket. His buddy is Albert and he is made from the second jacket.

Mom recently gave me a faux fur coat that she won’t wear, so I’m thinking it is going to turn into my next Alaskan bear. I’ll post updates as they arise!

Thanks for sharing the magic!

Hugs from Charles and Albert….. and, of course, Vicki and all the other bears!

Happy Valentine’s Day and…

2011-02-14T07:39:00.001-09:00

…happy Anniversary to my husband. We celebrate eight years today!

Anybody who can stand back and let his home turn into a teddy bear palace, has just got to be the greatest husband ever. I love you, honey!

Yawn…stretch….time to Wake Up!

2011-02-09T12:25:00.001-09:00

Sometimes when the energy goes away, I feel like it will never return. I think, perhaps, sometimes we just need a “time out” and then when the ideas start popping in, we need to take advantage and get rolling.

Last week it started with an idea to go to the Salvation Army to search for some old coats. I love working with mohair and other plush materials, but I just felt the urge to find some other unique materials and see where that takes me.

By the end of the day, I had four coats in hand and felt the old creative spirit return.

I have photographed two of the coats I found.

Coat No. 1

and Coat No. 2

Both have been washed and dismantled and I’ll be cutting out the pieces within the next day or two.

Bear pics will be posted!

One of my favorite bears is Beth. I made her many, many years ago from an old coat I found in a second hand store. She’s one of those bears whose eyes follow you as you walk around the room.

It feels good to be back. I love making teddy bears.. it just seems as if something is missing when I’m not messing around with fur-like materials.

Many hugs from Vicki and the bears

Remember…

2011-01-25T14:37:00.001-09:00

…when the days seemed so long and weeks were endless? Time had no meaning, except that a year seemed like an eternity? Christmas and Easter seemed so far apart and birthdays never seemed to arrive fast enough?

I remember a time when I didn’t worry. I didn’t think enough about the future to worry about what might happen. I didn’t worry about how I looked or how I appeared to other people. I didn’t worry about what other people thought of me. I was probably about 5 years old.

If I got sick,I just got sick. I didn’t sit and stew about having a fatal disease. I just dealt with life in the moment.

But as I grew and became more accustomed to being in the world, I learned to worry. I learned to feel guilt. I learned to think that my worth was dependent upon what I did. If I got A’s I was good, if I got B’s I wasn’t as good, if I got D’s…. now that was bad.

I learned to judge myself on my accomplishments and the days became shorter and shorter as I crammed activities into every available moment.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been taking break from the insanity of constantly “doing something” and frankly, it feels weird. Like I “should be” painting a room, making more teddies, cleaning out drawers, changing the house around, making clothes, organizing my life, cleaning out the car (ugh!) ….. ha …DOING SOMETHING… but I haven’t been.

In fact I’ve been kind of lazy… at least by my standards. I actually read a novel. I mean, most of the day this past Sunday, I simply read a book. Instead of doing the laundry, baking bread, cleaning something again… I read a novel. It was wonderful.

Am I getting old? Most certainly I am. And it seems like I am being gifted with a kind of dawning and awareness of my life and how my life is not about “getting something done” all the time.

Gosh, if I don’t learn how to take a break and play a little, I’m going to be a sad old lady.

So here’s to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of Winter…

Mystic Wynd features Juneau, Alaska on her Blog

2011-01-13T10:43:00.008-09:00

Karen from Mystic Wynd has featured my hometown of Juneau, Alaska on her blog. She will be featuring other cities as she focuses on her "buy local" theme.

I want to publicly and personally thank Karen for featuring our beautiful city of Juneau, Alaska, in her most recent post.

Please click on Mystic Wynd to visit her blog and follow her in her travels to other areas.

Thanks again ! Vicki and the Bears

3.5 inch Serge, First Bear of 2011

2011-01-07T15:22:00.001-09:00

His name is Serge!

He is 3.5 inches tall.

He is all dressed up… with a little cap, jacket and trousers.

And his Mom’s hands are all munged up from sewing these teeny tiny stitches.

I’m still jazzed on the little ones, so I’m going to put more effort into creating little outfits and little bears.

Thanks for dropping by.

All the best from Vicki and the Bears

Scaling Down in 2011

2011-01-07T13:45:00.001-09:00

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made many and failed miserably. I do, however, believe in change and whether that happens in the new year ahead or periodically within the year, I believe change is good as well as difficult at times.

For me, change is about letting go of something that isn’t working and putting more of my energy into something that may work, if I put in more time and energy (how about that for an epiphany).

I have a tendency to have too many sticks in the fire and then I simply dabble around and don’t feel like I ever really accomplish anything worthwhile. Like the song from Tommy goes…. fiddle about, fiddle about…. sometimes I just feel like I’m simply fiddling about.

So, I am letting go of Facebook, finally. No, I really mean it this time. Honest. I even sabotaged myself so I can’t simply “reactivate” my account like I did last time I decided to quit Facebook.

I deleted all my profile information (at least the parts Facebook would “let” me delete); I deleted all my pictures; I unfriended all of my friends (sorry); and deactivated my account for which I hope is for good.

So, for all my Facebook friends who follow my blog, I’m still here, I’m still around and hopefully I’ll find you here, where it feels like we can get to know each other a little better.

I watched a documentary on Facebook last night presented by CNBC. I had also watch a program earlier last year on 20 Minutes where they interviewed the “founder” of Facebook.

So to keep my comments rather subjective here on the blog, I simply decided that I wasn’t comfortable participating in that venue any longer.

And, my resolve is to spend more time on the blog and doing other things I love.

So, with that, I’m closing this post, because I have another one to follow.

Thanks! Vicki and the Bears

Winter’s Beauty in Alaska

2010-12-03T12:43:00.001-09:00

I just finished reading some of your posts on winter and viewing your beautiful pictures of what winter looks like in your area. So, I thought I’d join in the fun and share some of Alaska’s winter beauty with you.

These pictures were taken from my deck just moments ago. Yes, I am blessed to live amid such breathtaking splendor.

I’ve just completed a very busy weekend here at the Alaska Juneau Public Market, visiting friends and selling teddy bears. It feels good to take a break from the hustle and bustle of my teddy bear world to appreciate and share the beauty of winter with my blog friends.

Stay warm, from Vicki and the Bears

New Teddy Faces to Share

2010-11-05T15:39:00.001-08:00

Hello everybody! I’ve had my nose to the teddy grindstone lately and haven’t spent much time on the computer. I did, however, promise to post some individual pictures of some of my new creations in addition to the group shots on the previous blog.

It looks like today is the day so here are a few teddies that will be available for adoption at Juneau’s Public Market on Thanksgiving weekend.

I have, for the most part, (at least for now) set aside the hand embroidered noses for handcrafted noses that I make from filo clay. I’m having great fun designing new noses and don’t miss the embroidery floss one bit.

Thank you all for taking the time to stop by. Any suggestions, comments or words of wisdom are most welcome!

Hugs to all, Vicki and the Bears

Time to Stop and Take a Breath..

2010-10-14T12:17:00.001-08:00

Most every year my teddy bears and I participate in Juneau’s own Public Market, held on Thanksgiving weekend. This year the event takes place on Nov. 26, 27, & 28.

The fur starts to fly around here beginning in July and lasts until I feel like I have enough bears to make things interesting.

Consequently, I have been buried in fur for the past couple of months or so and just came up for air .. so to speak.

The following is a preview of bears who will be participating in this year’s market.

I’m pretty excited, as always, preparing my booth for the market. I’ll post some individual bear pictures here in the next few days.

Thanks all for stopping by and Happy Fall Days! Vicki and the Bears

Maximum Wellness

2010-08-03T18:09:00.001-08:00

I remember a time when I believed in the magic of teddy bears. The eyes of the teddy bears I made would follow me wherever I went. It always made me smile as I recognized their presence in my life.

Over time the magic left. I forgot that my bears used to watch me walk around. I forgot that they used to play and dance and laugh and giggle and tell teddy stories when I was at work.

I had begun to judge rather than love. I had begun to compare rather than celebrate differences. I had started to think that money was the object. That each bear had a price tag instead of an assignment. And the magic gradually died.

I had forgotten the purpose of my gift. To create loving bears to pass along healing and love to whomever they were lucky enough to be passed on to.

I have recently been working with an old pattern I created back in the early nineties. I call it my Maxwell Pattern, because I designed the teddy bear “Maxwell” as a symbol of “maximum wellness” and my idea was that this bear would be created to help others through their own hard times.

Shortly before I designed and completed Maxwell I had returned come home from six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation for the cancer that threatened to end my life. One of the things that helped me through the ordeal (aside from my loved ones) was my favorite teddy bear “Ben.”

A few days ago I completed a bear and I felt the return of something magical. Because she looked at me. Her eyes followed me and I thought to myself, “I remember when that used to happen all the time.”

Today it happened again when I finished another bear while sitting on the deck in the sunshine. His eyes followed me and I felt my heart open and tears well up in my eyes.

My bears are never going to win prizes or compete for the best in their class. They don’t need to. That is not their purpose. They are average, everyday teddy bears and their purpose is to bring “maximum wellness” to whomever they are lucky enough to be presented to. And my purpose is to simply bring them into the world, so they can complete theirs.

I knew that something happened, something good, something ancient, something familiar when I turned 59; this new/old awareness is part of it and I feel full to the brim!

Thanks for sharing in the magic!

Love and hugs from Vicki and the bears

59, and Holding

2010-07-18T20:07:00.001-08:00

Or maybe that should be “59 and letting go.”

I haven’t felt inspired recently to write on the blog, so I just flat haven’t. But today I feel the inspiration returning, so I will share how I feel with you, my teddy bear friends.

Yesterday I turned 59. So, it looks like 60 is just around the corner, if it be my destiny that I live until age 60. These days, I don’t take “anything” for granted, much less that I will be around to celebrate 60.

I seem to have entered a new phase of life that feels very exciting to me. Exciting in a peaceful kind of way. Not in the kind of way that would get one’s adrenaline pumping. I simply feel a shift; a change; a new vision, if you will, about life in general.

I’m not sure anyone could have convinced me that I would feel like this in my late 50’s if they would have spoken to the 20-year old I was at the time.

I feel a little less concerned about day to day trivia; a little less worried about the world in general; a little more grateful for the people in my life; a little more humble; a little less worried about my looks (mind you I said “a little” .. he he); and a little less worried about everybody else.

You see, I am at a place in my life where when you check the boxes, like on a survey or a questionnaire ….. I am on my last two boxes.

There are only two left.

I squandered my youth. Yes, I admit it. I was one of those people who thought youth would last forever. So, I squandered every minute of it, believing I would always be young and able to do whatever I wanted.

And then I turned a corner. And that corner wasn’t gradual for me. It was sudden and scary and I fought it like the plague. Nine years ago I turned 50 and everything changed. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, “how did this happen so fast?”

And now that 60 is staring me in the face, I feel like have graduated to a place where I am more at ease with the process and excited about whatever time I may have “left.”

And, I promise to myself not to squander my last two boxes.

New Bears

2010-06-21T19:54:00.002-08:00

Short and sweet, simply to share with you the new bears that have blessed me with their presence here in the past couple of weeks.

This is Chef Michael,

Echo,

Rebecha,

Luke,

Lamare,

And, little Estella. Ah, but you met her last time when she was swimming in lace.

Thanks for stopping by and a blessed Summer Solstice to all.

Hugs, Vicki and the bears

Estella and Lace

2010-06-07T15:25:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much to my wonderful friend, Laura, of Dances with Teddy Bears for the lovely lace that I received in the mail on Saturday as a result of “lucky me” winning Laura’s Lace Giveaway!

My most recent creation, Estella, has been waiting patiently (even though it just took a couple of days to get here) for the arrival so she could adorn herself appropriately.

She has since picked out a favorite piece and I made her a little lace collar. And since she’s sitting right here at my desk, I’ll just take her picture so you can see her selection.

I’m not sure who had more fun unraveling the goodies, Estella or me. (Probably me)

Thanks for sharing the fun, Laura.

Love and Hugs, Vicki and Estella

Panda Project (The Final Stage)

2010-06-04T20:36:00.001-08:00

A while back I posted a story about a dirty little (well, he was actually rather large, but I like the sound of “dirty little”) Panda bear who came to live with me for a while, just to get cleaned up. If you are interested in the whole story you can click here to read the post http://customteddys.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html.

The next stage of development for this lucky bear was her bath. After sitting around and visiting with Woody for about a month, it became necessary to provide her with a new nose and a much needed bath.

The only way I know to safely wash a bear is to use cold water, Woolite and a terrycloth rag.

The bear is gently washed by hand, section by section. After each section is washed, I rinse, using the same method but without the Woolite.

After two sessions of wash and dry, and a final brushout, red bow and huge human hug… I am ready to send this guy home!

Happy trails! Love from Vicki

Ima Clown Bear

2010-05-19T20:56:00.001-08:00

Quite a number of years ago, I had the pleasure of restoring a number of Steiff animals and teddy bears for a good friend of mine. My favorite of the lot was an old 1925 Steiff Clown bear. For some reason, he simply captured my heart and I could not forget him.

This is what he looked like before I got my teddy hands on him.

This is what he looked like afterwards.

He was way out of my reach as far as purchasing him was concerned, so I simply hung on to his picture and just loved him anyway.

A week or so ago, I was in creative mode and one of the bears I decided to make turned out to be a clown. I made her out of sparse mohair and had every intention of putting her up for sale in my Etsy store.

After the photo shoot today, I noticed that one of her arms was quite loosely jointed. Too loose to present her for sale and although I could have taken her apart and repaired the arm, it occurred to me that this bear was adopting me and that was her way of telling me she wasn’t going anywhere.

Teddies have a way of choosing us. I don’t know how that works. It’s a look, a feeling, one of those phenomenon that can’t be explained. But I believe they choose us, we don’t choose them.

Llittle Ima had this one in the bag from the beginning, much to my surprise. And I couldn’t be happier, loose little arm and all.

Thanks for sharing the teddy love. Hugs from Vicki and Ima!

Happy May Day!

2010-05-01T11:49:00.001-08:00

I remember when I was a child, I loved the first day of May, because it was May Day. We would make little May baskets and fill them with tiny candies and ribbons. We would then chase down the object of our affection and a few best friends, give them a May basket and hope for a kiss in return.

What a sweet way to welcome this beautiful Month.

Today I was going to work in the garden, however it is a bit chilly. I read a post on Facebook this morning from someone who said they were busy working on bears and it made me jealous. That was my clue… I want to work on bears today and leave the gardening to another day. So rather than make little May baskets and chase down my friends for hopeful kisses, I’ll simply cut out a few hopeful teddy bears and enjoy the day.

The bears on the photo are some of my most recent creations. From left to right there is Mojo, Caramel, William, Humphries, Gloria, Brett and Miss Gray.

Happy Merry Month of May to all my friends on the blog. Hugs from Vicki and the Bears

Aviator Bear

2010-04-05T15:14:00.001-08:00

Well, it’s been a week or so since Aviator Bear was presented to his new owner, so I feel safe in introducing him on the blog.

Aviator was a custom order, made from sand colored mohair; he has hazel green eyes, a nose molded from Filo clay and Filo trapunto paws. His aviator jacket is made from my husband’s old motorcycle jacket; cleaned and conditioned; it looks as good as new. Aviator wears a satin scarf and is lightly airbrushed around his eyes, ears and muzzle.

I feel that he was well received in his new home, as his owner came by with cupcakes and pictures a few days ago.

Hugs to you from Vicki and Aviator Bear

Homespun Mercantile First Friday

2010-04-02T11:33:00.003-08:00

We’re on our way to Homespun Mercantile in the Airport Shopping Center here in Juneau to celebrate First Friday Open House with our Mom, Vicki Peres, as featured artist.

From left to right we are Scooter, James, George, Honey and Spring.

Please join us from 4-7 on Friday, April 2, 2010.

Thanks!!

Panda Project

2010-03-26T13:05:00.001-08:00

She arrived in a white plastic garbage bag about six weeks ago. A large, very dirty, sooty, stuffed Panda with big sad eyes. The request from her owner was, “Can you bring her back to life? She belonged to my grandson and he is about to become a father. I would like to give him back his childhood bear as a gift to his about to arrive child.” I assured her, as I gingerly touched the bear, that I could, in fact, bring this particular bruin back to life in time for her great-grandson’s arrival.

Panda has remained in her plastic bag for over a month now, as I waited for the day inspiration and energy would compel me to remove her dirty self from the bag and see what I could do.

The day has arrived, and that would be today. First I brought out the Dyson and placed rubber gloves on my hands. Oh, I know…. I just don’t like touching things that I don’t know where they have been. I know our friend Panda has been in a garage, but I don’t know who or what was in the garage with her, and by the looks of her, it wasn’t all that pleasant.

Next I vacuumed away most of the loose cobwebs (really), dirt, sawdust, and there is even some paint on her that I’ll have to deal with later. Having gone as far as I could with the Dyson, I pulled her out of doors onto my deck and started brushing her with my specialized teddy bear cat brush. As I brushed, her personality began to emerge through her big sad teddy bear Panda eyes. Now that she is “surface-clean” she can, at least, come into the house without her plastic bag.

I decided to let her absorb the energy of the bear house and visit a bit with Woody before we begin the next stage of our restoration project.

Woody, as you know, was rescued from the tideflats way back in the 90’s. I figured if anyone one of the bears was suitable to share hope and survival stories, it would be Woody. Tomorrow, perhaps, Panda will get her new face. Her nose, if you can tell from the pictures, is quite flattened out. Probably from many hugs in her previous life. Now I need to prepare her for more hugs to come.

Stay tuned! Hugs and love from Vicki

Saving Face with Facebook

2010-03-25T19:48:00.002-08:00

OK, I know.... I feel a little weird, but I'm back on Facebook. I miss my friends on there, even though I don't spend too much time on board. Oh my, I'll give it another go and just quit trying to do everything perfectly... he he

I have two new bears to post, however, they are both custom orders and their recipients have not received them yet. I best wait until the bears are delivered before I post their pictures on the blog.

Working in my greenhouse and gardening (well, cleaning up last Fall's mess, have kept me busy these days. I have a stack of mohair here in my closet that is calling to me. Maybe tomorrow.

Just wanted to touch base. Love and hugs, Vicki

Restoring Peace and Sanity to My Life

2010-03-07T15:39:00.001-09:00

In an effort to cut down on the stress in my life, I ended my relationship with Facebook. I just sort of skipped “Facebook Town” without even an apology or an explanation. I left flat all my 30+ friends and just disappeared. I felt slightly bad for an instant. But here’s the jist of it…. I just don’t have time.

What happens is, I dabble a bit here, I dabble a bit there, I try to get a footprint in some other area… and I never really arrive anywhere at all. I just sort of appear and disappear and stress out and frankly, I would just rather make bears and change my house around.

So, I decided to end my account with Facebook as I ended my account with My Space a few months ago.

Another part of the reason, is that I just don’t want to sort of kind of belong somewhere. And I felt like I sorta kinda belonged on Facebook but I never really got it. And it seemed like it was getting out of hand. It’s like, if I am going to be your friend on Facebook, or anywhere else, for that matter… I want to really be your friend. I want to look at your pictures and get to know you. I found that I just didn’t have time to do that to my satisfaction in that arena.

I want to keep up on my blog and my website and my Etsy store. I have found lovely friends here on the blog and trust me…. I won’t just disappear from here without an announcement. I feel committed to my blog, even if I can’t post as often as I would like.

The internet is an amazing phenomenon. And it is so packed full of “things to do” places to meet people and it goes on and on….. it can be very stressful. And at this stage of the game in my life, I want as little stress as is absolutely possible.

So, to those of you who read my blog and whom I have abandoned on Facebook, do not dismay. I am here, alive, well, happy, and a little less stressed, with hopefully more time to read “your” blog posts and keep up with you here. Thanks for stopping by.

Love and hugs, Vicki and the Bears

Bear Arrival!

2010-02-25T19:40:00.002-09:00

Announcing the arrival of…. ta da…

Packer born on 2/20/2010

Belle born on 2/24/2010

Biskit born on 2/23/2010

And here’s a couple who moved out to Homespun Mercantile last week.

Lex and Griswald!

Ha, it looks like we’ve been working on bears at the teddy bear house. And now it’s time to share the joy!

Happy Hugs from Vicki and the Bears!

So, What Did you do in Florida??

2010-02-18T13:02:00.000-09:00

I’m so glad you asked.

We had an overnight in Seattle and had a delicious Italian dinner with my lovely daughter and her family.

The next day we flew to Miami and drove to Orlando the following day. We stayed at the Blue Heron. It was beautiful.

We visited Epcot at Disney World!

Took a ride in a hot air balloon.

Rode the carousel (of course)!

Hubby rode a Harley!

We ate at the House of Blues.

We went to NASA !!!

Then we drove back to Miami and visited South Beach.

..went to a “LIVE” NBA Basketball Game! The Miami Heat played the Cleveland Cavaliers… it was AWESOME .

Then we drove to the Keyes. I loved the Keyes the best.

And stayed in a lovely hotel called the Chelsea House.

…visited the Southernmost point in the United States.

And returned home, tired and happy.

Love from Vicki and the bears (and the hubby)

First Bear of 2010, Meet Bruin

2010-02-17T11:21:00.001-09:00

Boy do I feel behind the 8-ball here.

I drafted this post about a month ago, then we went on vacation, then my husband had surgery, now I’m trying to catch up….

Well, I’ve got to start somewhere. So here is where it all begins on catch up week here at the teddy bear house.

I’m still practicing with my new “clay noses” and such, having fun and inspiring myself with stories of real bears. Here’s a picture of Bruin and Cinnamon… they have become great friends.

More to come very soon.

Love and hugs to all from Vicki and the bears

Cinnamon Bear, Last Bear of 2009

2009-12-31T13:42:00.004-09:00

Time to meet Cinnamon Bear, my last bear of 2009.

I would like to wish all my friends here in teddy bear land and otherwise, a very Happy 2010. Thanks for making 2009 a very fun year for me and the bears.

Teddy Hugs to All from Vicki and the Bears

Holiday Mode; It's Over!

2009-12-26T11:07:00.003-09:00

OK, I'm done. I'm out of Holiday Mode and back in the teddy bear room. I just listed my most recent creation, Grizz, on Etsy and I'm going to cut out his sister, Cinnamon, today.

I almost took down the tree today... I did reconsider though and decided I would make better use of my time cutting out another teddy bear.

I'm not a "bah humbug" by any means. It's just that when it's over, it's over and time to get on with the program.... the teddy program that is.

So here is a picture of Grizz. And hopefully Cinnamon will be poking her little nose in here shortly.

Love and hugs to you from Vicki and the Bears

I've Been Working....Honest

2009-12-17T19:06:00.002-09:00

It’s been over a month since I’ve written here on the blog. Holy cow, I used to be so good about this, writing at least every two weeks. Now I feel like I’ve lazed out here and I’m not too pleased with myself (sigh...).

However, I have been working.

Really.

I have some new bears to show you.

In addition to my regular bears like my newest creations Halo and the teddy for my niece...

"Halo"
"Bear for my Niece"

...I'm also working on a new design. Maybe that's why I'm lax to post here on the blog. Working on new stuff means for me a lot of starts and stops, dos and re-dos, studying and concentration.

I’ve been consumed by my fascination with “real” bears, like the Grizzly and brown bears in Alaska. Consequently, I’m working up a pattern and have finished my first prototype, which I have called Brown Bear.

We have a taxidermy stuffed huge brown bear in our mall here in Juneau. I never really look at it because I am really not into stuffed “real” creatures. However, I have been studying it closely, because that bear will help me design my new patterns and make my very own realistic (not real) brown/grizzly bear.

This is my first attempt at "trapunto paws" and using polymer clay for the nose (my hat goes off to all those polymer clay artists..... it's hard to get that thing to stay how I want it). I will keep practicing, though, because I know that's how I get the results I want (eventually).

Thank you for dropping by. If I don't get back here before Christmas, I wish you a most peaceful Holiday.

Hugs from Vicki and the Grizzly Bears

Inspiration and Teddy Bear Love

2009-11-03T14:48:00.005-09:00

Inspiration sneaks in when you are least aware of it.

It comes from reading a story in a magazine about somebody’s “muse” and you wonder to yourself if you, indeed, have a “muse” of your own.

It comes from believing in the magic and listening to the still small voice that comes to you that says, “If you believe in the magic, you have to live the magic.”

It comes from not comparing yourself to others, knowing that inside you is a unique expression of the universe begging to come forth.

It comes from having an idea and being willing to work on that idea until it comes to fruition, even if it isn't quite the outcome you imagined it to be.

It comes from believing in yourself.

Belief.

That’s it.

Just believe.

Don’t worry about tomorrow. Cultivate teddy bear love. It is everywhere. It exists.

Even on the dull days when nothing seems to fit anymore and teddy bear love and inspiration seem to have flown out the window never to return.

If you stay, if you believe, if you still keep on keeping on…. teddy love and inspiration will return.

You have to believe in yourself.

You have to take that first step.

Even if there is only the teeniest bit of light available that begs you to come forth.

You have to believe.

Teddy love and inspiration are not things you can hang on to.

They are things that you must believe in and give away at every opportunity.

Because it is only by giving them away that you get to experience them for yourself.

You have to walk through doubt.

You have to push that button even though everything in your mind tells you not to because people will judge you for who you are.

But you have to anyway, because there is something inside that says you just can’t quit one more time.

You must enter into uncharted territory. You have to be brave enough to create something and let other’s see it.

Let yourself be seen.

New Bears to Report

2009-10-26T20:37:00.004-08:00

"The Blues"

Stuart (he gets two photos up cuz I LOVE him!

Nathan

Evan (he's a little bigger than the others at 6 inches)

And finally little Pepe!

I'll just let the teddies tell the story this time.

Many hugs to you all from the Vicki and the teeny teddies.

Scully and His Corvette

2009-10-20T20:28:00.004-08:00

My name is Scully. I was born on December 2, 2002. I am slightly less than 3 inches tall and wear a red print vest. Basically, what I am is a “practice bear”… and I don’t really mind that. That means I actually serve a very valuable service. My Mom teddy bear lady was practicing to make smaller bears. She made me and put a little red vest upon my chest and called me Scully.

She must have liked me because in the summer of 2003 she took me along when she and Himself went to Victoria to pick up the Corvette. I was so excited to be going along, I could hardly sit still the whole way. But little did I know what was yet to come.

It was a 1981 black slightly used Corvette, but I loved it and when she explained to Himself that the Corvette really should belong to Scully, I almost jumped out of my vest. So we all got in the Corvette and proceeded to drive back to Seattle so we could put the Corvette on the barge and bring it back home to Juneau.

I insisted on sitting on the dash, even though I kept falling off.

When we got back home I was requested to turn my Corvette over to Himself, my boss/owner/master/friend, and trust him to completely dismantle my prized possession and rebuild it from the ground up, so to speak.

Years passed. I sat in the man-office waiting, gathering dust, sitting, staring at the wall, gathering faith, hoping, and finally, one day Himself asked his wife teddy bear lady, “Want to go for a Corvette ride?” And she replied, “Yes, and let’s take Scully!”

I could hardly believe my ears! I almost jumped for joy but there was so much dust on me, I couldn’t muster the strength.

So the teddy bear lady picked me up, shook me off, brought me out into the sunshine and placed me on the hood of the Corvette.

The Corvette was just beautiful! It was now this smashing color of red (and it matches my vest) with a little bit of black, leather seats and a wonderful new dashboard for me to sit on. This was worth waiting for, for sure.

So we went for a ride. I got to drive. I got to see amazing scenery. And I got to hang out with the teddy bear lady and Himself for a little while. It was a perfect day in the life of a patient teddy bear.

And now I’m back on my shelf in the man-office, but that’s OK. Because I know that by being patient I have been rewarded and my teddy dreams have come true. My Corvette is back on the road and it is way cool!!!

So, thanks to Himself for fixing my Corvette and making it so beautiful. And thanks to my Mom teddy bear lady for remembering me, sitting here in the man-office for many years, waiting for the magic moment.

Now I have my memories and my dreams and my hopes that I can go for another ride someday beary, beary soon.

Good night from Scully.

My Newest Fuzzy Friend!

2009-10-10T12:10:00.003-08:00

The other day I was out shopping with Mom when I spotted him. Sitting atop a shelf at Fred Meyer’s. "I have to have him," I exclaimed to Mom. So she agreed and insisted on buying him for me.

I placed him ever so gently in the cart and we proceeded on with our shopping trip.

I wasn’t quite sure how he would be accepted by the other bears once we got home.

It took awhile, but today they invited him to join in teddy story time.

Teddies are such open and loving little individuals.

However, I kind of think this is only going to last until the end of the month.

Happy Halloween month to you,

Vicki and the bears and the fuzzy spider

Happy Birthday Dear Daughter

2009-10-08T10:29:00.003-08:00

On October 8, 1970 at the ripe old age of 19, I gave birth to you, my first child, a beautiful baby girl.

We named you Barbara Ann, mostly because being a child of the 60’s I was in love with the Beach Boys and my favorite song was Barbara Ann.

So I began to raise you, my little Barbie doll, although I was little more than a child myself.

The years went by so fast, I can hardly believe it.

If I would have known then, what I know now.

How different things would have been.

But I’ve learned many things from you, my dear.

Lessons of love and absolute joy.

Lessons of opening and gratitude.

Lessons of letting go and letting in.

Lessons of growing up and growing old.

And believe me when I say, I am so proud of you. You are so beautiful. And you are loved absolutely. My little girl.

Happy Birthday!
With Love, Mom

Everett the Panda Bear

2009-09-26T10:57:00.006-08:00

OK, I'm going to get past this "hair" thing and post a teddy...

This is Everett, my most recent creation. He is made from this fuzzy fleece-type material that I find at JoAnn's. It's not considered plush, but I find it makes the softest bears. The fibers do tend to get all over the place, but a little tumble in the dryer set at "fluff" takes care of a lot of that.

I airbrushed him to give him his panda features... and I'm pretty pleased with the way he turned out.

He is a love, and with his arms open, he is ready for hugs.

So, teddy hugs to all of you and have a great Saturday. Vicki and Everett

Hair.....

2009-09-23T13:17:00.002-08:00

OK, I've thought long and hard about posting this post, but it won't let me be and it won't let any other posts in until it is posted. So here it is!

A few weeks ago, one of my buddies on the blog (I won't mention any names) wrote a very interesting tale of her experience with hair; short beautiful blonde vs. long brown tresses. And having chosen the shorter version, relaying her experience and feelings on the subject.

My reply to her was that at the nape of my neck I have natural dark brown tresses and now that my age is closer to 60 than 50, the brow line comes out whitish-gray. "What a mess", was my description of my crown of glory.

Which got me to thinking. My hair was divided into sections. A quarter of it was gray (the top part) and the remainder a beautiful brown (the bottom half). Why did I think I need to go for the top half, which frankly I wasn't all that fond of. I just thought since the gray was coming in anyway, I was "supposed" to let it just turn gray naturally. Hum.....maybe not.

So, guess what?

I got brave. Went to the store. Bought a “rinse” to test out the theory. Took the plunge; aka plunged my head in the rinse and viola, my hair turned brown all over. A color of which I haven't seen in over ten years on the top of my head. Ha !

And I like it. I just like it.... so my dear friend over on the other side of the world with your beautiful blonde short tresses.... thanks for sharing the "courage" to change. As a result of your post, I decided that what I thought "had" to be wasn't really what I wanted. So I dove into the dye and came out a brunette and I am so happy (at least until I have to start putting up with those darn little white roots that will begin to appear in the not so distant future). But, mind you, they will only appear on approximately 1/4 of my head, so I can deal with that, at least for today.

Oh, and we're still waiting for a "real" picture, Pat. (Oh, oops, I said her name.) And the one of "Pink" just isn't going to cut it.

Laughs and teddy hugs from Vicki

Sunflowers and Teddy Bears

2009-09-15T07:24:00.002-08:00

Early this spring I planted about 7 sunflower seeds. Here in Alaska it’s kind of touch and go to see if they will even have enough time and sunshine to bloom. I thought mine were a lost cause, as last weekend we had quite a storm with gusts of 40 mph and I thought for sure all my sunflowers would blow over.

But one sturdy fella stayed upright in the back yard, amid his fellows lying there on the ground.

And the three I have planted in the front yard in front of the greenhouse weathered the storm and delighted in the basking of the sunshine today by gently starting to unfold in the sunlight.

True to form, three teddies started yelling from the teddy bear room and begged to be brought outside into the sunshine by the sunflowers and have their pictures taken.

It’s difficult to ignore the wining and begging of teddy bears; I don’t care who you are. And since the camera was already out, why not?

So these three promised to sit on the railing and NOT fall down over the side and tumble down the bank as their buddies did last Spring.

So, from left to right are Buckeye, Sebastian and Candy Cane. Buckeye has quite the attitude and absolutely insisted on being set atop the closest sunflower. Since I’m pretty much a giveaway when it comes to teddy requests, I sat him on a leaf stem and took his mug shot.

I am grateful for the sunny days, although few and far between as Autumn approaches. So from me and the three bears, happy Autumn days and love and hugs to all!

Vicki and the sunflowers and the three begging bears.

Having a Sale on Etsy

2009-09-03T18:01:00.007-08:00

I've been working hard in my Etsy store these past couple of days. I decided not to participate in the Public Market here in Juneau this season. It's a little heartbreaking, but I need to de-stress myself and I would prefer to gear my energy towards my on-line presence.

Consequently, I have decided to clear out some inventory in my Etsy shop and restock with the bears I currently have in stock here at home and the new ones that will be arriving soon. So, I thought I'd let everybody know that I have some real teddy deals on Etsy.

Here's a link to my shop if you can't resist, Custom Teddys Etsy Shop, and click on the section entitled "Sale Items".

You can also view each individual teddy bear listing by clicking on your favorite teddy to the right of this post.

More from me later.

Thanks for dropping by! Hugs from Vicki and the Bears

Alright, Get Up Already!

2009-08-30T18:55:00.002-08:00

One of my best teddy friends is Micro Bear. I received him as a gift about 9 years ago from my husband, Kelly.

I first saw Micro Bear in a health food store. He was sitting atop the vitamins and all that holistic health stuff, being advertised as someone you could put into the microwave and have a nice warm snuggle with when he is fully cooked.

I just had to have him!

So I told my then boyfriend, now hubby, that I was in love with the teddy bear at the health food store, and just in case he needed any Christmas ideas, the bear would be very well received.

So, when Micro Bear arrived in his Christmas package, the first thing I did was place him in the microwave and watch him spin around. Then he gave me the warmest teddy hug I’ve ever received and that was the beginning of our relationship.

When my granddaughters came to visit, they got quite a kick out of Micro Bear. We all laughed and fought over who was going to be the huggie of the moment with the nice, warm, soft and snuggly teddy bear.

Well, Micro Bear is now about 9 years old. By bear years, I’m not sure how that figures, but he’s a little rough around the edges and spends more time sitting than hugging these days.

As I explained in an earlier post, I’ve been feeling a bit “Lost” for the past couple of weeks. One day I noticed little Micro sitting there looking at me so I took him off his perch, stuck him in the microwave for old times sake, and spent a little snuggle time with him.

One thing I do believe about bears as it goes, is that they retain all the love that they are given and then give it back during some of the “down” times in life. In those moments spent with my old buddy Micro Bear, I began to feel the warmth and love that a teddy so often is just waiting to give back. I remembered the laughter and the hugs and the question every time one of the grandchildren came over to visit, “where’s Micro Bear?”

Well, today Micro looked at me and said “Alright, Get Up Already”…. “We’ve had some nice snuggle time, but I’m tired of that microwave and I want to perch for a while.”

It is useless to argue with a teddy, so I listened and felt the energy begin to return and the magic of teddies once again began to slowly visit my psyche and my little room.

So, no more “Lost” for a while. I’m going to get those bags of teddy bear parts out of the closet this week and just see who comes to visit me here in the teddy bear room.

Love and hugs to my friends in teddy bear land, Vicki and Micro Bear

Lost

2009-08-22T11:33:00.003-08:00

So here I am again. I haven’t been on the blog for a couple of weeks, except to check in with various blogs I follow, but I haven’t been able to post one of my own.

Why not?

Because I’m out of gas. I don’t have anything interesting to say. I have no new teddies to report.

What I do have are six bears in process, waiting “patiently” for faces, arms, legs, bows and personalities to explode.

I have piles of blue jeans that I swear I am going to make into fabulous purses, vests and belts.

And with all that, my energy level is at about zilch… and who wants to hear about that?

I think with all our house projects this summer, I’m just worn out. And what I know is that when I am worn out, I can’t force teddies to be born. What happens, is that they just emerge with these sullen little faces and the magic won’t come.

So, I’m going to wait for the magic to reappear in my life and I’m sure the bears will understand.

In the meantime I have become lost in “Lost”….. Oh no.

One of my biggest fears is becoming a television monger who sits all day and watches the boob tube. Oh, well, it seems that is what I have become. I do, however, force myself to be productive during the day… you know the cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands and all the facets of being a house person….. However, in the evening I turn in to the addictive TV person… and just “leave me alone,” if you please.

I discovered Netflix a few months ago.

A few days ago I discovered that I could watch Netflix instantly on my computer. Consequently, I have become addicted to the television series “Lost.” When the series first began, I watched a couple of episodes, but I couldn’t keep up with it and became lost so I stopped watching.

With the discovery of streaming video on Netflix, I discovered that you could watch a complete Season with all the episodes over my computer.

So, I have watched Season 1 in its entirety.

I have watched Season 2 in its entirety.

I am currently halfway through Season 3.

And I believe there are 5 (?) seasons so far to watch…. I wonder if I will become permanently scarred as a result.

I have become one of the people I judge. You know… those lazy people. And I deserve it. So I am going to judge myself unmercifully, watch the next three seasons of Lost at my discretion, and just see what happens.

You see, I seldom indulge in anything. I seem to work all day, cleaning, gardening, running errands, making teddies; and perhaps when all the chores are done I may relax for ten minutes before bed.

I think I’m just plain done with being that for a while.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen to me as a result of all this. Will I turn into a pumpkin in the end? Will I become slothful and lazy? Will I never make another teddy? Will I lose my family, my friends, my relationships? Will I become permanently lost?
I don’t know. But this feels like the first time in a very long time where I have just stopped for a while. I need to pretend I’m on vacation. The kind of vacation that takes place on a tropical island with Hurley, Jack, Clair, Sawyer, John, Freckles, and the rest of the survivors.

I just hope I survive the ordeal. It’s 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I wonder if I’ll survive the day if I find my comfortable spot, right next to my sleeping cat, and just get lost in the comfort of my little self-created vacation.

I guess we'll see.

Love and hugs to all my buddies out there in blogland from Vicki and the rest of the "Lost"

Please Welcome Taffy !

2009-08-08T08:01:00.003-08:00

My world is about to expand into teddies and more teddies. Summer is waning... sigh... and teddies are waiting to be born. Just a peek at what's to come, please welcome little 11 inch Taffy to the world!

More information can be obtained about her on my website www.customteddys.com.

It feels good to be back on the blog and back in teddy world. It's kind of like coming home.

Love and hugs to all my teddy friends, Vicki and the bears

Transformation

2009-08-05T14:13:00.008-08:00

It feels like I've been gone from the Blog forever, but it's only been a little over a week. Our house has indeed been transformed, from dingy-dirty ancient (I'm exaggerating, of course.. ha) 20 plus year-old carpet to brand new antique white beautiful "clean" carpet that I absolutely love. It was worth waiting for and since I've had a few days to rest.... it was worth the effort.

We packed up the living room and the teddy bear room, and stored most of my stuff in the garage.

Then we ripped out all the old carpet and pad and put that in the garage.

And here's my empty teddy bear room, except for the desk which was taken out the day of the installation.

After all was said and done and all my stuff moved back into the house, viola... here is my newly rearranged and transformed teddy bear room! This is my worktable.

To the left of the worktable is my sewing table and computer desk.

These are shelves where lots of "stuff" lives... important stuff.

And these are the teddies I've made who are waiting for their assignments.

And one of the most exciting parts of this whole operation is my new couch/bed/storage unit.

It folds down into a double bed.... and.....

...pops up to a most incredibly wonderful storage area where I can keep all of my teddy fur and material scraps!

And with all of that, I feel very done with house projects for a while... a good while. In addition to the carpet, we also put new laminate in our kitchen and dining area about a month prior to this project. Needless to say, I'm tired, I'm old and I just want to sit and make teddies for a while. And that is what I intend to do.

Thanks for dropping by. Love and Hugs from Vicki and the Bears!

House Projects

2009-07-22T18:13:00.003-08:00

Hi all,

I don't think this post merits a photo, as it would be of a very messy house and bare floor. We are in preparation for our new carpet, to be installed on Tuesday the 28th. The teddy bear room is no longer a magic place for teddies. It is reduced to a computer sitting on a card table, an airmattress to sit on and a couple of plastic totes containing miscellaneous tools, extension cords, nails and other odds and ends that don't have a real home.

All the teddy bears, potential bears, bear bags, mohair, scraps of fabric, and all my other "stuff" is packed (somewhat neatly) and is currently being stored in our garage.

We finished tearing out the old carpet today -- now I get work on the walls, repairing old nail holes and making plans for my spanking new "re-do" of the teddy bear room and our living room. I am so excited!

I'll be back with pictures of two new teddies that are in the final stages of completion when things get back to normal. I will, however, continue to check in with all of you to keep track of your activities, at least until I have to abandon ship entirely here in the teddy bear room and unhook my computer. In the meantime, I may find my camera in all this upheaval and take a picture of the progress as it takes place.

Many hugs to all of you in blogland! Vicki

My Alaskan Garden Pictures

2009-07-16T13:41:00.004-08:00

We are having a beautiful, sunny summer here in Juneau, Alaska, so I thought I would share with you some of my garden pictures.

This is Wild Alaskan Firweed, picture taken from my deck.

Part of my vegetable garden. Normally I have to keep it covered because of the rain (note the visqueen rolled back and the hoops). I'm growing lettuce, carrots, celery and potatoes (potatoes located behind the visqueen, next to the house).

This is another little vegetable garden of cabbage and zucchini.

The Grand Peony

Thaddeous Brown sneaking around the green pepper plant (can't keep those bears out of the garden).

My pride and joy 2nd year Begonia!

Angel Face rose (heavenly scent).

Little "Petunia" just hanging out on a summer day in the petunias.

Hanging baskets and planters containing Verbena, Petunias, Bacoba and Lobelia

Sweet Peas

And, finally, a sweet little hummingbird who comes to visit occasionally with his buddies (see bottom left of picture).

Thanks for dropping by to share in my joy this summer. The sun has been so welcome and the flowers are showing their gratitude.

Hugs to all from Vicki and the bears and the flowers and the vegies!

The Bag Bears

2009-07-02T20:10:00.005-08:00

In the past, I had a process for working on teddy bears and, frankly, it worked out quite well.

The process went like this. I would go to the closet, bring out all the mohair, plush, fuzzy fleece, and any other material that I thought would make a likely good bear and place it on the floor in the teddy bear room. Then I would bring out my various teddy bear patterns and my stash of cloth bags.

The Potential

Sitting on the floor of the teddy bear room, I would flip on the TV and begin to cut out teddy bears. As I worked, I would begin to get new ideas and inspiration for different types of bears. So, I would grab up a fabric and a pattern and cut another bear, based on the idea I just had. Hours later I would still be cutting and placing bear parts in bags in the midst of this incredibly messy teddy bear explosion. By the time I was done, I would have at least ten bags of bear parts, ready to sew. And it was all so exciting, because I had all these potential teddy bears just waiting to be born.

Empty Bags, Waiting for Bear Parts

About six months ago, I decided to change my process. I wanted to improve my skills and thought that by changing my process, I could change my skill level. So I began by working on one single bear at a time. No more magic bags. No more teddy bear room explosions. No more in the moment inspirations. I made a plan before I cut out the bear, I grabbed the perfect material, I knew what it was going to look like before I started, and from there I went from joyful creating to painstakingly trying to make what I thought would be perfect teddy bears.

Some Are Perfect......and Sadly, Many Are Not

What I found as a result of striving for all this perfection, is that my creativity level dropped, my production dropped, my enthusiasm dropped, my income dropped, and frankly, I’m just not making the bears I want to make. I spent hours just trying to make the perfect nose. I respaced ears and sewed and resewed eyeballs into perfect sockets, only to find they were crooked upon final inspection. I became judgmental, skeptical, critical and picky. I found that the teddy bear room felt more like a courtroom than a magic place for teddies to be born.

More Teddies.... Waiting to Be Judged

I’m not talking about quality here. I’m not talking about taking shortcuts or hurrying things along just to get the job done. I’m talking about creativity….. about letting the teddy be born, instead of me “insisting” he turn out a certain way.

And it’s OK to have a plan…. However, I need to be willing to revise the “plan” and listen to another voice. Perhaps the voice of the teddy himself, telling me who he is, and asking me to lend a helping hand in creating him the way he is meant to be.

Don't Make Such Rigid Plans.... or I might never have been born. Says Beth, made from an old coat from the Salvation Army

What do I really want? I want to make bears out of old coats like I used to; I want to make bears out of old shirts and bedspreads. I want to make bears with personality, and crooked smiles and laughter lurking in their imperfect little tummies. I want to make wonderful spirited teddies that are excited to move to new homes to love and care for their new owners. I want to put a little bit of me in every bear I make… It’s that simple. Lopsided eyeballs, crooked smiles, cockeyed ears…. who said life was perfect?

Oh no, I hate it when that old lopsided ear thing happens...

I think just by writing this post, I have actually made huge progress with the way I think about my business. I believe it’s time to step back and get my bear parts back into the bags where they belong. I want to create my bears out of the teddy bear explosion rather than the one at a time where I judge them fiercely and I become frustrated when they don’t turn out to be what I think is perfect……Ouch for me… and for the poor teddy.

Ouch !

I know I will continue to strive to become a better teddy bear artist…. however, I have made a unique discovery about myself and my “art.” I have my own style, I have my own personality, and I have what works for me in my creative ventures. My bears reflect who “I” am….. not some idea of how I think they should be based on a standard I can’t quite achieve.

So, with that said, I think I’ll create a teddy bear explosion…. and just see who decides to make an appearance.

Love and teddy hugs to all of you from Vicki and the bag bears.

There are Angel Bears Among Us

2009-06-24T20:05:00.004-08:00

I am pleased to introduce Dreamweaver, my most recent creation.

This little jewel was inspired by the song "Dreamweaver" that was playing on satellite radio on the Classic Vinyl station while I was sewing her together. I thought, "what a perfect name for an angel bear."

Dreamweaver seems to be short on words and big on love, so this will be a short and sweet post.

And so it is, sending angel blessings out to all my friends in blogland.

Hugs from Vicki and the angel bears (and the rest of them, too)

18:18

2009-06-22T16:06:00.007-08:00

Eighteen hours and eighteen minutes of daylight yesterday; you'd think I could find time to write on the blog with all those hours in the day. Where do they go?

There's plenty of time for begonias and tulips to grow.

And then we need to install a new floor in the kitchen and dining room.... there's plenty of time for that.

There's plenty of time for deer to visit (and eat the tulips when they get a chance).

Plenty of time for God to create rainbows.

And finally, in the midst of all the activity, Beth says, "I'm tired ..... daytime or not, I need a rest.

Many summer hugs from Vicki and the busy bears !

Introducing Penelope !

2009-06-09T07:26:00.003-08:00

Hello everyone!
This entry is to introduce to you my latest creation, Penelope. She is 6 inches tall and was born on June 4.

We have been so blessed with sunny weather here in Juneau lately, that her arrival is indeed a miracle of sorts. Not many bears get created (not even in the sunny work station). I've just been too busy enjoying the weather.

It looks like the clouds are back, though, for a little while, so I'm back to the bears. A little guy about 3" tall is sitting here begging me for attention... so stay tuned and we'll see what transpires.

Love to all, Vicki and the Bears

Oh, I almost forgot... she is available on Bearpile.

An Angel Bear for Vicky

2009-06-06T18:09:00.003-08:00

My sister-in-law, Vicky (spelled with a “Y”) (she also calls herself Vicky “1”, and I don’t mind a bit) was diagnosed with a very serious illness approximately 6 months ago. She is bravely and positively enduring treatments for her illness and has surprised everyone, the doctors, her family and all of her friends with her miraculous response to the treatment.

I made her a little angel bear about a week ago and my husband and I sent it to her as a surprise, to help her through the “homestretch” (we hope) of her treatments.

One thing I know about teddy bears. They help.

Plain and simple, they just help.

And so to Vicky, here’s just a little more help in the form of a little angel bear made especially for you.

Love from Vicki (Vicki “2”) and the bears

Learn to Listen ....

2009-05-30T12:33:00.003-08:00

My best friend Billie gave me this postcard sometime in the mid-80's. I keep it on my bulletin board here in my teddy bear room.

In case you can't read the words on the card, I'll type them here:

Learn to Listen like a Teddy Bear. With ears open and mouth closed.
Learn to forgive like a Teddy Bear. With heart open, not caring who is right.
Learn to love like a Teddy Bear. With arms open, and imperfect eyesight!
-Sarah McClellan-

I just thought I'd pass that on. It's time to move on from my last post and go back to the basics of why I love teddy bears !!

Thanks for sharing this joy with me. Hugs from Vicki and the bears

Live and Learn

2009-05-28T21:14:00.002-08:00

In April of 2007 I opened a store on eBay. It cost me $15 per month to operate, plus listing fees per bear and final value fees on each sale. I thought I’d give it a go, as I was retired and had started to work at my teddy bear business full-time and I wanted to give the Internet a try.

I did very well. Considering. At least I was happy and the sales seemed to counteract the listing fees. I made money and I made lots of eBay friends and had lots of fun.

In March of 2008 I closed my eBay store. Sales were slipping and I was having a hard time keeping my shop up due to family issues. eBay was also changing their fee structure and feedback structure,and there was a lot of eBay grumbling taking place at that time.

A couple of months ago I decided to try the eBay store again, as my family issues have settled down and I’m trying to increase my teddy bear sales. I don’t like to label experiences as “failures” but I decided after two months of money going out steadily and sales being very minimal, it wasn’t worth it to keep the shop. I decided simply to list bears for auction and the occasional Buy-It-Now listing.

I don’t need to make a value judgment on this experience. I could voice my opinion on why sales are down, what seems to be happening on eBay but that isn’t the purpose of this blog entry.

I really just want to let people know what happened, because I was so excited a couple of months ago to start the store again …. And then why the store just seemed to “disappear.”

Sorry, no pictures this time. I don’t know how to photo a sad face with an eBay logo across the front of it…. sigh

On the big and bright side, I will, of course, continue to list new teddies on Bearpile, Etsy, and my website and we'll go from there.

Many teddy hugs to everybody, Vicki and the bears (we’re eating lots of cookies these days)

Girly Teddy Bears !

2009-05-20T15:56:00.008-08:00

It started with a white and pink dress I made a few weeks ago, for a sweet little bear named Dotty. Although she refused to wear the dress, it sparked in me the need to create dresses and girly bears to fit into them.

The Culprit Dress

Throughout most of my bear-making career, I have dedicated myself to the creation of teddy bears for the most part, without extra clothing. I just figured a cute bear with a bow or a vest was fine with me. OK, sometimes it would evolve into pair of overalls, but I really didn’t put too much time into the clothing portion of teddy bear making.

And that was OK with me for many years.

And to go along with that theme, most of my bears have been of the male venue. I have created my share of female bears…. but for the most part, when name and tagging time came along, they were boys; boys always domineering the teddy bear portion of my life.

Male Dominated Creations

But now it is time for change. And that means lace, and frills and all things girly, which brings us to my most recent creation, Polka Dot (I seem to have Polka Dots on the brain these days...).

Polka Dot got her start outside in the Sunny Workstation. I did some shopping for some tiny print material last week, with the anticipation of working on a mini “girl” bear. You see, if I work outside in the Sunny Workstation all the stitching must be done by hand.

The Beginnings of Polka Dot

Consequently, I would much rather stitch a very tiny bear by hand than one of its counterparts such as bear of 12 or more inches.

And today I would like to introduce you to Polka Dot. She is 3” tall and completely sewn by hand. Her dress and pantaloons are also hand sewn fully removable (although I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a pair of hemostats to assist in redressing her). I am quite pleased with the results, although I couldn’t “bear” to tell you how many hours I put into this sweet thing.

Polka Dot Explores Her World!

And I am quite convinced she is one of the first in a long line of lacy, frilly, girly type teddies.

Thanks for sharing in the magic! Hugs from Vicki and the Bears

A Sunny Work Station and Pic of Poka Dot Bear for Laura !

2009-05-14T15:53:00.009-08:00

Yesterday's Workstation

We've been blessed with more sunny weather, which means my work station moves from the teddy bear room, to the deck attached to the front of our house. The bear I'm working on in this picture was entirely hand stitched and I even made her a dress (I used the sewing machine for the dress, though).

So, please meet little Betsy, 6 inches tall and wearing her fancy little dress.

And, for my friend, Laura out there in Blogger-Land

Can you believe it, I found this little bear over at my Mom's. I remembered making a polka dot bear way in the beginning of my bear-making career, but I really didn't remember what happened to her. When I went over to Mom's the other day, I spotted the bear in my Mom's office looking pleased as punch... so polka-teddy got to come home with me and have her picture to be posted on the blog !

Hugs to all and thanks for checking in. Vicki

Thanks, Mom !

2009-05-10T08:46:00.007-08:00

Mom and Me 1952

First of all, thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be in the world and thanks for taking part in my arrival.
Mom and her Dad
Thank you for telling me stories of your childhood, of the gratitude you had for the little things in life. Being raised on a farm in rural North Dakota in the 30's and 40's, you didn't have much. An orange in a paper sack was a God-given gift at Christmas, a Model A to drive to town in, going to school in a horse-drawn school bus in freezing cold weather, your job at the movie theater, a best friend to play with, innocence and dreams.
Mom and Me at Eagle Beach Alaska

Thank you for sticking with me for all these years. God knows we've had our differences... especially during my teenage years when you caught me sneaking out at night and other adventures including climbing the water tower in Washburn, North Dakota. What is most fun about that is sharing with you now all the things I got away with.
Mom and Spocky at Thanksgiving 2008
Thank you for teaching me about the things that are real and good in the world. Thank you for talking to me about God and spirituality and politics and people.
Mom posing in a Hummer at the Car Show 2009
Thank you for returning to Alaska after Dad died, to be closer to your children.

Mom and Me at the Public Market Juneau 2008

Thank you for the new adventures we can share together as adults (as grandmothers). Our drive back to Alaska, finding you a home, hours spent together at the Public Market, a day picking Nagoonberries in bear country (that would not be teddy bear country, mind you), shopping trips and walks, lunches and appointments, or just our daily chats and e-mails.

I hope you have a very special Mother's Day, for a very special Mother.

I love you! Vicki

Pierre and Dotty, Finished On A Rainy Day !

2009-05-07T12:37:00.003-08:00

This one is Pierre. Kind of a dapper little fella. I used an altered version of a pattern I created about a year ago. The alterations include longer arms, shorter legs and more of a pot tummy. I like the way it turned out.

Pierre has a bit of smugness to his personality and although smugness isn't really encouraged in the teddy bear house, we do honor all personalities. I have posted him on eBay, so we'll see if his smugness can survive that arena.

And this little sweetheart is Dotty. Originally she was named Crumpet and she was supposed to be wearing a dress. However, she was quite insistent that she be called Dotty and wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the dress. Also during her photo session, I was convinced I would need a special prop, however, much to my surprise, she stood and posed just like a pro. Perhaps since I listened to and honored her requests, she listened to and honored mine. That's what happens when you listen to teddy talk (reminds me of some people I know)!

And this is the dress "Dotty" refused to wear. And after all that work I put into making it. Oh well, I'm sure another little bear will be absolutely delighted to wear this dress... I'm dreaming about her already.

Thanks to all of you for dropping by. Many hugs from Vicki

Biking for Pat!

2009-05-06T15:30:00.002-08:00

Hubby and I on our honeymoon 2003 in Palm Springs!

We rented a Harley and rode all over the place, it was a blast!

Currently we ride a Honda Shadow here in Juneau, on sunny days. Will post a picture next time one of those sunny riding days arrives!

Take care and thanks for checking in! Hugs from Vicki

Born on a Sunny Day !

2009-05-04T11:09:00.007-08:00

It finally rained.

We had about seven days of sunshine, and I'll tell you, when it sunshines in Juneau, everybody is out and smiling. It's crazy. We live in a rainforest. And it rains in a rainforest. I won't bore you with statistics, but believe me when I say.... rain is a constant in our area. When the sun shines, it is the most beautiful place in the world to be and we all get just a little bit nutty.

We try to do everything you could possibly do in the sun, and we try to get it all done in a day, because we don't know when our next sunny day will be. So we plant gardens and flower baskets, we thatch and mow the lawn, we pull weeds, we go for a ride, we eat ice cream, we go for a walk, we sit in the sun, we wash the car, we build a cat run on the deck, we ride our bike, and we agree with everyone we meet that it is a most beautiful day, and don't we deserve it, and aren't we ready for it!

It's almost like taking a leave of sanity for a bit. A day of sunshine in Juneau is like a day in heaven, I would think. And when we are blessed with more than one day .... we just go mad.

Today it is raining. That's OK, because there is hope... hope for more sunny days, since it is only May. And we need the rain so the leaves can appear on the trees and bushes and so the flowers can grow and bloom.

Good news though in teddy bear land... even when the sun shines, teddys can be cut out and sewed by hand on the deck, with a quick trip to the sewing machine to finish things off. Two sweet faces arrived last week, and although they aren't quite done, they are grateful to be here.

They will be listed on my website within the next couple of days, after they tell me who they are.

I'll have a Mother's Day story later this week, too. Rain or shine.

Hugs to everybody out there in teddy bear land. Vicki and the bears