Missy, the mouse ..
This is Victoria ....

Storm, completed.

These are a few little ones completed a while back. They all have Schulte mohair coats, are fully jointed with embroidered noses and all dressed up for Santa.

My daughter, my two grandchildren and my son-in-law are here! And it's wonderful to be a mom and granny again, even if it is for such a short time. On 4 January they go back to Australia but until then I savour every moment with them. Hectic? Yes! Chaos? Yes! Happiness? Overflowing!

All the Xmas decorations are up and the children are delighted. The gifts are wrapped, the sun is shining and all is well here in the deep south.

With all the activities and celebrations, I may not have the time to post again before Christmas, so I would like to wish everyone, near and far a very, very happy and blessed Christmas time.

A new little friend

On Saturday night we had a huge thunder storm, very typical for Johannesburg at this time of the year. I was in the process of completing this little bear but my kitty Jemima was terrified of the lightning and jumped on my lap for comfort so the bear had to be abandoned for a while because kitty cat definitely gets priority, especially when she is afraid. So,, even though he still needs quite a bit of work done and he needs to be "dressed", I have named him Storm. His coat is Schulte mohair and one of the best mohairs I have worked with. It's silky soft and the picture just does not do justice to little Storm. I'm hoping to have him complete very soon but can't seem to find the time because on the 26th of this month Candy, my daughter and my two grandchildren arrive from Australia and there is so, so much to be done before the arrival date. And instead of being able to go through the "to do" list, I just sit and stare into space and get trilliions of butterflies in my tummy - I am more than excited and cannot wait to see them. How on earth am I going to be able to make all the Christmas bears, decorations and gifts that I had planned???

George

Please meet my new Southern Bear, George. George was created from Jenny Lee's give-away pattern "Sunday". All the girl bears are competing for his affections but he has his special little friend joining him very shortly. So watch this space! George is a shy bear and didn't really want his picture taken but he did me a very special favour by posing for me. Thank you George.

Amelia

I was going to post a new bear and a mouse tonight but then I found out that I had won Wendy's little Amelia and I am over the moon! From the first moment I saw Wendy's bears on her website, I was hooked and I am the very proud mama to two of her bears. And now a third is arriving ... how lucky can a gal be! I hope that you have all had a look at her little darlings because they are such a treat. Thank you Wendy!

Birthday give-away

If you need to smile visit jennylovesbenny.blogspot.com

It's 6th birthday celebration with a delightful give-away. I'm saying no more ... just look!

Wendy's birthday give-away

This gorgeous little girl is Amelia - Wendy's birthday give-away. Please visit her blog for updates on her wonderful creations and adventures. wendy-essentialbears.blogspot.com

The Essential Bears website was my introduction to the magical world of bear artists and ignited my passion for bears and bear making. How naive I was to think that I could create these tiny little masterpieces. I tried the miniatures but I don't seem to have the skill to make them so I'll adopt them and treasure them and admire their artists but stick to the larger bears. Perhaps some time down the line, when I have mastered the big ones, I'll try the minis again.

I hope that you are all enjoying your weekend.

Sunday afternoon

I completed another bear last night but the weather is dull and it's raining, so the photographic session has to wait until the weather clears.

In the meantime here's a picture of the cutest bear family. I found this small packet of old potpourri at a junk sale, cut it up, smoothed out the picture and framed it for my workroom.

Aren't they delightful?