Show Preview now open !

The Teddies Worldwide online show preview is now open here :  Holiday Show

Come check out the "eye candy" . There are tons of fantastic creations to see.  And, this is just a small sample of what will be for sale on Nov. 20th-21st

A Sneak Peek

I found out this morning that my sneak peek photo was one of the pics chosen to be used in an ad for the Nov. online bear show.  I am so flattered .  That also means you get an early look at 2 of my 4 bears that will be offered.  You won't have to wait until the 15th to see my preview :) The two on the right are mine ; the one with the santa hat, and one with the red scarf.   Thanks to Daphne , the wonderful organizer for the extra publicity !

 

Also, I am still waiting to hear from Gina G. , the winner of my birthday bear giveaway.  I will choose another name Wednesday morning if necessary :) 

Annual Bear Giveaway

I cannot believe it is almost time for my annual bear giveaway !!  How did the year go so fast ???  Each year I want to show my appreciation to all those who enjoy collecting and seeing my creations.  So, everyone who is a member of my mailing list is entered into my draw to win a bear on my birthday.  So.....on October 30th I will be giving away Tabitha as seen below.  My parents almost named me Tabitha so that is why I chose this name :)

She is 7.5" standing and made from peachy beige and rose colored mohair .

Good luck !  If you aren't on my mailing list please feel free to join- see the sign up box in the right side column of my blog.

Bear Production

I have been up to my eyeballs in fur the past 2 weeks. Once I registered for the November online show I got really motivated. I am required to have at least 3 bears to sell. Amazingly I have completed 3 mink bears in this short time. One of them is made from a mink color that I have never used before and it is really cute and different.

However, I have decided to list one of the bears for adoption later today. Part of this bear is also made from a mink color that is new to me. It is like the color of toffee.....yum :) Unfortunately, my son's motorbike engine totally blew apart in practice for the 2nd time this year (ugh !) so race season ended early for him , and I have to take my daughter to the dentist today to start the process for braces so all I see is $$$$ .

So check my website , or watch for your email later today if you are on my mailing list for the listing.

For now I must get back to making bears . I still have to complete at least 1 more for the show, and start on my Oct. giveaway bear too. It is an exciting , creative time in this bear den :)

Online Teddy Bear Show

I am excited to announce that I will be participating in my first online Teddy Bear Show in November. There are tons of wonderful artists from around the world taking part so it promises to be a fantastic show worth visting "virtually". I plan to have 3 or more bears available.

I'll tell you more as the date approaches.

Feeling Creative Again

Some people have been asking me when I'll have more bears available. Well, summer holidays are now officially over, school started for the kids yesterday. However we've been in the midst of a heat wave for the past several days- feels like 40C and it is so humid. I'm convinced this heat followed me home from Arizona !!! The temps are the same as the desert, but the difference is I don't have air conditioning in my house, nor do the schools . Cool weather is on the horizon but first there is a hurricane warning for Nova Scotia for tomorrow.

Despite the heat, I am starting to feel very creative . I am excited to get back to business and start a routine again. I haven't made a bear for awhile and I really miss it. I did manage to squeeze one out several weeks ago that I gifted to one of the ladies in Arizona.

Next week I plan to check my fur stash and see what bears are waiting to be created. So hopefully new bears will be available soon.

In the meantime, I got creative this moring and made this fruit basket for a family gathering later tonight. I'm pleased with how it turned out :)


I hope you have a blessed weekend :)

My Dream Vacation

As I mentioned I just returned from an awesome vacation. I went to a place I have long dreamed of visiting.
We left home on Aug 17th and after a 4 hour delay at the airport finally arrived at our first destination. I felt like I'd traveled around the world after the first 2 days. You can see why from the photos . You can click on them to enlarge.

Did I go to Paris ?

Egypt ?

New York ?

Rome ?

Venice ?

Nope. All of these places were found on one long street ! Only in Las Vegas of course :)


Vegas sure is an interesting "Planet" not to mention 43C or 108F degrees hot, yikes. Being in the desert that heat is to be expected :) . There was so much to see, but if you aren't a gambling or party person it leaves a lot to be desired. I can say I've seen it but doubt I'd ever visit again. It was too busy and loud for me.

Fremont Street in Old Vegas was interesting. It has the largest projection screen in the world over the street. Pretty cool watching and listening to the music
!
However, our second destination was a 5 hour drive to Arizona, and that is the place I was waiting to see !!!! On our way we visited the Lowell observatory and looked at the moon and stars through a giant telescope, stopped at an old volcano and lava flow, visited Indian ruins in the painted desert, and finally arrived at The Grand Canyon .I never dreamed I'd ever get to see this wonder of the world . There are no words to describe the beauty of this place. It is the most gorgeous place I have ever seen ! It seems surreal standing on the edge looking at the vastness. It certainly made me feel weak in the knees looking down that one mile drop behind me.


Can you see the 2 people at the base of the orange cliff ? They look so tiny.


It even rained long enough for 2 beautiful rainbows to appear right in front of us. This literally made me teary because I love rainbows. Here I was standing at my dream spot with rainbows. All was right with the world at that moment :)
We then traveled to a town called Sedona which had amazing Red Rock formations. A storm rolled in later that night off in the distance and made for beautiful coloration on the rocks.




I was so excited to be here because I had arranged to meet some other bear artists for lunch. What a great time I had getting to know these ladies: From left to right - Joanne Livingston ( Desert Mountain Bears), Me (standing) , Janice Woodard ( Booh Bears), Alison McKee(eTeddys).


Now I am back to reality and feel beyond blessed to have had this wonderful vacation with my husband and kids. It was our best vacation ever.

A GRAND vacation !

I have just returned home from an unbelievable vacation at 2am this morning after 3 flights and 10 hours of travel ! I went somewhere GRAND , saw some amazing sights, scenery, and met some wonderful people. Now I need to get some photos sorted out and I'll share some with you. Until then I'll keep you guessing where I went lol .

A visit to Peggy's Cove

It was a busy but wonderful week. My hubby was on vacations so we did a couple of short trips around the area. It was a also my daughter's birthday. I am still recovering from the sleepover party where the girls stayed up until 6:30 am I was told !!! I could hear them giggling at 4:30 .

Saturday we visited one of the well know tourist areas in Nova Scotia. Peggy's Cove is a functioning fishing village of 46 people. The lighthouse and granite rocks draw tons of tourists every year. It was a perfect day to be there, warm but with a breeze off the water.

Before you get to the lighthouse there is this granite monument. It is in memory of those who perished off the shores of Peggy's Cove on SwissAir flight 111 in 1998.

Entering the village of Peggy's Cove.

The famous lighthouse that once housed the only functioning post office in a lighthouse in Canada.


The granite rock landscape is quite interesting.

Unfortuntately the water is like a magnet to tourists ( and locals) . Every year people ignore the warning signs and get caught off guard and swept into the ocean. Most are rescued but some are not so lucky.

This guys was lucky. I was sure he would get swept in.

A little village on the way home.

It is such a picturesque area that I always enjoy visiting.

Petunia - A flowery bear

Fresh from the den this afternoon is Petunia. She is only 8" tall and is made from the softest 1" sparse matted mohair. It is a cream color with purple tips making it very pretty. She reminded me of the purple color of my petunias this year so her name was easy to choose. She is in need of a new home and all the details for adoption are available on my website .

Yin-Yang my latest bear

Please meet 7.5" Yin-Yang made from recycled black & champagne mink fur. He is available on my website via lottery until Wednesday. Please click HERE to learn more and see more photos.

A Challenging Week

It hasn't been a great week I have to admit. I was sick for 5 or 6 days with something. I don't know what it was really, I was just very nauseous and had no appetite. I feel better, but still a little sick sometimes. Maybe it is stress ?

Yesterday I met with the surgeon for my 2nd biopsy results. The news wasn't what I was hoping for. There are some abnormal cells on my lump. This may or may not be cancer, but the lab was unable to determine that for sure. There is a good chance it isn't cancer. However, the only way to tell now is to have the surgery. The choice is mine, but is it really a choice. I cried all the way home, called my husband at work and cried some more. I'm more peaceful about it today trying to take the "glass is half full approach".

So, now I am on the waiting list for 6 or 7 months to have the surgery done. Since the lump is growing on the center of my thyroid the whole thing must be removed so I'll need to take medication daily, forever. The tumor will then be analyzed and radioactive iodine treatment may be necessary if it does turn out to be cancer :( I really don't know why I am sharing all this. I am a private person usually. But, thanks for listening :)

On a happier subject- bears. I started a mink panda last week and it is about 80% done. I need to attach the head and ears, and sew the seams. Maybe it will be ready by Monday.
I'll post it as soon as it's ready.

Hugs , Tammy

Happy Canada Day !

I love living in Canada , and today is a day to celebrate this wonderful place on the 143rd birthday.

Fundraiser Raffle

A fellow bear artist , Alison McKee of Eteddys, is holding a raffle for a chance to win this gorgeous 33" bear !!! All proceeds are being donated to help a young lady in need of a lung transplant. I hope you will consider helping out by entering the raffle. You can get all the details here :

Finally , a new bear named Ziggy

Hey, who stole the last 2 weeks ??? Really, I have no idea where they went and I don't feel like I accomplished much !! I kind of lost my motivation to finish this bear somewhere along the line. However, Ziggy is now available to travel to a new home. If you would like to adopt him just click HERE to learn more.

Join me in my garden

I sat in my sewing room most of the morning cutting out bears. The fur was just a flyin' until later in the day that is.

I have a window that overlooks my front garden. I love flowers, but I don't have much of a green thumb......I plant things and if they grow it is a miracle because they get no assistance from me. I just let mother nature take over lol. However, I've been watching an iris as it prepared to open , and this morning I noticed one leaf unfold. To my surprise by the afternoon it was in full bloom and so beautiful. This is the first time it has bloomed in 2 years . I put away the bear bits and pieces and grabbed my camera .
As I looked around I decided to photograph some of the other flowers in bloom around my garden . There aren't many but they are so colorful.

My rhododendron is in bad shape really, but a there are few blooms. I really should take better care of this poor bush.

I love the fushia clematis. I also have a purple on in the backyard. I noticed that most of the plants right now are blooming purple or pink....funny that.

Of course there were lots of bees buzzing around collecting pollen. This guy stopped long enough for me to snap his picture :) I love his fuzzy back lol.


Thanks for joining my in the garden. Tomorrow it I'll get back to trimming bear seams and maybe get some sewing done. Who knows. I have a few other things that need to be done first.

A beheading

Rosco got tired of sitting on my website so I beheaded him yesterday lol. I created a new head and am ready to take him outside for a photo shoot. I hope he co-operates. Sometimes an extreme makeover is called for :)

It has been a busy week here. I got 2 rooms painted , had my 2nd biopsy ( hopefully the last... I'd rather have a tooth pulled I think !) and celebrated hubbies birthday. I've also been busy driving my daughter everywhere as she is on crutches due to having water on the knee. More trips to the doctor are in her future I think to determine what is causing her problem. She's had a rough few weeks poor kid.
And, I can't believe school is almost over . I always feel a little panicky that I didn't accomplish all that I wanted. I'm not sure how bear making will progress as the kids are older and don't really want me around much anyway , other than to provide food and drive lol. Of course this summer my son can drive so I'll likely be stuck home without wheels a lot. That will be an adjustment !!! It always takes a couple of weeks for us to get into a routine .

Anyway......watch for the new bear later today hopefully.

UPDATE: Meet Sandy who is looking for a new home.

Changing hats this week

I've put the bears aside this week and have picked up the paintbrush. I mean the one for walls not fun artistic painting ! I got the urge to repaint some rooms in the house so that is my project this week. It always takes a little longer than expected, and I've been known to paint the room , then repaint it a different color the next day lol. It is so hard to tell what the color really will look like from those tiny paint samples !

I do know that I am very messy and end up with as much paint on myself as I do on the walls. But, it's fun to change things up once in awhile.

Hope and Lily Reunited

It is truly a miracle ! I checked facebook all day yesterday for updates but eventually I had to stop as it was all to emotional. Hope had been seen Tuesday afternoon, but then nothing. It was amazing to think that she was still o.k.

Then this morning I was overjoyed to discover that during the night Hope had been spotted again , captured and reunited with Lily her mom. Thank you God and research team for granting us this miracle ! The video of the reunion is so beautiful, just listen to the emotion in Hope's bellowing, then the purr of her nursing ( and Sue the biologist sniffling). What touching sounds this morning.

Enjoy the video. I've watched it over and over along with all the Lilypad fans :) Just click on the video twice to make it bigger so you can see the whole screen :)

Now I may actually be able to stay focused on the bear I am working on !

Where is Hope ?

I know most of you will think I am crazy , but I am just so sad and concerned for a certain little bear cub. You may remember several months ago I mentioned a live bear cam in the den of an expectant bear mom named Lily. Well, I have been watching that camera since mid January, and was fortunate to be watching when Lily gave birth to her first ever cub named Hope on January 22. I watched that little bear daily until they left the den. Ever since then the North American Bear center has kept thousands of Lily and Hope fans updated with photos and videos as they live in the wild. It has been an incredible and educational journey. I admit I am addicted to learning about this little family. They have stolen my heart, especially that feisty little cub !

Lily & Hope after leaving the den
( I hope the North American Bear Center doesn't mind me using their photo )

Sadly, 4 days ago Lily left Hope asleep high in a tree. The researchers don't know why. She returned a couple of days ago, but 4 month old Hope is missing. No one has seen her, and researchers are doing their best to search . How long can she survive on her own ? No one knows. As of last night Lily appeared to have moved on and may have abandoned her search. What does that mean ? Does she know something we don't ?

I just feel so sad. Me, along with thousands of fans, are trying to stay hopeful , but with each passing hour I fear the worst. Nature has to take it's course, they are after all wild animals. But, I've become so attached to them , I am such a softie at heart I know :( Please pray that Hope is found soon. I can't imagine how distressed Lily must be too.

You can watch videos about them here

Still available

Yep, Rosco is still looking for a place to live. Seems no one wanted to try their luck in the lottery so he is available to anyone that wants to give him a home. Poor guy feels a little left out :( I could always keep this one for myself now couldn't I .

Rosco Up for Adoption

Please meet Rosco who is now ready to spread his wings and find a new home. He is available on my website HERE : Again , I am taking names of anyone interested in him until Sunday night , May 23rd @ 8pm Atlantic Time.

A new bear on the way

I am working away this week on another bear. I hope to have it ready for adoption tomorrow or Saturday. It's head is still not attached ....... I feel like that myself some days lol !!!! I'll be sure to let everyone know when and how it can be adopted :)

A lesson in patience and trust

I think that is what I am supposed to be learning . I went to my surgeon for my biopsy results this morning only to find out that it was "inconclusive". So...... I need to make some decisions. The surgeon gave me 3 choices :

1) Do nothing but monitor the lump by ultrasound periodically.
2) Get another biopsy
3) Surgery to remove my thyroid gland and lump if I am really concerned it may be cancer , and then take medication forever.

He highly suggested another biopsy so I guess that is the route I'll take. I just hope this time it will tell us something definitive. Now that I know how icky that biopsy procedure was I'm really not looking forward to it again. Oh well, I've been waiting 5 months for an answer so another month or so won't really matter :) God has given me a real sense of peace about this whole thing thankfully.

Enough about my health. I think I just need to type it out here as a form of therapy LOL.

Back to bears, that's a much more exciting topic for sure :) I need to figure out what fur I want to use for the next one.

Sully ...looking for his forever home

Please meet Sully. He is a 7.5" mink cub available for adoption on my website. I haven't made one with the inset muzzle and tummy for a LONG time and I think he is kind of cute :)

You can learn all about him HERE

Celebrating 20 Years together !

Wow, where did the time go ???? Ahh.....look at us so young , naive, and in love lol.