Looking to the week ahead...

Good evening,

Today I have been cracking on with my two current projects. I could not finish my black and white cat a few weeks ago due to not having any cats eyes. So after hand painting them and allowing them to dry, today I have finished all 6.5" of him! This is domino the cat - his eyes sparkle!

Then I carried on with my reddy-brown bear who I am VERY excited about. He is a wonderful size and weight and his fur is SO soft! This is 11" Rusty!

And there ends bear making for another week. The week ahead holds lots of school work (I had best get going with my planning after I have typed this post up!). I am hoping I can cut out a little viscose golden bear - I haven't ever done a bear that is less than 9 inches so it will be a new challenge! 

Kelly

xxx

Weekends and babies!

Phew! It is the weekend! It has been a long week at work but now the sun is shining!

I had some fantastic news last night. My friend gave birth to a gorgeous little boy! 4 pounds 4 ounces, it has been a difficult journey and he had to come early but he is doing well! My husband also had an interview this week and got the job. So it has been good news all round!

Today I am meeting up with my other friend and we are going to have my dress fitting for my bridesmaid dress! It is a beautiful dress...I just hope it fits!

For the rest of today I am planning on finishing a black and white cat, and working on a reddy-brown bear too as well as relaxing...ha! Tomorrow I will finish off the reddy-brown bear and make a start on a golden coloured teddy bear.

Kelly
xxx

Hugglets February 2014

I have visited Hugglets every year, twice a year for around 4-5 years now and today's visit certainly did not disappoint!
I woke up with 6am and excitedly leapt out of bed to get ready. I picked up my good friends Alison and Oonagh at 7am and we were soon on our way to Kensington Town Hall in London for this magnificent bear show. We arrived at around 8.30am and promptly got into the queue (seated - phew!) and with coffees/hot chocolates in hand we waited in the gusty winds for the doors to open. 2 hours may seem a long time to wait but for some reason, on Hugglets day it flies by. With 15 minutes to go the chocolates went round - and then we were in.
As the day progressed, we met more friends and new people. I saw many many bears that I loved but cannot afford at the moment. However I did have a little bit of money from my bear-making so I bought some more fur and stuffing to keep me going for a while - some mohair and alpaca!
Hugglets was packed today - I got stuck in a few corners and had to fight my way to get some air to breathe. It was a very busy day which was great for the exhibitors. I saw many bears going to new homes including miniatures all the way up to 4 foot bears.
I also visited Sally at Bear With Me who stocks my bears in Kettering. Four of my bears were on her stall today - and Winter the bunny sold and went to a new home! One of my bears has sold at Hugglets and that means a lot to me! Here is a quick picture of her - a real stunner if I say so myself ;)

Tomorrow is the start of the new half term. It should be a lovely half term based around traditional and fairytales which I love teaching so I hope I am eased gently back into teaching this week and I get to cut out a bit of my new fur too.
Kelly
xxx

2014 - a year of positivity!

Well I am not very good with keeping up with things - especially my blog. However I am going to make a real effort this year to continue with it!

My bear making has come on a long way since I last posted. I am creating bears, dogs, cats, rabbits and even have an elephant commission! I have also recently had a 3-page feature in the Teddy Bear Times magazine - a very proud moment for me!

It is currently half term so I have been resting (with a horrific cold!) and have finished 3 beauties and almost finished a kitty cat. Here they are - they will be coming to the Sheffield bear fair with me in May:

I am visiting Hugglets tomorrow where 4 of my bears will be exhibited on a stall. Sally Thomas now owns a bear shop only 20 minutes away from where I live and has kindly stocked some of my bears in her shop - Bear With Me. They will be on her stall tomorrow - exciting!

Personally, I have had some exciting things happen in my own life. 2013 was one of the worst years of my life but it was saved by a wonderful day - I got married on August 10th! I then started a new lovely job in the September teaching Early Years - another new challenge! Life is now looking up and I hope 2014 will be fantastic both personally and in the bear world!

Kelly

xxx

Halloweeeen

Well its been a long time since I came on here!! A very long time. But I wanted to get my blog up and running again to share my bear making.

In the last year I have changed my job, changed it again, moved and accumulated many more bears within my hug! A very beary busy year which has meant I haven't done as much sewing as I would have liked to - but I am getting there!

It is now October and I had an extremely successful fair in June with the Teddy Bear Artist Event in Stratford. I sold three bears and also won first prize in one of the exhibitors challenge categories - to say I was chuffed is an understatement! I then went on to sell those two competition bears straight after the show. I then did the South London fair in Leatherhead and the Belvoir bear fair meeting so many lovely people along the way.

My bear making has been evolving over the last year with new designs (I will post some piccies below!) I have also been using some alpaca.

My website is still up and running - you can join the mailing list or message me - www.keli-b-bears.com

On the 11th November I will be exhibiting at the Telford bear fair in Telford promising to be an amazing bear. I have 9 bears ready - hopefully 14 for the event (half term - hooray!) and am looking forwards to seeing exhibitors and collectors alike :).

I will then be exhibiting at the Great Yorkshire Bear Event a week later on the 18th November - again this fair sounds fantastic and I am honoured to be a part of it :)

So over the half term I plan to make some amazing bears and will update you all my progress :)  Here are some bears I have made in the last year (if you are interested please message me or visit my website and message me that way) - first my Competition bears!

 Rainbow and Sprite - Sold

Cupid - Available

 Thomas - Sold

Strawberry Kiss - Sold 

Pixie - Available 

 Petal - Sold

Peewee - available 

 Ice - available

Frost - sold 

 Grace - Sold

 Flossie - Available

 Chocoalte Honey - Sold

 Little Buttercup - Available

 Isabelle - available

Chocolate collection - Chocolate Honey, Milky Way, Chocolate swirl. (milky way available) 

Bonnie - Sold 

Bluebell (Sold).

The fair is approaching!

Hello guys,

With only a week to go until my next fair, I have been busy sewing away (and nearly going blind by a flying needle from my sewing machine!) to make sure I have enough gorgeous creations to sell. I now have 14 bears to sell - my latest being created and born within the last hour! His name is Little Blue and he is a 11.5 inch bunny made from a fabulous blue splodgy mohair - I love him! He has a very appealing face! Here he is pictured below:

I have just had a huge photoshoot of my bears - you can see details on my facebook page - but here is also a group shot of the 14 bears I am taking to Minstead. Enjoy!!

I will keep you updated on how the fair goes - I will then be starting on some special Christmas bears for my fair at Brighton racecourse in December :)

xxx

Luna - for Halloween!

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update! I have finished two bears this weekend. The first is a special commission bear that I made for someone's girlfriends birthday. She is named Blossom and is made from a white faux fur material and is accessorised in pink! She is lovely - went to her new home today and she will be sorely missed!

This morning, I finished a new bear which will be making her debut at the Minstead bear fair on the 23rd October. She is fabulous - a 14 inch bunny made in white and black mohair with a jaunty hat (bought from Hugglets) a beautiful ribbon (courtesy of my good friend Oonagh of Oonagh's Original Bears) and a scar on her tummy (fitting for halloween - I may add another on her arm). I do hope you like her, she is certainly a little stunner!

xxx