Keli-B Bears

Friday, 8 August 2014

Special Summer Offer

Hello,

Just a quick little update!

I have decided to offer three bears as a special offer this Summer. You can view the bears on bearpile (http://kelibbears.bearpile.com/) or on my website (www.keli-b-bears.com).

Pixie and Peewee

Little Buttercup

Thank you!

xxx

Wednesday, 30 July 2014

Summer is here!

Once again it has been a while since I posted on here - and seeing as I have 15 minutes spare before a house viewing (EXCITING!) I have decided to catch up on all things bear related.

This year has gone by VERY quickly! I have tried to do as much bear making as I can but it has been difficult in the first year of my new job and working for the first time in Early Years. It is, however, the Summer now so I can concentrate on bears...except now we are hitting house hunting very hard! We have looked at a fair few houses and found one we really like but we are waiting news from the bank to see if they will accept us for a mortgage.

Anyway, in terms of bears I have got a lot of commissions to keep me busy over the Summer. I am on the reserve list for Hugglets as well (Fingers and toes crossed) so I want to make sure I have enough stock for the day just in case - as well as for other fairs I have later this year.

A few bears have gone off to new homes recently and I have thoroughly enjoyed the fairs I have taken part in this year. Stratford was wonderful and I won third prize in one of the categories with 'Butterscotch' pictured below.

Sally has once again taken some of my bears into her shop at Bear With Me in Kettering. Please follow the link to have a look at my bears in the medium and large bears sections. http://www.bearwithme.me/

I recently finished a bear and named her Maisie. She has sold but has been changed to a boy and dicky bow has been added. However if you Like Maisie, I can make a similar one but of course my bears are all OOAK and they will never be the same edition.

I will leave it at that so I can get off to this house viewing! Wish me luck!

xxx

Sunday, 2 March 2014

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

Saturday, 1 March 2014

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

Sunday, 23 February 2014

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

Saturday, 22 February 2014

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

Thursday, 25 October 2012

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!