October 30, 2011

Woodend Teddy Bear Show 2011

SHOW TIME!!!
This suspicious looking group have been seen loitering in the area of the Woodend Teddy Bear Show.  If you see them, please proceed with caution - mischievous schoolboys are an unpredictable species, particularly the 2 inch tall variety :oP


Potential sightings will continue until 4pm today, at which time it is believed that any members of this group still at large have plans to return to their cosy cupboard here at chateau teddy .... they are only wee after all, and how much excitement can a teddy bear ;o)

October 28, 2011

Happy Mail Day!!!

I la-la-la-LOVE getting mail ... pretty much any kind of mail really, but even I will admit that some of it is more fun than others :oD

Today was definitely a fun mail kind of day - a few weeks back I finally pulled the trigger on a order of mini cards from moo.com ... coz, y’know I make mini’s so mini business cards is kinda perfect, yes?!  The arrival date guestimate was November 4, but I crossed my fingers and trusted to luck, and voila, it has paid off.  How CUTE are these wee babies!!  



I’m soooo happy they have arrived in time for Sundays show ... even if i did cut it just a smidge fine lol :oP

side note:  I ran out of steam to finish off my shrinkies last night, but I'll show them to you when i've got a bit more time :o)

October 26, 2011

WIPW - shrinky time!

So, I’ve been tossing around the thought of some 'Work In Progress Wednesday' posts, but up to now things have worked against me ... a computer that keeps spontaneously shutting down, followed by a modem that goes on the blink the second the computer returns from the hospital will do that to a girl :oP   But finally, here I am :o)  Shrinky tags come up fairly regularly in bear forums, and elicit a fair bit of curiosity from collectors, so what better way to begin ‘Work In Progress Wednesday’ than with the process I followed to make mine this afternoon?!

I can vaguely recall thinking “hmmm time to make some more shrinky tags” when I was working on the teds for the Bears On Parade show ... but then, as is my way, I got distracted by something else and promptly forgot about them *eye roll*.   Last night, I discovered that there is a distinct shortage of the smallest ones I use, and that more would be needed PRONTO or there would be bears heading out into the world with out the proper identifiers, and that would never do *shakes head solemnly*.

Lets get started, shall we :o)  Last night I printed out a couple of sheets so they had plenty of time to dry.  This afternoon, I settled myself in the dappled shade of Chateau Teddies garden table and got to it...

First comes cutting the sheets into strips so there is easy access for punching holes ... 

then punch punch punch etc. etc. etc.  Which one does until ones hand starts to feel like it is going to cramp, go numb, fall off or an interesting combination of all three :oP

... until *PHEW* all done :o)

Next comes the snippy snippety snip SNIPing bit..... don't forget some rockin' tunes to listen to as you are ..

working through the pile in the saucer, happily watching as the number in the tea cup swells until ...

TEA TIME!!  One must keep ones strength up, and good hydration is So Important don’t ya know :oP

once rejuvenated it doesn’t take long to reach the finish line ....  YIPPPEEEEEE!!

Which, of course, isn’t the end of the story, but the cookery bit can wait until tomorrow ... Work in Progress Thursday ... just doesn’t have the same ring does it lol.  Lucky Thursdays here in Aus are actually still Wednesday in the USA lol :oD

You play with MEeeee-now?


SIDE NOTE:  I don’t have any one particular brand of shrinky plastic that I favour, though I have found I prefer the way the opaque white stuff looks to the clear I made my earlier tags out of.  Generally when I need to buy more I head over to ebay and search for ‘white bubblejet shrink plastic’ - it’s not failed me yet :o)  Though I will admit that different brands shrink more horizontally or vertically, so if you are a bit less laissez-faire about how yours turn out, it is something to keep in mind :o)

October 18, 2011

Who wants a pre-show teddy sneek peek?

Yes?  No?  Any takers?  I have a couple of bears ready to make the trip to Woodend at the end of the month, and a very sweet little mouse who is marking time until he can have his 15 minutes of fame at the Bears That Care Charity Auction 
  which is next month (but we’ll have a chat about that on another day) and they have all expressed a desire for you to come and greet them :o)

Just one small snag if you would like to see my wee teds in the fur ... you need to be in Melbourne, and you need to be in the mood for chocolate cake and champers!  Sounds like a tough call hey lol?!  But in all seriousness, a group of my teds will be performing meet and greet duties at a very special birthday party,  and you are all invited ...


See, a little known fact about me is that when I’m not hanging out at Chateau Teddy being a bear artist, I hang out at 313 Vets being a veterinary nurse ... it’s tough getting paid to cuddle gorgeous furry critters and chat to their lovely owners, but well, y’know, some ones got to do it ;oP  And tomorrow will be a day for very special birthday cuddles with the lovely Gretel, though the teds have admitted to being a little nervous about the whole doggy thing, so I have agreed that they can stick to playing with people and singing Happy Birthday from a safe height lol!