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I've been tagged....

The lovely Melly of Melbears Quality Collectibles has tagged my blog for the “One Lovely Blog” award :o)  What fun!!  Thanks Mel *mwah*

The deal is that once you are tagged, you have to answer the following questions (deleting one you dislike, and replacing it with a new one of your own)...then you have to tag 7 other blogs that you feel are deserving of the description...but first to the questions:

What is your current obsession?

beauty blogs

What is your horoscope and do you relate to it?

I am a Cancer, though I was born 2 weeks late so I should have been a Gemini....and I do combine an odd jumble of traits from the 2 signs.  Hmmm, I wonder, how does when you should have been born interact with when you were actually born?  Particularly pertinent in this age of scheduled caesarians I’d suggest...

What are you wearing today?

A knowing smile 

What was the last thing you bought?

A pair of black/white Chuck Taylors...If I like ‘em I’m going to get a pink/purple pair too :oD

What is your favorite Holiday?

Christmas - I am unashamedly addicted to fairy lights, and what better time of year to go nuts with strings and strings of them lol!

A guilty pleasure?

life is too short to indulge in guilt, though on the rare occasion I do, it usually because I have buried my head in a book, pointedly ignoring all the other things demanding my attention ;o)

What is your must have item for Summer?

A lovely fresh pedicure...I feel naked with out nail polish!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be?

A street cafe in a fashionable part of Paris, where I could sit watching all the glamorous people strolling past and soak up the atmosphere

What is your favourite piece of clothing from your closet?

A fitted black shirt with tiny white spots, white piping and puffed cap sleeves - it is a really cute retro chic design

What is your dream job?

working in the Behavioral Sciences Unit of the FBI....quite a way from teddies hey lolololol

What do you consider a Fashion faux pas?

grottiness *shudder*...not washing is so NOT cool

When I was a child I wanted to be......

....taller

What are you going to do after this?

Hit publish and go get a hot cup of tea.  Mmmm hot tea.....

What are your favourtie past-times and hobbies?

reading; music; watching old Hollywood (and the English equivalent) movies; cold war espionage - fictional ( James Bond etc) and factual (Cambridge spies etc);  criminology;  sewing;  internet shopping;  watching cycling - Yah!  Only one month to the the Tour De France :o) 

Have you got pets at home?

4 cats:  3 siamese females - seal point Louise (aka Weiner) and 2 of her daughters, blue point Cricket (aka ducky) and lilac point BB.  1 chocolate Burmese male called Jamie

What are you proud of?

Hand rearing my kitty Cricket from an extremely sick newborn, to the healthy little (7 yr old) monster she is today...wanna see a pic of my baby?  K :o)

....and the 7 blogs i choose to tag with this award are

Baggaley Bears by Vicki   

Caya’s Corner

Dolls N Dreams  

Karen’s Bears and Other Things

Louise Peers

Puddle Maker 

Sarahs’ Scribbles   

Waking in a Winter Wonderland....

Not exactly bear related, but - for a girl who lives at sea level, and has never seen snow in real life - definitely note worthy!!

This morning at 4am, I heard the skies open and mother nature begin to positively chuck it down. I knew there was hail: the noise combined with my sudden goose bumps (from the accompanying drop in temperature) were a dead giveaway lol, but I was (mostly) warm and comfortable so I decided to leave Mother Nature to get on with her business while I got on with mine...

...so imagine my surprise when the sun came up to reveal that Chateau Teddy had been blanketed in a layer of ice bubbles! The hail stones you see had survived a good 3 - 4 hours in the pre-dawn chill. How awesome must it have looked after that first downpour!?! Check out these pics - the ice was already starting to melt by the time, camera in hand, I braved the big chill, but there was still a pretty thick layer of the stuff :o) Click on the pic for a bigger image....

Can you believe the delicious irony - our poor wilty pink camellia, dehydrated from season after season with out decent rain fall, surrounded by ice lol....what a wacky woman our Ma Nature can be lololololol :o)

I do hope violets can survive being packed in ice....

BBrrrrrrr *shivers*

Free wall paper from pixelgirlpresents.com

I tend to have a very low boredom threshold when it comes to the pictures I use as background on  my laptop - I change a minimum of once a week, so I am always on the hunt for new wallpaper...

One of my favourite hunting grounds is the wonderful Pixelgirl Presents :o)  Browsing there earlier I came across this little sweetie, and decided he was just Too Cute not to share!

Talk about cuteness overload :o)  You can download the picture here

A whisper of things to come...

Choosing fabric combinations for the critters dancing in my imagination is one of my favourite parts of bear making......I can pull out all my prettiest fabrics, make a nice pot of tea and settle to playing in my stash to my hearts content :o) Sometimes I even get some work done lol (o;  

.....and this, my friends, is exactly what has been happening at Chateau Teddy for the last week or so.  My front room found itself covered in bits of fabric - the table, the chairs, no flat surface escaped......Until finally the seemingly chaotic jumble of colours and textures transformed themselves into neat(ish) piles on the pink chaise, just as you see before you......

My fellow bear makers will have instantly recognized each of those seemingly random piles as a little teddy....complimentary pieces of fabric that hold so much promise and potential.  Is that a Mouse you see?  A Super Hero perhaps?  Those of you who looked at the center pile and declared “JESTER” have just earned yourselves a Pink Elephant *wink wink* stamp :o)  

*happy sigh* Can you see the critters springing to life from these fabric piles too?  

A 'not about me' moment

HeHe :oD  What is the fun in having friends if you can’t do a bit of a favour for them every now and again??  When I heard that this little chap was up for an award, I just knew I would have to shine the spotlight on him over here :o)

So, with out further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Flamenco Fandango!

He is made by the lovely Wendy, whose work you can see more of here.  He’s a bit of a cutey huh?!?!

He is up for an award in the “Artist Bear Friend” category of the Australian Bear Creations Awards 2009.  Voting forms are in the latest issue (vol15 no1), and so far I think you have to buy a copy of Australian Bear Creations to be able to vote.....I did hear rumours about online voting, but I will have to look into that and get back to you :o)  But for all you Australian residents, here is the perfect excuse to grab a copy of ABC and have a jolly good read....go on :o)  you Know you want to *hehe*!  Oh and please vote for Wendy too, won’t you :oD

*EDIT*   I have contacted the magazine, and there WAS online voting, however it appears that someone with too much time, and not enough grey cells (pls note, my wording not the magazines) decided to launch a denial of service attack and bring the page down.  Not very very polite really, was it?!  Anyway, it is still possible to vote online if you download this and return your answers to this email address  adcopy@woodlandspublishing.com.au          

2009 Gold Teddy Award nominees

WooHoo!!  Teddy Bear Review's "Golden Teddy Award" nominations for 2009 have been released....and they go a little something like this:

Individual Artist–Bears
Undressed, 5 inches & under
•    "Mimi" by Donna Griffin, Donna and the Bears
•    "Mocha" by Peta Smart, Wazzabears
•    "Polar" by Tracey Smith
•    "Sleepy Chestnut Bear 'Marrone'" by Kumiko and Masaru Nakano, Ma’Sal Creations
•    "Yin Yang" by Erika Knirsch, Crunchy Bears
•    "Zachary" by Samantha Potter, Mary Myrtle Miniatures

Dressed/Accessorized, 5 inches & under
•    "Grace" by Samantha Potter, Mary Myrtle Miniatures
•    "Maude" by Donna Griffin, Donna and the Bears
•    "Min" by Eun-Sook Ma, Minabear
•    "Miss Majesty" by Ruth Bowman, Flutter-By Bears
•    "Pirouette" by Karen Alderson
•    "Polka Dot" by Michelle Lamb, One&Only Bears

Undressed, over 5 & under 14 inches
•    "Cappuccino" by Heike Buchner, Sunshine-Teddys
•    "Flocke" by Mary Lou Foley, Bayside Bears
•    "Lil Pudge" by Vicky Lougher, Elegant Creations
•    "Minerva" by Michelle Lamb, One&Only Bears
•    "Sugar Bear" by Judi Paul, Luxembears
•    "Tia" by Tammy Wamboldt, Beckoning Bears

Dressed/Accessorized, over 5 & under 14 inches
•    "Baggins" by Laraine White, Rainebears
•    "Bella" by Karen Alderson
•    "Elf" by Berta Hesen-Minten, ThReAdTeDs
•    "Helena" by Vicky Lougher, Elegant Creations
•    "Miss Lillie" by Kim Russell, Russell Bears
•    "Miyabi" by Terumi Yoshikawa, Rose Bear

Undressed, 14 inches & over
•    "Bruno" by Britta Helberg
•    "Daydreamer" by Karin De Lorenzo
•    "Edward Bear" by Tami Eveslage, Tami Eveslage Original Teddy Bears
•    "Jeffrey" by Charlene Draeger, CharBears
•    "Joe" by Aiko Kawamoto, Aico Bear
•    "Spirit Bear (Kermode)" by Sherry Shepardson, Sherr-Bear

Dressed/Accessorized, 14 inches & over
•    "Andre" by Lena Volkova, Teddy Kingdom
•    "Autunno" by Annalisa Taddei, The Tuscany Bear Maker
•    "Captain Zinfangar" by Melissa Zemeski, Heirloom Treasures
•    "Frank" by Aiko Kawamoto, Aico Bear
•    "Hyun" by Park Yeun-Hee, H&Y Teddy
•    "Nymph of Tree" by Eun-Sook Ma, Minabear

Individual Artist–Soft-Sculpture/Plush Animals
•    "Aesop" by Michelle Lamb, One&Only Bears
•    "Bakari" by Mary Lou Foley, Bayside Bears
•    "Holly" by Masako Kitao
•    "Hoppity" by Shelly Allison, The Rabbit Maker by Shelly Allison
•    "Indy" by Judi Paul, Luxembears
•    "Rex (German Shepherd)" by Guenter Dufeu, Dufeu Bear

Individual Artist–Needle-Felted/Sculpted Animals
•    "Jamie & Landon" by Iveta Everte
•    "Lil' Cubkin" by Janine Galante
•    "Mommy I'm Stuck Kitten" by Stephanie Tiongco, Creations by Stevi T.
•    "Olivia & Oliver: Luv Bug Romance" by Marge Wiese
•    "Rembrandt" by Patricia Bierer, Bierer Off the Road Gifts
•    "Roxanne" by Nichole Encinas, Blueberry Creations

Manufacturer–Bears
Undressed or Dressed, 5 inches & under
•    "Biscuit-The Gingerbread Bear" by Steiff North America
•    "Glaciera" from the story The Woodland Bear Saga by Jessica Van Antwerp
•    "Midnight Magic" by Bearington Collection
•    "Sadie Sue" by Goodreau Doll

Undressed, over 5 & under 14 inches
•    "Baby Beauregard" by Bearington Collection
•    "Violet-The Flower Bear" by Steiff North America
•    "Yamato" by Terumi Yoshikawa, Rose Bear (collaborative bear with a Japanese old bag company)
•    "Zhen Zhen" by Gund Inc.

Dressed/Accessorized, over 5 & under 14 inches
•    "Here Comes Santa Claus (Musical)" by Hermann-Spielwaren
•    "Nicolas-The Lucky Bear" by Steiff North America
•    "Noelle, The Christmas Joy Bear" by Danbury Mint
•    "Peppermint Swirl" by Bearington Collection
•    "Scooter" by Goodreau Doll
•    "Tayla" by Settler Bears

Undressed, 14 inches & over
•    "Alexander-The Trademark Bear" by Steiff North America
•    "Beauregard" by Bearington Collection
•    "Cookie" by Bev White, Happy Tymes Collectibles
•    "Gordy" by Gund Inc.
•    "Pedrolino" by Hildegard Günzel, PPM Hildegard Günzel

Dressed/Accessorized, 14 inches & over
•    "Gwendolyn Glitterwings" by Bearington Collectoin
•    "Hagen" by Gund Inc.
•    "Hartley-The Boyds Valentine’s Day Bear" by Danbury Mint (bear licensed through Boyds)
•    "Hilary" by Settler Bears
•    "Old Bavarian Bear" by Hermann-Spielwaren

Manufacturer–Soft-Sculpture/Plush Animals
•    "Doxie" by Bearington Collection
•    "Esmerelda" by Hildegard Günzel, PPM Hildegard Günzel
•    "Fawny" by Gund Inc.
•    "Truffles-Pig on Wheels" by Steiff North America

Tableaux
•    "Cat and the Fiddle" by Karen Lyons, KJ Lyons Design
•    "Gallopin' Grant and His Horse Jeff Davis" by Bev White, Happy Tymes Collectibles
•    "Polar Pals" by Kelly Dean, Kelly Dean and Co.
•    "Polar Santa" by Tami Eveslage, Tami Eveslage Original Teddy Bears
•    "Santa's Little Helper" by Julie Shepherd
•    "Would You Like to Be Our Mom" by Heike Buchner, Sunshine-Teddys

Congratulations, to everyone on the list :o)  I can't wait to see pictures of the bears!!