The Countdown Begins ......

My life is crazy at the moment!!! And there's only 4 sleeps to go!!!

My bears and I are in the middle of a whirlwind of online and face-to-face shows and it's about to get even busier!!!

This coming weekend - 12-13 March I have 3 bears available in the BLOOMING BEARS online show. I can't wait for you to see them!

Here's a little sneak peak at Pandora!


I hope you can join us at the show - it's going to be massive: there are 75 world-class artists participating. Choosing a fantastic bear or critter is going to be very, very hard!!! I'm really looking forward to having a cuppa and sitting down to check out all the lovely entries.

Here's the link to the show: www.teddiesworldwide.com - hope you get a chance to check out all of the beary eye candy!!!

Sydney Teddy Bear Fair 2011

Goodness! March already!!! Where is the year going??

What a busy year so far it has been for me - lots of bear making and shows!

This weekend (Sunday 6th March) I'll be trading at the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair at Sydney's Olympic Park, Homebush Bay. There'll be new Nikkel Bears making their debut at the show, and I'm hoping to catch up with some of my wonderful collectors and bear artists friends ... we don't often get to see each other 'in person' so it's a lovely opportunity to see everyone's new bears and have a chat!

If you're in the Sydney area this weekend, be sure to drop by and say 'hi' - here's the link for more information on the venue and transportation/parking in Olympic Park http://sydneyteddybearfair.homestead.com/

A Walk Through my Neighbourhood

Now that summer is on the wane here in Australia, we've had some pretty crazy weather as most of you have heard on the news around the world.

In my little part of the world, we've had a mix of extraordinarily dry, hot days hitting 45 degrees celsius, and where the air burns your throat when you breathe in right through to steamy, humid and stormy afternoons and nights, followed by cool, overcast and showery days where a light jumper or cardigan is called for.

Last weekend was one of those steamy, stormy afternoons - our plans for a takeaway Chinese picnic overlooking the river turned into trying to juggle our food on plates while sitting in the car with all the windows up and the air conditioner on just so we didn't fog up the windows!!! Ha! Ha! So funny!

Once the rain cleared, we were left with brilliant skies as the sun set on another wonderful day ... we took a walk around the foreshore and I took these pictures which I thought I might share with you ... hope you enjoy a snapshot of my little world!!!

Big Adventure for 2 Nikkel Bears!!!

Hi everyone!

What a busy, busy weekend I've just had. As you know, I had 3 bears showcased in the TBACA 'Be My Valentine' online show. What great fun we all eventually had! I suspect gremlins invaded our 'live' online chatroom on Friday night which meant although the show was open and collectors could email artists and sales were made, none of us artists could 'talk' to each other via the chat room until Saturday night ... it gave us a sense of being there, but not being there (if that makes sense at all!!!)

Anyway, it was great to catch up with all of the Aussie and international member artists who took part in the show - some of which I've actually never met but feel like I've known for a long time (we're only a 'click' away) and others who I'm fortunate enough to see at various 'in the fur' shows closer to home. To all of you girls - thanks for a very entertaining weekend and to Sandi - huge thanks for a wonderful show, yet again!

Here's my two bears which have now started their big adventure to meet their new mums, both jetting their way off to the USA. Can't wait for them to arrive!!!

Kaluah - 14" of luscious, cuddly alpaca (don't you just love his cute toesies!!!!)


and Electra - beautiful and vibrant angel bear made with the loveliest curly mohair.


For me though, it's back to bears! This time madly getting new bears ready for the Sydney Teddy Bear Fair on 6th March and Teddies Worldwide 'Blooming Bear Show', another online show 12th-13th March. Phew! Who's got time for a normal job???

Be My Valentine Show - Sneak Peek!!!

WOW! Can you believe it - there's only 5 sleeps left until the 'Be My Valentine' online show!!! The countdown is well and truly on!

I'm pleased to say I've got 3 bears available at the show - here's a teensy sneak peek to whet your appetite! I can't wait for you all to see them: as those of you who follow my blog will know, I've been working on a brand-new design and am really happy to say that a couple of my bears at the show will be the new design!



I'm getting really excited ... I just love these online shows and Sandi Smith does a fantastic job behind the scenes putting it all together many months ahead. There are going to be so many fabulous bears and critters from many talented artists worldwide: I can't wait to see them all!

Hope you can find time to pop into the show sometime during the next weekend - just click on this link: www.teddybearsandcritters.com

Australia Day Celebration 2011!!!

What a lovely time we've had celebrating our country's national day!

Russ and I went along to see Jimmy Barnes (lead singer in 80's Australian iconic band - Cold Chisel) who played at our local Entertainment Centre last night.



Fantastic concert - very loud, very rock and roll and very Australian!!!! We have seen him perform at A Day on the Green outdoor venue concerts before, and even though the years have passed, he still can crank out a great song (especially our favourites: Khe San, Driving Wheels & Working Class Man)! We thoroughly enjoyed it, and were pleasantly surprised to see that the 'oldies' in the audience like us outnumbered the younger crowd. And boy, can we still ROCK!!!



A very hot and humid Australia Day today: started off for us with a coffee down at the local river boat ramp with Zac (our dog) and then down to the beach where it was a tiny bit cooler and Zac could have a run in the waves.

A lovely end to a lovely day saw us back at the beach this afternoon for a cool swim before a refreshing southerly popped up to cool things off.



Tomorrow, it's back to normal which means back to work for both of us, while I'm also cutting out and trimming mohair for new bears!

Postal Delays to USA

I've just experienced an anxious wait for Oreo to arrive in the US recently.

A normal 1 week transit time for Express Post turned into a v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y slow 2 weeks with absolutely no updates on the Australia Post tracking website, which by the way is normally very good.

Luckily for me, my wonderful collector had the patience of Job, although I think she was also starting to get a bit concerned at the time delay. Apparently the US mail is currently in high-security and all mail is being screened before going through the normal customs and distribution channels. They say this is supposed to only add around 48 hours to the mailing time, but I'm not sure where they got that figure from (probably the promotional department he! he!)

Anyway, all ended well: Oreo arrived safe and sound after his epic adventure and is now enjoying all the attention from his new mum!