Hello and Merry Christmas everyone! Well I have been so busy getting all the Christmas baking done, wrapping gifts and company coming and going and still I managed to get a first of my new bear style made. I also have another on the way with a few more changes. It took a long time but I am thrilled with the results and I hope you will be also. I will post a photo soon.

I would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas to you all and I look forward to seeing you all here soon in the New Year!

Today I worked on some new sketches and new patterns... tomorrow I hope I have enough time to actually put together a little "wet cat" or two and work out some kinks but I think the changes are going to be fabulous!

I will be sure to post images of the new cuddles when they are done up.

Hoping you are all getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the holiday season. It is a great time to get new things ready for the new year or tie up those loose ends.

Lots of Hugs to you and yours!

Hello Everyone:

Santa's vault is now open with four new bears ready for adoption. They can be found on my website at http://www.micheleseraphim.com.

Happy Holidays!

WOW where does the time go? I have been working really hard on a new hug of bears and they are not up for adoption on ebay. I also was unlucky enough to contract that darn N1H1 flu and that took some time to recover from. But thankfully I am back on my feet and ready to get back into the groove. Today I will be heading off to the Santa Claus parade with my cousin and her two boys who are now finally old enough to understand Christmas and get very excited about everything.

I hope to post again soon and get you updated on what is happening here at Seraphim Studios so please check back often.

I am also pleased to announce that four more of my bears have found homes. Spirit who is pictured below in my last post has been adopted as has Figaro, Queen Bolete, and Maximus. I also created a number of dolls this year for a Christmas show and they all sold and can be seen under "the Fabric" "Dolls" on my website... I just loved the snow-woman in her pretty little dress.

Hello Everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have been working really hard to get ready for three shows that are coming up fast. I have two Christmas shows and one gallery show all in a matter of a month from now. YIKES! I just wanted to post a photo of one of my newest bear and doll. These two will be available at a local gallery in November however there is always a chance that they will not sell there so if you love them keep checking in or send me off a little email and I will hold your name to notify you should they become available. I will soon have more to post as I wrap things up and get the photos taken. Until then stay happy and creative!

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that I now have a Facebook FANS page set up where you will be able to interact with me and see all my latest creations. If you see a bear posted there that you are interested in just send me off an email and I will get right back to you with more adoption information.

Also, if you have not yet done so and would like to be a part of my email list just let me know by sending me an email and I would be happy to add you onto the list so you can be the first to know when a new Seraphim Bear becomes available.

There is a link on the left hand side that will take you to the new Seraphim Bears FAN page. Hope to see you there! Have a wonderful and creative day.

Here is the link to Elvis.com where you can see many of the art submissions and my award winning quilt. I am still just gobsmacked over the entire thing! WOW!

ELVIS WEEK ART CONTEST WINNING QUILT!

Elvis quilt

Here you go everyone, Here are a couple photos of me at Graceland with my recent award winning quilt and here is a link to an article just published yesterday in our local paper... BELLEVILLE WOMAN WINS

HI Everyone, Just a little note to let you all know that FIGARO is now up for sale on ETSY... Here is the link! FIGARO

Just wanted to let you all know the great news~! I just received confirmation that I have won 1st place for my ELVIS quilt which is currently hanging and on display in Graceland! I will be leaving on the 13th to join it there~ WOW... WOW is all I can come up with! I will try to find a photo to post but if I don't find one I will have one when I return for sure!

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Being a huge Alice in Wonderland fan I wanted to share with you here on my blog the link to the new Tim Burton movie! ALICE IN WONDERLAND Just click to see the new trailer! WOW is it going to be fabulous!

ELVIS TOTE BAGS

Hi Everyone. As you may remember I am heading to Graceland in two weeks time to see my ELVIS quilt that is being hung there for the Elvis Week Competition. My Mother in Law and I will be attending together and so for fun, seeing as how we are both big ELVIS fans I made us some large tote bags to shop while there. They are made of great quilting fabric available on line through several different sellers. They also both have Swarkofski crystals and hand embroidery. One is based on Jain House Rock (mother in laws) and one is Blue Hawaii (mine). They were very fun to make and I used a pattern by a fabulous company called Art to Heart and the pattern I used was from the LOVE IS collection. It is a HUGE tote and an excellent pattern that is fairly easy and if experienced in sewing pretty easy to alter to suit your needs as well. I hope you enjoy a little peek at the new totes! Here is there link ART TO HEART

bye for now... I will be posting again later with some bear hospital photos and information!

Carrot Cake Yummy

As Promised here is the recipe for my famous Carrot Cake:

3 Eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups carrots

Bake at 300 F for 45 minutes
Of course feel free to add all the stuff you like to this cake, like walnuts or raisins... this is just the base for a wonderful cheese cake!

Cream Cheese Icing

1 80z pkg cream cheese
2 oz butter (unsalted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar

Mix all together until smooth and wella... the most yummy cream cheese icing. I personally could eat this just as is. I know, yuck you think now but wait till you try it! Mmmmmmmm Mmmmmmm Good!

Hope you get a chance to try it! And please feel free to let me know if you do... You can even send me a picture of how yours turns out to post here on the blog! Have a wonderful week everyone!

It must seem that I have neglected this blog but in actuality I have great plans that are taking time to put into play. First I have created a new hang tag for my bears that will soon be ready and I am holding off on the release of any further bears until the completion of the new tags. I am so happy with how they have turned out that I cannot wait to share them with you all.

Second I have three new bears that are all in midst of completion and plan to begin another tonight or tomorrow. I like to have several stages in process as then I can work at any time anywhere no matter what I feel like doing or where I happen to be. There is new look to my bears and I am thrilled with them and again, cannot wait to share them with you.

Then I hope to implement a difference in my blog. I hope to share some of my favourite techniques, places to purchase materials, stories as well as some of my fave recipies. I hope to begin these changes in short order. For instance, I have a birthday cake to make this weekend so I hope to take some photos and post the most delicious carrot cake recipie of all times! The cream cheese icing is well worth making extra of for sure! Yummmmmy!

I also joined CURVES gym recently so I have been spending more time there than at the computer. That has been an adjustment but I am feeling great and working hard and hope to encourage anyone out there so take the leap. I have been with many gyms over the years but I am really enjoying this one in particular. It is time to get in shape and get focused cause the next thing you know it will be Christmas and you all know what that means!

I am heading to Memphis on August 13th and will be in Graceland for 4 days to see my ELVIS quilt that is not only be hung there but also entered into the Elvis Week competition. I will of course let you all know how that turns out. I have never been to Memphis so I hope to have a fabulous time with my Mother In Law and take a ton of pictures to share with you. I also think I might have a new look for me as I have a hair appointment soon and am thinking very seriously of cutting off all my hair and possibley going BLONDE once again. It has been a long time since I have worn the golden locks and I have NEVER had my hair super short but with my schedule currently I think it would be a good choice... sexy and easy also. Sharon Stone can do it and so does Elen so why not me? A little nervous but hay... it's just hair, it will grow back.

Okay, so that is my big BLOG entry with no images as yet but they're coming and when they do... it is going to be great! Not too long now, hang in there!

Well, Tai and Chai have now been adopted, Katie was a huge hit and I now have a lot of work ahead of me. I am working on some new patterns and am almost finished giving Amadeus a face lift! I have to say that I am very very happy with the results and look forward to sharing him with you here in the near future.

It is also that time again to start getting ready for the Christmas shows... doesn't that sound crazy? But when all things are one of a kind and all things have only two hands making them, the time does go by very quickly! I have some new items that will be sold at the shows that are all eco friendly just like my gourmet room sprays that I have been creating for many years now. The sprays were a huge hit at last years show and I look forward to bringing those along again.

We had a big Fathers Day BBQ yesterday and that went well but we are very sleepy today... not as young as we use to be. Looks like we are about to venture into a wonderful second day of summer so hope you all have a fabulous day.

For those that are new to my site and don't know, my ELVIS quilt will soon be leaving to be hung at Graceland and I will be meeting it shortly after with my Mother in Law (friend). I just completed our quilted ELVIS shopping bags and will soon post some images of that but my camera went on the fritz. My Husband bought me a new one (sweetheart) but I cannot figure out how to load the images into the computer... another task for tonight!

Anyway, gotta run... lots of designing to do and may I say thank you again to all my collectors for embracing me into this wonderful world of bears. I am so blessed to be able to share my art with you!

Hi Everyone:

As promised, here is the link to my new adoption auction for my PANDA couple ~ Tai Chi and Chai Tea! I hope you will very much enjoy them as I did in creating them!

CLICK HERE for eBay adoption auction

So... I was recently asked to make a Victorian style bear for a friend whose sister in law is ill and in hospital. This was a real challenge for me as I wanted this bear to be sweet, happy and a traditional vintage bear based on a 1900's style body type and that as you may know is not like any bear I have made to this point; my bears are mostly kind of sad and worn, saggy and dopey. As it turns out after creating a few new pattern styles I created a baby bear in a 9" size that I was very pleased with. She was soft and sweet in the face and I even found a vintage lace bonnet that fit her perfectly. My buyer was very happy with her. So here she is ...
I would like you all to meet ~ Katie ~

And just a little heads up... A beautiful fun and playful COUPLE will be up on eBay on Sunday at 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time. I will post a link here for you all when the time comes... but can I hint and say this... if you love Black and White... these two will be right up your alley!

Hamish

As promised here is my latest bear "Hamish" who is now available on eBay! Have a wonderful day!

click here for Ebay

Well, I have been working away these last few weeks and am very pleased to say that I will have a new bear up for sale on May 26 through eBay. You can link to that sale on my website or through this blog when the time is right.

Tonight I spent the evening finally planting a garden in the front of our house. Yippeee! It will get finished tomorrow and I will try to get a great shot and post it here. This has been a long time coming and I was rewarded by my husband Sinister with a Dairy Queen Blizzard! Yummy, just what I needed after all that digging!

I also have another two bears almost ready for sale... big surprises on the horizon so please stay tuned. I am so happy and feel so lucky to be able to share my art with you all here.

Be back tomorrow! Have a wonderful evening.

It's been a while since I have posted. I have been extra busy creating! I have a show coming up and I have three new bears that will soon be posted as well as two on the GO. I am also getting a triptych quilt ready for a show so needless to say my plate is now a platter. I am having a lot of fun however and am grateful for this long weekend that I might have some time to get a few of these projects completed.

I forgot how much I enjoy pedicures... I got up early today and went to a spa salon to have my feet done. I usually do that once a year to get me started for the summer, but I think I will try to keep it up this year. It was nice and relaxing but I was unfortunate enough to get a gal I really liked who is leaving her job this coming Thursday. Darn it all.

There's a storm on the way and that means for good sewing, at least in my world it does. I mean, you're stuck inside anyway so might as well sew sew sew! I have big plans to create two new patterns also so .... soon there will be more excitement on the horizon! Stay tuned for the continuing saga of Seraphim and her bears... Yippee!

Happy weekend to you all

Hi Everyone: It seems like ages since I have posted but what can I say... things have been very busy lately. First my darling husband was rushed to hospital ~ He's okay now. Then there was the recovery...

Then with all my spare time... hahahahaha.... I designed a new style of bear that I am so happy to be able to share with you. I am calling them my DOPE bears because they look really dopey and sad. You just can't help but want to love them up!

Basil is now up for sale on Ebay!

Just wanted to post a little Happy Birthday to my Husband as you never know who reads your blog... hahaha. I made these delicious cupcakes for his birthday and his mother and I along with my husband all had a hoot decorating them together... that made them taste even better. Would leave a recipe but, it's a secret!

Grandma's Pyjama's

So last night I was missing Mary... my Mum had given me a box about a month ago that had clothes in it that I might be interested in to cut them up and make them into a scrappy quilt. I finally had time to go through the box last night and in the box I found a pile of neatly folded Pyjamas that belonged to my grandmother. I took them out of the box and admired them, I love old cotton night gowns and as I was doing so I decided that I would not cut them... I would wear them. I carried them carefully upstairs and laid them out on the bed so I could choose just the right one to wear. Mary had been moved to a home as she had Alzheimer's and so each one had a name tag with her name in it. I like that... it makes me feel close to her. I finally decided on one and as I slipped it onto my head I was immediately immersed in her scent; It was as though her arms were wrapped around me. I closed my eyes and took a slow deep breath and I saw her as clear as if she were standing right there in front of me.

When she passed away last summer I was given a very special gift from her... her wedding rings. I had admired them as a child and was sometimes allowed to carefully place them on my finger. I was always very respectful of what they stood for and never left the bedroom with them on. I would sing and stare at the sparkling diamonds and then carefully place them back on her crystal ring holder that sat on her dresser. I received the rings and had them sized to fit and was too afraid something might happen to them to send them off for an appraisal.

Today I was leaving the house to drive to another town to go birthday shopping for my husband and as I was leaving the house I thought that I should bring Mary with me. Having worn the Pyjama's last night had me feeling a bit melancholy today. I often wear her rings when I am attending a special event or when my Mum comes to visit as I see them as a sort of gateway for her to be here with me which allows us both to share in the life I am still living. So today on my way out of the mall that I was shopping in I thought I would take one more swing around just to make sure that I did not miss anything that would be a good gift for my husband. Low and behold there was an on site appraiser and I was able to watch him with her rings as he checked everything and created a certificate for me.

The funny thing is... when I got home I put the papers into the filing cabinet and put the rings back into their box and replaced them with my own wedding rings (that's the routine). I went and had a nice hot bath and then walked quietly into the bedroom to put on my grandma's pyjamas. Of all the things that were given to me, the rings, her sewing machine, her bear making supplies etc. it is her pyjama's that seem to give me the most comfort. Don't get me wrong, the other things all have a very special place in my heart and fill my life with joy every time I wear or use them but her pyjama's ... my grandma's pyjamas... make me feel close to her. I can close my eyes and take a deeeeeeeepppp breath in..... and there she is, laughing and smiling and singing!

I miss you Mary... thank you for staying close by my side and allowing me to share in YOU ...

Now for sale on ETSY

The Chronicles of Eva

Where will I go
To a land far away
Will I travel by boat or maybe by plane
Will I dance in the arms of a new mother?
Will I adventure and cuddle a father

I sit here in waiting on the creative shelf
with brothers and sisters not fully developed
I am told I'm a beauty and that love is waiting
I am excited
I am anxious
to know where I'll be staying

I've so much to offer
My potential is clear
I was made to be loved by someone called "Dear"
My box has been lined with soft tissue
My tags and certificates are my adoption papers
Where is my home? Where will it be
Just know that I am waiting to love only thee!

signed with love

Eva

Well after working on my banner yesterday my bear Mary-Jane was brought to the my attention again. Who would have thought that my husband would have a favourite bear? He saw her again yesterday as I was making my banner and he said "I love her... she's my favourite bear. She has a zombie stare and is so old she suits the zombie image too". What a hoot! My husband and I use to be in the movie industry many years back and we worked in the makeup department creating zombies and monsters as well as beauties. So for me this was a bit of a compliment and I really did think is was cool and really nice that for whatever reason he liked her because she will never be for sale. She was my first REAL bear so I will keep her close by to remind me of where my journey began.

Mary-Jane got her name from my grandmother (my mentor) and the artist who made the pattern (Jane Perala). She is made fully 5 way jointed with a wobble head. I aged her to make her look well loved, and that she is! She is stuffed with ginned cotton, excelsior and steel shot. She is made of German Mohair in a light pink with black tips. She has an embroidered and waxed pink nose with vintage boot button eyes. Mary-Jane's neck ruffle is made of pure silk rose petals that have been gently glittered - they look like a fairy sneezed on them... so pretty! I am very pleased to be able to share her with you as ... she's my girl.

Just made my new header myself! I took me most of the day but I like it and that means it was worth the time spent! Yippeee!

Here is a sneak peak at my latest bear soon to be up for sale. Her name is EVA and she is made of golden blond tipped mohair. She is stuffed with pure ginned cotton, excelsior and lead free steel shot to give her a nice weighted feel for a substantial hug.

Eva is cotter pin 5 way jointed; her head is wobble jointed and I have designed her other joints just slightly loose to give her the cuddly olde world feel. Eva cannot stand on her own but she can hold her arms out for a hug.

Her eyes are genuine vintage boot buttons from Germany and her nose is a soft pink pearl cotton embroidered (unwaxed). Her paw pads are made of double layered quilters cotton and her claws are embroidered in the same pearl cotton as her nose.

She wears a flower in her hair that is hand felted. Her features have been accented by airbrushing.I spend a lot of time on the detail of the faces of my bears to make sure that their wonderful personalities are able to shine.

Every tiny stitch was sewn by hand by me, Michele Seraphim, and every seam was double sewn. Eva is a Seraphim original pattern and there will never be another just like her so don't hesitate if you love her.I take great pride in creating my bears and guarantee them 100%. If you have any question do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

Eva will be up for sale via Ebay within a few days. I hope you like her and good luck on the auction! She is a true beauty!

PS. Please remember this bear is a collectors item and is NOT made for small children. I would hate for someone to get hurt so please purchase responsibly.

When my mother was a child growing up in England she was given bears to play with by my grandmother. Mary, being a master bear maker, bears were an affordable choice for a toy. Here are my Mum and uncle playing in the back yard in England with one of my grandmothers creations.

This is Mary Wicks ~ Canham, my grandmother, with her "rabbit bears" and the last teddy she ever made. Mary was a factory teddy bear maker in England in the late 1930's. Mid 1940's after her marriage to my grandfather she moved to Toronto, Ontario Canada and continued to make bears my entire life. It was inevitable that I would end up with the bears as my companions and after she left us I got serious about my designs and love for them. I was left her machine, her patterns and all of her tools and that was my final push to try one of my own for the first time. I was very lucky to have her as a mentor and miss her daily however the bears are my connection to her and every moment I am working on them, she is right there by my side.

This is the machine that my grandmother made all of her bears on which now belongs to me.
She was a bear maker in London England and continued to make bears throughout my life when she moved to Canada in the early 1940's.

The teddy pictured here was my fathers bear when he was a child, "Georgie". He was given to me when I was a child and he has been a great inspiration to my aged bear creations over the years.

Hi everyone. Well... I made a bear about two years ago and it changed my life forever. I was an award winning doll and quilt artist up until that point but the bears have stolen my heart. Pictured below is the very first bear I ever made of my own pattern and of course his pattern has grown into a different design but I still love him. His name is "Ben-Ben" because he is the most wonderful shade of grey blue like the sea; Ben-Ben was the name for the Egyptian God Ra's ship mass. He is a little awkward looking, like a teenage boy, and like a teenage boy shows a glimpse of what the future holds. With growth and practise changes have occurred but you can still see "Ben-Ben" ~ if you squint really hard.Creating my own bear image was the challenge and although I love so many of the bears I see out there, it was important for me not to create a bear that was a copy of another bear artists image. Finally my bears found me through much inner journeying and they emerged with sweetness on their faces. That was the moment I knew I found my "Aawwww" factor and had created a bear style and image that I fell in love with.This is my very first blog experience also so I hope that I can keep up and begin a wonderful journey with all of you who take interest in sharing my beary wonderful experience with my bears and even possibly some of my quilts and dolls.Hold onto your honey pots.... here we go!