BearBits Spring Giveaway

BearBits is having their spring giveaway but you'll have to be quick as the final day is tomorrow to enter the draw for this cutie!

Click here to enter to win Ginger

Sneak Peek

HI Everyone:

I thought I would post you all a sneak peek at the NEW design of my bears... It is just a peek though. I am VERY pleased with them and cannot wait to get them completed. I have also been working on one of the dresses for one of these two... a vintage gown that I am embellishing. There is still so much to do... off I go again, down the rabbit hole! Weeeeeeeeee!

A bear to get into

Today I saw this on the news and thought it was .... interesting and thought I would share with you all. It's a bear we can really get into. Well, at least our Urn can. They are called "Huggable Urns" and I would think this needs no more explanation. I just found it rather ... interesting is all. Things that make you go Hummmm? If you would like to read more about this cute and "green" alternative I have posted the link below! I think I kind of like this idea but I have not quite decided yet.

Huggable Urns

Taking the Plunge

Hello Everyone:

This weekend I decided to take the plunge... with my mohair that is. It was washing day! I love washing up my mohair, brushing it gently and styling the hair. It brings me back to my days in the salon. There's nothing like nice clean hair that is freshly cut and styled... it makes you feel like a million bucks! Not to mention a nice colour... colour is uplifting and individual, it is mysterious and alluring. So I decided to FINALLY try colouring my own mohair! YIPPPEEEE!

I have read several articles on this process as well as watched a number of DVDs. This is why I have put it off until this point actually. It has been a bit intimidating and a bit scary. LOTS of dangerous chemicals exist in many of the offered products available which I am not willing to use. I have animals and I would never risk harm to them or me. I also love this world we live in and try very very hard to leave a small footprint wherever possible. For my purposes I just don't feel using a dye that needs you to wear a respirator is necessary. I want to have fun with this. I spent many years wearing a respirator when I did prosthetic makeup for the film industry and I would like to leave the fumes in the dust.

Okay so anyway, I decided for this first colour job that I would do just one piece of one of my new bears... of which I have now 16 cut, sewn and jointed and some heads stuffed! YIPPPEEE again! All are one of a kind and my original patterns as always and I just cannot wait to move on to the next step where the bears personality really starts to emerge.

I have mentioned in the recent past that I have many changes happening here at Seraphim Studios and one is an idea that I have had for many many years now. Actually I had this idea long before I started my bears and was trying to make plans for it when I was making my dolls. I am not going to tell you yet... but I will tell you that the first of these patterns has been drafted and the first of these bears has been cut. It's all very exciting and I promise to give you the sneak peek as soon as I am finished!

Anyway, back to the colouring of mohair. I have a vision of bears in my head and I just cannot find the colour mohair I need... that's always how it all starts isn't it? I wanted to create what I see in my minds eye but I was intimidated until I read a wonderful article on dying fabric by Kathy Glenn. I made my final decision that I would only be willing to use colours that were "safe" so to speak. So this first try I went with RIT. Having a background in colouring hair is helpful in getting past the fear as is not using your beautiful bear but using scraps instead. I on the other hand took the plunge and just used one piece of a bear I was in the middle of creating and this turned out really well!

There were not many instructions on the package of the RIT as to how long to leave the mohair in the dye bath and I did not want to use too hot water as I had already cut my pieces out and it may cause them to shrink. So I used warm/hot water and much like browning your garlic bread under the Grill in your oven... I DID NOT leave my mohairs side! I stayed and mixed and scrunched and continually checked what the progress was. In the end, I am so happy I will definitely continue on this path and I have plans to try other "safe" dye alternatives.

As a side note, I think you can save a lot of fabric if you colour it after it is cut. If you only dye the pieces that you need you will not end up with a bunch of fabric left over in a colour you have already used. But what if you love the colour you created and now you only have one bear made out of it... It is really important to keep a detailed log of all the steps and formula as well as what mohair you used so that you can go back and recreate this colour at a later date should you desire to do so.

PS. My back is slowly getting better... slowly!

Sciatic Bear

Hello everyone:

I know I have been promising photos of new additions and stages in the Seraphim Bears studio. I promise they are coming. I have been diagnosed with Sciatic nerve inflammation and let me tell you, it's very painful. I have been mostly unable to work and so have been home several days with Chiropractic appointments in between. Today was a bad one and I feel as though I have been in a big fight.

The blessing to my days lately is my bears. Although I cannot sit at my machine, I have been able to complete other stages. Sometimes I can sit long enough to stuff a head or stand at my table and trace one of my bears onto a new mohair or sew a new mini by hand or get the tools out and joint a new cub. I surly would have cabin fever by now if not for my bears. Once again I am blessed to have them in my life and though the progress with healing is slow with my back/hip, my bears and images of them during my recent nap times is growing at a nice pace. They are all such a comfort in every stage!

Okay, that's it for my sitting time...

Be back soon with hopefully good news on the back and photos of the new clan.

Alice and Curious expectations

I'm back from my viewing of Alice and I have to say that it was everything I expected and more. What a wonderful story as it is her return to wonderland or should I say Underland. I highly recommend it.

Now it is preparation for my Oscar night with my husband. The ballots have been filled out and the hors d'oeuvres are in the oven as we speak.

I have been thinking of my "muchness" today and I think I need to get it back or at least show everyone that I have not lost it. I will soon have photos up on sneak peeks of what is happening here at Seraphim Studios. I have been working on building up my hug for my first bear show this November. I am really excited and have been planning out my table set up, getting my stuffing registration number, getting my new bear tags with my registration number printed and soon all my bears will have a tag sewn into them. I am not really thrilled with this however others tell me it is accepted and actually appreciated not to mention that it is the law in Canada. There are tax numbers and packaging, transportation and hotels to organize and the list goes on. Somewhere in there the time needs to be made to work on the most important thing of all.... MY BEARS. The good thing is, the first year is the hardest as everything is new. Next year I will have what I need ready and just tweak things.

This is one of my favourite parts, learning new things. I have been reading up on shows and advice for a few days now and was thrilled to find a ton of information on the web. Articles written by experienced people that are willing to share their information to help us new comers. Speaking of which, that is what I was hoping for with my free giveaway. Seeing as how I am fairly new to the bear scene and this blog is really new I thought it would be a fun thing to seek information on your favorites however it seems this line of questioning may have come across as ... a tad bit nosey. It was never my intent and I will make no apologies but I will change the criteria for the prizes to be won.

Just simply leave me a comment and your name will be put into the draw to win.

Now I have to go and get ready for my Oscar night. Please have fun with this giveaway... it's my first time remember so whats accepted was a bit ... blurred. It's becoming a bit more clear now however.

And I can tell you that the giveaways have only begun. I do have a bear or bear friend that will be up for a giveaway this August or September and who knows what else will come inbetween.

Thank you to my two ladies who shared their thoughts on their bear styles and thank you to all of you who decide to leave a message just to say hello too.

Wonderland meets the Oscars

It's going to be a really busy day tomorrow! I went today to try to get in to see my all time favourite story "Alice In Wonderland" and was stunned to see that by the time I arrived all shows were already sold out for the entire day! YIKES! So I purchased tickets for tomorrows first viewing! So exciting I shall barely be able to sleep! Ha

And then of course tomorrow night is Oscar night... I love Oscar night! It is a long night and I have given up my BIG parties many years ago however I do still quietly participate with a nice comfy quilt, a beverage of choice and my handy ballot! I try to see the movies that will be nominated but of course there are always a few that slip quietly through the cracks until it is far too late to get them all in prior to the big night! So I have to just do my best and make an uneducated guess at that point but my husband plays along with me and he has usually seen less than me so you'd think I would stand a better chance... the truth is, he usually wins!

But for those of you who might like to have a bit of fun, here is the printable PDF ballot link.

Click here for Oscar Ballot

As to the free giveaway contest and the comments to this point: Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to "share some love" about your thoughts on your favourite bear styles. I always find it very interesting to hear that some love a certain style but do not create that style themselves. Why do you think that is? Maybe it is that we are drawn to what we cannot do (you cannot bring yourself to rip, cut and pluck out all that gorgeous mohair to leave those worn bald patches) or maybe it is just that if we did the aspect of the love and appreciation for that style would change somehow.

I personally love vintage style and I have now created and am creating that style for my up and coming show this November. However, I also love realistic bears and have a thought to challenge myself to try this for myself ... This I presume will take me years to accomplish but hay, if you shoot for the moon you might just get there or at least catch a star on the way back down if things don't work out as you planned. That is my favourite thing about me, I am not afraid to try. Don't take that the wrong way, I have things that I wish I could change about me and work on those as best I can but I also think it is good to recognize the things you like about yourself. The way I see it is if you don't try, you'll never know what might have happened if you had. And you always learn and grow in the process so there is never anything to fear.

Maybe one day, the task that currently seems to daunting, of starting a pattern process all over again, completely from scratch with all new proportions and all new EVERYTHING, will become a reality. I have been talking about it for a year already and there has been little progress. Not no progress, but little. Maybe one day it will click and I will just know exactly where to start but for now I will just keep dreaming about what might be and how to get there and admiring those who are already there!

Happy Oscar night everyone.

FREE GIVEAWAY from Seraphim Bears

Hello and good morning everyone: So today is finally the day! Today is your chance to win a free giveaway from Seraphim Bears. Actually it's not just "A" free giveaway, it is the "FIRST" free giveaway from me here at Seraphim Bears Studio.

Here's what you can win:

Three hand made concept sketch Seraphim Bears bookmarks and one 4oz bottle of Honey room spray with one of my bears on the label!!!

I have been making these environmentally and health friendly room sprays for many years now and sell them in our shop as well as at many fairs... You will just love them. Even people who are allergic to fragrance have had NO issues with these. I created them to begin with because I cannot use commercial sprays as they make me sneeze and cough and my little Pug, who some of you have met on this blog, is highly allergic and his eyes swell shut. I needed to create something I could use. Necessity is the master of invention as they say and the rest is history. I now create over 300 scents.

I thought HONEY would be a good start for a bear blog giveaway, don't you agree!
So what do you have to do to win the supper cool set? Well, leave me a comment and tell me your very favourite type of bear. Vintage, modern, dressed or undressed, big or small etc. I will then put your name into a draw and on March 31st I will draw a LUCKY winner.

Want more chances to win? Of course you do!!!!! hehehehehee
If you want to have your name put in twice, three times etc. just have a friend or two or three etc. join as a follower on my blog. Get them to leave a comment and mention your name.It's as simple as that!
And as incentive to your friend... they will win this...

The will receive three DIFFERENT concept sketch bookmarks and a 2oz room spray in the scent of SUGAR PLUM.

WOW!!!! A double giveaway!!!! A whole set for you and a whole set for your friend too! And get this.... your friends name will also go in the draw!!! So if you or your friend win the draw... YOU WILL BOTH WIN!!! And you will each receive your set of gifts from me, Michele Seraphim at Seraphim Bears Studio!

I am soooooooo excited to read all your comments and meet some new friends too! And I cannot wait for you to receive your new spray and bookmark set of concept sketches!

I will announce the winners on April 1st... but this is no APRIL FOOLS day trick... I promise. Once announced I will have you email me from my "contact" link on my website and we will make all the necessary arrangements so I can get your gifts to you safely. Please DO NOT put your mailing address and personal information on my blog as I want to protect your privacy also!

Okay, so I guess that's it.... Giveaway #1 is off an running... Have a "beary" nice day and good luck!

Just a Reminder for tomorrows giveaway

Hi Everyone:

Just a reminder that TOMORROW at 9:00 AM my new post is scheduled to come up and it will have all the FREE giveaway information and pictures of what you can win! I am so excited I can hardly wait! Good luck to everyone and thanks for all your support and friendships that are starting to bloom!

Happy March

Hello Everyone:

So I have the free giveaway almost ready, I just need to photograph it and then I will be up and running for the month of March. Why a free giveaway in March you might ask... well, I am a huge Alice In Wonderland fan and the opening to the new movie is Friday! It's all very exciting! I even thought I would once again re-read the book and some of you who are also on my quilt blog would know that I am in the process of making an Alice quilt so it's just a lot of Alice around here right now.

Somewhere in this little write up there is a hint as to what the giveaway might be... but it's only a small hint and it has not much at all to do with Alice... what could it be? Curiouser and curiouser?

Heheheheheheeh..... Have a great day and I will have your new and Seraphim Bears first free giveaway up on Friday!

Have a Beary wonderful day