(I Want to) Come Home

Recently my grandmother and aunt decided to sell their home.
It is the only "Home" I have really known as we moved a lot
when I was a child. This was a house that I lived in many times
throughout my life and will always be my home in my mind.

Sadly the house was in disrepair and needed to be torn down and
so the contractor who purchase it did just that. Now there will be
two houses crammed together on the one lot... a sign of the times.

Fortunately I was lucky enough to enjoy every moment of my Grandmother's
home. I was even married on the front lawn while she watched from her
window. I was also given the kitchen window out of her house that she used to
feed the birds from for so very many years... I have a plan to use it
and it will hang in every kitchen I ever have from now on. The amount
of times her hand touched the little turn knob of that window... ahhh
sigh...

My grandmother who made bears lived just across the road... her house was
sold a few years back when she passed away and we were lucky in that a
nice family purchased the home and kept it. So when we return to the neighbourhood
that my Mum met my Dad in and grew up in, her home is still there... but
the other house was truly my FOREVER home. I actually live in a house that
is very similar now, with it's creaking floor boards and small rooms... I
am very found of my little house because it reminds me of HOME.

Before my grandmother left her house we were lucky enough to dig up some
of the plants that had been there for many years and I got a Rose of Sharon for the
backyard here... It is doing beautifully and just about ready to bloom!

But today... I miss the home I cannot return to... so I will post this and close my eyes and open my heart to remember running there as a child, dancing to ABBA on the front lawn when I was a teenager and sleeping in my basement room as a young women.

My Heaven will have that house waiting for me ... nothing fancy but filled with all that I love!

The window from where she watched me get married (above)

  

The Kitchen window from which she fed the birds ~ it was the only thing I asked for from this house and many many years before we knew that it would one day be sold and demolished!

The back yard!

The aftermath:

Paul understood.... this is one of my favourite songs and definitely my fave McCartney song...

It's time!!! Place your votes...

Hello Everyone

It's that time again! Placing your votes for your favourite bear in this years URSA Awards is as easy as one, two, three...

Simply visit this link and you will be taken to Bears and Buds Magazine.
In the side bar you will see an image that says "Bears And Buds URSA Awards, VOTE NOW, Round 1" it looks like this...

 

Bears and Buds Magazine

(Just click the words below the image above to visit the Bears and Bud's site.)

Click the image and you will be taken to the first page of the voting.

Simply follow the instructions and place your votes for your favourite bear or bud.

It was so much fun entering the contest this year and I hope you can take a minute to participate in choosing your perfect bear or bud. You are what make this contest so special and the bears and buds this year are absolutely fabulous so it won't be an easy task... but I'm sure you can do it! Hahaha

This year Seraphim Bears was happy to enter four bears into the URSA contest. I won't spoil the fun ... you'll have to head on over to see what bears were entered!

Enjoy your time looking at all the fabulous bears that have been created by all the bear artists and THANK YOU to Valerie Rogers for once again putting on a wonderfully exciting and challenging  contest!

Fizzer Is Going HOME

Hello Everyone:

First I would like to say HAPPY CANADA DAY to you all! Today is a very special day indeed! It is the day we draw for the winner of the Seraphim Bears Free Giveaway contest!

If you all remember ... you had this image to look at and you had to tell me who you thought I was creating.

You were given clues, you knew it was a girl and you knew it was a famous Canadian! This bear was being created for the Children's Aid Foundation Teddy Bear Affair to be held this year.

If you left me a comment you got one entry into the contest

If you put my giveaway on your blog you got another entry into the giveaway

And if you guessed the correct answer for who I was making you got another entry into the giveaway.

Many of you got 3 entries! Congratulations on knowing your Canadians!

If you guessed ANNE SHIRLEY of Green Gables you were CORRECT!

Here is the finished image of Anne and she has now been mailed to the Children's Aid Foundation coordinator for this event! She was 18" tall and is fully armatured with lock nuts and cotter pins. Her carpet bag has a zipper and real leather straps all handmade by me. She really turned out lovely. I am not a big costumer so this bear was a challenge But I made every stitch of her clothing including her pantaloons myself. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute!

And what would you win if your name was chosen out of the glass teddy jar... A miniature Seraphim Bear named Fizzer!

It has been a long time and you have all been anticipating this moment! It is the first Seraphim bear giveaway that I am doing on this blog. Fizzer is a mini Seraphim Bear and comes with all the little special surprises that all Seraphim Bears do.

I will not be mailing Fizzer out immediately although he is really anxious to meet his new parent. With the Canadian mail carriers just recently back to work there is still a back log for them to get caught up on so I don't want him to go missing in the shuffle. I will inform the winner once he has been shipped... he is all ready to go so it won't be too long now!

I got out my good luck quilt (the first quilt I ever made...so full of magic)
I got out the old Kraft Peanut Butter glass jar in the shape of Mama Bear and I began adding the names of all the entries for this giveaway...
Look how full Mama got! Thank you ALL for you participation in this giveaway, you have really made us (me and the bears) here at Seraphim Bears feel loved!

Then I mixed them up really good!

Can you see your name in the jar... there are so many!

Without further ado...

 

Drum-roll please...

Did you notice that the quilt is quilted with the design of Canadian Maple Leaves... perfect for our Canada Day Draw!

The Winner is...

CONGRATULATIONS TO LINDA!!!!!!!!! Looks like Mr. Bungle now has a playmate!

Thank you all again so much for your participation in the first Seraphim Bears Blog Bear Giveaway... Wow that is a mouthful!

Linda please contact me with your mailing address by emailing me at m.seraphim@cogeco.ca. I look forward to hearing from you!

The bears for Scotland are completed.
The bears for the Teddy Bear Artist Invitational show are almost all completed... they need to be photographed.
The gallery bear only needs to be costumed which I am now working on but she is all together, full armature, she can stand on her own and is made of the most gorgeous mohair I have ever purchased! I cannot wait for you to see her!

Have a very happy Canada Day and I will see you back here really soon!