43 of 52 - The Mini Bear Army is not all about world domination you know.....

Every so often, I get a photo of one of my bears getting it's fair share of love in it's new home.  But this one has extra cuteness built right in there for you.

Maisy of OneLittleHouse is a big fan of cats.  Some would say a crazy cat lady but not me, nope, not a bit ;-)  Recently she has been volunteering at a cat foster home and making lots of new furry friends and blogging about them here.  Needless to say, it didn't take her long to start fostering herself and she gave a home to Pip just last week.  Maisy is also a regular bear adopter and one of the mini bears met Pip yesterday.  And I think you'll agree, they get on well!

All together now...... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

41 of 52 - And the winner is......

There were 37 entries for the little giveaway!  And there was a great selection of names for my poor sad sock bear.

And the winner is (randomly picked using Random.org) .......

Tia!!  (who apparently is a Rottweiler) and she said:


I think you should call him Edward Sockbear... after Edward Scissorhands, who was a scarred gentle soul who just wanted to be loved... also he said "I am not complete" and the sock he was made from was flawed... besides the movie makes me cry and Sockbear deserves his happy ending :)


So Edward Sockbear it is!!  Check your emails Tia and send me your address :)


Thanks to everyone who entered and shared the blog post.

35 of 52 - New ClareBears stockists

Just recently, some fabulous new places have started showing off my bears.  All the traditional bears are available through some new outlets.

Firstly, Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous have added me as a designer and I am slowly adding more products to that site.

Then my first specialist bear retailer has added me so you can now find me at Bramhope Bears.  Stay tuned for more bears arriving there soon.

34 of 52 - Silly Sockbear Sale on Etsy!!

For 24 hours I'm taking part in the Etsy UK Silly Sale.  That means that all of my sock bears (and other selected bears) are 50% off!!

So if you want to give one of these little bears a good home for Christmas (a sock bear is for life you know...) then grab a bargain while you can.

Offer applies to all sock bears in my Etsy shop only.  Go and check it out!!

27 of 52 - Bears in the news!!

Well that doesn't happen very often!  Bears are hardly the most controversial of subjects but just look at this!

Yep, you read it correctly, a third of adults still take a teddy to bed. Phew, now I don't feel so bad for it. Though mine strictly isn't a teddy but a rather well loved dog.

Aww bless him! And according to that article, he's about average age too! And considering the survey was done by Travelodge, I'm glad I'm not the only one that worries about leaving a beloved toy in a hotel room!

So, which bear would you take on a trip with you to snuggle up in a hotel with? Go on, I won't tell :-D

24 of 52 - Bags of Bears!

And I don't just mean that I have bags of bears hanging around (though I do, it can get a bit scary round here sometimes).  I mean that my bears now come with something comfy for them to travel in!  And possibly live in, if you so choose.

Each of my bears will now come with it's very own printed (by me!) ClareBears drawstring gift bag.

And there will be a certificate of authenticity to confirm that your ClareBear is 100% original.  Get you bears in bags from all of my stores!

17 of 52 - It's Sale Time!!!

Over in my Etsy shop, it's time for a little clear out so that I can make room for more bears and other animals so, I am offering 30% off selected items in my shop.  And all the bears and bunnies have free shipping so what's not to love?

Here are a selection of the reduced items.

And you can find them all here!

16 of 52 - The Pattern is READY!!!!

A few days ago I said that I was working on a pattern to go on sale in my shops. Well, this weeks news is that it's finished and ready to go to the testers! Here's a preview of what you can make with it.

I have about six testers at the moment but if there is anyone else who is interested, please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you or convo me via Etsy with your email address. Thanks!

PS. Keep your eyes peeled on my shop today. A little offer will follow :-)

13 of 52 - New places to find me!

It has been a good week again around this bears' house! The to do list has been massive but i'm slowly working through it.

I have a whole bunch of new bears coming soon


I have also started to appear in some new place. If you want to by in pounds then you can find me on WowThankYou! And if you want to buy in Euros, I can be found on DaWanda!

Items are added to both of these stores on a regular basis so keep checking back.

8 of 52 - And the winner is.....

My very first giveaway has been a huge success. There were lots of entries from all over the world which was very exciting!

So the winner is NorthStar (Jill), who left a comment on my blog. Jill has a fab blog and Etsy shop that you should all take a look at.

She's still new to Etsy but will have some fab new quilts in the future. Here are some of her past designs:

Look at how intricate they are!

The runners up prizes go to

Allan Middleton (a Facebook Fan)

SofiaSobeide (a Twitter Follower and fellow Etsian)

beckslayer (Rebecca Jackson, a Twitter follower)

I'll be in touch with the winners this evening to arrange the delivery of their prizes.

Congratulations to you all! I selected the winners using Random.Orgs number generator.

In celebration I am now offering free shipping on all items in the ClareBears shop (this is worth about 15% depending on where you live). Feel free to stop by and take advantage of the offer.

Thanks to all who entered!

7 of 52 - A Tough Week and a Giveaway!

This week has been rubbish! Sadly, I was made redundant from my job. Ah well, hey ho, move on to bigger and brighter things. Lots of job applications are flying around and when I'm not applying for jobs, i'm adding new things to my shop!

And I figured that whilst this was dubious grounds for celebration, I figured I would do a giveaway!

So this is your opportunity to get your hands on one of my original sock bears.

AND, there are even runners up prizes!

Three runners up will get one of my tiny bears which are not available in any of my shops yet.

So, as there are four prizes, there are four ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on my blog telling me which item from my shop is your favourite (click on the 'comments' link at the end of this post).
2. Buy an item from my shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ClareBears) - I know, i'm shameless!
3. Tweet the following message: RT @ClareBears I am entering the big bear giveaway at http://claresbears.blogspot.com/
4. Become a Fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ClareBears or ask your friends to become friends.

If you do all four, that's four entries and that's all you have to do.

The giveaway closes at 7pm (UK time) on the 8th March 2010. That gives you a whole week to enter. I choose winners randomly from a hat (or a random number generator if it's popular, who knows).

Entries open NOW!!

6 of 52 - Some New Things!

Since I have been home and I can't sit still for five minutes without fidgeting, I have been making some new bears. At this exact moment I am sitting next to a pile of sock bears just awaiting their facial features and final finishing but before them, I have completed two new traditional bears.

You can find both bears available here:

Flower of Scotland Bear

Blue Steel Bear

New for Halloween

Recent new creations have been all made from socks. My most recent creation is for halloween. Introducing COUNT DRACU-BEAR! MWAH HA HA!!



Beware, he's dangerously cute.

Find him here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30660680

The Reasons I have neglected The Blog

I am a lousy blogger.

There, I said it. I finally decided to give this some love and attention after spending seven weeks stressed out of my head because of the 'DAY JOB'.

So, in case anyone doesn't know where i've been, I shall enlighten you.

I am currently here:


View Larger Map

Now this is for a very good reason that has nothing to do with bears and a lot to do with computers.

I have taken quite a few photos while i've been here and it has been a long and eventful trip. That being said, I am coming home soon and will try and tell everyone who reads this blog (all five of you) what i've been upto while i've been here.

All of this is more than one post so for now I shall say, it has been fun. But after 8 weeks, and one more to go, in hotel rooms I am ready to sleep in my own bed. And see my husband. And eat my dad's Sunday dinner. And see my husband. And make a bear. And see my husband.

AND it's my wedding anniversary on Monday and I shall not be spending it with said husband. However, I will say this. After ten years with him and two years married to him, I wouldn't change a day. So while this is a bad place to say it, 'I love you Honey and I can't wait to get home and see you'.

ClareBears

My Bear Obsession

People often ask me just how I got into making bears in the first place. Well, you know, it's not something you just wake up one day and can do!

So there were a number of things that got me that way:

1. Bonzo


So, this sorry looking knitted toy was the first cuddly toy I owned. Dad bought him on the day I was born and he was given to me when I as still in hospital. He's now 28 years old(!) and has been with me through everything.

He was there at my wedding and my honeymoon (yes the OH understands I'm a bit weird!) and has travelled all over the world in my suitcase.

I didn't sleep if he had to be washed and if I left him at somebody's house then we just had to go back and get him. He's also been repaired countless times as those aren't his original ears, or his original body and that eye is the only one he's got!

So if anyone thinks I have a slight obsession with cuddly toys then Bonzo is probably the reason why.

2. This Pooh Bear


Now this toy is looking a little sorry for himself too but he's also over twenty years old.

He was given to me in kit form as a Christmas present when I was seven or eight. It took me a while to get round to making him with Mam but when I did we spent many hours putting him together. The only bit that I didn't do was his bum. Well it was complicated and I was only little.

Not long after I made him, I was at Brownies and was doing my craft badge so I decided I'd put him in as something I'd made. He wasn't allowed as Brown Owl said I couldn't possibly have made him myself. She thought Mam had made him instead. Cheers Brown Owl! So I made something suitably crap and submitted that instead.

So after that I always kind of enjoyed making things anyway but over the years I was bought various toy kits for Christmas and as treats and it was my Auntie Mavis who had the patience to help me make most of them (she was a talented bear maker herself before the arthritis got the better of her).

So after years of filling my house to the rafters with toys and deciding that I had to either give them away (most of my friends now have them!) or sell the odd one or two here and there, I finally discovered Etsy and now have an avenue for my bear madness (w00p!).

www.ClareBears.Etsy.Com