May's Team Thursday - Etsy Kids Favourites

I'm a washable nappy fan and Little Bear has his bum firmly wrapped in super soft and snuggly terry towelling, so these soakers would look so cute to cover them!

Get them here

23 of 52 - Last few days of sale!

So last week I told you about my Christmas in July sale and it has been fun seeing all those bears go off to a good home.  The sale will be on until Sunday 25th July!

There are still some bears waiting to go off to new homes....

Head over to my Etsy shop to grab your bear before the sale ends!

18 of 52 - The pattern is ready to go!

My lovely pattern testers got back to me on Friday with their suggestions and I spent a little while updating the pattern.  Now it's ready to go.  So you can get my pattern over here in my Etsy store.

To celebrate my very first pattern you can win one of the cover girls (or boys - it's your choice)!

There are four ways to enter.

1. Tweet this message:  I am entering @clarebears coverbear giveaway at http://claresbears.blogspot.com/

2. Comment on this post

3. Become a fan on Facebook here

4. Buy a copy of the pattern!

Any of these will get you an entry, do all four, you get four entries!  There will be three winners chosen at random from all entrants and the prize will be drawn on Sunday 30th May at 7pm (UK time).

Good Luck!

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 :-)

10 of 52 - Quilt Voter

Thanks to all the lovely people who voted for me! I came 3rd, which was fantastic (I managed 4th with Dracu-bear back in October so i'm really thrilled).

The prize for the voter was a front page that was up at 10pm (UK time) last night!

Thanks again to all who supported me. It means a lot.

9 of 52 - VOTE FOR BEARS!!

To my great surprise, I found myself in this weeks Etsy voter! There are many beautiful quilted items in there, including my Green Bear.

I am woefully late in getting my campaign going but I need your votes! Thanks!

Go Vote!

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!!

Happy New Year - 1 of 52

There's an ominous title!

Yes I plan to blog once a week for the next year. This goes completely against my resolution to NEVER make a resolution but if this is one small thing I can do on the way to world bear domination it's a good thing, right? I even have a calender of things I plan to write about and everything! Now, just to write about something every week! I suspect some entries will be cop-outs and just be some pictures of things I've made or new things I've found that I like. So in that vain, here are some things I made for the delightful Miss Maisy!

This cute guy was made from one of the pairs of socks she sent me! This is the other:

I hope she likes them!

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

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