Chester the Boxer

Finally, an update! Phew, I have been so busy, work, work work.. and of course I've been busy at home too.

I would of updated much sooner with my most recent creation.. however he just was not right without a collar... and I can tell you it's an extremely difficult task trying to find such a tiny collar, it's near impossible! So having waited for this collar, it has finally arrived.. therefore I can finally update! Hoorah!

I would like to introduce you to Chester! He is a Boxer Dog pup!

Standing, he is almost 7.5 inches tall and is 5 inches from his chest to the tip of his tail.

His realistic brindle coat is made from a luxurious faux fur with a faux-leather backing. 

His inner ear and paw pads are made from the reverse side of the fabric, they feel extremely soft and realistic. 

His paw pads have been extensively needle sculpted, each foot has four individual toes and a paw pad.

Chester's eyes are German hand-made glass eyes which I have handpainted and have added an eye-catching sparkle! 

His face has been needle-sculpted and needle-felted to acheive that recogniseable Boxer profile.

Chester is 5 way jointed with traditional cotter and pin joints, he is stuffed with various high quality heavy weight stuffings and plastic beads for scrunchability and weight. 

I had a really great time making this little guy, I can't wait to make more puppies in the future!

Busy, busy, busy..

Well, recently I found myself a full-time job and it's been difficult fitting everything into my days off but I am still sewing and making things as much as possible.

I am still busy with the Boxer dog, all of his parts are sewn together, yay! And I've needle sculpted his paws, they look so realistic.. I'm not sure if I should sculpt some little claws for him or not though.. I'm still debating this. They wouldn't be at all sharp, I would probably carve them from wood.

Today I start needle felting the basic shapes onto the face, defining the muzzle and hopefully really making it look like a Boxer! I am awaiting an order of eyes to come in.. brown - two different shades, I'm not sure yet which to choose, we shall see.

I am also working on some bookmarks! Yes, I even went out and bought my first laminator. It was a lot of fun sending all those pictures through the strange sounding machine and watching them appear all polished and pretty looking.. pictures soon, I promise!

Also I will be updating my Shop soon with lots more pretty little handmade things and some teddies that desperately need new homes. Alas, it is my last day off and for the next four days I shall be working and far too tired to update! So until next time!

In Progress!

Well I keep saying I will upload photos of current 'works in progress', so here goes!
This is the current plush I am working on, it's a Boxer puppy!
Here you can see my current progress, all the various parts pinned together. 


One of the legs is entirely stitched, when all four have had their paw pads stitched I will turn them out and trim them down to more accurately represent a Boxer dog's coat. 


The material I'm using has a thick, luxurious plush and the backing is a sort of soft leather material which is gorgeous and instead of hiding all that lovely backing within the plush I have reversed it for the inner ear and paw pads because it's so soft and is entirely right for paws! Usually I would use a suede fabric but it tends to pucker when you sculpt the paws, this soft leather is much more suited for my technique of pulling paws. 


Anyway, I am writing this in haste as I am soon off to work for the first of three night shifts! I doubt I will find much time to sew during the next three days however after my shift I have an entire week and no doubt this little pup will come to life in no time!

Easter Gift Box

I have put together an Easter Gift Box with a selection of my favourite items that me and my Nan have recently made. There are two boxes available, more or less identical (the scarves are different to one another but are both gorgeous) and at a really decent price with P&P included!
Click on my new Shop link at the top of the page to read more about the gift box!


I am currently working on a new teddy, it's a Boxer dog pup! I studied some photographs to draw up the pattern and 'so far - so good'.
I will put up some progress shots soon, I promise!


I have also created a new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/PuddingBowlBears
I will update there regularly!


I have plenty of things planned for the next few weeks including some in progress shots, a free pattern and more pages full of things such as links, recipes and other such goodies, well I must dash now and get back to sewing those Boxers paws!

The Craft Fair!

I apologise for such a late update, I have recently got a new job and started almost immediately after the show and this is my first chance to blog all week!
The craft fair was such a brilliant experience!
My Nan and me arrived early with plenty of time to set up our table, it was a bit of a mad panic but luckily we worked well together and I think it looked great!
It was a relatively small event but there were plenty of amazing looking tables selling a wide variety of things including beautiful hand-knitted items, carved wooden sculptures, masses of stunning jewellery, paintings, baked goods and other such lovely things! To my right were two jewellery makers with a stunning array of items and to the left a painter who had a serious eye for detail!
Unfortunately I didn't sell a single teddy bear! Not even a single Sleepy Bunny went to a new home, even £10 is considered very expensive in the current climate and I will have to bear this in mind next time!
Our best seller was the home-made fudge my Nan made, chocolate and marshmallow.. our free samples kept a steady stream of customers to our table and it was definitely a success despite competition from a fellow shower! I will update soon with the recipe!
My pom-pom chicks and my Nan's knitted creme egg chicks were also very popular, apparently some of them are going across Europe on holiday to their knew owners! Not to mention Nan's extremely popular hand-knitted glamorous scarves which all disappeared quickly!
We sold a few key rings, some colouring books but not a single hat! I think we just missed the hat selling season! I'm not too disappointed with that as they're totally gorgeous and my ever growing hat collection certainly has space for them!
Overall it was a great experience and I want to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to my wonderful Nan for booking me a table for this event and putting in so much hard work to help me, you are the best Nan ever!
Hopefully we will do some more small events in the year, at the moment I have found some full time work but will do my best to keep making more teddies on my days off!

Craft Fair Sneak-Peek!

So, my very first craft fair is exactly one week away. It's next Saturday, March 3rd and yes, I am very nervous! I am also excited, I have no idea how it will turn out, I feel that I don't have enough stuff despite working non-stop for almost a whole month!
My list of items includes:

• felt flower hair clips
• book marks
• key chains
• bag charms
• knitted hats with felt flower decorations
• scarves
• knitted chicks with chocolate eggs
• pom-pom chicks and bunnies
• six handmade plush bunnies
• various OOAK bespoke plushes

I really feel like I may not have enough stuff.. it's not exactly a big event but it'd be awful to run out of things too soon! Anyway, wish me luck and enjoy this sneak-peek of what I will have to offer!

If anyone lives in the Shropshire area and fancies a trip to a craft show here is the info:

Craft Fair - Saturday 3rd March 2012

Wellington Methodist Church and Centre

New Street,

Wellington,

Telford

TF1 1LU

01952250944

The fair will open at 10.00 am, refreshments will be available.

I hope to see you there!

A little update..

I have been so busy recently, I just can't seem to find the time to fit anything in at all!
I have been working a few days here and there and am preparing for a craft show.
The show is March 3rd in a local church.. I'm finding it almost impossible to get the time to sit down and focus on making some plushies.
I have already made a mountain of gorgeous felt flower hair berets, book markers and zodiac keyrings and will be uploading pictures soon for sure!

Now I am starting on pom-pom animals, patterns for easter bunnies and prehaps a few cotton eggs!
Well I apologise for being so brief but I must rush back to my work station!

Do to list

• Pom-pom animals
• Cut bunny pattern
• Finish berets