Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Hugs,

*Jeannette

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

I hope that everyone here in the U.S. has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

 

Hugs,

*Jeannette





French Teddy Awards

I am excited and a little bit nervous to tell you all that I have entered my very first competition! 
The French Teddy Awards

I have entered into three categories. 

"Tina" is entered in the dressed bear category

"Glory" for the panda category

"Cadbury" for the other animals category

 

I hope you can stop by the French Teddy Awards website and take a look at all the amazing entries and cast your vote! 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful evening!

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette

The Online Show Has Begun!!

I hope you can take a moment to visit the "Bear Hugs 4 U" online show! 

I have several new bears available there and there are many other talented artists displaying their work!

The show will last through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bear Hugs,

*Jeannette



Bear Hugs 4 U online show

Good Morning!

 

 

I hope everyone is doing well!

 

Just a quick reminder that the Bear Hugs 4 U online show takes place this weekend! 

 

I have some brand new bears made especially for this show, so I hope you will be able to stop by and visit! 

The show starts Friday at 10:00 A.M. Eastern time.

 

 

"Caspian" is my preview bear for the show. 

 

Bear Hugs,

*Jeannette



I'm ready for the show.....I think!

I have been getting as much sewing done lately as I possibly can!  I will be participating in the Valparaiso doll and bear show this Sunday at the Porter County Expo center here in Indiana.  I hope those of you who live nearby can stop in and say Hello!

 

 

Here is a quick shot of some of the bears and elephants I will have with me.

 

I hope you all have a great week!

*Jeannette

"Swayzee"

Hi everyone!

I hope you are enjoying your week so far!  I have been working on some bears lately and I would love to introduce you to "Swayzee"! 

Swayzee has been adopted, Thank you!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bear Hugs,

*Jeannette



Newport powder room & LR fireplace

My intentions were to work on the Newport hallway next, but I realized that my plans for that room need a little more thought, so I went to work on the powder room and the fireplace in the living room.  :o) 

The powder room just needed a new sconce and some decorations, easy right?  Nothing works out that easily for me, LOL!  When I was installing the new sconce I accidentally ripped some of the beautiful red wallpaper beyond repair, so I had to do some internet hunting for replacement paper.  I found some on my new favorite paper source http://www.scrapbook.com/.  Be warned, you will spend too much time and money on this website, LOL!

Above is a view of the powder room through the living room, without the partition.  The sink and toilet I found on the Elf Miniatures website.

I made the frames for these pictures that I found online a long time ago ( I can't remember where now)   The towel is a stand in for the time being until I find one I like.  I just used an old wash cloth that I had on hand and cut a little piece off of it (Shhh, don't tell!)

Now I just need to decide on some kind of shade or valance maybe for the window and a rug.  I think I will also add some sort of shelf above the toilet to store towels and other necessities. 

This picture shows the partition installed for the powder room.

The furniture is a set that I purchased from Kris Compas.  I have several of her pieces and I can't say enough good things about her work!!  I love it! 

I'm not sure if it will stay in this room, but I really wanted to display it :o) 

I built the fireplace from scraps that I had on hand and I have to say that I am extremely happy with how it turned out! 

I'm not sure if you can see it, but the picture on the mantle is my daughter and niece.  It was taken a few years ago and is one of my favorites.  I resized it on my computer and printed it.  The frame is one that is easily found online, I just painted it and sealed it along with the picture.  The box is a metal mini that I also painted.  Minis and More has a great selection of metal miniatures if you are interested in those!

I love this umbrella stand!  I found it on E-bay, it has such great detail!  The umbrella is incredible too!



Last, but not least, I wanted to show my decoys.  These two little ones reside on the mantle in the study.  They were made by Douglas Guy.  He does wonderful work with a lot of attention to detail!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! 

Have a great weekend!

*Jeannette

Bear Hugs 4 U online show

Good Morning!

The Bear Hugs 4 U online teddy bear show has officially begun!  I hope you will be able to stop by and have a look at all of the wonderful bears available!

I have created some lovely new bears just for this show! 

http://www.bearhugs4u.com/ 

"Samantha"-ADOPTED!

"Jetta" - ADOPTED!

"Juneau" - ADOPTED!

"Karson" - ADOPTED!

"Blossom" - ADOPTED!

"Sherbet" - ADOPTED

"Grant" - ADOPTED!

"Nikolai" - ADOPTED!

"Trenton" - ADOPTED!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a wonderful weekend!
*Jeannette

UPDATE:  Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by the show!  An extra special thank you goes to those of you who adopted one of my bears!  Most of these little guys and gals found new, loving homes over the weekend :o) 

Hugs,
*Jeannette

Some Progress on the Newport

Yes, finally, I have something to show you regarding the Newport!  I have been slowly working away on this project, along with the garden shed and bears of course.   Today I want to show what I have done so far, the study and the guest room.  I shouldn't say they are done, I still have more to do to each room, but these are the two rooms I have made the most progress on so far.

I have actually been a bit nervous about posting these photos.  Brae's talent is a lot to live up to :o)  As much as I loved what she had done with this wonderful house before I purchased it, I wanted to make it my own and show my own style.  So, with Brae's assurance that she will have now hard feelings about me changing things, I am ready to share.  :o)  I am going for an eclectic, modern French country style.  ( I hope that makes sense!)

First is the guest room.  I took some pictures yesterday, both during the day and at night so I could show the lights on and off.   I wish I had a nice backdrop picture to put outside the windows, but I haven't been able to find anything I like yet. 

 I have had so much fun with both of these rooms!  It has given me a chance to use some pieces I had and also to do some shopping!  :o)

I will do my best to tell where I got some of the pieces, but if I leave anything out, feel free to ask.

I have wanted to buy these table lamps ever since the first time I saw then in the Hobby Builder's Supply catalog and this room was the perfect excuse!  I love the way they look.  I am undecided about whether or not to add a ceiling light as well.  Opinions? 

The pictures above the bed were printed off the Internet and I made the frames for them.  The bed was a e-bay find that I re-finished and dressed myself.  The bedside table, chair and dresser were also from e-bay, but I like the way they look, so I left them with their original finish.  The mirror above the dresser is one that I made from a large jewelry finding that I have had in my stash for a long time.  I added a small piece of mirror sheet to the back and voila, a lovely mirror. :o)  The doll in the chair is one that I have posted about before, I bought him at the Bishop show this year.  The small rose in the vase came from the Bishop show as well.

The orchid plant on top of the dresser is one that I made from a kit.

I love the study!  I had the chance to use my Bespaq chair and sofa set here!  I also had the chance to make my first fireplace mantle :o)  The firebox inside was included with the house, but I did the rest and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!  

The small duck decoy on the mantle was hand carved by Douglas Guy.  He does wonderful work!  I ordered another of his decoys for the opposite side of the mantle which should arrive this week.    The vase on the mantle and also the lidded bowl on the coffee table are by C.W. Lubin.  I have several of his pieces as well. 

The picture above the mantle is another that I found online and I made the frame for it.  It is printed on Painter's Canvas paper, another trick that I picked up by reading Brae's blog :o)

The plant by the window was made by me in one of our mini club meetings.

another shot of the fireplace :o)

The cabinet on the right is also a Bespaq piece that I have had for quite a while.  It is so nice to have a place for these things I have been collecting!  I know it is hard to see, but inside the cabinet is a green glass bowl by Phil Grenyer,  I love his work too!!   I made the little floral pillows on the sofa and chair. 

I hope I remembered to mention everything.   There are still more things to be done.  I haven't decided on window treatments yet and I also need to add the mouldings around the ceiling.  I think the guest room also needs something under the window, next to the chair.  maybe a blanket chest? 

I hope you have all enjoyed the little tour!  Next will be the hallway I think.  I have some ideas for that "room" and I can't wait to get started! 

Thanks for stopping by!  And thank you again Brae, for the chance to "adopt" the Newport and for all of your help since! 

Hugs,

*Jeannette



"Glory" the panda bear

Just a quick post today to share my new bear "Glory". 

I wanted to take some time out this week to create this little guy in time for Independence day :o)  

I hope you like him!
 
Glory has been adopted, Thank You!

Leo had to make sure I was doing everything correctly! 

Now I have to get back to work on my show bears!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!

*Jeannette

Upcoming Online Show

The Next online show that I will be participating in is right around the corner!  Time sure does fly by! 

The preview page is beginning to shape up as each artist adds their bear for all to see. I hope you can stop by and take a look at the bears, including my little "Nikolai".   

I hope to see you there on July 13, 14 & 15!

Bear Hugs,

*Jeannette



Garden Shed Update

I have managed to get some work done on the exterior of the garden shed in between making bears and drooling over the possibilities for the Newport :o)

It has mostly been a lot of painting, sanding, ageing and more painting! So far I have the windows and door finished, although they are not permanently attached yet. I also have the porch floor and posts installed, painted and aged. Eventually I will add a railing. The next step will be the siding. The lines drawn on the walls are my guides. I will make another post after I have that finished :o) 

I added my can of "fuel" here for size comparison :o)

I think the screen door is my favorite part of this project so far!  It turned out just like I hoped it would.  It is hard to see the actual screen in the photos though, sorry about that.    I chose to add working windows also.

I cut strips of basswood for the porch floor, then did several layers of painting and ageing.   The posts and steps were given the same treatment, but I decided to add trim to the bottom of the posts for extra detail.  I like the way it looks :o)

I think everything is coming along nicely, but I certainly have a lot more work to do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Hugs,

*Jeannette



BIG news!

I am so excited to show you all my new treasure!! 

If you are a follower of Brae's blog, then you know that she was looking for a new home for her partially constructed Newport house.  Well, I am happy to say that I am the proud new owner of that beautiful piece of work!! :o)  I have so many ideas for finishing this project, I don't even know where to begin, LOL! 

I had a wonderful time meeting Brae today when we went to pick it up!  She is so nice and I was over the moon when I got to see her mini houses up close!  She does amazing work with so much attention to detail!  To see the pictures on her blog just doesn't compare to being able to look at the real thing.   I feel very honored to have had the opportunity to see them and talk with her!  :o)

Here are a few pictures of the Newport in it's new happy home

I was happy to be able to fit the whole thing into the back of our Jeep without taking it apart or cutting wires!  It worked out really well.

Here it is on my desk.  Sorry about the mess underneath! (blush)

Here is a shot of the front.  Not a very good picture, I didn't have a lot of room to maneuver around it.  It is so big!  :o) 

If you would like to see more pictures and read more about this wonderful build, and her other projects, visit Brae's blog, you won't be disappointed!  She is very generous when it comes to sharing her knowledge.

I can't wait to get to work on this house, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the garden shed.  I have been working on it.  I need to re-do a few spots on the porch because I'm not happy with the way the paint looks, then I will post some pictures of my progress.  I will also post pics of the Newport as I make progress on it as well.  I just hope I can do justice to the beautiful work that has already been put into it! 

Thank you so much Brae!  I had a wonderful time visiting with you!

I'm going to go play now :o)

Hugs,

*Jeannette