Sadie is here!!

My sister Kyla gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last Saturday !!! She's called Sadie which was my Nana's name and I promise I did try and post the good news twice before but lost my connection to the net because of the thunder storms we've been having here. A new member of the family is a true gift and I love the way it changes the dynamics of the whole clan! The youngest members of the family now seem quite grown up , the Grandparents have a new role to play and the parents are set for the most important job in life!!!

I bought the beautiful flower fairy from my talented friend Chyna who has a studio in the craft centre in Manchester, it's a wall plaque for the nursery and completes a set of three, when I get a chance there will be a special little bear too for Sadie.

Congratulations Kyla and Danny!!!

The Birthday Girl.

It's my little sister's 29th birthday today and we spent the day enjoying afternoon tea and cakes at a local retreat centre/cafe and relaxing in the sun. My Mum is out of hospital now and was able to join us, my other sister is back from her holiday in Canada and America and things are back to normal again . Phew! My Mum is never ill and this health scare has made me appreciate her more than ever, we're a close family and always enjoy getting together. We all had a lovely day and my sister got the bear that she'd been hinting for !

I knew that she liked the mini bears best and she loves pink so I decided on a clown bear with a pink silk ruff. She called him Freddie and was over the moon with him!!

Happy Bithday Sis xx

Unfinished Business.

Do you ever start a project and then start another leaving the first one unfinshed? Well I know I do , but this time I managed to muster up enough will to finish it and the result is Molly Pancake Head. I made a few of these bears at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed doing something slightly different for a change. Molly lay languishing in my sewing box without any legs until today when I found her by accident, anyhow I thought I'd put her in my Etsy shop which has been empty for months now! She's there with her friend Moo if you want to pay her a visit. ( You'll need to scroll down a bit to get to the shop )

Tomorrow I'll have some pics to show you of a birthday bear that I've made for my sister, ta ta for now x

Joey up for adoption!

Things are a little hectic around here at the moment as my Mum is in hospital under going tests for DVT and I've been called upon to take care of my nephew (my younger sister's son ) who she was looking after before she took ill. My sister is on holiday in Canada and has another week left , so it looks like Auntie Gin will be busy next week as well.
My nephew is 10 years old and great company! He also shares my love of bears and has been reading the latest copy of Teddy Bear Times today! He's also been busy designing his own bear for me to make!
Anyway I just managed to grab some time today and put Joey on my new website. The site is in its infancy as are my computer skills so please bear with me, do excuse the pun!
I will be adding more bears over the next week or so , please let me know what you think, it would be great to get some feedback, hop over and take a look-http://ginieleebears.webs.com

The end of the day.

Well it's nearing the end of the day now and I'm only just getting around to updating my blog. It's been a great day though , you know the days when everything runs smoothly and just falls into place - one of those, which is rare for me. I joined an art group today which is something that I've been meaning to do for some time . I'm so glad I did it at last. I have to confess that I'm more confidant with a needle and thread in my hand than a paintbrush !! I'm already thinking of ways to incorporate thread and textiles into the piece!! The art teacher likes to recycle all kinds of things and one of the best ideas is the one where she turns a discarded video into a box canvas by covering it with cloth cut from old sheets! Will show some pics tomorrow of a painting I bought that's done like this.

I also finished sewing a little grey bear today. He's called Cedric and is going to live in Copenhagen, what a lucky boy!

Joey the blue eyed sailor boy.

Meet Joey the cheeky sailor boy. I've been busy the last few days and Joey is just one of the projects I've been working on. He measures 9" and sports a silk sailor collar and hat (worn at the obligatory jaunty angle) . I'm putting him up for adoption on my new website tomorrow!!

So do pop back and take a peek, I'd love to know what you think!!

Lets get busy!

Hi, just letting you know that I'm still here!! Been quite busy with family birthdays and housey stuff but the bear creating is still going on in the background. I'm playing around with a new design and will show the finished bears when I'm done tweaking. It's almost like I can't even stop to catch my breath because I'm so focussed on getting my pattern right. Ooh I love it when I get into a creative whizz , because it feels just like that - a whizz, instead of the creative quagmire that I sometimes find myself wading through when I can't muster up any new ideas and feel unable to make even the most simple decision . So while I'm in this mood I'll crack on !!
Back with pics soon, have a great weekend x