fuzziteddybear

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:28:00 +0000


I am nearly finished this little picture. It is one I started ages ago and it has sat unfinished for a couple of years I think, without a background. I haven't been game to put in the background - fear of backgrounds has been my thing but I am going to ditch this silly phobia as of now. Anyway, as the little critters and balloons are watercolor I didn't think acrylic in the background would work, I thought it would be too strong, but yesterday I just though 'don't be precious, who cares if I muck it up' and just painted it all blue and am actually quite happy with how the acrylic actually almost highlights the watercolor figures. Now I am just going to do a little line work with black ink around the balloons and the strings etc and then I think it will be finished.

I did this cover for a friend and I am really happy with how the owls worked out but I have made the case a little too cosy for the item as far as the zip space goes so am going to add a couple of centimetres to the zip side for future ones that are intended for the I pad (is that what it is called?).

Some more projects completed

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:03:00 +0000

A little boy's apron for wearing when helping out in the kitchen etc...

2. A couple of Elephant themed hottie covers for Mum to chose from as a pressie for a relative. The other I will put in my Etsy store! One elephant is soft and 'fluffy', the other is 'groovy'!

Projects I have been working on lately

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:52:00 +0000

Here are some little boxes I have been playing with.

new designs

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:56:00 +0000

I have been working on, and have just completed 4 designs for a friend who ordered some special hotties for her nieces and nephews for Christmas pressies.

More Hotties...oh so much fun!!!

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:01:00 +0000

Here are 2 more of my 'Happy Hotties'...I am having heaps of fun creating these and can't wait to come up with some more designs! I will be putting some in my Etsy store in the next day or so along with an illustration or two. And wow, I have a number of orders now so that makes it more exciting!!! :)

playing with faces

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 05:37:00 +0000

I meant to post this a little while ago but too much has been happening so I am doing it now. In class I have been challenged by having to do faces without a model...from what is in my brain and heart (though I have taken peeks at others around me and even looked at what happens in a mirror from time to time). I have experimented in the last one with a different technique to what I am used to, trying to create depth using several layers of paint and rubbing it back etc... Just having fun with the brush and trying to stamp on the voices that say 'ick', 'hopeless' etc etc etc, just learning to enjoy the process and not being afraid of the outcome not being 'perfect' or even acceptable to others!

Hottie covers are fun!!!

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:49:00 +0000

Haven't been here for a while as I haven't had a chance to be creative other than painting walls and re-arranging the place so children finally have their own rooms etc. It has been like moving in and unpacking all over again...so chaotic and time-consuming! Finally though, we are organized (at least superficially) so I can get back to creating...yay.

My dearest buddy's darling daughter is having a birthday today and when I asked her mum what could we give her ... 'hottie cover' was the request. She LOVES animals and pink and as it is something to keep her warm and cosy I tried it in the minky fleece ... I hope she will like it!
Hottie covers are so much fun to make! I think I will make tons of them...I just love doing them.
Thank-you heaps Cam at Curlypops for letting me join in the hottie challenge at the last minute. The 'challenge' was such a lovely, fun and successsful way to raise money for The Margaret Pratt Foundation. Congratulations Cam on your all your fabulous work and effort that you put into the Hottie Challenge, and all the very best to you. :)

Hottie

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:35:00 +0000

FINISHED!!!! At last!
These little guys are now preparing for their (hopefully quick) postal journey to Cam's at CurlyPops so they can participate in the Hottie Challenge next week.

Now for some shots of this hottie's process.....

planning and designing

more of the same

Thank goodness for linings

Ollie - boo, my little helper..

sleeping on/in (almost literally) the job

Lulu...not real mice?...........not interested!!!

getting there

lined and waiting...

New and exciting discovery.

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:15:00 +0000

These photos below are OLD photos (I nearly fainted when I saw the year - 1990 printed in the corner of a couple of them - oh how time does fly!!!) that I dragged out of an album to see what I used to do in the 'dabbling with sewing' era of my life...which I must say was a fairly short era at the time.

I made this for a friend's little girl (who would be grown up now!) and when I look at it now I think 'how did I do that?' The little dress lifted up and there were little undies and a tummy underneath and her hat was all puffy and 3 dimensional, and her plaits were made out of wool.


During the making of the last apron with the Koala and Cockatoo, and the trouble I had doing the applique stitch around curves and corners etc, I had an urge to 'drop the feed dogs' and have a go at free motion machine embroidery...I didn't know anything about it or even know what it was called until a couple of weeks ago and when I tried it I couldn't work out exactly how to do it, or if I needed a special foot for it or none at all etc etc etc. Next time I was in town and near our Sewing Machine Centre, I went in and inquired about machine embroidery and whether I needed a special foot etc and the very helpful lady there sold me a foot for the job and mentioned that it takes about 100 hours of practice to master the technique. Undeterred, I couldn't wait until I was home so I could try it out for myself...(thinking 'no way' to the 100 hours). Sadly at that point, I couldn't even work out how to attach the foot ... let alone give the stitch a go!!! At that time my machine was being very naughty during the making of the Cockatoo apron, so I had to go back to get my machine checked out and while I was there I asked to be shown how to put the foot on correctly. Yay, now I could play!!! And OH what fun it is....like drawing with a sewing machine!

finally finished!

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:34:00 +0000


Yay, finally I have finished this apron for my friend who wanted something Australian to take to her friends in England.

They (my friend and her husband, and their English pals) are 4 friends who, when they occasionally are able to get together, love sharing laughs and a bottle of wine...hence the wine glasses....

Bon voyage Koala and Cockie, hope you enjoy your trip to England and hope your new English owners enjoy you!!!

Work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:01:00 +0000

I am working on this apron at the moment - I have ironed on my design and now need to sew around it all.

Old and New

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:58:00 +0000

I haven't had much of a chance to paint or indulge in anything overly creative lately due to other things needing attention at home, but I found a couple of 'old muck-arounds' so thought I would post them here for fun...mixed with a recent piece of work or two.

Autumn treasures of the fungal kind

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:10:00 +0000

Another reason I love Autumn is that this is the time when nature presents us with a wonderful array of fungal treasures here on our very own little piece of land. This season, for some reason, there hasn't been quite the spectacular quantity as in the previous years...but I still love exploring and discovering them in all their little places around our property.

Yummy Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:42:00 +0000


Mother Nature is truly the most amazing artist!!! The colors, patterns, magical creatures etc, etc, etc that 'she' presents to us every moment of every day all are a part of a delicious feast for our senses constantly.

Autumn is my most favorite season of all as the colors of nature become even more stunning than ever. The light changes and becomes more gentle and golden and the misty, damp mornings and afternoons remind us that cosy, snuggly times are ahead.

School holidays and dabbling

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:07:00 +0000

When school holidays come along, down go the paint-brushes, inks, sewing projects etc because with little people around during the day, there are places to go, people to visit, together fun to have and all the normal day to day things to get done... A painting project of the wall kind commences in preparation for girl-bear's own bedroom - finally...but which color will she choose??? (must pass mum approval though..Mum who couldn't quite do the lollie pink!!!...yes I know it is her room but....).

When little people sleep though I still try to play and are having fun learning how to do little crochet flowers and leaves, thanks to Mum and her friend and this gorgeous blog.

UFOs

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:30:00 +0000

While cleaning out and preparing our room for painting (walls this time) I have come across some UFOs (un-finished objects) leaning against my wall in a pile and have lined them up committing to finishing them soon.

Fairies in the kitchen???

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:54:00 +0000

Working on another design for an apron...this time for a real little person...rather than just one at heart.

Homework

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:59:00 +0000

Then I worked some more the next week, working on loosening up more and more and just getting used to playing as the process and quelling those naughty, bad inner voices....

Then in the same morning at class I was given another exercise where I had to paint a picture as a child would - not worrying about the outcome or what other people thought and include a number of things...and do it really quickly.......oh such a hard thing to just let go and enjoy the process and not worry what other people though and especially not listen to those wicked internal voices that said 'oh cack' etc etc ETC ETC ETC, to everything I did on the paper.

Added rough maggies at home, then in class had to change things, paint over things, move things etc (also something I have struggled with as I tend to get too precious with things in my painting being too scared to make any changes incase I muck things up more).

I wanted to put 2 big magpies in the foreground so mucked around in my journal trying to get out of my head what a magpie looked like. I must say...I did watch more closely the magenpies (Gerald Durrell called them that when he was a child in 'My Family and other Animals' and the name has kind of stuck in our household!) on the side of roads etc when I was driving into town etc.

This was the homework I worked on after my yummy art class (a couple of weeks ago now cos I am so slow still with this blogging) where I had to paint a landscape with 4 mountains, 3 birds, 4 trees, 3 clouds etc, etc,etc. Another requirement being that I wasn't to reference anything...it had to be completely out of my head! EEEEEEK- definitely something I really struggle with in my art!

It started as an learning exercise

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:01:00 +0000

I hadn't ever crocheted granny squares until latish last year; in fact I hadn't crocheted for so long it was like a past life thing. I had played around a little with cotton and tiny crochet hooks many long years ago and only knew this because I found a couple of unfinished doileys...but couldn't remember how or when I did them or any of the stitches etc , and then when I looked at a crochet pattern it was looking at a foreign language. I had a couple of ideas for my Etsy and decided I needed someone who could knit or crochet to either show me how, or even do it for me. I had nine colors of wool that I really liked and started to play... I made a granny square or 2 using 3 colors then I wondered how many different combinations I could make out of those 9 colors with each square having 3 colors only. I worked out that there were 84 combinations and in each of these, the 3 colors could be in 6 different positions so that added up to 504 squares. So I thought, just for fun, I would try to make them all and just plodded away here and there in little spaces of time throughout the days, weeks etc...and amazingly by Christmas time I had done all 504 of them...I have so frequently started things and not completed them so I seriously surprised myself with getting them all done!!! Now I am going to make it into a blanket...again bit by bit in small snippets of time here and there throughout the days and weeks etc and see when I can finish it.
Yesterday I took the squares over to Mum and Dad's place as they don't have children at home or pets, and I lay all 504 squares out on their lounge-room floor to work out where they should all go. Then my wonderful Mum and I put them back in their box in labeled order ready for me to systematically crochet them together.

old faves

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:04:00 +0000

I was searching through my old artwork and found some paintings and drawings of my bears...a safe place as I knew them so well and still do but now I am trying to spread my wings, branch out and feel safe painting/drawing ....anything...who knows what?! Oh dear the watercolor came up here way darker than in the real!!! :(

Working through a bad case of long-term 'Artist's Block'

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:10:00 +0000

Oh how I want to paint!!! And get rid of all my silly fears and nasty little inner voices,and lack of confidence etc...and just paint cos I can't stop...not caring what the finished product is like, and most of all not worrying what other people think (or what I think other people think). Out of frustration with myself the other day, I pulled out a blank canvas, chucked it on the easel, blobbed some paint onto my palette and made myself paint anything that was close by and not worry about the subject or how the process was looking...It is still a 'work in process' but I am having fun (though those nasty little inner voices keep chipping in frequently with their unhelpfulness).

Aprons galore

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:39:00 +0000

Finally finished a couple of aprons...one for a friend and one to go onto my Etsy shop...
And the lego one is the creation of my 8 year old lego-crazy fellow...he designed it, cut it all out, ironed it, over-locked it and sewed it (with only verbal guidance from me and a teeny bit of tricky sewing help around bends etc. What a clever little man he is - we are very proud of what he did! - as is he I think!!!).

Back to Work!!!

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:03:00 +0000

Now that the little people are back at school, I am getting straight into concentrating on stocking my Etsy shop to the brim and returning to my art. Today I worked on 2 aprons - 1 for the shop, and the other for a birthday pressie for a friend.

Help at last...yay!!!

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:56:00 +0000

Aha...have just enrolled in a blog course, which hopefully starts next month...now I will get the hang of it!
This painting I did quite a while ago...I was mucking around with busy-ness! Just wanted to see how it came up on the blog!

'We're Waiting'

noreply@blogger.com (fuzziteddybear) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:53:00 +0000

I did this little painting a few weeks ago before end-of-year-school thingies, Christmas, holiday stuff and kids' stuff put a temporary halt on personal creative time for the duration of the Chrissy hols...or thereabouts. As much as I am not looking forward to my little people returning to school and us trying desperately (but rarely successfully ) to get at least a semblance of an in-term routine happening, I am bouncingly excited about the prospect of throwing myself, hook-line-and-sinker (my resolve for the year), into developing my ideas for my Etsy shop and getting some serious art happening. I am not sure what I am going to do with this little water-color but I think I might just put it as an original into my store and see what happens.