Christmas Cheer!

More views of our butterfly tree!

Happy Christmas!

Warmest wishes to all. Our Christmas tree this year is covered in butterflies!! I'm hoping you can get a sense of the tree by this photo. There are close to 100 butterflies of many colors. The prettiest are the large green ones, but they don't show up as well at night with the lights on. The red ones seem to show up the best. The tree looks magical as though all these little creatures have just landed on the limbs.

I hope all will enjoy a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday Season! We are so glad that everyone here is healthy and looking forward to a grand 2009. We wish the same to all. The wonderful huggy panda is "Panda Claus" and is now in the collection of Tina K. He's made of a very lovely alpaca and is quite a bit bigger (24 inches) than those I usually make. I have a couple of miniature pandas that I hope to photograph as soon as the weather here permits.

Thanks to all for the wonderful messages while Jason and Kim were dealing with their medical issues. It meant so much to hear from each of you. "God Bless Us, Every One!"

Good News

I'm happy to report that Jason's surgery went well and we hope for a speedy recovery. My daughter Kim's follow up appointment from her back surgery was this morning and she has mended well. Thanks for all the messages, prayers, and wishes. Love to all, Donna

Thoughts and Prayers appreciated

My son, Jason, who was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer will have surgery tomorrow to remove his thyroid. We certainly would appreciate your thoughts and prayers. His sister, Kim, just had back surgery last week. We will certainly be glad to have this all behind us soon. Love to all!

Hamish and Fergus win TOBY Public's Choice Award

I've just returned from TBAI - a thoroughly wonderful show with lots of wonderful people. Thursday night last during the opening reception, Mindy Kinsey from Teddy Bear and Friends magazine announced the winners of this years' TOBY Public Choice awards. I was beyond thrilled that my panda and pig duo won in their category!!!!! Congratulations to all the other winners too. It was especially sweet to receive the award with so many friends present. By the way, Pierre and Tulah from my last post found a wonderful new home with Nancy!

Pierre and Tulah for TBAI

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for TBAI! It's always such fun and I enjoy visiting friends and meeting new ones! I'm taking lots of bears and a special piece for the reception on Thursday night. My gallery piece is finally done - though don't know if I'll get that photographed before I leave. I'll post some of the "characters" when I return. I do have some little photos of the piece for the reception. Their names are "Pierre" and "Tulah." Pierre, the bear, stands a bit over 5 inches tall and the sculpted elephant, Tulah, is made from polymer clay. I just love these guys! I'm painting a little platform for them to stand on - white with red trim and am stenciling stars around the edge of it. Nothing like last minute! I hope the paint dries before I finish packing.

Where are the new bears?

Sadly, the wonderful lady who created my web site and has updated it throughout this past year is no longer in business due to illness in her family. I have been unable to add bears to my web site for some time now. I hope to have some new bears available soon on the site. If I can't manage it, I'll put them here in my blog. I'm able to do that myself! Thanks for all the inquiries. There are some new bears just waiting to have their photos taken.

TWO Golden Teddy Nominations!!!

I just got a call from Andrea at Teddy Bear Review. She told me that two of my bears have won Golden Teddy Nominations this year. Wow, how exciting is that!! "Peek-a-Boo" is one of my new "little friends" bears and "Claire" was nominated in the small, dressed category. She's one of a kind and owned by dear Sue in Pennsylvania. There will be a few more "Peek-a-Boos" this year.

I am walking on air!!!!

Grand News! TWO Toby Industry Choice Awards for 2008!

I am so thrilled and overwhelmed as I have learned that two of my pieces have won Toby Industry Choice Awards. These pieces are very special to me as they represent two new directions that my work has taken during the past year. The first is entitled"Hamish and Fergus Celebrate the Year of the Pig." It was my first offering which included a sculpted piece and was sold in the first Bear Artists Online Show last year. The other winner is "Wee Much, Acorn Gatherer" and is a wee 4 inches tall. I'm new to the mini world in making but have been intrigued with little things forever! I tried to get as much expression in that little face as I could. Rose and I searched for days for the perfect acorn cap for him to wear.

Sometimes when you go in a new direction, you think your vision might be yours alone. These awards are very precious and give me the nudge to keep going up new roads!

Georgie's Going to Scotland!

I am so thrilled that Georgie has been picked to travel to Scotland! His adoption marks the first bear I'm sending to live in that wonderful land. Some of my ancestors are from there and I'd love to deliver him in person. Oh well, maybe I can go and visit one day.

Little Cloud is going to Germany!

Little Cloud is really exited about his upcoming trip to Germany. He has been adopted and will be packing soon. I'm posting some photos for his new Dad to see!

New Bears!

I've just sent photos of these bears to my web guru so they should appear on the "available" page before long. They are three very different bears in size and color. The smallest, in my hand, is "Little Cloud." He's just under 5 inches tall. The next largest is "Aurora" who is a panda of distinctive coloring and she's about 6 3/4 inches tall. The big guy in red is "Georgie" and he's about 14 inches tall. I rarely make bears that large, but I had that beautiful chocolate fur and wanted to use every bit of it! Email me if you have questions about these guys. Their full description and adoption information should be on my web site soon! http://www.donnaandthebears.com/ Email: Donnaandthebears@AOL.com or through my web site.