Playing with clay...

We tried out paper clay molding today... it was loads of fun and pretty easy ~ even for a complete newbie like myself...

Here's one of mine.

And here are some of the molds we're going to be using during cookie (and clay) class on Saturday...

Can't wait!

Ready to play bears!

It's going to be a FANTASTIC week of bear making at Mostly Bears!

Our class kits arrived in the mail today...

...and it looks as if it's going to be a very COLORFUL week as well.

Stay tuned for the Adventure!

Let the Adventure Begin... Almost!

"Steve Schutt Adventure 2012" is coming soon! Next week to be exact ~ and we invite all of our on-line friends to follow along on our blog!
To celebrate, we will be giving away some awesome prizes in our very first e-door prize giveaway!
To enter, just leave a comment here on the blog... (or if you are having trouble leaving comments, send us an email mostlybears@gmail.com and we will enter your name in the drawing.)

Here's our first e-Door Prize!

Charlie Bears "George"

A 20" scruffly, shaggy, loveable bear! Retail value $87!! 

The drawing will be held Wednesday 2/1/12 ~ Good luck! Be sure to watch this space for photos, giveaways & for sharing some good old fashioned teddy bear camaraderie during Steve Schutt Adventure 2012.

Adventures in Bear Making...

BEAR MAKING CLASS with Mary Ann Neisz

Beautiful curly mohair, fully jointed 17" bear, bent arm style... mournful eyelids... big ears!

Class will include everything you need to make him, including stuffing. Mary Ann will also include the knitting pattern for two styles of sweaters... as shown.

If you are from afar and want to make the bear on your own, there are a limited number of kits avilable. (stuffing not included on mail order.)

Or come on into the store this Saturday October 29, 2011 to make yours with artist-estraordinaire Mary Ann Neisz!

$125, registration or kit available on the website here.

He's a husky guy...

Thanks for looking! :)

Our Adventure Concludes...

Adventures in bear making, continued...

Bear Instructor Extraordinaire

Steve Schutt

Steve's infinite patience was in full force today,

Our bears & our Santa's came together to stay...

We sewed and we stitched, we stuffed and we prodded,

Our eyes stayed on straight and our heads didn't nodd-ed!

Steve helped us along, his fingers were flying, 

When all was said and done,

Absolutely no one was crying!

:)

Thanks Steve!

Stitching...

Chatting...

Stuffing...

 Finishing touches...

Cute Santa...

Smiling...

A line-up of Santas...

Happy camper!

Lots of happy campers!

The end.

 Steve Schutt Adventure 2011 anyone?

Steve Schutt Adventure... continues

Join us for today's adventure:

Santa Bear with Steve Schutt

A bear takes form...

It's coming along:

Just keep stuffing...

Steve lends a hand...

Check out the prototype:

Santa!

With luck our bears will resemble you (somewhat)...

We will see tomorrow! Stay tuned...

Persistence Pays Off :)

Day two of Bobbie Ripperger's Needle Felted Roly Poly Panda Class...

We needled...

And needled...

And, um, added our own unique touches...

We learned from the master...

And look what happened!

Roly Poly Pandas!

An open mouth design.

Almost finished.

Voila!!

Thanks Bobbie... it was an awesome class. And we can't wait to see your creations at Mostly Bears' Artist Signing on Sunday.

Tomorrow... Let the MAGIC begin~ Steve Schutt Santa Bear Class. Tune in for pics & details.

Welcome to the Adventure!

A pictoral essay from Day One, Needle Felting with Bobbie Ripperger.

And yes, I am aware that our roly poly pandas kinda look like cream-colored roly poly ducks right now... but I'm hoping for big things tomorrow. :)

Welcome!

Our foam pieces were professionally cut by Bobbie's husband, using my old electric knife...

Before...

Bobbie's a wonderful teacher!

A roly-poly panda in progress...

Two prototypes. (No, these aren't our student pieces... we could only wish... haha!)

Bobbie makes this sound easy...

Yep, looks like a duck.

Ok, I mean an angel duck... :)

Take home message, day one...

Needle felting is a fun and mysterious art form requiring only a needle, some poofs of wispy wool, a dollop of perserverance, a healthy portion of faith and a generous teacher like Bobbie. (and maybe a little bit of pixie dust, we'll see tomorrow...)

Do you like needles?

Do you reeeee-aaaaaaly like needles? Well, we've got Piecemakers! New shipment just arrived... 7", 5", 3.5", 2" scuplting, sharps, chenille & beading. Check the website for details. Happy sewing!

Day 3: Choose Your Own Adventure

The bears are nearly finished, looking dapper and grand,
Tails, ears, eyes and all the details in hand,
Bear making class is winding down,
Pretty soon, Steve will be blasting out of this town!
(We'll miss you Steve! Have fun!) :)

Steve Schutt Choose Your Own Adventure...day 2

The bears started out in a big furry bunch,
But today their bellies will look like they've had a big lunch,
They've got arms, legs and feet and some pretty big toes-es,
By the end of the day, they'll have awesome new noses!
(Hee hee hee...) The magic continues! :)

Join Us!

Zen Week is coming!

All the details at:

Steve Schutt Adventure 2009

Winner of the Hedgie Drawing

Well, dear reader, we are rapidly approaching hedgehog week (aka Mary Ann's hedgehog class) at Mostly Bears.
In honor of this momentous occasion, I have randomly chosen the winner (finally) of the hedgehog drawing offered in an earlier blog entry.
It seems the consensus of comments left on the entry was "herd" as the answer to the burning question..."What's a group of hedgehogs called?" Which is the same answer I came up with when I googled it.
I personally liked Cherie's comment, though, and give honorable mention to her for stating that a group of hedgehogs, when found at Mostly Bears, would be called "too cute"!


Anyhoo...


The winner is...


Drumroll...


Oh, Ok, I'll just tell you....





The winner is, Beth.


Ta Da!


Beth, you have won a lovely Steiff hedgie keyring...


Congratulations!


p.s. the randomness of this drawing occurred as follows: I assigned a number to each of the names from the comments in the blog entry. I then called out to my husband in the other room..."Ron, pick a number between one and eight."

He said, (of course), "why?"...


I said, "Really? Um, well there's this drawing...herd of hedgehogs...you know...it's too hard to explain...just pick a number."


Hesitation..."ok, uh, six."


"Thanks, honey, you're the best!"