Puddlemaker

I'm home

2010-07-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful holiday. France Germany and then the wonderful cruise in Alaska. I had the best time.
But on coming home I ended up tearing a couple of ligaments in my back by doing the simple of things. I bent down to pull a weed from between the pavers. Yep gardening will get you every time. Its been a month now and still it hasnt healed. It may take another month before it comes right and only if I rest. .....Doh!....sigh
Eventually I will put holiday shots up but my back just will not allow me enough time on the computer to get it done at the moment.
At the moment I am making Ducks. My next online show will be 'The Teddybear and critters 2011 Valentine show'. I also am planning critters for competition.
My Vampire Duck 'Roberto Patisini receing an award for outstanding achievement in design and workmanship.

2010-04-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

These little critters are Sample of new Puddles I have made for the Teddy Bear Total in Wiedenbruck in Germany. The show is this coming weekend 24th - 25th April 2010.

2010-04-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

Be My Valentine 2010

2010-01-23T00:34:00.000-08:00

My Singapore Holiday Oct2009

2009-11-13T00:26:00.000-08:00

these are just few of the pics I took on my trip to Singapore.The top left is a pergola on a walk over in China town. Top right is on Sentosa Island, this is where people come to swim and sunbath on the beach.. 2nd left is the fountain at Suntec City. You walk around it three times while drapping your fingers in its waters and make a wish. It was lots of fun to walk out there but it was a bugger to find.Suntec City is made up of 5 business towers with the fountain central. But we had to walk a confusing maze to get there. 2nd right is the huge, massive development on Sentosa Island. Hotels, fun park, casino just to name a few of the attractions that it will house. It is suppose to be finished in 2010.
3rd left are my friends on the Sky Tower on Sentosa Island. It is a donut shape contraption which glides up a central pole to give you some spectacular views over the sea and Singapore city.
3rd right is one such view from the Skytower.

Thankyou to fellow bloggers

2009-07-26T03:50:00.000-07:00

I wish to say thankyou to the other bloggers who have bestowed upon me blogging awards.
I am rather chuffed by your sweet thoughts. I would accept them and display them if I knew how.
So thankyou! I appreciate the kindness.

Birthday card kept me in stitches.....

2009-07-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

A very dear friend of mine is having a birthday soon and as paper glue and I dont get along all that well I thought I would do something different. I gather this will be a bit of a surprise for her. I made her card out of fabric. I wired the edges and filled it in with beads so it could stand. I did think of lining it with card board but decided not to.

2009-07-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

Wee Billabong is the latest Puddle to come out of my work room. I have been quite busy of late making critters as gifts and for competition. (the comps I got roped into.....what am I thinking? I really have difficulty with the pressure..sigh...haha)
Click on Billy's pic and it should take you to my website where you can view more photos of him and the adoption details.
cheers

Unmasked at the Black & White Ball

2009-06-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

you too can go to the BALL via the link to the right.

Australian Bear Creations BEAR & friends competition

2009-05-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.woodlandspublishing.com.au/abc/

Woodlands Publishing are the host of the ABC 1st annual Bear competition.
My Duck FLAMENCO FANDANGO was nominated in the 'Bear friends' catagory.
Voting for Flamenco is possible at the link above. The Duck would love a visit and would love your vote. Voting is also available in the latest issue of Australian Bear Creations.
Voting finishes in July. So get in now and check out the bears and their friends and cast your vote.

UPDATE.......

2009-05-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

Bringing You Up to Date

18th May 2009

Less than 2 weeks to go until the

"BLACK AND WHITE BALL" ONLINE SHOW

LIVE FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

8 am 1st June - 7th June, 2009

There will be many new bears and critters on offer exclusively at the "Black and White Ball" Online Show. This is a completely new concept in Online Shows where it runs over a week and the bears and critters for sale will be presented individually and not in Artist's Booths as before. It is a "Masked Ball", where you will not know who has made the bear or critter until you actually contact the artist during the show, so it should be a lot of fun!!

Please visit the official show website http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/blackandwhiteballvenue.htm and if you have any questions, please ask!

An Official Sneak Peek is available at http://www.teddybearsandcritters.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=5413921 .

Most of the Artists have only 3 new pieces included in the official Sneak Peek, as The Australian Creative Design Awards will also be featured as part of the Online Show. There is also a Public Choice Competition and I encourage you to vote for your favourite piece. The competition pieces cannot be viewed at all until the Online Show officially opens, all I can tell you is that each entry is either a bear or critter, all the entries will also be available for sale and they are all black and white!!

As with previous online shows, my own new pieces will not be available to view on my website. These exclusive new creations will only be available to purchase at the official Online Show. You can check the starting time for your neck of the woods here http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc

New pieces will be added daily, according to the daily "Dance Card" and for your convenience I will email the "Black & White Ball" Online Show link to you when it opens for business.

How to Purchase at the Online Show

To purchase though the official Online Show website just click on the email link provided on each bear/critters page.

The first person to contact me by email once the Online Show has officially opened will have the the first opportunity to secure each piece.

Please include - the NAME of the piece you would like to secure in the SUBJECT LINE of your email

- POSTAL ADDRESS for shipping and optional insurance calculations

Once the final cost has been calculated you have a choice of payment options -

PayPal - International/ Australian collectors

Direct Bank Deposit - Australian collectors only

Please Note - In keeping with the Online Show rules, a piece cannot be marked as "ADOPTED" until Payment has been confirmed!

If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear from you,

Beary kind regards,

We have a winner......

2009-03-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well that didn't take long at all. The lucky collector came from my mailing list.
Congratulations Maria. Your prize will be heading your way next week.

Stay tuned folks there will be more competitions during the year.

Competiton time.......

2009-03-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

I've never hosted a competition before so I am hoping this will be fun.
I have a' give away'( which I will keep secret) and some where within this blog is the clue to the prize.
Be the first to find the clue and post on comments with the quoted info and the prize will be yours. There will be a time limit. If the prize hasn't been claimed by next Friday I get to keep it and will put it up for sale.
Once the prize has arrived at its destination I will post a photo.
So happy hunting and Good luck!
Cheers
Wendy

Riley comes to stay

2009-03-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

I was privileged to be in a swap with Laraine of 'Rainebears' who resides in NZ. Riley is the most detailed wee bear I have had the pleasure to lay eyes on. I am still shaking my head at him as I marvel at each and every teeny teeny detail. I am really pleased to be able to welcome him to my home.

I'm over the moon.....

2009-02-26T21:34:00.001-08:00

I was sent totally over the moon when a surprise package arrived on my doorstep this morning.
Totally out of the blue. And he is superb!
Wee tiny 'Elfie' a ooak by Natasha Chugg of 'Almostbear' in Tasmania.
Oh how exciting...I just love surprises. ...haha

Flamenco Fandango

2009-02-13T23:59:00.001-08:00

My lothario duck Flamenco Fandango has decided to take up the offer to reside in Germany and will emigrating come Monday. Thats what happens with these internet relationships.
They chat one day and are off to meet the next............kids aye? they want to leave the nest so fast.LOL

My holiday snaps.....

2009-02-08T02:38:00.001-08:00

these are my rellies, taken in a pub in Clare Sth Aust. and one photo so far of my home town. Its now 8.45pm and I'm all computered out. So I will leave the rest until another day. Sorry folks if I disappoint.
Ok thats a few more photos. I'm not sure how many more. I'll keep adding a few at a time. No need to inundate everyone(which probably really means no-one because I doubt anyone is reading this) with them all at once.
spotya

I'm Baaack..........

2009-02-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my extended break and am all raring to go. Its pretty hot over here. For Sth Aust and Victoria thats an understatement. I am so glad to get home. I was surprised that my garden did very well without me. Clever me for picking drought tolerant plants.
I have lots of photos which I will pop on in dribs and drabs as I get them all together. I Met with fellow bearmaker Sarah Medina and have one rather poor photo of the Medina clan.
So I will pop that one on and you will all have to wait for the rest. A swap bear I have been panicing about has just arrived and I am dying to see it. Will post piccies tomorrow.

Christmas parade! ...my last post of 2008

2008-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

Thankyou Ellen for hosting such a lovely parade. It was great scrolling through the artists favourites.
This is my last post until February. Merry Christmas , I wish great things in 2009 for you all.
spotya
xxx

MoreTeddies come to stay.......

2008-12-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

This wee darling arrived during the week from an organised swap on the forum Teddy Talk.
Isnt he just wonderful? I've named him BOB. (long story) any who Tracey Lee of Thimblebeary Originals designed and made this cute and unusual wee bear. I shall treasure him.
A surprise knock on the door on Sunday while just vegin out ( dont we all on Sunday?) brought this wee Sassy elephant via postal courier. designed and made by Laurie Wicks of Laurie Lou bears. As you can see Banjo is already settling in with his other English friends. He's feeling right at home.
PS: Fluffy has been banished to the bedroom for playing too roughly so Banjo need never fear.

Banskia flower update

2008-12-14T01:45:00.001-08:00

Click on photo for update link

'Fluffy' has indigestion..............................

2008-12-05T00:27:00.001-08:00

My Rabid bunny from www.theforgottenforest.com arrived and I have enjoyed showing him off.
His little playmates have been trying to cure his cronic case of indigestion. ( I dont have the heart to tell them that they should hold onto their stuffing because this bunny is iffy) LOLOL
"OH! he's so ugly he's cute" the poor wee love.

Can you believe the behavour of these wee bears? My goodness 'Fluffy' is a bad influence already or are they just being naughty for the fun of it?.................

icanhascheezburger.com

2008-11-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

more animals

2008-11-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

LINKEDIn
I have started linking with fellow artists and bear related business's at a site called LINKEDIn
I wasn't sure how well it would work and I knew it would be only as good as the amount of people that would join me. Its a case of 'more the merrier'.
I would love to have all the bear related business', artists and collectors all linked. It would make it something fantastic as a reference point online.
I know that the very 'Professional' edge this site has will/would scare some bear makers off. But it is this very edge that we need to embrace if we wish to have ourselves seen by the world at large.
The bear world has a bad habit of being insular. Staying where its snug and warm.
Check out LinkedIn. and then EMAIL me so I can send you an invitation to join us. A bear artist and collector community linked around the world. matildahuggington@gmail.com

The best thing I liked about this is.........it is a 'Favourites' hosted outside my own program.(I lost all my connections just recently) so I will no longer have to worry anymore.
PLUS.... you can rate the people you do business with.
PLUS.... if you are after something specific, someone LINKEDIn with you will undoubtedly have the business/ artist for you.
Come join me!!!!

Wee Walter, 4 day auction on b4b's NOW

2008-11-23T02:19:00.000-08:00

Pop by and give Walter a visit. This wee chap is far from home and out of his depth and would love a friendly face to stop by for a wee chat. I'm sure your families are use to you talking to your computers for them not even to raise an eyebrow when you visit Walter, my wee Banksia scrub Puddle.

Geordie Hamster comes to stay

2008-11-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Yep, thats right.....a hamster and no ordinary Hamster either. A genuine 'Flutter-by-bear' hamster is this one. Made especially for me by Ruth Bowman who hangs out in the UK.
We did a swap you see. I hand over a Puddle she releases the Hamster.lol
So here is a photo of 'Geordie' the cutest hamster you ever did see making friends.

My garden leads a wild life

2008-11-16T23:26:00.000-08:00

These two popped by on the weekend. The feed must be getting awfully scarce for the galahs to come by. They are heaps of fun to watch.
"don't forget to click on the photo for it to enlarge"
ringneck parrot....West Aust.
commonly known as the '28' this ringneck landed on my potplant just now and decided to have a munch on my succulents. cheeky devil. He did it yesterday as well but I didnt catch him on camera then lol

Tasmanian devil in great peril

2008-11-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

SAVE The TASSIE DEVIL

I think this next article is well worth the read. My heart went out to these little guys and I am now raising online a Tassie devil named POSSUM . Their appeal goes till Christmas I think? but don't listen to me read the article. Just click on it and it will enlarge enough to read comfortably.

SAVE The TASSIE DEVIL

Aussies endangered

2008-11-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

Battlers in the Bush is the newest articale I found in the Sunday paper on the 1st Feb09.
It makes me feel ashamed to be human when we put our planet partners into such jepordy.

aussie's endangered....
No not the human kind, the animals of Australia are having so much pressure put upon them that they are DYING OUT. EXTINCTION is what it is called.
I have been following these stories in the weekend paper for sometime now and the artical posted on my blog today is the first one to draw my attention to it in a big way. It is what influenced me to make my wee Bilbies for the Taiwan Teddy Olympics.
NOW forgive me if I am wrong but I believe that g
Greenies ,government and other interested bodies have been tackling this issue since I was a child. How the frigging hell has the world come to this if people have been fighting to save the world for so long?
Let one mining company into Arnhem land and now every mongrel wants in. When will it stop?!!!!
I shall over the next few weeks add the clippings of the animal plight that I have collected this year.
***click on photos to enlarge to read the articles.

This is a Steve Parish photo of a pair of Bilbies.
http://www.everythingaustralian.com/stpasobo.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/bilby?method=8

Banksia flower

2008-11-06T23:13:00.000-08:00

THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE ACORN BANKSIA WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Acorn Banksia is now opening into blossom. This is the orange at the bottom of the brack.

'Banksia' brooch modeled by a friend and the Banksia tree
I absolutely love the Banksia bush and its flowers. I have an 'Acorn Banksia' in my front garden which I picked up from the 'men of the trees' this tree has done exceptionally well and brings hundreds of nectar feeding native birds flocking to it. It is not uncommon to get knocks on my door from people wanting to show me the huge flocks of birds going berserk on this tree. Birds being such skittish critters, I am yet to get a photo of this. I have begged neighbours to get photos when they witness the phenomenon again.....still waiting.
Anyhow...after making my Banksia brooches I decided to take photos of one new flower as it grows and develops. My plan is to pop the photos at regular intervals on this blog.
THE FIRST STAGES OF AN ACORN BANKSIA-
1

this is the first pic of the nominated flower taken on Monday Oct 27th '08

the next pic was taken a week later Saturday Nov1st.
2
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/161341/
this link will take you to more Banksia photos. (for those that are interested.)

3
This pic was taken today Sunday 9th Nov'08. It wasnt quite so breezy today. Which is something I didnt consider when I thought of progressing their growth. DUH.....

.4
Monday 17th November at 1pm I took this photo of our Banksia baby. Look what happened in 8days? Wow it's 4 1/2cm's
5
Sat 22nd November 10am. I had the camera out so thought I would take it now. It has grown to 7cm's. That's 2 1/2 cms in only 5days.
6
Sunday 30th Nov 11.45am It is now exactly 10 cm's tall. Just shy of 4inches.
7
7th week on the 7th December at 11am I took this photo of the banksia. it has grown to 13cm's now. Its quite impressive. So in 7days that is 3cms. Good aye?
8
Midday Sunday 14th Dec2008 it is now 14 1/2 cms tall
It must be slowing down now because in 7 days it has only grown 1 1/2 cms in height.
It has taken 8 weeks to get to this size.

I was a little late in doing this one. I remembered on Monday morning so went out promptly and took this photo.

(9)

Monday 22nd December2008 7am. growth in height is now 16cm (6 1/4")
It's growing 1 1/2cm a week. looks like it is slowing down.
10
Monday 2nd February 2009. The flower has really developed now. It is a shame I missed a month of growth. But I was unable find anyone who was staying around during the summer break. The photo beside the flower is what the whole tree looks like at the moment.
Beautiful isnt it?
This photo was taken this morning around 11am. Sunday february the 8th 2009.
The flowers are opening and becoming more dense. The whole tree is covered with bees.
11
Ok I know, I forgot. I didnt realise I missed a Sunday until Friday so thought I would leave it until the 15th and then what did I do? I forgot again.
I took this photo 8 days late this Morning when the light was soft and beautiful for nature pics.
as you can see there is a huge difference in so short a time.
The brown bracks in the back ground once looked this pretty. We'll watch this one die back and go through a metamorphose as they are doing.
(12)
It takes five months to get to this state. Now that the nectar flowers have fully opened and cover the acorn the lower flowers are starting to transform.

THE START OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ACORN BANKSIA-
13Monday 2nd March 2009 7.30am. The banksia flower is now in its last stages. What I didnt see when taking these photos was that a flower branch was growing out from the bottom of the flower. The next two shots will show this. I will start to photgraph the growth and changes of two new growths associated with this particular flower. I will pay better attention in the future.
13 How did I miss this growth??? the banksia has a fast growth cycle. There is another flower bud growing just behind our flower which can be seen in the next photo.
14Here's our flower, the new branch coming from beneath it and right behind at a branch junction is new growth. While I catch the changes of our flower I will also shoot the changes in this new growth around it.

March 8th Sunday 8.20am '09
I took photos of all three growths. The original flower has become all spikey now and is browning off. The growth at the junction behind it is very slow growing. It doesnt seem to have grown at all during the week. Though I am sure it has. If only slightly.
The new branch from under the original flower has finished growing and a flower is now developing at the end.
15
16 17

18
19
Half way through march'09 and the cycle of the Banksia flower still continues.
All the nectar stamins have hardened to stick like. The seed will start to develop from the heart of the flower.
20
21
March22nd Sunday, not much change in size from last week. Maybe due to the cooler nights we are now having. .......?

22
Wednesday 8th July 2009
The banksia tree is now moving out of dormancy. There are pockets of new growth florishing all over the bush. When I checked it out, the new growth was actually the coming back into growth what we left off as new growth in March. So that was basicly a 3 month sleep.
It will be interesting to see how fast this new growth takes off this time around. I'll photograph it again on Sunday to keep track again.

Sunday morning 26th July I took more photos. The 'oldman' banksia looks like he is on his last legs byt dont be fooled. He has plenty of life in him yet.

as you can see on this photo ( a closeup) the healthy bud at the top of the banksia.

on this photo you can see the velvety seed pods on the Banksia.

This is the beginnings of the secondary growth. The one which has sprouted from under the original banksia. Those are soft velvety leaves just starting. Its lovely to touch.

Japanese Silk plush fabric

2008-11-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

It is no surp rise to my friends how much I totally adore this Japanese silk plush.
All the Puddles and critters on this page are made from this wonderful fabric. I could go on and on about how soft, *silky it is and I could extol its many other virtues, like no need of 'fray stopper'.
But I won't. I'll let you work it out for yourself. It is most definitely worth the journey and there are heaps and heaps of exciting ways to use this fabric that can't be duplicated with mohair. YES I am in love!

I buy my fabric through Lynette Kennedy of www.fred-i-bear.co.za.
Look on her site for an email link, so you can write and discuss ordering this wonderful fabric