Little Handfuls Mini Bears

World Famous in NZ

2012-01-13T13:02:00.003+13:00

Hi Everyone! Hope the new year is treating you well!

Lots of things have been happening here at Little Handfuls Headquarters! I have been absolutely stunned and honoured to be filmed for a local crafts segment on tv! I was invited just before christmas and filming took place this week. Below are some shots from my workspace which is where most of the filming was done!

I've been told the show will be available online, but perhaps only for NZ people. I will have to see if we can get it onto youtube so everyone can see it!

After an entire day of filming I was pretty tired, I guess the build up to it was rather more draining than I had realised and I needed a lot of recharge time!

I had created a special piece just for the show as well, Loveseat Lovers are a pair of little bears who sit on a gorgeous vintage reproduction loveseat or Tete a Tete seat. I will add more pics another day I think or you can pop by my facbook page to see all 30 odd pics there! :o)

Lots of shows coming up for me this year too, lucky I chucked in the day job! hehe

Hope all is well with you and yours and thank you for continuing to drop by and see my creations! If you are new here, I hope you will keep visiting and join me on facebook too!

Happy crafting!

Bear Examples for Teddies Worldwide Online Show

2012-01-04T11:52:00.000+13:00

2012 is here!

2012-01-03T20:30:00.003+13:00

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had a wonderful christmas with family and friends! Here in New Zealand we had a great time, it didn't even rain for a change! :o)

2012 is going to be a big year for Little Handfuls. I have some great shows coming up, I plan to travel out of town this year, which I haven't done in a while. I have a regular local show that I plan to keep going along to, I wasn't able to do that last year as I was always working on the weekends!

But the big news is what is happening next week, which is that the TVNZ7 film crew are arriving to film me making my bears, for a local show called Hearts N Crafts. I don't know yet when it is airing but stay tuned for more info as I get it!

So that's my big plans for the start of the year! My son is starting college this year and my 2 girls are still at primary but the middle one is in her last year there. They are growing up way to fast for me!!

Happy crafting to all and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Liza

Hello Again

2011-12-18T00:20:00.001+13:00

I can't believe it's been months since I last put new photos up! I guess I haven't made a lot of bears in the last little while, rather focussing on my little monsters as I needed them for the markets that were coming up over the silly season.

I do have a few little friends to show you and I have made a start on some new work which I haven't photographed yet!

Barclay is felted from a lovely copper brown with lemon embroidered accents!
Just a wee fellow under 2.5 inches

Buster is needle felted from gorgeous shades of merino greens

Linus was sold minutes after he was shown on my Facebook page! lol So if you are wanting to get in first it pays to be a fan of the page! :o)

Raspberry Souffle is a lovely big bear. The photo does her no justice as she is a much darker, richer maroon with pink blend. She is over 3.5 inches tall.

If you are interested in adopting any of the bears shown (apart from Linus who I already have to make 2 similar bears to) please just let me know. Along with any other bears shown on the blog!

More news to come as Little Handfuls is going to be on television next year. Filming for a quick segment on TVNZ7 will begin in early January! I will update you as we get closer! :o)

If I don't get in beforehand, have a wonderful Christmas filled with family, fun and most of all love! I thank you so much for taking the time to drop by my pages and all the support that you give!

Much love
Liza Adams

New inspirations

2011-10-14T11:54:00.001+13:00

Hi Everyone!

Thought I better update you on the latest from Little Handfuls!

I've been floundering a bit lately, a lot of the shows I do over here in New Zealand just don't go well, no one wants to part with their money (can't blame them for that!) and while they have high praise for my work I still end up packing it all up and taking it all home at the end of the show! Which is really expensive I might add! lol

So I've been trying to think what I can do to create a range of less expensive items which appeal to more people than bear collectors which we don't seem to have a lot of over here.

For some reason I stumbled across some monster cartoons, and those cute pics, combined with the pile of christmas balls I had sitting on my desk got me thinking. The result is this crazy collection of little monsters.

What I intend to do is to have a whole lot of them at the next show, and be able to personalise them for people. So if you want a couple to hang over your car mirror, you just pick the two you like and I will string them together while you wait! If you want one to clip onto your childs pram I can do that too, maybe your older child would like one on a bungy cord so he can play with it! I will make mini ones too, so if you want a keychain, or brooch, necklace, it's all possible! :o)

Hope you like them!

Happy crafting,
Liza

New bears and other news!

2011-10-10T23:04:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone

Thought I had better check in as it's been a while! Had a lot of things happening at this end and apparently lost my mojo for a little while due to the stress of it all. I think I'm back on track now and I have a few new bears to show you.

I also finished my Give Away bear for my facebook fans and we just announced our winner so if you haven't joined us on Facebook please do check us out, just look for Little Handfuls and I'm sure you will find us! It was a great give away and lots of people joined in! I will show you pics of the finished bear in my next update!

For now here are a few newbies:

Kanto
This little bear is felted in merino/silk. He's rather different but I quite like him.

Rigley
Needle felted from a gorgeous dusky pink corriedale that was hand dyed here in NZ. He has lil pink toepads too! ;o)

Cora
This little girl is so sweet in her lace skirt and crochet bonnet! Felted in hand dyed cotton candy pink romney.

Click the link below to:

Visit my Etsy Shop, lots of new bears available!

I have added lots of new bears to my etsy store as I am now officially finished at my day job so time to take the bear by the ears as it were! lol I hope you will drop by and visit!

2011-09-15T12:11:00.003+12:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you have been having a productive and happy time since my last post! I wanted to let you know that voting has ended for the 500th bear giveaway! I will start work on him soon and post pictures as he progresses hopefully! The winning name won't be drawn until he is done!

I got a box full of lovely new wools last week and I am itching to work on those, plus I have some hats to knit as a few finished bears look a bit hatless. It takes me so long to knit a hat and then often the finished results don't suit the bear I was making it for! Not the best knitter! lol

Not much else to tell, life has been a bit messy here lately so I haven't been creating as much as I would like to!

Fingers crossed I can relax into some felting again soon!

:o)

It's Giveaway time again!

2011-08-16T09:24:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone!

I realised a few weeks ago that I was coming up to my 500th bear! I can't believe I have made so many over the last 7 years!

Co-incidentally I am also up to more than 500 likers on my facebook page so I thought it must be time for a giveaway!

I started a new poll a couple of days ago and (due to the fact that I'm a bit sick and rather foggy) I didn't think to let you all know on here! The giveaway is being run through facebook, so if you aren't already a 'liker' please join up to my page and have your vote!

What we are going to do is that you all are going to help me design my 500th bear, and then all those who vote at all stages will be entered into the draw to win the resulting bear!

So the first stage is that we have to decide what colour this bear is going to be. Pop over to the page, check out the album of colour samples and then vote in the poll for your favourite! I've had a few people who have had problems finding the poll, no idea why that is, so we won't do it that way next time but for now, please try and get a vote into the poll as that is how I will be storing everyones names!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=842602768#!/pages/Little-Handfuls-Mini-Bears/366699465692

I will leave each stage up for vote for a week, the next stage will be posted and I will let you all know when it's ready! :o)

This should be so much fun, we have already had over 40 votes! Imagine winning a bear you had a hand in designing!!

:o)

Some new friends to meet!

2011-08-12T12:56:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm finally updating again! Sorry it's been so long. Between the day job and trying to catch up on orders after the shows I got a bit swamped! I do have a few new friends to show off to you though!

This is Bianca! She is felted from a gorgeous strawberry and cream merino fibre!
It's just wonderful to touch!

I gave her little rusty red coloured toes and nose which just set her off nicely! I even had a go at mini knitting again and I think I did ok!

This is Barlow! He's felted in the most glorious teal colour! It's a bit different from any other that I had so I had to scoop it up when I saw it for sale at the show! lol I think the lime sets it off nicely!

Aww, he has those big soulful teddy eyes!

Scruffy was created at one of the shows! Neat fibre, has rayon in it and was just right for a scruffy little doggie. This pup is currently travelling around Switzerland with my lovely friend Veronika!

Scruffy has been the start of rather a dogpile, I have a few others to make in his likeness and strangely enough they are all turning out really tiny! Bit fiddly when it comes to the 4 legs! lol

Well I hope you liked the newbies! I've made a couple of other things lately but you will have to wait to see those! :o) I hope to update the adoptions page again soon too and I will pop a note on here when that is done!

Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by!

Show's over and latest work!

2011-07-20T16:37:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you have been enjoying a productive few weeks since I last posted pics! I've been madly felting away, even though none of my new work made it to either of the shows, I was just having fun anyway! :o) Anything I make during show time I don't have time to tag and photograph so they just have to wait until next time!

The shows went well, it's always fun hanging out for a whole weekend with friends creating furry little creatures. During the 3 day show I almost finished 3 creations, the last one just needed a face! :o) 2 have already been given away!

I was thoroughly enjoying making the little girl below though, and was glad she didn't get completed in time to be sold as I wouldn't have gotten to spend any time with her at all! Helen is felted from 2 wools I blended together myself. One is a gorgeous silk fibre I imported from Living Felt and the other is a natural NZ corriedale, so soft and fine I could hardly believe it was a corriedale at all! :o)

I love her crumpled trunk and big soft ears. She has toenails and 'seams' down her body to give her a hand sewn look. She is wearing a lovely little skirt and sits on a blanket I knitted myself! I'm not much of a knitter but it actually does look good! Teeny little needles and fine thread were used!

Helen can see you down there!

She is quite big, over 4 inches tall and loves to pose with her blankie. I'm really enjoying having cuddles with her 'cos I know she will find her new home soon, people have been asking after her already! :o)

I hope you enjoyed dropping by, if you ever want to stay in touch with me and my work more please look for us on facebook. Little Handfuls have their own fan page so you can 'like' us and then see all the hundreds of photos in our albums! We always love to hear from you too!

Happy crafting!

The online show has started!!

2011-07-16T11:46:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone, just wanted to let you know that the online show with Teddies Worldwide has started!

You can pop over and see work from 75 artists from all around the world, plus me!! I've got 10 of my little bears listed and I hope you will come on by and see all the gorgeous work everyone has done!

This show just goes for 48 hours and it as about 4 hours in as I write this!

Don't miss out!

Visit: http://www.teddiesworldwide.com/

And click on the Bears on Parade banner which will take you to the show page! :o)

Enjoy!

Liza

Just days until the Big Show!

2011-06-28T09:23:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in before I get too busy and let you know where things are up to for the big craft show coming up this weekend!

I've had so much prep to do, most of the bears were finished weeks ago, but I still had 26 little bears to tag and price. I also had to buy backdrops, paint displays and decide who goes and who stays! I find that really hard as I just want to take everyone, but a crowded table doesn't do anyone any favours I have found! The more bears that are on the table the less they stand out and show their full potential! :o)

So along with doing all those things I have been updating my Little Handfuls website. I discovered it has been 2 years since I last updated it! Wow, that went by fast! So we are about to upload the new pages and lovely new photos tonight, that's Tues evening GMT so if it's after that when you read this go and check it out!! I would love to say I will remember to drop by and tell you when it's live but I don't think I will have time! http://www.mylittlehandfuls.com/

Anyway, I just can't do a post without showing you a new bear, so this is Wisteria, she is sister to Primula who I showed you a couple of weeks ago (she should be there if you scroll down). I really like this style of bear, their faces are so sweet and fine featured.

Primula is needle felted from Living Felts merino tops which are in such gorgeous colours this year, you gotta go check them out! http://www.livingfelt.com/

Isn't she sweet? It's such a lovely warm purple!

Just look at that face and tell me you're not smitten! :o)

Ok, it's back to the many lists of jobs to do for me! Guess I can tick off 'post on blog' now huh? lol I so wish I could meet you all at the show, they say it's a small world but sometimes I could handle it being a bit smaller!

Love to all and happy crafting!

Liza

Big Show Coming Up!

2011-06-20T10:07:00.000+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that things are pretty busy here at the Little Handfuls studio! Lots of new bears, but also a big show coming up in just 2 weeks! I wish I could meet you all there, but it's here in little 'ole New Zealand and I know most of you aren't! :o)

Those who are, pop down to the Dunkleys show on 1 - 3 July at the Claudelands Event Centre (lovely new building!!) I would love to meet you and share my little creations with you!

Then, later in the month I am lucky enough to have been selected for the Teddies Worldwide online show starting 15 July, so you can ALL come to that one! I will let you know more info closer to the time!

For now, here are a few bears that will be at the shows!

Butternut is needle felted in merino with felted Vest and Hat! Carlton holds a Lily!

Flicker is felted from merino/silk, love her gorgeous wings!

George is a more traditional bear, love the scarf! Primula has flowers on her paws to match the one by her ear!

Doodle bugs anyone?

2011-06-10T20:15:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! I've been so busy felting I've been forgetting about blogging! I'm so very sorry! :o)

I came up with something fun and new last week, doodlebugs are a bit of fun, and these two are rather quirky so I hope you enjoy meeting Doodle and Bugsie.

This is Bugsie, he's the second one I made. They both have wired limbs so they can be posed, and also for strength as their limbs are rather skinny.
I just love the antennae and did different ones but with similarities for each of them.

Here they both are, what do you think?

You can see Doodle's happy grin in this pic. He wears a lovely flower pendant!

They are both felted from Living Felt merino tops, just the most gorgeous fibres and colours I have had the pleasure of playing with in ages!

Two new friends to meet!

2011-05-19T18:28:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! Thanks for dropping by again! :o)

Today I wanted to show off two of my new bears, I've made so many lately and just havent had the time to show them all off to you!

So here is Kirby! He is needle felted from gorgeous merino/silk fibre by Ashfords. It's lovely to work with, and the colours are amazing! I really like how he turned out.

His face is a little different, I like the innocent look he has

And his feet have little insteps, quite a neat shape!

Mindy is felted from a lovely soft mauve merino. I set it off with a gorgeous burgandy thread and hairband ribbon.

She is such a lovely sweet little bear, I hope she finds a special home!

I have a lot of other bears waiting for new homes at the moment, but mostly because I have a big show coming up. I intend to fill up my adoptions page mid July after the show is done, so my apologys for not having much on there at the moment!

Happy crafting everyone!

Time for a new Little Handful

2011-05-03T17:22:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! I'm pleased to introduce you to the newest furry little member of the Little Handfuls Hug. This is Dink! He is needle felted from a gorgeous bright hand dyed romney wool with soft sable coloured muzzle, ears and paws! He has the sweetest big eyes and complimentary hand stitching in a maroon colour for his nose and other accents!

I tried something different with his paws, I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Just look at that lovely big nose and those sweet, innocent looking eyes!
He's just a handful of beary happiness!

I hope you enjoyed meeting my new friend. He will be heading for the big show coming up here in July, along with all my very best bears! So for those of you who are lucky enough to visit Hamilton on the first weekend of July, I can't wait to meet you and show you my work in person! Just pop along to the Dunkleys show 1 - 3 July 2011.

Ferdie, the travelling bear!

2011-03-27T18:48:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone! Time to share a new/old friend with you. I made this fine fellow quite some time ago, and as I was so pleased with him I popped a metal catch on a ribbon around his neck and attached him to my handbag. I then took him everywhere with me, for almost a year I think!

But recently Ferdie let me know it was time to have a break and get his photo taken before kicking back and spending time with his fellow bears! So here are his gorgeous photos and I do hope you will enjoy meeting him!

Ferdie is needle felted from 2 shades of blue which have an amazing array of colours hidden in their fibres!

With his shaped muzzle, big paws and toe pads and his dropped ears Ferdie sure does steal your heart!

He even has a pearl heart in his belly, and don't you love those big eyes?

Thanks for dropping by!

**NEWS FLASH**

LITTLE HANDFULS NOW HAS AN ADOPTION PAGE, YOU CAN ACCESS IT FROM THE LINK AT THE SIDE OF THIS BLOG!

PLEASE DROP BY AND SEE WHO IS WAITING FOR A HOME,

(THIS PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS I HAVE A LOT OF BEARS TO ADD! SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME AS IT IS UPDATED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS!)

Meet my newest little darling, Clarabell

2011-03-11T09:53:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone!

I finally get to show you my new bears, Clarabell is needle felted from Merino/silk fibre which I then brushed up, bit by bit, to make this soft, curly finish! She is wearing a little handmade dress which I put together for her, and I then decided she needed a little friend, so I created her teddy Tom!

Tom is made from the same fibre as Clara, and in the same style but I didn't brush his fur!

Just look at that little face!

She looks so cute cuddling her teddy!

Tom is made from a lighter colour a you can see.

Sitting in a sunbeam.

She is such a sweet little handful, and already sold I'm afraid. But I do have plans to make more bears of this style, I have already made her little brother Billy and I will show him soon!

Hope you enjoyed meeting Clara and Tom!

Some new friends!

2011-03-08T13:57:00.002+13:00

Hello and welcome back to the home of my newest Little Handfuls! I have a treat for you today, 2 new little friends just waiting to meet you!

This is Petey, he is needle felted from a wool I imported from the US called Fruited Ecstasy! It's an amazing array of colours all complimenting each other!

I chose big blue eyes for Petey and they really stand out against his colouring.

He's quite a big bear again at a little over 4 inches!

Levi is felted from shades of denim blue hand dyed here in NZ. This is set off by the wool I used for his ears, muzzle etc which is in a hand dyed sky blue!

I used a sparkly metallic DMC thread for his nose etc.

I really like how he turned out, blue is my favourite colour and I have very few finished bears in blue that I really like! He has all my favs, big paws, lovely feet, sad eyes! He's just gorgeous!

I hope you have enjoyed meeting my new friends. There is still more to come but I'm making you wait again! tsk, naughty me! hehe

Happy Crafting!

Liza

Meet my gorgeous little friend Dylan!

2011-03-06T17:30:00.003+13:00

Hi Everyone, I'm a little tardy getting these pics in. Darling little Dylan was made a few weeks ago, and I am so pleased with him! He turned out really well. The fibre I used was the same one as for Georgie further down the page, but they are both so different. I just had to use it again too, awesome fibre!

He wears a big vintage satin bow!

The wool has a mottled effect, really stunning!

Just look at those little toes! Oh so sweet!

Can I come and be your friend too? :o)

Thanks for viewing Dylan, I have a bunch more bears to show as I have been on a bit of a roll lately! But I will make you wait for them! lol Hope you enjoyed meeting Dylan and happy crafting to all!

Latest Bears!

2011-02-21T12:15:00.002+13:00

Hi all

Thought I better get you up to date on the beary happenings here at Little Handfuls! I've had a few bears to show you, but actually getting more made lately than I have time to blog about! How unusual is that? lol So here are some of the newer bears!

Purplinkle was made for an order, she is a teeny little merino blend bear!
She turned out so sweet, very pleased with her!

Dickens is a sweet little bunny, needle felted from a gorgeous natural corriedale wool with hand dyed merino accents!

He is a little bigger than usual at 4.5 inches tall! What a sweet face!

Turquoise is just a little slip of a thing! As you can see he's only about 2 inches tall and felted from merino/silk wools! Little cutie!

I have finished another bear this week too and Im really pleased with him, but you will have to wait to see his pics! :o) Have a great week everyone!

Did someone say Anime?

2011-02-20T22:37:00.003+13:00

I was given some gorgeous wool recently and I just had to make something special with it! I guess I was in an anime kind of mood because Georgie here was the result!

She has a brass button nose!
And a little topknot!

I love that expression, she is needle felted from a gorgeous unique green and grey merino wool.

I did her feet a little different, quite like those!

Hope you like Miss Georgie, she was so fun to make and hopefully a joy to visit too!

Craving a Little Handful of your very own?

2011-02-10T12:29:00.002+13:00

Hi folks!

I just thought I would drop by and let you know that I have created an album full of Little Handfuls who are awaiting their new homes!

While I do have a show coming up I thought I would let you know what is currently available and you can let me know which ones you are interested in. My work starts at $45nzd with some at $65 and the odd one at $80. So drop by and I will look forward to hearing from you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9293338@N06/sets/72157625993511290/

Enjoy!
Liza

Meet Adelle, the newest Little Handful!

2011-02-07T15:47:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone! I managed to get some creating done this week, must be because the kids are back at school huh? lol I really enjoyed making Adelle, she turned out great too! Needle felted from a lovely lilac and honey beige coloured corriedale wools, she is about 3.5 inches tall!

She has the loveliest little toe pads
I felted a little flower for her headband

Her embroidered nose is a perfect colour match!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Adelle!

Latest Little Handfuls for 2011

2011-01-26T09:22:00.002+13:00

Hi All

Well I promised pics of the new work, so here is Ferdinand and the Shapees (sounds like a strange little band!).

I was given a needle felting book for christmas, all written in Japanese so I have no idea what most of it says, but they make a button jointed bear with smaller feet than my usual so I decided to try that! Result, Ferdinand. He is felted in a lovely natural Romney wool in nice creamy shades.

He has sewn on paw pads, random stitched.

He wears vintage bells around his neck

His buttons are all different, just similar size.

Then there are the Shapees - Shape Ees. I wanted to make something for the upcoming shows that could be picked up by kids or people looking for something other than bears. I decided a range of animals made around the basis of a shape would be kinda fun. So far I have a cube cat and a pyramid mouse.

Cubey Kitty turned out pretty well!
Pyramouse might get some feet or something still.

Hope you enjoyed popping by. I intend to make a bunch more things over the next few months as I won't have time to make much after that. Also, I'm expecting to do a really big show in July, right before I start studying! This is a 3 day show with thousands of visitors so I need heaps on the table! :o) Keep you posted!

Hi Everyone

2011-01-24T01:07:00.002+13:00

Gosh I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Problem was I worked so much at the day job over Christmas I just didn't have any interest in doing anything else. I have only just now finished my first bear in 2 mths!! I've been working on something new too, so will show you those in due course.

For now I just wanted to say, Happy New Year from myself and Zachary the Little Handfuls Mascot! We are really looking forward to a bright new year, lots of amazing things happening this year including my going into study again! This time I hope to earn my Bachelor of Teaching for Early Childhood, which is preschoolers. 3 years worth, start in July! So I may be getting even less felting done, necessary but still a bit sad.

Zachary is such a sweetie! He's all kitted out for your winter overseas, but we are still in summer here in New Zealand!

He loves his special hat, it doubles as a scarf!
Nice to have something to play with sometimes too! lol

We look forward to seeing more of you in 2011, watch this space!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T14:26:00.002+13:00

Hi Folks

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the build up to the silly season! I've been working far too much at the 'day 'job and not getting enough of my 'good for the soul' job done! So I don't have much to show you at the moment but I can't wait to get lots done in January as it's holidays!

I made a couple of ornaments for my workmates (or primped up some plain balls from last year, whatever! lol) They look pretty good so here's some pics!

I've already started on my first holidays bear so looking forward to finishing him. I hope to be studing toward my Bachelor of Teaching degree next year so not sure how much of this I will get done after Febuary!

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all, enjoy your holidays no matter how long or short they may be! Enjoy your friends and family and take some time out for yourself. It's so good for you to sit back and just soak up the love and happiness around you at this time of year!

Much love to all

Liza

It's almost Christmas!

2010-12-14T14:19:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone!

Well the day job is very much getting in the way of my creative juices! I have some pics to show you of my last 2 creations, but they were made ages ago and I just hadn't had time to upload them for you!

Binky Bunny is needle felted from a gorgeous multi plum coloured romney wool
He has pink toes and a polymer clay nose which I painted to match! :o)

Delilah took forever to make, she ended up rather big and was felted from merino x batts which I find take a lot longer to felt down!

I'm really pleased with how she turned out tho, the Living Felt batts come in such great colours, I used them for her toe pads etc too!

She is about 4.5 inches tall, rather big for me, but she feels so great to hold, a nice chunky bear! I'm really pleased with her. The colouring isn't nearly as bright as the pictures suggest, it's a much deeper colour!

So apart from these fine creations, I have done 1 christmas decoration and one santa head decoration. And I have yet to take pics of the little bear I made while sitting on my tush at the last show! Must do that!

I'm heading into withdrawal territory as I am not home much at the moment and I'm itching to get my hands on something new and wonderful. But should really be planning my creations for presents, don't feel like plannin, feel like freelancin! lol

Hope you are all enjoying the build up to christmas. If I weren't in retail I might enjoy it more, but we don't get much time to think this time of year, earning extra money but no time to spend it! Guess it's late night shopping for me! Catch you again soon!

Tauranga Show

2010-11-24T00:56:00.002+13:00

Ok, so the show was not that great. Unfortunately there were no bear people there, I'm not sure if it was due to the advertising and the fact that 'bear' was not in the title of the show which was called the Tauranga Dolls and Collectibles Fair. There were not many people through the doors at all from what I could see, which made for a rather long day! I thought the table looked great tho!

Here's me, at the table!
This is the Left end of the table

Middle of the table

More of the middle including xmas decos and Abner in his fancy chair!

My sister Sarah at the left end of the table!

While we didn't do very well in sales, it was a great experience for me as I had to do my first real drive out of town, and up a fairly decent mountain as well! The car did well, so did my nerves in the end! So now it's time to list lots of bears on ebay, check out *little*handfuls* on ebay to see what's there and pick up something marked down just in time for christmas!

Tiddles the Cat

2010-10-18T23:01:00.002+13:00

Now who wouldn't love a sweet little kittie like this one if he came mewing at your door? :o)

Tiddles turned up smooching around the feet of some of my bears the other day and I couldn't help but take him in! He is felted from the most gorgeous mix of autumn colours!

He has cute pink toes and a big round belly
I love his little nose and whiskers!

Isn't he sweet?

I think Tiddles can stay for a while, at least until the next show which is just in a few weeks! I hope you enjoyed meeting him! :o)

Bearbits is having a Giveaway!

2010-10-18T22:58:00.002+13:00

Check out this gorgeous little bear, she is being given away on the BearBits blog, go and check it out!

http://bearbits.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-fall-giveaway.html

A fuzzy new bear has arrived!

2010-10-13T13:45:00.004+13:00

Hi Everyone!

Today I wanted to introduce you to a rather rare addition to the Little Handfuls Hug. Lewis is one of the very few furry bears I have ever made and he is a true one of a kind little fellow! Along with his furry coat, he is also weighted with steel shot and is larger than many of my other bears at 5 inches tall!

Lewis is felted from a gorgeous NZ dyed corriedale in dusky blue

He feels so sweet to hold!

Look at those toes! They turned out great!

He has lovely big eyes and shaded accents help give him his unique look.
My daughter Amber was home and wanted to get in on the shoot! (usually it's a dog or a cat that tries to steal the show! lol) Amber is 8 and I can say quite happily that she truly loves my little bears!

Dip your Tootsies in the Little Handfuls pool!

2010-09-27T22:32:00.003+13:00

Hi Everyone!

How are you all? I hope everyone in the cold is keeping warm, and all those in the heat are keeping cool! :o) As for me, I'm in the wet and trying to keep dry! lol

I've been spending far too much time at my 'real job' lately and haven't gotten anything finished in ages! (peace felt doesn't count as I pretty much finished it a month ago!) This little bear was started weeks ago and because it was such slow going working with this ultra fine merino I put it aside and was not tempted to finish it in my rare spare moments!

I finally got it done tho and I'm really pleased with the results! Here is Tootsie!

Yup, those are tootsies! :o)

Don't you love that little face.
Keeping the fibre amounts in scale was really tricky, so the feet ended up rather large! Now who's to say that's a mistake!!

Such a thoughtful little bear!

I hope you enjoyed visiting Tootsie and thank you so much for dropping by!

Peace Felt

2010-09-23T11:17:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone

Some of you may have heard about the Peace Felt project which has been running for the last month or so. Today/yesterday (depending on your timezone) was the official day of Peace and felters from around the world have been creating works from their hearts and souls with the vision of peace being their inspiration.

These wonderful pieces of art are then posted forward, to someone they have never met! In this way it is a circle of giving with no comparisons or disappointment, just giving and receiving with the peaceful spirit of sharing as it was intended.

I have really enjoyed making my piece. What I wanted to do was to create something that embodied peace in two ways, World Peace and Peace Within. I guess this is because, for myself, finding my inner peace is often difficult! I am always dashing about, thinking of the next thing I am doing, and worrying about everything all the time. This figure epitomises inner peace for me, and I hope that the lady I am posting it to will feel some of that also!

Here you can see Australia and New Zealand along with my tag.

I tried to get a few other countries on there too, as close to their shapes as I could!

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Midnight the Moon Fairy Bear

2010-09-02T16:16:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Well It's been nose back to the grind stone for me! I have so many orders at the moment I'm having trouble keeping up! But this little fellow was rather tempting and I got rather 'in the zone' with him and just kept working and working until he was done! So thanks to my lovely repeat customers for giving me these inspirational pieces to create! This one is therefore made to order so he is already sold! (awwwwwww sorry folks! lol)

Midnight is needle felted from black alpaca fibre which I blended together with some gorgeous, sparkly glitz fibres!

I attached these lovely polymer clay wings to his back which were made by a friend of mine!

Midnight has lovely 'gems' for his toepads with the bigger one being a heart shape!

Don't you just love this little eyes! I used a metallic thread in silver for his nose and other features!

Hope his new Mum will like him, he was inspired by the water fairy I did recently too apparently! So if you like the idea of a unique fairy just drop me a line at littlehandfuls@ihug.co.nz and let me know what tickles your fancy! :o)

Happy crafting all!

Liza

And the winner is.......

2010-08-26T22:27:00.003+12:00

Hi Folks

Well I did the drawing for our winner tonight so I have a name for you. And I wanted to let you all know what the mystery fibre is too!

As I mentioned no one was getting it right, until we had one post from Jemma who got it right! The mystery fibre is..............

Rayon!

I had thought it was incredible when I found it but had no idea no one else had seen such a fibre before either! It really feels like merino, but it does felt up a bit differently, more like cotton! Actually that's what the little coloured bits are too, cotton!

Cindy was the next closest when she guessed Plastic, so well done to both of you!!

Ok

So the winner of Peaches is.......

Samantha Cummings

Samantha, I am pleased to send you my little bear! I also loved the comment that Samantha made in one of her posts: I'm going to say I think Peaches is made of magic!

I got a few other comments like this which I thought were so fun.

Laura thought she was made of cotton candy
GemZ said she was made of 'wool and dreams of my childhood'!
And Angelique sent in a lovely message which was a joy to read, she also said that her guess was Fairy Dusted Angel Hair! lol

So I hope you all had fun, I certainly did and I loved hearing from you all! I intend to run another giveaway and perhaps have a few extra little prizes next time so I hope you will all keep checking back and following my work!

Many, many thanks to all of you for your time and support!

Liza

Attention class, please make Laney feel welcome!

2010-08-22T21:45:00.004+12:00

Hi Everyone!
Well the giveaway is now closed, I hope to collate everyones entries and make the drawing before the end of the week so stay tuned for that! In the mean time please meet the gorgeous little ballet student I created for my daughters ballet teacher!

Laney is wearing her correct dance uniform of burgandy leotard, pink socks and ballet slippers! Her hair is in a neat bun with a burgandy ribbon. She stands on her wooden dance floor, just like the real one!

She was needle felted over many, many hours in corriedale and merino wools

Her hair is a gorgeous merino/silk fibre with a soft fringe.
Just look at her little pink cheeks!

Here you can see her little bun, her feet are in 'first position' so her legs are jointed in a unique way as this position requires her heels to meet!

Laney can also do the splits!

She is over 4 inches tall and probably my most ambitious works for a long time!

I hope you enjoyed meeting her as much as her teacher is enjoying having her in class! lol

Giveaway Closing Soon!

2010-08-12T12:04:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! Just a quick reminder that the giveaway for Peaches will be ending on 22 August! I have received so many posts and guesses about what she could be made of! I have to say that only one person has guessed right, so I have withheld that post to tempt you all to keep guessing! Wow, I did say it was a mystery fibre but I didn't realise how much of a mystery it would be! I will give you one clue, it is NOT an animal fibre!!

So happy guessing to all and I will let you know when the drawing is done for our winner!

Introducing a gorgeous new bear! Suki!

2010-08-12T11:51:00.002+12:00

Hi everyone!
Yes, I have another bear to show you. This little sweetie is Suki. She is felted from a lovely pastel, hand dyed corriedale wool which turned out so nicely! The purple is a lovely warm shade which I found so hard to get in just the right shade!

She has lovely big eyes and a perfect little magenta coloured nose and features.

Not sure how I ended up with a bow this colour but it just worked for her!

Check out that cute little face!

Could she look any more innocent? :o)

This time it wasn't the cat who decided he needed to sit with me. This is my 10 yr old girl Bonnie and she is very jealous of all the beary attention! What a poser! hehe

Hope you enjoyed seeing my new little friend!

Happy crafting!!

Liza

Meet Castello

2010-08-12T11:43:00.003+12:00

Hi all, hope life is treating you well!

I just wanted to quickly introduce you to one of my new bears, this is Castello! He is needle felted from two gorgeous purply wools!

The darker colour is a lovely merino/silk blend and I just love his big toes

His nose is embroidered in a random dyed silk which really suits him!

Bye bye, thanks for visiting Castello! :o)

New baby bears to show you!!

2010-07-20T09:35:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Well while you are wracking your brains over what my little bear Peaches may be made of, here is some eye candy for you to coo over!

Buddy and Bella are sweet little baby bears, needle felted from a gorgeous corriedale fibre in plum for Buddy and Blue for Bella! They turned out so well, I made Bella first and then decided I could try making a matching partner from the other wool. I surprised myself that I got them so similar as it's quite tricky to even get bears the same size with needle felting! :o)

This is Buddy! He has a gorgeous mini knitted beret he can wear lots of ways!
His corresponding wool is a beige/cream natural wool! Don't you love his bright purple nose!!

They look so sweet together!

Bella wears a lovely silk flower and vintage ribbon/trim I found somewhere!

They both have those big, innocent eyes!

Hope you enjoyed visiting! Keep guessing on the giveaway, shall I give you a clue? No one has guessed right yet!! Yikes!! You still get entries for guessing tho! lol

Happy crafting to all

Liza

Give Away! You could win Peaches!

2010-07-11T19:34:00.002+12:00

Hi Folks!

I'm very excited and pleased to announce that Little Handfuls is running my first Give away!

You could win this gorgeous little bear, Peaches!

Peaches is needle felted from a gorgeous apricot corriedale fibre and a mystery fibre in peach with little dots of other colours!
You can see all the colours in her here! Now you just have to figure out what the mystery fibre is, follow my blog and send others to do the same!

Here is a pic of Peaches with the fibre I made her from!

So, here is how you enter!

1. Follow my blog, only followers can enter!

2. post a comment to this entry telling me what you think she is made from, you can guess as many times as you like!

3. ensure I can contact you if you win so leave me some contact details with your post!

4. For an extra entry you can find me on facebook and post guesses on my fanpage!

5. Promote me!! Let me know if you have promoted my giveaway on your website, blog, facebook page, or where ever! I will pop by and check it out and you will get another entry!

Entry is open from right now until 22nd August.

So start guessing!! This should be so much fun and I can't wait to hear from every one!

If you haven't seen my work before please feel free to drop me a line, ask questions, check out my main website too www.mylittlehandfuls.com to see my gallery of work!

Dougal joins the Little Handfuls Hug!

2010-07-10T18:06:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for dropping by! I have a lovely new friend for you to meet. His name is Dougal and he is needle felted from the most gorgeous, natural New Zealand corriedale wool ever! I'm a big one for hand dyed wools so I surprised even myself recently when I fell in love with this beautifully carded fibre at a local craft show! It is a lovely soft cream with a beige ripple running through it!

I also found a lovely teal crochet thread at a thrift market and had been holding on to it for just the right bear!

The lighting isnt the best, it got dark before I was done!
Dougal has the sweetest nose and vintage blue and pewter coloured ribbon.

Don't you love his teal ruffle? (yes, you are supposed to see the stitches! lol)

I'm so pleased with him and I hope you enjoyed meeting him too! It's been a busy week of school holidays, playing pirates and trying to entertain 3 children! Next week it's the movies and the Zoo so it should be fun! Of course I am working all weekend so have to get through that first! I guess I can rest when my youngest starts school in October! lol

Happy crafting all!

Look who dropped by!

2010-07-07T18:46:00.002+12:00

Hi All

I've been seriously tempted lately by the beautiful range of bjds (ball jointed dolls), that are around these days! Just do a search online and you will see how gorgeous they can be!

So since I couldn't afford one (did I neglect to mention that they start around $200nzd), I got myself an LPD (Lolli Pop Doll!) lol And I am really pleased with her, she's so cute! So I saved a packed getting her 'preloved' and I will buy her some gorgeous new outfits!

She looks so cute with Ben!

Thinking I will name her Lilli!

Hope you liked her, thanks for dropping by! :o)

Little Handfuls are entered in the TBAAF awards!!

2010-07-04T22:19:00.003+12:00

Hi all

Just wanted to drop by and ask you all to pop in and take some time to vote for some of the gorgeous work on the TBAAF website! Hopefully some of it will be mine!! :o)

http://www.teddy-bear-artists-and-friends.com

It's a great site and a wonderful idea to run a free comp of this magnitude!!

I've entered the:

Miniature Bear

Felted Bear

Anime Bear

Sections, I'm sure you will recognise my work but please vote for the ones you like best whoever made them!!

Enjoy!

Liza

Please meet my new fairy bear!

2010-07-02T15:49:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! Thought you might like to meet my latest creation! I made her while I was sick with a headcold and someone suggested that I could still create if I made a water fairy! So here she is!

I mixed together 3 different fibres to make her sparkly, watery coloured coat! She has a glittery fibre mixed in and I given her dark blue toepads since the photos were taken!

Meet Raindrop!
She has polymer clay wings made by an old friend.

Her long beads were strung by myself and have a droplet at the end

She sits on the lily pad I made for her which is felted with shades of green and silk

I hope you love her as much as I do! She turned out so well!

A Rose by any other name..........

2010-07-01T09:32:00.002+12:00

Well, her name isn't Rose, but there were a lot of ideas and I so appreciate all the kind words and suggestions you all made! It was funny that there were a few spicy/foody ideas between here and my facebook page! She must have made you all feel hungery! lol Do we need a drum roll??

drrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmm........!!!!!

lol

Her new name is Cinnamon and that was suggested by Heather! Thanks so much Heather for a wonderful suggestion and I'm very happy yours was picked as it really suits her as well!

Having done all this I am very tempted now to run a little giveaway as so many other bloggers seem to be doing! I would like to run another name or idea thread and give away a bear at the end! I'm sure many of you have joined in on these types of giveaways, so if you have any ideas on how they are best run please feel free to drop me a line!!

Ok, off to make Cinnamon her name tags! Have a wonderful crafty day everyone!

Name that bear!

2010-06-29T13:32:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!

I have to say a big thank you to all the lovely folks who are following my blog now, there are 45 of you and I think that's just awesome!!

Also a big, huge thank you to those who are consistently commenting and sending me lovely compliments on my work! I do so appreciate it and you are so good for my soul! I find that making these little guys and girls is a very isolating pass time. I normally create in the evenings but find I am making time during the day as well now. But this just means that I am sitting in my lounge on my own working away and while I do love it I don't have anyone to share my work with. Sometimes my Mum will pop over, but she makes no attempt to sugar coat if she doesn't like something, she just says "Oh no, that's not to my taste at all!" and I'm standing there all excited to show her so suddenly the wind is knocked out of me and my smile falls off! lol

Hubby is probably typical of husbands who have seen a mountain of what they consider to be the same old thing. He will say it's nice but doesn't really 'get' it. Hardly bother to show him any these days!

And I have one friend who I see once a week, so I can show them to her, she can be a bit like Mum sometimes, but at least she's honest and a little more tactful than dear old Mum! :o)

So on that note, I know hope you will all be jolly wonderful about my newest addition. (I think she's pretty darn perfect actually) So here she is and if anyone has an idea for a lovely name that will suit her please send me a comment as I am finding myself at a bit of a loss with her!

Needle Felted from Ashfords new merino/silk colour, Poppyseed

A lovely lady I found at a show makes the little lace collars! Isn't it gorgeous? She does lots of other things too so keep an eye out for bonnets and hats!

I stitched her nose from a mix of rusty red and sparkly pink threads!

I wanted to try the big toe pads I did on a previous bear! They turned out great!!

She's just a little handful! :o)

Please welcome Blossom!

2010-06-23T14:37:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Thanks so much for dropping by or choosing to receive my updates!! You won't be sorry you did today as I have a gorgeous new addition to the Little Handfuls Hug to show you!

Blossom is needle felted from a hand blended mix of merino wools that I found and just knew would go together well!

Mint, lavender and butter yellow, now would you have thought they could come together so well? :o)

She has the sweetest little face! Just look at those big dark eyes!

Hearts on her little feet and a big lavender 4 leaf clover pendant!
I did her nose a slightly brighter colour in magenta! I think it worked well!

There's that perfect little heart! Merino is great for nice clean lines!

Doesn't she just make you say 'awwwwwwwwwwwww'

I'm rather smitten and hope she doesn't sell too fast which always seems to happen with my favourites! Just can't say no to my loyal customers! :o)

I actually have more to show but wanted to give Blossom a showcase of her own! Feeling very inspired at the moment and getting lots done! Hope all is well with you and yours, Liza

Handfuls of Handfuls! :o)

2010-06-21T14:40:00.003+12:00

Hi Everyone! Hope all is well in your world!! Sun is shining, birds are singing, kids are behaving (none of the above? Sounds like my world then! lol)

We are right into winter now, it's always very wet where we live, notorious for wet winters, damp, windy springs, humid summers and stormy autums! Sound fab to you? Lets do a houseswap then!! :) I'm soooooooo over it!!

So while I'm pouring cough syrups down my 8 yr old and trying to keep socks on my 4 yr old I've somehow managed to do some bears as well! (I've given up telling my 11 yr old what to do, he apparently is the most hard done by kid in the world, fancy not getting to play computer games all day, oh the horror!!)

But I digress!!

Here is Kenneth! He is felted from a very interesting Alpaca fibre, it's much coarser than my lighter coloured alpacas but it's a nice teddy colour!

He's well dressed in his vest and 'tie'

I've realised I should photograph my bears in hand slightly differently, looks good!
This is Max, he is felted in a neat romney hand dyed blend!

I do love my unique hand dyed wools!

CandyFly is felted for an order, not sure if she is up to the customers expectations yet, but she has turned out ok.

Very girly isn't she?

Ben is my current favourite. If felted him in Ashfords new Spice coloured merino/silk.

I did his head nice and round and it gives him a neat little teddy look!

Hope you enjoyed visiting my latest furry friends! I have something very cheerful and fun on the way soon (touch wood) so hope to show you that very shortly!

Invasion of the Puddy Tat

2010-06-10T19:42:00.002+12:00

I was attempting to take some photos last week of my new bears when my darling Marmalade Tomcat named Milo came along to give me some smooching! I had so much trouble taking the photos as he kept bunting my arms and hands!

After a few minutes of laying it on REAL thick he realised that food was not forthcoming so he decided to get right in my face where I couldn't miss him. So he jumped up on the chair/backdrop and proceeded to show my bears some gorgeous, ginger puddy love!

Isn't he beautiful? He's so big, bigger than my (admittedly small breed) dogs! And we weighs a ton. He also has the biggest Meow and has figured out how to knock on the door, this involves him sitting up on his back legs and hitting the door with both front legs at once. It's remarkably loud and on nights when I am on my own with hubby working late, a loud bang on the door scares the wits out of me!

If he falls asleep ontop of you in bed it's all over, forget about rolling him off, he sticks like glue and if it's light enough to see you will notice him giving you the 'how dare you?' look. Pays to shut up and go to sleep! lol He's a total honey tho, big purrs and lots of dribbles. He's scared of almost everything and everyone except his family! Although NO ONE is allowed to touch his tummy, which is very hard as he is always sleeping on his back with his legs open, (very elegant) curly belly showing and you aren't allowed to touch it!! Attempting to do so results in a lesson in just how fast the boy can move, and teethmarks somewhere on your hand! :o( Big Meanie, I mean really, he shouldn't go showing it off if we can't touch!!

Ok, thats enough about my hunka burnin puddy! We actually have so many pets that if I wrote as much about each one I could print it up and call it a novel! :o)

Thanks for suffering through my waffle, next post will be more bear related I promise! hehe

Golly Gosh

2010-06-03T16:49:00.003+12:00

Helloooo! I'm back and this time I have some new little friends of the Golly persuasion! The last (and may I add first) golly I made was from a kit, so not really to my tastes and I had been put of making anymore! But I had an order for one so having trawled the internet for pics in the hopes of inspiration I decided I had to make a matching pair!

These two are felted in merino/alpaca blend with black corriedale

Don't you love the turquoise pants?
The little pinafore was store bought felt I embellished

Getting them the same size was challenging

The do make a sweet pair don't you think?

So here's hoping the customer is happy with them, I certainly am and I hope you enjoyed dropping by to meet them!

New Friends

2010-05-29T18:15:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! Time to share some new work with you all! Winter is settling in and we are in for frosty mornings, ice on the windscreen and lots of blankies at night!

I HATE WINTER!!

So I will pretend it's not here as much as I can, and sit creating some friendly folk to keep me company! :o)

Meet some of my new friends:

This is Squeekers! My first felted rat! He has lovely long limbs and a long pink tail!

Pippin is felted in a gorgeous imported wool blend, its really different!

Magnus was created during my last felting class, the girls did really well with their creations too. Magnus was sold as soon as class finished to one of the school locals! :o) He is the best standing bear I have made and I hope his name sake will love him!

This little fellow is very bright in Living Felt Merino batts!

Ashley is felted in a natural wool, I loved the random cream and brown ash colouring!

Well, that's it from me this week! I do have some more Momiji/Kokeshi dolls to share tho! Stay tuned for those!

Happy crafting,

Liza

Shows over Folks, move along!

2010-05-17T20:21:00.003+12:00

Well that's it, all over for another year! Was a great weekend out, lots of lovely bear and dolly people to chat to! Lovely customers with high praises are always well received too. It's great to watch people as they discover your table, the smiles on their faces as they meet each little chap. They point and giggle to their friends, "Look at this one, OH I just love his little toes" "This one has such a big belly!" or "They are all so different, how can I possibly choose!" My friend Veronika and I had a lot of fun enjoying others enjoying MY work! :o)

Below are some pics of my table, my bears with their awards, and a couple of show favourites!

Remember you can click on the photo above to see a bigger version of it!

This is Ezekiel, I made him to fit in this huge black velour chair! He's probably my biggest jointed bear! He was picked up so many times!!

Suzy and Suzette her sheep. Everyone wanted to buy poor little Suzette away from Suzy, I couldn't do it, they have to be together! (I don't know why, she won't tell me! LOL)

Here are my 3 bears with their blue ribbons! So pleased!

So now I will list a whole bunch of extra bears in online auctions. Having talked to some of the bear ladies I think I am finally going to try the 'less is more' approach to my table. So hard for me tho, I love filling up the table with colour and not hiding any of my work. But it is a bit overwhelming for the customers, often if they come back a second time they see things they never saw the first time! Time for a revamp!!

I'm back to working on my special project now too, so hope to have pics of him soon!

ONE MORE SLEEP!!

2010-05-14T10:29:00.002+12:00

Hey Folks!
Thanks for dropping by! If you haven't noticed I'm a little bit jazzed about the show which is starting tomorrow! Have to set up this afternoon so it's pretty much 3 days of me bouncing about with glee! lol I didn't sell very well at last years show, which got me down a bit by the end of the weekend. But it's so much fun just being there, chatting to like minded people, meeting folks who love your work and not having to worry about dishes, laundry or feeding small children for a few hours! :o)

I will probably be disappointed if it's a slow one again this year, I have gone into it thinking this is my last time if things don't pick up. Very expensive to be there, local markets are cheaper and I did sell well at the last one of those I went to..........hmmmmmmm. So hard to decide! But hey, really it's just once a year!!

So on that happier note, here is a little of my latest works....

I'm lovin this little guy, Pookie is felted from Merino Cross batts that I got from Living Felt online store! Totally recommend them, they felt well and have great colours! He's so sweet!!

Ocean! What can I say, he has the most photogenic face I've created in ages! I just love the way his pics came out. Funny because I wasn't that enamoured with him before hand!

He looks such a rascal, felted in the same batts as Pookie, the blue greens are gorg!!

Latest brainwave! Momiji dolls! I read of a challenge in one of my online felting groups, Kawaii Critters! So had to find out what style Kawaii was and came across these, made of wood and with a little message inside traditionally. But they felt up great and my students are dying to make them for their last project this term! I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Prototype Momiji! She's way too big for the girls in class to make, but having trouble doing them smaller! :o) She's the best so far!

Well, that's about it from me. Just dropped off the bears that are below for their judging in the Comps! Wished them luck and sent them on their way! I do hold great hopes for my hippo as I am really pleased with how she turned out! That bottom jaw is fab! Not to mention the outfit!

Will drop by again after the show and let you know how it all went! Hope you are still awake, knock knock!! (Told you I can waffle Vee! lol)

Happy crafting!!

It's Show Time again!!

2010-05-05T19:41:00.003+12:00

Hi all! Just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm still here and working hard for the upcoming show!

Just over a week to go now, it's on the 15 & 16 May! So I've probably made all the new bears I have time for now, just have lots of tags to make!

Fingers crossed this one is really good. Things have been pretty slow on the show front, I'm selling pretty well through my blog and website tho, with a few in the local stores too! Looking forward to the comps, although I've only entered 3 critters this time. My gorgeous Abner, Henrietta Hippo (had to enter her!) and I did one bear in the theme, Lavender and Lace, her name is Heather.

Abner is felted from natural Romneys

Henrietta is felted in a gorgeous merino blend.

Heather is felted in 2 shades of pink, love the purply nose!

You've probably seen them before but wanted to show what I was talking about! So wish them luck as they head off to do their Mama proud! :o)

As we head into winter over here my poor fingers stiffen up a bit with the cold and felting isn't so easy! I guess many of you reading this are now in Spring/Summer, hope you are enjoying the warmth! Take care of it and send it back to me soon, I miss it so! lol

Vintage Therapy

2010-03-26T17:36:00.002+13:00

Meet the latest in my Vintage line of mini bears!

Winston is a very proper bear, with his collar and bow tie I am reminded of a butler!

Tubby Teddy is a big, round, gorgeous fellow!

Bethany is a lovely girl bear wearing a sweet crochet dress!

Hope you enjoyed meeting my new friends!

Think Vintage!

2010-03-12T13:21:00.002+13:00

It's time to try something new, which is kind of ironic as it's actually something rather old! I wanted to make some vintage style bears. It seems that most collectors have a bigger interest in this style, moreso than my usual rather 'out there' bears! So, in an attempt to please everyone, as usual, here are my latest efforts!

Bruin is felted in a lovely natural romney wool, it has neat flecks and and random hairs in it!

Bruin wears a felt shirt with vintage trims and black ribbon. Both bears have shading added.

Tomsk is a sweet little fellow wearing his little felt overalls and hat

Heather is not done in the same style, I had finished her before the 'vintage' struck me, but she still needed something extra, so I added the lovely lacy trims
Her nose was a lot of fun! And the lace is devine!

I hope you enjoyed visiting my latest work! I intend to make rather a few more vintage style bears as the next show isn't too far away! In May we have the Doll and Bear show and I only take my best work to that one! Plus there are comps to enter!!

Happy crafting!

Liza

Arts Circle, Hamilton, NZ 2010

2010-03-02T20:55:00.002+13:00

Hi all, just wanted to show how how my table looked for the recent show/festival! I had quite a lot of stock but thought they looked pretty good, not too crowded! So here are some shots of my table and then some of the street performers who were running about Alice in Wonderland style!

Remember you can click on the pics for bigger images

Alice and playing cards

Queen of Hearts

The Duchess and the March Hare

And the White Rabbit

We're coming up Trunks!! :o)

2010-02-23T16:39:00.002+13:00

Hi all! There has been some fun creations appearing in my cabinets and I just had to share this one with you!

Elle is a lovely lady elephant, she is felted in a rather unique smokey mauve coloured romney, 5 way jointed and has the most elegant trunk!

She is wearing clothing completely of my own design and hand stitched and embroidered by myself!

Click on the pics to enlarge them, she has the sweetest embroided hem!

I had so much fun creating Elle, I hope she finds a wonderful new home!

This fellow has been made to order!

Some new brooches! The flower has removable leaves depending on how you want to wear them!

The Arts Circle is just a few days away so I hope to have new show photos for you, it should be a very inspiring day out!

Happy crafting all!

It's Hippo time!!

2010-02-16T09:22:00.005+13:00

Hi all! Hey, is anyone else getting loads of Anonymous comments on their blog? They are driving me MAD, keep thinking I'm getting a nice comment from someone and it's just a spammer! Know how to stop it?? I would love to find out!!

On a far nicer note, we have some new additions in the Little Handfuls Den. Please welcome Henrietta, she is my first ever Hippo and I am so pleased with how she has turned out. I wasn't sure what accessories she needed when she was made, she sat 'naked' on my desk for a few days and then it struck me! She is a perfect little Ballerina and I do hope you all like her!!

Then we have Lacey, she was created for the up coming Doll and Bear show as they have a Lavender and Lace theme this year! I made her little hat and coat from a pattern which was supposed to be enlarged for a much bigger bear! :o) Worked out really well.

So I hope you enjoy checking them out and I always look forward to hearing from you!

Kindest regards

Liza

Henrietta is felted from a gorgeous hand dyed Merino

She is so nicely sculpted!

Lacey is felted from a Merino/silk blend with lavender embroidery

New Little Handfuls!

2010-02-05T15:52:00.002+13:00

Hello Everyone! Hope the new year is treating you all well!
We have had an inspiring and refreshing start to 2010 with our first ever family holiday and some new year resolutions which are going well thus far!

Prudence is a lovely, traditional little girl bear. She wears vintage lemon coloured lace, soft and feminine. She is felted in a gorgeous hand dyed wool of rust and lemon.

Beach Bears! These fine fellows were created while we were away on holiday! I promise I DID get out in the sun and surf some of the time too!! :o)

Felted in Ashford Cookie colour corriedale this little lady bear was made for an order and now sits with her 'hubby' bear making a beary lovely couple!

Gruffy is a stern looking fellow with a sweet sence of humor! Boo!!

Catnip is my first ever cat! When I realised that I hadn't done one I had to amend the situation immediately! Isn't he sweet!!?

Hope you enjoyed these latest additions to the Little Handfuls Den! It's coming into show season here in New Zealand, so I am sure there will be a lot more to see very soon!!

Thanks for dropping by!!

Liza

P.S. You can find me on facebook if you are interested, just look for Liza Adams and I have a Little Handfuls fan page too! :o)

New Baby Panda

2010-01-05T18:22:00.003+13:00

Please welcome our latest addition to the Little Handfuls Den!!

Penny Panda

Penny is felted in gorgeous merino/alpaca. It is lovely to work with and gives a very good finish.

She is wearing her little diaper and bonnet, has a heart belly button and her little pacifier is tied around her wee wrist!

She has the most expressive eyes and is one of my bigger creations at 4 inches tall.

Penny is just adorable and will probably stay in the den a long time! lol

Hope you enjoyed visiting her!

Happy New Year to all!!

Arts Festival

2009-12-18T09:29:00.002+13:00

Well, the festival may have been a flop but I thought I would share the pikkies with you as we initially had a rather fun day! Sadly, because they changed us to Sunday instead of Saturday due to the threat of rain, no one came down. Even worse, Saturday turned out to be a lovely sunny day with only 1 shower! :o(

That would be me standing at my table!

Me acting the goat at my table!

Here are some piks of the work I had on offer.

I just love Billy and Buddy in their vintage tin trucks!

Unfortunately one of my gorgeous terracotta hand bowls got broken before we even set up!

So all in all, not my best show, considering we didn't sell even one thing!! But no one else did very well either, with the bulk of our visitors being the other stall holders! lol We are always the best customers as we can see how much work has gone into other peoples pieces!

I'm still looking forward to the big one, coming up in May next year, our Doll and Bear show!! Yay, the theme is Lavender and Lace this year! Hmmmmmmm Thinking cap ready for 'on' after Christmas! lol

I hope to do one more post before christmas but if I don't get to do it, Merry Christmas to you all and thank you so much for continuing to follow my blog/work and all your encouragement throughout the year!! muah!!!

Gorgeous new Bears and more!

2009-11-24T12:54:00.002+13:00

Helloo!!

Hope you are all plodding along nicely with your christmas creations!! My fair for the market is going well. Thanks to a lovely friend reminding me about my badges I have done a number of them and think they will sell ok! Nice to have things to appeal to more folk and have some cheaper items too!

And now to the latest bears. This one was made for an order, she turned out really well and the customer is very happy with her too! Phew!

Suzanne is felted in cupcake coloured corriedale from Ashfords! I am loving the bigger beads for eyes at the moment, luckily so as I can't get the smaller ones anymore!

Little Molly with her Dolly is felted in Ashfords gorgeous merino/silk blend. It gives a lovely finish even if it does take much longer to felt down!

Frankie is felted in a lovely natural wool which I had just enough of lying around. Not sure what breed it is, but the colouring is like alpaca so I really liked it! Felted much easier than my alpaca fibres! :o)

One of my badges, the snail is a sweetie!

Lil fairy is going to be a hit I think, have lots of similar ones too!

Ok, gotta run, time to get to Kindy! Hope you liked these latest offerings, I have more pics to take yet too! But with the market just 2 weeks away and more things to create, tag and photograph not sure I will get time to put them on here for a while!

Say 'Hi' to your Mum for me!!

New Little Handfuls

2009-10-13T22:49:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone, hope the coming end of year is bringing some fun and inspiration for you all! It looks like I might be getting to do a christmas market this year, so I will have to get on with the seasonal fare! For now here are some lil fellows I made in the last month or so. Things have slowed down a little lately, dipping my fingers in too many pies perhaps. But I hope you will enjoy these offerings for your enjoyment.

Blu For You

This sweet little boy is felted in 2 shades of blue. He has the sweetest little sad eyes, very expressive bears at the moment

Blu has little hearts on his feet, and lovely big paws.

Chockie was made for an order. I needed to make a bear for someones husband, so thought these colours were suitable male enough.

Betsy Bunny is felted in an interesting new merino, hand dyed here in NZ. It was great to needle as it was slightly coarser than commercial Merino fibres. Check out the embroidered flowers etc on her feet!

Glorious bunny teeth! Just the thing for nibbling on a felted carrot! :o)

Hope my little friends brightened your day a little and thanks so much for dropping by!

Beary huggles, Liza.

Whats New!

2009-08-20T22:36:00.003+12:00

Ok, in an attempt to forget my current woes here are some pics of my latest work.

I recently had to make up some samples for a 4 day workshop, so the first ones are a few examples of what we could do over that long weekend. I have something else in the works but don't want to show until it's finished!

These are just some basic wet felted soaps, done with merino, very easy

This ornament is just a ball on a base, it does take a long time to felt it down nice and hard, but then you can decorate it as you wish!

Badges! This was free form onto commercial felt from a photo

This was done using water soluble fabric for the pattern and felting onto a commercial piece of felt. Really pleased with how this works, you could do almost anything with this method!

Henry was felted for my last One day class as an example of the gorgeous romney wool we were using. He is a big boy, almost 4 inches, and he has lovely features!

Twit Twoo is a birdy type thing, another example of decorating a ball

Harley is one of my new favourites. I actually made him during the one day class, his head wasn't felted as hard as I usually would, but it meant that his eyes sank further in giving him a different look. I really like how he finished up!

Gnome Girl!! It had to be done, had seen a pic of one and had to do one for myself. She turned out ok I think. I had to make a second face for her as wasn't happy with the first one!

Finn is a real baby looking bear. He was felted in the same romney we used for the day class. It's amazing how many different looking bears you can get from the same supplies!

Hope you enjoyed looking at the new work. I've just donated 2 bears to a charity auction which is being held in Sept, so hope those go well!

Thanks once again for your interest in my work, I really do appreciate it and all the lovely comments that are sent my way are a balm for my soul!

Beary huggles,

Liza

Latest Bears!!

2009-08-06T16:08:00.003+12:00

Hello All!
Time for another update! I thought you might like to see 2 of my latest little bears who I am really pleased with but a little nervous if their new 'Mummies' will like them!

Firstly meet Giselle. She is a sweet little girl bear who wants to be a ballerina when she grows up! She is wears her tutu everywhere she goes and is always leaping and dancing around the house!

Giselle is felted from 2 shades of hand dyed corriedale wools from one of my favourite cottage crafts people!

She has ribbons laced up her little legs, and just look at those amazing tiny rosettes.

I have never seen any so small! She's just gorgeous I think!

Now meet Cody. This darling little boy is wearing his merino pjs and hat. He likes to hang

out with his invisible friend Jack and is always trying to lend a hand at home!

Don't you just love the little pompoms and his sweet little face?

I'm so pleased with Cody, he took a lot of time to sculpt and his corriedale base is covered

lavishly with a merino/silk blend for his pjs and hat, with angora bunny

fibre on his little hat also!

I do hope their new owners are really happy with them, and if they are reading this Yay!! Tell me what you think! :o) lol

Lots on this month. I have a day class out of town which I have almost finished organising. Just as well as it's only a week away! :o) I also managed to create a whole load of work for myself by offering to join in as a tutor for a 4 day craft weekend. And now I have to make up some samples of what we would make over the 4 days. Unless they are good standard I won't get in, but also I have to come up with things that I haven't taught before and don't know how long they will take to make! Eeekk! So lots of experimenting to do in just one week!

Also trying not to worry about driving out of town. It is one year this month since I started driving (yes, I AM 35, truly) and I still haven't driven at 100k yet! lol I'm sure it will be fine! Really,,,,,just fine! eekk

Ok, that's all from me! Back to cooking dinner, feeding dogs, cats and assorted rodents. Trips to school, kindy and the vet. Housework, protest rally (That reminds me, if you are in NZ write to parliment to stop them cutting our night classes!!! We need support to keep the classes running! :o) and then I have work on the weekend again! yay!

Much bear love and happiness to all! Put your feet up for me! :o)

Liza

Latest work!

2009-07-24T13:35:00.002+12:00

Hello again!! Thought I would share some of my latest little furry friends with you! I have been so pleased with some of the new work, and there is more to come as I work on some new ideas right now!

Hope you like these offerings!

This little tacker is Tac, he is felted in a gorgeous spectrum blend with turquoise accenting. Only little, Tac is under 3 inches tall. $45nzd
Miss Bearington was made for a lovely lady who left our work recently. I wanted to make something ladylike just like her new owner. One of a kind, no copies.

Beth was just completed for an order. The lady wanted something for a baby girl so I thought this was suitably girly. I'm really pleased with her!

Benji was completed a month or so back but I wasn't totally happy with him. So I added some whites to his eyes and now he looks so sweet! Felted in a pastel spectrum blend, he is very unique! $50nzd

This fine fellow, I feel, needs something else, so I am on the look out for clothing or other accessories that might suit. Felted from pure Alpaca in a lovely shade of apricot! Stay tuned for his finished photos!

I hope you enjoyed looking through the new pics. Much more to come. And I do apologise for adding prices to the available bears which I wouldn't normally do, but it saves me writing endless emails when people contact me about them. Sales are going well at the moment! :o)

Beary hugs to all!

Currently available Bears!

2009-07-20T11:49:00.002+12:00

Hi all

Here are some bears that are currently awaiting adoption here at Little Handfuls. If you would like more info about any of them please feel free to ask. You can also click on the pics to see nice big versions of them! Thanks for dropping by!

Filbert, felted in 2 shades of mauve he is just gorgeous $65nzd
Tibbs and his wirework pram are $65nzd, love the crochet suit!

Alpie is felted in natural Alpaca fibre, he is a blue ribbon winner and just $60nzd

Tamarillo is felted in an amazing blend of merino wools, very unique with his multi coloured embroidered features to compliment his look. $65

Jinx is quite different with his big eyes and sculpted features. he is felted in blue and mauve! $45nzd

Camey is felted in a blend of wools to make apricot to match her gorgeous cameo resin shoe. They make a stunning display, $55nzd

Ugly Duckling stands on his wee bit of land, he is a true one of a kind

$55nzd

Princess Jewelly is a truely elegant bear. She wears her gorgeous sparkles with style. Felted in deep plum shades she is $65nzd

Peaches is another very unique bear. She was made to match the gorgeous goose egg box below. Felted in a hand mixed blend of wools and with vintage lace they make a gorgeous display anyway you arrange them.

$75nzd including gift box.

$45 Bears (NZD)

2009-07-20T11:24:00.002+12:00

These bears are priced at $45nzd

Butterscotch! Felted in a lovely shade of wool, he is quite different!

DimSun is an anime bear in rust and white

Bumble is a tiny 1 inch bear in a flower ring box

Plum is also just 1 inch tall and in his flower ring box

Kimmy is just under 2 inches tall and felted in mauve

Show Pics

2009-06-16T16:06:00.002+12:00

Hi all, just realised I didn't show any pics from the show! Here are some of both my tables, the bears and the reborn babies.

I totally changed my bear layout this year, and I think it looked pretty good! It was a LOT of work making all the pedestals!

The babies did ok, but probably won't be making anymore, they just don't sell well enough over here! I still love them tho, shame they have gotten so expensive!

It's Show Time!!

2009-05-14T08:55:00.003+12:00

Hi Everyone!
It's just 2 days till the show opens on Saturday morning, 16 May, 10am. I'm just getting the finishing touches done. Tags sewn on, last photos taken, sign finished off, pillars spray painted. Yes I did say spray painting, I do hope they turn out well. I will post some pics of the table after the show!

Here is my sign, not finished in this pic, still needs the background sewn to hold it all together, and the bear head on top of the 'i'. It's about 1.5 metres long.

This is Wilson. He is felted in milk chocolate corriedale with dark choc muzzle and honey coloured toe pads and embroidery. So cute!

This is Thomas, he is felted from Merino/Silk with white accenting, he also has a crystal in his belly button.

Nikolas is felted from merino and it ended up being in 3 shades as I didn't realise there was 2 similar colours in the bag when I started! lol Can you tell his limbs are a lighter colour? You can now right?

Well, that's about it from me. Back to work and fingers crossed all goes well. This is probably the only show I will be doing this year and I am also having a table for my reborn babies. You can check them out at my other blog..www.sugarbabiesnz.blogspot.com

Something Different!

2009-04-24T23:15:00.003+12:00

Hi Everyone!

Well I had an attack of the 'make something interestings' and came up with this little lady! Suzy is an anime bear with auburn hair and big blue eyes. I had fun making her eyelids, haven't done many of those before and it's been a while since I 'dressed' a bear too. Then she had to have a friend, so along came Suzette her little sheep.

I love Suzette, she is firmly felted in black and white and then I did a soft coat of merino over the top which is squishy and wooly looking.

What do you think? Are they a cute pair?

In Dinah's Room

2009-04-12T10:37:00.002+12:00

Hi all

I do believe I already told you I was working on some fab new ideas. Here is the first of them. I have been doing little room boxes, I have a number of boxes that are just awaiting their perfect beary counterparts.

Dinah turned out perfectly for this roombox. She is the perfect size, the colours work well and she has the sweetest little face.

Her room is fully wallpapered, it has a window and mirror and carpet. She has a lovely bed with hand stitched counterpane and pillows to match. Her handmade toy box is filled with lovely bits and pieces, from her boxed Barbie to her pipecleaner bear. She also has a dolls house and a book of paper dolls.

Just look at that face!

She is a little messy, her paper dolls and books are on the floor.

Dinah loves to show her guest around her room. Thank you so much for popping by to meet her, you are welcome back any time!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-09T16:36:00.002+12:00

Hi all!

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you have a lovely time with family and friends. We intend to relax and do as little as possible. It's been a long few months since the last long weekend and my husband and I have not seen much of each other. It will be nice to catch up again and spend time with the kiddles.

Of course there is all the chocolate too, let us not forget that! Mmmmmmmmm As if I could! :o)

Speaking of Easter, here is my latest bunny. Her name is Tinka and she is felted in a gorgeous hand dye of rainbow colours. I decided to pick out the yellow for her accenting. Really pleased with her!

Next we have HeartLove. This little bear didn't photograph very well. Must have been the time of day. She is actually a candyfloss pink and a nice mauvey purple. She is named HeartLove as that is what my babies have always called love hearts, so cute. She has white pearl hearts on her belly and feet.

Toots is a wee fellow felted in Toffee and Butterscotch wools. He's just a little guy, short and sweet! lol

Perry is one of my new favs. I wanted to make something really nice and for once it worked out. Perry is felted in the gorgeous Ashfords Merino and Silk sliver. A lovely grape shade and I stitched his nose etc in a thread which faded from purple to white and back. :o) He has a gem in his belly button too!

And lastly, pop the kettle on and join me for a cuppa! hehe I had been wanting to have a play at felting cups and bowls. Here is my first attempt, in more of the merino/silk fibre. I'm quite pleased with it, they are rather robust even tho they remain soft and flexible.

Hope you enjoyed visiting. Eat lots of chockie and I will catch you all again soon.

Bunny huggles

Liza

Gorgeous new Bears!!

2009-03-02T00:39:00.002+13:00

Hellooooo again, finally!

Gosh I haven't written since before christmas! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to the new year! Things have been so up and down over here, but I am proud to show you some of my latest work! These bears are truly some of my best work and I do hope you will enjoy meeting them!

This little darling is The Toffee Fairy, felted from a gorgeous butter toffee merino wool, this sweet fairy is also smothered in beads of complimentary colours. Her wings are just wonderful too!

Maggie is felted from a wonderful hand blended and dyed wool in pinks, mauves and magentas. She has the sweetest little face with deep burgandy embroidered detailing. She has a lovely felted and embroidered ball as well.

Frankie is felted using some new ideas and tips from Barbara Allens new book through Ashfords. I highly recommend her book if you want to try some new techniques with your felting, lots of flat work in this book and great information.

Did someone order a Magician?? Here is Cadabra, felted from a wonderful merino blend, he has gem buttons, a wonderful purple cape and check out the wand!

Last but certainly not least is Arthur, this fine fellow is lovely and big, he is about 4 inches tall and so chunky. A gorgeous hand dyed turquoise wool and just a simple bear can be so effective!

Hope you enjoyed stopping by!

Who is available for adoption??

2008-12-19T10:47:00.006+13:00

Hi all, because I have still not been able to update my website I thought it time to show you a few of my furry friends who are still looking for homes. Below you will find photos of some of my bears and their price in NZ dollars (please visit http://www.xe.com/ for exchange rates). There are many more bears but these are some of my best.
Let me know if you want more photos of any or more info. Payment is through paypal for those outside New Zealand.
YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY OF THE PHOTOS TO SEE THE LARGER IMAGE WHICH IS A GOOD IDEA SO YOU CAN REALLY SEE WHAT THESE WEE BEARS LOOK LIKE!!

Ping Panda and his porcelain egg - felted in blue and white $55nzd
Ugly Duckling - felted in natural grey with black and his brown and green 'grass' $65nzd

Peaches and her goose egg box - felted in hand mixed shades to compliment her apricot egg with a vintage lace 'tutu' $70nzd

Glitter - felted in black berry wools wtih pink sparkly embroidered accents and bling in his belly! $45nzd

The White Rabbit - a large sculpt approx 6 inches tall. Complete with red waistcoat and blue blazer with a yellow bow tie! (Postage will be more for this size) $85nzd

Princess Jewely - felted in a deep plum with big stitched nose and gorgeous jewels $55nzd

Tamarillo - felted in blood red merino blends with gorgeous multi coloured embroidered accents $50nzd

Handbag bears - felted in merino and silk these bears are all available currently and come with their little matching bags. $55nzd each

Tang - felted in gorgeous orangey merino and silk, he is a lovely wee bear $55nzd

Oliver - a larger bear, approx 4 inches long. Very sculpted in chocolate wool with his blue and white knitted hat and scarf. $60nzd

More up for adoption!

2008-12-19T10:28:00.002+13:00

Lurple - felted in lime green and purple $55nzd
Tibbs - felted in plum with a baby blue crochet suit and optional wire pram $40nzd bear or $60 incl pram

Katie and Kitty - felted in multi pastel wool and wearing a soft green crochet suit, comes with wee felted kitty curled up on wire wicker chair $65nzd

Hannah - deep blue and rose anime bear with pretty 'sapphire' necklace $60nzd

Fruit Salad - comes with his cake, he is felted in greens and sits holding onto a strawberry, he is removeable $65nzd

Filbert - sculpted in 2 shades of plum with fine features, he's a real stunner $70nzd

Floaties - comes with his air clay 'pool' and felted on arm floaties. He has sunblock on his nose and is just so sweet! $65nzd

Dress Ups - all dressed up in Mums pretty skirt and pearls, felted in soft pastels $45nzd

Blossom Bunny - felted in lavender and pink pastels with a pretty pink quartz star $45nzd

Alpie - felted in pure NZ Alpaca fibre and winner of a blue ribbon at his first show! $65nzd

Please mail me for more photos or information about any of these bears!

There are many more available and no time to show them all! :o)

Meet Daisy!

2008-12-09T15:35:00.003+13:00

Hello again, I wanted to show off my latest creation. Daisy was made to order and I had so much fun with her. She is felted from Ashfords new Butterscotch coloured corriedale and is just under 3 inches tall. The bumble bee looks better in real life as the photos enlarge it somewhat, it's actually only about half a centimetre long!

Daisy has a patch on her belly with a daisy on it!
I have been inspired to create a line of bears with embellished pockets on their bellies! Lots of ideas to work with on that one!

Off to the South Island

2008-11-19T09:50:00.004+13:00

Hi all! It's been a busy month, I have had a big order to do and christmas decorations to make for my shops too! As well as night classes to teach, doing extra days at work and hubby working overtime. I'm knackered!! :o)

I wanted to show you some of the new bears tho, so here is a selection for you, I have more to show but my computer doesn't like me uploading photos and keeps dropping the connection, so annoying!! So I will post these and try to do another one after or I might loose them all.

The bears for this order all needed to be felted from Ashford corriedale wools, this one is in the new mint green colour with apricot detailing. Scotty now sports a tartan bow!

Magnus is one of my favourites, felted in the new Cupcake colouring he also has magenta accenting and has the sweetest curled up toes! I just love his big nose!

Blue is always a favourite with me, just love this new Ice colour from Ashford, it's really great that they have come out with pastel shades in corriedale.

Gerald is felted in apricot with bean sprout accenting. He is such a sweet faced bear, and I do have a soft spot for the big noses, even tho they take me ages to get just right!

Bertram is a little different. He is felted in the new skin colour with chocolate accenting. I felted his nose and kept his detailing simple. I think it's quite effective!

Well I hope you like the new additions. I will show you some more soon and then it's time for christmas decorations!!

Happy crafting

Liza

Zebra to show you!

2008-10-31T09:46:00.003+13:00

Helloooooo!!! Gosh it's been a while yet again! So much going on here, just got through the last lot of school holidays, not sure why but they seem to get harder each time! I also have a big order of 6 bears to make within a month, so been working hard on that!

I wanted to show you the Zebra I made for my last order. I'm really pleased with how he turned out! So I have made 2 Zebras now and i have to say the stripes sure are a challenge! I had a bit of fun on this one tho and made the stripes on his limbs spiral around!

Hope you like this new little fellow. I will have lots more to show you soon! With Christmas coming up I am having to work on my ornaments again and trying to fill my local stores! Sheesh

Happy crafting to all

Liza

Some new Bears!

2008-09-15T10:08:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the changing seasons and keeping those hands busy! Over my side of the world we are finally heading into the warmer weather, I have had more than enough of the rain, dark miserable days and the cold! Sick kids are no fun either and I will be so glad to spend more time outside!

Of course there are those evenings in front of the telly still and thats when my felting is mostly done! Here are a few of my newer bears to share with you, hope you like them!

Lurple is a purple and lime coloured experiment in colour combinations.

I was quite pleased with how he turned out! He is much brighter in person!

River is felted in a lovely soft blue colour and wears his dark grey coat and hat with style!

Sweetums was a farewell pressie for my boss who left us this month! She is felted in a soft blue/grey wool which I mixed summer glitz into so she is nice and sparkly. With a pink heart on her tum and white hearts on her feet, she is very sweet!

Tang is one of my new favourites. Felted in Ashfords Merino/silk blend he is such a sweetie, I just love that rounded head and I used a shiny orange thread for his nose!

I've had a very creative couple of months, check out the new additions below, they were so much fun to make and only about 2 inches tall, the smallest is just over 1 inch. And I am currently working on an alpaca and a zebra! :o) Happy crafting and catch you next time!! xx

Handbag Bears Debut!!

2008-09-15T09:50:00.004+12:00

These little guys were made from Ashfords new fibre blend, Merino and Silk. They come in the most gorgous colours and I couldn't resisit making some of my smallest mini bears and putting them in matching little 'handbags'.

Time for a photo shoot! Here they all are sitting in their bags!

Time to pose in front now folks!

Wow, you bears are naturals! Perfect little soulful eyes!

Lunch Break! Wow, that was hard work.

May and Splish tuck into some healthy sandwiches!

Here are Tinks and Petal enjoying their snacks!

Forrest and Citrus enjoy their burger and cake together.

Pookie sneaks off with 2 big pieces of cake!

He was found later covered in cream and clutching his big round belly!

Another show over!

2008-08-11T12:00:00.005+12:00

Hi all!!

Well another show is over, this was the big one! Three days, thousands of visitors and a huge site to fill! Somewhat intimidating!! But all went well, most of my plans worked out on setup, unfortunately by the end of the 2nd day I had realised that people were just not coming into my site, many just standing outside and looking in. And many didn't seem to realise that I actually had bears there, even with all the signage. Very odd.

Upon talking to one of the organisers I find that the most successful sites really throw the product in your face. People want to know in the first 2 seconds what you are selling or they just don't bother. So I guess my lounge idea didn't go so well. Nevermind, it gave me ideas for next year.

Plus I also made 5 bears over the weekend. I sold more than enough to cover my costs and make a tidy profit too, it was just a bit disheartening sitting there all Sunday with people just walking straight past!

I got to spend all day saturday with my friend Veronika, felting, eating and chatting, so that was great, and actually was my best selling day so we weren't scaring people off! lol

Anyway, here are some pics of my newest bears, before the show, hope you like them!

Had to have a Santa Bear for my Christmas Theme shelf!

Needed another cake bear in my Delectables range!

And this fine fellow was created at the Midwinter Show, took me the whole weekend as he was so big! Very happy with him tho, although my knitting once again leaves a lot to be desired! :o)

Thanks for checking in again, I will have some nice new photos for you again soon I am sure! And please visit my 'sister site' for my reborn babies. http://www.sugarbabiesnz.blogspot.com/

The Great New Zealand Craft Show! aka Dunkleys

2008-08-11T11:50:00.002+12:00

Here are a few pics from the show! Below is a photo of the entire site. I had my reborn dolls on the left and bears on the right. The two cabinets were filled with over 70 bears! Even tho they were lit from the inside it was not the best display option unfortunately. People just didn't think to look in the cabinets, not sure why!

You can see my work area below, I sat in the corner and my helpers sat in the middle when they were with me.
This is one of the cabinets, being taller and more at eye level it got more interest. But over all I did ok this year.

The Taiwan Teddy Bear Olympics

2008-07-07T23:24:00.003+12:00

Hi Everyone

I'm finally posting again, sorry for being away so long.

I haven't made much since my last show, and I do usually find that I tend to not feel very creative after each show.

I have got this to show you tho, I was asked to compete in the Teddy Bear Olympic Challenge. This is a public voting competition so if you like my little Ngaire I would love it if you could pop in and vote for her! http://www.twtba.org.tw/2008_TBOC/contest.asp

Voting starts in a few days and runs for a month.

Anyway, about Ngaire. Well I found out that my country (New Zealand) wasn't sending any gymnasts to the Olympics this year so I thought I would send one of my own.

Ngaire (which means silver fern, our native emblem) is needle felted in all natural romney wool, with a merino leotard felted over the top. She is posed in a leaping position, with her ribbon in mid twirl, she was rather hard to take pictures of. She even has a silver fern of sorts on her leotard, bit tricky to get real detail into it!

I hope you like her, I was really pleased with how she turned out!

Thanks so much for visiting again, I'm off to another show this weekend so more pics for you all then!

Vote here! http://www.twtba.org.tw/2008_TBOC/contest.asp

Show's Over!!

2008-05-30T10:11:00.005+12:00

Well, it's all over for another year! Actually, only this show is over, I have another one in July! hehe

It went really well, we were surprised to find that we did better on the second day than we did on the first. A number of other bear makers found the same thing. Very odd, but a nice surprise as I had thought we were in for a very slow Sunday by the end of Saturday. I made a nice little wad of cash, more than covered everything and Veronika and I had a great time mucking about and crafting away!

Here you can see my table:

There is Veronika busily felting. I had new signs and you can't really see in the pic but there was a narrow pillar up the left end side of my table so I put a bunch of laminated pictures on there too which was good.

Competitions!

I did rather well in the comps, above you can see Luca won the Judges Choice Bear award. I was so pleased. He's a lovely little fellow and I could have sold him a number of times over since he was created more than a year ago, but I'm rather attached to him.

Here are the other bears who I entered in the comp. All won blue ribbons, not too sure whether that is a good thing or not, they all got around 97/100 which is cool. I even had one of my students enter the comps and she won blues as well. Her work was great!

So that's the Hamilton Show over for one year. Next is the Midwinter Show in Auckland in July and then Dunkleys in Hamilton in August. Once again I met some wonderful people at the show, and many familiar faces. The more shows I do the better I get at picking the bear artists and their work. Was good to see some new sellers but the show wasn't as good as it could have been so not sure if they will be back next year. It's a bit disheartening for your first show to run at a loss, at least for me I live there so I had no extra expenses for that one.

Auckland was great last year so I have my fingers crossed for that one, and Dunkleys is a huge show and my first time there. Trying not to stress over that one yet!

Ok, that's it from me. Until I have new bears to show, although at the moment I am working on some reborn babies! (You might have to look it up if you don't know what those are!)

Happy crafting!!

Liza

New Bears for the Show!

2008-05-30T09:48:00.002+12:00

Hi Everyone!!
Hows the week treating you?
Things are going really well over here, lots of creating going on! I wanted to show you these fine fellows who were finished just in time for the show.
Jelly Phil and Cara Mel are The Donut Boys! I was inspired to create them after buying these gorgeous accessories. I got 2 little takeaway coffee cups in their holder, and a pack of the most gorgeous donuts, all kinds of toppings and they look so realistic!

This is Cara Mel. He's holding his Caramel sprinkle donut. I can't believe I never tried this wool blend before, the colours look so good together!

Here is Jelly Phil, with his sugar topped Jelly Filled donut. These bears have the biggest bellies ever but it's a bit hard to tell when they have their chubby paws full!
Here are the boys with their gear, the cups even have a holder and everything matches. So darn cute!

This pair are Katie and Kittie. Katie is felted in a gorgeous pastel blend of turquoise, lemon, peach and baby blue. Her pale green suit was crochet by my fabulous friend Rita. She holds onto the sweet little chair where Kittie is taking a nap. That is the smallest little cat I have ever made, something of a challenge she was!

Another in my Delectables range. Raspberry Parfait turned out so well, just look at those little raspberries! And I added sprinkles to this cake. The sweet little bear is felted in a gorgeous pinky red blend of wools and I thought the white embroidery really tied her in well with her cake! Colours are richer than they appear in the pics.

BunBun got a new display to sit amongst. I thought it really suited him, love the little carrot!!

This is Heather, she is sitting on the cutest little polyresin chair with sparkles and metallic paint job. She had to have a feather boa type collar and perches on the edge of the chair quite happily!

Little Tibs got a new outfit too, I thought there was something missing from his look and this suited him really well. He also comes with a wee wirework pram now, so sweet!

Hope you enjoyed seeing the new creations, I had so much fun this week creating and letting the work just flow! Usually I am much more stressed before a show but really cuising this year!

Huggles

Liza

Nearly show time! Time for some new friends!

2008-05-12T10:28:00.003+12:00

Hello again my faithful followers! lol Nice to see you here again!

This week I have a few new friends to show you and there are lots on the way as it's nearly show time again! Only 2 weeks to go until the Hamilton Doll, Teddy Bear and Craft show!

This 2 day event is gearing up to be especially good this year with new organisers and lots of new ideas, including (much to my relief and joy) the return of the competitions. So I have 7 bears entered and I am most excited to be finally competing!! I will take lots of pics at the show for you but for now here are some of my newest friends.

Here is something new! This Fawn was made using some new sculpting ideas I found online, he has that lovely bandy legged baby look to him with wire in his legs and the sweetest little tail.

Filbert is my latest favourite, he is felted from plum and pink/lavender shades of wool. He has the sweetest little face and is a bit different I think!

Well it was time for another Anime bear, so here is Hannah, she is felted in a deep blue with a rose pink. She now has a sparkly necklace and blue bow by her ear!

Do you think I have enough Pipe Cleaner bears?? I decided it would be good to fill out the table and have some cheaper items for folks at the show. I tried a few new things this time round with a poodle, bumble bee, squirrel and cat.

Well, that's it for now. I will have more pics for you soon as I already have another 2 bears waiting their turn!

Thanks for popping by again, hope you enjoyed your visit!

Huggles

Liza

Pictures at last!!!

2008-04-17T18:44:00.002+12:00

Hello all!!

Well I finally got meself a new/used camera and I'm really pleased with it. Takes pretty good photos and I love the way it lightens them all, my other far more expensive camera always came out darker and you couldn't tell until you uploaded them to the computer!! Most annoying.

So here is what I have been up to lately.

What do you call a bear on a cake??

Delicious of course!! Welcome to my new Little Handfuls range of Delicious bears. There will be bears on slices of cake, bears on doughnuts and bears on cookies. Anything you can think of that looks fab and tastes even better, cheesecakes, muffins and more! They are all made from felt and so fun to make!

This is my Fruit Salad bear on his Fruit Salad cupcake! Don't you just love his little berries and slice of Kiwi? He also has a chocolate heart and a dollop of cream for good measure!

This is Pandachino, he sits on a delicous coffee layer cake. With a dollop of cream and a wee coffee bean on the top. He is felted in natural Alpaca in two shades and I am very pleased with him.

This wee bear is kinda named and kinda not. I came up with Panda Storm, (Like thunderstorm but with a panda!) because of his cloudy blue colour but not sure about that one. I just love him, he turned out so well and the colours are an amazing blend with all sorts of flecks in them.

Stanley is in a style of bear which I feel is becoming my trademark. I have made a few bears now that look similar to him, all have emerged from the wool on their own and were not designed to be similar to each other. He has a lovely big nose, really pleasedwith that. And big dropped paws which are my favs. He also has wee toes!
Bun Bun was made for an order but she has come out rather small, under 2 inches long actually so I will probably have to make another. But she is just so sweet, I can't believe how well she turned out!

And I am currently working on my next bear, plus I have a load of pipecleaner bears made up so my table for the next show should be looking nice and full.

I HAVE HAD SOME BIG NEWS!!

I am going to take a stall in The Great New Zealand Craft Show, otherwise known as Dunkleys. It costs an absolute fortune for someone like me, and that's at the beginner price which is half the usual price!! I am so darn excited and have been up all night the last few nights thinking about how I am going to lay out my booth and worrying about whether I will have enough stock.

This show is right after the 2 I am already booked in for, Hamilton in May and Auckland in July. Dunkleys is in August just a week after the Midwinter show in Auckland. I may have to actually NOT put all my work out in Auckland as I sold so well there last year, I would hate to not have enough work to show at the big one.

Ok, nuff rambling. Hope you like the new work and thanks so much to all my regulars for keeping up with me!!

Love to all

Liza

No Photos!! :o(

2008-04-03T14:21:00.002+13:00

Hi all, I'm just checking in really because it's been a while since my last post.

Unfortunately my camera broke down a couple of weeks ago and I haven't been able to replace it yet. I was so upset about it I didn't even feel like making anything but this week I have managed to create a couple of things, including some felt cakes which I had been just itching to try. They look really good and I can't wait to share them with you all.

I found a wonderful lady online who sells patterns for felt food, I will put the link up when I show you what I have made. So nice to find such neat things online!!

Ok, that's it from me. Hope everyone is happy and healthy and you will hear from me again soon! (finger crossed!)

Huggles,
Liza

Show's Over Folks!! :o)

2008-02-29T10:55:00.003+13:00

Hi all!

Well I did it, and the show was really great! Even tho the weather was horrid, with gusts blowing my work off my table every 5 minutes! It drizzled with rain for most of the day but people still came out which was really impressive! It was a much bigger even than I would have guessed as I have never even come down to look at the festival before much less be part of it.

Set in our beautiful gardens it spanned across an entire feild, the pavilion area where I was and then further down amongst other gardens was a petting zoo and area full of plants for sale and kitchen produce, conserves etc.

There were artists, knitters, wood workers, beaders, wrought iron sculptors and more! And that was just in my area, I couldn't leave my table to look around unfortunately as I was on my own.

The day was from 10 - 4 and we arrived early to set up which didn't take as long as I would have thought so I started on a bear while I was waiting for folks to arrive. While I did finish the bear I also sold 4 bears, 1 large sculpt (my Mermaid), a felted egg, and bags of wool. I made the same amount in one short day as I have made on my best weekend at the bigger doll and bear shows! I was really impressed and will certainly be attending next year. The cost of the table was a fraction of what it costs me to do the bear shows. So if any of you are thinking of doing shows, I think that even if it's not a bear show it's still worth doing and probably cheaper too.

Here are some pics from the day, firstly my table. My poor sign was in tatters by the end of the day from the wind, and I've had that thing for 3 years now, laminated and all. :o) You can see my bag of wools and such at the end. The bears on the display in the middle were not for sale, the basket at the other end has my felted soaps and easter eggs in it.

This is part of the view from my table, I was under the eaves of the Pavilion and these are all the tents that were in the middle of the garden area there.

This is the view further along, there were 2 of these gorgeous gardens in front of me, what a view! Look how grey the sky was tho!

I had assumed these were Alpacas as an Alpaca lady approached me about making some bears for her store. I'm not totally sure tho, anyone know?

These fabulous stilt walkers wandered around all day in the rain and wind, I was so impressed with them! They looked great and they must have been cold getting drizzled on and then blown about by the wind!

Well that was my day! I'm so pleased I did it. Was a bit of a shame that no one came down to see me that I was expecting, but I was surprised when my Mum and Dad turned up as they have never seen me at any shows. Apparently they were dead impressed with my table so that was cool.

So now it's back to work for the Doll and Bear show in May. I don't really have a lot to do for it, but will just keep making at my usual pace and hopefully produce some really nice pieces. I already have a number of bears that I am really pleased with and hope to enter some comps! Yay, at last I may get to win something as I have nevered entered anything before.

Thanks for dropping by, hope you enjoyed my pics and waffling!

Happy crafting and huggles to all,

Liza

It's Show Time!!

2008-02-21T10:27:00.002+13:00

Hi Everyone!! Well I have 2 days till the Arts Festival, getting a bit nervous now! I haven't been to this one before and not totally sure that my 'art' will really fit in, but it was relatively cheap to show at this one and it gets my business cards out there and people looking at my work. So it's worth doing, just a bit nerve wracking!

I don't think I will get any more bears made in the next couple of days, but here are my last pieces, this first one I am particularly proud of. He is felted from Alpaca (I seem to be taking a liking to this fibre) and I just love his big nose and old fashioned style. I used a damp paint brush and a water colour pencil to shade him. Meet Cedrick......

This little fellow is Billy Bear, he is my first 4 legged bear and such a little sweetie. I just made him from a basic brown coloured corriedale.

This little fox is felted from a gorgeous hand dyed wool called Misty Rust. I thought it was just perfect for a fox. I got the idea from a book a friend of mine (Thanks Veronika) loaned me, it was all in german tho so I had to wing it, he turned out ok in the end but was rather a hassle to make!

Another idea from the book, these little guys were very quick to make, I might do some bigger ones as these are teeny, the biggest is about an inch long.

Well, wish me luck. The show is from 10 till 4 and is just for the Saturday. I wish you all could come and visit. I think Veronika is going to be my only visitor on the day so she can tell me how the table looked, but hopefully I will get lots of public attention (not the 5 fingered discount variety of people hopefully) and make lots of contacts which would be nice.

Have a good weekend everyone and catch you later on!

Huggles

Liza

Something a bit Special

2008-02-05T10:23:00.001+13:00

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well and happily crafting or collecting to your hearts content! :o)

I've got something a little bit special for you this week. A fabulous friend of mine gave us some air dry clay so we had a play over the school holidays. One of the things I came up with was a wee paddling pool. I had this image in my head of a wee bear wearing floaties having a little splash in it.

Well for once what was in my head came out on my needle and here we have little Floaties the toddler bear playing in his pretty little pool. He even has zinc on his wee bear nose! I have to take some more pics as these ones weren't very good but you get the idea! Hope you like him.

This little sweetie is Blossom, she is felted from a gorgeous pastel blend of wools with peach and pink and lavender. She is wearing a pink star necklace too.

This fine fellow is Patrick. He is so sweet in his brick red and sea green wools, just the loveliest little face on him!

Well, I hope you like these 3. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve and I have been working on some 'sweet treats' to show you as well! Now that the holidays are over I can get my mind back into it and spend some time being more productive!

Not long until the show now, it's on 23rd Feb!! Eeekk

Huggles

Liza

Time for another Show!!

2008-01-23T21:29:00.000+13:00

Hello!!! How is everyone doing?? I hope all you crafty peoples are happily creating to your hearts content! There is just nothing like that sence of achievement when you finish something you are really pleased with!
Speaking of which, I have some new things to show you. I am really pleased with some of them, and they are all pretty good really, I guess, kinda, lol.

First up is more of a 'sculpt' as it were. Missy is a big girl at almost 9 inches tall. She is felted in natural wools over a wire armature! I wanted to do something a bit different as the show that is coming up is the Arts Festival and I wouldn't consider a lot of my work to be 'Arts' really! (wonders what the heck she is doing having a table at THIS show! eeekk)

Her tail is wired also and enables her to stand alone.

Her clothes are felted on, tre chic!!

Trying to decide if she needs whiskers, she will probably get some!

This is how she started out, the wire armature has had one layer of wool in this pic.

Wilber is felted in a mix of corriedale which was hand dyed and a fibre called Glitz so he is a little shimmery and sparkly. It's a really fine fibre.

Not sure of this guys name yet, currently it's Jim. He's a bit different, felted from a lovely hand dyed Alpaca which is quite unique.

This little guy is felted from a gorgeous hand dyed rainbow mix!

Dress ups! This little girl bear has gotten into Mums best dress and her pearls!

Alpie is felted from natural Alpaca and I'm really pleased with how he turned out! He was my first bear for 2008 and I think I am off to a good start! :o)

Well, that's it for this posting. I have lots to do tho, working on my next piece already and I have plans to do more 'sculpting' for the show so that I can fit in a bit more! :o) Thanks for taking the time to look through my work once again!

Huggles

Liza

Happy New Year Everyone!!

2008-01-09T09:26:00.000+13:00

Hello and welcome to my blog for 2008! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We sure had a great time with the kids and got up to lots of mischief! I have had a lot of trouble getting going with my bears again, having lost my inspiration for about a month over christmas, only making balls and the odd sewn creation.

I have a show coming up in February and I've been stressing over not having enough to put on my table! This is probably the reason why I couldn't create, putting to much pressure on myself. But I am off and running now, having created my first bear for 2008 and almost finished my second creation which is really different.

As I haven't taking pics of my first creations for this year yet here are some pics of the last bears of 2007. I didn't get to show these earlier so I thought you might like to see them now!

This is Harris! He is just a nice simple bear, I get a lot of requests for 'traditional' bears so I try and make the odd browny coloured one occasionally!

And this is Molly, she is made from Merino which as you know I don't use very often. I love the colour combination and she went to a new home over christmas!

My newest bear is made completely from natural Alpaca and turned out really well. I'm working on another Alpaca bear and something a bit more along the sculpting lines as well. I'll be sure to show them off to you soon!

Have a wonderful day and thanks so much for dropping by yet again!

Huggles, Liza

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2007-12-19T19:03:00.000+13:00

Just wanted to show you something I made recently. This is a little felted angel was so fun to make. I sculpted up her big chubby cheeks and her nose, her hair is lovely long curly mohair and she even has a little rosebud mouth.

Her wings are real feathers with glitter on them and her dress is wire edged ribbon in organza and gold spots. Underneath this is a felt dress.

Just look at that little face! She has a halo too of course, what self respecting angel would not??

Hope you are all having a wonderful time getting ready for christmas day!

Huggles,

Liza