It's Giveaway time again!

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)

Show's over and latest work!

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!

Just days until the Big Show!

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!

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?

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!

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

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.

Meet my gorgeous little friend Dylan!

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!

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?

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!

Hi Everyone

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!

A fuzzy new bear has arrived!

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!

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!

Midnight the Moon Fairy Bear

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