1.

Muffy

Muffy is a one of a kind dog crocheted from two different threads,

stands 4" tall and 4" long, 5-way jointed, high quality glass eyes,

features stitched on with black DMC thread.

bearkidzTM

2.

Rakitty Raccoon

The raccoon stood on his back legs and lifted his head as he

surveyed the surrounding fields. He was headed for the little

stream just over the hill to fish for dinner. Twitching, his

inquisitive nose caught the scent of the water and his black

eyes gleamed as he sprang lightly through the tall grass

in search of his meal. Artist's notes: The raccoons around

my home always make me smile. Their inquisitive nature is

fun to watch as they ramble around. I decided it was time

to try and make one of these charming little animals and

voila - Rakitty Raccoon was born. Rakitty stands 4-3/4” tall

to the tips of his ears, crocheted from gray, white and black

plush thread in artist's own design. His "fur" was brushed and

carefully scissor trimmed in the face area and body. Black

onyx eyes accented with tiny touch of white to help them pop

from the black surrounding his face. His head is disc-jointed

and his arms and legs are thread jointed. Firmly stuffed with

cotton and steel shot added for added weight. I decided against

TedsFromThreads
Debi McCarthy-Beckett

3.

Janet - A Tribute to My Grandmother

Artist's Comments: My grandmother was a very artistic woman

who babysat me a lot when I was young.  She had considerable

influence on my own creative endeavours.  Since she was born

in 1908, I knew I would need to design a classically styled bear

to represent her.  This is the complete opposite to the styles

in which I usually work, and I've never before attempted

to design a Steiff-like bear.  To add to the challenge, I decided

to try and capture the delicate expression of a vintage Steiff

in a miniature bear.  I also wanted to distress the bear to represent

the 90-odd years of my grandmother's life.  The pale blue fur and

the turquoise colour of the necklace mimic the blue-green shades

that my grandmother loved to use in her paintings.  The necklace

is in remembrance of her jewellery collection, particularly the long

strands of beads that always fascinated me as a child.  I broke

a cardinal rule in taking these photos by not using a plain background -

the velvet patchwork scarf on which Janet sits, represents a unique

patchwork skirt that my grandmother made for herself from fabric scraps

she saved over many years.  Janet poses with one of my grandmother's

earrings.  She stands 4.25" tall, made of Hembold stained and aged

mohair, faux leather distressed pads, vintage perle cotton nose, mouth

and claws.  Her glass eyes are sanded for an aged look, fabric scraps

patches, glass seed bead necklace, loosely cotter-pin jointed, softly

stuffed with polyfil and steel shot.

Homebrewed Bears
Leith Macdonald

4.

Petunia

3" tall, Petunia has the fluffiest tail created from Merino

and Ingeo roving (just like the rest of her)! Features beautiful

bright blue German glass eyes, very detailed and hand shaded

paw pads, 5 way jointed and can be posed however you like -

even standing, weighted in her tummy to make her hefty and

loveable. Best of all, unlike a real skunk, she smells very nice!

Felted Bear, The

5.

Jack

Needlefelted Miniature Schnauzer (uncropped ears).

made from a light natural Icelandic wool (Local Maine fiber) 

and marked with a natural black babydoll (Local Maine fiber)

and white New Zealand Merino. Stands just under 4" high

from toe to top of head.  Armature jointed legs, with wire

extending from one leg, through the body and down the

other leg, with no seperation so they move and look just

like real legs! Black cotton embroidered nose, black onyx

stone eyes, and hand trimmed beard, make him show ready!

Bramble Beary's

Lynda Beth MacNeil

6.

Kiya

Measuring just over 4", Kiya comes to you from the far North.

She has an almost luminescent glow in her creamy colored 

Angora body showcased in her unique singular body design:

one continuous head, neck, hump, back, and rear - NO

sculpting was used to achieve her curves.   Gently shaded

to further her appeal, onyx eyes, jointed for full poseability. 

Cocoa-Nuts
Shannon Lueskow

7.

Daisy

Artist's comments: I was asked to design a bear pattern with

a spring/summer theme, for a magazine.  My inspiration for

Daisy came from fields filled with daisies and the memories

of how, as a child, I made flower chains, which I wore around

my head.  Daisy is 3.5" tall, made from Magic thread, carefully

brushed, clipped and softly shaded for a perfect finish.  Fully

jointed, disk jointed head, stuffed with wool and steelshot,

embroidered facial features and claws, nose is first embroidered,

then waxed and polished for a mat shine.  Daisy's flowers

individually crocheted with DMC perle cotton.

ThReAdTeDs
Berta Hesen-Minten

8.

Bijou

5" tall, made from white mohair, face and foot paws are partially

needle felted, face finished with gentle shadings of pink, blue,

brown and black. Blue eyes hand painted by artist, 5-way jointed,

filled with steel shot for weight,

Chantal Bears
Chantal Emilia Giroux

9.

Hisa (means long lasting)

Artist's comments: My main inspiration for this Anime-style

design, came mostly from the body fabric - an upholstery

velvet in a shade of burgundy with tiny white dots, which

would look great contrated against a white upholstery

velvet.  I was also inspired by my little cousin's expression:

sweet as a bunny and always so well coordinated with fashion

clothes, purses, shoes that reminded me of those pretty Japanese

characters like Hello Kitty.  Hisa's collar and bag are crocheted

from ivory wool and rayon thread to a dd a sublte sheen that

matches her fur.  Her pretty face was gently shaded with pink

and she wears a red velvety flower with pearly beads on her ear

and on her bag.   Fashion-conscious Hisa is only 4.5 cm tall.

I Piccolini
Gaia Bordicchia

10.

North American Grizzly

Like all of Bobbie's creations, this naturally realistic Grizzly

is very firmly needle felted to hold its shape and to bring out

the tiniest details.  So small, it is hard to imagine: 4" long x

2.5" tall, at shoulder hump, features artist's signature style,

hand crafted metal claws and composition nose, jet black

onyx eyes.

Creative Design Studio
Bobbie Kasnick Ripperger

11.

Piu 

Incredibly only 2-1/4" small, made from of lush, vintage

silver colored rayon, with an irridescent quality and sheen

that is almost magical to behold - with colors shifting

with every movement.  Completely hand-stitched into

a perfect sculpture, fully 5-way jointed with disks and

cotter pins, German black glass eyes, green cotton

thread embroidered nose and claws, removable collar

crocheted from thread, padded with polyfill.

Mabawa Teddies
Nadine Murat Thevenot

12.

Saucy Sue Poodle
Artist's comments: inspired by my VERY feminine cat who preens

and "sweet talks" her way through life....doing it her way.  Saucy

is almost 6" standing, s oftly felted from a variety of natural fibers,

wire armatured for gentle posing.  Special attention is given to her

body posture and facial expression with h and shaded pastel and

watercolor detail.  Hand applied "poodle cut" roving wool, which

is cut and styled. Purple satin hair ribbon completes her look.

Cripple Creek Creative
Mikki Klug

13.

Chickadee

Miniscule, 3 3/8" tall, Chickadee was named for his love for

those dainty little birds.  He even has hand painted Chickadee

birds on his foot pads! Made from beautiful off white, vintage

long pile upholstery velvet with ultra suede paw pads.  Artist's

unique center seam design, embroidered nose, awired arms

for ultimate posing, down turned paws.

Hibernation Station, The
Ellen Barnett

14.

Keiko

Artist's comments: Keiko was inspired by photos I saw

on the web of these majestic animals.  The one photo,

whose essence I strove to capture in this collectible

rendition, had such a sad face, which I reflected in his

big green eyes.  He is 10" long and 3-1/4" hieght

to his tallest part.  Keiko has been constructed with

a cloth body that was stuffed, then lavished in black

Merino and his white markings in off-white mohair.

Sharon's Mystical Bears
Sharon Hawkes

15.

Little Wolong

Artist's comments: Little Wolong was as a real test to see

how far I could stretch my abilities to create miniature

animals from mink - a medium not necessarily favorable

to small creations.  It was not easy but I was delighted

with Little Wolong's results.  2" high and 3" long, luxurious

sheared mink, jet black onyx eyes, 6-way cotter pin jointed,

double-jointed neck, ultra suede paw pads, embroidered and

waxed nose.

Vintage Mink Bears
Kathy Myers

16.

Bethany Bunny

This little coquette is a bit shy or at least pretends to be.

Charming and flirtatious, Bethany Bunny is about to hop

into your life and set your heart strings to singing! Stands

4-3/4" tall not including her wired for fun, long bunny ears

(which she uses to full advantage while flirting).  Made

with light beige mohair, off white wool felt inner ears and 

toes, darling face and tail needle felted in off white sheeps

wool roving, accenting her coquettish black glass eyes.

Fully disk-jointed, wired limbs and ears for unending posing,

stuffed with fibrefil and a copper BB’s for weight.

Bear All
Laura Unrau

17.

Seymour

Teeny, tiny Seymour stands about 1.5" tall.  Crocheted

from pale grey angora thread, black onyx eyes, dark

grey cotton embroidered accents, 5-way string jointed,

stuffed with 100% polyester.  Artist's comments: I bought

the softest 2-ply French angora yarn while living in Toronto.

It becomes so fragile when dividing it into individual strands

with which to crochet that I must have started making a bear

nearly 10 times, before finally finishing Seymour. I wanted

to keep him unadorned so that the softness of his fur and

the expression of his face could shine through and show

his true spirit.

Twinklehooves Designs Bears
Andrea Berenbaum

18.

Sweet Nikky

A thoughtful little cub with a sweetheart rose to share! 4” tall,

made from fluffy synthetic plush, ultra suede foot pads with needle

sculpted toes, extensivly scissor trimmed and needle sculpted

face. glass eyes, handmade Fimo nose, fully jointed, wired arms

curved for posing, stuffed firmly with cotton and weighted with

steel granules, one-of-a-kind.  Small silk millinery rose accent

on a wire stem.  Artist comments:  Sweet Nikky is a slighter larger

version of my regular, 3.25" bear design, created to accommodate

the slightly longer fur pile on this absolutely gorgeous fabric!

Andrea Brewer