My First Crown

Inspired by a picture in a children's book of some children up in a tree. The oldest boy wore a crown, a crown of leaves.

I took to wondering if I could make a crown that was as much leaves as it was a crown. Eventually I found a leaf that looked right, I adjusted for scale, then made a pattern. After cutting out many leaves out of one of my favorite mediums (wool felt), arranging them just right, then breathlessly sewing them together on my Bernina, I had something I could truly be proud of.

The ribbon runs the full length inside the crown for an added touch of stability, but with two layers of quality wool felt (one side gold and the other the myriad colors of leaves), and with all the overlap, this machine stitched piece is definitely going to last for years to come.

Gifted 1012-12-25.

Angel Bear

Maybe bears should be able to fly. Don't you believe in Teddy Bear Angels?

started with the same pattern as my first bear, but then I added wings and a halo. The bear is made from white wool felt, with mauve paws and inner ears. The wings are hand embroidered with metallic floss onto a cotton gauze fabric, then cut out and attached to the bear.

All hand sewn, with a pink embroidered nose and mouth. The teddy bear angel stands approximately 4 1/2 inches tall. Onyx beads are used for the eyes. Stuffed with plastic pellets.

Gifted 2009-01-05.

My first miniature Teddy Bear

My very first miniature Teddy Bear ! Made of gold wool/rayon felt with cream paws and ears.

I got inspiration and design help from Debbie Kesling's book How to Make Enchanting Minaiature Teddy Bears. She makes exquisite furry miniatures, and the book has some interesting tid bits. Of course I had to change things up. The result is this cool, lanky bear with jointed limbs, made with wool felt, one of my favorite materials. All the seams are whipstitched because that's just a cool look on felt.

The teddy bear stands approximately 4 1/2 inches tall. Onyx beads are used for the eyes. Stuffed with plastic pellets.

Gifted 2009-03-12.