Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Grand Finale of the Teddy Bear Challenge

We have finally reached the last week of the Teddy Bear Challenge, I am referring to this week's new items as the Grand Finale. Check out our special celebration page and enjoy the fun.


For the ten weeks of the Teddy Bear Challenge, I added a total of 33 new products. What started out as a goal to add 10 new products over a 10 week period grew considerably. For the final week, I added a total of 5 new products, including the last two of my holiday items. Let's start with those.



Choco-Latta Bear Gift, dark brown bear comes with chocolateChoco-Latta Bear is designed to be given as a gift with that ultimate special gift - Chocolate! He gets his name both from the bag of chocolate that he comes with, and because of the color of his fur.





Snow Angel Bear, Winter and Christmas holiday decor in blue and silverSnow
Angel Bear
is an elegant decor item. Dressed in a light blue dress with silver snowflakes and silver trim, she gives the hint of winter and cold weather, yet brings the warmth associated with the good things of Christmas and winter holidays.





Angel Family of Bears, Mama, sons, and daughtersThe
Angel Bear Family is a sentimental display, or maybe a gift of encouragement to someone. Shown with Mama Angel, 2 young son angels, and 1 baby daughter angel, it comes with my original poem about mothers and children. The great thing about this gift arrangement is that you choose the family members you want.





Computer Geek Bear



Computer Geek Bear is quite a nerd! Does he look just like some loveable nerd you know? He comes with a bowtie that is askew, a yellow pocket protector, glasses that have been broken and fixed with white tape, and his very own miniature laptop. He'd never be caught without a computer of some kind!!




Realtor Bear, Real Estate Agent gift



Last, but not least, we have Realtor Bear, the very successful Real Estate Agent. In her very large
bag, she carries her "Home for Sale" sign, and the last home has been "SOLD". Included is her ever present calculator for figuring out those mortgage payments. This bear comes with a stand for easy display.





If you have come along on this journey of new products, I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have enjoyed the "driving". I have accomplished a goal that I set, I have added items that were waiting to be finished for over a year, I have discovered the joys of sticking with something even when it was hard. We will be taking a break from creating new products and adding them to our site while we help our customers with their Christmas Shopping. If I don't post again until after the new year, have a wonderful Thanksgivng, Christmas, and holiday season with family and friends.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Santa's Reindeer and the Three Bears!

The holidays are fast approaching and I am busily trying to get ready
in one way or another. That means the blog gets left behind.
So, I will just talk about 4 of my new bears from the last two weeks
in this posting, and one of those is really a reindeer!!


Week #8 of the Teddy Bear Challenge brought 2 new baby
boy gifts
, 1 reindeer and 1 thoughtful bear.


Santa's Reindeer, Christmas gift or decorLet's start with the reindeer. This is Santa's Reindeer and first rate helper. His name is Rudi, the Reindeer Dude. He helps Santa deliver packages all over the world on Christmas Eve, and boy is he tired! When they get to a house where Santa has lots of packages to unload, Rudi takes some time to sit down and relax. He sees some reindeer food and is enjoying that, when he spies the mug of chocolate left for Santa! What a treat!! Now if he could just find that glass of milk or cup of cocoa, life would be perfect.





Someone is Thinking of You Bear, thoughtful message teddy bear gift
Someone is Thinking of You Bear lets you send a thoughtful, personal message across the miles. I designed this one to be sent by someone living in Kansas to someone living in a different state. The message on the t-shirt says "Someone in Kansas is thinking of You". I added some colorful sunflowers in her hand and sunflower fabric pants to complete the "Kansas" theme. This can be done in other colors with other flowers to create your own personal gift.





Week #9 brought another 4 new bears, 2 are described below. The other two are a Male Music Teacher Bear and a Singing Cowgirl Bear.


Pass the Dice Bear, teddy bear gift for dice game enthusiastsPass the dice, this bear is ready to roll!! That's the fun message that the Pass The Dice Bear is ready to send to someone who loves to play dice games. This bear was designed with Bunco players in mind, but could be adapted to other dice games such as Yahtzee and Farkel. She comes with 3 di in her hand, showing a Bunco, and the bell to ring to start the game. There are also 3 tiny di on the ribbon in her hair. She is just for fun, a gift that recognizes someone's special interest in a dice game.





Good Mornin Mama BearLast, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite new bears, Good Mornin' Mama Bear! Does this look like you in the mornings? Or maybe your mom or grandmother? This is a "just for fun" bear that I really enjoyed putting together. She comes dressed in a colorful housedress, teddy bear slippers (I also have bunny slippers and chickie slippers available at this time), glasses and 3 curlers in her hair. Her cup is filled with her morning coffee and she is ready to sit down and read her newspaper. This bear makes me smile, maybe it would someone on your gift list smile, too!


Next week is my last week of the Teddy Bear Challenge and I am planning a Grand Finale!! Stay tuned and then get ready to shop. Get your Christmas gift list out and start thinking about who might like one of these fine teddy bears (or other animals). Don't forget to read about my early shopper discount!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Holiday Teddy Bears on Parade!

Here it is Week #7 of the Teddy Bear Challenge, and I haven't even posted about Week #6 yet! Sometimes life just gets in the way....



I wanted to feature the new bears from Week #6 because they are my new holiday bears. I also have 3 new Professional Bears that I added just this week. You can always find my newest bears on my What's New page.


For Week #6, I decided to add 6 new holiday bears. Many of these were supposed to have been done for 2006 holidays, but I repeat, sometimes life just gets in the way.....


Mr. Fall Bear decor or giftI have 4 new bears that I call the Mr. Bears. There were 3 of these on my site for other holidays, now there is one for the fall season, one for the winter, and 2 for Christmas. Mr. Fall Bear is dressed in a vest with matching bow tie and top hat, and comes with 3 pumpkins. His vest is made of blue fabric with scarecrows on it. He makes a very nice fall decor item.




Mr. Christmas Bear with santa hatMr. Christmas Bear is a jaunty fellow in his bright, cheery vest and matching bowtie. He wears a Santa hat and has lots of presents that he is bringing to your house. This would be a cute gift to send to someone that you will not be seeing this Christmas.






Mr. Christmas Bear in top hatThe second style of Mr. Christmas Bear is a more elegant version. His vest has
"Season's Greetings" written in gold on it and he wears a black top hat. He is also delivering a poinsettia to your home as jesture of appreciation and to wish you Merry Christmas.




Mr. Snow Bear, winter decorThe last of the new Mr. Bears is Mr. Snow Bear. He comes in white, appropriate for a snow bear I would think, and is dressed in a fun vest with snowmen on it. He wears a black floppy hat that keeps his ears warm as he shovels the snow. He makes cute winter or Christmas decor, or a fun gift, maybe for someone who loves snow but lives in a warmer climate where they don't get much snow.




Let It Snow Bear, winter decor or Christmas giftAnother fun snow gift for someone who loves the snow and just can't get enough of it is the Let It Snow Bear. He is dressed in some cute red pants with snowmen, a red sweater with snowflakes, and his red ear muffs. He's got 3 snowballs all ready for a good snowball fight.







Reindeer Sweater Bear, whimsical Christmas giftThe Reindeer Sweater Bear is a bit of whimsy for the Christmas season. I always laugh just a little everytime I look at his picture. Whimsy is something that is just for fun, maybe a little out of the ordinary, and definitely not something of logic! I think that describes this teddy bear to a "T"! The sweater has a hood with antlers that the teddy bear's face just peeks through. I have added a little jingle bell to the sweater just for fun. The pants have pictures of Santa and gifts on it. If you know someone who needs a little "pick-me-up" this holiday season, this guy just might be the thing to do that.




I have one more holiday item to talk about, but he is already on my site with my other new items for Week #8. Wow, two more weeks to go to complete the 10 week Teddy Bear Challenge! What else will I add? I don't even know the answer to that question. I've added a total of 24 new bears to my site during this challenge. Originally I wanted to get up 1 new item per week. These teddy bears are multiplying like - bunnies!! Did you know I also have bunnies on my site? They are as cute as can be and available in several sizes.


For your holiday gift giving convenience, there are a couple of pages you might want to visit:


*Christmas Gift Ideas - just a few ideas for various groups of people you might be buying gifts for


*Christmas Ordering - I'm offering a discount for any Christmas orders entered before November 15th. Order early and save some money!


Until next time, I remain your personal Teddy Bear Clothier!

Monday, October 08, 2007

Week #5 is Live!!

Another week, more new items for my Teddy Bear Challenge. This week, I only added 3 new items, with 2 of those being Christmas Teddy Bears. I know it seems early, but....

I was in a store this weekend that was all decked out in their Christmas decor for sale, but they also had a big digital countdown sign. Only 80 days until Christmas. Maybe that seems like alot of time to you, but if your life is busy with work, lots of family activities, and so on, the time will fly by. Don't let your shopping fall through the cracks. Hint, hint!

Wizard of Bearz
Let's look at the non-Christmas bear first, this is the Wizard of Bearz. He was ordered as a gift for a friend's birthday and was used as a centerpiece for the wizard themed party. You can buy a stand from me to hold the bear in standing position. He would look great on the shelf or dresser of a collector of fun and fanciful things. He is dressed in blue and gold, but you can choose different colors if you like.



Christmas Sweater BearNow for the Christmas bears, first is Christmas Sweater Bear. I use a white bear for this piece, as I love the contrast between the white bear and the red sweater. Some of my bears hold a rose, but this one has a poinsettia. That seemed the appropriate flower for a bear to hold. The Christmas sweater style can vary, but this one has NOEL in white knitted into the sweater. She's got a cute red bow in her "hair" as well.

Christmas Joy Angel BearThe last piece added this week is the Christmas Joy Angel Bear. She is a smaller bear, only 6" high in sitting position. She comes with 3 blocks that spell out JOY. I am offering her in 2 styles, one with small blocks as shown here, or with larger blocks. She is dressed in a dark red fabric with gold swirls, and then trimmed in gold an white. Small, but very cute decor item or gift.


I have more Christmas teddy bears to come in the next few weeks. Some are rather serious - at least as serious as a teddy bear can be! And some are rather whimsical and comical. You may also see a reindeer in the midst of all these teddy bears. Stay tuned!

Monday, October 01, 2007

The Great Teddy Bear Challenge Continues!

Futuristic Warrior Bear

This week I challenged myself to add 4 new bears, as I wanted to get some new bears for the holidays on my website. So, 1 Halloween Bear, plus 1 Thanksgiving Bear, plus 1 Snowman Bear, plus 1 Futuristic Warrior Bear = 4 new bears. The Futuristic Warrior was a custom order for a science fiction fan, specifically a fan of a certain science fiction movie series. I thought it turned out very well. Custom orders are always challenges in their own right, but I believe we've always been able to accomodate a customer's desire. I appreciate the opportunity to take on the challenge, and enjoy the ideas presented by my customers.





Trick or Treat Bear

The Trick or Treat Bear is a remake of an older design, as the style of sweater has changed. This would make a really cute Halloween party centerpiece, especially if you are wanting to stay away from the really scary stuff. Young children would really enjoy this cute bear along with other fun items being the center of a refreshment table. Maybe the bear could even be a door prize at the end of the evening.



Thanksgiving Bear

Thanksgiving Bear would make a nice decor item, surrounded by other fall decor, like leaves, small squash and pumpkings, etc. I added some wooden blocks that spell out GIVE THANKS, to focus on the holiday. Or it could be used to send a Happy Thanksgiving greeting to someone you are missing at Thanksgiving. I'm always happy to enclose a gift card with any purchase at no extra charge. Your gift would come in a clear plastic bag, which protects it from any moisture or dirt it might encouter on the way to it's destination. I close the bag with ribbons that coordinate with the colors of the clothing, and attach the gift card to the ribbons. It makes an attractive presentation, and your personalized gift card will make it a very special gift from you.



Snowman Bear

I really enjoy looking at snowman crafts. There is something about a snowman that makes me smile. Maybe because I always think of kids going outside in the cold and the pure joy they have in making a snowman. To them, the snow and cold is something to enjoy and experience. Teddy bears evoke some of the same thoughts of childhood joys and carefree times, so why not take a teddy bear and dress it like a snowman? I really enjoyed putting this design together, it appealed to the whimsical, fun side of my personality. The Snowman Bear would make a great gift for someone who collects snowmen, or a fun piece of winter decor for your home.



Next week, I won't be adding 4 bears, but possibly 3, as I have 2 more holiday bears I want to add to the Christmas Teddy Bears, as teddy bears always make great Christmas decor or gifts. You just can't go wrong with a teddy bear gift! My Christmas cut-off for taking orders is not firm yet, but in the past has been around December 1st. That's only about 2 months away, so I encourage you to not delay in ordering your teddy bear gifts for Christmas!

See you next week!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Two New Bears this Week!

Lexi's Little Angel Bear

For Week #3 of the Teddy Bear Challenge, I have added 2 new bears. I have so many new items to add, some dating back to 2005, that I may just have to add 2 every week from now on. And you wouldn't believe all the ideas I have started and not finished, not the mention the ones that are just in my head!


The first new item is Lexi's Little Angel Bear, named for my great neice born in July. I haven't seen her yet in person, but I'm sure she's even cuter than this little angel bear. This is a small angel, as it is only about 3" high in sitting position.


Bling Queen Bear

The second new item is called Bling Queen Bear, she is a hoot! Lots of color, lots of jewelry, sunglasses, cell phone - she's got it all! The Bling Queen can be customized with different color clothing and accessories, as well as choosing different accessories. She's a lot of fun and would be a welcome gift, I'm sure.



Trick or Treat Bear

It is officially fall now, and with that change in seasons, we allergy suffers are anticipating the freeze that takes away whatever makes us sneeze and itch. With the coming of fall, we can also look ahead to upcoming holidays. I don't offer much in the way of fall decor, but I do have a few things. I offer a Trick or Treat Bear, which would be very cute for a Halloween party that you don't want to be super scary, like for younger children.


Scarecrow Bear Fall Decor

I also have an interesting Scarecrow Bear, which could be left out for the entire fall season.



I try to offer a variety of teddy bears, as well as a few bunnies, to appeal to wide variety of interests and gift giving occasions. But, I believe it is much like all the new cereals or ice creams you see in the store, some items remain your best sellers, no matter how many new things you add. I enjoy doing new things, and I hope you enjoy seeing the new things. I always find it interesting to browse the flavors of ice cream whether in the freezer section of my grocery store, or at an ice cream specialty fast food restaurant. But you know what? I still usually get vanilla or chocolate! Why? Sometimes I just want the comfort and confidence of the familiar.

In some ways, no matter how a teddy bear is dressed, it is always the "familiar" because of the teddy bears we had in our childhood. Or, if you're like me, as an adult, you still have a few teddy bears around. Maybe the next time you need to give a gift, you'll want something both familiar and different. My teddy bear gifts offer both of those aspects. If you ever have any questions, you can always contact me using my contact form on my website.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Anniversary Bears, teddy bear gift to celebrate a wedding anniversary

Week #2 of the Teddy Bear Challenge is here, and so is the newest teddy bear gift to hit the internet. Anniversary Bears are just the sweetest couple! It looks like the male is whispering something in the female's ear - maybe a tender "I love you - thanks for all the wonderful years together." A return customer asked me to make something special for his friends that were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. What you see is what we came up with. Gold roses, gold writing and trim on the personalized heart to represent 50 years together.

This type of representation can be done with any year and appropriate color.The great thing about a gift like this is that it can be personalized with names, date, personal message,colors, etc. I'm sure you can find other anniversary gifts for specific years of marriage, and probably even in teddy bears, but can you have it "say" what you want? We can do that for you with the way we personalize our gifts.


Bearing Gifts Christmas Bear, Christmas Gift or Decor

Speaking of Christmas...oh, you weren't? Hmm, maybe it's time to start thinking about who is on your Christmas list this year. I know it seems early, but these months will go by very quickly. I have two pages on my website that you might find helpful in thinking about Christmas gifts and decor, Christmas Gift Ideas and Christmas Teddy Bears. Teddy bears and Christmas just seem to go together naturally, maybe there's a teddy bear gift that would be perfect for someone on your gift list.

These two pages are only suggestions, of course, any of our teddy bears would make a great gift. A Pirate Bear for a pirate collector, a Doctor Bear for your favorite doctor or someone who aspires to be a doctor, a Graduate Bear for a December college graduate, a Cowboy Bear for someone who loves the western look, a Teacher Bear for your favorite teacher. The possibilities are almost endless!


Multi Generational Bear Family, Momma, sons, daughter, grandchildren.
Let me introduce you to the Bear Family -Momma Bear, Son Jack, Son Bill, Daughter Mary, Grandson Jake, Granddaughter Jill. This is a great way to represent each member of the family. Papa Bear is available, too, as well as a fourth generation, smaller than the grandchildren shown. If your mother or grandmother loves teddy bears, wouldn't she just love this? Each bear comes with a name tag and can be dressed in a variety of colors, or matching clothing. All males are shown in blue denim overalls, but other clothing can be used.

Come by our website and look at all the different styles of teddy bear gifts. If you don't see what you're looking for, contact me, we love to do custom orders!

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Teddy Bear Challenge

Here's something kind of fun if you like teddy bears. I'm having a Teddy Bear Challenge on my website. For the next 10 weeks, I will be adding one new product per week and announcing this on my What's New page. This is a fun and motivational way for me to add these products that have been website ready for quite some time.

I hope you will come and join in the fun of the mystery and discovery of each new teddy bear gift.

If you haven't checked our my site in awhile, there have been a few additions in the last months. You might notice a certain Mother Theadora Bear, a great gift for a nun or Catholic teacher. I have also recently added a Dentist Bear. People have purchased this one for some very different reasons. One was actually for a dentist as a "thank you" for a great job on some "involved" dentistry. Another purpose was to give as a gift to someone recovering from dental surgery.

I had a customer write a note to me recently about his choosing of teddy bears to give as gifts: "I think that I am hooked on teddy bears as a future way of showing my appreciation of friendship towards those who have more than been kind and in their showing concern for me. The feeling of knowing that someone cares for another is overwhelming and priceless. I am sure that our Heavenly Father recognizes this obedience of his commandment that we love one another as He loves us. Thanks for your part in helping me to come to this realization and in showing my gratitude to others.".. I thought that was very kind of him, as well as one of the very reasons that I like to offer my teddy bears as gifts - to show people that they are appreciated, cared about, and thought of.

Here's another great reason to give a teddy bear gift, this was a way to use a teddy bear that I would never have dreamt: "Rev. Robak of New Jersey bought a Priest Bear for one of his parishoners who resides in a nursing home. He said, "I recently visited her and gave her this PRIEST TEDDY BEAR and told her that, through it, I was always with her. This woman, who is over 90 years of age, smiled and hugged that Teddy-Bear like a little child. Needless to say, I am in her good graces again. GOD IS GOOD! THE BIBLE SAYS THAT, 'HE RESTORES THE JOY OF OUR YOUTH!' AND SOMETIMES HE EVEN DOES THAT THROUGH A 'TEDDY-BEAR'! Thank you for your wonderful product."

I think teddy bears represent the innocence of youth, good memories, a sentimental all-over good feeling that brings a smile to everyone's face. They can be used for just about any occasion - who can you you present with a smile today?