The Teddy Bear Workers of Summer

Lifeguard Bear

Some jobs you think of as being more active in the summer, and these teddy bears agree.  Summer is their busiest time of year!  Take this Lifeguard Bear for instance.  She is diligent in looking out for the welfare of all those little bear cubs that like to spend many hours at the pool in the summer.  You can choose the color of the swimsuit and towel, comes with whistle and red cross on the bathing suit, sunglasses or goggles.

Construction Worker

This Construction Worker is ready for lots of building and remodeling projects this summer.  He's dressed in t-shirt and jeans and you can add a yellow hardhat, tool box, electrical tape - lots of stuff!
Change the color of the shirt and pants if you'd like.  Add a name tag to make it personal.

Realtor Bear

Admittedly, a Realtor Bear likes to be busy year round, but in the summer families are on the move and she is right there helping them with all the details.  And she is successful, too, her "For Sale" sign has "SOLD" stamped on it!  Comes with glasses, shoes, calculator, sign, and purse (with papers!) Also comes with the stand to display her.  You can choose the color of the clothes, style of clothes could be changed as well.  I can also make this for a male agent.

Signs of Summer, These Teddy Bears are Ready!

On my facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/BearFamilyGifts), I have been sharing some teddy bears that are ready for some summer fun.  I thought I would share some of them with you here.  Or you can see them all by clicking on the link above to my facebook page.

Fun in the Sun Bear

First, one of my favorites, the Fun in the Sun Bear.   She is ready for the entire tropical experience!  Sundress with matching wide brimmed hat, sunglasses, bag with umbrella, other beach items, suntan lotion, and a basket of fruit.  She is on a vacation to remember.

Hula Girl Teddy Bear

Ever been to Hawaii?  I haven't, but I know teddy bears who have and they probably saw this teddy bear, Hula Girl.  She's got her grass skirt, coconut shell bra, lei, and a garland of flowers on her head.  Aloha!

I will share more with you in other posts this week. Stay tuned!

Angels Spread Their Wings

Two Guardian Angels and Kailie's Angel with poem in the middle

If you have looked through my website (if not, please do - http://www.bearfamilygifts.com/index.html), you will see that I offer a wide variety of dressed and decorated teddy bears.  But these angels pictured have always been my favorite.  There's something about their white satin dresses that flow softly around them, and the gold trim just adds an elegant look to the ensemble.  Probably the main reason they are my favorite is because people send them to family and friends who need encouragement, comfort from knowing that someone cares, a reminder that God is there for them.  These three went to a family who is experiencing a very difficult medical situation.  I hope these angel bears serve as a reminder to this family of the friends who are thinking of them and care about what they are going through.  In the picture, the Guardian Angel Bears are on the outside, and Kailie's Angel Bear with the poem is in the middle.  You can see all of my angel bears (and bunnies and a lamb) on my Angel Bears page.  And yes, there is a wide variety of angels, too.  Some in other colors of satin, others in prints for a themed gift.  They would all like to spread their wings and take a personalized message of encouragement to someone.

What's With the Poems?

If you looked at my Angel Bears, you would see that many of them come with poems. Then you might ask the question, “What’s with the poems?” I started writing poetry as a teenage girl. I don’t know why or how it started. I just filled several notebooks one summer, probably just part of “finding myself”. Some were pretty good, some were just kind of weird. I wrote poems about things I had experienced and things I knew nothing about. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. The time spent writing poetry lessened as the years went by and I actually had a life (LOL), but it never went away totally. I have written some longer poems about my dad, life with breast cancer, the meaning of Christmas, all of which I have posted on my site under My Poetry. Read them if you’d like. When it comes to writing poems for my Angel Bears, they are short and sweet and fit on a little card that comes either attached to the bear’s paw, or fits in a small frame displayed on an easel, or I cross-stitch the poem and make a heart shaped pillow that the bear holds. It all works for me.

Mom Angel Bear

Since Mother’s Day is coming up soon, May 13th, you might be interested in an angel bear and poem that I wrote just for a mom. Mom Angel Bear is dressed in a soft, feminine print fabric full of pink roses and the poem displayed on an easel makes a beautiful ensemble. Maybe your mom would like one this year, or maybe you would like one and you can pass the word to your offspring. Last day to order to receive before Mother’s Day is April 29th.  See all suggested gifts for mom on my Mother's Day Gifts page.

The Confessions of a Fabriholic

It is springtime, nearing the end of the school year, and the beautiful dresses and sharp looking tuxedos are PROMinent in the minds of teenagers and parents.  A few years ago, I saw some beautiful fabric in the fabric store and my immediate thought was, "That would make a beautiful prom dress for a teddy bear."  When I see fabric, I always think in terms of teddy bear clothes.  I used to think about making myself a dress, or my daughter something really pretty, but I found I could buy smaller pieces and many more pieces to make clothes for teddy bears and spend less money than if I were making people clothes.  Thus the foibles of being a fabriholic.  I see a fabric that I like (and there could be hundreds of fabric I like in one trip to the store) and I immediately see it in the form of clothing.  I see it, I like it, I want to BUY it, even just a little.  Just a small strip of fabric keeps me dreaming and imagining all that the fabric could be and how I would feel if I make that imagery become reality.  One problem I have is that I am also practical.  I CANNOT buy every piece of fabric that I love, I CANNOT make something out of every piece of fabric that I love.  Using the fabrics to make teddy bear clothes helps a little because I can buy more of what I like and keep the cost down.  But there is always more that I want to do and reality always falls short of my dreams.  Have you heard the saying, "So much fabric, so little time."?  That is the fabriholic's mantra.  I wish I could say that I made the imagery of the teddy bear prom dress become a reality.  The picture is still in my mind, but more than likely it will stay there.  And maybe that's okay.  I would drive myself crazy if I tried to make everything I thought of.  And, actually, in my business, I don't make too many pieces of clothing anymore.  My seamstress does that and saves me a tremendous amount of time and stress.  Sometimes when I have an idea for a new product or a variation of a current product, I have her make the clothes and then I finish them when I get time.  Frustrating for me sometimes, when I can't produce that new product right away because other duties are higher priority (like filling current orders, taking care of the books, etc.).  But the promise of something new to add to my website keeps me going.

I have just given you a little peak into the life of a fabriholic, tough, isn't it?  Of course it's not tough at all and the frustrations are so miniscule, they don't even count.  And besides, I still have the gift of dreaming, even if it doesn't bring anything to reality.

Being a Weather Watcher

Today is Monday and I am feeling very "draggy".  I think that is from my vigilant weather watching on Saturday evening.  You may have heard that the Midwest was hit hard with tornadoes and other severe storms on Saturday night.  Though I live in the Midwest, there were no such storms at my house.  However, I had family and friends who were in the projected path of the storms, so I stayed up on Saturday evening, watching the storms develop via a weather channel website.  As fascinating as it was, it was also nerve wracking, as my daughter lives in a city that was hit by a tornado.  That is the first time I've had to go through a tornado situation with a child that was not living at home.  I didn't like it much.  She did not experience the tornado, though other parts of her city did.  She was several miles away from the tornado, but she thought it was still too close and didn't care to ever be that close again.  I am in agreement with her.  I have never been through a tornado, only tornado warnings.  I have spent more than one night in the basement (with children, husband, and pets) because the siren went off and the potential for a tornado was there.  As far as I'm concerned, if there is potential for a tornado, there is a bed in the basement for me to sleep on.

Since I was feeling rather drained all day, I didn't get much done in teddy bear land.  Hopefully, after a good night's sleep, I will be able to accomplish more tomorrow.  I am working on a Nurse Bear and Cheerleader Bear, with some fun Graduation Bears to follow.  All in a good week's work in the teddy bear den.

A Gallery of Teddy Bears

Several months ago, I added a page to my website of pictures showing different teddy bears I had made in the past.  These were variations of items shown on my website, but in different colors, or maybe something special a customer had wanted to make the gift more personal.  I have Basketball Bears, Graduation Bears, Football Bears, just to name a few, shown on this page.  Yesterday, a woman found me by searching for someone who had made a basketball bear for her daughter a few years ago.  Guess what!  That someone was ME!!!  She saw my Gallery of Teddy Bears and saw a picture of the very bear that had been made for her daughter (see picture here).  Now she wants to order another one for her younger daughter.  How cool is that?  I never thought about that benefit from having previous order pictures on my website, but it looks like a good move at this point.  I have many more I could add and will some day......

I Hate Head Colds!!

I really hate having a head cold, don't you? I don't feel that bad except for a stuffy nose, scratchy throat, etc. I would go back to bed, but I feel worse lying down than standing up and moving around. Too bad I can't learn to sleep standing up, I might feel better. In any case, it's on to work for the day, doing the best I can.

Today I will be working on a Female Pharmacist Bear.  I believe this is for a young lady graduating from pharmacy school.  One of the fun things about offering a wide variety of dressed teddy bears is that when it comes to graduation, you can choose a bear in a cap and gown, or you can choose to have it dressed in their professional clothing.  It would be a nice keepsake for a graduate either way.

I have several Professional Teddy Bears, and am open to new professions if you don't see what you need.  I also have an entire page devoted to Medical Professionals, that has been a very popular theme over the years.

Two Days in a Row?

Wow, here I am two days in a row.  Today I am playing with a new "toy", a pom pom maker.  I know, I know, I could use two pieces of cardboard and potentially accomplish the same thing.  I was just hoping that the pom pom maker might make better looking pom poms, not sure just yet, I haven't found the exact look I want.  I am going to be using the pom poms for a Cheerleader Bear.  So they need to be an appropriate size for the teddy bear, plus they need to "hang" a little, rather than just "puff".  Thus, the playing, or some might call it experimenting.

I rarely have time to experiment or play, but the taxes are done, my pending orders can wait one more day while I play.  Sort of nice.

I was doing some cleaning up in my crafting room/office yesterday and was reminded of many new products that I have in my head.  When these appear in my head, I gather supplies and send them to my seamstress so that the clothes are ready when I have the time to complete the product.  I have some beautiful satin dresses just waiting to be put on a bear and trimmed in ribbon and lace.  Soon, very soon.....

Blog Much?

If you have visited this page often, you'll see that I don't blog much. I can never think of what to say, and even if I do, it's not very long, so I don't bother. Maybe short blog posts are good, I have a hard time reading long posts anyway, maybe you do too.

So here is my short blog post: I am currently offering a 25% discount coupon for your spring gift shopping. This is good for anything on my website except items shown on the Sample Sale page and Clearance Items page. The discount code is "mom".

Just to give you a few places to start shopping, there are gifts for mom on the Mother's Day Gifts page. Gifts for graduates on the Graduation Teddy Bears page. Personalized wedding gifts on the Wedding Teddy Bears page. Don't be alarmed, but there are also bunnies on the wedding gifts page.  I also have gifts for teachers on the Teacher Teddy Bear page.

Cyber Monday Sale Lasts through Wednesday!

Getting into the full swing of the Christmas shopping and gift giving season, I am offering a 20% discount on Christmas teddy bear gifts and decor items through Wednesday, November 30th.  Type "cyber" in the Discount Code box in my shopping cart to see your discount.  The items that are eligible for the discount are shown on these pages:

Reindeer Sweater Bear

Christmas Teddy Bears


Christmas Tree Ornaments


Gingerbread Bears


Snowman Bears





Cut off date to order for Christmas delivery is December 10th.

Variety Makes Me a Happy Crafter!

There are many disadvantages to carrying a wide variety of themes in my teddy bear gifts.  My office/craft room is filled to the brim with little bits of this and that, those cute little things that I add on to the teddy bear, or small pieces of fabric that are "just right" for something.  Lots and lots and lots of lace, buttons, bows, hats, shoes, glasses, basketballs, footballs, ribbon, flowers, balloons - and that only covers about half the room!  It would be easier if I just made angels, or just bears with flowers and not balloons,  just made items for Valentine's Day and not every other holiday I can think of.  Just used beige teddy bears, not white ones, not dark chocolate ones, no bunnies, no lambs, no reindeer.  Easier, yes, but not nearly as much fun!!  I guess you could say I am easily bored, I love doing new things with my bears, or finding another animal to use.  And even though that means I have to have a large variety of supplies on hand, it is worth it to me.  A variety of items to offer means I never know what someone will be ordering next!  How boring would it be to get orders for all the same thing, no fun at at all!   Each order is like a nicely wrapped Christmas gift that I haven't a clue about, opening the notifying e-mail is like unwrapping it.  Such a pleasure!

Bear Family Gifts, LLC - a teddy bear gift for any occasion

New Fall Products for 2011

This week I have added my final 2 new products for the fall holiday season.  Any of my Harvest and Fall products can be used as decor items.  If you like to decorate your home with pumpkins, gourds, scarecrows, and so on, my teddy bears would fit right in.  Many of them come with pumpkins attached, most are dressed in the rich, beautiful colors of fall.  Or you can send them as a gift to someone to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving, or maybe lift their spirits during a difficult time.

Pumpkin Sweater Bear

This is one of my newest products, Pumpkin Sweater Bear.  She is dressed in bright orange pants with a peach colored sweater with pumpkins on it.  She is holding a nice, bright orange pumpkin.

Thanksgiving Angel Bear

The last product is the Thanksgiving Angel Bear.   Her dress is a  soft tan and brown print, showing a Thanksgiving blessing prayer.  You can see a closeup of the words on my website.

I invite you to stop by and take a look and see if a teddy bear dressed for all would fit in your decor or provide a special gift for someone.

Nothing Beats a Happy Customer!

I just received an e-mail from a happy customer.  To a person who makes and sells her own products, there is nothing better than receiving the news that your handcrafted items was received with joy and satisfaction.  Her e-mail went like this - "Thank-you so very much for the beautiful bears.  I received both of them on Monday.  I am very excited to give my girlfriend her bear on Friday as I know she will love it.  I love all of the special personal touches that you added.  It is perfect.  I loved the fabric on both dresses.  Can you tell I love the work you do?  Thanks again Debbie.  Until the next time I order a bear, take care and thanks again M."  I am looking forward to receiving more orders from this customer in the future.  The picture above is one of the 2 Gardener Bears that she ordered.  Order yours here.

Finally Fall in The Midwest

I saw a tree on our street yesterday that had turned it's beautiful dark red fall color.  Finally! I thought, fall has arrived.  I love the cooler weather and gorgeous colors of God's nature.

The fall colors are so hard for me to pass up in the fabric store, that I quit trying.  I took those beautiful fall colors and turned them into clothes teddy bears, no big surprise.

The Harvest Angel Bear was just a delight to put together, and she would look quite nice as part of your fall decorations as well.

The Scarecrow Bear  is a fun little guy, with hay bale and pumpkins from the farm, he even has a little black bird perched on his hat.










All of my current Harvest and Fall Gifts and Decor can be found by clicking on the underlined words.  I hope to add another one or two in a  few days.

The Birth of A Teddy Bear Angel Gift

Kailie's Angel Bear Gift

Several years ago, I was working with other women at my church on the organization of a craft fair. During that time, the granddaughter of one of the women was diagnosed with Leukemia. She was only about 10 years old, my daughter was about that same age, so this really struck close to home. My heart ached for the grandmother, and for the entire family. Her granddaughter’s name was Kailie, and after the craft fair was over, I wanted to send her a special gift. I also wrote a poem that I wanted her to have, so Kailie's Angel Bear was born. Since then, many people have purchased Kailie’s Angel Bear as a way to send a message of caring to someone who needed to know they were thought of and prayed for.

I love being able to dress a bear in satin and trims,combine that with a poem the Lord gave to me, and add personalization to it as well. If you’d like to see just how this bear gift comes about from the beginning of a “naked” bear, to the finished product, check out my progression page here.

Angel Teddy Bear Gift - Special Gift in Time of Need

Pearl Angel Teddy Bear Gift Set

In April of 2003, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Scary stuff for sure.  Seven years later, I'm still here, feeling good, considered free and clear of the nasties.  That didn't happen overnight, and I didn't do it on my own.  Many skilled medical personnel were involved, and over all of them, God did His work, choosing to heal me and give me more time with my family.  And there were many friends who prayed for me, provided food and rides, picked up my young kids at school, etc.  I would never have made it through without all of those factors.  Out of that time was born an angel bear.  Her name is Pearl and she is dressed in pink satin with pearls at her neck, in honor of those women with breast cancer.  I wrote a poem that comes with the angel bear, which was written from the perspective of the friend who walks beside the woman going through breast cancer.  It is a gift that I believe would be cherished by someone who needed to know that a friend was there for them at time when they needed them most.  If you think Pearl would make a special gift for someone, you can read more about her and order her here: http://www.bearfamilygifts.com/pearl.html

You can read more about my breast cancer story here: http://www.bearfamilygifts.com/breast-cancer-story.html

Fall in Love with a Teddy Bear this Fall

It's September, school has been in session for us about 2 1/2 weeks, we are settling into our school time routine. The marching band has been practicing, getting ready for their contests in October, and football, well, football has been going on since the end of school. That's how football works here in Olathe, the home of the Kansas 6A High School Football Champs of 2009. My youngest son is now part of the football world, where you practice for a few hours after school, and in his case, play 2 games a week, and must be ready to play in a 3rd game each week. It's a lot of hard work, lots of sweat (lots of laundry!), and lots of time for me sitting in the stands. I love football, though, so I really don't have a problem attending all of his games that I possibly can. There is nothing better than a Friday night at the football stadium, with just a little fall chill in the air, watching my oldest son in the marching band doing trombone suicides, and my youngest son waiting on the sidelines until his name is called to play. I am a happy camper in the crazy world of high school Friday night football.

Now, you may ask, what does all of this have to do with teddy bears? Well, not a lot, that's just a peek into my world as mom. Many of my teddy bear arrangements come from living in my mom world, and in the weeks to come I'm going to introduce you to some bears that have come along because of things that happen in my world.

Back to football for a moment, I have several Sporting Bears to choose from, most are personalized with name and number, using actual uniform colors as best we can. This is our Football Bear, complete with football and helmet. Have this bear personalized with your son's number on the front and back, name on the back. We can also put smaller numbers on the shoulders/sleeves.

Teddy Bears ready for Spring!

Is spring finally in the air? My teddy bears hope so! They are yawning and stretching, waking up from their winter nap and are ready to be dressed and sent out to do their gifting job. It's a job that they are very good at, just ask them!

Here are some of their favorite spring time gifts.

Graduation Teddy Bears

We offer a variety of graduation bears with choices of robe and tassel color, personalized heart pillow with name and date or other message, also specialized robes with hoods and berets or tams.

Mother's Day Teddy Bears

This is a very cute family of bears that would make a great gift for Mom. We can represent up to 4 generations of the family, all come with name tags. There is a variety of teddy bears to choose from for Mom, or talk to us about a custom bear for your special Mom.

Teacher's Appreciation Gifts

The Teacher Angel Bear pictured would make really nice gift for a teacher who has made a big difference in the life of your child. We have other bears to offer as well, including a Music Teacher Bear. We are open to ideas for other specific areas of education and would be happy to work with you on a gift for a history teacher, science teacher, English teacher, etc.

Easter Bunnies and Teddy Bears

These cute bunnies area dressed up for spring and would make a very nice addition to your Easter and springtime decor. We also have some bears dressed up as bunnies, as well as more bunny gift and decor ideas.

Wedding Bears and Bunnies

If you are in need of a wedding gift, we have some great teddy bears and bunnies that can be personalized with names and date, or just dressed for the occasion. We also have some bears that would be perfect bridal shower centerpieces.

A Teddy Bear for All Holidays

There are several holidays coming up in the next few months. I have teddy bears (and/or bunnies) for all of the major holidays. They can be used as decoration in the home, or as gifts (for all folks 13 or over). You will find links to each of my holiday and gift pages below. Please check them out, you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Even though Valentine's Day is over, I have put all items back on the Valentine's page so that they are available for purchase. Also, I have changed the Sweet Deals page, so you might want to check that out.

Now, for the upcoming holidays. If you like to decorate for St. Patrick's Day, or would like to send a gift to someone who celebrates St. Patrick's Day, I have a few styles of bears designed for the holiday. Some wear vests, others wear sweaters. Some come with shamrocks, some come with the Irish flag. All are dressed appropriately for the holiday.

Easter is on April 4th this year. Again, I have some gift and decorative items in both bunnies and bears. I have bunny ornaments and just cute bunnies dressed for spring. I have teddy bears in easter sweaters, and one in bunny ears! Besides an Easter bunny angel, I also have a lamb angel. I am offering a 25% discount for any item ordered on the Easter page if ordered by March 15th. The coupon code is "bunny".

Jumping to May, I have Teacher's Gifts, Graduation Gifts, and Mother's Day Gifts. It's not too early to start ordering these, particularly the graduation gifts. I hope to have a couple of new products for Graduation coming out in March.

Spring and summer weddings are just around the corner.........