It's been a month since my last blog post.  I have added several new items to my etsy shop, but right now I am thinking "Christmas".  I know it's only July, but I've been working on some Christmas Angel Bears.  They are generally all the same style, but in different color combinations to go with different colors of Christmas decor. 

Christmas Angel Bear in black and silver, surrounded by other Christmas Decor

For instance, look at this fantastic color combination of black, silver and red.  I love this dramatic color combo.  You can see this item at this link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/616361774/christmas-decorchristmas-angel-bear







Also, new is this angel bear in a blue dress with white and ivory doves.  I have paired it with some silver and blue decor, along with greenery in this possible display picture.  See this item at this link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/630459827/christmas-angel-bearchristmas






See all of my Christmas Angel Bears at this link:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BearFamilyGifts?ref=l2-shop-info-name&section_id=20415013

Currently, there are only 2 other listings, but I am working on several more to add in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned!

The Newest Teddy Bears

Ms. Tedi Bear would like to introduce you to the newest additions to the Bear Family at my etsy shop.  Ms. Tedi has been created to be the "face" of my business, just for fun.

Pearl Angel Ornament Bear

First, a never-too-early Christmas tree ornament for breast cancer survivors (or in memory of someone who didn't make it).  She's a real cutie in her pink dress trimmed in pearls.

Lady Patriotic Bear

I've been offering the Lady Patriotic Bear using a brown bear, but am now offering it in brown, white (pictured) and cream.  This has become one of my best sellers this year!  Beary cute patriotic decor for your home. I think she looks like she is ready to watch a 4th of July parade and wave her flag.

Bear Hugs Bear

Another item that I have added a white bear option is the Bear Hugs Bear.  This bear would be good as a get well gift or a little encouragement for someone who just needs a little hug.



Lots more bears coming, just takes me awhile to put them together and add them.  I'll be working on some this next week!

Gifts of Encouragement

Cancer Kickin' Cowgirl Bear

I am a two-time breast cancer survivor, and happy and thankful to be one.  During the months of treatments, I received many gifts of encouragement - cards, stuffed animals, food, rides to treatment, prayers, etc.  Another very needed gift was the gift of laughter and fun, because there were lots of non-fun times, believe me.  Taking these things in mind, I have created several gifts for breast cancer patients over the years, including what I would call fun themed gifts.  Just added to my Etsy shop today is Cancer Kickin' Cowgirl Bear.  I love the cowboy/cowgirl theme and thought it would be fun to provide a gift that encourages a cancer patient to "kick cancer down the road".

Cancer Fighter Bear

Cancer Fighter Bear encourages someone to "knock out cancer".  Again, a little fun, some encouragement, something every cancer patient needs.

Cancer Fighting Super Hero

Everybody needs a super hero sometimes.  Cancer Fighting Super Hero can provide encouragement at a time when you need something "super" to help you get through it.

The main thing these gifts do, other than bring some levity to a difficult situation, is they remind the recipient that someone is thinking of them or praying for them.  Sometimes letting a person know you care is the best thing you can do for them.  Combine these bears with a personal note from you and you just might lift their spirits.

Come visit my Etsy shop anytime: bearfamilygifts.etsy.com.  I have more gifts for cancer patients and lots of other "beary" good things.

The First Day of the New Way

I Care About You

Now that my domain, www.bearfamilygifts.com  is taking visitors to my Etsy shop as of this morning, I am very excited to operate my Etsy shop full time and added some new products last night.  I'd like to introduce you to those products.


First is a new breast cancer patient bear. https://www.etsy.com/listing/619385539/gift-for-breast-cancer-patientbreast
She is dressed in pink, of course, with a pink hat.  She is an "I Care about you" bear, holding a sign that says just that. (Update: this item as been sold!)

Patriotic Trio

My second new product is actually 3 in 1.  This is a patriotic gift or home decor, offered in 3 colors of bears and 3 colors of dresses.  I call them the Patriotic Trio, but the listing is for your choice of 1 bear.  If you would be interested in all 3, please contact me.  See this listing at https://www.etsy.com/listing/619395399/americana-decor4th-of-july-decor4th-july .

Please come see me at my etsy shop:https://www.etsy.com/shop/BearFamilyGifts anytime.  It's open 24/7.

Thank you for your interest in my products!  Suggestions always welcome.

Modifying and Moving On

Moving On:  On June 1st, I took all of my products down from my website and left only my home page to direct people to check out my etsy shop.  On the morning of June 7th, even that last page will be gone and anyone looking for www.bearfamilygifts.com will automatically be directed to https://www.etsy.com/shop/BearFamilyGifts .  

Modifying:  Along with moving on, I am modifying my product line.  Since there is a size of bear (out of 4) that I can no longer get, all of those designs are gone and I am concentrating on the other 3 sizes of bears, as well as different types of bears, some cows, and bunnies will be added.  So, out with many of my supplies, and probably in with a bunch of news ones.  My small room MUST be full of craft supplies!!!  And I'm sure it soon will be.

In the meantime, I am slowly adding items to my etsy shop.  Here are a few of the newest ones.

Gardening Angel Bear

A fun gift for the avid gardener, this angel bear comes with tiny gardening tools and watering can.

Red and Gold Christmas Angel

Looking forward to Christmas gifts and decor, I added the Red and Gold Christmas Angel Bear.  Lovely fabric featuring the shape of an angel on red and trimmed in gold.

Snow Angel Girl Bear

Snow Angel Girl Bear is a vision of winter loveliness in white and blue with silver trim.  The boa around her neck is white with silver strands,  She holds a cross-stitched sign that reads "Let It Snow".  Just a little winter fun.

Mr and Mrs Ornament Bears

My very newest addition, I made these for my son and daughter-in-law last Christmas.  The gown is ivory and the vest is black, as close as I could come to their colors.  Bouquet was also a close match to their colors.  Bride can also be in white, several choices on flower colors.




Stop by and visit any time.  You never know when something knew will be added.  I have many new items in the "queue".

The History of Bear Family Gifts, and the Future

Sunflower Bear - $20.00

Almost 20 years ago, I combined my love of teddy bears with my love of fabric and started dressing teddy bears.  I liked creating themes, wedding and baby gifts being the first among those themes.  I added cross-stitching so I could personalize items, as well as spelling out names in alphabet blocks.  I did some in home parties, and some crafts fairs, made a few sales, but most importantly got the bug to try to sell more.  Then we got connected to the internet and a whole new world opened up for me.  I tried some ad sites at first, then set up some websites on free web hosts (those existed at one time, along with the ads that paid for the spot).  Eventually, I bought my domain name and set up my very own website (without other people's ads) and enjoyed selling my teddy bears, with a few rabbits thrown in.  My customers helped me to add so many new items to my product line by asking for something I hadn't thought of.  Soon I had hundreds of products, broken down into several dozen categories for easier shopping.  Pages and pages of a website to keep up to date (more about that later) and orders to fill.  There were slow times and super busy times, like most businesses.  I have kept at it, even though keeping the website up to date, meeting Google requirements (if Google doesn't see you, neither will anyone else!) had become way too much for me.  My little creative brain just couldn't wrap itself around mobile friendly code, security issues, privacy issues for customers in the EU, etc.  It was all pretty simple when I first started out, but has become more than I care to keep up with.  So....... the website is closing on June 1st.  I have a few items left and they are on sale to move out!  They need new homes.  You can see the items left at my Website Closing Sale page.

Just in time for July 4th, the Patriotic Teddy Bears, have lowered prices plus a discount code for 20% off. 

Patriotic Flag Bear-er - $12.50

Pink Ribbon and Butterflies Angel

BUT, I want to be clear about something.  I am NOT going out of business!!!!!  My website will be closing, yes, but I am not going away.  Simply moving to a different venue where I do not need to deal with all of those things that I do not understand about a website.  If you have not heard of Etsy, you really need to take a look at all of the talented artisans with a wide variety of skill sets.  That is where I am moving, you can see what I have to offer so far at my shop: bearfamilygifts.etsy.com .  I only have about 30 items there now, but that will be growing once my website has closed.

Stop by anytime!  I'm always open.

Website Closing, But This Isn't Goodbye!

Judge Bear with wooden gavel

It has been quite a while since I posted in my blog.  I guess I haven't had much to say.  However, I do have something to say now, so here it is.  I have been online since April of 2000, I am proud to say that I have made many sales and many friends in that 18 years.  Over the years, I have often lost a supply that I frequently use, but found ways to substitute or adjust.  In January of this year, I lost the one component for which I couldn't find a comparable replacement.  I found out early in the year that I could no longer buy the 12 inch jointed teddy bears from my wholesale supplier.  I purchased all that I could from retailers, and bought out two.  That still did not give me very many.  I spent quite a bit of time searching for a replacement, but I either had to purchase a few thousand pieces at a comparable price, or pay much more per piece.  Neither of those seemed like viable options at this time in my business and season in my life.  So, I made the difficult decision to no longer offer my items in the 12 inch bears, such as the beautiful Judge Bear shown here.  Since bears such as this are the bulk of my orders from my website, it seemed the only sensible thing to do was to close my website.  That is what I have decided to do, I am closing my website as of June 1st of this year.  Before that happens, I am open for business, and in fact, am offering many of my items at greatly reduced prices.  You can see the reduced items at my Website Closing Sale page.  That could be good news for you if you want to buy a birthday gift to have on hand, or shop early for Christmas or Valentine's Day.  I am offering a variety of themes, so it would be worth taking a look.

Get Well Angel Bear

Just because I am closing my website, does not mean that I am gone from the internet or closed for business altogether.  I have had a shop on Etsy for many years, but recently decided to add more items and I will continue to do that.  I will be offering many of the same smaller bears on Etsy as I have on my website, with many new ideas to be added in the near future.  Please stop by my Etsy shop, BearFamilyGifts (sound familiar??). You will see wedding teddy bears, some get well angel bears, Valentine bears, and many others.  Just tonight, I added this second Get Well Angel Bear to my shop. 

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or requests.  If I can help you with a special gift, it will be my pleasure to do so.

Valentine Man

I have added my last new Valentine Gift item.  Take a look at the Valentine Man Bear.  He is the ultimate in teddy bears dressed for Valentine's Day, with a sharp looking vest, top hat, bouquet of silk roses, and a tiny box of "chocolates".

I'm already starting to get Valentine orders and inquiries, so hopefully this will be a busy season.  If you are thinking of ordering a Valentine teddy bear (or bunny, cow, or cat) from me, don't wait too long.

Last Day to Order for  Valentine's Day 2017 for items using cross-stitch is January 30, 2017

Last Day to Order is February 3, 2017 for all other items.

Your discount code for 2017 is still "bfg" for 15% off any order.  Sample items included until further notice.

There are a variety of Valentine items to choose from, sizes, prices, themes.  My Valentine's Day Teddy Bear Gifts page features a collection of Valentine's gifts from the almost 17 years I have been online.

Bear Hugs Bear

I am pleased (and relieved) to announce the opening of  the new Valentine's Day Teddy Bear Gifts page!!!!   It is indeed a relief to have finished the revamping of that page.  Hopefully it has a cleaner look, and even though still rather long, not nearly as long as it was.

Also, I am BEAR-y happy to introduce you to my newest Valentine Bear, Bear Hugs Bear.  She's too cute for words, you'll just have to go take a look at her. (though you can see a sneak peek in this blog post)

I have one more new Valentine bear I hope to introduce to you next week.

I also changed my "tag" line for this year.  It is now "The wonderful world of teddy bear gifts for grown ups". 

Your discount code for 2017 is still "bfg" for 15% off any order.  Sample items included until further notice.

I have been busy working on a project.  Even though Valentine's Day is still over a month away, I have to start thinking about it and promoting it now.  My first goal in promoting Valentine's Day gifts this year is to re organize my Valentine web page.  That involves making new pages for products who were previously only found on the Valentine's page.  So, here is a sneak peek for you: http://www.bearfamilygifts.com/valentine-new.html There are a few links that do not work yet, but I am getting closer to having everything functional.  I hope this makes some of the products easier to see, rather than scrolling down through a very long page. 

I am working on one or two new products as well that I will let you know about as soon as they are live.

Your discount code for 2017 is still "bfg" for 15% off any order.   Sample items included until further notice.

Bring on 2017!!

It's that time of year when we say goodbye to one year and welcome in another year.  Good bye 2016 and Hello 2017!  What does the coming of the new year mean to you?  I am not a New Year's Eve party person, so my night is spent quietly at home, going to bed before midnight.  I rarely ring in the new year anymore.  I change the calendar on January 1st and spend time with family, that is about it. 

Business wise, though, it is a time to reflect on what worked and what didn't, and look forward to what's ahead.  It's also time to catch up on paperwork and get ready to close the books on 2016.

So, what is ahead for Bear Family Gifts in 2017?  I don't expect a lot of major changes.  I will have to raise the shipping charges a little to cover the increase in price that the postal service had in 2016.

 

Bunny Bride and Groom

I am almost out of the adorable bunnies shown in this picture.  I do not have a supplier to buy more, so I will have to discontinue all products using bunnies once they are gone.  That makes me sad as these bunnies were really cute and I enjoyed using them.



 I hope to have a new Valentine's product up in a few weeks, as well as a re organization of the Valentine's Gift Ideas page.

I always dream of cleaning up my crafting room/office, but that never seems to get very far.  Maybe this will be the year!

Be sure to check out my Sample Sale page for some great deals.

Happy New Year!!

Happy Holidays!!

BEARing Gifts Bear

Just a quick note today to inform you that we will be closed from December 21st until December 26th.  All orders have been sent on their merry way and hopefully will be bringing a few smiles to someone's face this Christmas.

Thank you for a wonderful business year.  I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday, whatever one you may celebrate.

See you on the 26th!

http://www.bearfamilygifts.com/
P.S.  If you ever have any problems with a link in my blog, or a problem on a web site page, please let me know.  I appreciate having other eyes on my work, as I don't always catch mistakes.

Christmas Is Almost Here!

Hello Friends,

The first thing I want to say is Happy Anniversary to me!!  Thirty years ago today, I married the man who still puts up with me and my bears.  Couldn't have made a better choice.  He now participates in my business a little by making stethocopes for me.  I have more things in mind for him next year.

The second thing I want to say is that there are still a few things I could mail out in time for you to receive before Christmas.  Link to the Sample Sale items is below.  In addition to those items would be the following:

Red and Gold Christmas Angel Bear - one available

Panda Christmas Sweater Bear - one available

Holiday Sweater Bear - one available with green Christmas sweater only

Be sure to use your 15% coupon code if you decide to order one of these.

That's it!  Christmas is almost here!!!


Sample Sale is still on, stop by and take a look.  The page includes lots of items, most of which there is only one available.  These items include 1 fall item, several Valentine items, some Breast Cancer awareness and Patriotic items, among others.  Most items are 25 to 30 percent off the regular retail price.   I'd love to see the sample teddy bear arrangements find a new home before the new year, so you can take 15% off those items as well, through the end of 2016.  Use coupon code "bfg" to get that done.

Have a good week!

Sale On! At (Teddy) Bear Family Gifts

Reminder of ongoing sales:

Sample Sale: - Awesome teddy bears (and some bunnies, a cow, and a cat) 25 to 30% off the regular retail price.  One of each is available at this price.

Sweater Sale:  Any teddy bear wearing a sweater can be purchased at 20% off (does not apply to any items on the Sample Sale page) using code: sweater20.  Seriously, any teddy bear wearing a sweater.  Sale is good through November 7th.

Good pages to find teddy bears wearing sweaters:
Teddy Bear Quick Gifts
Holiday Bears
Get Well Teddy Bear Gifts
Birthday Teddy Bear Gifts
Panda Bear Gifts

Those are just a start.....

Happy Sale-ing!!

Cyber Monday Specials

I don't usually offer any after Thanksgiving sales, as I am out of town with little access to the internet.  But, today is Cyber Monday, so I thought I would offer two Christmas items at a special price.

These two items are available from now through midnight December 1st at 20% off the listed price with the coupon code "monday".

Red Christmas Angel Bear

A beautiful red dress featuring angels with music lyrics and score written in gold.  Holds a small gold horn, comes on stand.  Features beautiful white feather angel wings.

Red Christmas Angel Bear  

Mr. Christmas Bear

Elegant gentleman bear dressed up for Christmas. Features a colorful Christmas fabric vest and matching bow tie (fabric may vary, but will be a beautiful Christmas print from current selections), comes with black top hat and holds a silk poinsettia. Absolutely charming!

Mr. Christmas Bear, Style 2  

Gotta Talk about Christmas! (Please don't groan...)

Hello readers.  I almost hate to say it, but Christmas truly is not far away, especially for those of us who make and sell Christmas gifts and decor.  Ordering early is the key to keeping all of us happy, so I must bring up the subject early as well.  I have been updating a few pages of Christmas gifts and wanted to share those updates with you.

Holiday Sweater Bear

First is the Holiday Sweater Bear page.  Many of the sweater designs have changed since I posted the picture of the bear and sweaters, so I added a separate page where I could easily update the sweaters as necessary.  Sometimes the designs change every year.  

Thanksgiving Sweater

You can see all of the current holiday sweaters here.  I have also added a Thanksgiving sweater to the choices.  It's a beauty.

Mr. Snow Bear

Secondly is the Mr. Snow Bear.  I thought I was being very clever a few years ago when I started making the Snowman Bears using the white bears that I could buy in 4 sizes.  Fun, right?  Until my supplier stopped carrying the white bears.  Once I run out of them, I cannot replenish my supplies.  This size of white bear, about 12" tall, was a popular one and it didn't take long to run out of them.  So, now the Mr. Snow Bear is made using a beige bear.  I have updated the pictures on the page to reflect the current design.

I also updated the cut off date for Christmas orders on the Christmas Teddy Bears page.  Currently, the cut off date is December 12th.

Hanukkah Bear

And, just in case you did not know, I also have a Hanukkah Bear.  I have only one sweater that is shown in the picture, so if you need one, please order soon. I do not know if I will be able to get any more sweaters just like this pretty one.

Teddy Bears Waving Flags

Whimsical Patriotic Girl Bear

If you look closely on this bear's dress, you might see why I love this fabric. Teddy bears waving flags, gotta love it.

See this bear and many more bears dressed in patriotic clothing with flags and other fun things at Patriotic Teddy Bears at Bear Family Gifts, LLC

Hocus Pocus, I've got a New Focus for 2015!

It's a new year and I've decided it's time for a new tag line for my business.  For many years, I have used the phrase, "Teddy Bear Gifts, The Lasting Alternative to Flowers", or some variation of that.  That phrase is still true, teddy bears still last longer than flowers.  So why change?  What happened?

Teddy Bear Shelf

I took this picture and it inspired me to coin this phrase - "Teddy Bear Collections, not for kids, but for the kid in all of us."  You see, this picture of teddy bears is not in a child's room, but is in my office.  Yes, my office, where I dress the teddy bears and personalize the uniforms and the wedding hearts, and where I dream of all of the many, many ways a teddy bear could be dressed.

The collection of  bears on the shelf represent a variety of themes, obtained in a variety of ways, and are only one shelf full of teddy bears in my office.  (Did you notice the teddy bear wall paper border in the background??)  I guess you could say there is a teddy bear loving kid inside me.  It's been there a long time.  Let's not forget, my maiden name was "Bear".  Yes, I have been at this (teddy) bear thing for a very looooong time.

So what about you?  Do you want to add something to your teddy bear collection?  I've got a bunch on my website: Click Here  What about a Valentine' Day Gift?  Oodles of teddy bears in pink and red, they will turn your head.  Teddy bears in red and pink will make you think.

Okay, too many rhymes!!! See you next time......

My Sentiments - Exactly!!

When I first started dressing teddy bears and turning them into personalized gifts, I had in mind that the bears would represent special occasions and moments in someone's life.  They would be a sentimental gift that brought a special moment to (teddy bear) life.  We use pictures to capture special occasions and my thought was that by dressing the teddy bears in clothing suitable for the occasion, that they could capture those moments, too.  Here are a few of the teddy bear gifts and the ways that they capture the moment.

Basic Wedding Bears

My first style of wedding bears, Basic Wedding Bears, are capturing the wedding moment, so to speak.  The personalized heart offers names, and the date, plus what I call a "blessing line", such as "United in Love", "Together Forever", etc.  Your choice as long as it fits.  The bride's dress comes in either white or ivory, and I try to match the colors of the flowers for the bouquet.  Groom is dressed in a black jacket and pants with a faux white shirt and black bowtie.  The clothing colors can be changed if you would like.  Very handy to display this in a prominent place and you will never forget your anniversary date.

Graduation Bear - Finance

The Graduation Teddy Bears collection are suitable for graduation from high school and college.  I offer a variety of themes for different majors and try to match the color of the gown.  I had one customer order a teddy bear dressed in a graduation gown and cap in the color of her son's high school robe.  But she did not want a tassel, she wanted to display her son's tassel with the bear.

Mother Daughter Bears

When I became the mother of a baby girl, that was a precious moment and the culmination of a precious relationship.  This relationship brought to mind the Mother Daughter Bears.  I can dress the bears in colors of your choice and can put names on the heart where I cross-stitch my original poem.

Sister Angel Bear

Like many of my angel bears, the Sister Angel Bear is a way to capture a special relationship, this one between sisters.  My original poem is on the card attached to the bear's hand, and this one features a personalized heart with the sisters' names.

Karate Bear

My kids were all very active in sports when they were in school, but now that they are out of high school, there are no more sports activities to attend.  That is one things I really miss about having a child in high school.  I offer a variety of Sporting Bears on my website just so the athlete or the parent can remember those times with great fondness.  Shown is the Karate Bear in white uniform and black belt.  The uniform can be made in other colors (we have done red and black, see options) and we can also do other colors of belts.  Other sporting bears, such as the Basketball Bear, Softball Bear, and Volleyball Bear have been used as gifts for senior girls.  We try to make the uniform as close as possible to the actual uniform and add names and numbers.  I have been told that the recipients love these bears.  I have one coach who has ordered from me for her senior softball players for several years.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a unique way to capture a moment in your life or the life of someone else, give me a shout and we'll see what we can do with a teddy bear to make that a reality.

Collections featured in this blog post:
Wedding Bears and Bunnies
Graduation Bears
Gifts for Family Members
Angel Bears and Bunnies
Sporting Bears

If it Quacks Like a Duck.... You Might Need some Sunshine!!

It has been raining so much today, I feel like I should grow webbed feet, waddle outside, and quack away.  I could use a little sunshine, so I had a peek at some of my Sunflower Bear Gifts.  Here are just a few of these cheerful, sunny teddy bear gifts.

Sunflower Bear

Sunflower Bear was my first sunflower teddy bear gift.  A cream colored sweater with a sunflower on the front, plus sunflower print fabric pants, and holding a bouquet of sunflowers.  A gift that would definitely cheer up someone.

Sunflower Lady Bear

Sunflower Lady Bear is a sweet lady that comes with her own watering can, and some sunflowers, of course.  She's just a fun gal that likes taking care of her garden.  Do you suppose she likes to grow sunflowers?  I imagine that she does!!

Sunflower Angel Bear

Sunflower Angel Bear is a smaller version of the lady bear.  Comes with her halo and angel wings, of course, as well as a tiny bouquet of sunflowers.

Mr. and Mrs. Sunflower Bear

I love the look of a bright blue color mixed with the yellow sunflowers. The combination reminds me of the blue skies of Kansas over a field of sunflowers. Thus, when I saw this fabric, something good had to come of it!  Mr. and Mrs. Sunflower Bear are that something good.  Comes with the white watering can that is filled with small sunflowers.  Cute vest and matching bow tie for the Mr. and a pretty little dress for the Mrs.

Sunflower Buttons & Bow Bear

Besides having an eye for colorful fabric, I also have an eye for novelty themed buttons.  So, how to use these adorable buttons with a teddy bear gift?  How about the Sunflower Buttons & Bow Bear?  We used a dark green vest for the background and then added the sunflower buttons, as well as a flower pot and some lady bugs.  Cute Stuff!!