Doll & Toy Show

Hey Everyone!
I am going to be at the Kane County Fairgrounds this Sunday for a Doll and Toy show (this is out in St. Charles, IL). This is the first time I'm doing this show. It seems to be a popular show and it looks like there will be a lot of exhibitors. I haven't taken my bears to a non-bear show for many years. It would be great if you could make it out. I have new bears and sock monkeys that I will be taking. I will also be debuting my brand new little monsters this weekend. These are little monster friends made of cuddly fleece with button eyes. They're made in silly shapes and fun colors. I'll share them here on my blog soon. For more information on the show, check out their website: http://www.chicagotoyshow.com/

TCD

FLASHBACK! Eleanor the Elephant

Hello!
I've been digging through some old pictures of my creations. I've been making bears for 12 years and I've made many different types of bears and other animals. I've decided to share some of them with you every now and then (I'll try to do it once a week). First up is Eleanor. Eleanor was my first elephant design ever. She's made of a great gray and purple tie-dyed mohair with a bow of a similar color. She's special because she made it into an issue of Teddy Bear and Friends, which caused me to develop a couple more of her by special order. (This original Eleanor was a special piece for my grandmother, who collects elephants.)

Have a nice weekend! (And Happy Easter to those who celebrate!)
TCD

Monkeying Around... and Website Update!

Hello!
As promised, I've been working on some new pieces this week! I went to Indiana for a few days of my spring break and went sock shopping, so included in this update are my two newest sock monkeys! I was in search of bright, patterned, and fun socks and I think I found them! Please meet Cici and Pauly:
Along with being a busy (sewing) bee this week, I've also taken the time to make a (long overdue) update to my website. You can now see EVERY item that I currently have available, so it's like being able to walk right into my studio and view my work. I have also updated my list of shows for this year, so you can see where I will be next. Please head on over there to check it out. You'll see several bears featured on my blog along with a couple never before seen bears (look for Dominic, Faunus, and Koemi to name a few).

Click Here For The Teds 'n Such Website

As always, comments are warmly welcomed!

TCD

Rohan on Bear Pile

Hey Everyone!
I've just listed my little unicorn Rohan on Bear Pile. Rohan is a 7.5" unicorn made out of an off-white mohair. He has a white plush mane and tail. His eyes are a gorgeous blue and he has cream ultrasuede eyelids on the top and bottom of the eyes. His magnificent 3" long horn was hand sculpted from clay and painted and sealed in a gold color. He is fully (5-way) jointed and he is stuffed with silky polyester fiber and steel shot for weight. Click here to see his listing.

Hugs,
TCD

So Proud!

Hey Everyone!
I just received the newest issue of Teddy Bear Review in the mail today. They did a feature on male teddy bear artists called 'Fellowship of the Fur' and guess who was included? Me! :) This is the first time I've ever been featured in an article in a teddy bear magazine and it's so exciting! I have three pictures in the article. There is one of a fairy bear named Jordan, a green plush bear named Orrin, and I am pictured with Riley (see below). Check it out! It's a neat article and I couldn't be happier :)

In other news... I'm back on Bear Pile and I've just listed Riley this evening. Click here to check his listing out! Update: Riley has been adopted.

Have a great evening/weekend!
TCD

Cutting away and a new show!

Hello!
I would first like to thank everyone who made it to the Schaumburg show on Sunday. It was a good show for me and several of my pieces found new homes and many were to new collectors! Now that the show is over, what do I do? Look to the next one! My next bear show isn't until the beginning of June, but I'm already trying to plan and work for it now. I've already been cutting and have the fur flying! Next week is my Spring Break from school, so I'm trying to get a few things ready to be worked on and completed next week! I'll start sharing them as I finish them!

In other news, I'm excited to announce that I will be participating the 'Bears on Parade' online show. The show doesn't start until July 15th, but I will be creating at least 5 new pieces to go with the show, so I'm going to need to start planning them out in the near future! At least one of them should go with the parade theme... What should I make? We'll see what I come up with.

Take care,
TCD

Bears, Monkeys, Koalas, Elephants... It's a Zoo!

Hello Everyone!
I will be traveling to Schaumburg, IL for the Windy City Spring Fling show put on by Bright Star Promotions this Sunday. This is now the only all teddy bear show in the area and it would be great if you could make it to the show! The show is from 10 - 3 and is located at the Schaumburg Radisson. Click here to see a preview of the show and for the address and more information.

Below is a preview of some of my newest creations that I'll have at the show.

On the top left is Eldora the elephant. To her right is my second sock monkey, Kiki. Below her is my brand new koala design named Yuca. To his left is a new bear named Brendan and in the middle peeking through is one of my baby bears named Kalin (who was posted previously).

Hugs,
TCD

Guess what I'm working on next...MONKEYS!

The beginning of a new design.... Sock Monkeys!

I decided to try out a sock monkey this weekend. I made one a couple of years ago from a pattern and thought it was cute, but haven't given them much thought since. Zachary's been trying to get me to make them for him because he thinks sock monkeys are cute and I like them, so I finally decided to give it a go. So, above is the materials I bought from Michael's on Thursday. I didn't have a pattern for my creation, just a crazy thought in my head and I think I'm going to keep it that way. I just cut freely into the sock to make the pieces, sewed those pieces and put him all together. This free cutting will allow for individuality in each piece that I make. I think he turned out quite fun, although he is a bit crazy with the eyes. Here is my first sock monkey, Yalo.

Hugs!
TCD

New Baby Bear!

Hello!
I haven't taken the time to do an official photo shoot lately, but I wanted to share this picture I took on my phone of my newest baby bear. His name is Kalin. He is 7" tall and made of a hand-dyed, marbled purple mohair. He has violet ultrasuede paws, feet and eyelids. He has German black glass eyes, a hand-stitched nose of black perle cotton, and sculpted fingers and toes. Kalin is fully jointed and he has a little belly button that's been hand shaded. (Kalin is available now for $70)

Have a happy weekend!
TCD

Two Brand New Designs!

Hey Everyone,
I've been busy lately with school work. For some reason, I always procrastinate when it comes to grading papers. It's probably because I want to do other things like making bears, but last week I had to sit down and grade, grade, grade to catch up. However, I had a long weekend and I was able to sit down and come up with two totally brand new designs and I would like your feedback!

In my last post I gave a hint to a secret project that I'm working on for my TBAI gallery piece. I have made the teddy bear that will soon become said gallery piece. He is much slimmer than my typical bears and I made his snout thinner as well. Here he is:

I also created a new baby design and this little guy's name is Dalton. He has a fat, four piece body with shortened limbs, a shorter, more round muzzle, and a cute belly button. Here is Dalton:

Please let me know what you think of the new designs! Do you like one more than the other? Is there anything specific that you like/don't like?

Have a great week!
TCD