22nd November 2011

What's been going on in the month since I last blogged? probably the reason I haven't blogged before is that apart from working flat out on the bears I haven't had a chance to do anything else!I hate keeping people waiting and I don't like having a long order book  so I forfeited a month in France for getting up to date. It wasn't really a hardship though as I do love it and I am very grateful that I have such brilliant collectors and work coming in.Even more heart warming for me is that so many people tell me that the bears seem to have healing qualities for them
Meanwhile my daughters have a much more exciting life!! Amy , who recently graduated, has a job with the British Council working in Sicily. I don't think I could go off completely on my own to a new country but she is amazing. She has settled in very well and everyone has been very kind to her. She has had some hairy moments but is thoroughly enjoying herself. The town she is living in still has donkeys collecting the rubbish! I am looking forward to visiting her shortly.
Anna is on the move again this weekend to a new home. Luckily she doesn't live so far away so we can still see her easily.
Try not to race around too much with all the Christmas festivities coming up ladies- I say ladies as I am sure 99% of men don't even realise Christmas cards have to be written, presents bought before Christmas Eve etc etc!!!
Hugs

17th October 2011

I have just heard that the book is being printed at the moment. If you have no idea what I am talking about this is it.

Juggling Tales by  popular childrens author Dot Taig is a book of  seven short stories including one about Little Scruffs aimed at 8 to 12 year olds(But I enjoyed it!) It is being published towards the end of this month and Dot would like to know orders this week  if possible. The price will be £6 and would make a very nice gift. Please email me on littlescruffs@yahoo.co.uk if you are interested. Here is the front cover - spot the Scruffs!!!
and here is a bit more information

“Have a wonderful adventure,”

Stargazer said to the Little Scruffs.

We hope you do, too, as you turn the pages of this book and read all about the Scruffs, a magic pumpkin, a Tree Spirit, an invisibility hat and many other strange and wonderful things...

not forgetting the bag of wind!

Ghillie Dhu's Lost Amber
The magic pumpkin
The city under the sea
The little scruffs
Toytime
Is anyone there?
The Lost Christmas present.

I love thinking up new style bears and  I have been making quite a few new dogs recently. I have just  finished my first FatHead dog - a very vicious looking little one but his bark his worse than his bite! See Dawg on my bear page at http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk

Bye for now

Jean

21st September 2011

Oh gosh I am getting longer in between my very interesting and entertaining (NOT!) blogs!! This also is going to be a very short one just to let you know I am here, in the background, beavering away everyday bear making! I say bear making but recently I have been making more dog like bears than ever. I must show you these 2 incredibly sweet photos of Tabitha, a tri coloured fox terrier and the little Tabitha I made of her. The real Tabitha is 14 years old and a very much loved family member so I was pleased that her owner was happy with my mini version.
The new Teddy bears of Witney catologue came out this week and I am pleased to say that the little grey dog has almost sold out and I have been asked to make a similar edition in brown.
This time next week my daughter Amy will be on her way to Sicily for a year in her first proper paid job since finishing Uni this year. So far she still has no where to stay so if anyone knows anyone living in Castelbuono, Sicily PLEASE contact me so that I can stop worrying!! I have just made her a mini Soldier Bear to take with her.
Don't forget to take a look at http://www.visionfinearts.co.uk/ where the artist Helen Jones  has packs of Little Scruffs notelets for sale. If you want paintings or drawings of your dog/bear/bike/house, the list goes on- see what she creates.
Well that's all for now, hopefully next time I will have more information about the book of short stories coming out for Christmas  by Dot Taig which includes a story on the Little Scruffs

12th August 2011

12th August 2011

I am more than half way through my “holiday” in France now. I don’t know why I call it a holiday as I have to do horrible household chores here that I usually get away with in England since my husband retired. Here in France we have loads of renovating to do and a field of a garden that if I didn’t keep cracking the whip Mike would be out in all day!!!

I have now given up on trying to find a reasonably priced courier to send the bears out with. They all seem to be twice the price of sending them by Royal Mail. Luckily I have some very lovely, patient customers and so far have 16 bears all waiting to go to new homes on my return.

I have become slightly obsessed with making my take on the old Soldier Bears from World War One at the moment but am aware that these funny little bears are not everyone’s cup of tea so force myself into only making every other one an alternative style.

I am thrilled to have a 2 page article in an online magazine this month written about the Little Scruffs. Here is the link and I think I am on pages 28 and 29

http://issuu.com/annelouisemagazine/docs/annelouisemagazineaugust2011

My daughter Anna and her boyfriend are coming to stay next week which we are really looking forward to. They want to camp in the garden but as we have a railway line at the bottom of it I am not sure if they will last the week there!!

We don’t have a phone line in the house so no Broadband for us. I have to walk 2 miles each day to an internet café to check my emails and update my website. If it wasn’t for that and the cost of postage I would be more inclined to stay here longer, especially after hearing about all the terrible riots in England this week.

Well I will love and leave you now and hope everyone has a lovely Summer.

Take Care

Hugs

Jean
Little Scruffs
http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk/

20th May since I last blogged!!!!

Today is the 11th July 2011- nearly 2 months since I last blogged!!! Where did that time go? The bears have been taking all my time up and I realise that my Blog, Facebook, Twitter and all the other social sites I am on have taken a back seat. That said, I feel very lucky that I have such a wonderful job and that the bears are  being adopted by so many people.
I am off to France again on 27th July for a month and this time  will be definitely using a courier service for sold bears. If anyone reading this has any suggestions as to the best service to use while over there I would be very grateful.

Today's bear is Martha, above, a girl bear for a change. Yesterday I went to a car boot and bought some old wooden blocks and carts, they were just the thing for the 2 bears I had just finished 
Finally, if I haven't bored you already, I must tell you how proud we are of our daughter Amy who has just finished Uni with a 1st Degree Honours in Italian and Spanish with a Distinction.  Now who else can I tell!!!!
That's all from me for now
Hugs,
Jean
Little Scruffs
http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk/

20th May 2011

Phew what a busy few weeks it's been! I have got one day to get everything packed to take to France for a month and I am hoping I don't forget any vital bearmaking stuff- clothes you can buy if necessary, bear equipment not so easy to come by! I have also got to leave our flat spotless  as our friends are staying while we are away. I wish Mike was as enthusiastic about housework as he is DIY!!
This is Bong

This little chap caused quite a headache for me last night. Within a few minutes of him going on the website I had 4 emails from people wanting to adopt him! It was a nice headache to have though :0)

I have been doing quite a few smaller bears recently,  around about 3". I am taking a couple of huge bears(well they are to me!) to make on holiday, not sure if I will get round to doing them but they have been on my wanting to do list for ages. They are not my patterns and I shall be making them just for myself, which is why I probably wont get round to it.

My daughter, Amy had her last ever lesson at Uni today after 4 years there. I think she felt quite sad. She has lots of exams over the next few weeks and then she will be living in London for 3 months while working (unfortunately unpaid) for a company that deals in film subtitles - the job she would love to do most, especially as they have offices in Rome and Barcelona.

Anna, my other daughter , while still working in a school is also doing a Masters in Education , hoping this will help her with future jobs as teaching is so competitive at the moment.

I have been on a bit of a keep fit binge recently. Sitting on your backside sewing all day is not good for the figure and although I have always walked twice a day it hasn't helped as I do love my food. So I am now swimming twice a week, 40 lengths each time, and by cutting out rubbish food have managed to lose 1 stone 6 lbs this year. Trouble is I am not so good in France so we will see how I go.

Remember if you want to reserve a bear while I am away please drop me an email.

Hugs

Jean

5th April 2011

Well I am half way through my holiday- did I say holiday??? We have bought a run down cottage in France – my husband’s dream for many years and now he has retired I couldn’t put him off any longer!!!


Back home in England he has been doing most of the domestic chores while I make bears all day. I have been thoroughly spoilt and it is a bit of a shock to the system to have to clean and cook now especially as there is no dishwasher!!!

I spent the first few days making curtains and various items and we are working flat out to make it look as nice as possible as we have our first visitors next week. Luckily it is only our daughters!!

We are both so useless at French. Mike went to night school last year to learn it and I am sure he went to Spanish classes by mistake!!! Our cottage is in a little Hamlet with shops about half a mile away. Our neighbours who speak no English are lovely to us and we all have our dictionaries at hand.

When we arrived we gave Germaine, out next door neighbour, a tin of biscuits. The next day we went to have our breakfast and realised we had given her the wrong tin!!!! In the one we gave her there was a few prunes, half a bag of nuts and about 4 apricots!! Still laughing about it now.

I have just added Antoinette to my website.

I will say bye for now and hope to add more bears in the next few days

Hugs

18th March 2011 Red Nose Day

Jo King above wanted to get his picture in cyberspace for Red Nose day!!!

It's been a busy few weeks here with the Little Scruffs  and we will be going away on 26th March until 17th April.
Now this doesn't mean no bears will be made, there is no way I could leave it that long!!!! I will be adding new bears to the website, designing others and catching up on orders while in France.  We have bought a small cottage that we are doing up there. Which means I will be making things for the house as well so I will be busier than normal!! Might just stay at home!!
Anyway, if you were thinking of buying a Little Scruffs for Mothers Day or Easter the last day for next day posting in UK is a week today on Friday 25th.
Hugs
Jean

28th February 2011

Last day of February already!!! I had a lovely day at the Kensington Bear Fair yesterday. I sold lots of bears and met some lovely people. I didn't realise quite how many bears I had made recently until they were all out on display!
I have been updating the website  and as from today, for one week only, I am doing free Royal Mail Special Delivery within the UK. Please take a look and see if there is anyone you like
Hugs
Jean
Little Scruffs
http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk/

20th February 2011

Sorry my communication has been so limited recently. What with, firstly, no phone and broadband, then Mike being away and trying to prepare for the bear fair next Sunday, coupled with being without my camera I have been a waste of space!!!!

A peep through the key hole shows this little white dog/bear who will be keeping me company next week at the Kensington Bear Fair, together with LOTS more bears. Please let me know if you are also going and if you have never heard of Hugglets and you like bears....where have you been!!!!  Get yourself down to the Town Hall next Sunday 27th February :0)
As soon as the fair is over I will be paying lots of attention to my website .
Until then
Hugs
Jean and the Little Scruffs

4th February 2011

10 days to go until Valentines Day and I have discovered there really are some lovely romantic men out there!! No sadly my husband isn't one of them - imagination is not one of his better qualities!
What I meant was the men that contact me asking for special bears for their other halves and so much thought goes into what they want. Not quickly rushing out to get chocolates the day before!! I can't go into details as I might just spoil it for someone  but well done to all the romantics out there.

Hopefully now my communication problems are over and broadband and the phoneline is now working as normal. Sorry if you have had any problems getting in touch.
off to a pantomine tomorrow- don't even know what I am seeing but I know it will be fun as it is my old drama group- yes and they are getting old too!!!
3 weeks until Hugglets Bear Fair in Kensington, London.Please let me know if you would like tickets, it really is the 'best' fair ever
Have a good weekend everyone
Hugs


Jean and  the Little Scruffs
http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk/

24th January 2011

Well after weeks and weeks and even more weeks of having problems with our phone and internet and getting nowhere, it seems that engineers are coming out tomorrow and the problem should be fixed by midnight!!!! if so I am thrilled even though I have spent so much time trying to find the fault, convinced it was our wiring , phones etc. I will keep you posted.
Life is very busy at present  and I am struggling to find enough hours in the day but I have got lots of bears due to go on website and who will be going to Hugglets in London on 27th February. Please let me know if you would like a ticket to this brilliant bear show.

Also, as my job involves a lot of sitting down I am desperatly trying to exercise as much as possible so I have added swimming to the 2 walks a day and I also take Lola, a frisky golden labrador walkies for her owner who is partially sighted. No chocolates,cakes,biscuits or any treats come to think of it have passed through my lips since Christmas although I have only lost 6 lbs!!
I have just finished a fuzzy little FatHead today.He is made from some new material I have just received and is pretty cute! I have just taken a quick picture as shown but it's not very clear
If you have any trouble geting in touch with me please try my mobile which is on my website
Speak soon
Hugs
Jean
Little Scruffs
http://www.miniaturemohairbears.co.uk/

7th January 2011

I hope the New Year has started off well for you with not too many weather traumas. It was really unusual for Evesham to have so much snow and a bit of a novelty......for a while!!!!

Well I have been having a great deal of trouble with my internet recently and it still isn't resolved. Firstly the phone started playing up, crackly and only working sometimes, now that has gone completely. Now the internet is pretty much the same, cutting out all the time. Also people have been having trouble paying and emailing me so things need to change quickly. The trouble is it is a bit of an unusual case but to tell you the truth you would be bored stiff if I carried on so I won't bother.

Rufus, the little dog with the black ears above, is a new design which reminds me of a mohair dog from long ago. Iam enjoying working on new styles but of course I still make the old faithfuls. I shall be at Hugglets bear show on the 27th February in Kensington, London. What a fabulous Fair it is too. You can find more details on my website or through Hugglets themselves.

Well bye for now and I look forward to hearing from you

Beary Hugs

Jean and the Little Scruffs