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/