Meet a Bear Monday

Good Day!  It is a beautiful day here

in Oklahoma, it is supposed to be

in the 70's, much better than the cold

weekend we had, with snow!

Yesterday, I asked if anyone wanted

me to keep posting bears and I got

some response from bloggers that

they liked seeing my bears, so I will

keep  posting "Meet a Bear  Monday"

Today, I thought I would show you  the

pair, Edmund and Bailey, dressed

in a Princess and dragon costume.  I

had to buy these, because I love to go to

the renaissance festival in Waxahachie,

Texas....We even dress up in renaissance

outfits!  It is a lot of fun.....Anyway, back

to the bears.....On their books, it says

"Once Upon a Hiccup"....Bailey gets up

one morning and is looking in the mirror

and she sees herself in this beautiful dress....

She spins around and hiccups and then

she is wearing the dress....She turns into

a "Princess" and her home turns into

a castle!  She goes to see her friend

"Emily Babbit" the rabbit, who has

 turned into "Lady Emily"...Handmaiden

to the Princess....So, they sat down and

planned an adventure, using their

imaginations!  Of course,  they wanted

Bailey's boyfriend, Edmund to dress as

something, so in their imaginations, he

became their pet dragon for the day!

They are such cute outfits....

 

I don't know why the pictures are a little

dark, I had the light on and I used the flash.

I think you can see them well enough,

though....

Well, I better get some housework done,

so I can do some sewing, I want to make some

thing with that material I got....Then back to

painting....I also want to do some painting in

the house, since it has warmed up and I can

have the windows open to let out the fumes....

I hate to have it trapped in the house, it is

very unhealthy.

I hope you all have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate

it so much!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Garage Sale Finds

Hello, I hope you all had a great

weekend....It was nice here all week

and when Saturday got here, it was

cold and rainy, then it started snowing

and we had about an inch on Sunday

morning, it melted and then snowed

again in the afternoon....It is 65 degrees

right now......Crazy weather!  Well, I

was out walking on Friday and one of my

neighbors was having a garage sale, so I

stopped.  I got a box full of material for $5

....The red material with the gingerbreads

has about 4 yds, she threw that in for $1 and

the bedspread for another $1...There are

a bunch of tapestry or upholstery samples

that will make cute pin cushions or birds...

I picked out one to recover one of my foot

stools with.

I got a great deal on this stuff!  Now,

I need to get to making something with

it all, or it will just be a waste of money

to have it sit here in the way.  I finally

got the project painted that I was working

on, it took me forever!  If I didn't like part

of it, I painted it again, until I was happy

with it.  I can't show it to you, I sent it to a

blogging buddy, she will probably post it.

She doesn't know what it is, it is a surprise

for her.....Hey Gina, your package is on

the way!

I don't know if I am going to keep doing

"Meet a Bear Monday"....I don't think there

are many bear lovers in the prim world, if

any of you want me to keep posting bears,

just leave me a comment....

Well, I need to go to the store, then finish

cleaning.....I hope you all have a great

week!

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

Tipsy Thursday

Hi everyone, I hope you are all

doing fine.....Spring is in the air,

here in Oklahoma, the tulip trees

are in bloom! 

I don't know what the deal is with

this blogger, none of the tool bar

was showing so I couldn't give you

the tip for today, earlier when I

tried....

Todays tip:

How to make your own self-rising

flour if your recipe calls for it, and

you don't have any in the house.

Self-rising Flour

Mix together:

4 cups flour

       2 teaspoons salt

               2 tablespoons baking

powder

Store in a tightly

covered container.

Happy Baking!

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen

Fleamarket Finds

Good Afternoon, Blogging Buddies....

I think I like these bigger letters,

don't you?  I have noticed that a lot

of blogs have bigger print....They said

that followers couldn't read the print

that well, so they went bigger.  I like it

on blogs, except for some of them, the

letters run together with the ones on the

lines above and below.  This makes it a

little harder to read, I think....I will post

this one with this size letters to see how

it turns out...Anyway, I tried to post this

picture to share with you all on Sunday

night, but I encountered some error and

off the post went!  It was about 1:00 am

and I didn't want to redo it....So, here are

all the goodies that I got at the fleamarket

 over the weekend.  I got it all for $16.....

The bowls are both Munising and I got

a great deal on them, $7 for the pair!  The

finish on the one with the pinecones is not

very good, but I will put them in a bowl

rack, when I can get hubby to build me

one....The real problem is, where I can

hang it....I have several of these kind

of graters, but most of mine have been

painted, so I wanted these plain ones...

They look cute with lit votive candles

under them, out on a patio table. I have

a sewing machine drawer, but it is plain,

so I got this one to put up on the shelf

above the computer with my bears and

the sewing signs, etc.  See that sifter?

I might come up with something to put

in that.....hmmmm....I just thought of

something, but you will have to just wait

and see what I come up with! 

I got a kraut cutter for making

sauerkraut, it didn't have the box on

it that you put the cabbage in, but it

was only $2, so I got it with intentions

of putting it on the wall to put all my

spice tins on, but it was too long to be

able to put it where I wanted it, so I

propped it behind the kitchen sink to

cover the ugly formica back splash....

Works for me until I can get my new

counter tops on, which be awhile, yet...

It will involve a lot more than new

counter tops, we have to move cabinets,

build a wall along the back of the

peninsula, take down some cabinets,

etc.....so it goes down the list...We have

things to do on our house in Texas, that

has to come first.  I am saying that I just

might paint those ugly counter tops that

look like white marble, one of these days!

I want the cabinets red, but then taupe

would look good, or off white with black

trim and knobs...I can't make up my mind!

Well, I need to get out and walk, it is a

beautiful day and I want to get out there

and enjoy some of it!

By for now....

Bear Hugs~Karen

Meet a Bear Monday

Hi Ya'll.....I hope this finds you all in a good mood!

I don't know about you all, but I've had trouble

posting.....Last night I was posting about all the neat

things I got at the fleamarket and Microsoft had an

error and had to close on me and I lost the post....

Then this morning, I clicked on a blog in the window

of my dashboard and it came up and froze.....Then I

opened another for the dashboard and it did it again!

I had to restart the computer to get rid of it all!  It is

working fine, now....Geeeezzzeee, what a pain!

Well, it is Monday, again....Seems like they are

coming around faster and faster!  So, I want to show

you another bear in my collection.  I have a lot of

"patriotic" bears and this one is one of my favorites!

Her name is ....Ann I. Bearsary....She was made to

celebrate Boyd's 1st Anniversary of the Big Ole Barn

in Gettysburg, PA....It's on the label on her foot. She

is 12" tall and is wearing a red top with stars and navy

blue bloomers.  The embroidered stars on the collar

just makes it stand out.  Her hat has the same star print

on the top, with a big blue bow, although you cannot see

it in the picture....

A close up of her cute little face....

I thought about showing her in July, but I have plenty of

patriotic ones to show you for the whole month of July!

I don't know who I will show you next, but next month,

being April, (the Civil War started in the month of April)

I will show you my bears dressed in Civil War outfits....

I have several pictures of things that I have found at GW

and other places that I haven't posted, so I show you all

that, soon and a picture of an Easter Bonnet, on Easter,

that I made for my Mom to wear in the "Easter Bonnet"

contest.....She won 1st prize!

Well, I need to get to painting, I want to get a project done

for a blogging buddy.....

Also, I won at BINGO on Willow Bend Prims.....I can't

wait to see what she is sending me!!!  I will be posting

that as soon as I get it!

As T. J. does....WOOT....WOOT...WOOT!!!!

Hope ya'll  have a great week!

Until next time....

Bear Hugs~Karen

My Sewing/Craft/Computer Room & Tipsy Thursday~

Good Evening Friends....

I thought I would show you all what took me 5 days to
do!  I had so much stuff in this room that I could hardly get
around the computer chair to the table I painted at, under
the Marilyn Monroe plates.....So, I bought the sewing table,
moved things around, took things out of the room and I
took over the book case in the corner, for material.

We stacked the file cabinets to make more floor space....

The white table you can see a little of, is made from an old

treadle sewing machine stand....The table with the paints

and brushes was free, hubby brought that home....I had to

organize stuff on it to have room to paint.  I bought 3 little

 pink crates to put paint in and they work better than

the shoe boxes.

I didn't know that I had this much material,

it was in tubs, like the gray ones you see under

the window.  As I was sorting, I decided on what

to keep here and what to take back to Texas....

The boxes are full of stuff to decorate with, or to

paint on....Don't laugh, the closet is full, too!

I said on my last post, I think it was, I have that

disease called "Packratitis".......Come on now, I

bet some of you out there also have this disease, but

you just don't want to admit it!

This is the shelf over the computer....One of my bears

has her own sewing machine!  Well, I hope you enjoyed the

tour of my room, it is very small, but I think now I can make

it work....

Since I am posting tonight, I am going to post you a tip for

tomorrow. 

Todays tip:

To ripen tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag in a

dark pantry, and they will ripen.  You can also ripen

bananas this way.

Thanks for making my blog part of your day!

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen

Meet a Bear Monday

Hi ya'll.....It is Monday already?  Boy the time

is flying by!  Today's bear for "Meet a Bear

Monday" is Barbara T. Bearsley.....She is

wearing red print blouse under a denim jumper.

She has cute eyes, that you can't see because

of the big straw hat she is wearing. 

Here is a close up of the hat adorned with a red

carnation.

I will have to look around to see if I have any more bears

with the last name of "Bearsley".....Well, I finally got the

craft/sewing/computer room all done, so I will post some

pictures of it, soon.  I don't know why I have so much stuff!

I think I have a disease, called packratitis!!!  Is there a cure

for it???  A pill?    If anyone out there knows of any, please

let me know, I am sure my husband has it, too!

Well, I smell the roast cooking and so I need to get the rest

of the meal on.....mashed potatoes, gravy etc......mmmm, it

is making me hungry!

Hope you all have a great week and thanks for stoppin' by!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Sunshine Award & Tipsy Thursday!

Hello Blogging Buddies, I would first like to thank

Andy of  Andy's Primitive Home for thinking of

me when she chose the ones she wanted to receive this

award!  Even though I have an award free,  tag free blog,

 I didn't really think I would receive one anyway!  Although

I am not going to pass this on, I feel honored that she

thought of me!  Thank you Andy, you are one of my

best friends in blogging!  Now, on to the rest of this post.

Now I need to post the tip for this Thursday's tip: 

This is what you do if you have a problem with

your drinking glasses sticking together, when you

have them stacked in the cabinet.  You put some cold

water in the inside glass and then set them in some

 hot water.  The outside one will warm and expand and

the inside one will get cold and shrink.  Walla, they

should come apart without any problem.  I have done

this before and it works like a charm!

Well, it is warm out and I am going for a walk!

I hope Spring is coming soon,  for all of us!

Until next time!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Warren Kimble Prints

Hello Blogging Buddies!   I thought I would share with

you all the prints that I have been collecting....I started

with this book about Warren Kimble, the famous folk artist.

I bought a few of his flag dishes, I only got 4 mugs and 4

cake plates at the time, when I went back, they were no

 longer stocking them....You know what they say, "If you

see it and want it, you better buy it because it will be gone

when you go back."

YUP, THAT'S RIGHT!!!

I bought the large print in Texas, last summer and I just

got the smaller ones when I was back in February, to

check on my house.....The frame on the large print is

black, but the smaller ones have brown frames, so I am

going to paint them black one of these days....I am not

 going to keep them on the mantel though, I will put the

pair on the wall on one side of the fireplace, after we move

the big shelves with the books.....I want to do some work

on the walls when it warms up a bit, so them I want to

move the shelves to the back wall and put them together...

Then the TV and other furniture with have to move, so....I

am thinking that I will paint the wall around the fireplace

dark red and the wall on the opposite end of the room, red

 to make the room not look so long......This fireplace is in

what used to be the garage. It makes the living room huge,

with it taking up what used to be the livingroom and

 garage, but it makes it hard to arrange the furniture.

Anyway,  I will be on the lookout for more prints and

whatever, by Warren Kimble....I was looking in the book

and there are patterns in there for projects to make,

so I think I will try some of them.....While I was looking for

his book, I came across some other folkart books that I

am going to check out to see what I can find in them to

make.....So, I better get off here, I have some thingsI need

to paint for someone......

Hope you all are having a great week.....

Bear Hugs~Karen

Meet a Bear Monday

Hello Everyone!  I hope this finds you all doing

ok!  I am late posting this "Meet a Bear Monday"

post since I was gone this afternoon and tonight I

had a bad headache, that is just now letting up.....Well,

tonight's bear is not a Boyd's bear, it is a Steiff bear.

If you know anything about how the bear came to be,

it was named "Teddy Bear" because Teddy Roosevelt

was out bear hunting and when he came up on one, he

didn't shoot it, so the papers called it, "Teddy's Bear"...

(This is how I heard the story, anyway)

Steiff is a German company that started  in 1880  and

in 1902,  they started making teddy bears, which they are

still doing today, plus all kinds of other animals.

http://www.steiffusa.com/AboutSteiff/Foundation.aspx

I bought this one in an antique mall in Texas several

years ago, all the owner of the shop could tell me about

 it was, that she was told that it was from the 1970's...

Steiff is known for the tag in the ear,  which this one

has....I believe he is made of mohair....I just checked

on the back of the tag, it says he is made of cotton &

wool......I would love togo to an "Antiques Roadshow"

to see what he is worth. I know he won't be worth what

the old ones are worth, but I would still like to find out....

Do any of you bear collectors out there, collect Steiff? 

This is the only one that I have...

Well, that is it for tonight...

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~Karen