work in progress custom elf bear day 4

Work in Progress
Custom
Elf Bear
Day 4

This is the picture I am basing this bear from that was sent to me by a most wonderful bear collector. Her wish was that I create a bear in the essence of this darling creature....this is the journey of my Bramblewood Elf Bear.

I was able to finish the character painting on this big guy today as well as scale his nose down to a much preferable size. I also altered his eyelids and pronounced his grin to accentuate the aspects of the look in the picture.



















I still have a lot of styling to do on his frolic- y hair, but I will wait to do that very last after he is all put together.
















I am really excited about his profile. You can really see his cheeks from this angle.


























I still need to sew and attach his ears. I am not sure exactly how I will occomplishe this. I may use the long fur, but my concern is that it will just blend in to much, the ears will dissapear or look too bulky. I may scissor sculpt them or possibly use a completely different contrasting fur....I would ultimately like them to look fur-less like his face...so it will be interesting to see what I come up with on that!











This elf bear is like nothing I have ever created and I am enjoying the challenge entirely! I am so thankful and excited to have been blessed with this project!

Stay tuned for more progress photos on the way!

Work in progress
custom
Elf Bear
day 2

sewing has begun on this very long fur fabric and this unique bear is beginning to take shape.

Anytime I am sewing you can always find one or more of the kids nearby. They are always so interested in what I am doing and what this new bear will look like. I am sure each of them will have their own art medium as they grow older.

Work in Progress
custom
Elf Bear
day 3

This is the picture I am basing this bear from. This bear will have some typical Bramblewood Bear qualities, but will be much different as I interpret this elf into the likeness of a bear and bruin qualities. I am trying to capture the essence of the character and facial features that give this elf his personality such as his large cheeks and wide curved smile, v line forehead, big round bare belly and of course his long wispy hair.

I spent the night and early morning hours enjoying working on the face of this elf bear. I gave special attention to the face shape, cheeks and forehead to mimic the look of the Elf, yet retain the muzzle and feel of a bear as much as possible. One thing I love about the camera, is that it never lies! His nose to me is a bit too large and takes his other character qualities away from what the original elf looks like, sort of getting in the way of the other great qualities he has. His nose will be shaped down to about half its current size. The elf in the picture has such a tiny nose, and this nose, I'm afraid must undergo a big reduction!

Of course this bear has not yet been painted, shaded and still has some needle sculpting to be done to his face. As you can see, he resembles the picture and I am quite pleased with his long fur that I will later be able to comb and style in the shape of the elf picture. Here he sits next to his big belly, his head not yet attached :)

I have been spending the day working on his shading and character painting as well as adding his ears and reducing his nose. I look forward to sharing more of his progress with you tomorrow.

Work in Progress Custom Bear

I am very excited to be working on a couple of custom bears for some collectors.

This bear will be posted as a work in progress so you can share in his creation process.
I am thrilled to be making this bear for such a sweet woman who had an inspiration photo for me and the challenge will be so engading. My creative juices are sure flowing to bring this 'elf' to life in a bear. This is the photo she shared with me to re-create as a bear elf.

I just love this little fellow. This bear will be a large 20" bear. I searched high and low for just the right kind of fur to emulate the hair on this elf. The last week I awaited anxiously the arrival of this fur to my home. Finally, I found the perfect match and today it arrived from Israel! I also ordered some other very long fur from the same seller and looking at them both in person, I have an inspiration to mix them with this bear to set apart the 'hair' on the head as unique to the rest of the fur.

If you look closely, you can see the two different furs. The one on the left is a multicolored super long pile fur in mauve, cream and very light rich pink colors. The one on the right is a very long pile fur as well in honey cream tan. Both are very wavy and compliment each other beautifully.

This stunning muli-colored fur is so deep and rich and I plan to style it close to the elf's long hair atop his head. You can get the idea of how long this fur is!

This will be the fur I use for part of the head and body. I just love the matted silky long flowing look this fur has to it. I can't wait to see it take shape in a bear!

The image I have in my mind for this bear is a big bear belly which will be needle felted with a belly button of course, with (too small) vest and shorts. I also have it in my head to do some very muted adorning of the clothing in steam punk accessories. I have been wanting to do a steam punk bear for quite a while now, and this bear won't be that, but thought he would look great with a bit of that incorporated into his vest and shorts. And of course this elf bear will have a huge cheeky grin.

Stay tuned for updates of this bear's creation! And thank you to this wonderful collector for honoring me with this project! May this elf bear be everything you envisioned!

Jasper Bear

Next to come from the Bramblewood
Boy Bear
Jasper

Jasper was created from a beautiful semi-sparse oatmeal Mohair.

He has needle a needle felted muzzle and paw pads in a deep rich
imported wool top.

Jasper wears sweet spring overalls with crocheted trim to welcome in
the spring season.

Jasper has a big bear grin and such deep personality.

His outfit boasts pastel spring colors that compliment his lighter muted
tan Mohair.

I love this spring pastel contrast. The vibrant against the dull. The delicately colorful against
the brawny browns.

Jasper Bear has so much bearsonality and hours were spent on his detailing and
character.

If you would like to take a peek at Jasper's auction on Ebay, just click this link below.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160417705194&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Stay tuned for a couple of custom bears I will be making in the next couple of weeks. Both these unique bears will be chronicled here as 'works in progress'! I look forward to sharing their journey to creation with all of you!

Sweetness of Honey

Next to come from the
Bramblewood

Honey Bear

As sweet as a drip of honey!

She is a large bear measuring 20"tall.

When I was thinking of what to name this bear, it seemed fitting to grace
her with something that alluded to her long fur, since it is such a hallmark of her
character. And what is more alluring to bears than honey?

Honey has needle felted details in caramel and oatmeal gray imported wool and hours were put into her character shading.

One of my all time favorite colors in the world is honeycomb. The warmth and richness it exudes is so cozy and warm, while also evoking a golden brilliance.

This is my first bear I have ever attempted claws to accompany the paw pads. Wow, not an easy task, but I am pleased with the end result.

Honey wears a sweet white old fashioned little girl button-up dress with a small opening in the back for her wagging tail to wag through!

It still amazed me the work that goes into a bear like Honey. I have 7 small children that bless my home, 2 of which are full time home schooled and 3 that are part time (pre-school) schooled and all the things that come with running a happy functional home (cooking, cleaning - usually:) singing, reading, and playing together) that my poor neglected bear time is left stranded in a world of back burners and lost time!

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who supports my artistry and gives me time to myself now and again to get work done! Although they are few and far between, they are being created amongst a house of happy little munchkins who kiss each bear and truly love to watch their progression from fabric to finished creation. They are always delighted in the process and miss each one when they are packed up and shipped away.

I think in some way, each of my bears resembles one of my children. They are my true delights in this world on temperary loan to me from heaven. I am so blessed with each of the children that have become a part of our lives and the bears that visit my crafting hands for such a short time.
It is to my life like the sweetness of honey.

Honey Bear will be available for adoption on Ebay until March 18th, 2010

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160413358107&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT