Handmade Artist's Bears
27 June
One thing I like to make is teddy bears.
This one is made with a vintage Paprika spice tin. I used fur that resembled the color of Paprika too 😊
.jpg "handmade bear with clay arms and legs")
.jpg "clay legs on teddy bear")
.jpg "face of handmade bear")
.jpg "side view of small handmade artist bear")
.png "pink panda handmade bear")
She has a vintage skeleton key around her neck and she's holding a wire heart made from a rusty paperclip that I found on the ground.
.png "wire heart made from rusty paperclip")
.png "grey bear with clay arms and legs")
.png "grey handmade bear")
.png "back view of grey bear")
This one is made with black and white scraps of mohair! He looks like a little skunk doesn't he!?
.png "little skunk teddy bear")
He's holding a vintage root beer soda cap.
.png "vintage rootbeer soda cap")
.png "back of black and white bear")
.jpg "post card of teddy bear")
.jpg "teddy bear post cards")
.jpg "post cards of handmade teddy bears")
For years I made and sold handmade bears that I created from patterns. I used the pattern that someone else had created and put my own spin on the finished bear by using different fur and fabric to make the bears (I used recycled fur coats, mohair made for bear artists, denim, flannel, etc.)
Sometimes I made clothes for them. I was even commissioned one year by a man to make a bear each month of the year for his wife.
Most recently though, I decided to try designing my own bears. I wanted them to be very unique and not like any others I'd seen.
Handmade Artist's Bears
I enjoy upcycling and repurposing thrifted finds, so I decided to incorporate some thrifted finds into some of them.
I experimented with different materials and sizes and here is what I came up with. The first few bears incorporate vintage tins.
This is my first one using a vintage Band-Aid tin as the body. I made the little first-aid cross with clay and the red and white striped ribbon made me think of Candy Stripers back in the day.
Working with clay is fun and something I've done here and there over the years too, so I decided to incorporate clay into them.
I made their arms and legs from clay. This one is made with tan mohair.
.jpg "handmade bear with clay arms and legs")
.jpg "clay legs on teddy bear")
I just love his little face! I shaved his snout and inside his ears. He has a hand-embroidered nose and shoe-button eyes.
.jpg "face of handmade bear")
.jpg "side view of small handmade artist bear")
I love this little short squatty guy, he is made from a thrifted mohair coat and his vest is made from a button-down shirt sleeve cuff.
This one is a pink panda bear made from vintage pink fur and white mohair.
.png "pink panda handmade bear")
.png "wire heart made from rusty paperclip")
This little guy also has a shaved snout and is made from grey mohair with grey clay arms and legs.
.png "grey bear with clay arms and legs")
.png "grey handmade bear")
.png "back view of grey bear")
.png "little skunk teddy bear")
.png "vintage rootbeer soda cap")
.png "back of black and white bear")
I made some postcards with images of some of the bears too using some quotes I found online.
.jpg "post card of teddy bear")
.jpg "teddy bear post cards")
.jpg "post cards of handmade teddy bears")
If you enjoyed this post, I'd love it if you'd share!
PIN ME!
Which one is your favorite?
Posted by: Tania | Little Vintage Cottage
at 27 June
Tag:
craft projects
Comments by Blogger
Post a Comment
I love your comments! If you want to be notified when I respond to you, check the "Notify Me" button under your comment.