England here I come!

Tomorrow I'm off to England for a week to see my family. Busy getting packed. Just wanted to pop by before I leave to wish you all a good week. You can still order from my Etsy store. I will post your goodies on 7th December once I'm back. I also want to say a big thank you to Koralee of the beautiful Bluebird Notes Blog, for featuring my "For the Love of Books" Print, which is also available as a cute bookmark. She has the beautiful suggestion of buying lovely vintage stories as a Christmas gift, how lovely to do this with a sweet Bookmark tucked in.

See you back here soon. In the meantime you can click on the England link below for lots of pictures from my previous trips. HUGS, Catherine xx

Get your Dancing shoes on, it's Party Time!

It's Party time over at my Etsy store. The Bumpkin Bears, Friends and I wanted to say a big Thank You to you all for your support and encouragement over the last year, you keep us going and wanting to have more adventures, so THANK YOUUUUU :)

We are having a HOLIDAY SALE from today until Monday 30th November. 15% discount off all the Prints in my Store, including on the sets of Prints that already had special prices. So a great opportunity to get some Christmas Gifts for all those young and young at heart :) As always all secondary postage in my store is only 0.50 cent. Pop along to see all the Bumpkin Bears & Friends having a Party, except little Mouse far too comfy on his pillows to wake up from his Sweet Dreams!

Come Fly with Me!

Favourite Moments Print Set (4 for price of 3 & 15%)

Friends for Tea Print Set (15% discount and $5 saving!)


Talking of parties I am excited to introduce you to Little Miss Josephine. Josephine had been counting down the days until her Tea Party, she had invited all her best friends and had been busy baking the most delicious cup cakes. She had selected her most favourite little tutu skirt and was all ready for the party to start! Would you like to have your own Tea Parties with Josephine as star guest? She would love to come and live with you.**UPDATE, Josephine has been lovingly adopted to a beautiful home in The States**






Josephine is brought to life with precious Schulte mohair which I hand dyed just for her in such a pretty plum colour. A truly one of a kind Bear coming in at a sweet 4.5". She has traditional old bear style with lovely long arms all ready to fluff up her skirt! She was entirely hand sewn and her little wool felt paw pads were also hand dyed a heather tone. I had made her little tutu from genuine antique lace with the prettiest of details. Lots more photos and all her adoption information can be found on my website.**UPDATE, Josephine has been lovingly adopted.**

We'll see you over at the Party :) Hugs, Catherine and Friends xx

Treasury love

I have just finished a wee little bear made of the plum coloured mohair that I dyed a few weeks ago. I have even given her a little ruffled tutu in antique lace! I hope to take some photos of her soon to share with you all. I have also been busy cutting out and sewing a commission bear, the other end of the spectrum at 20"!

I've been so grateful to appear in two different treasuries recently, so thank you so much to Cyn and Daisyfleur (check out her gorgeous girl's outfits). Here you can see my Friends for Tea - Bunny & her Teacups Print and Bunny & her Cupcakes Gift Tags.



As promised here are the photos I took on a lovely sunny day last Saturday in Antwerp. Amazing weather considering the rain and storms we have had over the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy these photos taken of the newly renovated Train Station, the art nouveau buildings around the zoo and the main shopping street.












I'll be back soon to share my new little bear. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you that celebrate this. Hugs, Catherine x

Hug Time!

What a day it is here, bucketing with rain, and it's so dark I have even drawn the curtains to shut it out! It's only 11 am but you would think it was midnight! Thank goodness I have a new friend sat here next to me to brighten our day. I'd love you to meet Winston, the latest Bumpkin Bear to come to life from my studio.

Winston was born on a rather wet, Winters day. Just the kind of day when a warm Bear Hug is the perfect way to pass the time. As the rain battered against the windows Winston cuddled contentedly and fell fast asleep with dreams of all the cuddles and adventures he would have with his new family.

You can see many more photos of him and all his adoption information from my website.



A busy week ahead getting orders ready to send out, working on a commission bear and preparing for my trip to England next week. Don't forget if you would like any Christmas Cards etc sent out before I go, then take a look at my Etsy store this week.

I also went into the city of Antwerp at the weekend, the weather couldn't have been any different, 18c and bright blue skies!! I took some photos of the architecture so pop back soon to take a look. HUGS, Catherine and Winston xx

Your Inspiration?

My new Bear is coming along well, his face is taking shape so I hope to share him with you next week. I was asked the other day what I think of when I hear the word Inspiration, well for me I love to find inspiration in crafts, visiting new places, and nature is a wonderful source. Here are a few inspiring photos of the last Autumn colours holding on, in our local woods. There is a sweet little Tea House at the end of the alley of trees that links to a a very grand castle. (If you click on the links at the end of this post you can see more castle photos).



So my question to all of you is what comes to your mind when you hear the word Inspiration, what things inspire you, or if you looked up the word Inspiration on a search engine what would you be hoping to find/looking for?

I'm looking forward to your thoughts. Have a wonderful weekend, HUGS, Catherine x

Time for an Adventure... or two!

I'm so excited for you to meet these new friends, they have been a long time in creation, but they are now ready and it's Time for an Adventure!

The sun began to rise and the friends looked at each other excitedly as the most Regal looking Deer pranced through the forest towards them. Right at that moment they knew it was Time for an Adventure!
Share in their adventure by bringing these friends into your home. This Print is available in my Etsy store.




It feels rather like Santa's Grotto here at the moment with all my new Christmas Cards. I have listed them all individually in my store as well as sets, including a set of 6 for the price of 5. You can select which cards you would like in my Store. or contact me directly. I know that the bears and friends can't wait to meet you, so join in the festive fun.






Don't forget time is whizzing by so order before these dates to avoid disappointment
4 Dec - Australia/Singapore
10 Dec - USA
11 Dec - Europe
22 Dec - Belgium

(I will be away visiting family in England from 1 Dec-5th Dec, all orders placed during this time will be sent on 7th Dec)

Right, back to my mohair bears, patiently waiting for me to bring them to life! Hugs, Catherine x

Nature's Jewelry

I'm busy creating some more Christmas illustrations to share with you all next week. In the meantime we had a bit of sunshine today so here below are some shots from my Garden, rather like nature's jewelry. Talking of Jewelry, you must check out my Friend, Tracy's Etsy Store this weekend. Her Pink Purl store displays the most precious, elegant jewelry and gorgeous cosy knitwear that would make beautiful Christmas gifts/treats for yourself. This weekend only she has an amazing Sale of buy one get one half price! So pop along to her store here. Here is a small selection of the delights to be found at Pink Purl -









See you back soon, Hugs, Catherine xx

A Bunny for Christmas!

I started on a new Artist Bear today in gorgeous long pile Maple coloured, soft as soft can be, Mohair, so watch this space! I have also been busy creating new Gift Tags, you can now see all the Friends for Tea Bunnies, as well as all these others -






I have also been loving creating a new Bumpkin Bunny, all dressed up for Christmas! She is available as a Print, Notecard and Gift Tag set from my Etsy store.-
It was early on Christmas Day and there was one very impatient little Bunny tapping her paws in her sweet polka dot box! She was just so excited about meeting her new family that she hopped right out of her box wearing her cute Santa hat! OH what a Delight, an adorable fluffy Bunny!




Hop along here to see all these new Delights.
Hugs, Catherine xx

Remembrance

On this Remembrance Sunday my thoughts turn to my Grandfather, Paddy Coote, who sadly lost his life in WWII whilst on mission with the RAF in Greece. My Mum and Aunt had to grow up without their Dad and my Granny without her dearest Husband. They were all incredibly strong women with the kindest of hearts. I miss them all each and every day, today my thoughts and love go out to them and all the families that are sadly still in this current day losing their loved ones in battle.Click here for my post about my Grandfather from last year with a very special photo from his wedding day. My Grandfather loved poetry so this is for you Paddy x

There's a very special garden
Where the trees of memory grow
Nurtured by the kindness
And concern that good friends show.
The roots are cherished memories
Of good times in the past
The branches tender promises
That souls endure and last.
It's a place of peace and beauty
Where bright new hopes can start
It's memory's lovely garden
That soothes the hurting heart.

Thank for you sharing with my Remembrance. Come back soon for some Christmas delights. Catherine x

Whirlwind!

What an amazing response the bear's have had to their Calendar for 2010! You can see about it in the previous post. Thank you to you all, I have been a busy bee in a whirlwind printing out lots of them to send to their new families. I know that many of you saw that they were sold out in my Etsy store., but I list one item at a time, re-listing each time one is sold, so there are always plenty of everything for everyone :) My new Bookmarks have been loved too, so I have just added some new ones.

Here is Bedtime Story (Bear couldn't sleep without his bedtime story from Owl)



Share A Story (Mouse asked so kindly if Bear would share his stories that he could not resist!)



Storytime (Little Bear had so many favourite books he couldn't choose just one, as usual Storytime could take a while!)



Christmas is starting to appear (working on some other drawings at the moment) here in my studio and I have just created these darling festive Gift Tags showing Bear and his Best Friend Robin. A special touch to your Holiday Gifts. These Gift Tag sets can be found in my Etsy store.




Today my order of Schulte Mohairs arrived, I was like a little girl at Christmas opening up, watch this space for some wonderful Bears. Also some more Gift Tag sets will be on the way next week. Have a wonderful Weekend, Hugs, Catherine xx