I ♥ Moon Bears Fundraising

Phew I don't know where this month has gone, it has been my most successful month ever, hitting over 700 sales in my Etsy Shop.  I can't thank all my customers enough for their support, hearing how much pleasure my creations bring to you really spurs me on day by day.

It is at times like this that I like to share my success with those that need help, so I would like to introduce you to the beautiful Moon Bears that the organisation Animals Asia are doing everything they can to stop Bear Pile Farms & rescue these beautiful Bears across Asia and give them a happy, fear free life where they can learn to be playful Bears again.  At the bottom of this post are details of my I  ♥ Moon Bears Fundraising Event and some beary special prices for my Bumpkin Bears!

Many of you will know of them, I do not want to upset anyone showing images of the cages and conditions these Bears are kept in in the Bear Pile Farms but here is an excerpt written by their founder Jill Robinson
"In countries across Asia, thousands of bears live a life of torture on bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments ranging from headaches to haemorrhoids. Bears are confined in cages which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush" cages to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering. "


You can follow the videos of a successful recent rescue of 14 Bears from Vietnam here 
Just look at how happy these Bears look now in the Sanctuary, this is Banjo and Sausage! 

So with Valentine's Day on the horizon I wanted to show my love for these special Bears and will be donating 25% of the adoption fees of my Bumpkin Bears,  Romeo ("Loves Life", a feeling that the Sanctuary Bears finally have) and Callum (meaning "Peace" which I dream of for all the Moon Bears).  So if you would like to adopt either of these Bears and bring them into your life and at the same time help the Moon Bears just take a look below -

Frustratingly for the last 14 days I have not had any access to my website with nothing that even resembles customer service from my Hosting Company!  Many can see my website fine, and many can not :(  I am not able to update anything (so sorry for Christmas still on there!).    For this special "I  ♥ Moon Bears"  fundraising event I will put all the details right here for you all to keep it simple -


Callum is a Baby Bear so a little shy.  His Celtic name means Dove, and as the symbol of Peace it fits him just perfectly.  As peaceful as  Callum is he does have a sparkle of mischief in his gorgeous eyes!  His fur is a fabulous wavey, silky soft top quality Schulte Mohair in a delightful blonde gold.  
He is a one of a kind, 15" Bumpkin Bear.  Callum has the cutest sculpted toes on all his velvet soft cashmere paws. He is 5 way cotterpin jointed and is filled with polyfill with a good helping of plastic pellets in his body and ankles.  He has a hand embroidered nose and little smile that lets you know he will be your soul mate, there for a cuddle & listening ear whenever you need him.  

Available for Adoption - Special I  ♥ Moon Bears Price 125 euros (normally 190 euros) plus 15 euros to Europe/20 euros to USA, Australia & rest of world, (layaway available). I will donate 25% of his Adoption directly to Animals Asia.
Contact me at catherine@bumpkinbears.com if you would like to adopt Callum and help the Moon Bears.
Romeo is a Hopeless Romantic, happy to sit all day snuggled under a blanket reading Poetry with you!  He especially loves Shakespeare's Sonnets so I made him his rather smart Shakespearian collar from vintage ivory coloured lace (removeable with a little clasp).  He has a special tenderness about him and you can see how much love he has to give in his kind eyes.  His fur is gorgeously cosy and soft, top of the line Schulte Alpaca in a special chocolate shade. 

He is a one of a kind, 17" Bumpkin Bear.  Romeo has the cutest sculpted toes on all his velvet soft cashmere paws. He is 5 way cotterpin jointed and is filled with polyfill with a good helping of plastic pellets in his body and ankles.His loving eyes are quality topaz glass with soulful white accents.  He has a hand embroidered nose and will be your best friend for life.   

Available for Adoption - Special I  ♥ Moon Bears Price 125 euros (normally 190 euros) plus 15 euros to Europe/20 euros to USA, Australia & rest of world,  (layaway available). I will donate 25% of his Adoption directly to Animals Asia.

Contact me at catherine@bumpkinbears.com if you would like to adopt Romeo and help the Moon Bears.

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email, I'm always happy to chat. Thanks for stopping by.

Bear Hugs

Catherine

x
(p.s sorry about the text all different sizes Blogger is playing up!)

Raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens...

these are a few of my favourite things...! It's been a while since posting, my little kitty, Ollie, has not been very well so after a vet visit I've been playing nursemaid. I'm so relieved to say he seems to be starting to get better, and is being a very good boy taking his anti-biotic pills, always fun! His wee nose has got pinker again (it had gone so pale) and he's clearly feeling much more comfortable.


The Summer has arrived in full blast here, which always makes me think of Picnics, so a great time to be creating these Teddy Bear Picnic invitations. These are a custom set but I am enjoying it so much I may well make a range for my Etsy store. Here's a little sneak preview of part of it.

Last week we had a a rain burst and then sunshine which made my rambling rose look so pretty I had to take some photos, so I thought you would enjoy sharing in them with me, if only you could smell them too.


My garden is starting to come to life, with bees and butterflies flitting around and my sweet peas rambling their way through plants, more photos to come very soon. Catherine xx

Friendship

Well, two posts on one day! I am a busy bee today :) I have just put together an adorable set of Notecards showing the friendship between the Bumpkin Bears & Friends. Talking of Simple Things today (see post below), one of my favourites is writing and receiving hand written letters, so I thought these folded Cards would be a special way for you all to send your notes to those special in your life. Pop along to my Etsy store to catch up with their adventures! The Bears always love your visits. Hugs, Catherine x

It's Party Time!

I'm thrilled to share with you a new range of Bumpkin Bears & Friends Party Invitations as well as the cutest Cameo Gift Tags! I was given this wonderful craft punch for Christmas, it gives the cutest scalloped edge, just love them, hope you will too. You can see them all in my Etsy store.

We've got a white wonderland here again with the snow & more expected. I've been so busy creating these new treats to share with you all along with designing new bag headers. Also busy working on a new website design, so it's all go here! I am also working on a new Blog look and want to remove the automatic music from here, but I just can't work out how to do this! Any ideas? I've looked in my layout section etc, but no luck. I hope you are all keeping well and having a good start to the New Year. Hugs. Catherine x

Take a Peek....

Would you like to meet a new group of friends?


Hugs, Catherine xx

Come fly with me!

I'm not sure who stole the Summer, if you know could you kindly ask them to return it please! We are having really chilly, windy weather at the moment, but the Bumpkin Bears don't mind!

The wind was whistling around their Tree House so what better weather than to go kite flying. Pa Bear had to hold on to his little boy to make sure he didn't fly away too!

They were having such fun they didn't even see me sketching this moment. You can enjoy this moment too as a sweet
Print which I have just listed in my Etsy Store. Along with this Print you will receive a matching Notecard as a free gift.

If you prefer you can also just buy the Notecard seperately. You will see lots of Notecards in my store, if you would like more than one then just send me an email, the Bears will happily help me print any amount or combination your heart desires :) Don't forget Father's Day is coming up too, do you remember flying kites with your Dad?



Pop back again soon, I've got a really sweet set of seasons prints that are nearly ready for showing you.

Lily and bunnies!

Thanks for all your kind words about my bears in the last post, my special offers continue until May 24th. As promised here are some photos of Lily, a bear I just created for a special commission. I love her Lilac fur and her new Mum chose her name which suits her just perfectly. She will be making her journey to America tomorrow along with little Heather who has also been adopted to a very sweet person in Washington.




I had such fun creating mini Heather that I am busy creating another mini right now! I was inspired by the wild baby bunnies in my garden and so you will soon be seeing a wee Bunny Rabbit in the sweetest pink. I have been dying the mohair this morning for her and it now drying out ready to be sewn.





Hop along soon to see her. Hugs, Catherine x

For the Love of Books

"It was a long walk back from the Woodland Library but they could not decide which books they wanted to read first, so for the love of books they piled them high and set off on their way home. They had to be careful they didn't bump into any trees along the way!"

I just love books and so had great fun imagining these bears with their favourite books! I remember this dilemma as a child at the library, you could only take out a certain amount of books but there were so many I liked! This sweet mounted print is available now in my Etsy store.

It's been a cold week, with some snow and then lots of frost so it's like an ice rink out there! Although this very pretty ice rink tempted me out for a walk yesterday to take some photos and I nearly ended up on my backside more times than I care to mention ;) So I hope you all enjoy these photos, the windmill is just at the end of my lane and no that grand white building is not my house, it's at the entrance to a little wood in the village ( you can click on the photos to enlarge)!





I've got lots more that I am busy creating at the moment, so do join the bears and I back here soon. In the meantime keep warm,
Beary Hugs, Catherine x

Friends Forever

Happy New Year to you all! I hope this year brings you all you dream of and more. The Bumpkin Bears are very excited about all the adventures they are going to get up to and can't wait to share them. To start off the New Year I would love to show you my latest sweet new Print -



"Friends Forever" said Bear to Robin as he let him fly away towards the woods. Last winter on a cold frosty day Bear had found Robin all weak and alone as a baby. He nurtured him with berries and taught him to fly. Letting Robin fly bravely away was a big step for both of them, there was a sadness to their hearts but they had promised that they would be Friends Forever no matter how far apart.

I had such fun creating this illustration and just love the soft nostalgic colours. It is available as a beautifully mounted print in my Etsy store.



I was inspired for this print by the sweet friendly robins that have always visited me in my gardens through my life. I took this photo just the other day in my garden.



I've got lots more exciting Bumpkin Bears treats in store coming up so do pop back soon.
In the meantime wishing you all a wonderful start to 2009. Beary Hugs, Catherine and the Bumpkin Bears xx

Castles and festive joy

I hope you all had a special Christmas day. It was a delight to hear how many enjoyed my short story, many people sharing it with their children and grandchildren, I could not ask for more :) I cooked the traditional turkey with all the trimmings, nice to have a feeling of England when I'm here in Belgium, there is something very comforting about these traditional meals that I have grown up with.

I always love it when my Bumpkin Bears are given as surprise gifts, it is such fun keeping the secret :) This happened this Christmas with the lovely Kim of Victorian Parlor blog her wonderful husband gave her Hamish as a Christmas present - if you scroll down her posts from christmas day you will see some sweet photos of him in his new home with his happy Mum :) It always makes me feel so full of joy to share my love of bears with others.

Boxing Day was really chilly but beautifully bright and sunny, so a walk in our local forest was just the ticket :) In the woodland there is this beautiful castle and a little tea house that used to have an underground tunnel leading from it to the castle for the butler to use to take the tea and cake to the lucky few!! What a life!





I'm a busy bee working on my brand new website design and some sweet new illustrations and mohair bears, so do join the bears and I again soon. Warm Beary Hugs, Catherine and the bears xx

Christmas Cards are here!

I have just listed Christmas cards in my Etsy store. This is a chance for you to buy a pack of 5 Christmas Cards of my original illustrations - The Best Tree for Christmas, Wish Upon a Star and Snow Circus. They have some festive additions specially for these cards. Wish Upon a Star has got a sweet night sky complete with stars to wish on, it looks like they are waiting for Santa! Each image is printed on gorgeous cream quality textured cards and come with berry red envelopes.

* Each pack will have 1 of each of the above 3 images and then 2 others from this group. If you would prefer to have a 5 pack consisting of just one image then let me know which one*. If you've got any questions just drop the bears and I an email :)




It's looking all festive here as I got some of my decorations out to take photos of the cards. I feel a christmasy bear coming on in my imagination so this will be my next project and I have the most gorgeous old gold mohair that will be just perfect for him. So pop back soon :) Hugs, Catherine and the bears xx