Bear Love

We started our new year off with a wonderful treat!  A visit from Craig - dear friend and bear-maker and Someone Who Can Do Just About Anything...and do it so well.

 He visited an antique mall in KC before heading to our house for dinner, and he found this wonderful toy wagon.  It needed a few modifications to fit in his suitcase for the trip home to Andover.  I'm sure by now it has found a home in one of his wonderful cabinets, nestled in with other equally wonderful antique toys and bears.

Last summer we had the good fortune to house-sit at Craig's home in Andover, MA, while he and his family vacationed.  When they returned, he gave me this Darling Bear, which I named Andover.  The starfish is for all the fabulous memories we have from visiting all those wonderful East Coast seaside villages.

Andover is by himself in the picture, but he has lots of "brothers and sisters" in my collection who are also Craig bears!  Just for fun, here they are.  I should add that when Craig photographs his bears, he makes them look absolutely ALIVE...  I'm afraid I can't even come close to that.  I think it has to do with making sure they are looking at the camera - which I didn't always get right, but I'm sure you can still tell how wonderful they are.  The bear in the first picture belonged to my Mother-in-Law Rene, who was also a big fan of Craig's bears.

That's my very first Craig bear below, on the right - Merlot.  Craig says he has "come a long way" as a bear-maker since then... but I love Merlot!  Without Merlot, we would have never met Craig!!!  See close-up of the bear on the left in the next photo.

 

 

The framed piece in the center below is a hooked rug I made (and framed).  It is a pattern by Victoria Engalls.  I added the striped wallpaper and wainscoting to the design - and black and white tile which you can barely see at the bottom. 

Gettin' a Bear Hug!

It sounds like 2011 is going to be quite a year for Craig and his family, but I sure hope we get to see them again soon.