A Three Dog Night!

Critters a-twitter!

It was early evening, and outside Critter Cottage the birds were settling down for the night. However, inside the cottage Kayzy's Critters were all a-twitter - if non-feathered critters can twitter!  Always interested in what Nana was making, part of the fun for the critters was in trying to guess what her newest creation might be. As they strained to see what Nana Kayzy working on, the guesses flew freely.
 

Fur-Elise admires Randyll

"It must be a bear," announced Randyll the Rabbit, a recently creation of Nana's. "The feet are too small for a rabbit," and he surveyed his substantial bunny feet with satisfaction. Randyll was a very self-assured young buck, and his confidence in his own opinion was boosted by Fur-Elise's, who thought he was the cleverest bunny she had ever met!



"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that," responded Kenneth the Koala. "Mind you, being a marsupial and not a bear I am not an expert in beariness, but this critter-to-be appears to be developing a different sort of personality to that of a bear."

Babette and Kenneth

O'Shaughnessy and Lah-Fing

"To be sure, his head doesn't seem the right shape for a bear, you know," offered O'Shaughnessy, who didn't often bestir himself to contradict his fellow critters - but the temptation to put the young Randyll in his place was too strong to resist.

Shirley wishes for Wilbur's wisdom

The guesses and opinions continued to fly. "I wish Wilbur were here," said Shirley dreamily. "He would be sure to know what sort of critter it is that Nana Kayzy is making." There were groans across the room. Everyone knew that Wilbur could do no wrong in Shirley's eyes, but this was too much.

Come off it, Shirl!

"Come off it, Shirl!" cried Jo-Mo. "Why should Wilbur know any more than we do? He's a great mate, but . . ."

It's a dog!

Suddenly a high-pitched puppy cry of "I know, I know!" echoed by deeper doggy tones drowned out Jo-Mo's protest. Rosita (another recent addition to Nana Kayzy's fold) and Digger (famous for his treasure hunt with Dennis the Dancing Duck) then declared together, "It's a dog!" and Nana Kayzy looked up from her sewing, smiling her affirmation of their discovery.

It's a very doggy dog

 "How clever you are!" Nana said. "It is a dog, and a rather disreputable dog at that. I'm going to call him 'Ruff'." After this revelation Nana returned to her work, and before long it was clear to all that Ruff was indeed a dog -  a very doggy dog!

"Whoo-hoo!" cried Digger, "thanks, Nana! We dogs are in the minority here, so a third woofer is just what's needed."

Ruff salutes Rosita

Little Rosita didn't say anything else, but continued watching Nana as she put the finishing touches to Ruff.

Then, without warning, Ruff suddenly turned his head and saluted Rosita, making her  puppy cheeks blush to an even deeper shade of rose pink than normal.







Nana smiled to herself and thought, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

It's a three dog night!

Postscript: All the critters featured in this post are available for adoption. More information on each of them may be found on our For Adoption page or by emailing us at kayzyscritters@gmail.com 

Notes on Nana Neglect

As I write this, there are a couple of my furry friends sitting on the table near me, waiting, watching. . .

Yes, these two have languished unknown and unappreciated until today, because of Nana Neglect! However, they do not accuse; they just sit quietly, hopefully, expectantly even, and this encourages me to leave self-recriminations behind and get on with the job, er, blog!

Without trying to justify my neglect, I should explain. I am not a salesperson, and although I originally began blogging to share my love of bearmaking, and to allow my critters be seen and appreciated by others (and hopefully find good homes), my blog has been more about sharing life events in general than about Kayzy's Critters. This is partly because I do take quite a while to create a critter, and also because there are many other interesting things to write about, and little time to write. However, that is no excuse for Nana Neglect.

It all started last week, when a friend kindly pointed out an error on my blog. The problem was that I had put an incorrect email contact on the For Adoption page. Logging in to correct the fault, I then looked down the page at the last entry, and was shocked to see that it's been almost 3 months since I updated the page. This wouldn't be shocking, except that I have made several critters in that time, so at the very least I should have respected their critterhood by letting folk know they exist.
Well, I apologise to you, my critters, and without further hesitation introduce you to your blogging public.

Lah-Fing

This young panda is full of fun. His happy face reminds me that life is good, and to be enjoyed and celebrated, whatever may come!

















His vital statistics are:

• Height: 33cm from tips of ears to bottom of feet
  

• Fur: black and white German Schulte mohair.
  
  
• Paw & footpads: Sculpted grey leather and black mohair.
  
• Eyes: Black deluxe English glass, with white ultrasuede highlights,
  using black Copic pen to shade the eye area.
  
• Nose: Black embroidered
  
• Mouth: Applied open mouth, with ultrasuede tongue and Copic shading.
• Joints: Locknuts, with wobble jointed head.
• Stuffing: Polyester, with glass beads in his tummy.
• Adoption fee: AUD$175.00, plus postage and packing.

Fur-Elise

A small bunny with big dreams, Fur-Elise was my first attempt at designing my own style of rabbit, with a beary look. She loves our garden, and enjoys gathering flowers.

• 
  Height: 24cm tall
  

• Fur: White English mohair.
  
• Paw & footpads: Sculpted white ultrasuede, with airbrushed detail.
  
• Eyes: Black deluxe English glass, with white ultrasuede highlights and airbrushed shading.
  
• Ears: Cute bunny ears, wired to enable posing in different positions, they have airbrushed ultrasuede undersides.
  
• Nose & mouth Pink embroidered, with airbrushing.
• Tail: Cute ball of fluff!
• Joints: Locknuts, with wobble jointed head.
• Stuffing: Polyester, with glass beads in her tummy.
• Adoption fee: AUD$140.00, plus postage and packing.

In my next post I will introduce you to some more of my critters, but thought it best to highlight Lah Fing and Fur-Elise because they have waited so long. If perchance they call out to you, and you want to know more, my (now corrected) email address is kayzyscritters@gmail.com.

Welcome to Krümel Das Allgäu-Bärchen and Encourage One Another, who recently joined our blog as followers.

Duffy Tries It On

Duffy looked out of the window at the pouring rain and sighed. He was only small – well, 27cm tall to be exact – but in that newly created head of his were big ideas for even bigger adventures.

“But why can't I go outside, Nana?” he pleaded. “I'll be careful not to get wet.”

“And how will you do that, Duffy? It's bucketing down out there, and even though you are a very clever young bear, I don't think you're clever enough to avoid getting wet in all that rain.”

Duffy sighed again, but continued staring out at the rain, deep in thought.

Nana Kayzy smiled. She had finished sewing Duffy a week or two back, but felt that he needed some airbrushing to highlight his happy face. Now, airbrushing is still a challenge to her, so, fearful of spoiling Duffy in her attempts to finesse him, she put him 'on hold'. However,  a quick refresher lesson and pep talk by friend Kay Schulz (Kay's Kids), two days before had given Nana the courage to tackle Duffy's airbrushing (thanks, Kay). So there he was, ready to face the world, and Nana was very pleased with the dear little fellow.*

Duffy

In tandem with Duffy, Nana had been working on Babette too (see next post). Babette had given Nana all sorts of trouble in her making, necessitating modifications to her design 'on the run'. But now also finished, Babette looked up at Nana with wide-eyed cuteness, and Nana's heart melted.

Babette

Each time she completes a bear Nana sees it as a gift from the great Father Creator of all things, and this always gives her a thrill. Don't misunderstand – her critters are far from perfect, and Nana still has much to learn about bear making. However, as she works on each bear a little miracle occurs as its unique charm and character gradually appears – and of course Nana just loves them anyway, so that's a blessing in itself.

While Nana mused on these matters, she was rummaging in a box containing teddy bear clothing and 'stuff', trying to find a dress that she knew would suit Babette, if she could only locate it in that box!

At the window Duffy suddenly came to life - that is, he stopped staring out at the rain, turned around, and saw that box.  

He leapt away from the window and in a flash jumped into the box and was quickly enveloped by its contents, in his enthusiastic search for buried treasure. 

Moments later, though, he emerged triumphant from the mound of clothing.

“Look what I've found, Nana! It's a Drizabone! This'll keep me dry in the rain, and there's a hat too – can I pleeeeze try them on, Nana dearest?”

Nana laughed at the little fellow's antics, but gladly assisted Duffy to try on the raincoat and hat. They fitted perfectly. “How about that?” said Nana, “They could have been made especially for you!”

“I can go outside now, can't I, Nana?”

“Yes, now you may go outside, Duffy. Go, and have a lovely time in that lovely rain.” Nana called it 'lovely rain' because it too was a gift. Critter Cottage does not have mains water, so rain is celebrated because it replenishes the rainwater tanks which supply the cottage with the precious liquid.

 Duffy happily made his way out into the cold, rainy wonderful outside world, and later could be seen splashing around in a puddle, in his bare bear feet [photographer couldn't 'bear' to photograph this]. Just wait till Nana catches that scallywag!
*Final Note on Duffy: He is now available for adoption, and his vital statistics may be found on my For Adoption page.

A warm welcome to a new follower of our blog, Carol. I'm sure you will also enjoy a visit to her lovely blog, Sweet Bessie Bears and Bakes.

 ....ooo0ooo....

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR ADELAIDE FRIENDS:
On Saturday, August 4th,
Kay Schulz and I will be trading
at the Adelaide Doll, Bear & Collectable Fair,
in the Grand Chifley Hotel, 208 South Terrace, Adelaide.

PLEASE COME AND SAY HELLO

What have I done?

I can't believe what I've done. I was close to finishing a little bear I've been working on this week. In fact, all I had to do was close up the body seam,  do a little scissor sculpting and some final touches, and she would be complete.

Detached leg placed to look as if it's really joined to the bear!

Wait a minute, I think - the leg joints need a little more tightening. I grabbed my trusty long-nose pliers and started turning one of the cotter pin leg joints. Before I knew what was happening, I had a leg in one hand and a one-legged bear in the other!

Bear and leg - the real thing.

I had tightened the cotter pin so much that it pulled through the hole in the fibreboard disc joint. To add to my pain, I had sewed the leg seams closed already, so now I have to undo the seam and start again.

Offending leg and joint!

Ah well, we live and learn (I hope!) When my little as yet unnamed critter is finally finished, I will post some better photos than those here, and introduce her properly.

--------------------------------

On a happier note, you may remember an earlier post about Sonny, the teddy bear I made for my great nephew Dreyson, born in April this year.

Well, here they are, getting to know each other.

And Dreyson is so cute that his great aunt had to add these pictures too.

P

See you next week.

P.S. I've just added a new recipe to the Kayzy's Kitchen page - a great chocolate cake, guaranteed to make anyone feel better, even a one-legged teddy bear!