Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A Revamped Santa Bear .... & a Junk Journal

Good Wednesday Greetings dear friends & readers
Sometime late last year my friend Gail was having one of her throw outs declutters
 Bearing in mind my "Steptoe inclinations" ... I happened to drop by to assist her !!
 I rescued this funny looking chap above from Gails rubbish heap & bought him home with me.
 He had begun his life as a teddy bear plastic bag holder & then my friend Gail had turned him into a doorstop, which she then dressed as a Wizard in this blue & purple sparkly cloak.
I think he even had a wand at some stage!
Once undressed I gave him a gentle sponge & brushed his fur - he came up really well & has the loveliest face

Even Miss Pippi was none to sure about him but she was being very nosey brave !

Using the Wizards cloak as a guide, I sewed him a new cloak from some burgundy fleece I had & trimmed it with some cream fur
I made him a Santa hat with a cream pompom on the end.

He was coming to life again !!

Next I made him a beautiful vintagey looking Christmas stocking using some fabrics left over from last christmas & filled the base of it with wadding
I sewed this to his hands as I planned to fill the top of the stocking with toys, bears & gorgeous goodies
However  .  .  .  .  .  .


.  .  .  .  . just the weight of the stocking alone was enough to make him topple forward, let alone when it was filled with goodies !!!
No matter what I did he kept ending up face down !!!
In disgust I took him to bits again.
I went down to the corner of our road (after hours!) & half filled my bucket with some new fine gravel that had just been loaded there
Back home again, I removed the lower part of his body stuffing & filled it with the fine gravel inside a bag, then packed the rest of him with more stuffing


His figure kind of resembled mine some days !!
But he stayed good & upright (& heavy)

This Santa Teddy will be going on my craft stall at the Christmas Fair next month
Here he is completed, with his stocking filled to the brim ... some small teddies & vintage christmas ornies, some berries & greenery & some ornies tied to the stocking as well


A gorgeous Boyds Bear Christmas brooch at his neck ....

When I asked The Mr if he was most impressed with the way I made him more sturdy ... he just gave me a long look & said "don't forget to add a note with him to say that when they no longer want him, they can take all the gravel out & use it to resurface their driveway !!!"
Indeed !!!  😯


We had some lovely sunny spring days last week & I was able to take my sewing outside to the deck table ... I had been making up some more little christmas tree ornaments with cinnamon stick trunks
I made another dozen - these are fun to make using up scraps of fabric & they sold really well last year
I just need to scent this batch with my cinnamon/clove oils.

When I wrote the post about my (new) vintage Edith Holden book  my friend Chris from Australia left me a lovely comment saying she would like to show me what she does with Edith Holden books 
I was most fascinated !!
I waited patiently for Chris's email to come through showing me the photos of her work

Imagine my surprise when instead a parcel arrived all the way from Victoria, Australia - beautifully wrapped in a doiley & polka dot ribbon.
Inside was this beautiful journal handmade by Chris using a vintage Edith Holden book

Chris had covered the Journal in a teddy bear stitchery & the theme was teddies & gardening
Chris had written a lovely letter explaining to me about junk journals, which I had not heard of before.

My photos really do not do justice to this gorgeous journal - there is so much detail that everytime I open it, I find something new !!
Tags, charms & embellishments everywhere ....

I have it sitting by my lounge chair & I enjoy picking it up each evening & just savouring the pages
Thank you So Very Much Chris for your kindness & your generosity... it is something I will treasure always 💓


Finally dear friends, I wanted to mention a book I have just finished reading from my local Library
I love it when other bloggers recommend books they have enjoyed & often make a note to read them. 
I saw the DVD of this & then read the book & I just LoVed it from beginning to end!
 It is an amazing story & I would thoroughly recommend it.  

Thank you So Very Much for your visits here today,
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones
x0x0x0x

27 comments:

  1. My goodness, Julie, that bear received a magical transformation! What a wonderful Santa bear you have created! How do you see the potential of such things?
    The cinnamon stick trees are cute. I'll bet they smell delicious.
    I am not familiar with junk journals, but the cover is beautifully stitched.

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  2. ooo i love teddy bears & think they should never be thrown out, no matter what condition they are in! WOW you did an amazing job on the teddy, loved the vintage santa look & he does have a beautiful face too! looks so kind ...
    what an amazing journal! lovely tags & pages, very pretty!
    thanx for sharing

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  3. It's a Miracle! It's a Miracle! Well...They do happen
    at Christmas! Don't they! Don't they? :).
    What you've done with Teddy is amazing Julie...And,
    what an eventful life he's had, though l'd draw the
    line at being a doorstop though! Bless! HeHe! :).
    And, carrying such lovely things in his Christmas
    sack!

    The cinnamon stick trees are nice to...I suppose
    you could use any type of stick, good idea, l'll
    think on that one!

    Well..best get on...just gone seven over here, still
    dark...though clocks go back this weekend...time for
    a 2nd lemon tea!
    So....
    "I’m a little pine tree
    As you can see,
    All the other pine tress,
    Are bigger than me.
    May be when I grow up
    Then I’ll be
    A great big merry Christmas
    tree"!
    (HeHe! Sorry about that..got carried away). :0).

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  4. Fancy that bear being thrown out! Lucky the poor thing had you to rescue him........and what a new life you have given him! Sweet little Christmas tree, I bet they smell nice. I haven't heard of 'Junk Journals' either? Sure is pretty, and nice to get surprise mail of a beautiful handmade piece. I hope you are enjoying the Wild book.....perhaps you would like to start hiking with me??

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  5. What an incredible transformation on the bear, with the gorgeous extras he is transformed into a very expensive looking Ted indeed.

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  6. Your Mr makes me laugh. Love his sense of humour! Mr Bear was meant to be Father Christmas. Love all the pretty bits you added to him. So glad he now stands upright! You have magically transformed him with your clever imagination.He is adorable. What a lovely journal; lucky you. Sweet little Christmas trees. They would look perfect adorning a tree.

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  7. Love what you did with the bear. A fabulous transformation. The journal is gorgeous. The Christmas trees are cute. Hugs, xx

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  8. What wonderful transformation with that bear. He is great. The little Christmas trees are also another lovely idea and as for the journal, what a treasure.

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  9. Now thats my sort of ornament, a teddy doorstop, pretty and useful!

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  10. Now thats my sort of ornament, a teddy doorstop, pretty and useful!

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  11. That Bear!!! He is gorgeous, I wish I had your vision for revamping things it truly is an amazing gift!
    Cute trees and I'm sure they smell amazing! We've had some of that lovely sunshine here too it's been so nice being able to finally get out into the garden. Looking forward to your next post already :O)

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  12. Oh wow what a great transformation Julie, Santa Teddy looks awesome, lol your Mr is so funny. Love your little trees with cinnamon trunks. So glad you liked your junk journal, don't be afraid to write in it, and put in photo's, I think they are just an extension of scrap booking. Have a great week Julie. Chris xoxoxo

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  13. Oh I am in love! LOVE SANTA BEAR! You are so clever and I am beary sure that your adopted bear is very happy too. Your journal is gorgeous. Such a lovely surprise x That book is on my list xx

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  14. Your re vamping is so good, clever lady!! Please remind me when the craft fair is on, I think I shall drive on over for it.

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  15. You have worked your magic on the bear Julie, he is gorgeous and very clever of you!! He sure has a beautiful mm face. Had a giggle over your little after hours trip down the road and your hubbys comments!! The journal is beautiful Julie, Chirs is very clever, I hadnt heard of a junk journal before either. The xmas trees are cute!

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  16. hi Julie,wow girl you are amazing,you have revamped this teddy up beautifully,he looks magical as a Santa.
    Lol had a laugh at what your hubby said,love your work Julie xx

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  17. Xmas Ted actually looks very pleased with himself now and so he should!!What a great change you made for him (even with the contraband gravel!). Another great job, Julie. I've just watched that film on tv last week and loved it.Reece Witherspoon was excellent as Cheryl. What a life she had!I would like to read the book now! Have a great weekend Julie.xxx

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  18. Oh golly! Can you see the smile on Santa Bears face!!! Wow! Christmas is a magical time of the year and you sure proved it with dear old Santa Bear - he is so awesome, simply gorgeous! He looks so happy - he'll be off to find his forever home and it won't be propping a door open that is for sure. Can almost smell those lovely Christmas trees from here. That journal is simply a work of art!

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    Replies
    1. Was at work - so yep, that is me - Karen. At least I haven't posted 3x this time! Ha

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  19. Hi Julie, It is amazing how the santa came to life and I love the comment your husband made about the stones! I really like the cinnamon tree ornaments too. Did you stuff them with cotton stuffing used for crafts? They will look real cute hanging on someone's tree and make it smell so good. I love cinnamon smell. I can't quite picture your new book gift from your friend but with all the fancy trims it does look like it would be so pretty! Enjoy! Nancy

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  20. I'm always attracted to any kind of journal but the junk journal looks especially fun!
    Your Santa Bear is so precious! You're a wonder worker when it comes to that sort of treasure!

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  21. Your Christmas Bear is wonderful, Julie. You have done an amazing job with him. Your little trees look great. What a special gift from Chris. xx

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  22. Another awesome transformation! That bear has the most fabulous shape and he looks amazing now - such a better life that that on the rubbish heap! Lovely gift from Chris - I hadn't seen that sort of journal either. Lovel yuor little trees - such a cute idea.

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  23. Love your beautiful Christmas bear, huge transformation, it must have taken yiu a long time to make it up.Loved the junk journal, love those sorts of things.

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  24. How amazing did that Christmas bear turn out? Julie, you have done a fantastic job with him right down to the last detail. He just looks so different from the very beginning to the end. Love his robe!

    Those little Christmas trees are so cute, and I bet they smell lovely too.

    I had not heard of that type of journal before, but it definitely has me intrigued now. Thank you for showing us such a lovely gift from Chris.

    xTania

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