...Honey Money Days...

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty"...
Albert Einstein

The beautiful Assisi ~ traumatised but forgiving.

Anyone who knows me well, knows of my passion for all things furry and four-legged ~ I love animals and abhor cruelty in any of its forms. I get a huge amount of pleasure from my animals and from the natural world around me.

Me feeding our "resident" shop possum.

So, it follows I feel the need to give something back. A fabulous organisation working incredibly hard for animals is animals-asia, founded by Jill Robinson MBE.

Animals Asia founder Jill and Haribo who unfortunately lost his battle with the ravages of a bear bile farm. He is enjoying his favourite treat ~ Gummy Bears.


Being surrounded by bears for a good part of the week probably makes me a little more compassionate to their needs than most. Okay, they are teddy bears and not real bears, but their eyes speak of the emotions being felt by their living counterparts. The bears of the world are in need of our help.

If you have read my side bar, you will know I already sponsor a bear, Hero, with the Free the Bears Fund. I also befriend Freedom, a gorgeous bear rescued by Animals-Asia. Now, the time is here to do more and yes, we are going to have some fun with it. Just as the rescued bears blossom and have fun in their new lives, we, at Bear Hugs, are going to have some fun and raise some money for a new enclosure for the China Bear Sanctuary.

Freedom ~ free and happy at last

August September are "Honey Money Days" for Animals-Asia, where fundraising is done for the new enclosure. Unfortunately, wildlife care when it is done properly does not come cheaply and the new enclosure will cost around AU$333,000. These enclosures must feel like The Ritz, after the tiny cruel cages these beautiful bears have been trapped in.

Soooooo......
We are organising three events:

Guess the number of Gummy Bears in the Jar. One jar in the Cafe and one in the Bear Shoppe. A gorgeous Charlie Bear will be the prize.

A Twilight Teddy and Me High Tea ~ for children aged 4 ~ 12 on Friday, Spetember 18th.

A Teddy Bear Cupcake Weekend (Last weekend of September) where all proceeds from the sale of mini Teddy cupcakes will go to Animals-Asia Honey Money Days.

Hopefully we will raise a little bit of money for this worthy cause.

Soooooo........

If you happen to be in Buninyong, call in and have a Gummy Bear guess. A beautiful Charlie Bear could be yours and the China Moonbears will be extremely grateful.

Have a "Bearutiful" Spring Weekend and your give your four-leggeds an extra cuddle from me,

Bear Hugs,

Sue

xo

PS. I will post some photos of the Teddy and Me High Tea after the 18th September.

PPS. The "real" bear photos on this post are courtesy of animals-asia.

...Too, Too, Cute....

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick post to introduce some new Charlie Bears who are temporarily taking up residence in the Shoppe. I say temporarily, as I don't think they will be here very long before they find new homes. They are SOOOO cute :))))

Meet Ellie-May, a beautiful, traditional style panda by Isabelle Lee......
And Bradley...... How cute is he, in his two-toned fur and jingly collar?? He may have to come home with me :)))))))
Here is Peter, a gorgeous jet black bear with a shaded mauve nose and burgundy bow.....

Introducing Mason, a very cute brown and white boy with a brown face and jingly collar......
Wallace, the first Charlie Bear I have had with a moulded nose.......

And I had better mention Woody (everyone's favourite and the cuddliest teddy in Beardom) is back in stock, but I only have three left and then he is gone for good.......

Enjoy this bit of sunshine and

Have a Beary Nice Weekend :)))))

Sue

.....Meet Teddy Artist ~ Kathy Karas.....

Hi Girls,

I love Old Bears, so anyone who can capture them on canvas....or any other material for that matter....is high on my Teddy scale. I thought I would introduce you to the lady whose paintings I ADORE.

....Meet Kathy Karas.... I only found Kathy a little while ago, on ebay and I have been a fan ever since. Here is a photo of the briefcase Geoff bought me for my birthday, painted, of course, by Kathy.Kathy does lots of other paintings, which you will see if you go to her websites, but her Teddies are my favourite. She has an amazing ability to capture the "essence" of an old bear and the vintage clothes she dresses them in are Beautiful.

Here is my latest purchase from Kathy..... a Scrapbook....which I am going to convert into a Guest Book for the Shoppe. Biddles is helping by holding it up for me :)))))) What a clever Teddy!!!!And here are some of Kathy's cards, which I also sell in the Bear Shoppe.

Thank you Kathy for helping to make my Teddy space.....Beary Beautiful.....

Bear Hugs,

Sue

PS Some new Charlie Bears are arriving tomorrow so I will try and get some pics. up over the weekend :))))

....Meet Charlie and William.....

A Beary Happy Hello to Everyone,

Last week was very exciting for Charlie Bear Collectors as Charlie (Charlotte) and William, the founders of Charlie Bears were visiting Australia and meeting their collectors. I was lucky enough to first meet them both at the Trade Fair and they are as lovely as their bears!!!! I think William may be just as cuddly!!!! Check out the photos Girls - you'll see what I mean!!!!! Charlie is just gorgeous, and so bubbly. I can see how she can design such beautiful bears - they come straight from her heart.

On Friday Charlie and William were at Kerri's signing bears and introducing their latest collection, which is "to-die-for". Kerri had provided refreshments.... Guess who provided the cupcakes ??:))))
I made 100 mini cupcakes....choc-banana flavour and each topped with a tiny teddy. I set them up on the Cupcake Tier and topped them off with what else - a Charlie Bear. Doesn't he blend in beautifully? And cupcakes are Charlie and William's favourites!!!
I only got a couple of photos of Charlie as she spent most of her time, head down signing away...she must have had writer's cramp by the time she had finished!!!!
And, of course you can't go to a Teddy Bear Signing without buying a teddy. Meet the latest to join my ever growing hug.....Bon Bon. Everyone, even people I didn't know said, "You have to buy her....she is SOOOO YOU." And I guess being "shabby" pink and white, with a pink bow, they were probably right.

What do you think?

'Til Next Time,

Bear Hugs,

Sue

xo

PS. The new Charlie Bears are due in the Shoppe from late September (Plush) and November (Isabelle Collection, Limited Edition.) Don't miss them - they are amazing:)))))))

...A Prickly, Little Washerwoman.....

Hello M'Dears.

Let me introduce myself.......I'm Mrs Tiggywinkle........the latest addition to the Beatrix Potter Collection.

I have a little nose that goes sniffle, sniffle, sniffle and little eyes that go twinkle, twinkle, twinkle. I used to live under a big rock on the side of a hill but now I live, temporarily I'm sure, in Sue's shop, Bear Hugs.

Sue says I won't be here long because I'm so cute and oh so helpful. My favourite chore is ironing......see my little iron.
I iron Cock Robin's waistcoat, Tom Kitten's mittens and the blue jacket of Peter Rabbit but most of all I LOVE ironing handkersniffs. Sue says that I could come home with her because she doesn't like ironing at all....personally, I can't understand that!!!!....

But wait a moment, a lady is coming in through the door......she has picked me up and is telling Sue I am her little girl's favourite.....She is buying me and I am going home to her little girl. Oh, I DO hope she has lots of handkersniffs for me to iron. She is going to get such a surprise when she wakes in the morning to find her little hankies all starched and ironed.

'Bye Sue, 'Bye everybody

xoxo

**Sue's Note**

And yes, it actually happened like that.......as I was taking the photos of Mrs Tiggywinkle in the Shop, a lady came in and bought her for her little girl.........

The character of Mrs Tiggywinkle was inspired by an old Scottish washerwoman by the name of Kitty McDonald...."a comical, round, little old woman, as brown as a berry and wears a multitude of petticoats". The story was first told in 1901 but published in 1905. Beatrix's tame hedgehog modelled for her drawings.

Meet My Number One Assistant...Miss Daisy.....

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would introduce you to my Number One Assistant in the Teddy Bear Shop. She used to come to the Gift Shop but hasn't been able to since we added the Cafe, which made her very sad :((((

Meet Miss Daisy.........This is a baby puppy photo.......when she was only a Princess in Training...

Now she's a fully fledged Princess. Unfortunately Daisy doesn't realise she is actually a dog .......... and judging from the photo below, Number Two dog, "Kai" doesn't realise how BIG he is. Can you imagine a German Shepherd fitting into a Maltese Princess's pink bed!!!!!!! Well, much to Daisy's disgust, he gave it a good try.
Miss Daisy is very well known by the customers to both the Gift Shop and the Bear Shop - she even has her own fan club. Customers love the fact I not only have a "Shabby Chic" style shop, I even have a "Shabby Chic" dog. They come in, not to buy gifts, Teddies or see me, but to say Hello to Daisy. No wonder she thinks she is Royalty!!!!
Daisy gets very excited when I get one of her little coats out as she knows she is coming to the shop to be the "Meet and Greet Doggy"..... a role she takes very seriously. Woe betide the customer who comes in and ignores her!!!! And she LOVES giving smoochy kisses - whether you want one or not!!!

Bec who works in the Cafe asked me a couple of weeks ago if Daisy had a little coat, only to be told by Glenda, "Daisy doesn't have a coat, she has a WARDROBE!!!" And she's right, and guess what, most of it is PINK!!!!!

But what other colour would a Shabby Princess wear?!!!

Well, we've had an exhausting day!!!

Bye For Now,

Sue and Miss Daisy

How Cute are These Guys??????

Hi Everyone,

The new shipment of Limited Edition Charlie Bears arrived in the shop yesterday and they have already half gone. I didn't even get to put them on my website :(((((

Not surprising really........have a look at the faces on these guys.......

Meet Cheesecake........

And Casper

"Please Take Me Home!!!"

And my Favourite......... Mr Pickles......

........"I Wuv You"........

Aren't they the cutest things you have ever seen???? AND they are all house trained :))))

....'Til next Time....

Stay Warm,

Bear Hugs,

Sue