A Peek Into My World Today

Hello!  Just snapping some random shots from the day so far....enjoy!!  Above are some recycled metal letters from Urban Outfitters....they greet us in the front entryway of our house. 

Doing some doodling with my markers.....

My journal and the cute little clutch was made by my girlie.  I store my most important journaling supplies in it so I can take it with me on the run if I need to......

Her clutches are for sale in the store now......lots of great patterns!!!

Back to the journal.....this is a scrap of kraft paper that I worked out a new design on.....just couldn't bear to part with it when the paper needed to be changed out....so I stuck it in the journal as an extra page.....

More doodling in the journal....preparing pages for writing.....

And here I drew some funky patterned leaves and colored them in.... I did this last night when I couldn't get to sleep.....

I've been working on a big batch of new tokens of affection....thinking of doing some sort of finding/tracking experiment with these.....hmmmm......

My friend Gae gave me some goodies with my power numbers on them.  Long story....it's a numerology thing....but I love having my power numbers around me in my space....as well as powerful words....these are resting on an old window with a heart that says FLY.

This hand sits on our computer desk in the family room....

A candy jar in our dining room...filled with Smarties and Dum Dums.  (heh, get the irony?)
Anyway......

A clay fish sculpture made by one of the kids when they were little....in the background is a baby picture of my girlie.....

This is a coffee table I've recently completed...now available in the store.  I seem to be putting these flowers on everything lately.....they make me happy.....

An old drawer became a shadow box for a collage.....

Handbags made from my new fabric line......still waiting for my shipment to arrive!!!

An extra large lazy susan now available in the store.....





Took the puppy for a walk in the park this morning.....she loves all the "action."  The birds, other dogs, people walking...although, today it was pretty quiet out there....

Someone left a teeny tiny bat behind...must have been used in a teeny tiny baseball game.

Can't wait for everything to turn green and lush again!
Wishing you all a lovely, creative day!!!!  Ta ta for now!

Reminder: Whine and Wags this Thursday!!!

Hi everyone!!!  Did you all have a great spring break?  A BIG thank you to everyone who stopped by for our spring break open studio!  It was so much fun!!!  So many fabulous creations came to life back there...it was great!!!  Yesterday, we hosted our freind Dani's birthday party in the studio....one of the coolest families ever.  A week or so ago, Dani gave me a gorgeous handmade book she wrote about creativity....I'm going to photograph it and show it to you.  It's wonderful!  Last night, Lovin' Man and I were hosted by our freinds Steve and Kim for dinner.  We had a YUMMY cockney stew, with delicious dumplings floating on top.  So good!  There's something very special about going to someone's home for a homemade meal.  It's such a loving gesture....we appreciated it so much!  Thank you Steve and Kim!

Just a quick reminder that the Whine and Wags event is this Thursday, March 31st.  Come out and have some fun...plus your money is going to a great cause!!!  Here are the details:

Whine and Wags

Cedar Valley Humane Society Wine Tasting and Silent Auction
Thursday, March 31st 5-8pm
Daniel Arthur’s
821 3rd Ave SE, Cedar Rapids
Admission is $25

Reserve your tickets in advance by contacting Jan Clarke at 319-362-6288 or email: jan.clarke@cvhumane.org
CVHS website:  CLICK HERE

Enjoy an evening of fabulous silent auction items, live guitar music, fine wine tasting by 7G Distributing and hors d’oeuvres compliments of Daniel Arthur’s.  Dreaming Bear is donating a piece of window art that will be up for auction that night.  We hope to see many of you there!  Woo hoo!  Have a great Sunday!

More Goodies in our CafePress Shop!!

Howdy guys!  We added a few more designs and items to the CafePress shop!!!  Check 'em out!!!

Above is a picture of the "Just Be You" tote bag, with another one of my girls on wheels with pink hair!
 Ha!  I love how this turned out!

A patchwork heart water bottle that says "Be True to Yourself."

A framed print of my "Many Moustaches" collage. Did I tell you that I have a moustache themed bathroom?  Well, I do!  I'll show it to you sometime!

Finally, a "SWEET" apron.  So cute!!! Thanks for letting me share these with you. 

 Now, head on over to the CafePress shop and shop away!

Creative, Crafty Folks!

2 More Days of Spring Break Open Studio!!!

Wed, March 23rd and

Thurs, March 24th 10am-2pm

We hope you will come by and join us for some artsy craftsy fun!!!

Above is our friend Jodie, and her daughter and niece, who stopped by the studio not long ago.

Just look at the fun things they created!!!  And speaking of creating, Jodie is also an excellent seamstress, who makes really original handbags and accessories.  Look what she made out of my Fiesta line of fabric!

Soooo cute!!!

Thanks for sharing, Jodie!  Love it!  Have a great day, everyone!!! 

Happy Birthday Lovin' Man!!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my Lovin' Man!  This is what he looked like the day he married me.  I know....soooo cute.  Thank you, Lovin' Man, for everything you do all year long for all of us.  You are a wonderful treasure.

Extended Hours in Studio for Spring Break!

Soon.....the flowers will be blooming and the bees will be buzzing again!!!  And soon, it will be SPRING BREAK!!!  We've got just the thing to infuse a little fun into your vacation!  We are extending our studio hours!!!  So stop by and get crafty with us!!!!

We have everything you need to complete a really fun art project of your choice...paint a canvas, mosaic a picture frame or glitter a cupcake.  Fun, fun, fun!!!

SPRING BREAK STUDIO HOURS:

10am-2pm on the following days.....

Tues, Wed, Thurs March 15, 16, 17 and

Tues, Wed, Thurs March 22, 23, 24

Join us, won't you???

All ages are welcome!!!!

Big Pile of Little Canvases

Hi there!  Check it out!!!  I just completed a little pile of canvases....most of these are either 4x6 or 6x8.  Nice and petite, and super fun to work with!  These are all collages, using misc papers, acrylic paints, pencil and ink.  A couple are gone already!!!  Wowwee!  But most are available in the store.  Feel free to email me for info if you are not local. 

Flowers, moustaches, and whales.  Oh my!

A nice little stack of birds too.....

I'm dreaming of tulips....are you?

Happy Tuesday!!!!

Happy Sunday from Elsie.

Greetings from Elsie in her favorite Sunday morning lounging spot.

Life is good.

Bubble Trouble - The Fabric Line!

Hello friends!  Can I tell you why I'm so happy? 

 I have finally received the first batch of samples from my next fabric line:  "Bubble Trouble!" 

This line is being produced by Studio E Fabrics and will be shipping to stores in May!  Yeehaw! 

And yes, it will be available at The Dreaming Bear, and also in our Etsy shop!

 

The quality of these coordinating cottons is superb.  They feel amazing.  And the color!  These colors are not for shrinking violets!   They are bold, bright, and ready to inspire! 

I'll let you know once we receive our own complete order, but for now, I would love to show you all of the print samples!  As you can see from the above picture, Elsie has already picked out her favorite print! 

 Hee hee.  Okay, here we go.....

The first two prints are what started the whole thing....

I painted these crazy, colorful "bubbles" and then it took off from there.

I added some stripes.  You gotta have stripes!  Am I right?

These are a couple of my favorites.  I can imagine these as crazy fun curtains, and oversized pillows.

Some checkerboard prints for good measure. 



Some running stitches....I LOVE how these turned out.  This print was a little "iffy" in my mind in the beginning, but I'm already thinking about how versatile this pattern can be in a quilt. 

Lots of busy pattern per square inch!



These bubbles are so much fun!!!



And finally, I offer you some good old fashioned polka dots....but in punchy color combos!

I'm in love with the pink and red!  Remember back in the day, when they would tell us you couldn't put pink and red together?  Psssshhhh.  Whatevah!



So that's it, gang!  I hope you love it!  Soon, you will see projects and info popping up once it starts shipping!  One very special project that I'm dying to tell you about, and will soon.

Ta ta for now!!!