July 14, 2011

My Lon Ornament


Hello pals!  THANK YOU for all of the positive messages you are sending out about our little story on TV!  Thank you!!!  It really was fun, and I love how it turned out!  Just wanted to bop in and show you something that makes me smile.  Last Saturday night, our neighbors, Dan and Bridget hosted a lawn ornament exchange party.  CLEVER!!!  The whole thing was so well done....right down to the decor.  After our exchange we watched Gnomeo and Juliet on a screen in the backyard!  So fun!

 Above is a picture of my contribution to the ornament exchange....the rock...not the man.....the man's name is Lon.  Get it?!  It's a "LON Ornament".  I painted LON on the ornament.  Oh man, I crack myself up.  We had a few laughs over it....but alas, Lon and his wife didn't win his own ornament....Mike and Drinda got to take him home.  (again, the rock, not the man) 

This project has now led me into another obsession...painting faces on rocks.  Wouldn't it be great to have a bunch of funny faces looking up at you in the evening when you weed your garden?  I rather think so.

July 07, 2011

KWWL visits The Dreaming Bear!


Hi all!  Yesterday we had the pleasure to meet Molly from KWWL, who did a sweet lil' story about our store and studio!  One of our favorite girls, Dani, was visiting the art studio, and was gracious enough to let us interview her!  She's a star!!!  You can watch the video HERE.  Check it out!!!

June 30, 2011

Moodling

Our sweet Emily posing for us during a photo shoot. 
This picture ended up on my postcards and banner in Dallas.
Photo by Karen Seltrecht

"So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering."  - Brenda Ueland

June 28, 2011

Back from the Dallas Show!


Hello friends!!!  By now you have probably deserted this pathetic attempt at a blog....oh me, oh my.  There has been a lot going on....we just returned from Dallas Gift Market.  It was oh so warm down there.  Always hot.  Even over night, in my opinion.  Lordie!  But we ducked from one air conditioned space to another, and survived just fine!  Here are some pics of our booth.  I forgot to take my camera with me....aaaarrrrgh!!!  So these are the only two pics we took the whole show, with Lovin' Man's I-Phone.  Oh well.  We had a really great visit.....saw old friends, made new ones.....it was all good. 


Do you love the bunting hanging in my booth as much as I do?  My mama made it just for this show...and it stopped everyone in their tracks!  I was asked several times if I was selling it.  Well, now I've got something new to work on!!!  Dreaming Bear bunting!!!  Ha! 

Sending out a GIANT thank you to Mike and Susie, our gracious hosts who gave us a peaceful place to rest at the end of those long show days....and they always had the wine flowing....bless 'em.  And thanks to Angie, Dawny, Emily and Emma who kept the train on the tracks back home while we were gone.  Don't know what we would do without them!!!  More news soon...but for now, going to head out to the balloon glow....it's a gorgeous night for it!
Cheers!

June 13, 2011

Bubble Trouble is in the Etsy shop!


Hello friends!  It has been a whirlwind of activity here in Dreaming Bear land.  Lots of projects being juggled in the air all at once!  Still working hard at home, freshening up the patio with paint and accessories...and working really hard in the studio, creating samples for the upcoming Dallas Gift Market.  We just had a mini photo shoot, starring our adorable Emily and some of the popular Dreaming Bear products.  Too cute...will show you some of the pics soon.


  For now, though, I wanted to let you know that the Bubble Trouble fabric line is now available in our Etsy shop!  So those of you who can't find it locally, or can't make it into our store, you can get your hands on some now!  Woo hoo!


 Click HERE for the Etsy shop.  If you need larger amounts, just email me, and we'll see if we can make it happen.  Wishing you a sunshiney day! 

June 07, 2011

Summer Studio Hours Begin Today!

Howdy!  Just a quick reminder that our extended summer studio hours begin today!!!  Yahoo!!!!  In addition to our regular studio hours on Saturdays from 10 to 4, we will have the studio open during the week as well!  Come join us, and have some fun!!!!

June 7th-August 11th
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 
10am-2pm

Stop by and decorate a bird house for grandma's garden......or decoupage a plate for mom....or create something beautiful for your room....the possibilities are endless...and we have new supplies arriving daily!
Happy Summer!!!

June 06, 2011

We are A-List Winners! Yay!


Hiya!  How's it going?  I've been a bad little blogger...I'm not sure why....maybe it's the official transition into summertime.  So glad summer is here!  The kids were done with school last Thursday...and we are beginning our first week of sleeping in, playing around, and working on our tans.  Life is good.

 Lovin' Man has been busy with his "honey do" lists that just keep growing and growing.  We recently had our house repainted...which has led to other things naturally....new flower pots out front and more. Currently, the back patio is getting a makeover, and we are working our way through the backyard.  I've been clearing away overgrowth, planting new things, and have had fun putting little accessories here and there.  Totally loving garden accessories!    Will show you some pics very soon....but first I would like to say THANK YOU for making us the number one gift shop on KCRG's A-List!!! 


We are so very honored and happy!!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  We will continue to work hard to make you smile.  Thanks for making us smile!!!

May 27, 2011

Peeking Around the Store


Candlesticks and painted bottles.  Oh my!


Quirky house pillows in many sizes.


Garden art.  Fun!




And this is Patricia with her big lips and scratchy claws.
Don't mess with her!


A recent piece of window art.  It says "Breathe."

Have a very happy holiday weekend, friends!!!

May 23, 2011

Thanks for a great weekend!


Wowee!!!  A great big thank you to everyone who came out to see us on Saturday during the Marion Arts Festival!!!  It was so nice to see all of you, and we appreciate your support so very much!


 I hope you all had a splendid time!!!  We were so happy to see the weather clear up, and the sun peeking out!  Yay!


 Here are some pics of canvases that I did for Saturday.  Enjoy!!!

May 16, 2011

Marion Arts Festival this Saturday!!!


Hey everyone!  It's that time of year again!  Our favorite day of the year is almost upon us!  If you are in the Marion/Cedar Rapids area this Saturday, do come by for this fun event!

MARION ARTS FESTIVAL
Saturday, May 21st 9am-5pm
City Square Park

We've been working around the clock to get lots of artsy goodies done for this wonderful day!  Be sure to stop by and say hello at The Dreaming Bear!  We will have lots of new wall art, garden art, jewelry, and novelties out.  My son will be selling his usual delicious homemade treats, and my daughter will have her one of a kind fabric creations for sale, such as clutches, tote bags, skirts, summer dresses and more!  It's gonna be good, people!  Stop into the art studio to pick up a summer schedule and learn about upcoming workshoops this fall.  Hooray!  See you this Saturday!  Rain or shine, we'll see you this Saturday!!!

For details on the exhibiting artists, and various activities, visit the Marion Arts Fest website.

May 10, 2011

Katie's Journal Pages


Hi friends!  I just need to babble on about what a stellar Mother's Day I had on Sunday!  In the morning, we hosted Lovin' Man's mother, sister and nieces at our house, while Lovin' Man made the most delicious brunch for us!!!  It was so yummy, and I ate a lot of it.  :-)  I guess I knew I would need to keep my strength up for the day!  While they visited us, our niece, Katie was hanging out with me at the dining room table.  I pulled out my journal and asked her to doodle something in it for me.  She did...a lovely little doodle!  This  led to showing her the rest of my journal...all of the colored pages...and I showed her how I just put things in there that I love, magazine clippings, quotes, photos, ticket stubs, etc.  When it was time to go, she whispered to me that she would love to start one of her own journals and make it "nice and fat" like mine.  Of course, I said yes!!!  Well, later that day, we heard from them again, and apparantly Katie couldn't stifle the creativity bubbling inside her...and got to work on her own journal!!!!  And these are the pages she's done so far!!!  Aren't they great?!  I'm so excited for her!!  Above is a photo from a mag that she liked.  Below, there are actual gems from her dance costume on the artwork!


And more pages.....




Katie, you did such a good job on all of your pages!  Keep up the great work!  Can't wait to see what you come up with next!!!!

P.S.  This is leading me to believe that we might be hosting an Art Journaling workshop for girls this fall.  Stay tuned!

May 08, 2011

Giveaway Winner!!!


Hello gang!!!!  I hope you all had a restful, enjoyable Mother's Day!!!  I was treated to a wonderful day by my family...lots of fun and food and quality time spent with loved ones.  Now I'm pooped! 

I'm happy to announce the winner of our giveaway!!!!  It is.....KAREN BLADOS!!! 
Karen's comment:
"I took German and my name was Katrin. I think if I was going to go latin, I'd like Kamille. "
Karen, please get in touch with me at thedreamingbear(at)gmail(dot)com and tell me where to send your goodies!!!  Congrats!  And thanks to everyone for their lovely comments....I read all of them, and they really made me smile.  Thanks!!!!  Have a good week!!!

May 05, 2011

Giveaway Time!


Hola amigos!  It's Cinco de Mayo, and I'm feelin' feisty....so let's have a giveaway!!!  I am reminded today of Spanish class waaay back in the day with Mrs. Valenta and Mrs. Keating (Hey Molly!  Tell your mom hi!) and what fun we had, learning that beautiful language.  I'm sure we were quite amusing to our teachers, confusing when to use "el" and when to use "la," and awkwardly rolling our "rrrrrrzzzzz".  Ha!  The name I adopted in Spanish class was "Yolanda."  Lovin' Man loves to joke around and calls me that on occasion.  He's so funny.  Not.

Soooo.....on to the giveaway.....one lucky winner will receive everything pictured here:  a Dreaming Bear tote bag, 3 Dreaming Bear postcards, 2 packages of bath salts, a pinwheel pen, a "rocket girl" notebook, and a sweet necklace with a quote about family on the back.  Sweet!!!

You can enter this giveaway by leaving me a comment on this post, telling me what your name would be if you were back in Spanish class!!!  The winner will be drawn randomly on Sunday evening!  Woo hoo! 
Be back again soon!  Have a great day!

May 02, 2011

Journal Pages!


Wow....amazing how the world can change over the course of one night, isn't it?!  So grateful for our men and women in uniform who risk their lives to make this world a safer place for all of us.  I'm still in shock...it's hard to believe.

I was able to share a lovely afternoon walk with Lovin' Man and Elsie yesterday on the Sac and Fox Trail.  Have you ever been?  It was my first time on this trail....and it was so delightful!  And such a gorgeous day!  Loved it! 

It's about time for me to share a few more pages in the journal...all gussied up and ready for me to scrawl my dailing ramblings on!!  It's getting harder for me to show you flat pics of my journal, as I'm getting very close to the end of this book...it's fat and full of goodies....and it doesn't lie flat AT ALL.  Ha!

The pages above were created with a bit of marker, paper, pencil and water soluble crayons.  On the left hand side is a teeny little pocket given to me by my friend Barb.  I forgot to show you what's inside..but it's an itty bitty picture of a girl with braids.  On the right hand side, a heart, more doodles, and a business card for Garden Gate floral.  I rec'd a bouquet from them, and wanted to remember them, as it was gorgeous!


And on these pages, I placed some printouts of some recent artwork I've completed...funky flowers and multiple moustaches.  Can you tell I love to draw scallops?  :-)



And a crown was added to the corner for good measure.  It needs something else..just haven't decided what yet. 


More doodling....including a flower on the left that reminds me of my dahlia's in the front flower bed at my home.  Can't wait for them to pop their little heads up again this summer!  On the right hand side, are real pressed leaves that I "oh so carefully" attached to the page.  Also, a magazine clipping for a book that I want to remember called The Nook Book.


A snippet of gift wrap from Barb.  Her names pops up a lot here....because she is so sweet...she is always giving us little goodies that are perfect for journaling!


Another heart (I think these all came from one of those pages in Stampington magazine), some doodling, and stamping.  "Ride Life's Waves" is a magazine clipping that caused me to sketch a little sailboat in the background. 



Below on the left is one of my fave pages.....I showed it earlier.....but over the course of a couple of evenings, vegging out on the couch, I've filled it in with lots of color.  On the right page, more magazine clippings with ideas that I wanted to remember.....love the jar with photos inside.  Very cool!



And I also colored in the "Irene Goodnight" page which reminds me of a very special neighborhood party not long ago.  I printed a photo of my neighbors singing that song, and added it as a little page to seal the deal.


And this cute little house was made with a Traci Bautista magazine image and some scrapbook paper.  Her collage work is so colorful and inspiring!  Well, that's it for today.  I'm off to the studio to crank out the whimsy....counting down the days until the Marion Arts Festival....we've gotta be ready!!!


Wishing you all a fun, artful day!!!


May 01, 2011

Saturday Shenanigans


Wow....so  far this has been an extremely enjoyable weekend for me!  You too, I hope!  While the super cool Dreaming Bear girls rocked the store and studio, I was able to escape yesterday with my friend Lu to the Women's Walking Workshop at the Indian Creek Nature Center.  We spent all day walking the trails, learning about nutrition, proper shoe selection, some ladies spoke about their adventure hiking the Grand Canyon (very inspiring), a tasty lunch, a foot massage (eeep!) and more.  It was soooo nice to just turn my phone off, assume the world will go on without me (and it did, of course!) and truly invest some time in myself, and a friendship.  GOOD STUFF! 

Saturday night, I attended the Recycle in Style Fashion Show...hosted by Goodwill and the Linn County Solid Waste Agency!  I took my girlie and a couple of friends....we had front row seats, and it was a blast!!!!  It featured 4 designers, primarily, sharing their creations made from thrifted items.  So much fun!!!

Check out their blogs here:
Sonya Darrow - Ladyfits
Ramona Muse - Patterned Piles
Carissa Starleaf - Luxe Debris
Brooke Dearborn - The Broke Brog

Wishing you all a very restful Sunday!!!