Monday 1 August 2011

Teddy Bears keep schtum - OK?

One of the nicest Teddy Bear quotations that I know is "A bear knows all your secrets - and keeps schtum" (Rosanne Ambrose Brown).

My favourite bear as a child was (and still is, although he's very old and shall we say 'well-loved' now) called Roger. Don't ask why I chose that name :) He was the keeper of all my 'only child' confidences and my very best friend when I was small. As an Army brat I had to get used to practically everything, including most of my toys and books, being packed into crates and sent on to our next move. We only had suitcases to 'tide us over' in between times - and it was often a couple of months before the crates arrived at our new destination. At the age of about five we moved to Germany for the first time and the imminent departure of Roger was preying on my mind. He was a big bear and I couldn't see that there was any option but for him to set off ahead of us.

My Mum quietly came up the stairs one evening to see if I was asleep and heard a little voice having a very serious conversation with Roger, telling him he had to be very brave when he got packed away and sent on a journey - and that I would see him as soon as he arrived. Oh wow, bit of heart string tugging there then and I was quickly reassured that somehow Roger would make the trip with us and not be packed into a dark and scary crate after all. It was like a fairytale come true for me, to this day I wonder if I'd plotted the whole scenario, and I suspect that my Dad might have carried him for at least some of the journey!

So, when Super Sandra sent me some stamped images recently, one seemed to say 'Hello, it's me':


This is my Roger, as he must have looked before he was hugged, squished, had new eyes and new paws and was generally loved to pieces.

The image itself was so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to risk colouring any more than the ribbon green to pull it together with the green ivy along the bottom of the card.

The card is 6" square, topped with lime green Core-dinations card and a punched lacy edge of paper along the bottom. It came free with a magazine yellow with a border on one side and greens on the other side. The ribbon is from my stash and Teddy was layered onto more of the lemon paper - with corners rounded.

I said on WOYWW that I was itching to try out the Bazzill flowers and flourishes templates so out came the self-adhesive pearls. Ha! The pearls were just a gnats whisker too large for the holes - some would stay in place when the template was removed but it was obvious that most wouldn't so I just placed the template where I wanted the pearls to go and put a little pencil dot in each hole. Bingo! That has now lead me to wonder about making some templates of my own from acetate (need that to see where it's being lined up), a pokey tool and a foam mat to put underneath when pricking the design out to make the template. Food for thought at least!

The final touch is a few punched daisies, coloured slightly to match the daisies in the border.

So, there we have Roger the Teddy Bear - and I doubt if I'll be able to part with this card unless I can find that beautiful stamp on my travels around the internet!

Di
x

13 comments:

  1. Oh Di, Roger looks wonderful! He's similar to a fave bear of mine, my special bear. My everyday special bear is a lot smaller and still sits next to my bed! We're all still a child at heart huh!

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  2. Aww shucks . . . what a lovely tale!

    I will let you know the stamp details if I can Di . . . but I have a nasty feeling the stamp isn't marked with them. Can't even remember where I bought it! I'm not much help am I?!!!

    Bear Hugs from Sarn xxx

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  3. Hi Di, no matter what you do with Rodger he's gorgous no need for anymore colouring, l'm loving my Ultra-fine Promarker nibs they really do the job thanks:) Sandra H

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  4. Hi Di Just had to leave a comment about Rodger the bear. My Mum had lots of bears and when she passed away I had to keep some of them. We really are all kids at heart. He is a lovely card and I can imagine that you will keep him for ever.

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  5. Loved to peeces???
    Loved to peeces???
    Can Bears reelly be loved to PEECES???

    Huh???

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  6. Oh Bob - I should have known you'd pop in and leave a comment :) Bears can be loved so very much that it hurts, and that's what us humans mean when we love them to 'peeces' :)

    Mind you, another saying I like is that "All you have between you and 'The Dark' is Bear". Even if they do hide in the pants drawer from thunderstorms!

    I think we might be evens now?! Di xx

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  7. Hi Gill, thanks for sharing the memory of your Mum. I think we're never too old to have bears - and if you want to meet a very wise bear, hop over to Bob T Bear (Esq's) blog. He brightens up the day when he posts on his blog, and does hop in here now and again to be abusive. Comment is above from him :)) Snort! Di xx

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  8. Hello Di. I think that Roger's twin brother came to live with me many years ago!!Has he mentioned Claude to you? :-)That is such a nice card, I do like a 'proper' bear. No offence to cute or tatty bears intended though. Dee xx

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  9. What a great story Di, thank you for sharing it with us. You won't believe this but I had a pet that I kept in a mason jar. My pet was invisible to everyone but very real to me. LOL
    Anyways, that flourishes template is wonderful and I can't wait to see all your lovely creations with it.

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  10. Hi Di! Your Roger is adorable and your story precious, thanks for sharing. I had a special doll I told all my deepest secrets too. Sadly when I left home to join the Army I wasn’t allowed to take her with me. I packed her away every so carefully. While I was gone my two little sisters found her. They were mean little brats and I’ve never forgiven them for what they did to Cindy. There was no saving her. Love your card.
    Hugs
    Bernie

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  11. Hi Di

    What a beautiful card and a lovely post.

    I enjoyed reading your story.

    I'm glad Roger didn't get squashed in a dark box for months!!!

    Love Jules xx

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  12. Thank you for the nibs, which arrived yesterday! I love the little butterfly too, which Dilly has commandeered ;)
    I haven't had a chance to test them yet but I'm looking forward to it!

    I was unable to sleep so stayed up till 4 trawling the net for that bear stamp, but no luck so far!!!!

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  13. The lovely Tammy has stepped in and promised to send me a traditional teddy bear stamp she doesn't use. He's gorgeous (I've been introduced by email with a photo attached) and I'm lying in wait for Mr Postie :) Aren't crafters kind - I'm thrilled! Di xx

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