Sheriff Bear

I decided to dedicate this weekend in honor of our law enforcement agencies. The project was fun from start to finish. I picked a bear that’d easily stand upright with some props. I decided to make him a Sheriff’s Officer.
I started off by making a paper pattern based on the measurements of my bear. I found an old pair of black pants that no longer fit me (Mmmm, wonder why?) and cut the various pieces, using my patterns.
I first prepared the patches for the sleeves using red ribbon as beading. I used yellow and white fabric paint and painted the details on the two patches. Next I cut a piece of leather to make a belt. A ‘D’ ring from my husband’s old watch ended up as a buckle for the belt. I turned a gold colored plastic button bought from Wal-Mart into a badge. I assembled all these to finish dressing up my bear.
I gave my Sheriff’s Officer a suitable name and propped him up on a stool by my front door. Every time I go in and out my door, I smile at my bear. He smiles right back, reassuring me that he’ll keep an eye on my home when I am away!

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Dressing up Bears

I was just nine years old when my mom first allowed me to sit at her sewing machine and try out some straight line stitches. It started as a hobby and I enjoyed the creative opportunities that came with it. I was soon making curtains and table covers and hand kerchiefs. I also began to dress up my dolls. My skills improved enough to enable me to sew my own blouses and skirts. My brothers drew the line when I tried to sew shirts and pants for them! So much for trying to replace the family tailor!

When I seriously started dressing up bears, a whole new world opened up for me. I began to design a variety of clothes for bears of different sizes. My first step was to start a bear collection. To make it easy, I picked soft toys that were at least 18 inches or higher. The next step was the choice of clothes. I wanted to create memories. The Pictures will reveal the variety I have built up.

[Dressing Bears]

Army Bear sold for $1250

A heart warming experience!I had a lot of fun creating the uniforms for these two teddies. Click on the image to see the fine details of the uniforms and caps. The buttons and pockets are actually functional! But the real excitement came after I had delivered these two cuties to a non-profit organization. They were participating in a corporate holiday event. The organizers were collecting donated items to be sent to military personnel serving overseas. These bears were originally intended to be given away as gifts to the children of the soldiers. However, when the organizers saw these bears, they decided, on a whim, to auction them off to the highest bidders in the gathering and send the proceeds to the soldiers in the form of prepaid telephone cards.

What followed was unbelievable! When the first teddy came up for auction, a small bidding war began and it finally sold for $250. By now all eyes were on the remaining teddy. The gathering went into a frenzy as a bidding war erupted, sending the initial bid well past $250. The second bear finally was sold to the highest bidder at a whopping $1,250. Although I was not present at the event, I learned all about it in the newspapers the next day. It was a heart warming experience indeed!

[Army Bear]