Finally did it........I got my LL.B !!!!!!!

YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!

I found out today I've passed all my exams so I'm now the proud owner of a University of Edinburgh law degree...........I'm now Janice McLeod LL.B, Bachelor of laws........how fab is that....lol :O)

On the whole I've enjoyed my time at university......there's been a few ups and downs and I've struggled at times to try to juggle studying, working, being a single mum, making bears and not to mention the financial struggles.....but I'm glad I did it :O)

Now I just need to find myself a job!!!!

What an eventful last couple of months I've had!! After finishing all my essays and exams for uni, I had to get enough bears made for the Teddy Bear Artist Event at Stratford and I have to say what a wonderful weekend I had there :O)

My mum and sister came with me and we went down on the Friday so we could spend Saturday wandering around Stratford soaking up all the sights..........unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way as the weather was terrible (and I stupidly only took my flip flops with me as the weather was quite nice when we left Edinburgh on the Friday!!!!). We stayed at this wonderful guest house called Broadlands.......Jeremy and Tamara were just wonderful, we couldn't have asked for nicer hosts (they even popped along to the civic hall to visit the bears!!).

The fair itself was great fun, it was lovely to meet up with a lot of collectors and other bear artists........the bears on display were absolutely fantastic, there were some really fantastic bears there.....how anyone managed to choose just one bear from all the talent on display is beyond me :O)

My table at Stratford

On a different note......my eldest son flew the nest a couple of weeks ago!!! He and his girlfriend have decided to set up home together and I really hope it works out well for him :O) But........as I'm sure a lot of you out there will understand.....it really tugs at your heart strings when they close that door behind them!!! I'm still finding it really strange not having him around the house.

I'm off to see Take That on their Circus tour on Friday and I'm sooooo excited!!!! Aside from all the fab songs they sing, the show itself is suppose to be quite spectacular. There's a huge mechanical elephant that enters the stage which is meant to be quite a sight to see!!! I'm really looking forward to it :O)

Click here to see the elephant in action

Speak to you again soon :O)

Hugs
Janice

Giveaway by Ginger

Look at this gorgeous little bear.......isn't she just adorable :O)

Posy has been made by Ginger of Bearbits and she is being offered as a free giveaway as part of her Silver Anniversary as a bear artist celebrations. If you would like a chance to win her just pop along to Ginger's blog and leave a message for her. Just click on Posy's photo to visit Ginger's blog. Good luck :O)


Hugs
Janice

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter everyone
Hope you all have a lovely day :O)

Oh my goodness........where is the time going......Easter already!!! You know what that means..........we'll be seeing advent calendars and tinsel in the shops from Monday.....lol

It's such a beautiful day here in Edinburgh today......for a change!!! I love Spring, I think it has to be my favourite season with nature bursting into life everywhere you look and promises of better things to come :O)

Anyway......have a wonderful Easter....and try not to each too many of those yummy chocolate eggs :O)

Speak to you again soon!!!

Hugs
Janice

Bear swap

I recently did a bear swap which was organised on Teddy Talk and thought I'd share photos of the bears with you :O)

This is the bear I made for Patty of Swan Valley Bears, his name is Peter:





















And this gorgeous little girl was made for me by Patty :O) Her name is Celeste and I'm absolutely thrilled with her!!! This photo was taken by Patty before Celeste began her journey from the USA to Edinburgh. I tried to take piccies myself but my camera decided it wanted to play up today. I'll add more photos of her when I get the chance.




















I've signed up to do another swap, this time with a theme - summer flowers - and I'm really looking forward to it, they're so much fun :O)

I can finally get back to bear making this week as that's me now finished uni..........YIPEE, YIPEE, YIPEE :O) I've still got my exams to revise for which are in May but I no longer need to attend any classes so have a lot more free time now.

I'll need to also start making bears for the Teddy Bear Artist Event in Stratford. It's still a couple of months away but you know what it's like.......it'll be here before I know it!!! I'm sooooo looking forward to the event. It had rave reviews last year (it's 1st year) with everyone having such a wonderful day. If you want to see what it's all about click on the icon on the right.

Hugs for now :O)

Janice

I'm still here :o)

Hi all,

Just thought I'd check in to let you know I'm still here :o)

I've not had the chance to post anything on my blog for a while due to my essays deadline (too) fast approaching. In fact I've not had the chance to do anything else much aside from studying over the last few weeks :o( I'm really missing making bears just now as I find it such a therapeutic way of unwinding at the end of the day. I've been making up for it by buying lots of lovely mohair though...in preparation of when I can get back to my bear making.

Only 5 weeks to go.........and I'll be finished uni.......I can't believe it!!!! It's been a long and hard struggle getting to this point but I'm so glad I did it :o) I'm really looking forward to having my evenings and weekends back to myself again though!

On one of the forums I read regularly, someone posted a really clever link.......it certainly had me scratching my head and wondering how it was done!! Why not check it out yourself and see if you can figure out how it's done:

http://www.regiftable.com/regiftingrobinpopup.html


I've also recently joined a new blog link site called '100 Best Bear Artist Blogs'. It's worth popping by for a visit to see some other fantastic work by some very talented bear artists. Just click the banner on the right hand side or below if you would like to have a look :o)

Thanks for stopping by for a visit :o)

Hugs
Janice

Thank you Kelly!!

I'm so honoured to have been awarded a Work of Heart award from Kelly of Blondheart bears. Kelly states:

"The Works Of Heart award is for people who put their heart and soul into their work, their words and/or their kindness to others."

Thank you so much for awarding me this lovely award Kelly......it really means a lot :o)

I can now forward this award to 2 other people but before I do that I'm going to bounce it right back to Kelly (which I think is probably cheating as it means I'm now sending it to three people!!) as she really deserves it for all the work she puts in to promoting bear artistry and for being such a lovely friendly person. Kelly has also done a lot to promote team spirit not only within the bear artist world but in the crafting world generally........she's such a star :o) So Kelly....my first award goes out to you - Blondheart

Now.........who to award the other 2 to........this is going to be difficult as there's so many wonderful people out there who are so worthy of this lovely award!!!

I would like to award this to Catherine of Bumpkin Bears. Catherine makes such adorable bears with the cutest expressions and has also recently started doing the cutest bear artwork. She is such a friendly person which I feel shows in her lovely bears.

I'd like to give my final award to Kay from KatieCountryBears. Kay is one of the sweetest, kindest people I know. She has a heart of pure gold and always says the nicest things. Her bears are really sweet and have such personality. She's wonderful :o)

Enjoy your awards ladies :o)

Hugs
Janice

Another good reason to join ArtFire

Hi all,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas :o)

I would also like to wish you all a very happy new year.......I hope you have a very happy and healthy 2009!!!

I just thought I'd mention another good reason to join ArtFire. By taking out a membership you will be 'doing your bit' to help the environment.



One of my MANY new year's resolutions this year is to become more 'green'.......and this is one more way for me to do this :o)

There's only around 3,000 $7 (roughly around £4) places left so now would be a good time to join in if you're thinking about it. I believe the price is going to rise to around $20-$25 once all the $7 slots are taken!!

Why not pop along and see for yourself by visiting the site, just click on the link below :o)






Well.........2009!!! I've got quite a bit to look forward to this year! It's my last year of studying at uni and I have to admit, as much as I enjoy being a student (definitely should have done this YEARS ago!!), it will be nice to have more time to myself again. I find it quite difficult at the moment fitting everything into my life.......between being a single parent (and all that entails), studying, working part time and making bears! There's just not enough hours in the day.

I've also got 2 bear shows this year which I'm REALLY excited about :o) Apart from getting the chance to meet other fantastic bear artists (many of who's work I've admired for quite some time), it'll be so nice to meet some of my collectors :o) Although, I dare say nearer the time I'll be really nervous as these will be my first 'proper' bear shows!

I'll also be hitting the big 40 this year!!!! WOW, where does the time go.....scary!!!

Speak to you all again soon :o)

Hugs
Janice