Where does the time go???

Oh my goodness..............has it really been almost 2 months since I last updated my blog!!!!! Where does the time go??????

I've been busy, busy, busy making bears for a craft fair I attended on Saturday. The weather was fantastic (for a change!!!) and I was stuck indoors!!! It was VERY quiet at the fair as the hall used is near a local beach and everyone (very wisely) was spending their time at the beach in the glorious weather we had. Anyhoo.....since it was so quiet I didn't sell many bears so I'll be listing quite a few on ebay over the next couple of weeks.

I've got 2 bears on just now which are finishing tomorrow night. There's a pink and white deluxe fur panda called Candyfloss and a mint and chocolate mohair panda called Mintola.










It's only 2 weeks now until I go to Florida and I'm REALLY looking forward to it!!! I'm not looking forward to the flight.........9 hrs!!!.......but it'll be worth it when we get there. If anyone has any useful tips to share about holidaying in Florida I'd love to hear them :o) We're planning to do a park every other day and sightsee in between. We're also going on a trip halfway through to the Florida Keys and Miami which I'm very excited about!!! We're doing an airboat ride at the Everglades and swimming with the dolphins at the Keys...................something I've wanted to do for years!!!

New style bears!!!

Okay so I'm not very good at this blogging business.......I was never any good at keeping a diary when I was a child either (despite numerous attempts at trying!!). I'll try to make more of an effort to update more often :o)

So....what have I been up to???? Well, I've been busy making bears for a couple of local fairs I'm attending in May. I've posted photos of a couple of new bears I've made!! The one at the top is called Bobby and he's the first bear I've made with a muzzle insert. I know muzzle inserts are done by many many bear artists but it took me quite a few attempts at getting the look I wanted. The other bear is called Bonnie and she's made from such a lovely colour of mohair!! Hmm......I think I like the different coloured muzzle look, I'd love to know what you think of it :o)

I also had a letter from Teddy Bear Club International magazine saying they would put photos of a couple of my bears in their magazine so I can't wait to see them!!!

Teddy bear stuff aside....I've been on holiday from my work for the past week and a half and it's been absolutely fab!!!! I've not been doing anything very interesting (saving my pennies for Florida :o)) but it's just been very nice having the luxury of having time to do what I want :o)

I will try to not leave it so long to update my blog the next time.....promise!!!!!

Finally!!!!!

Well, I finally did it......I managed to post a photo on my website :o)


I've just spent the last 3-4 hours trying to put a small picture on my website. I never thought a small 12cm photo could cause me so much hair pulling :o) As you've probably realised, I'm not the most computer savvy person in the world. Of course it doesn't help when my computer keeps freezing! Thank goodness for the saviour at the other end of my computer (Penny, my web designer)! I know I'll eventually get the hang of updating my website, it's just so new to me just now and everything seems really difficult and time consuming.




I've just listed a new miniature bear on ebay called Topsy (which was infinitely easier to do!). He's only 5" tall and made of beautifully soft deluxe fur. I quite enjoy making miniature bears, I like the fiddlyness (if that's even a word!) of them. One of my favourite jobs when I was a florist was doing wedding flowers, I loved making the delicate corsages and wired bouquets.


Hope you like Topsy :o)

It's all happening!!!

Hi to all :o)
My name is Janice and I'm a 38 year old from Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm a single parent with two sons aged 19 (okay now nearly 20!) and 14 and a Bengal cat called Kayla.
I recently decided I'd like to have a go at making teddy bears after collecting them for many years. So in July 2007 my first 'bear' was made and Jigpaws was born! My first bear (if you can call it that) left a lot to be desired but quite a few bears later and I'm a lot happier with the bears I make now.
In the last week or so it's all been happening......I now have a website set up to sell my bears (huge thanks to Penny of Gotobedbears for being wonderfully patient with me) and the owner of a wonderful little boutique in Gullane, East Lothian agreed to show (and hopefully sell) a couple of my bears in her shop. I've also just found out that the Teddy Bear Scene magazine is going to feature a couple of my bears in a future edition...........it's all very exciting :o)