Bella

Meet Bella! This is a brand new design for me. Bella is all of 4 & 3/4 inches. She has such a sweetness about her. I used wispy curly hair on her for a soft appearance. Bella is now listed on eBay.

Royal

Meet Royal, named for his royal blue mohair which I hand-dyed. He wears the cutest button which reads, "Kiss me, I don't bite." He is a sweetie. He's currently listed on eBay.

Kenzie

Here is one of my new cuties made from my old whimsical pattern. Her name is Kenzie and she is now listed on eBay.

Aiko

I just love the way little Aiko turned out. She is such a sweetie. The mohair was first dyed an apricot shade then re-dyed a pink shade. Her fur is a lovely shade of apricot/pink. Aiko did a nice photo shoot for me. You can see all her photos on eBay. Thanks for looking!

Twizzler

Twizzlers make mouths happy! And hopefully this bear named Twizzler will make someone happy! My inspiration for Twizzler is the pinback she wears on her chest. It is a 1910 button advertising for Cardinet Candy. Twizzler is very saggy and frumpy and distressed to look well-loved. She is currently listed on eBay.

Amerigo

I had so much fun making this little bear! I hand-dyed his red and blue mohair. Amerigo is a real sweetie and gave me a nice photo shoot. You can view his auction on eBay.

Max

Here is the latest miniature bear. Max is heavily distressed, including his paw pad and foot pad with woodwool peeking through. He wears a very primitively sewn felt party hat. Max is a real sweetie. Check out his photo shoot on eBay.

Iceberg!

Iceberg, right ahead! Sorry, I was having a bit of a Titanic moment. haha. This cutie is named Iceberg and he's currently listed on eBay. I used long wispy hair on this little one, which is a rarety for me. I think he turned out rather sweet. :)

Violet

This pretty little waif is made from the last bits of my purple mohair from many weeks ago. Violet turned out so cute with her tattered bow and primitive party hat and a smug look on her face. I just love this little one. She is currently on eBay.

Captain Buckeye

I listed this little swashbuckler on eBay recently. It's been a long time since I made a pirate bear. This little black bear was just begging to be dressed in pirate garb so of course I met his requests and Captain Buckeye became his name! Arrr, Matey!

Patriot

Okay, so I'm a little too late for Fourth of July, but Patriot here is still celebrating American Independence! :0) I just love how Patriot turned out, so saggy and frumpy and huggable. I'm having fun making these BIG Burlison Bears. A refreshing change from all my miniatures. Patriot is now listed on eBay.

Firecracker!

Well I did a blue bear named Bottlerocket and now a red bear named Firecracker. Can you tell I'm getting ready for Fourth of July? ;) Little Firecracker is such a cheeky little fellow. I love the way he turned out. He is now listed on eBay. He comes with his little stained flag. Thanks for looking. Bear hugs to all!

Old Bear Named Bellwether

Here's my latest BIG bear, Bellwether! He's an 11 incher. Believe it or not I just listed this fellow on eBay a couple hours ago and he already sold! That's got to be a record for me! And silly me, I was thinking earlier that my bigger bears probably wouldn't be too successful on getting adopted since I've only ever been a "miniature" bear artist. Well, maybe I should redefine my title occupation. :0)

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

...come again some other day. Sigh. Well, another rainy day here in Massachusetts. Nothing to do but stay indoors and make bears. On the plus side here is a new little fellow I just listed on eBay. His name is Binky and he is a very quirky new design with a long body and short and stubby limbs and a big head. His blue eyes make him stand out.
Well...gotta get back to churning out more bears and other fanciful critters. There's going to be some more BIG bears on the way once my newly ordered mohair arrives. Ta-ta for now!

Bottlerocket the Bear!

Whoooshhhh! Kapow! Pop! Pop! Crackle...

Fireworks! Yes, it's almost time for a certain holiday and this little blue bear is all decked out in his Americana ribbon and waving his little flag. Fourth of July will be here before you know it. It's actually my favorite holiday. I love fireworks and all the festivities of this summer holiday. So get yourself a bag of bottlerockets and a wedge of watermelon and join in the fun.

Bottlerocket the bear is now listed on eBay.

A Bear Named Hamish

I just love this little guy. I hand-dyed a peach mohair fabric with Egyptian Red dye to achieve his splendid color. Hamish has been distressed and stained for antique character. The silk satin ribbon around his neck is called "Stormy Monday". Hopefully this little fellow will find a new home soon. Hamish is currently listed on eBay.

Primitive Kitty Cat Doll

Today I finished this little critter, a primitive cat doll named Kitkat. The name comes from the dark chocolate mohair I used, and the color of her hand-dyed silk satin ribbon is actually called "Chocolate Rose". This little wonder has just now been listed on eBay. It was an overcast day today but the photo shoot turned out decent enough. Now I'm off to work on a deep red bear as well as dye some mohair a dark blue for future creations. Busy, busy, busy. Plus my new puppy Brisby is running me ragged at the same time! :0)

My first brown & white panda!

I just listed this little sweetie on eBay. Meet Graham, my first ever brown & white panda bear! He turned out rather cute. But my day of bear-making ain't over yet! I still have some red and blue mohair to dye for a certain holiday coming up. Can you guess which holiday? Here's a hint: Bottlerocket will be the name of a soon-to-be bear! ;)

Kaleidoscope of Colors!

Meet Kaleido, my second Big Burlison Bear. She is from my own whimsical pattern, just enlarged to 12". She's a kaleidoscope of colors, hence the name. She is saggy and frumpy and loosely jointed and distressed. She's everything a good old bear should be. And very huggable I might add. Kaleido is now listed on eBay, where you can view her entire photo shoot.

Clyde the teddy bear

A beautiful day for a photo shoot! Hello everyone. I just listed this itty bitty fellow on eBay. His name is Clyde, and he has a nice rounded head that I just love. He is made to look like the antique bears of the 1900s with his very prominent hump on his back. He's been distressed for character and has shading around his eyes which really bring them out. He also has a bit of woodwool peeping through his foot pad.

Brisby is Home at Last!

Brisbane Evan Burlison has arrived in Massachusetts! He is home at last! We picked him up from the airport on Saturday afternoon. It's been 2 wonderful days with Brisby. This puppy has surpassed my expectations. He's a dream pup. He is so snuggly and cuddly, even more than the chihuahua puppy I used to have. He's a sweetheart. And he's very intelligent. He seems to already comprehend "Come". He's basically housetrained himself. He's only had 1 accident in our house. He knows to go to the door to go out to potty. He follows our big guy collie Banny everywhere. Banny seems a little unsure of him at the moment, but he's warming up to the idea of a puppy playing with his toys and toddling after him. Brisby is officially 8 weeks old today. Happy Birthday, Brisby! We are so blessed to have this little furry bundle of joy in our lives.

Colbert

Meet Colbert! He has that "just found in the attic" look. Seriously, he looks like a mini version of a well-loved 1900s bear. He was lovingly distressed and stained to look antique. You can find Colbert on eBay to see his photo shoot and purchasing information. Just do a search for Burlison Bears. :)

Updated Brisby Photos!

Cuteness overload! I just got these updated photos from Brisby's breeder in Kansas. By Golly, what a stunning collie! He's really transformed! Looks like a collie more than before. Just a wee little guy. I can't wait to hold him! The countdown begins...he arrives by plane to us this Saturday! He is now 7 & 1/2 weeks old. Just look at that sweet face...:0)

Meet Bonjour the Bear!

Meet Bonjour, a little bear I just finished. He's commissioned for a friend. I had to hand-dye his mohair twice for the rich dark brown you see in the photos. Bonjour is a sweetie. I love his red/orange paw pads. They match his silk satin ribbon beautifully. I didn't distress this little guy, which is rare for me!

Bonjour posed nicely for me during the photo shoot. Don't you think? :)

Clue, a blue bear

Meet Clue, a blue bear. He's sort of my tribute to Blue's Clues. He was hand-dyed a lovely shade of baby blue. He's been distressed considerably for that well-loved antique character. I do love to antique my bears. It makes them seem more like an old friend. I just listed Clue today on eBay so please go check out his photo shoot. He was quite photogenic for me, which always helps. He also has a buy it now price for those of you who do not like to participate in auction format.
Have a happy day everyone!

A Spring Day

What a beautiful day! Just had to share photos of some of our lovely spring flowers and our very happy collie, Banny. He's enjoying the day outside and wagging that tail of his profusely. We plan on getting more gardening done this Memorial Day weekend. Isn't spring the best season of all? Everything is awake and alive and fresh. Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope you all enjoy the weather and don't forget to grill out! :)

New Brisby Photos!

Here's the latest photos of my soon-to-be collie puppy, Brisby! The breeder in Kansas emailed them to me. He's a little darling! Look at the dark circles under his eyes. :) His markings are gorgeous. Brisby is 4 weeks old in these photos. He'll be coming to live with us when he is 8 weeks, May 30th. So excited!

Finally Finished!

Well, here he is...finally! This took awhile, and even longer since I was out of town for two weeks, but here is the first BIG Burlison Bear! Meet Puppet! He's a very slumpy antiqued whimsical bear. And a whopping 14 incher! That's a huge difference from my typical 4 inch miniatures! I have to give applause to all the bear artists out there who do these big fellows on a regular basis, especially the ones that only handsew like me. Whew! Lot of time and patience involved! But worth it in the end. I really love how Puppet turned out. He's loosely jointed and frumpy/slumpy. He will look so cute slumped in an old rocker or in a primitive cupboard. Puppet is the exact same design as my miniature whimsical bears, just enlarged considerably! He's a sweetheart too...I took the liberty of cuddling with him last night in bed! :) Wouldn't you?

Going Big??

What's this? Could I really be making a big Burlison Bear!? Looks like a 12 incher, in fact! Hmm...am I really breaking out of my "miniature comfort zone"? We'll see...stay tuned for future developments!

Purple Primitive Pachyderm!

Well I couldn't resist using up the rest of that luxurious purple mohair...and so I created a little purple primitive pachyderm! Isn't she sweet? Her name is Persephone and I just listed her on eBay. My favorite shot of her is the tush shot, where she stomps off swishing her little leather cord tail!

The Reason for my Bear Sales!

Here is the reason for my huge sale of the past few weeks. I've been saving up for a new puppy for the summer...and here he is...meet my collie puppy! We've named him Brisby. He's on a farm in Kansas right now, waiting to get a little older. When he's eight weeks he'll be coming to join our family! We already have an 8 year old collie named Banny and a 22 year old cat named Ginger! I can't wait for Brisby to arrive! Isn't he a sweetie? :)

Took the Plunge!

Well, I finally took the plunge and have created a blog, thanks to the persuasion of some of my peers in the teddy bear artist world! Didn't think I'd ever do it, but here I am!

I've been pretty busy here lately having a huge Burlison Bears sale of homeless bears of mine from the past couple years. Sold 19 in the last few weeks...whew! Plus I've had some new little critters up for adoption, Easter ones and spring in general. I have two on eBay right now, needing a forever home.

This is Pansy, and she's my first purple bear in all these years! I went for a bolder look. She's hand-dyed a rich deep purple. I let the mohair soak in a bucket for a good long while until I achieved this delicious grape color! Pansy is distressed to look antique.

Also on eBay right now is Chocolate Bunny. He didn't find a home in time for Easter, but he will look just as good sitting around your home year long, (and I'm sure) causing mischief year long too!