Swap Mouse from Wayneston Bears Has Arrived!

 I am happy to introduce you to Nibbles.  Six inches of serious mouse cuteness.  I acquired Nibbles through a swap with Wayne of Wayneston Bears.  I was so impressed at how professional Nibbles certification information and sewn in tag looked.  I am one happy swap recipient.  Thank you Wayne, you are a gem!!  

You can see more photos of Nibbles Here, be sure to look at all the other amazing creations he has listed on Bear Pile.  You can also visit him at his blog www.waynestonbears.blogspot.com. 

A new Little Leaf

I only have a few details left until my newest Little Leaf is complete.  I'm delighted with how he came together and will guiltily admit that part of me really wants to keep him!!  I hope you enjoy his photo.  As you can see, Wayne of Wayneston Bears chose for me to make him a bear rather than a fox.  I think it was the right decision.  Thank you for taking a peak.

Nearing The Finish Line For My Bear Swap!!

The swap that I'm doing with Wayneston Bears is getting close to being finished!  Working full time certainly makes the creation process slower.  I could not decide whether the little critter I am making is a bear or a Fennec Fox.  I left it up to Wayne to decide.  What do you think?

A new bear swap!!

I have always admired Wayneston Bears by Wayne Lim, so when I heard he was looking for an artist to do a swap with, I e-mailed him with my interest immediately!  I was so excited when he messaged back accepting my offer.  I have some lovely alpaca fabric on it's way and am excited to get started.  I am honored to be his one and only birthday swap this year.  Thanks Wayne!  You can see Wayne's work at http://waynestonbears.blogspot.com/.

Big Changes!

    
      I am excited to report that I will moving to Colorado on the 14th of this month (my house is officially a box ridden mess)!  They have an excellent DVM program at Colorado State University and I'm crossing my fingers that I will get accepted.  The program is very competitive and residents have a much better chance of getting in, so it's time to establish residency.  I used to live in Colorado Springs and am eager to get back to mountain living.  I'm excited to do some serious hiking again (Minnesota is rather flat).  After the move, I'm hoping to secure a job at a veterinary clinic, as more experience working with veterinarians gives me a better chance of acceptance.  
     On the moving note, I still have a few bears that are looking for a new home, so please take a look at my available page.  They would love to avoid a lengthy move in a dark truck (I would too, I think, even if I did have company).  As always, I'm more than happy to provide additional photos and answer any questions you might have about my wee ones.  I remember attending an excellent bear show once in Colorado (years ago),  maybe someday I will be fortunate enough to attend another and will see some of you there!

Hugs!
Shanna

It's been such a long time!

So sorry it's been so long since I've posted on the blog.  Life just gets a bit crazy sometimes!  I haven't had any time to work on ANY bears lately, but I wanted to share of photo of my artist bear collection.  I'm rather pleased with the bears in it.  There are a couple that are of my own making (the blue bear on the right and the little brown fellow in front of him), sometimes I have a hard time parting with them.

Some of the other bears include, Jasper (in the very back standing, he is by Charbears), Rascal (the little bear in front of him by Lisa Cooper, Borealis (the lovely white bear by the talented Debora of New Avenue Crew), Autumn (the little guy in the front with the hat, by Peri teddy's), Royce (the lion next to Rascal by the generous JRB creations, I won him in a blog draw!!) and Colorado (the puff ball in the front on the left also by Lisa cooper).  I'm afraid I don't remember who made the little hedgie in front, I'm sure I've got the information somewhere!  I hope you've enjoyed meeting my hug!

A new Banner!!

I'm so excited for you all to see the new banner for Little Leaf Bears (shown at the top of the page).  Beautifully constructed by Teri of Kehrli Bears (thanks so much Teri).  I've been wanting a more personal banner for some time now, but my lack off computer skills and inadequate software always made it seem too daunting a task.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

A new bear on Bear Pile

Well, I think I've finally got everyone listed on Bear Pile http://littleleaf.bearpile.com.  Please pop over to visit Finn and the other miniatures that I have for sale.  They would love to find new homes for the holidays!  I am also happy to report that Minzhe finally found his new home and is on his way to the UK.  Hopefully he will be there soon, it's going to be a chilly journey!  Thanks to everyone who participated in my drawing, and for all your kind words and encouragement when things didn't go as planned.

Almost time for the worldwide online bear show!!

Well, tomorrow's the day for the worldwide holiday online bear show.  Please stop by and visit Little Leaf Bears where Bella and several others will be looking for new homes.  Yes, a home for the holidays!!!

Last Drawing for Minzhe

So I decided to do one last random drawing for Minzhe.  If this person does not come to claim him, I think I'm just going to pick someone who I know will.  There have been lots of encouraging comments on my previous posts to choose from (thank you very much for your support).  I just never imagined he wouldn't be claimed, so embarassing!  Without further ado the newest winner of the Minzhe giveaway drawing is...


Beartrande!!!!

Please do contact me so I can get your shipping information and have Minzhe on his way!

Blog Giveaway Disappointment

So it happened again.  No contact from the winner of Minzhe!  I'm not quite sure how to proceed from here.  What do you think?  I guess it never occurred to me that the winner wouldn't want to claim their prize!

Tomorrow's the day!

Well, tomorrow's the day for the blog drawing for Minzhe. I just wanted to thank all of you who entered for your kind comments and for taking part in this blog giveaway. Good luck everyone, look here tomorrow for the big announcement!

BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

I've decided to take the plunge and do my own blog giveaway. I will admit that giveaway's that I've participated in (including a lucky win for me) have given me the bug and I'm excited to do one of my own. The lucky winner of this giveaway will receive Minzhe the panda, who told me he is eager to be adopted and just doesn't want to wait around any longer! Minzhe (3.75") is hand sewn out of two different imported synthetics with sweet little guard hairs. He is five way jointed, has glass eyes, ultrasuede foot pads and inner ears and a hand-stitched pearl cotton nose. He will come with his sewn in little leaf and a certificate stating his is a OOAK creation by Shanna Hiniker of Little Leaf Bears. If you would like to see more photos of Minzhe, he will be posted under my Bearpile account, listed as adopted (http://littleleaf.bearpile.com).


The drawing for Minzhe will be held on November 7th and here is what you do to enter.

1. Become a follower of my blog and post a comment letting me know you would like to enter.

2. For an extra entry post a link to this giveaway on your own blog or website and leave a comment letting me know where it's at.

That's it, pretty simple. Entries will be accepted until midnight (central time in the US) on November 6th. The winner will be announced on this blog and will have 3 days to e-mail me to claim their prize! I'm so excited!!! Good luck everyone!!

A super cute blog giveaway

Ginger at Bearbits is having a blog giveaway for sweet Jillana. I am just smitten with her and am crossing my fingers that I'm the lucky name drawn out of the hat on October 31st! Visit her blog at http://bearbits.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-fall-giveaway.html to see this sweet little bear!

Laurie received her swap bear

I just got a message from Laurie that her swap bear arrived. I named him Simon and now that she has him, and no surprise will be spoiled I can show you photos. Simon's little bunny was my first attempt at designing in needle felting and only my second ever needle felted critter. I hope you like Simon, I had a great time making him and a hard time saying goodbye!

A swap bear sneak peek!!

Laurie of Laurie Lou bears and I decided to do a bear swap. I took photos of the bear I made for her (named Simon) and cropped one of them to give her a sneak peek (you can see it on my adopted bear page). Well, I was excited to get a sneak peek of my very own! Meet Barnaby...well meet Barnaby's ear and eye! Doesn't he look sweet!!

Working on new cards

I keep telling myself that I need a new card to send along with my adopted bears. It's been a challenge trying to make decisions, there are so many choices!! I also wanted to be careful about any copyrights on images so I just ended up drawing my own. I'm not particularly computer savvy when it comes to scanning and editing, so right now I'm hand drawing and writing everything aside from the photo (not sure if I want to do this every time). Here are photos of my first draft of a card, what do you think? I know the writing is a little bit crooked (probably should have used a ruler), and I apologize for the fuzziness of the photo on the inside. I made this card for a bear I made for a swap and don't want to ruin the surprise (if you are curious, there is a little sneak peek of him under adopted bears)! Do you think it's too plain? Unprofessional? I'm sure I will go through several drafts before I finally settle on something. I would love your input!!

Needle felting!

I've been wanting to learn needle felting for some time now and I finally took the plunge. I ordered a kit off of Etsy and spent a couple of hours last night punching away. Here is the result! I know he's far from exceptional, but he is my very first try. I think he has a slight arrogance about him. Don't you think he looks slightly miffed at my photographing him? If you have been contemplating needle felting, I highly recommend it! I found a local shop that carries the wool....oh the possibilities! Now to incorporate needle felting in with my bears...on second thought, maybe a bit more practice first!

Online holiday show in November!

I am excited to announce that I will be participating in the online holiday bear show in November! This will be my first time participating in an online show and I'm very excited. There will be some new Little Leaves available and some fun under $50 gifts as well! I hope you will stop by! www.teddiesworldwide.com

William gets a makeover

Here's William...again! He has gotten a slight make over which includes a new ruffle collar in shades of green, additional shading on his face, and a dechunkification of his feet! As always my photography skills are lacking, but I hope you enjoy Williams new look!!