Denise and Jim' 40th Anniversary Bears

  My dear friend Denise and her husband celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in September. Denise had requested I make wedding bears from her wedding gown. 

I'll be honest, I was nervous. I had never worked with the satin fabric of a wedding gown before. I asked Denise several times if she was completely sure she wanted me to cut up her gown. She assured me it was fine to cut it. 

She gave me her gown in completely sealed in the box. I gingerly opened it. I'll be honest, I got a little emotional breaking open the seal. Once I got over the emotion, I found a gorgeous dress perfectly sealed. The company who sealed it did a beautiful job of preserving it. I pulled it out and this is what I found. These pictures don't really show the true beauty of Denise's gown. The detail it had was amazing. 

Look at all the beautiful lace!

 Here is what the final bears look like.  I used the satin to make the groom bear's tux. I also used one of the flowers from the dress to make a little boutonnière for his lapel. 

For the bride bear, I used lace to cover the satin to make her head just a tiny bit fancier than the groom bear. I used most of the bodice of the dress to make the bodice of the bear's dress.  It worked out perfectly. I tried to emulate the gowns neckline on the bride bears neckline.

 The cuffs of the sleeves fit perfectly as cuffs on the bride bear's sleeves.  I made the veil from the back part of the dress and used some of the beautiful lace trim on the top of her head to hold the veil on. I was even able to use the ribbon around the waist of the gown to be around the waist of the bride bear. 

I chose not to put the heart on the left foot of both bears because I felt it would be too bright and distract from the beauty of both bears. Denise requested heart noses instead of safety noses. They worked out perfectly. I am so happy with how the bears turned out. It was such a pleasure making them. I will definitely make another bride and groom bear in the future. I will still be nervous though!

                            

                   Here's the sweet couple on their wedding day 40 years ago. 
                                                        
                             Happy 40th Anniversary Jim and Denise!

Aubrey's Bear

 Aubrey is the great niece of a good friend. Aubrey, and two siblings and her father were in a horrific car accident in July. Aubrey was the only survivor. After a few weeks in the hospital, she was able to come home. She still has a lot of healing to do, but she is a strong young lady. I felt Aubrey needed a bear to help her through her healing process. 

 When in a thrift shop, I often search for articles of clothing that I think will make a nice bear. Aubrey's bear is made from a women's fleece jacket.  I loved the embroidery on it.  I originally wanted to have the embroidery on the bear's tummy, but it just didn't work. So, I opted for the arms and ears. 

 I did my usual red heart on the left foot. I placed two little pillows of plastic pellets to help the bear sit back a bit. Without them it leans a little forward. I am so pleased with how it turned out.  

It was made using the Ben bear pattern from Funky Friends Factory. I love all of their patterns. I know I will make more of this pattern because it goes together so beautifully.