Museum Bound!

It is a phrase commonly heard in the world of 

artist bears ~ "Don't worry that he hasn't sold, 

the right buyer just hasn't come along yet."  

Yeah, people in the artist bear community are nice like that.

Recently those kind words hit home for me.

Perhaps you will remember my 1960's hippie bear, 

Norman Meadowlark, who traveled to England 

for the NTBAA Awards, won 3rd place in his category,
 and was subsequently purchased by the award organizers 
for their shop, Brewins' Bruins in Swanage.  

Well, after being in that shop during their Summer season, 

he remained unsold, so the shop owners took him with them 

to Hugglets.  Yes, you read that right ~ 

one of my bears was at Hugglets!  

For those of you who may be unfamiliar, 

Hugglets is one of the premier bear fairs in the 

wonderfully bear-loving United Kingdom.  

I was thrilled ~ a bit miffed that he got to go 

without me ~ but all the same simply thrilled 

to have one of my pieces there.

Here he is ~ front and center on the display table, 

along with a duplicate of his trophy 

and a copy of the issue of Teddy Bear Times  

in which he is pictured.

If that wasn't exciting enough, Norman found a 

home that day!  And not just any ol' home ~ nosiree ~ 

Norman is to be part of a new

Teddy Bear Museum in  Edinburgh, Scotland! 

I could not be more proud!

Thank-you, Deirdre!!!!

Deirdre Howie, the museum owner, holding Norman    

If you are interested in viewing the NTBAA Awards, 

it is available  here.

Norman shows up around the 6 minute mark.

Islesboro

A few weeks back, Mr. Cobblestone and I took 

our bikes on the ferry to Islesboro for the day.  

It is an idyllic island with about 

600 residents just 3 miles off the coast.
Although we did not spot any of the celebrities who 
have homes on the island, we did see many of the 
gorgeous mansions and enchanting cottages.  
There were breathtaking views and blooms everywhere.  

Here is Grindle Lighthouse that you see at the ferry dock.

As we rode down to the southernmost tip of the 
island on Pendleton Point Road, 

we passed this church, which I found stunning.

I believe this place used to be a B&B.  

Too bad it is now closed.
 

We had our picnic spot all to ourselves

 ~ a rocky beach with a 

view of neighboring Job Island.  

A fisherman on a lobster boat passed through 
Bracketts Channel

and waved as we had lunch.

We stopped at the little shop in Dark Harbor 
on our way back for an ice cream.

This sign at the ferry dock had us wondering about the obviously large amount of circumstances that prompted the last rule. 

Ewwww!

Where are the new mice, bears and bunnies you ask?  Here, there and everywhere!  I know it has been some time since I've had anything new to show you.  Rest assured they are under construction ~ as it feels is our home as well.

We've bit the bullet and have started the process of re-doing the flooring in our entire house.  Yay!  The fun part was of course going to the flooring store and picking out new materials.  Then the realization set in ~ the realization that NOW is the time to complete some rather messy jobs around the house ~ BEFORE the new carpeting is installed.  So Mr. Cobblestone and I have been busy.  

It started with painting baseboards, which lead to painting whole rooms, refinishing the lower kitchen cabinets and even adding a wall or two.  Please don't report me to the HGVT gurus who worship at the altar of open concept.  Come on ~ our quaint and cozy New England style cape has no business trying to be open concept.  I think the house is happier now that we've put it back to the way it should be.

Rockport Harbor

 

We have manged to do a bit more exploring ~ more about that in a later post ~ and we try to enjoy our harbor as often as we can.

I was happy to spot these buttercups blooming along the 

roadside one evening on our walk to the harbor.  

Did you too hold them under chins when you were a 

kid  to see if that person liked butter?   

Takes you back, doesn't it . . .

Mrs. Ricks

Here is a commissioned mouse that is to take her place on a Widow's Walk display ~ desperately searching for any sight of her husband's ship coming back into port. 

 My camera didn't do a very good job of capturing the three tiny tears on her left cheek. The hem on her dress is wired to position into a wind blown look. If I received photos of her in the display I will share them with you here.

Here is Cappy Ricks (whoI made years ago)  

the husband she is soon to join.

Sweetness

To me from Mr. Cobblestone . . . just because . . .

Cobblestone Creations Around the Globe!

My website has undergone a face lift recently, streamlining 

it a bit and adding new content.   Not only does this make 

it a more pleasant experience for visitors, it 

also feeds that techie side of my brain. 

One of the exciting things for me has been to add a map 

 (via BatchGeo) to show the locations of where my 

little friends are now living.  

There have been a total of 168 different collectors to date.  

168!  

Who knew?!!  

The program is quite easy to use.  If you have an excel file with the locations, all you have to do is copy/paste on their site and the map is drawn for you.  I have also included the number of items at each location and there are different colors of pins to reflect that data.

If you have a Cobblestone Creation, can you find the pin for your zip/postal code?  Some of you will find yours easier than others due to the number of my little friends that you have adopted.  And if any of you penguins are interested, you can be the first on your continent to have Cobblestone Creation of your very own! 

Thank-you all so much for giving my creations loving homes.