"On the Scrap Heap" Challenge

In January 2012, Paula Carter of All Bear by Paula issued a challenge on the Guild of Master Bearcrafters:

"Make a bear using reclaimed materials--no mohair, alpaca, or faux fur allowed!"

Challenge accepted! The gears in my head started turning. I had many different fabrics that were not fur, but I had always wanted to make a bear from denim. So in response to the challenge, I created my first completely furless bear from a worn, well-loved pair of my husband's Levi's blue jeans. Allow me to introduce you to Strauss:

Strauss, 12.25 inches tall, a furless Crew member 

made from my husband's well-loved Levi's jeans

The name Strauss is taken from the name of the jeans company: Levi Strauss & Co. I gave Strauss a nose, mouth, claws, and paw pads in the color of the stitching on the blue jeans. This sweet hairless bear also features black glass eyes; steel shot and polyester stuffing; and a nose, mouth, and claws embroidered in perle cotton. He wears a label from inside the jeans that says COMFORT (so appropriate for a teddy bear to wear), and his neck ruffle is made from some reclaimed furniture trim.

Imagine my delight when Paula told us that a print magazine from the United Kingdom called The Teddy Bear Annual wanted to run a feature about our Guild scrap heap challenge. What a thrill it is to see one of my bears in print! Here is Strauss pictured in the pages of the magazine:

The Teddy Bear Annual, Autumn/Winter 2012

"On the Scrapheap: Recycling with Guild of Master Bearcrafters"

Strauss is pictured on page 44.

The cover of the scrap heap challenge issue of

The Teddy Bear Annual, Autumn/Winter 2012

I ordered the issue of The Teddy Bear Annual from the UK and very much enjoyed it when it arrived. It is a very well done publication with lots of interesting features and lovely photographs.

New Avenue Crew and I have appeared in a few print and online publications, and I am always so delighted to have my creations featured in that way. You can see many of the Crew's appearances on the Published page of this site. (You can also find the navigation buttons to the site's other pages under the photo at the top of the page.)

P.S. Sweet Strauss has been adopted.