When my father died I gave some of his shirts to my sister, Liane, because she offered to make me a memory bear with them. She has a successful business making memory bears from peoples old fur coats and other clothing, and christening gowns from wedding dresses.
A few month ago this little guy showed up. I call him Joey, after my Dad. The pin on his chest is a pic of my Dad in his younger days.
Joey is fabulous. He looks so much like my dad. I cried when he arrived. He even smelled like Daddy. So why has it taken me so long to blog about him?
Well, tragedy struck shortly after Joey's arrival. He was put on top of the piano to keep him away from Cable because she thinks all stuffed toys are for her. When I was not in the room, one of the cats (we suspect Cashmere because we've witnessed him doing this before) knocked Joey off the piano so Cable could have him. Cable then took him outside and chewed on his head. She pulled the orange fluff off and broke the nose. He was also wet and a bit muddy because it was still snowy out at that time. You can't imagine how upset I was when I discovered him. There was no way I could blog about him in that condition. I set him aside in a safe place for awhile, kind of unable to face the situation. I didn't even tell my sister what happened.
Well, tragedy struck shortly after Joey's arrival. He was put on top of the piano to keep him away from Cable because she thinks all stuffed toys are for her. When I was not in the room, one of the cats (we suspect Cashmere because we've witnessed him doing this before) knocked Joey off the piano so Cable could have him. Cable then took him outside and chewed on his head. She pulled the orange fluff off and broke the nose. He was also wet and a bit muddy because it was still snowy out at that time. You can't imagine how upset I was when I discovered him. There was no way I could blog about him in that condition. I set him aside in a safe place for awhile, kind of unable to face the situation. I didn't even tell my sister what happened.
About a month ago I finally found the heart to repair him. I surfaced washed him to get the mud and dried dog spit off. I found a source online from whom I bought a replacement nose and ordered it. It arrived last week. Today I opened one of his seams to remove the old nose, installed the new nose, and carefully hand sewed up the seam. Good as new! Turned out to be a whole lot easier then I expected.
The hair was a bit harder. I couldn't find that orange fluff anywhere around here, nor online. I did find some orange fur at Joann's, and even bought some. But it just isn't the same as the original hair. Fortunately I had saved all the bits Cable chewed off. So I carefully washed each bit of fluff, then brushed it out to fluff it back up. Today I glued the fluff back on to Joey. I really didn't think it was going to work, but it did. Joey is back to looking like his original self. No one could even tell he'd been damaged. I feel much better about it now.
Joey is awesome! Thank you so much to my sister, Liane Wagner, for making him for me.
Please take a moment and visit my sisters web site, Fairy Godmother Creations. Maybe you could honor a loved one you've lost by having her make you a memory bear?
Live long and prosper. \\//
The hair was a bit harder. I couldn't find that orange fluff anywhere around here, nor online. I did find some orange fur at Joann's, and even bought some. But it just isn't the same as the original hair. Fortunately I had saved all the bits Cable chewed off. So I carefully washed each bit of fluff, then brushed it out to fluff it back up. Today I glued the fluff back on to Joey. I really didn't think it was going to work, but it did. Joey is back to looking like his original self. No one could even tell he'd been damaged. I feel much better about it now.
Joey is awesome! Thank you so much to my sister, Liane Wagner, for making him for me.
Please take a moment and visit my sisters web site, Fairy Godmother Creations. Maybe you could honor a loved one you've lost by having her make you a memory bear?
Live long and prosper. \\//
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