Ellen Borggreve Design

Painting Pets

Did I ever tell you I am a member of the Doll Dreams network? It is run by the very talented Adriana Almanza, who leaves me in total awe with her art journals. Page after page filled with the most wonderful paintings. I would be immensily happy if I pulled of anything close to her paintings, but one has to start somewhere, right? That is why Ady teaches classes on how to draw big-eyed girls and now she will teach a class on how to paint your own pet and other critters. I had to sign up....I think my Tibetan Princess aka Kayla wishes to painted...

 

Months later....

and the raccoon is finally finished. He has found a new home already, but after having worked on him for such a long time, the least I can do is introduce him to you, right?

This is Mai-Tai.....

I used the same faux fur as I did for my previous raccoons from 2007, but I changed the design. This raccoon is a little less realistic and more cartoon like in his face. I wanted to achieve a chubbier look.

His legs and arms all have an armature and his toes and fingers are wired

He has no less than 8 joints and of course he has a nice long tail too :)

This raccoon looks much more like Kayla ; Aviva, the award winning raccoon I made back in 2007, had a more introvert and shy expression, very much like Caya, who was still alive in those days...

This is Aviva:

Aviva is the only creation I have ever kept, she is still with me and will not ever be sold. She reminds me so much of Caya....I can not make this kind of face anymore, I have not been able to since Caya died. It is not because I am so sad, but faces just don't turn out like that anymore since I got my little Tibetan Spaniel....Isn't that funny?

This is Aviva and Mai-Tai together... (Aviva on the left, Mai-Tai on the right)

I think that Aviva is more of an introvert and Mai-Tai is the inquisitive one. Now...help me.....is Mai-Tai a girl or a boy? To me, he is more like a boy with that chubby face. What do you think?

Because I used the same fabrics, they look very much related, even though the new design was drawn from scratch. I do love raccoons, everyone knows I have a huge passion for these curious critters, but boy.....did it take a lot of my energy to make this one. It was quite some project. After I finished him on Friday I swore I would not ever make another one in my entire life. Everything just hurt; my shoulders, hands, wrists and arms....Ouch.....Then I started thinking if perhaps I could think of a way to make this all a bit easier....Who knows, I might even find the courage to make another one, but to be honest.....I am so, so very much in love with making bears, that I find it harder to make animals. Teddy Bears have such a connection to people, they appeal to the child in us and I think that is why I love them so much. 

Let me know how you feel about the critters versus the teddy bears. I would love to hear your opinion...

Panda Beaubeau

This is Beaubeau....A delightful 31,5 cm tall panda made of alpaca in caramel and white. He has needle-sculpted felt paws and an embroidered nose in a coordinating colour. His eyes are top quality black glass eyes and he has lower and upper eyerims to give him his soulful expression.

He is available now at Euro 345 ex shipping

Beaubeau has been adopted, thank you

To adopt this delightful chubby chap, please send me an email

This will be the last time you will find new available work on this blog. I am building a new website at the moment and just need some technical stuff to fall into place, after which all available work can be found in that place.

I want to keep business and my blog a bit more separated, so this blog is what it is supposed to be....A way to connect with you, a place where you can meet me, where you can read what's up in my life and where you can hopefully find inspiration or perhaps meet a kindred soul. I have underestimated my own wish to connect when I started to blog. We live and learn.....

 

Girls, girls, girls

Most of you know I have a thing for ball jointed dolls, especially those made by Bambicrony. The dolls and my bears sit quietly side by side in my cabinets and are such a joy to look at. When my latest doll arrived this week, I decided a family picture was due. This was not easy, the girls kept bumping into one another and it was a nightmare to get them all reasonably sharp, but it worked out. 

Prepare to be completely Bambicrony-fied (well, there is one Leekeworld doll in this picture, she is the one standing). 

I get such joy from looking at my displays with old children's books, toys , bears and dolls. Sometimes when I am away on holiday and have just very little stuff around me, I think I should become a minimalist. Then I come home and know I probably would feel really organized without all that stuff around, but I would also miss the visual stimuli that I seem to need in order to be creative. It's like I need to be enchanted every day and to be reminded that life can be truly sweet if you choose to look at it that way.

So, I just cherish my collection. It puts a smile on my face and creative ideas in my mind.....What more could I wish for?

Have a great weekend :)

 

Time goes by....so quickly

Oh my, I have been out of touch for quite a long time, haven't I? You will not believe this, but my otherwise so blank calendar (haaaa, bliss) looked a lot like a grocery list, meaning that every single line in my appointment book was filled with appointments, visits, birthdays, parties and things like that.  Today I woke up and felt a huge "phew" coming up. 

Anywayyyyy, this means I have not had much time to sew, even though I am delighted to tell you that I have two pandas who just needs their stuffings seams closed and a raccoon that is finally taking shape.

Kayla has been alone quite a few times lately, even though we always try to take her with us. I feel so imcomplete when her happy face is not within a few meters from me. 

She always behaves well when we are not around, but she can be such a puppy when we are around to serve as her audience. In the picture above she just spotted a cat on the wall surrounding our garden. I don't get how she senses that sort of stuff when she is asleep, but she does. Just a few seconds earlier I took this picture

She is a huge fan of cats. She loves everything about them and unfortunately picks up on some of their less wonderful habits too. On a recent visit to a relative's home she saw a cat on the coffee table. I could see it in her eyes....uh oh. I told her : "don't get any ideas little lady!". Thirty minutes after we came through our own front door, she jumped from the couch onto the coffee table....I knew it....

Look who is back!

Gomas spent some time in the spa (aka my studio) to get a make-over. His eyebrows were removed, his paws were needlesculpted, he got a little eye surgery and he also stated we wanted a ruff. He got his way and so this completely cutified bear is now ready for his big re-appearance. (why does my spell-check say "cutified" is not a word???I think this is a perfectly acceptable word, I do a lot of cutifying....)

Gomas has been adopted, thank you ♡

Keep scrolling for more pictures...

Gomas' cute face. I really like the pale coloured nose

New paws!

He would love to steal you heart and keep it safe

He was made of alpaca and felt. He was stuffed with a mixture of fiberfill and glass beads for a weighty feel. 

Happy New Panda

First of all I want to wish you a wonderful, blissful New Year. May there be magic in every single day...

I have been hard at work already, which might take you by surprise....I have already finished a panda and a black & tan bear! Yayyy!

This is.....Bichou! He is a panda in chocolate and white alpaca. I adore this panda, what is it with pandas that make me want to create more and more?

He is 31,5 cm tall 

 Lucky Bichou has been adopted

He is much sweeter in person, than in the picture. The light has been so bad lately....if there was any daylight at all. Gosh, the amounts of rain that have been falling from the skies lately.... 

He is a super sweet panda with a nice heavy feel. 

(in case you're wondering what happened to the little black and tan bear.....he went off to "the spa" to get a beauty treatment. All of a sudden I realized this bear needed something extra, he'll make a re-appearance on Monday)

He is available on a first come, first served base, but it might take a few hours for me to get back to you, because I am hosting a New Year's party tonight and I am baking cakes and pies like there's no tomorrow :)

Have a wonderful weekend ....