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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Hi Everyone,
Bearsandbuds.com, the online, monthly teddy bear magazine, sponsors a yearly contest called The URSA Awards Competition, which was open to teddy bear and soft sculptured artists around the world. This years competition is off and running! Many votes have already been cast.
Now it's time for you to vote for your favorite teddy bear or artists.
Your votes, in the first round (July 1 to July 30th), will determine the top 3 winners in each of the 12 categories.
The second round of voting, beginning in mid August, will select the placement and pick the URSA Major Award winner. Awards, ribbons, prizes, gift and cash cards will be presented on October 15.
You, our readers to www.bearsandbuds.com, are the sole jury and judges of the magnificent entries in this year's URSA Awards Competition. The artists/contestants 'Reached Out Beyond The Stars' and created unique and outstanding and creative entries.
Now it's up to you to vote. The contest is in your hands!
Please read the URSA Awards Competition Introduction Page and see how easy it is to vote. It's fun too; although hard to decide which bear or bud entry you like best!
http://cyberden.dot5hosting.com//URSA20 … -Begin.htm
Enjoy reading July's Bears&Buds' Webzine, it's packed full of interesting and informative teddy bear and collecting articles.
The Beary Best To You,
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
Any questions, please feel free to email me
bearsandbuds@aol.com
Hi Everyone,
We announce the lastest issue of Bears&Buds; the June issue is now ready for your reading enjoyement.
Meet Roxanne Propp of Bear Paws by Roxanne and Beryle Tidey of Bickerton Bear, both talented artists living on opposite sides of the world.
Learn more about Gollies too and don't forget to visit the Kid's Corner... you're never too old to enjoy the section!
We salute 'Dad's' on Father's Day, enjoy the June Brides and what fun to see all
the wonderful new creations from our Professional Artists/Members in the What's New Section.
The web pages of Bears&Buds is filled with so many articles, including how-to-do, photography tips, dyeing mohair and even chocolate recipes!
We invite you to look and to subscribe too. Enjoy reading and learning more about teddy bears and soft sculptured art forms.
Bearhugs,
Valerie
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
3428 Hillvale Rd
Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-STAR = (7827)
Five more days to enter your marvelous creations in the Annual URSA Award Competition sponsored by Bears&Buds your monthly online teddy bear magazine.
New categories! More prizes and awards; cash cards too!
Somewhere between design and completion is the perfect blend of artistic balance. And in the tradition of the greatest fine arts establishments, Bears&Buds announces its Third Annual Major Worldwide Competition which is open to all teddy bear and soft sculpture artist worldwide.
URSA is not just another name for bear or a constellation, URSA is an acronym for the criteria by which we ask readers, collectors, artists, friend and family to judge each entry.
U - Unparalled beauty.
R - Rarety of vision.
S - Style beyond compare.
A - Artistic merit.
Voting is bestowed on our site visitors, collectors and readers in two rounds of voting beginning July 1 and August 14 to determine the finalists and winner of the URSA Major Award. Awards will be announced and presented on October 15, 2008.
While we strive to acknowledge the excellence of artists in the teddy bear world, we recognize the abilities of our Bears&Buds' readers to pinpoint those works worthy of the highest honors.
Therefore, there will be no judging panels, no jury to winnowing the entries down to a select few, to be then voted upon by our site visitors, collectors, artist, friends and family better known as the collecting public.
The collecting public will be the only judges and they will have an opportunity to view each and very entry.
The other major difference between the Ursa Awards Competition and other contests, pertains to our overall emphasis on both bears and buds (soft sculpture art). You can enter a bear or a bud in every category. For those of you who specialize in animals other than bears, you are no longer limited to just one category but are eligible to enter all categories with your various creations.
Grab your camera, grab your bears or buds and enter now! Online application is on our web site.
Or cut and paste this link: http://www.bearsandbuds.com/ursa/URSA-2008-Intro.asp
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Bearhugs!
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
(502) 423-STAR
3428 Hillvale Rd
Louisville, KY 40241
Hi Everyone,
Bright Star Promotions announce that some of the shows would go into 'hibernation' -- and rumors spread that we were leaving the teddy bear industry. This is Not true.
All the shows scheduled for 2008 will be produced as scheduled because we have enough dealers to make them exciting.
Perhaps the shows aren't as attended by artists as they used to be, but the shows go on! We are looking and re-thinking shows for 2009, Come join the fun! We keep the collectors meeting the artists in several mid-west cities.
Always, if you ever have any questions, please email or call me.
Collector and Exhibitor information along with the show schedules, maps and coupons can be found on our web site. www.bright-star-promotions.com
Bearhugs to all
Valerie Rogers
(502) 423-STAR
Hi Everyone!
In 13 days our computers will pick the winner of The World of Miniature Bears' Sushi Platter - delivered in time for Mother's Day.
Enter the Sweepstakes Give-Away today.
Nothing to buy.
Just register and keep your fingers crossed!
Good luck!
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Hi Everyone,
Bears&Buds welcomes Spring with colorful bears and interesting feature articles.
Meet Jacqui (Jac-Q-Lyn Bears) and Virginia (Jazzbears) within the digital online magazine. They are both wonderful ladies that you'll enjoy knowing.
Enter the Sweepstakes Give-away, just register and you may win! The World of Miniature's Sushi Platter will be delivered in time for Mother's Day - a "dinner" she'll not forget and love forever!
We invite ALL teddy bear and soft sculpture artists to enter the URSA Awards Competition; forms available on www.bearsandbuds.com.
Working hard on bears? Need a boost of energy? Check out the Chocolate recipes that are easy to make and keep you perking!
Children of all ages enjoy the Kid's Corner with interesting photo features and our favorites; live bears!
Opt-in our mailing list and receive notices of our monthly online teddy bear magazine.
http://list-manage.com/subscribe.phtml?id=5b5ffdff72
Thank you to all our Bears&Bud's Professional Artists/Members for their contributions that keep the webzine exciting.
Wishing everyone a very happy Spring. The birds are singing outside my window.
Bearhugs
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
(502) 423-STAR
Hi Everyone,
The World of Minaiture Bears "Sushi Platter" is the Sweepstakes Give-Away feature.
The adorable little bears represent various Sushi items: Wasabi, Ginger, Shrimp Roll, California Roll, and Sashimi on a black plate with chopsticks.
http://www.bearsandbuds.com/application … anager.asp
Nothing to buy, just register for the Sushi Platter to be drawn the end of April and arrive in time for Mother's Day!
A wonderful addition to any collection!
Best of luck - hope you win!
Bearhugs
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Hi Everyone!
Bearsandbuds, the online teddy bear magazine, is celebrating being 3 years old!
We invite you to take a look and meet the artists featured this month: Dolls N' Dreams and Starlite Bears.
Read how they developed their art into a business.
Exciting reading for everyone; visit our cake section and we guarantee no calories for just looking.
Bobbie Ripperger continues her "In Depth" articles on needle felting. And check out the Kid's Corner - it's for big kids too.
Mouse around the site and find lovely bears and buds in Springtime outfits, celebrating St. Patties' day and look for fairies and dragons too!
Enter our Sweepstakes Give-away beginning March 15.
Check it all out.
www.bearsandbuds.com
Bearhugs
Valerie
Publisher/Executive Editor
Hi Everyone!
Bearsandbuds, the online teddy bear magazine, is celebrating being 3 years old!
We invite you to take a look and meet the artists featured this month: Dolls N' Dreams and Starlite Bears.
Read how they developed their art into a business.
Exciting reading for everyone; visit our cake section and we guarantee no calories for just looking.
Bobbie Ripperger continues her "In Depth" articles on needle felting. And check out the Kid's Corner - it's for big kids too.
Mouse around the site and find lovely bears and buds in Springtime outfits, celebrating St. Patties' day and look for fairies and dragons too!
Enter our Sweepstakes Give-away beginning March 15.
Check it all out.
www.bearsandbuds.com
Bearhugs
Valerie
Publisher/Executive Editor
Hi Everyone!
February is the month of for expressing LOVE and you'll find plenty of LOVE within the online pages of this months Bearsandbuds webzine.
Featured this month are Krista Griffiths and Karin Jehle. You'll learn about their passion for making bears and see their marvelous creations.
Our Professional Members works of art are featured in Shades of Love, Valentine Bears, Loving Pairs and What's New section.
February is Pet Month. You'll find pets among the pages too. Are they real or are they made from mohair and plush?
Ken Yenke speaks with the Collectors and Artists about his experience with Teddy Bear Shows too. This feature requires a password.
The Kid's Corner is not just for kids. Adults (Big Kids) love the pages too. See photo pages of the smallest house in Toronto, balloon dresses for the Chinese New Year, Mikki Klug's Llamas and learn about real bears!. Fun viewing for all.
We at BearsandBuds thank you for looking and welcome you to join.
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with hugs and lots of chocolate! Visit our Chocoholics Recipe Section too.
Bearhugs
Valerie Rogers
(502) 423-STAR
www.bearsandbuds.com
Congratulations to ALL the artists and manufacturers of the 2008 TOBY Industry's Choice Award. Your entries are beautiful, marvelous and very creative.
Good luck to all the winners who participate in Bright Star Promotions Teddy Bear shows, are members of Bears&Buds.com and everyone else!
Encourage eall your friends to buy Teddy Bear & Friends magazine and vote for you! Competitions are a wonderful way to be introduced to collectors. You've worked very hard and your creative skills show.
A standing round of applause for everyone!
Valerie Rogers
Show Promoter
Publisher/Executive Editor
Enter and win a beautiful bear named Katrina Ballerina made by Sonya Shaw of Sunnie Bears.
Bearsandbuds.com new contest is easy to enter. Drawing right before Christmas - a wonderful gift for you!
http://www.bearsandbuds.com/application … anager.asp
Good luck!
Bearhugs
Valerie
Congratulations to all the URSA Winners and contestants.
I will be responding to HOW THE URSA AWARDS CONTEST WORKS in another posting or on Bears&Buds' website but did want to say that, as in ALL contest it is up to the voters to determine the winners. We made that perfectly clear from the beginning.
We attracted many new viewers/voters to the contest and introduced them to our wonderful world of bears and bear artists. That is one of the purposes of the contest and a positive tool to keep the bear market active. Bright Star Promotions has been actively pursuing this effort for over 20 years, and now with Bearsandbuds, our online monthly magazine, we continue to put the spotlight on artists and bear collecting.
The software we used was geared to one vote per category, per computer. Daily the votes were audited for accuracy and authenticity. Multiple votes from a single IP address were eliminated. We received over 34,000 votes in both rounds of voting from 105 countries!!
Site traffic increased the day of the URSA Awards announcements and our servers closed us down for a couple of hours. This also generated additional site bandwidth fees of $458. The URSA Awards entry registration fees go towards buying awards, gifts and site developers fees. Those thinking that we are making huge sums of money, I'd like them to become our bookkeepers.
Have people forgotten that last year's contest had several contestants who won multiple awards, some up to 5 awards! And those noted artists are doing very well with their sales nowadays. The more awards the more recognition an artist has in this very competitive world.
We encourage you to ‘think out of the box’ in this ever changing world of publicity, advertising and sales. This is the age of communications and that’s how web sites generate interest.
We thank you for your comments and compliments. We encourage you to send us your thoughts and ideas; email directly to: editor@bearsandbuds.com or bearsandbuds@aol.com
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Bearsandbuds.com DBA Bright Star Promotions, Inc.
Registered in Kentucky since 1981
(502) 423-STAR
3428 Hillvale Road
Louisville, KY 40241-2756
Greetings Everyone!
The to 33 finalists have been chosen by popular vote from our BearsandBuds.com site visitors. From these finalist, one will be voted the favorite overall and win the prestigious URSA Major Award with cash prize too.
Runners up win awards, ribbons, mohair, kits, dinners out, icecream, jewelry and more!
Your vote helps determine the winner. Voting is easy. Go to www.bearsandbuds.com and click on the URSA voting icons. Awards presentation will be on September 29. Stay tuned!
The entries were all fabulous, so much talent in the Bear World. We thank all who entered.
We invite you to enter next year's contest. Categories and entry forms will be posted in April.
Bearhugs,
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor www.bearsandbuds.com
Show promoter www.bright-star-promotions.com
email me any questions at bearsandbuds@aol.com or brtstar1@aol.com
Hi Everyone,
You are invited to cast your vote in 11 categories in the Second Annual URSA Awards Contest.
Marvelous bears and buds were entered - going to be hard to choose just one in each category.
Voting continues until Julu 31 - then continues in the second round on August 10.
Winers are determined by visitors votes.
Please vote for your favorite bear or artists.
www.bearsandbuds.com - click on any of the URSA icons.
A special thanks to all who entered, and good luck.
Bearhugs,
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Greetings all,
June's Webzine (Online teddy bear magazine) has just been published by Bearsandbuds.
This month we honor our Father's and Brides/Grooms, plus you'll find a variety of interesting artcles including featured artists Ed Spencer from t-Eddies Bears and Maria Collin of puca bears.
Please take a look. It's FREE to read and enjoy.
www.bearsandbuds.com
Bearhugs
Valerie
Publisher/Executive Editor
Wish to join? You'll find a button on the site. We'd love to have you and feature your bears/buds too.
It's ready for your reading enjoyment! May's Webzine features Diana Watt's (DiBears) bunnies on the opening page, with Front Cover featuring Anita Spero's bears. In the online web pages you'll find articles, bears and buds celebrating Mother's Day and the Kentucky Derby. Professional Members show what they've created, plus the popular Kid's Corner, show calendar, and the Global Directory to find other artists and vendors. Plus much more to delight your 'bear collecting' eyes.
We invite all artists to enter the URSA Contest. Prestigous awards, ribbons and recognition, it's all waiting for you!
Enjoy reading and sharing the pages with your friends.
Bearhugs
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
Hello Everyone,
Each year Bears&Buds sponsors the URSA Awards Contest. With prestigious awards, ribbons and gifts. This year the contest is open to all soft sculpture artists around the World.
Here is the list of categories:
URSA Contest Categories
Category Choices
1. Wee Little Bear or Bud - under 6" Dressed or undressed.
2. Medium Bear or Bud - 8 to 14" - Dressed or undressed.
3. Big Bear or Bud - 15" and over - Dressed or undressed.
4. Four on the Floor - Bears standing on all for legs.
5. Best Friends - Pair of bears or buds or combination of each.
6. Good Golly! - Gollies in all sizes.
7. Wild and Zany - A walk on the wild side - any animal in the kingdom.
8. Bear or Bud Needle Felted - any size - dressed or undressed.
9. Bear or Bud Amigurumi Japanese-Style - any medium.
10. Bear or Bud - Crocheted - Made from threads.
11. Vignette - Bears or Buds in a scene - all by the same artist.
12. Manufactured Bear or Bud - all sizes and styles.
Please visit our website for more details.
Entries accepted through June 15, 2007 with voting beginning in August and awards announced and presented in late September. Voting is done by our readers, the artists clients and is a popular vote contest. Who will the winners be?
Looking forward to your entry!
Bearhugs
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com
Hi Artists,
The second Annual URSA Awards Contest is underway, we have opened the contest to all artists (need not be a bearsandbuds professional member). We are accepting entries in the 12 new categories.
Like any other leading magazine, we have a yearly, prestigious contest. Last year we had nearly 500 entries, wonderful bears and buds, great awards too.
Please check out our monthly teddy bear magazine, always available 24/7.
Easy to find too, just click on www.bearsandbuds.com
Enjoy reading and learning more about the artists and teddy bear collecting.
Bearhugs,
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
www.bearsandbuds.com dba Bright Star Promotions, Inc.
Greetings everyone,
The April issue of Bearsandbuds.com online Teddy Bear magazine, called a webzine has been published.
This month's front page features Heather Hamilton of Heather's Hugables and front cover is Chantal Giroux of Chantal's Bears Collection.
You'll also find interesting articles along with lots of colored photographs of our Members' bears and buds.
And the invitation to join the URSA Awards Contest is for every teddy bear and soft sculpture artists.
Chocolate keeps us going, enjoy the recipes in the Chocoholic's section too!
Many new and exciting pages to enjoy and read. There is even a color in page for the kids with a Word Seek puzzle welcoming Spring!
www.bearsandbuds.com
Enjoy!
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Greetings everyone!
Bearsandbuds.com is proud to announce the March Online Teddy Bear Magazine - we are celebrating our second birthday with great articles, news events, and Find-the-Cakes Contest.
Featurd this month is Sandy Czaja of Notchlok Bears and Fleur Doornbos of YokkoBears along with colorful photos of our Professional Member's bears and buds.
Please take a look, enjoy reading and learning more about the artists and teddy bear collecting.
We invite you to join us too. Membership forms are online too.
Enjoy!
www.bearsandbuds.com
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
Hi Everyone,
The February Webzine is 'hot off the press' and ready for your
reading enjoyment. Our cover features Donna Griffin (Donna and the
Bears) and in the 'pages' you'll find articles, news interests, fun for
the kids, ideas on marketing your bears and a complete show calendar.
Enjoy!
www.bearsandbuds.com
Valerie Rogers
Publisher/Executive Editor
