Have you heard of the expression 'gild the lily?' The saying is a paraphrase of lines from Shakespeare's 1595 play
"To gild refined gold, to paint the lily... is wasteful and ridiculous excess."
It means wastefully and unnecessarily adding ornamentation or improvement to something where none is needed. We feel that way about our new bear, Lilliana!
About Lilliana
It is said that the lily is a symbol of purity and elegance, and our new teddy bear, Lilliana fits that description to a 'T'! She loves all lilies, but is particularly fond of her bouquet of arums. No showy clothes or glitzy accessories for this bear. She is perfectly happy with her Steiff-Schulte mohair coat, a simple bow in her ear and her favourite lilies. We've given her a cuddly and 'squooshy' bod by adding glass beads (or you could use plastic pellets) to her tummy.
Created from dense, champagne coloured Steiff-Schulte mohair with a distressed finish, Lilliana's DIY kit also contains her glass eyes, embroidery thread for her nose and mouth, joint discs and hardware, the pattern and instructions as well as all the trimmings to make her bouquet.
Hollofibre and optional plastic pellets/glass bead filling not included in the kit.
Although Emma has a whole toybox of friends, she recently met someone special who has decided to keep her company and join the gang! Her new companion is Elliott, a 22cm cloth boy doll who, due to the patches on his clothes, may appear to be a little scruffy as he likes to 'rough-and-tumble'. She will have to keep an eye on this chap!
His DIY kit includes Steiff-Schulte mohair for his hair, calico for his body, cotton knit for his t-shirt and chambray, or similar fabric, for his blue jeans as well as cotton print scraps to add as patches. He has black glass eyes and the embroidery thread for his nose, mouth and detail stitching on his clothes is included. The detailed pattern and instruction sheets will help you get him together in no time at all.
Why call them Ear T-pins? Well, we find them particularly effective for pinning your bear's ears onto its head, and holding them securely in place before stitching them. Same as regular pins but they are extra long in length (a whopping 5cm), sturdy and strong together with a head that is t-shaped and won't disappear into the fur. A very handy accessory to have.
A pack of 10 ear t-pins is only R8 (excluding postage)
Ready, Set... Safari for Themba!
on the 2012 Put Foot Social Rally
The 20th June 2012 saw 60 teams head out on this epic adventure of a lifetime... and one team included Themba, the safari rally bear!
Made by Heidi Hein and sponsored by Teddytech, Themba, (created from Steiff-Schulte mohair (of course!) and dressed in a safari suit and khaki hat, to provide some shade from the harsh African sun), is accompanying the Pink Panthers team members, Carla Geyser and Bronwyn Laing, as they travel approximately 7000 kilometres, through Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and finally Mozambique, in less than 17 days, and in so doing, raise awareness and funds for The Put Foot Foundation and the Rhino Project.
When asking Heidi why she wanted to specifically create a bear for the Pink Panthers team, she said that she...
"...fully supports the cause the Pink Panther team are supporting, i.e. helping to save and raise awareness of the rhinos. With over 100 rhinos slaughtered this year alone, I wanted to give them something to help make money for the cause and not just give cash as a donation... And I also thought they needed a special companion to keep them company on their long journey..."
You may wonder how this bear got to be called Themba, which means 'hope'. The team christened this beautiful bear Themba in memory of a rhino that was attacked by poachers on a private game farm in the Eastern Cape. Three of them were attacked — one died instantly from her injuries. The remaining two Themba and Thandi, with the help of some amazing people in the Eastern Cape, fought hard for their lives. Unfortunately after 23 days of fighting and trying to survive the horrendous ordeal Themba passed away. Thandi is still going strong and overcoming her injuries. So Themba, the bear, will carry on the legacy of an amazing creature.
Special thanks to Heidi for all the hard work she put into creating Themba and to Carla and Bronwyn for using Themba bear to assist in the raising of funds for these worthy causes.
The Put Foot Foundation gifts brand new South African made school shoes to young underprivileged learners in South Africa and so offers kids 'hope, pride and dignity': the foundations of a positive future! Their aim is to raise funds for school shoes, which will be delivered during this event. Visit www.putfootrally.com and read all about them, the latest rally news, see the charities they support and how you too, can help.
Rhino Project The African Conservation Trust (ACT) is the fundraising resource for Project Rhino KZN. This cause is taking the lead in the fight against rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, one of the regions of Southern Africa hardest hit by rhino poaching. Their aim is to sponsor a fully equipped anti-rhino poaching team.
Visit www.projectrhinokzn.org to learn about what is being done to save our rhinos. Launched on World Rhino Day 2011, (22 September), this association of like-minded organisations, collectively known as Project Rhino KZN, allows for over-arching co-ordination of rhino conservation interventions aimed at eliminating rhino poaching and securing the rhino populations in KZN.
And of course, last, but not least, visit www.pinkpanthers.co.za. Look carefully at all their pix — you'll even see Themba having fun at the Top Gear Festival recently held in Durban!
We look forward to hearing all about the Pink Panther team's adventures during this exciting rally and wish them an amazing journey through this special part of Africa that we call home!
The 20th June 2012 saw 60 teams head out on this epic adventure of a lifetime... and one team included Themba, the safari rally bear!
The Put Foot Foundation gifts brand new South African made school shoes to young underprivileged learners in South Africa and so offers kids 'hope, pride and dignity': the foundations of a positive future! Their aim is to raise funds for school shoes, which will be delivered during this event. Visit 
Rhino Project The African Conservation Trust (ACT) is the fundraising resource for Project Rhino KZN. This cause is taking the lead in the fight against rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, one of the regions of Southern Africa hardest hit by rhino poaching. Their aim is to sponsor a fully equipped anti-rhino poaching team.
And of course, last, but not least, visit