You're Not the Bear Boss of Me!

HEY, THERE!

It’s Penelope, your Chief Bear Alchemist.

October may mean pumpkins and spice for a certain coffee shop, but for me - and now you - it’s time for the teddy bear takeover. 

Beartober is the perfect time to build up your teddy bear making skills so you can go into full Maker Mode for the holidays.

A heart-made bear is the best gift you can give because it becomes a home for someone’s heart. (Maybe even your own.)

I’ll be sharing more on how I can help you with that in the coming newsletter issues, but until then . . . let’s get acquainted. 

Buckle up for: 

• A proper introduction

• MY teddy bear backstory 

• How bears have your back 

First time reading? Sign up here. 

INTRODUCING, THE FUZZY COMPASS  

Whether you bought a teddy, were gifted one or want to DIY the bear of your dreams, The Fuzzy Compass is your true north guide to exploring the life and times of an icon. 

Or, as we like to call it, your:  One. 👏🏾 Good. 👏🏾 Road. 👏🏾 Buddy. 👏🏾

 What you can expect:

• The teddy bear backstory 

• The takeover and global domination 

• The benefits, science and psychology 

• The secrets to making your own irresistible bear.

And stories.

LOTS of teddy bear stories. (Mine AND yours)

Look for these story-based adventures every Saturday.

I’ll go first.  

YOU’RE NOT THE BEAR BOSS OF ME!  

1983 wasn’t the year I turned pretty, but it WAS the beginning of The End. 

And of course, it came gift-wrapped. 

In a long, white box with a fluffy, red bow.

The ends scraped the table as my mom pushed the fancy rectangle towards the newly-tweened, 13-year-old me. 

I knew what wasn’t inside.

A neon-maned My Little Pony. A chubby-cheeked Cabbage Patch Kid. Or a rainbow Care Bear forced to live with its feelings tattooed on its tummy. 

Everyone wanted one of these BUT me.

Still, the box was too small for that coat and waaay too big for those shoes. The ones I donned in Dreamland with a smirk and bouncy hair that was magically long enough to flip. 

Oh, how I tried to keep it cool. Being a Young Lady and all. 

But I was as crazy about presents as Cookie Monster is about cookies. 

So into the box I tore. 

Ribbon and tissue paper rained down like crumbs around our restaurant table. And inside?

Inside was the floppiest bear with crooked eyes and the coziest, cable knit sweater. 

I. Couldn’t. Speak. (Love hits you like that.)

Now. . . let me stop here and say that when the Universe is about to deal you a Double Dose of Next Level Petty, you WILL be dumbfounded. But, it’s what you do NEXT that turns all the tumult to triumph. 

So, as I was saying . . . I was speechless. 

It was rare for a girl who talked so much, you could measure my conversations in rpms. When I wasn’t rolling my eyes, that is. 🙄

(I rolled 'em so much, my birthday was nearly canceled.)

But there I was. Bear in hand, hearts shooting from my eyes and a declaration on the table.

"Meet. Your. Last. Bear." 

Momma said it in her Mom Voice that made everything FINAL. FINAL. (IYKYK)

My eyebrows slammed together, saying what I couldn't - with a double serving of eye rolling. 

WHO did she think she was? 

Momma was the boss of me, but NOT when it came to THIS. MY teddy bear squad would NOT be capped. 

I vowed right then and there . . .

Then, I could have as MANY as I wanted, WHENEVER I wanted.  

Forty years and hundreds upon hundreds of bears later, I’ve never looked at a “Dead End” the same way. That’s the magic of making and having these fur-ever friends.

Teddy bears: 

• Help you see possibilities.

• Give you the courage to go your own way. 

• Calm you when you’re stressed or anxious.  

• Serve as a huggable anchor in a storm.

• Offer a safe space to meditate. 

• Help you sleep better.

You don’t need permission to be yourself with a bear because the promise is understood:

This is true of irresistible bears because ALL bears aren’t cute and cuddly. (Yeah, I said it.) 

When you make an irresistible bear, you’re making a home for someone’s heart and all it will weather in this Big Wide World.

And we’ve been weathering a LOT lately. So if you’re out there holding your teddy a little tighter, you’re not alone.

Why? For all the reasons, we mentioned and more. 

Not everyone agrees. 

Afterall, THEY say, bears are only for kids and sleeping with one at YOUR age (i.e. anything over 10) is more than a little . . . suspect. 

The Fuzzy Compass is THE place to hear a different story about having AND making teddy bears. 

One that CELEBRATES this special teddy-bear-to-human connection.

SPONSORED 
A HUGGABLE KIND OF SELF-CARE

Remember this stat? 

1 in 3 adults sleep with a bear.

Well, it’s not because of this plushie’s pillow-like qualities alone. 

Bears relieve stress and anxiety in people of ALL ages and their comforting superpowers help you sleep better. 

Making a bear is meditative, too. 

A mind and body connection forms when you run thread through a needle and sew . . .

Stitch by stitch by stitch. 

The repetition grounds you in the present, keeping you out of your head and the swirling vortexes of the past or future. 

In short, bear making is the self-care you didn’t know you needed. 

And more. 

Get the full story when you subscribe to Goodbye, Zombie Bear! Make A Teddy Bear With Heart. 

The private podcast squashes the assumptions about who can or should make a bear.

You know, the ones that say you’re not creative enough, need a fancy sewing machine or you’re too old.

Click here for the next step to huggable health care. 

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

So tell me.

Who is YOUR One Good Road Buddy? 

Mine is Albert. (Remember? We met at that restaurant.)

He’s 41. (And still in his prime.)