Beary Happy Holidays
A free pattern by Cheryl Bradshaw, © 2001
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FREE PATTERN
With
BEARY BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON FROM CHEZZA

MINI CHRISSIE BEAR with Wire Hanger
Designed by Cheryl Bradshaw 2001 ©

MATERIALS
Palette DecoArt Americana Acrylics
Burnt Umber, Buttermilk, Cadmium Red, Golden Straw, Hauser Dark Green,
Hauser Light Green, Honey Brown, Napa Red, Soft Black, True Ochre,
Yellow Ochre, White Wash.
Hot Shots Fiery Red,
DuraClear Satin Varnish

BRUSHES OTHER SUPPLIES
Round Brushes #1 & #3 Mini Wire Hanger Plaque (3inx2.5in or 7cm x 5.5cm)
Flat Shaders 8 & 10 Palette
Chezza Fur Brush 1/8" Paper towels
or small filbert rake/comb Tracing Paper
Deerfoot or stippler 1/8" Saral/Graphite paper White
Favourite Liner Brush or size 10/0 Scotch Magic Tape
Stylus or sharp lead pencil

PREPARATION
1. Base coat the plaque with Deep Midnight Blue. Dry and sand well before applying at least two more coats of paint.
2. (Please note that the dotted areas are shading guidelines only). Trace the design onto tracing paper. Use a small piece of magic tape to hold the tracing in place and lightly transfer the main outlines of the design onto the mini plaque using the stylus and Saral or graphite paper.

PAINTING THE DESIGN.
Use the No 8 or 10 flat brushes to block-in (basecoat) the design as follows with 2 to 3 smooth coats of paint.
Bears Head ----------------------------------- Honey Brown
Coat and hat ------------------------------------ Napa Red
Fur trim on hat, pom, coat and sleeve --- White Wash + Soft Black (2:½) Light Grey
Mitten -------------------------------------------- Hauser Dark Green
Stars in background ------------------------- True Ochre
Realign pattern and lightly transfer details of bear's muzzle, eyes, nose, mittens and gathers and creases on coat and hat.

PLEASE READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE PAINTING THE DESIGN.
Chezza Fur Brush
The 1/8" Chezza Fur brush is used to paint the bear's fur by applying thin layers of paint. This brush is similar to a filbert rake brush but the bristles are longer and more separated than a filbert rake, thus making it easier to paint the fur. A firm flat surface is required to mix the paint puddles on and I find my palette lid works well for this technique. Add sufficient water to the paint to create an ink-like consistency, dip the brush into the paint puddle, flatten the bristles a little and fan slightly to separate the bristles. Blot the brush on some paper towel and then gently brush off the excess paint onto the palette lid until only fine lines remain. The fur is painted using a sequence of six colours. The sequence is applied twice and a final highlight is applied sparingly. Ensure that each layer is dry before proceeding with the next layer or the fur will look smudgy and lose its definition. If the paint is too watery, the fur will look very fine and take a long time to obtain any depth. If it hasn't been thinned down enough then it will come out looking dry and scruffy.

Copyright 2001 ©. This design is copyrighted by law and remains the property of the designer, Cheryl Bradshaw

PAINTING THE BEARS HEAD
Use the No 1 round brush and Soft Black to paint the eyes and nose. Float Burnt Umber shading around the bears muzzle and inner ear.

Following the instructions given under Chezza Fur brush, the fur is applied as follows. The colour sequence, in order is; 1st layer Yellow Ochre, 2nd Burnt Umber, 3rd Honey Brown, 4th True Ochre, 5th Golden Straw and 6th Yellow Ochre. Repeat the sequence a second time omitting the 1st colour and beginning with the 2nd Burnt Umber. When you reach the 4th colour float further Burnt Umber shading around the muzzle and edge of head where the hat trim sits. Continue painting the fur, then highlight the fur sparingly with a little Buttermilk. Because the muzzle protrudes from the body it is painted after you have finished painting the face fur in its entirety.

When painting the fur, turn your project upside down and begin pulling the fur strokes from between the eyes establishing the style of fur the bear is to have. Continue working your way around the head and ear making sure that you pull the fur out over the edges to avoid the basecoat showing as a hard outline. The muzzle fur is painted using shorter strokes and only one sequence of paint. To finish the bear tidy up the eyes and nose then paint the mouth using Soft Black. Use the liner brush and Buttermilk to paint tiny highlight dots on the eyes and short vertical strokes across the centre of the nose.

MITTENS
To form the knitted stitches on the mitts, use the No 1 round brush and paint tiny Hauser Light Green comma strokes along the lines to form a V. Use Cadmium Red and Fiery Red (1:2) to paint the border stripe along the top of the mitten. Float Soft Black shading along the top edge where fur trim sits and bottom edge of the mitten and thumb. Use Hauser Light Green to float highlights along the top edge of the thumb and around edge of mitten.

COAT & HAT
Use the No 10 flat brush and Soft Black to float shading on the hat and coats creases and gathers. Refer to the shading dots of the pattern for placement. Highlight the creases, gathers
and edges of the sleeves and hat with floats of Cadmium Red + HotShots Fiery Red (1:2 ). Highlight further if you wish with just Fiery Red. If you haven't access to Fiery Red then just use Cadmium Red and build up the depth with 3 to 4 thin floats of colour.

Faux Ermine Fur Trim
Use the Deerfoot brush or stippler and White Wash + Soft Black (1:touch) to stipple lightly over the pompom and fur trim areas. When dry use the Chezza Fur brush and White Wash to paint little short strokes along the fur trim. Use the picture to follow the direction of the fur and make sure you take it out over the edges of the trim. Use the liner brush and thinned Soft Black to paint the tiny tufts of black fur on the trim.

Transfer on the Star the bear is holding and paint it True Ochre. Paint the stick Golden Straw. Use the No 1 round brush and Golden Straw to paint a smaller star inside, allowing a little True Ochre to show around the edges. Repeat this procedure by painting an even smaller star using Yellow Ochre within the Golden Straw star.

Use thinned White Wash and an old toothbrush or spattering tool, to spatter lightly over the whole design.

FINISHING: Use the glaze brush to apply 3 coats of Satin Varnish to the entire piece drying between coats.

Mini Wire Hanger Rectangle Plaques are available from "Oakcreek Woodworks" in Pineville MO USA. Email oakcreek@olemac.net

Copyright 2001 ©. This design is copyrighted by law and remains the property of the designer, Cheryl Bradshaw.

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