TARA

Arrival Date: 3/23/18

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2012

Edition Size: 3200

Designer: Heather Lyell

Features: Magnetic paws

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $59

Thoughts: Tara always intrigued me when I saw her, but I didn't see her very often. The stockist I bought Dakota from had her, but when they wouldn't ship Priority anymore, I stopped buying from them, so I never ordered her. I saw her on ebay recently from the same seller I bought my Edith from and I snatched her up. she has really cool, soft, mauve and black textured fur and magnetic paws, which I think are fun. I only have one other magnetic paw bear and that's Mischief. Tara's definitely not like any other bear in the CB collection and I'm glad to add her to my hug. 

SCRUMP

Arrival Date: 3/20/18

Size: 14"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 1900

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $35

Thoughts: Scrump was one of my initial pre-orders for 2016, but I cancelled when none of the ones at my stockist were the right guy for me. I wanted one with the more orange and yellow patches in his fur right by his eyes so they didn't get so lost in all the black on his face. He has a black muzzle and a longer black hairdo, so the only spot for color is right next to each eye. It took me ages to find just the right one. There's a seller on ebay with a great price on him, but they don't let you pick a face, so I had to wait for just the right bear to be listed and he finally was! I got him for only $35 plus shipping, too. The Global Shipping Program had some hiccups, but he finally arrived today and his colors, especially on his body, are just gorgeous. He's going to sit beside Pumpkin Pie, as I originally planned in 2016. He's got some chub, too, great heft for cuddling.

ELSPETH

Arrival Date: 3/19/18

Size: 13"

Year: 2018

Edition Size: 585 (Mine is #476.)

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Features: Standing

Purchased From: Charlie Bears Direct

Cost: $55

Thoughts: I joined the membership club this year specifically for the chance to order this bear. It was a bit nerve-wracking, wondering if she was going to go on sale while I was at work (she did) and wondering how fast she'd sell out (slower than I expected but still gone in under 24 hours). I was able to order mine when I got home from work, three hours after she went on sale. What a big relief! And now she's here and she's not flawed, so that's an ever bigger relief, because there are none waiting in the wings for anyone who's package gets lost or who got an imperfect bear. Elspeth is a limited edition of only 600. She was designed for a little girl as part of the UK's Make a Wish program and some if not all of her proceeds were donated to Make a Wish. (I think all, but I'm not sure.) Elspeth is typically described as a "bright pink" bear, but her color is decidedly not just pink. There's definitely purple in there. She reminds me of my childhood Crayola crayons. She's like thistle and orchid. Her lighter parts are a silvery beige. She's kind of hard to describe, because her two colors are both such blends of other shades. I'm a little disappointed she's a standing bear, because their hard feet make them less fun to cuddle, but she's cute nonetheless. I have no idea where she's going to go on display right now, but in the future, I see her with some of this year's more unusually-colored bears that I have on pre-order.

ELSIE (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 3/12/18 (Rehomed 3/12/21)

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2018 Secret Collection

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: Charlie Bears Direct

Cost: $54

Thoughts: Elsie was not originally on my want list for 2018, because while she looked cute, she was supposed to be a "shopping telly" exclusive. I figured maybe US QVC would get her, too, but I didn't plan on it so I put her out of my mind, although people's photos of her on Facebook were very cute. So I was surprised when she appeared on CB Direct. Unfortunately. it was while I was at work and she sold out, but thankfully, she turned up again the next day and became a present from my mom. She arrived today after a milder bit of FedEx annoyance than I had with Together, and she's adorable. Very soft and I like the pale pink and cream colors. She is VERY wobble-jointed though. She's supposed to be, but these ones always make me nervous and a bit annoyed, because she was so wobbly, she couldn't even be held and look at me properly. I don't want to hold a bear with a head that keeps flopping about, so I wrapped a pink ribbon around her neck a few times and now she's far more secure.

EDITH

Arrival Date: 2/26/18

Size: 12"

Year: 2015

Edition Size: 4800

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $89

Thoughts: Edith is the most popular bear I own. She's one of the most purchased repeatedly (some people have triplets!) and most often pictured bears I've seen during my couple years of collecting. I think the only one that rivals her is Chatterbox, who's at the point where I don't think I even want one, because I see him too much. Edith is the same incredibly soft, thick fur as Befuddle, who's my go to bear for comfort cuddling. But Edith is teeny tiny. I will always favor Befuddle, because she's multicolored and prettier and I feel she gets overshadowed by Edith and therefore not as appreciated as she should be. But I couldn't resist an opportunity to get this girl from an American seller and check her out. She is darling and I have no regrets.

BIDDLES

Arrival Date: 2/22/18

Size: 18"

Year: 2008

Edition Size: 300

Designer: Lisa Rosenbaum

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $91

Thoughts: I never thought I was going to own a Biddles. When I got the first Charlie Bears book, there was only one bear that really jumped out at me and it was him with his adorable smiling face. But being a 2008 edition with only 300 made, I felt sure I'd never find one, but I did and from an American seller at that! I was up against two other bidders and I was sure I wasn't going to win, so I put my high bid in and took a nap. When I woke up, I'd won! Then I got surprised yesterday when he was shipped FedEx instead of USPS for arrival TODAY, which I wasn't thrilled about because it meant staying home and not doing my much-needed errands, but he arrived early enough that I was still able to accomplish the main thing I wanted to do. Biddles isn't super soft, but he's plenty soft enough. He's got a thicker build than most of my other bears, and his array of colors is surprising. He's got a bit of rust color around his eyes, peach-stitched nose and pink mouth, and a lighter shade on his ears and chest, plus the obvious orange paws. And I always thought he was white, but he's a very, very pale gray! He's darling and I'm so happy to have him.

HINCKLEY

Arrival Date: 2/20/18

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 1900

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $64.95 on Today's Special (Regular $86.95)

Thoughts: Hinckley's been on my low-key want list for probably over a year. He was there along with Stuie, but Stuie got purchased first, even though I often leaned toward Hinckley more. Well, now the two cousins and their bunny friend Bryony are reunited and displayed on the same shelf with Blog and Chequers, my other two black and white bears. Hinckley looks to have a little more girth than Stuie, so he should be a nice cuddle. Stuie's adorable, but like Bryony, he's a bit skinny.

TATUM

Arrival Date: 2/12/18

Size: 14"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 1890

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Beacon's Glow

Cost: $76.95

Thoughts: I always thought Tatum and Tegan from the 2017 collection were cute, but I had other priorities and none of them from BAMS's photos really jumped out at me. Well, more recently, I've found myself wanting Tatum, so I asked Beacon's Glow for photos of their two. This one grumped at me from the screen of my laptop and I knew she was the one. I opened her when I got home today and was shocked. This bear's photos do not do her justice one bit. What looks in photos like a light gray on her face and the roots of her brown fur is more of a blue-gray. In natural light, it's less blue, but under the lights of my kitchen, where I first looked at her, she was decidedly blue-toned. Her arms, legs and ears are super soft and she's just the right pudge for a good hug. I love sassy little bears like this and the markings around this one's eyes are particularly perfect. In last year's collection, there were 2 sleeper bears that I liked in the catalog, but didn't pre-order. I picked both up eventually and they became favorites. Those two for 2016 were Chuck and Scrummy. I think Tatum is 2017's sleeper hit.

AGNES

Arrival Date: 2/6/18

Size: 15.5"

Year: 2016

Edition Size: 2700

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $69.95 on Today's Special (Regular $100.95)

Thoughts: Agnes is a bear I completely overlooked, as I think many others also have, until I saw a couple cute pics of her on Facebook. Then I checked out BAMS's stock and fell for this particular one. She would not be for the picky, as her mouth is not cut evenly, but that's why I wanted her. She looks like she's doing this expression I've seen in Garfield so many times, and I have a huge childhood love for Garfield. It's kind of the McKayla Maroney face, but Garfield's looks more like Agnes's, so I think of it as her making a Garfield face. Agnes has really neat fur on her limbs and ears and all of her is an interesting blend of colors that I'm looking forward to taking a better look at later.

ALAN

Arrival Date: 2/6/18

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2015 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 2200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: BAMS

Cost: $60.95

Thoughts: This particular Alan has been on my wishlist for awhile, climbing to the top not that long ago. With his reasonable price, he's easy to budget for and I was planning on getting him one week, until I learned Seraphina was coming in stock. She took priority, obviously, so Alan got put on hold. But I picked him up at the end of last week, along with not the bear I planned but another from my wishlist. Alan is incredibly soft and his fur is really neat and unique. I haven't spent much time with him yet, but I love him already.