TWIG

Arrival Date: 7/26/17

Size: 14.5"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 1600

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Bears Against MS

Cost: $69.95 (after $5 coupon)

Thoughts: Twig was another I was super excited for and he does not disappoint at all. The secret to him though is to pick out your own (either in person or from photos) and get one with good eyelids. I've seen some poor dears with completely mismatched lids. I knew he was 14", but I still somehow expected him to be bigger. He's quite petite. I love his chest and belly and his hands and feet. Absolutely adorable. I'm happy he and Trudy got to be my first from the 2017 collection.

TRUDY

Arrival Date: 7/26/17

Size: 19"

Year: 2017

Edition Size: 2100

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Bears Against MS

Cost: $98.95 (after $10 coupon)

Thoughts: Trudy was my most wanted from my pre-orders and she really is lovely. I love the "makeup" spots around her left eye, although her right isn't as good. She's a bit unusual with her longer hair on her head and belly and her supersoft arms and legs. I think they might be the special Tyber plush, but I'm not sure. She's quite different from anything else in my collection and I love her.

BRIT (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 7/8/17 (Rehomed 11/24/17)

Size: 13.5"

Year: 2012 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 2500

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: Facebook

Cost: $50

Thoughts: Brit was 100% an impulse buy. I thought he was really cute when the seller posted him in one of my FB bear groups, but I saw him again when I was quite sick and living on red, white and blue popsicles. I immediately equated Brit's colors with the popsicles and decided to add him to my hug. He's a very unique bear, as his colors are so vibrant and his fur is also a bit rougher than my others. He's very cute and I love the white and red bursts around mine's eyes.

Despite how much I loved him when I got him, I found myself never fully bonding with Brit, and he actually went back to the nice collector I purchased him from to be a gift for someone else who hopefully does bond with him!

RAFFLES

Arrival Date: 7/7/17

Size: 12"

Year: 2013 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $42.89

Thoughts: I never dreamed I'd be able to buy Raffles from a US seller, but that's how it worked out! He doesn't turn up very often and he was a UK exclusive, so finding him this way was a nice surprise and winning the auction for such a low price was even better. Raffles is a little guy, but he's one of the most firmly stuffed bears I own. He's not super cuddly because of that, but he's an awesome little guy anyway. His necklace is really cool. I managed to squeeze him on the shelf by Oodles and Tick Tock, since they're my other two with that dark blue.

COCONUT ICE

Arrival Date: 7/3/17

Size: 14"

Year: 2015

Edition Size: 2200

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: Bears Against MS

Cost: $59.95 (Retail $84.95)

Thoughts: Coconut Ice had been on my wishlist for over a year when she suddenly became a daily special at BAMS. I couldn't resist grabbing her for the sale price. She's a gorgeous melony color and the black tipping on her fur really works well with it. I got sick shortly after she arrived, so we haven't had much bonding time yet, but she's definitely the one I'm most bonded to out of my most recent trio.

YUMMY (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 6/28/17 (Rehomed 9/3/17)

Size: 16"

Year: 2016

Designer: Heather Lyell

Purchased From: Bears Against MS

Cost: $63.95 (Retail $84.95)

Thoughts: I was going to buy a completely different bear this week, but Yummy appeared as the daily special and I had to have her instead. Scrummy's happy to have his twin back. It's always amazing to me how different each bear is. Scrummy has a wider happy face, while Yummy's is more drawn and serious-looking. I picked this particular Yummy because she has a lot of pink on her and she does not disappoint. Her back is even more pink. I ended up rehoming Yummy because I felt it wasn't fair how much more I loved Scrummy. She's gone to live with the same nice lady as Sergio.

LUDO

Arrival Date: 6/23/17

Size: 11.5"

Year: 2009

Edition Size: 2218

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $15 (Retail $38.95)

Thoughts: Ludo's been on my low-key want list for ages. I passed him up a few times on ebay, but never tried to win until this auction turned up. I got him for $14 and some change! And then twenty-some dollar shipping, but still. He arrived today, after having the same delivery difficulty as Bristle. I'm anxious now about the Global Shipping Program, but I hope to get some answers on the problems soon. I'm not planning on importing anyone else anytime soon, except for one from Charlie Bears Direct, which uses FedEx. Ludo is a cute little bear, one of the smallest in my collection. I think he'll look great sitting with Dolce.

BRISTLE

Arrival Date: 6/20/17

Size: 8"

Year: 2016 Secret Collection

Edition Size: 1100

Designer: Alison Mills

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $55

Thoughts: I have wanted this guy for months, but he was QVC UK only and the only seller with one on ebay was from Australia. I'm not importing anything from that far! There's another I want that's also QVC UK only, so I was low-key trying to save up to have a friend order both at once and then ship them to me, but I kept getting distracted with other purchases. Then a couple Bristles turned up on ebay and I managed to win this one! He is so super cute. He's a petite little guy. Only Mix and Dolce are this small in my hug. He's got nice girth though for a little guy and he's very huggable.

CHEEKY (Rehomed)

Arrival Date: 5/30/17

Size: 16"

Year: 2009

Edition Size: 2200

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay

Cost: $31 (Retail $53.95)

Thoughts: I still can't believe I got this adorable guy for so cheap! He has the sweetest face and his fur is really soft. He's stuffed pretty loosely, so he feels a little more like a regular plush than my very heavy other Charlie Bears, but that works very well for a monkey character. I love the long tail, too!

WOZLEY

Arrival Date: 5/25/17

Size: 17"

Year: 2013

Edition Size: 2400

Designer: Isabelle Lee

Purchased From: ebay (annesbearscrafts)

Cost: $65 (Retail $97.95)

Thoughts: I've had my eye on Wozley since I started collecting, because I'm a sucker for the green bears. I've been shopping around for some older bears and he was second on my want list. After confirming no US sellers had him, I bought him from the same awesome UK seller I got Kuma from. He arrived today and he's pretty fabulous grouchy. I wasn't expecting that from the photos, but it's undeniable! I think he's going to be one of my curmudgeons like Susan and Dipsy, which is great, because he shares a display shelf with them.