Repairing a Broken Carving

I was asked to repair a wooden Christmas ornament for a friend. It had a date of 1984 on the bottom, but no name of the carver. As you can see the little bear had a broken ear. I started by trimming off what was left of the ear. Carving a small piece, like the ear, is hard to hold. So I start the carving on a larger piece of 1/2" stock. I use a pin vise to drill a 5/64" hole in the bottom. I then round and shape the back and front of the ear, eventually meeting in the center and freeing the ear from the board.  I cut a small brad and insert into the hole in the bottom of the ear with only the point of the brad protruding. I align the ear and use the point on the brad to mark where I will drill into the head. Once again using a pin vise and the 5/64" bit, I drill the hole in the head. I cut a longer piece of the brad and dry fit the ear. When I am happy with and depth of the holes, I mix up two part epoxy and fill both holes. I attach the ear and hold in place for five minutes. The steel brad and epoxy insure a strong joint. This ear will not break again, at least not at that joint. I let it set over night before matching up the paint.