Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

You don't have to start over. I use a ladder stitch to sew it up the hole. It hides the stithes and nobody will ever know. Give that a try first before making a new leg.

Shanna: I agree about bats. In Minnesota, they are a protected species. I work in After-Hours for my company. About 10:00 pm one evening three bats got in though a vent. They were flying around and scaring my staff. We called the police and they came armed with mosquito  repellent and catchers nets (you know the ones used for butterflies). Oh, and gloves and masks. I asked about the mosquito  repellent and what it did for bats and he said he had no idea if it works but that was all he had!  Imagine this big 3 burly police officers walking around in gloves, masks,  nets in one hand and mosquito  repellent in the other. It was a hoot!   :crackup:

They were not successful in catching the little darlings. It took one of my staff members (devoid of all the haute couture aka "police bat catching gear") to get them in a room closed the door. The next morning the animal control went in and caught them and released them back outside.

I agree with Peter. Maybe you can rebuild your house to the code set. That is of course if you want to stay in Portugal. I, personally, would tell them to shove it, leave promptly with my, bags in hand, dogs trailing behind, nose in the air and a great big Humph!

o.k. I think this may be a silly question but what does this "like" button do? When would you use it?

Awww...too bad your host is not  aminal friendly. Some people are just like that. Is the mouse still there? Perhaps driving it to the Humane Socieity or ASPCA. They take in injure animals. I bet they could rehab the mouse.

Dear Marilyn: That was too funny!!!  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Fabulous pictures!

For mini's, I use clear thread.

I'd like to know:
- What is their process of design from start to finish? From idea to end product? How long does it take?
-What are their favorite materials to work with?
-Do they have to make prototypes out of paper or muslin first and adjust patters? Do they start their design on paper or a sculpture?
-Did they take classes or college art courses? If so what college classes helped in their bear making? Meaning what classes would they recommend to help in bear making?
-What is their best advice to new bear makers?
-What inspires them?
-Where do they look for ideas?
-I would love to know if they teach bear making.

I'm sure I will think of more questions

I, like Laura Lyn, have used a small amount of glass sand. It works well.

If there is too much wobble, I suggest putting in a bigger disc in the body portion of your bear. Meaning the head would have the smaller disc. This way there is more of a spread in the body neck, shoulders to prevent more wobbling.

Second, using smaller cotter pins but make sure you have a big bead at the top to prevent it from slipping through the disc hole. Just my two cents....

Beautiful bear!    I agree with the rest, put the nose where you like, you are the artist.

Great pictures!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Dear Alison: Thank you so much for posting the pictures of the Teddy Bear Reunion. There are so many talented artists. It was fun to look at your photo's!

Thanks for posting this. Darling little bear!     

I was fortunate to buy at a garage sale a necklace that had multiple strands of very thin leather cording. It was almost thread-like. I thought it would be perfect for eyelids. I have yet to try it but I think that would work. First, put the eyes on and tie it off as usual. Taking the thin cording, thread it through a needle and tie a knot at one end of the cord. Go through the base of the neck (before I close it) and come up to on corner of the eye. I would loop it over the top of the glass eye and exit at the other corner of the eye down back to the base of the neck. Oh I think putting a small bead of glue across the top of the glass eye would help keep the eyelid in place. That is how I would do it. Though I have not tried it yet, It might give you some ideas.

Oh what a beautiful doll! Good luck with her. Congratulations on the nomination. :clap:

Dear Ariane: You are a lucky duck to have a good source for real fur. My father goes to garage sales and buys fur coats, collars or stoles for me. Many people move from the north to Florida and of course they don't need their furs so they sell them real cheap. I don't sew fast enough to make a dent into what he buys but I do enjoy the different furs for future use.

Well you must make a real fur bear and post a picture for us to see.

I came in late on the Hope story. I am so glad I did not read about it until she was found and fed! My question is why don't they capture Hope and raise her in captivity. This way we know she will be safe. Will she really every be able to be wild without an adult bear to teach her?  What about other wild animals that can hurt her? It is a philosophical debate about letting nature take it's course but I've always marched to my own drum so that is a bunch of hooey when it comes to saving a little life. I'd vote to bringing this little sweetheart in to a refuge and try to teach her skills that will enable her to go back into the wild when she is old enough to feed and defend herself. It also allows us humans get a good nights sleep...

Congratulations to all our TT members who have nominations. I always look in aw at the beautiful artistry of all your bears. Each of you are deserving of the nomination! :clap:  :clap:

Oh that is great new Karon!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Yup, I agree, In sewing the curves you have to cut nips in the seam so it lays better. Also, stuffing correctly is important. Use smaller clumps of stuffing. Use your scissors to pack it in there to get it firmly stuffed.

Karon: Cameras are expensive for sure. I know you will have a great time using it.  I need to talk to somebody at the camera shop to get advice. From the chatter here on TT, people like their Cannons. So I will look at the Cannons. I made a list of what everybody suggests. l'll add your camera to it.  I am taking drawing classes and I want to take pictures of my cats and draw them. So I am eager to do that but alas, my dishwasher stopped working and within a few days, my washing machine became over heated and shut down! I can't just buy the washing machine without a matching dryer, so I got one of those too. I figure the dryer is on it's last legs as well. 

Post pictures!!

I'm not an expert, but I avoid this problem by trimming back all the way underneath the chin. Good luck.

Karon: That is nice you got compensation for your injury. The upside is that you were able to get your camera. I look forward to buying one for my other one stopped working and would not charge correctly! I love taking pictures of my kitties and I am itching to start again. 

Post pictures....