Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I haven't changed my name for selling my bears... simply as I've never thought of something great to change it to.  I think if you advertised that you were changing your name well enough in advance it wouldn't make a difference, but I could be wrong. 

Just a thought... I was wondering what your username "Annnik" stands for ... I thought "Annnik Bears" rolles off the tongue nicely... could be catchy!   

Too sweet!  I'd love to capture that look in soft sculpture!  

I was wondering about that too... I haven't been to any shows yet and I was hoping to plan to get to at least that one this year.  It's quite a trip from here in northern BC, but I'd like to try to get there!

Oh!  He is a sweetie!  I don't have any of my bears.  Before I started selling them I gave them away as gifts.  Since it's been my "career" (I can hardly call it that as it is too much fun  ), I haven't been able to afford to keep any of my bears!  There have been ones that have been extremely difficult to part with... even my husband has threatened to "bear"nap some of them!

They are wonderful!  So cute... I especially love the panda!  Wish we had shows here in Northern British Columbia!

Such a wonderful creation, Krista!  You are an artist for sure!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Great job!  They are so wonderfully colorful!   :clap:  :clap:

Hi Brenda!  He is gorgeous!  Beautiful work!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Thank you Kirstie!  It's fun to add the doll eyes - there are so many variations of them too!

Thank you guys! 

To answer Jane's question... I don't needle felt through the fur...  I'd be too afraid of damaging it.  In the places where I needle felt, I use fabric instead of fur for the pattern piece.  This little guy has fabric where his muzzle, eyes and paw pads are.

I use doll eyes quite often - both blown glass and the flat oval ones.  Definitely easier with the flat ones. 

I usually thread sculpt the eye area first, then needle felt a flat area.  After that, I needle felt around the eye to make the socket while holding the eye in place.  I did this bear with this method.  You don't need glue to keep them in if you firmly sculpt the wool around the eyes, but you might want it to hold them in place while you sculpt.

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Another way I've attached doll eyes is to make a deep socket with thread sculpting, then made a leather eyelid (top & bottom lids) and sewn this on with the eye in place. 

I've seen another way that I haven't tried yet.  That is where you make slits in the fur/fabric, where the eyes are going to go, finish the edges, and insert the eyes inside the head.  Then I'm guessing you would use thread sculpting to get the eyes to look in the direction you want.

Hope these ideas help!

Thank you MJ!  Nice to hear from you!

The "eyes" have it!  Wow!  He's great!! :clap:  :clap: Wonderful attention to detail!

Thank you Sue Ann & Shelly!  I'm glad you got a chance to look at him!   :hug:

Thank you Gail!

Thanks you all!  Bears like this are so fun to do... they come alive under ones hands!  Of course, that said, they are also hard to part with... I imagine we all feel that way about our "babies"!

Hi Mikki!  Thanks for the compliment and for taking the time to view Bao Yin!  Yes, I do custom cats as well... I haven't done a lot of them, but the ones I have done are on my website.

Hi Everyone!  I just had to share the commission I just finished.  Bao Yin (means Baby Silver in Chinese) is a 12 1/2" bear cub made from recycled silver mink fur.  He has needle felted details & glass doll eyes.  You can see more pics at...

http://melisas-bears.com/Bao-Yin.html

Hope you like him!

I would go with the leather as well... I did a beaver once with a polymer clay tail, but I decided that if I ever did another one it would be leather.  Hope you post pics when it's done!  :photo:

I just wanted to add my two bits worth & say thanks for the site too!  It's a great site for so many reasons!  Keep up the great work!   :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

I agree with Judi on this one too.  I tried using some fur like that when I first tried making bears... I found that the end result wasn't worth the effort and I was too unsure of how well it would stand up to cuddling to offer it for sale.  When I used some good quality fur it was amazing how much easier it was to use!  I find that the time I save when I use a good quality fur (easier to turn, less recutting of peices, etc) is well worth the few extra dollars that the good fur costs.  I recommend trying out a better piece from your box first and definitely lining it with fabric as suggested!  Hope you have fun with it... working in real recycled fur can be rewarding.

Wonderful job!  I'm another who's had an airbrush sitting around for a long time!  You've inspired me to try it out!  :clap:

Wow!  Those are gorgeous bears... as YUMMY as the real thing!  Congrats! :clap: