Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

There are also the teddies with the beautiful beading..those made and painted with dyes..painted portaits on their tummies.. Aleta i loved your bears and now the atc's also! our own toad briar makes beautiful art in many forms..there are wonderful felted creations,,look at judi's art! amazing! and yet sometimes the really simple point of view is art also dont you think? staight out TEDDY..no bells no whistles is still art to me..someones  personal vision of what comfort and love look like..deb

I am still laughing..why didn't i think of that this morning?!  thanks for the chuckle!  deb

Just wanted to say happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all of you from rain sodden Vermont!  they are proming us the tail end of Colorados' storm on tuesday! Been a strange year all around!  anybody got any new years resolutions in mind?  Safe travel and may the magic and joy of the season be with you all! deb

Daphne sorry about  your grandmother and i do hope you have a less trying year in 2007! but your family is very lucky to have such a caring and  loving member as you!
hang in there and Merry Christmas! deb

articicle..thats cool! no pun intended! very original and nice description! how about an icicle or ice cube? with each bear around the neck?  buttons come in odd shapes,,
looking forward to seeing the results! been checking put everybodies bears and websites! loved them all! but seriosly deb//"debbie webbie"??!! the dreaded doesnt rhyme nickname of all of us debbies!!?  shes wicked cute tho! LOL  deb

Bonnie i love the reindeer! i need a new avatar and 8 more hrs in the day!  What does Aritcicle mean? its a cool word..is it a word or name..am i being rude? sorry tired ..the photo programs are fun to play with and try new stuff..its amazing what you can do with just printmaster! thats where i designed most of my business cards and tags,, deb i know what you mean about the packaging!  its that first impressiom when they open the box! i sent one baer with a box full of silk fall leaves so she wouldnt be homesick for VT! the lady loved it. off to bed..looongg day!

my hang tags have included a birth certificate for a few years now ( on the back)..its cute and i update the design everynow and again or for the holidays,,but once you put on there when a bear was made,,its kind of a shelf life to some people..so be forwarned! i love the primitive tags! they are so unique and so individual!  i agree it should reflect your style! i know some artists make special things to go around the neck..some include stuff f or the bear to take to their new home,,the scrap art stuff is way cool too, i'd go to the book store an dlook thru the craft book at OTHER crafts to see what appeals to you persoanlyy and work form there!  have fun deb

Daphne thats so intersting ..my dh has an extensive background in machining..and we make currently ,,diagnostic medical testing equipment for a vt firm called Biotek..we used to both work for GE ( and the 5 otther companies it morphed into)..alot of their work is now done in Maine..most of what we did there was mechanical and electrical assy,,terry worked with R&D and the engineers quite a bit, still does actually..but they cant pay what master machinists used to get..and hes sick of that work anyway after 40 odd years of it..we were married 11 years on Nov 17th..our celebration was very similar,,wiped out wih all the surgeries hes had recently,,we're done now im pleased to report..the artery in his neck is done now too and everything went swimmingly! yeah! i was worried sick this last time! not ready to lose him! ( actually will never be!)good luck with the house search,,cant wait to hear about that other shop! how are the shows coming?  deb

oh good lord i flunked making virtual snowfalkes! havent cut one out in many many years..not like riding a bike at all....i just had outlines and a pile of paper at the bottom!
how about i have NO scissor control!!:{:{:{  deb

oooh Kennebunk?! how cool is that? i Love that area! i dont love the idea of moving..which is good cuz we havent sold our house yet..what does your husband do for a living? when is your anniversary? i lik eto go in th espring when its quiet and i need a change..freeport is always fun but i love boothbay too. then again that primitive sop in kennebunk is where i always go first!  good luck with the move deb

Congrats to Dilu an dthe Gollies! Good for you! now i want my issue really really bad! i just subscribed ( one of those school fund raisers finally had something i [WANTED [/u]to buy!)  deb

I agree and would add if you're not happy do it yourself!  thats so much less stressful than trying to get people to do what you want.. i wanted a more personal site with MY vision of how it should look and then i was responsible for the changing content and not having to argue ever about billing etc..i use a prpgram similar to Daphnes'  only cheaper! its called web easey and its by VCOM..they have several versions..the older ones are quite cheap now..the newest is now $25 thru their website...and they offer hosting also.  good luck and have fun!  deb

hey i can live with the snow..like judi i LOVE the snow falls and the pretty frost patterns on th ewindows..etc..but let it rain and freeze
and i turn into super chicken! i put some serious money into tires in the winter after being stranded 2 hrs on the way home from work..waiting for the sand trucks and the idiots with summer tires to get the roads clear,,its very hilly where we live and theres no stopping on ice and people are unbelieveable! i had good tires..now i have great ones!  sliding with no control is terrifying! let it snow let it snow let it snow!!!  deb

do you have a system restore set up on your computer? if you know when you got the virus maybe you can " back " up and lose it..and then fire up your anti virus!  we had one that was windows based..and we have a dial up..we couldnt log on and clean it fast enough before it shut us down..had to have a friend run the patch on a disk! they are an awful pain sometimes..we are faithful about automatic updates now! good luck!  deb

when Terry and i were dating that first year,,there was a popular song called " all i want for Christmas is you" by vince vaugh and the valiants? very 30's sound to it! and while i love traditional christmas music ( all the old stuff..bing..dean..nat) there is also one from a canadian group that i am bonkers over..BoneyM.  and its called marys boy child..i LOVE this song..i just wanna dance!! and amy grant..  dont get me started on Christmas movies!!!! i watch them all thru thr season!   but i HATE that awful cinnamon smell all the stores use..yuk! it burns my sinuses! real smells or nothin!!   i love Christmas!!!  deb  ps we've had snow 2inches..wet and gone quick!  and thank you deb for saying you could smell the snow in the air..my husbamd says im nuts to say i can smell snow coming!!

oh gee whiz Sandi! you're makin me blush!  Thank you ! and thanks to all of you for the kind words! no we dont have to be ther for the whole time but there is a meet the artist tomorrow ( sunday nov 12 ) 2-4 .  it looks great all set up i think! off to work! hugs to all  deb

Well i just thought i would mention for anyone near Vermont..that we just opened a teddy bear and quilt show at the Emile Gruppe Gallery in Jericho , Vermont.  It runs from Nov 9th thru Dec 17th.
There are some stunning quilts and of course some beautiful bears..represented by a few of our own "teddy talkers"  Sandi Rexford and me! there are 7 bear artists total  ( Jill kenny . Donna Bjerke, Barb Patnode , Roger Bean , Nancy Edmunds, Sany Rexford and Debra Travers ) in adition there are some amazing painting in the gallery full time..watercolors ,oils etc by various artists! there will be a Meet the artist Day sunday Nov 12 from 2-4 pm
hope if your traveling around you'll stop by!!  hugs deb

I'm glad you all are doing better.  the grief will get easier with time, and i'm glad the memory bears WILL get to happen!  people like this stay with us  forever and make up part of who we are . my favorite phrase when my dad died was "love remains" and it does and it colors everthing about you and stays in your heart and makes you a better person because of it. and then someday you can pass it on!  best wishes and hugs deb

and here is a closer one since that worked,,deb

im hoping i just uploaded a photo of said bear ( unfinished) poor photo,,i cant beleive i just put a bear in the fridge to photograph it,,you must have a better fridge daphne! anyway this is what i wanted advice on,,have been readingthe posts,,still dont need someone to look and tell me..should i just rip em out?  deb

i just put in my first handpainted eyes and i backed them with white sculpy and even tho i tried to needlsculpt them the appear to be a bit bulgy to me,,and im not sure what to do from here..the cord isnt really wide enough to do lids..what do you think? help?  deb

i have put the bears in a plastic bag and then "blown it up" like a balloon,and then packed around it...deb

i love the outfit and the bear! you are so talented!  deb

for me..when i lost loved ones .(my grandmother died on nov 1st massive heart attatck)  and some beloved great aunts and uncles i miss to this day ( im 50) .. a tangible way to feel they were still witth me helped...a sweater..a ring..a special coin...some small thing i could carry that i could touch and make me feel i had contact..or a memorial that you could make together with some connection to him..did they go to the zoo with him? sponsor an animal in his name..make a bear with some piece of his clothing incorporated..create a garden ith his favorite plants.. whatever they connect with him..you are in our prayers and the love you have for your kids and the love their grandparents have for you all will get you through,,he would want that wouldnt he?  my deepest sympathy deb  ps i was a quiet child too and they will handle it in their own way

Cindy Anshcuntz (sp?) has a design kit with graph papare etc she sells ftom her website ( i think she still does) and also thru Edinburgh Imports,,trial and error and that moment where you make someone else's pattern and say i wish this were longer or those  paws are not what i want..trying others helps you learn but desire to do it your way makes you design!  good luck and have FUN! deb