Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Mmmmmmm......cadbury's mini eggggggs....... 

I was talking about this with friends just this morning! There are some awful viruses going around - most people I know who have caught the cold bug have ended up with a chest infection, ugh. And then there's the tummy bug, that's rife in schools at the moment. The weather....well, what can I say??? My dad (who was born in 1928) says he remembers crisp, white winters from years gone by, not the grey rainy ones we get nowadays. It never gets light at the moment! I'm sure that's a major factor in the general 'under the weather' syndrome that many of us are suffering from......

That said, I'm generally an optimistic person and tend not to let it get me down  :lol:. If I get caught in the rain (like I did an hour ago!) I tend to enjoy it! Yes, I'm one of those irritating people who whistles happily while walking in a rain storm! Even if it's cold and miserable I make inane comments to people I pass, like 'good weather for ducks!'. Maybe I'm just a bit mad...but it helps!

I do wish we could see some blue sky for a while though 

Hi  , maybe we're all just a bit shy!

Ambrose was one of the first bears I made and possibly the first I ever put on eBay....to my delight he sold, and the new owner wrote to say how happy they were. It spurred me on to make more bears and was a lovely introduction to the bear community.

As you can see, Ambrose was a chunky chap. His legs and arms were a bit on the large side, and his legs did tend to splay out when standing.... :lol:. But I think that made him all the more endearing and his heart was definitely in the right place. Oh, and he loved to lie on his back and have his tummy tickled!!

Even though I've had digital camera's for a few years now, I can never quite get to grips with all the fiddly, twiddly bits 'n' bobs - so YES! I'm still learning  :whistle:

The person below me loves to burn scented candles.

Ohhhh, she's just perfect! My daughter's 7 now, but I remember clearly when she was this age because she cried a lot too :doh:. It was hard work, but the result of having to hold her so much is she's now a very tactile child who offers cuddles all the time - definitely a positive!

Something my mother-in-law used to say 'babies cry because they can'! 

Enjoy her..... she's beautiful.....

Thanks everyone  :hug:  You've all made me feel very humbled, not to mention bad for staying away so long!!!

As for the sinuses, it seems it's a common problem and at least we have each other to lean on! Clare, I use Vicks too but I'm always losing them (the stick-thingies) and usually find them again stuck down the back of a chair or in a cupboard. I'm amassing quite a collection of them at the moment..... 

*waves to everyone*  :hug:

Yes, sinus problems are a nuisance but looks like they are a fact of life for me now (along with failing eyesight, wrinkles, sore back....haha!). So as Dilu says, I may as well have some fun! Daphne, I'm glad it's not caused by bears too 

Hi Amanda, are you back to selling bears? Can't wait to see them! I finished two little ones this week and REALLY enjoyed it. Now I have to wait from some fur to arrive - eek, and I'm chomping at the bit to make another! Lovely to talk to you again.

Ruth, you noticed my liking for David Sylvian. I still have a 'thing' about him, much to my husband's concern! Sylvian made some odd instrumental stuff for a while (way too art-y for me, hehe) but then Japan reformed under the name Rain Tree Crow and Sylvian & Janson made an album called Snow Borne Sorrow. Can recommend them both 

Aww, thankyou.....I do love this forum and wonder how I ever stayed away so long....

I'm in the process of finishing a bear today - will post photos later if I get chance. I'm developing a callus on my sewing finger again. Makes me feel like a proper bear maker! LOL

It's been a looonnnngggg time since I last posted here, but I have been lurking for a little while again and drooling over the lovely bears in the gallery 

Some of you might remember that I eventually packed my bear-making supplies away over a year ago and put my needles down due to ongoing sinus infections and a seriously broken finger nail (remember that?!). Well, the finger healed just fine (hurrah!) but the sinus still gives me problems. So I've figured that if I can't beat the sinus I'll just carry on making bears anyway! Yes, I've been getting those creative urges again, and am going to stick to the mini's since I'm less sensitive to the fur. They are my preference anyway 

So I'd like to send a big bear hug to all those who remember me (hope everyone is well!). And a big bear hug to those who don't as well!  :hug:

Helena x

This sounds delicious, I might just have to give it a try....   

I can feel my waistline expanding already!!!!

Oh Brenda....nooo!!! I'm sorry to hear you've joined the ranks of the hopelessly clumsy (I'm a life-time member  ). I really do hope that your wound is not as bad as it first seems and I'm sending you plenty of good wishes for a speedy recovery.

I only hope I haven't jinxed the board with my tale of sliding-door-foolishness. I read about Ellen knocking herself out with the fridge (freezer?) door today - wow, we really do it in style here, eh?!

As for my finger, it's feeling much better. Many thanks for asking. Let us know how your hand is? Hopefully the bleeding has stopped?  :hug:

Aww, thanks everyone for your comments...it's appreciated  :hug:

Amanda, I know how your thumb felt (ouch), but your comment about 'it falling off' made me chuckle lol.

Finger's feeling much better today & looks better too. Thankfully it hasn't swollen or the nail gone black (yet!). I'm being ultra careful to keep it clean and with a little luck shouldn't hamper my bear-making for too long....I hope!

It's amazing though - I didn't realise how difficult it would be to get along without using one finger 

Thanks again!!!!  :hug:

Hi Gemma, I've heard that lavender is good so will keep it in mind, thanks. Right now I'm going to get some shut eye - maybe I'll wake up and find it was all just a nightmare!

Well, I can hope!!!

Thanks Daphne  :hug:. I just hope I don't roll onto it while I'm asleep!!! Eek!

Thanks Tracy...

I figured it would take a while to grow...months....sigh        . Sorry to hear about your thumb, that sounds really painful. My finger's still throbbing but not as bad as it was....

Nurse Dilu....thankyou too....I'm feeling better already. It was a bit of a shock! I could bend my joint pretty well for a while after but it just plain hurts too much to try again right now. I'll see how it is in the morning and decide if a visit to the doc is necessary (I usually collect my complaints and go to the surgery with a 'shopping list'!!!).

Your site looks lovely Sarah   :love:

And I'm happy that things are going so well for you at the moment - you deserve it!!   

Here's what happened...

I pushed extra hard on our stupid patio door when closing it tonight, not realising my finger was in the way  :wacko:. Owwww!!!! So... I've cracked the nail from side to side just above the nailbed, and I have to tell you....it HURTS!     

It bled a lot (I held it under cold running water for as long as I could, which helped).

Now it's throbbing but only bleeding a little.

I can still bend the joint but don't want to because the nail hurts so much.

Aargh, I really didn't need this right now - my bearmaking is slow enough without having to wait for my finger to heal! I have several half-made bears just begging to be put together :(. Luckily I can still type, just about 

There must be a silver-lining to this story somewhere! Anyone had a similar experience? How long will it take to grow back/feel normal???

PS Sorry to those don't like the idea of blood - I'm like you, unfortunately! It made me feel pretty icky....

I just read what Shelli's husband said and it rang so true with me....my mum died just a couple of years ago when my daughter was only four. She and her 'nana' were very close, and although my daughter was a bit too young to really understand the full meaning of death, she soon started to ask me if it meant that I (her mother) was also going to die. Obviously for any of us it is a huge wrench to lose a loved one, but for children I'm sure it is also very confusing. We got through our loss by being honest, and I let her know how sad I was feeling too. I also tried to answer her questions head-on, together with lots of reassurance.

I really feel for you and your boys, it's such a hard time  :hug:

We're addicted to the Potter films in our household. My daughter is only 6 but could do Mastermind with a specialist knowledge of Harry Potter - what she doesn't know isn't worth knowing! I worried when she sat through the first film (in instalments  ) thinking it would be too scary for her but she's obviously braver than I thought and loves it! (I think she has a secret crush on Ron Weasley...)

Love the photo Jane!   

Hi, I have another question... 

There are a few OOAK bears on eBay UK that have a dollar pricetag, so presumably they were listed on the US site. But not all of the bears on the US site that can be shipped worldwide come up on the UK site.....how does that work???

Put another way....how do I list on the US site and ensure it comes up in the OOAK catagory in the UK?

I have the feeling I'm being a bit thick....  

Jenny's right - the site we list on determines the currency on the eBay invoice. I've listed on the US eBay mostly, and when I've had a UK buyer I've had to invoice them in dollars so I accompany that with a note stating the price in sterling (which I take from the UK eBay site where it is automatically converted). This is so my UK buyer can pay by cheque if they want to.

The way I see this (and I may well be wrong!) it's a choice we UK sellers have to make - either list on eBay UK and risk alienating some US/Canadian/Australian etc customers who view the exchange rate as being too high a price to pay or list on eBay US and lose money on Paypal's automatic conversion rate for dollars to pounds. At the moment Paypal uses the following currency conversions;
£1.00 = $1.84 'Buy Rate', using pounds to buy something in dollars
£1.00 = $1.95 'Sell Rate', converting a dollar balance to one in pounds
As far as I know, eBay will show the 'buy rate' in it's conversions on the auctions, but the seller will receive the 'sell rate' as payment through Paypal....ie less!

Have I just confused everyone?! I think I've confused myself....I need a lie down....  

Marie....my heart goes out to you. My mum died from breast cancer too.

I'm glad she was able to beat the original diagnosis and spend a further ten years in the company of her family. She sounds like an inspiration to all of us....

Big hugs coming your way at this difficult time  :hug:

Shantell, I tried going the commissions route and for a while it was fine, I enjoyed it (and like others have said, it kept the money coming in). But I ended up feeling the same way Jenny does about it, stifled and uninspired. Even just having the mohair/fur chosen for me took away from the creative process I have to go through. So I stopped doing them. Actually, I kind of stopped making bears altogether about 3 months ago and it's taken till now to get going again....I realise I wouldn't be able to do that if I absolutely needed the income from my bear-making but I'm fortunate that's not the case for me (although it does help a LOT!).

Maybe it depends on each person's approach to their bear-making? How business-like you are? How much creative space you need? Whether or not you're happy making similar designs over and over or want to keep pushing personal boundaries?

As for pricing....I was always uncomfortable with that one!

I'm getting the impression that everyone here thinks the UK is really expensive - well it is! LOL. I'm always grumbling about that, and I live here!   

Thanks for checking out my website Andrea. It needs updating....yes, I built it myself and like having it but I think most visitors come to it from eBay (or here) rather than the other way around. When I was taking commissions it was very useful but since I stopped doing them it has really just been a showcase, which is useful in itself  :). Another member here, Penny (gotobedbears), is a whizz at building sites for other people. I think she has a recent thread about the deals she offers?

Do you make bears?

Hi Patty, I beginning to understand why you feel like that so I'm really glad I asked this question - thanks for being honest 

eBay does a conversion of the auction currency to local currency which is shown on the listing but as you say, this isn't always accurate once postage and exchange rate differences are taken into account. I always state postage upfront in my auctions, in dollars and sterling in the hope that it helps a bit