Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

neysa, does this mean you are needlefelting directly into the flex clay once baked, or are you just using the flex clay for the exposed "skin" parts, like the feet on your chicken?   sorry,    it's a silly question i guess!!!

i must not be over-needling the wool because i can still stick the wool with the needle okay, it goes in fine.   but like you said,  i just don't seem to get anywhere as far as firming it up is concerned.   the wool i'm using felted so nice and hard for the body and head, and i thought it had a nice smooth finish, so i went ahead and did the entire piece with that same wool.   but i would like almost rock hard and that is not what i am getting on the limbs.

ginnie

gail, good luck!   give it a try, it's not as daunting as it sounds.  i wrapped my wire with a small amount of floral tape, someone else told me hockey tape works well because it is double sided.  i haven't tried that yet!  don't worry your needle won't break unless you get overzealous, which can happen just in mohair, too.  my problem is in getting the wool felted firmly around the wire.

as a tip... for limb ends... i added an extra pad of slightly pre-felted wool to the top over where the wire ended, after i was completed with the limb.  it lengthened the end of the limb a bit so you have to take that into account, but i had absolutely no problem with wire poking through the end and i can bend it all around!

ginnie

i have a question along these same lines, working with an armature...

neysa,  your online tutorial about how to do this was so wonderful and helped me through the whole procedure.     i am having a little trouble getting the felt as firm as i would like around the small arms and legs i am working on.    they are not quite as firmly felted as the head, which has no armature.    my mouse is 4.5" tall, so the arms and legs are pretty small,  i used fairly thin 22 gauge wire,  which i wrapped just a little with florist tape.  it's really not too bad, but i just can't get that really firm feel to it that i'd like.   i have thought about wet felting the area closest to the wire and then dry felting onto that, will it work do you think?

i tried felting around the limb more, thinking i had just not spent enough time on it.  so i took an entire evening, about 4 hours!   and just felted that teeny arm over and over.  i was able to move the felt around enough to think i was making a little progress, but in the end, it was nearly the same as when i had started, and not any more firm than the other limb that i hadn't worked so long on.   so i'm almost thinking i overfelted the wool and it just couldn't get any firmer,  is that possible?   :doh: 

thanks again to everyone here, you've all been so wonderful.

ginnie

well,   i slept on it a couple of days and i'm over it now.   it doesn't matter whether there's a slow economy or interest in the bears is dwindling (i hope that is not the case).   i'll just keep making these little creatures because i get so much happiness from doing this.   and maybe sometime i'll be good enough to do a show...gosh that's got to be terrifying  the first time!!!!   i'm nervous just thinking about it!   

ginnie

oh i'm going to go sign up right now, thanks for the tip, neysa!

ginnie

he's adorable, looks like he's ready to receive a big kiss.  great color!!!!

ginnie

i like the batts so much better than the roving.  :thumbsup:

ginnie

wooooow!   you have a right to be extremely proud of this tiger.   among the best work i have ever seen! :hug:

ginnie

boy, all this talk really is discouraging and takes the wind out of my sails.      i was kind of hoping i could make a start on ebay someday since i don't really know where else to start.  i guess that will have to wait for a while, and i'll just continue to make the needlefelted creatures for myself.   i will never let anything go underpriced because these silly creatures mean something to me, there is a part of my soul in them.  how do you well known artists get there???  are bear shows the way to go or is it just slow everywhere right now with the economy?

hopefully,

ginnie

i have a little piece of foam attached to the bottom of my large Colman's English Mustard spice tin.   

i put my needles in the tin point down to the foam, and pop the tin lid back on and they are kept safely inside.

the old tin is the perfect size for the needles and it was too pretty for me to throw away.  i had flowers in it for a while, but it's perfect for the needles because it has a lid, too.   i ended up putting nail polish colors on the ends of my needles as i eventually got used to holding the needle without a "handle". 

ginnie

kelly, hello i am new here...

i just saw your very beautiful horse and wondered what type of fabric is he made of?  he's just wonderful, boy that armature must have been tricky!   i am an incurable horse lover... :love:

ginnie   

hello again everybody, thank you so much for the tips and input.   i have lots of ideas to try now!  pandamac i am quite near you,  i live just outside burlington near stowe.   maybe we can get together sometime,  i would like that!   your bears and friends are all just lovely,  i can only hope that i will learn enough to be as good as  you one day.  thank you for the wonderful photos of your work, they made my day!

ginnie :hug:

karen, he is the cutest little thing!

ginnie

http://www.maplesplendor.ca/felting_needles.htm

oops i forgot to give you the url.  i wonder if it is the same company?

ginnie

i just bought these needles through a website in canada... i'll let you know how they work as soon as i get them.

ginnie

clare,

another option would be to permanently attach a "bed" or a blanket and pillow to the bauble, and little bear could fit between the covers, as a pocket of sorts.

good luck  :hug:

ginnie

i saw one in person at a bird sanctuary when i visited my brother in fort lauderdale florida.   they are the most magical creatures.   you can actually buy them as babies at mcmurray hatchery in the springtime... i have always wanted to raise peafowl.  thanks for such lovely photos!

ginnie

oh my... what a nice warm welcome, you are all so very kind to help me and say hello.   :hug:

you all produce such beautiful bears, they certainly mirror the sweetness of their creators.  :teddybear:

my little mouse is so impatient for his eyes to arrive, if they don't come soon i'm afraid he will become quite cross with me.  in the meantime i think it's time to get to coloring.

i'll try all the things that you suggested.   i think if i get some scrap felted pieces and test the look, i'll get a better idea.   and i think i better get my airbrush going again, that looks like such fun!

i just love that i can make a mistake with this stuff, chop it off and begin again.   needlefelting is so forgiving and so easy to work with.   i promise to post a photo of little mouse as soon as he is done.

one more question...

i'm felting around an armature right now,  and it's difficult to get the wool felted down firmly around the armature.   would it work to try wet felting the core and then adding detail on top of that area to harden it up some?   i would like the limbs to be as firm as the body and head, and am having some trouble achieving that same firmness.

thank you again for your kind words,  i know i will love it here...

ginnie (gingerbear)

hello hello hello...

my name is ginnie, i live in beautiful vermont, amongst many beloved critters and family members.   i am sooo excited to have found this group, as i am in the middle of creating my first needlefelted fellow, a wee mouse.  he is coming along pretty well, but i think i tried too many difficult things at once to start with.   all well... seems i never can just make something simple.   i have made a few bears in my time but never sold any, they were just for myself.   i must say i feel a bit intimidated here by sooooo many wonderful, great bear artists, but i will never learn anything if i don't hang around!  so please forgive my many questions.

my little mouse is in need of some shading and color.   would one of you be kind enough to tell me what i can use to paint my little white mouse... will artists' oils work if i dry brush them on?   or am i better off with acrylics?   or is this a complete sin and i should only airbrush?   i do have an airbrush but no Co2 tank at the moment, although it's on my wishlist... by the way, i also have colored pencils, prismacolors and watercolors, too, but no copic markers.   what i don't want is a crusty surface on my mouse.   any help would be so appreciated.

right now it is a wonderful time for me, i have so many new creatures waiting to be needlefelted into life, they won't allow me to sleep at night.   i just love that.   :)

hoping to get to know all of you...

ginnie (gingerbear)