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Not having been around much I hadn't seen these pictures. They are fab...just love the outfit on her now I can see more detail.
Must get one of your gollies this year Di.
Daphne I think if you are into saving bears ... it's there in your heart and it doesn't matter what type of bear they are. I love grizzlies right through to pandas and like Lyn I'm right into animal charities.
Lyn if you want some more Bear Links just go to my wesites Links page and take them from there.
They say Daphne ... that two heads are better than one! :crackup:
I don't know how many bear makers/artists here are really into saving the real bears though ... but nothing ventured nothing gained.
UUgh! Who would sell a repaired bear? Who would ever use glue? Perish the thought :doh:
I guess there are lazy people even in the bear world ... sorry to hear your plight Sandra.
I'm always so particular about the fabrics I choose to dress a bear and make them to last the distance but it comes as no surprise to hear what you're saying.
A dear friend of mine bought a very well known artists bear some years back only to find when she removed the hat a few years later ... it had NO EARS!!!
I wish you well with all the dusting ... and repairs.
Oh yes Daphne ... there have been several documentaries done on Vital Ground. Way back when the original Bart was only a cub.
I've seen all the docs and it's one of my favourite charities, have had a link to Vital Ground on my website since I first did my site. Donations are always needed so if anyone can help it would be great...you can donate on line and there are more details on their site of how you can help.
Even adding a link on your website would help to bring the bear's plight to people's attention. Copy the banner and link to http://www.vitalground.org
Thanks Daphne for this post ... great idea!
And here's me thinking you were all the organised ones!!!
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
Boy! have my illusions been dashed!!!!
Thanks for the good wishes Sarah-Jane, Jane, Karen, Patty, Sue Ann and Carolyn.
Quote Sarahjane: ...looks like a lot of hard work though!!!
Quote Doodlebears: It takes a lot of work to keep a website up to date doesn't it...says she who needs to work on her website...sigh!
Sarah-Jane & Jane: It does take a bit of work if you want it to look fresh and updated, but I think it's certainly worth doing, if only to keep yourself happy and enthused. :D
P.S. I will be dropping in from time to time but probably only once a week now.
I just forgot to log off! AGAIN :redface:
I've been busy though ... check out the new look website ... just in time for the new year!
Now to get some new bears done to put there!
Not going to be around much for a while ... too much to do ... too little time!
Loves ya!
Apart from Glenn's health problems, 2006 was a pretty good year for me.
I was a good girl and finished the year by preparing for my 2007 classes...AND I made my December deadline with ABC, which was a huge relief!
With a bit more streamlining, 2007 should be an even better year...I really need to empty this brain a bit and get some more patterns down on template!
As for resolutions?
1. Manage my time better. Sorry girls as much as I love you all, that also means less time spent with you! 
2. Change my eating habits...less chocolate and more vegetables! 
3. Get dressed before I switch on the computer and start working!!! 
Just received my Jan/Feb copy of Teddy Bear and Friends and who did I see peering out at me from page 40?
Allison....just knew she had to be yours!
:clap: :clap: :clap:
Hi Mindi,
Has the Jan/Feb edition been posted to subscribers yet?
It seems like I've had my Nov/Dec issue forever!!
Hi there, I hope everyone is fit and well.
Sorry I haven't been around of late, some of you already
know why and I won't go into that now.
How's all the Christmas preparations coming?
Have you all finished your Christmas shopping?
I posted my Christmas tree on the other post, but I still
have to finish it...along with umpteen other things outstanding at present.
Just in case I don't get back before (I will try)...
I wanted to wish everyone all the very best for a
and
hope you all have a
I have really enjoyed looking at everyone's trees....they are all great it different ways
Still not quite finished....can't find the right coloured ribbon to make my bows this year....and I need a new angel for the top.
Will take a night one when it's all finished.
This would have to be one of the best pieces of felting work I ever have seen. Very well done Mikki! :clap: :clap: :clap:
My dear Renae,
Here's a thought for when things don't look so bright...I have mine posted on my fridge.
"Though everything looks dark and drear, I shall succeed.
Though failure's voice speaks in my ear, I shall succeed.
I do not fear misfortune's blow.
I tower with strength above each foe.
I stand erect because I know, I shall succeed.
Night swoops on me with darkest wings, but I'll succeed
I see the stars that darkness brings, but I'll succeed.
No force on earth shall make me cower,
because each moment and each hour,
I still affirm with strength and power: I shall succeed."
May this help to give you the courage - to live up to what you know you can do!
Love and bear hugs,
Mindy are you still having trouble with your emails? I've emailed mine but received no reply. Should I send it again?
I got my subscription awhile ago...now I know I won't miss any issues!!!
Hugs,
Having spent seven years in England and travelling half of the globe...I'm a bit like Judy Garland in the wizard of Oz (and Dilu)
Australia has it all...the beaches around Albany and the spring wildflowers of West Australia...the Great Barrier Reef...the mountains in the Great Dividing Range...Bright in the autumn...the diversity of food in Lygon Street, Melbourne...are to die for!
You can keep all the tourist destinations,
Hugs,
Glenn gives me cooking free Sundays...he cooks brunch (bacon, eggs & mushrooms) and a bbq dinner.
Helps me do all my shows & makes all my wooden accessories for the bears.
Is my most avid supporter of my passion...bears.
Buys me flowers and chocolate for no occasion.
Always remembers my birthday and our wedding anniversary...takes me out to dinner on both.
AND he's good lookin' to boot!
So generally I'm spoilt rotten!!! :crackup:
Hugs,
Great pics Jane, I enjoyed them immensely.
Just love your new blue bear Milo he looks wonderful.
Hugs,
Sandi
BUT then I start looking at bears at the show .. then came home and looked at those made by Kelly Dean and others, some mentioned on this thread and I suddenly felt that my bear really wasn't that great after all .... why had he suddenly gone from being wonderful to being mediocre? Because it didn't look like Kelly Dean's bears? Because I didn't have seven bears in a vignette in vintage clothing? I had to come to grips with the fact that I was not Kelly Dean .. my bears were not going to LOOK like Kelly Dean's or any other Kelly Deans and I was probably not going to do a seven bear vignette anytime soon ... we are all individuals with our own talents and our own method of designing and little things that make the bear "ours" .... people recognize a particular designer's work and some people like a certain look of bear and will pay for that ... I adore Melissa Zemeski's faces, I love Shelli's eye designs .... there are several types of bears I don't care for and just would not add to my collection, no matter what they cost ....We need to stop comparing our work with other bears/gollies/dolls whatever artists .... get ideas from other artists, learn whatever we can to improve our techniques, ask questions .. if we don't like the look of our bear's noses, ask someone whose noses you admire, how they do it ... try something different if what you are doing isn't working and/or selling .... it's true, if we don't value our work then how can we expect other people to? People who love your bears will love them and they will pay what you ask, even if they have to put them on layaway but if someone goes for years without selling, it's time to try something else .... sometimes it's hard to know WHAT to price your bears at but there is a rule of thumb that was posted on another forum I saw that gave a very good guideline ...
Hugs from The Bearmaking P.I.,
Toby
Quote from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter:
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Tobi,
I have often looked at, and on occasion purchased, a well known artists bear only to notice on a closer look at the way it's been made, that it's not as well made as my own.
I have wondered how some people do so well with poorly made bears... and I have come to this conclusion...they have great marketing skills!
I consider myself an artist, so I don't price my bears by what the market thinks they're worth, I price them according to what I know they're worth (materials, time and a profit margin). I don't consider myself a great business woman, as I would much rather keep them myself, than let them go to someone that doesn't appreciate them. I just make bears to please myself, if they sell it's a bonus, if they don't I'm not disappointed, because I love what I'm doing and I take pride in doing it well. So, one could say my marketing skills are zero!!!
I have long given up on ever attaining fame and fortune in my lifetime, but I do know my bears will be around long after I've gone to my maker!
Hugs,
Denise go for it ... share a table or ask to be close to someone you know. Like Hayley said, it does wonders for your confidence.
I've been doing shows for ten years now and I still like to be near someone I know so I can have a bit of a chat and catch up on things if the show gets a bit quiet. Specially when doing a new show...just ask Karen ... I asked to be next to her at Woodend!
If you don't do it, you'll always wonder "what would have happened if I had done it?" And let's face it, no-one's gonna turn you into a green tree frog!
Big hugs,
Here's another aussie jumpin' for joy Denise ...
and it wasn't even my sale!
If I have a criticism of it, it's that it's an ebay group...and not everyone sells on ebay so you automatically exclude those who don't sell on ebay.
And there are a lot of bloody good artists that don't rely on ebay for their sales!
Such a shame that this group are going to miss out!
Chris and Hayley are you the only TT members doing the Melbourne Teddy Show?
What about Kerrie (Best Dressed Bears) and Glenys (Gatehouse Gallery)?
See your there!
Hugs,
That only goes to say, you're better at making bears than setting a table! :crackup:
Hugs,
