Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Deb,
You were missed for sure! There are a few members who seem to have just vanished into thin air!
Sorry about your pinkie problems...that HAS to have been painful!
It's a shame things didn't work out with Lady Bear...better luck next time huh?

lbs10 (I'm sure you have a MUCH prettier name that name but I gotta go with what I have )
That is THE moset wonderful, realistic and scrumptious looking sheltie (or dog for that matter!) that I have ever seen! WoW!! How real is that! Fabulous work! And I see that synthetic fur is just perfect for the job in this case! Thanks for sharing..I'm inspired!
Eileen and Paula...I'm going to order some of that tissavel fur today...not more stalling. Wow it's amazing stuff isn't it!
Terrie...love little Snazzy! Bear Essence in Australia has that exact same fur too. Don't know if it's on her site but if you email Kim she may be able to help you. www.bearessence.com.au.
Gemma.. Worzel certainly looks like rhubarb pie...adorable!
And Tania...JUMP IN!!!
Thanks for all those links Daph...you're obviously turning over a new leaf in the research department!!!

Hi Chris,
I'll be there too. This is only my third show and I'm still nervous!
I have dropped the prices on my bears from the last time as I didn't sell even one...and it hurt.   I figure I'm better to go home with less bears and more $ 'cos you can't make more until the previous ones leave home. If I don't sell some this time..I may just cry.
Denise, make sure you come and say hi to me too okay!

My boys decided to have a room rearrangement this morning and have 'reclaimed' the part of their bedroom cupboards where I had stored my real fur pieces for that rainy day when I get time to have a go.
As it turns out, their cleanout is very timely as some of my fur pieces have blue mould spots on the backing. I did have them hanging up on hangers but at some stage they have been knocked down and have been on the floor in the cupboard so the air wasn't circulating around them.
I know you aren't supposed to wash real fur pelts, so does anyone have any suggestions on how I can clean the pelts and get the mouldy smell out of them? The fur is rabbit I think, and is in very good condition...apart from the mold.

I have a couple of questions about the more 'extreme' ageing methods of deborah and Pen-pen.
1st for Deb...don't you have problems of bugs and bacteria weakening the mohair and putting holes in it??
and for Pen-pen....how does one get rid of the smell of barbequed bear hair after singeing it on a hot plate??? Sounds like it would work a treat but..... do you then wash it after 'treating' it?
I really want to know.....

Love all thses distressed looking bears! Deborah...that is certainly a unique way to distress mohair.   I don't think I could wait three months....
Great topic Judi! Is anyone willing to share what materials they use for foot and paw pads on their old bears and what works well to distress them? I'm thinking colour here..like staining in spots.

Gosh Paula..he's stunning! Betcha had to where sunnies while you were making him!
What an amazing bear!
I have just recently decided that I want an All Bear for my 40th birthday next year...who needs jewellery! :crackup:
That will put my 'bear collection' up to four bears. I'm not a collector you see......
What a wonderful charity gift...this bear will go for a song! I can picture him in the lounge room of someone who has blue and yellow decorating, which has been quite popular in Australia over the last few years.
(Psst..Sarah Jane and Deb....I reckon she has elves come in at night to do those noses...they are too perfect to be human! )

Tami..he is super special..if I were you, I'd KEEP HIM!!! No questions asked.
Can't believe you made the doll too, you are just too clever!

Thanks everyone!
I had such a great weekend....got off to a rocky start when I got to the airport and discovered I'd left my 'important' bag at home though! Air tickets, accomodation info, business cards, credit card machine, CAMERA!!! :photo: ...pretty much all the stuff I needed!!
Anyway...it's amazing what you can do without when you have to and the weekend was a lot of fun! The dinner on the Saturday evening was delicious and there were lots of laughs. It was good to have a chance to chat without having to watch your table.
When Lisa took 'the prawn' picture and said she was going to post it on TT, I thought she was joking! :twisted:

Sarah Jane...I have just put your photo into photoshop...the red nose will be gone in a tic. Lisa...want that blemish removed??? :crackup: Anyone else??

Thanks for helping clarify those things Mindy.
Edie I feel so disappointed for you that thought you had to let your special award pieces go, thinking you had no choice.   :hug:  I guess we will all ask questions when in the tiniest doubt in future thanks to your experience and I'm sure you are not the only one in this situation. :hug:  :hug: Maybe you can use this knowledge to put you all into creating the most spectacular entry for this year...knowing it's all yours forever!! :hug: \

Shelli...I'm sure no-one thought you you cheating...and if I was in your shoes I would have kept my entries too. Even if I understood the entries HAD to be offered for sale..I would have sold them to family members and bought them back. Dishonest? Maybe a little...but I know the connection you would feel with those pieces and they are a legacy of your work in the years to come and something your family will always treasure. To tell you the truth...if I thought there was no way around the "you HAVE to sell it" rule..I don't think I could enter...purely because when creating a comp piece of the quality required to secure a TOBY or GT, I would have put so much of myself into it, I couldn't consider parting with it...for any $$$.

As for the 50% including the head bit...I would imagine this is okay for everyday bears that an artist sells if that's the way it has to be....but for a comp such as the TOBY's or GT...if won....I'd want to know it was all my own work, every stitch

Tami...thanks for those great instructions...I wish I'd had those the first time I tried trapunto paw pads...I learned the hard way!
The paw pads in your avatar bear(which look great by the way!!)...are they trapunto? How are they a different colour? Or are they appliqued on?

Thankyou everyone! I discovered the magazine was out this morning from a collector who emailed to enquire about buying a bear...what a lovely surprise!
I'm really happy with my profile and Shelli's fabulous too! How cool to be sharing a mag with you Shel!
Sarah I would love to scan them for you all but need to wait until I find out if Shelli wants to see it on the net or see it in person...don't want to spoil the surprise!  :dance:
Sarah Jane...it won't be in the newsagents for another week or so. BTW, I saw your delightful little clown bear on the weekend...what wonderful work you do! Just adorable!

Paula..Bisto is AMAZING!!! I was sold on those Tissavel synthetics the moment Jenny showed us. Have the Tissavel synthetics got a woven backing? This is importnat in my view because if I use anything but woven, my bears heads in particular end up looking like large hairy footballs because they stretch so much!!

Sabine...CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's so wonderful for you....a 'cover girl' for your first ever publication! It doesn't get much better than that! I'm so glad you shared with us...there's a time to be humble and a time to shout it from the rooftops! We are so happy to share in your excitement. :clap:  :dance:

Dilu..your emails are always so heartfelt and so silly(naughty gollies and their antics!). How can we help but love you to bits! And we do! You put a bit of that childhood magic back into our days. THANKYOU!

I don't know Daphne...I really don't but I'm sure better days must be just ahead. :pray:
God says he will never give us more burden than we can handle with His help...but I swear sometimes we are on our knees with the weight of the loads we must bear.
Sending hugs and prayers to you.
:hug:  :pray:  :hug:  :pray:  :hug:  :pray:

Great write ups girls! Well done! Kassie you are really making your mark on the bear world with these new designs...very imaginative!

Now someone explain to me how I can read an entire  new release magazine online without having paid a cent?????????
What's in it for the publishers and why would I want to go and pay for a real mag now? Just curious. I have never see this done before, do other magazines do this too?

Sandra...I kinda do that too but for different reasons...sheer laziness~!
When I design a bear I just can't be bothered with the ears so I don't...and I ALWAYS regret it afterwards when I have to drag out my mohair and most often my machine just to do the ears when everything else is finished.
I always do the ears last anyway because I set them to look square with the face.
So if you are weird..I am weird.    But then again, you are the one with the 'Strange Bears' so people would expect some of your methods to be 'odd'.

Shhhh Paula! There may be children present!  :crackup:

I've had one enquiry through my ad..but that's it.   It didn't result in a sale. 
But still...it was a thrill to be part of it all. I don't feel so bad now I know I'm not the only one...thanks girls.

35 wpm with 97% accuracy. I can live with that...my best at school was 16 wpm on a typewriter...so I've doubled my speed!
Shelli and Kelly...words fail me.

They're fantastic Paula! No wonder you are so excited! What a handy sis!
I love the surface she has Pearl sitting on...very effective with the reflective properties! Almost ecclesiastal!(sp??)
Gorgeous bears...I so love your big bruins!
Were you there when she took the pics? I'd love to know if she used a light tent setup or just studio lights.

Eileen I love your micees! Seems like you've hit on your thing with them! Beautiful!!

I too used the advice to photgraph a cream bear yesterday and was quite pleased with the results. Will share pics next week as she is for a comp this weekend.

Congratulations on your profile and project Karen!! :hug:  I haven't had  chance to get to the newsies to get it yet so was great to be able to see scans of it all. Berez is adorable!
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to scan the pages to share with us...I know how time consuming it can be! LOVE your Gillyflower project...she's so sweet! Congrats to you too! :clap:

Hi Wendy,

Maybe you are confused with the Gold Coast International Teddy Bear show that was at Jupiters Casino back in June? 

Bears in Brisbane is always in September and The Australian Bear Convention is a brand new show in it's debut year, which is the following weekend and also on the Gold Coast.

What a shame you didn't hear about the comp for TABA, I'm sure Lisa would love to have had some of your wonderful aussie animals strut their stuff. 
There really has been quite a lot of info around and about concerning TABA; write up's in the last two Australian Bear Creations, the TABA banner which has popped up with great regularity here on TT over the last six months, and a thread about the upcoming awards not so long ago. I guess you just missed it. 

Lisa wanted to try to include those who were unable to send bears for the hands on comp by making a photographic section in the awards too, which is what is being voted on at the moment. Entries for the second part, which is the hands on section close next Wednesday.
I guess it takes time for anything new to become ingrained in our 'mental' calendar but TABA is here to stay so everyone will be well and truly aware it's a calendar 'must' by next year and we can all do our bit to help promote it in the meantime so that Australia too can have a prestigious "TOBY-style" comp with high standards.

Running two major shows only a week apart must have been a huge undertaking for you Lisa, especially with all the wonderful workshops you have listed on the website for bear and bead enthusiasts for the week between the shows. You must be Wonder Woman!
Off to place my vote!