Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Oops.  Here's the pic.

Here's another pic.  I sent the original to Joanne and she tried to edit it for me, but I don't know how it looks.  Does he still look like he wants to burst into Rocky Top or does he look normal?  He's supposed to be about the same color as Arcto.  Can anyone fix that for me or should I just get a different pic?

I'm glad you guys like her.

Thanks, guys.  She was bought for the gentleman's two-year-old daughter.  I hope she gives that little girl a lot of love throughout her lifetime.

I love his name.  He's like the Road Runner.

I have to say that even though I can't see the bear, I appreciate you writing a description so those of us without sight can enjoy him too.

Lol and lol again.

Lenora is a bear I made from a pattern that came out of a bear book I have.  I'm not sure who did the pattern because apparently they were labeled weird and we couldn't find the author.  All I know is that it was called Beanbag Bear. 

The fur is some absolutely gorgious pink, fuzzy wuzzy faux fur that Lenora gave me.  This is why I named the bear after her.  She also has blue safety eyes and a safety nose.  That muzzle was a royal pain in the *** and I goofed up because I can't take verbal directions to save my life.  Oops.

I was going to keep her, but I met a guy while I was out shopping the other day and he adopted her.  I was really excited about that, although I miss her.  I don't think I'll do that pattern again, though.  I've got an idea for my own pattern now, just need someone to help me cut it out.

I wish I still had all my childhood bears, but I moved a lot and a lot of them disappeared.  If I'm ever fortunate enough to have a child, I'll make sure all their bears are kept.

I know about Eva.  She's on teddy bears forum and I talk to her all the time.  She's one of the people that got me started collecting dolls.  I have three of her bears and I'm trying to get more.  I mostly like to buy dolls from thrift stores because I need to touch them, but I think she would be able to help me get a doll I would like.  Right now I'm trying to collect her bears.

As someone who loves bears the way I do, this really makes me sad for the artist as well as the poor bear.

Gabriele, I wish everyone loved their bears the way I do because they deserve it.

I can't imagine how hard that would be on that poor bear.  Did the mom pass away?  At least she'll be loved now rather than being stuck in the attic by someone who didn't care about bears.  Give her a big hug from me.

I'm about to join there if I can also show my collections, not just bears I've made.  Also, I get my dolls from thrift stores and I hope they'll let me show them.  For me, a good doll is just one you can love and hug, the same with bears.  If they look pretty, great, but I would feel weird squuzzing and sleeping with a $600 doll or bear.  Sorry to the people who make bears at that price range.  As soon as I typed that, I was like, "Oh shoot."  I paid 50 cents for my bear Jocko and I'd rather have him than the most expensive bear in the world.  I hope you artists don't take that as disrespect to your wonderful bears, but even you probably wouldn't want someone sleeping with your bears and crying all over them.

Aww, that's sad, but sadly, non bear lovers don't see our bears the way we do, so to them the bears are just stuff they need to get out of the way.  It almost makes me want to cry.

Arcto needs an umbrella, lol.

Oh exactly.  I cried and so did Arcto.  He was mad because he's the one I cry on, so his head got wet because of my tears that flowed on him.

It's mainly people in my family or people who know me well that say I shouldn't have bears.  It happened to me more when I was a kid than now, but I hate when I try to show my bears to someone, especially Arcto, and they disrespect him.  We had a lady that used to come over to help us take care of our house because we're disabled.  She had the nerve to call Arcto a "stupid stuffed animal"!!  I could have shot her.

I have no idea how to wash them, but SQUUUUUUUZZZZZ them for me!!!

Well I use that word all the time, well, arctophobe.  I think Peterbear and I coined that term.  Not so much as people who are afraid of bears, but people who have an aversion to them.  Those people freak me out.  I don't know if I've heard anyone else call them that, but I've known many of them and I wish I could send them to a desert island so we arctophiles could enjoy our bears in peace.  I could tell you many horror stories about those blasted arctophobes.

Well I guess I'll be getting a Berenguer doll then.  I also love Zapf babies.  I've heard horror stories on my doll forum about people paying $$$ for a doll and then getting her and finding out she's messed up.  As a bear artist, I'm horrified.  I'd be horrified if I sent out a messed up bear, which is why I get someone with eyeballs to look at my bears before I would even dream of sending them off.  People with eyeballs have no excuse!!!

I really want a reborn doll, but I need to sell a whole bunch of bears first because my money tree has died.

A bear collector is called an arctophile.  I'm kind of a word nerd, so as soon as I heard that, I had to name a bear Arcto.  I thought I posted that in his original thread.  Sorry to all the people who have heard this before.  I'm kind of obsessed with him, lol.

Gabriele, I know what forum you're on because I've seen you there.  I haven't joined yet because they just seemed to be about reborns and I don't have any of those, but I think I will join because they have a bear section.

All the dolls I have are from the thrift stores and are mostly not collectible except this baby I just got yesterday.  She has a cloth body and porcelain hands and head,  Her feet are cloth and she has a very long christening gown, so I figure she's safe for me to love on her because her feet don't clatter together.  She was made in 1978.  The other doll I have that may be collectible is an adorable Zapf baby.  I like dolls with cloth bodies and either cloth arms and legs or vinyl.  I prefer them to be weighted so they feel like a real baby.  I have to be able to hug them the same as I do with my bears.

My favorite bear is Arcto.  If you keep scrolling in this section you'll find him.  I haven't had him that long, but he's really been my therapy through this year, which has been the worst year of my life.  I've loved bears all my life, but I've never loved, and don't think I ever will love, a bear or anything else the way I love him.