Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Ooh, collections!!! Just love seeing and hearing what others collect! I have been a collector my whole life, and sure wouldn't stand a chance at being a minimalist!!
I collect:
antique dolls
barbie and other fashion dolls
modern dolls
antique and vintage bears
artist bears
manufactured bears
stuffed dogs
stuffed cats
doll and bear furniture and accessories including carriages and old trunks
dolls clothing
baby christening gowns
And I still have my collection of beanie babies and MacDonald's beanies that I chased all over town to get and now I have to keep them as you can't even give them away any more! lol!
My husband collects Inuit carvings, mechanical toys, and Steiff cows (along with some other uninteresting stuff like stamps and coins, etc!)
I just finished getting my doll display room organized before Christmas and finally was able to unpack some of my collection since we moved here 4 years ago. Now I need to get a couple more wall cabinets to hold the rest so it's still not quite done! I'll post a few photos but it is hard to see it clearly.
Can you tell that you struck a cord here! I am passionate about my collections!
Bear hugs, Edie

I'm the Hornbeam tree - is there really such a thing??? I've never heard of it!

Interesting -  some seems right! Not sure what the "dreams of unusal lovers" part might mean???? I'll have to try a little harder to remember some of those dreams when I wake up!!!

Bear hugs, Edie

Melissa, here is a photo of little daffodils in our flower garden by the side of the house. I think spring might actually be here! (although I won't rule out one or two more snow storms yet as this only the end of April and in this part of the country we often get snow into the beginning of June!) I think this just might be an early spring year - at least I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

P.S. You are  a sweetheart to offer to look for my NZ crackers for me but I can't for the life of me remember what they were called - other than they looked kind of greenish and had seaweed in them! - I'm just going to have to make another trip there one of these years! Every time the beginning of winter rolls around here I get an email from my daughter asking when we are going to NZ again! It was definitely one of my most memorable holidays! Now that is REALLY a "happy thought"!

Brenda is the best - after all she is the one who told me about Teddy Talk! She also makes the most darling bunnies that look so much like antique bunnies, and she does the neatest accessories to go with all her bears!
Bear hugs, Edie

I agree that would be handy to see the negative comments easily but I think ebay does it this way so that if there are a few negatives over a long period of time they are taken in perspective rather than seeing a list of a dozen or so all together that might scare people off even it they have been over a period of a number of years.

As far as I know, Brenda, whatever ebay site you are on you can search for items available from only that country or available to that country from worldwide.

I'd kind of forgotten the whole theme of this thread *grin* so maybe I better put my own pet peeve about ebay! That is people who rip you off on postage! I mean I don't mind paying a dollar or two extra for handling or whatever and realize it is a lot easier to just give a set rate if you sell a lot of similar items (which is what I do) but when I have to pay $15 or $20 for a small item and it comes with a postage on it of $2.50 I don't think that is being fair! Also I don't like PayPal's buyer protection as it means that a lot of dealers will not ship by letterpost to Canada (which is So cheap!) as that does not have tracking and then they can be ripped off by unscrupulous buyers. Sometimes that means that you have to pay as much for shipping as you did for the item if is an inexpensive item and the seller has had problems and will only ship with tracking which is so much more expensive. I think the buyer protection should only be on items over $100 or over $200 or something like that and then it is up to the buyer if they want to have insurance or tracking on their item. As I buyer I wouldn't worry about buyer protection anyway unless I was buying a really expensive item.
Bear hugs, Edie

Shelli,
Maybe I didn't explain very well! Things posted on ebay.com are only available worldwide if the lister is willing to ship worldwide! If you list something and say that you will only ship to the US then it will only show up on ebay.com not on ebay.ca or any other ebay site. The reason I only look under ebay.ca when I am buying is that all goods world wide that are listed on any ebay site where the sellers are wiling to ship to Canada will show up there. I learned this the hard way by bidding on something on ebay.com and then finding out that the seller didn't ship to Canada. If I only look on ebay.ca then I will not find something that I love that the seller will not sell to me! There are  quite a number of sellers in the US who only want to deal with their own country (because of the customs and shipping hassle some have told me!) and I am sure this is true of every country. (I think Canada is still part of the world - but sometimes I wonder! *grin*)

And Heather, actually you won't see everything exactly the same on ebay.ca as Shelli does on ebay.com as the items listed for sale only in Canada will not show up on ebay.com and items listed on ebay.com (or any other ebay site) will only show up on ebay.ca if the seller has indicated that they will ship to Canada.
Hope this unconfuses both of you *grin*
Bear hugs, Edie
P.S. Heather, would I have ever met you at Bear Fair in Calgary, or were you into bears back then???

That's great, Sue Ann - sure gave me a chuckle!
Bear hugs, Edie

If you put your listing to sell worldwide then it will show up on all the other ebay sites or if you specify certain countries then it will show up only on those ebay sites.  i.e. if you post on ebay.com and say you will only ship to the US then it will not show up on any other ebay sites. So if I am looking for something to buy (I live in Canada) when I am shopping I only look at ebay.ca and then I am not shown things that I cannot get *grin*.
Hope this helps, Shelli
Bear hugs, Edie

Well, I have been thinking of what to post here and have come up with a little story and a photo.
Many, many, years ago (back when I was as young as a lot of the people on here! LOL!) I had someone phoning me and saying nasty things that really upset me and I would phone my husband at work to cry on his shoulder. A few days later he came home from work with this little Merrythought duck that he had bought for me at an antique show in one of the malls on his lunch hour. I was puzzled as to why he had bought a duck (since I collect almost everything else but!). He explained the duck was to sit by my phone (computer monitor now - I told you this was ages ago!), and if any one said anything to upset me, he was to remind me to just "duck"! That really made me laugh but I have found it to be good advice! This little duck still makes me smile and, in the intervening years, life has taught me that there are only a few things worth really getting upset about and my need for the duck has diminished as I have learned to let so many "little things" just be water off a duck's back! Here's to friends who show us what is important in life! Thanks, Daphne!
Bear hugs, Edie

Jenny, I would wonder if perhaps the magazine printed the letter for the same reason you started this post " to provoke discussion"!! (and encourage people to still advertise in their magazines rather than relying only on the internet??)

For sure they should not have printed your company name but left it anonymous but I really don't see it as negative publicity for you. As a collector, reading that would make me think that I better hurry up and get one of your bears before they are even harder to get or afford! LOL! I agree with Shelli that the lady sounds like she feels she is being left behind by modern technology and feeling a bit sorry for herself - I would think she did not mean it to be anything disrespectful to you - but of course I do not know this lady.

I think we have to be really careful about "reading into" things that are written in magazines (you wouldn't beleive the editing that goes on sometimes from what was originally said!) and also on sites like this - it is so easy to misinterpret something that is said when we only have the words to read and cannot see the body language and hear the tone of voice and expressions that go with the words - that is why people are always putting in little things like "lol" and "tee hee" and smiley faces to try to get some of that expression across.

In responding to the item I would advise putting a postive spin on it rather than being too defensive - as Shelli, and others, said you haven't done anything wrong to need to defend yourself. Point out the errors in the statement but try to keep everything else positive. (unasked for advice, I know!)

There, I've said my two cents worth! (and keep in mind that I am a peacemaker according to Shelli's little birth number diversion!) tee hee!
Bear hugs, Edie

Shelli, just wanted to tell you that I had not read your message when I posted mine (guess we were posting about the same time!) so please don't think that I was referring to anything you said! That was an awful experience for you and with someone like that you just have to ignore it and realize that it is nothing you have done and just the type of person they are or something they are going through that caused them to behave that way. I have a saying that I try to live by - only two things that people say can hurt me:
1. Something that I know to be true but haven't wanted to admit about myself.
2. Something that I really don't feel is true but is said by someone whose opinion  I value and trust.
This person who emailed you was obviously neither.
Bear hugs, Edie

Interesting Judi! I got 46.

Edie

Being so new to Teddy Talk I don't have a story but just wanted to say how nice it is to have a place to "visit" when I get bored with sewing or just lonely (we live on an acreage out in the country and being a city girl my whole life it has been quite a change to adjust to!). I have met a few of the artists on here and "know" some others from the magazines and I am sure before long everyone will start to feel like friends since you all seem like such a loving, friendly, fun-loving bunch - just like teddy bears!
Bear hugs, Edie

I just finished my anime bear for the challenge so here is his photo. He is 4 1/2" tall made from vintage rayon long pile. I am thinking of calling him "Sam Ting" but
might come with up something else yet - haven't decided for sure. Will see if I can manage to post him to the Challenge Gallery next!
Bear hugs, Edie

Jenny, Your bears are fabulous!!! And your display looks so nice! I am surprised you didn't sell them all but 7 is good - congratulations! (Did you sell that wonderful Bunny - Chelsea?)
Bear hugs, Edie

Jennie,
Your entry for the Ace awards is fantastic and a great interpretation of the theme! Of course you deserved to win! Sometimes we are our own worst critics - which is what makes us continually strive to get better so maybe that is a good thing - but don't ever think that your work doesn't deserve the accolades!
Thanks, Nancy, for posting the photo so we could see it!
Bear hugs, Edie

This has been very interesting, Bobbie to see everyone's point of view on this and I think you are right that it is nice to put the personal touch in there sometimes - which is what is there at shows and missing on ebay! Emailing someone who has bid on your bears numerous times and not won would seem to me a very thoughtful way of expressing to them that you appreciate their interest in your work. I have myself bid on bears that I knew I was not going to be able to "buy" but could just not resist putting in a bid as a way of saying "Wow! Is that ever great - especially if it is something that for some reason is not getting bids or is sitting far lower than it should be. I feel my bid will show them that someone noticed and appreciated their efforts even if I can't really afford to totally go after it. I think the difference here, in whether someone will be flattered or annoyed, would all be in the wording of the email.
Bear hugs, Edie

Yes, he definitely looks much more like an adorable young bear cub than an anime ted! Anime almost have to be so ugly that they are cute! (and yours is just cute, cute, cute, Sue Ann!) You really have to get right out of the traditional bear making thinking when doing anime - that is what I like about it, you can be so free and just do whatever appeals to you!
Bear hugs, Edie

Oh that would have been too funny! Glad to hear that I am not the only one with big winds to contend with - I wouldn't dare take photos outside unless it was a totally calm day - we've had pieces fly off the house and never been able to find them!  I can't believe your little guy is only 2" tall - he looks like he is made of mohair - that is quite a feat to make a mohair bear that little and he is just so darling!
Bear hugs, Edie

Brenda, I have a piece written in my description asking people if they want to be on my notification list:
   "Feel free to email me with any questions, or comments, or to request your name added to my notification list."

This is just a statement not a "link" so I don't know if that makes a difference or not??? Never occurred to me that it might not be permitted, and I have seen others do it (probably where I got the idea!) Here is another one by a fellow Canadian:
    "If youd like to see more of my creations, I invite you to stop by for a visit by following the link on my Ebay ?ME? page or check out my other auctions. Or if youd like to be informed of new auctions or site changes just let me know and you can be added to my list"

Sure would hate to have an auction cancelled because of it so I think I will leave that part off - I don't think I have gotten many addtions from it anyway!

I know I sure would appreciate it if someone emailed me that I was doing something wrong instead of reporting me to ebay as there are so many rules it is easy to make a mistake inadvertantly!
Bear hugs, Edie

Oh she is just darling, Jenny! What a sweet and loveable face!
bear hugs, Edie

Hey, that's neat Shelli! I'm a 2:

I think I do fit this categorie as I am always trying to keep the peace and used to be extremely shy when I was younger and hated being alone! Like some of the others I see myself as more "the life of the party" now, but maybe it depends on the party!!!
Bear hugs, Edie
P.S. must be past my bedtime - I'm making so many mistakes on this - I hope this is the last edit!

Can't remember where I got it Matilda as it has been in my stash for so long! -but now I wish I had more of them! I am always picking up things that I think I could use to go with my bears but often takes a long time til get around to using them.

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone!
Bear hugs, Edie

I just finished this little bear for a friend who is very keen on trains and has his own model railroad set. The bear is called Webster and is about 4 1/2" tall. I just happened to have the tiny train set in my stash of odds and ends (that I might find a use for someday!) and it is the perfect size for him. Making the bear was much easier than making the little engineers hat in such a tiny size but I think it turned out okay.

Just wanted to say that I am very impressed by all the cards everyone has been making! Wasn't sure what it was all about - never heard of an ACT or an ACEO before! - until I read this whole thread but now I am very keen to have a go at it myself - just need a few more hours in the day!! I have tons of ideas floating around in my head and picked up a few items I might use last time I was in the city, at Michaels, since I live so far from such conveniences, but can't see getting to it anytime soon. Why do we have to eat and live in clean (well maybe semi-clean) houses!
Bear hugs, Edie