Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thanks for your help everyone :)

I will check with the man who's going to hep me sort everything out: hopefully he'll be able to tell me what I need to know... I'm glad to hear it's not a definite 'no' though!

I'll be at the University of Evansville   It's teeny but class sizes are equally teeny so I can't wait... I'm currently a zoologist but I think I might do a year of random modules so I can have some non-biological knowledge too!

I was wondering about the tax rules? As officially I'm not allowed to 'work' without a work permit and I'll be on a student permit so... this is why I'm concerned I don't want to be thrown out for sewing!  :crackup:

Thanks Maria :D:D  Lol, I have no time to celebrate: another hour and I'm off to Belly Dancing XD  Ah well, it's still not properly sunk in but I'd like to sort out sewing as I'll need to earn money to pay for books and leisure and so on... Even if I can't sell I guess I could still work for competitions?  Argh, I'm so shocked...

Ok, sorry if this seems a bit disjointed, but I've just had some fantastic news: I'm the successful applicant for a local Scholarship to study in Indiana for a year!! Ahhh!!

I'm shell shocked but I wanted to ask about the rules for sewing, as I know I'll not be able to sell in America... but can I sew in America, bring them home, then sell for the UK?  I still need to earn money for books and things, so any help is greatly appreciated.

Ahhh!!!

Yey Fairy Tulip!  I'm so glad to see him again! He looks like he's Little Verdi's sloth here

Don't worry, I think the Christmas period was a bad time for the challenge in general: including me!  I'd love to see what you can come up with though?

Jenny, he looks so soft!  I'm glad to see him!

Hey :)

I started by doing a charity auction so I could gage what people were willing to pay for my sloths: maybe you could try that?  Unfortunately the auction I entered was through Bid4bears which is closing down... Ebay let you sell for charities though, if your mum would be happy to list for you?

Misty was the name of my first dog, Paula: I'm glad to see you doing the name justice

We use Frontline spray on our outside cats and it kills off everything, so if you do ever have an outbreak that stuff comes highly recommended... plus it's much more amusing to watch them have hissy fits every time they see the bottle   

Wow Krista, he's amazing!  I love his 'gangly-ness' XD

Hi Jaclyn, how's life treating you?  Are you ready for/going to Hugglets this month?

Well, as today is he last official day I thiuoght I'd show you all what I've managed to do: very WIP I'm afraid!

I'm hoping to carry on with her, but I had an issue with the body... I think I may have accidentally made the head from a bigger version of the pattern, so it's a bit out of proportion: I've not jointed her in this photo, just stuck her cotter pins in and stuffed a bit around them..  Still got ears and tail to do as well as sleeves and finishing the nose.  I chickened out on a lot of the brigh colours in Popples too: what a wimp!

I'll update more when she's done Sorry for my uselessness in the face of Uni work...

That's ok Carolynn I can hardly scold you: i had so much planned for this and then I remembered I was a finalist... and then my LECTURERS remembered i was a finalist 

I finished sewing my bear last night, and I'm hoping to have him jointed together tonight and ready tomorrow   Just in time

Thanks a lot Paula, I've applied Hope sloths qualify!

Hi Everyone, just wanted to remind you all of the upcoming deadline for entries   I'm slowly working on mine, but leaving half my tools AND the original Popples I'm working from at home is not helping!  Is anyone else close to finishing?

Brilliant I'm glad I saw this I was just putting in my payment details for the competition! Now I have time to work on a bear entry too

Me too   I get back to my sewing machine on January the 7th, then there's a few weeks before I'm back in my hectic degree schedule- I plan on using them wisely!

Thanks Jane!

Thanks everyone You have calmed me   I did send photos first, and he was accepted and paid for, but when he got there the collector didn't feel he was 'right'. I wanted to make her (and everyone else I sell to, obviously!) happy, so I said I'd swap him for another one when she found one she liked- and that was my very next sloth :P

I will take some snazzy new photos in January and offer him again. Maybe we'll be lucky!

(And thanks Melanie- I'm amazed you remember Liebe- he was my first big sloth for sale! I have a red one planned this year )

I only worry because his information is on my website, and has been for some time XD So I guess people will know, unless I remove him from my gallery an that seems a bit dishonest or sneaky to me...

Lol, thanks! XD  Looks like it's not a problem that I have to change with his face then, just his dis-similarity to Original Poke? I'm glad

Thanks everyone   I'm glad to hear that Poky will not be an ostracised Leper XD I only wish I'd sold him earlier to catch the Christmas gift people... I'll probably put him up in January, unless I decide to reinvent him...

Ok, so you may remember back in August I received my first custom order for a sloth, one to look like my first ever sloth Poke.  Poky was the result, so I sent him off to his new home in the States to a lady who now has three Luglys

Unfortunately when he got there she thought he wasn't close enough to the original, so I agreed to swap him for a different sloth Cosmos- I was happier doing this than messing around with Poky's face again.  Now I have Poky here with me, but I am worried people will think there is something wrong with him (there isn't- I was actually very happy with him ) because he was rejected, so I have not sold him on yet... I'm curious to know people's opinion...

Would you be put off by an old custom bear/critter?  Do you think it's better to reinvent the animal in question?

I watched the 'My Fake Baby' programme a while ago, too... I'm amazed at the techniques that these artists use, and I believe that it is a craft to rival our own in its own right, but like so many of you have said it only take a few 'bad apples' to spoil it for everyone else   I remember feeling really sorry for the lady who brought up her grandson and got the doll to 'replace' him... but the woman buying designer clothing for the dolls? The one telling her husband off for calling them dolls? Too far for me   Ditto for the premature babies- what's next?  Genetic disease baby?  Forceps baby?  We don't make 'rabid bears', after all!

I think all too often the people pushing the dolls around in prams, pretending to have real babies in there, are looking to draw attention to themselves... like bears, I personally think it should be about pure appreciation of the craft and the individual plush you have in front of you...  I find them admirable in terms of the craftsmanship, but I feel about as fond of them as I do of real babies! XD