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I love Monk. It is one of the best shows. Also love 24, the Unit and Boston Legal.....
so cute!
Very cute for your first try. On my first mini, you could see every stitch.....Yours is cute as a button.
Michelle
Brownen: Your daughter is lucky to have a mother who advocates for her. Nice job.
I guess when I think about it (kind of like the lyrics Kim posted on the Harry Capin song) that teachers like the one you encountered have braces on the brain. That destroys creativity. And the sad thing is, they will never know it. They will never be nothing but mediocer at best in their career. They don't have an original thought in their head...Thank goodness are teaching your daughter to see there are wonderful things that can be done by the young, old, big and small....Take the braces off the brain and it is clear...Keep encouraging her for she will be the artist and not the artisan.
Michelle
Patsy wrote: That is unspeakable - I don't understand parents involving the children, when the parent's aren't getting along or when one parent wants to "punish" another parent.
Patsy: your son needs to take the high road. Perhaps he can make a deal with his ex-wife that whatever the differences are, they should never speak badly about each other to (or in front of) the children. their mental health is the priority here....If they can both do this, the kids will grow up with good mental health (less stress and anxiety). They need to know they DO NOT need to mediate between the parents. It also sets as a role model for their own adult life.
Though the ex-wife sounds like she is a bitter, mean-spirited person, maybe she can love her children more than her own hate and get along with your son for their sake.
Best of luck. I hope it all works out
Michelle
So tragic....It is so hard to vision what it is like to survive natural disasters like this...
Michelle
Welcome Lisa: you are in the right place to learn about bear!!! I think the books the others suggested are wonderful and will help you.
I took never sewed a stitch in my life before making bears. I too bought a sewing machine so I could learn. I agree with Tammy when it comes to making your first few bears. Start with synthetic or mohain to get the feel of sewing and bear construction. You may want to look at a local fabric store like Joanne Fabrics to see if somebody gives classes for making stuffed animals. This will give you some practice and lessons on pattern pieces and a sewing machine.
Post your questions. We will help you.
Michelle
Tynna: Sculpting can be loads of fun and add personality to you bear. It really depends on what you want to accomplish and how you want your bear to look like. Taking tiny stitches in the areas you want to shape is one way. For instance to sink in your eye, going back and forth in the eye sockets will sink in the eyes and give finished, sunken-in look.
Tiny stitches up and down the nose give a pinched in look or makes the nose narrower. You go back and forth with tiny stitches, crisscrossing back and forth moving up the nose.
Scissor sculpting the face give personality.
Perhaps if you can tell us Tynna what you look you want and we can help you figure out how to do it.
Also I understand Nancy Tillberg holds a lot of classes on line and sculpting faces is one of them. Her book "101 Bears to Make" is a good book to get that explains sculpting and all kinds of techniques in bear making. I highly recommend it. Below is the link to clases Nancy has on line. Take a look. There is one for sculpting.
http://www.kranbearys.com/EbearZ/faq.htm
Hope this points you in the right direction and if there is a special look you want, just ask. There is always somebody who knows what to do....
Bear Hugs
Michelle
Well everybody is getting snow except we Minnesotans! The poor weathe-rperson is trying to explain to a "snow hungry" audience about "clippers and missing us...." and so forth...Now we are suppose to be buried in snow by now and all I have is brown grass! Brown I tell you....really brown....So I have to settle on all you good folks to post lovely snow pictures so I can pine away at what should be outside my door....Very nice pictures everybody.
Oh Deb: I love your cardinals....
Michelle
Well---I'm an owl like Chrissi! And Chrissi, I too am a "Night Owl". I don't go to bed until 2-3:00 am. I work after-hours and love it.
That was fun....
Michelle
Jodi: usually don't leave work until about 10:00pm-midnight. While driving home, I get the best drive ever. For I seem to live in an area where not only do people up up their lights early, but everybody puts up lights! So I get a lovely drive home in the middle of the nigh. Just beautiful.
Michelle
Tami: My all time favorite cookbooks are written by Paula Deen of the TV Food Network. I recommend all her cookbooks. I found this fruit punch recipe on the TV Food Network by her. It is also in her cookbook Paula Deen and Friends. I suppose you could substitute the orange concentrate for more lemonade concentrate but it did get a five star rating review from those who made it. I think it will be as clear of punch as you can get yet not sparing taste. Let me know how you like it.
Michelle
Oh Jodi and Sandra: I understand completely how you feel. It took me at least two month to figure out how to post pictures. I had to take a class in photoshop to know what to do about resizing pictures....Oh the list goes on and on...I am traumatized at this point....I much rather go back and take another statistics class than to figure this stuff out.
Michelle
I love this picture....very cute
Lisa wrote: Wow! That's fabulous Jodi. It sure wouldn't stay like that at our house (my girls would have grabbed all of those "babies" and ran)! Plus, I banished the coffee table to the basement when the girls were learning to walk!
Lisa: I have something simular to you but in stead of children, I have three sneaky cats...Right now I have rescued a mini minky three times from a little kitty mouth this weekend....
Jodi: I love your bear arrangement. Beautiful bears...
Michelle
Sarajane: Well it takes me at least a month if not more to make a bear. Teddy bear making is a hobby for me and I don't sell my bears. I sew on the weekends only (if I feel like it) for my job has me working long hours. So the weekends are my only down time to work all my hobbies.
Michelle
Tami wrote:Hi Michelle, that is a cute tree and I love your cute babies under it
Thank you Tami for compliment of my tree...
Michelle
Well that was such a great poem...Very sweet.
Chloe: I love your trees, especially the one in the planter. So cute with all those lovely bears!
