Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Great photos Shelli...It looks like you are sewing a 1/4" seam ? it looks cumbersome to me but gotta try it.
NOT basting sure would save a lot of time...Winney

Me too...and I am trying to get my stuff posted at Picture Trail too. Kim says it is easy..probably is, but not for me . I need some help !!! I called my son..hes a whiz at it...Winney

Thank's so much to Shelli for the answers to my questions! Makes sense to me...thank's Shelli.

Yes, my head is spinning too...I like the idea of protecting the card after it is done...I  mean it needs to stay clean  for trading and all the better if you can see thru the envelope..
Tammy, my sis inlaw that sells scrapping supplies said they carry the archival plastic ..which surprised me.
I thought plastic would be anything but archival.I dont know if you have to make your own envelope from the plastic or what....probably do....

I remember now...some time ago I was looking to buy some new  photo albums. I bought some at Walmart.. they are archival. This was confusing to me as I read somewhere that plastic is the WORSE thing to store your photos in as it emitts some sort of gas that destroys the photo turning it weird colors eventually.

So...I think Id check into this plastic thing just to play it safe...Might ask some  ATC person what info. they have on this...Hmmm, I wonder if Michaels ( craft store) has the supplies.? Good grief ,you know they will jump onto that bandwagon.

Shelia...What a fabulous idea of printing your bear photos onto fabric ! Then embellish them....Winney

That is just wonderful Lynette...Their faces look so happy and the bears are beautiful ...Winney

Wow..this thing is really taking off...My mide is getting befuddled already..
Question  1) ...If I don't do digitals ..can I print out a photo or color print of my own bears then embellish them?

Question  2)...If so..then I could choose to do  a Limited Edition of let's say 50 to 100 ?

Question 3)... I do paint in acrylics so I could paint some likeness of my bears ...like on small canvas type of
                    material ( called canvas paper) these would beone of a kind.

Questiom 4)...Shouldnt the ATC's be offered in nice envelopes to keep the presentation clean ?
                     I checked with my sis in law that sells scrapbooking supplies and she said she went to a
                     a siminar her Co. gave, the ACT's are hot for sure and they do carry archival plastic to make envelopes
                     for to ATC's.
Question 5)     Can we have some space in the Index for all this ATC stuff ...I can tell we are going to need it...it
                     would be nice to keep a list of Questions and Answers  too so we all could learn about the ATC's.

                     Giving Nancy credit is great and seems really fair but....the ATC has been going on for a number of
                      years already....we are just late...LOL... I am just wondering with the craze being so new to us ...
                      other teddy bear wesb sites are going to jump in here real soon... so why not Intercal too? Winney

Yeahhhhh !!!! So glad it worked...sometimes these little things can really make or break your bear.I just never found it on any board...but I was sure everyone MUST be having problems with this...like Egyptian Virus legs ????...that's where after finishing your bear the legs and feet point in the same direction....yikes ! That has already been posted so do a search..if you cant find it then post and ask me....

there are other quirky little things that are problem too so hey...everyone tell us what drives you nuts ? Maybe we can figure out how to get around it........... Winney

OOPs...spoke too soon..I took a look at your post link above and there he is, claws and all! Supercalafragilisticexpidaliousoustupendous bear ! He is just a real charmer....what a wonderful  bear Judi you have made !

Oh I do remember one good tip that the artist gave me that adds to the realisim of the claws...
that is she did not paint them but instead ...for a polar bear...she used half off white or Ivory and half transparant Fimo for the basic claw color then worked in just a itty bitty brown  that ended up looking like streaks thru out the claw....If you want the claws to look yellowed just add a tad of that.Experiment !

So dont work the brown too much  as you don't want it to blend....These claws looked very natural. the transparant helps it to look like real nail material ...and the streaks make them look a little dirty like he'd been pulling over stumps or looking for grubs.When done you can apply some acrylic brown paint inside the back curve of the claw...dirt!
                                                                                             What fun we have here ...Winney

This is great Judi...do you happen to have a close up photo ? I did see in one ted magazine a photo of a nice realistic bear with claws and they actually appear to growing out of the top part of his paw...probably just above the seam...looked just so nice and natural...

I attended a show in Lincoln City along the Oregon coast and one bear artist who is well known for her  Polar bears...her name eludes me right now....she picked up one of her bears and showed me how her claws when pressed on...actually  were flexiable and popped up a little... much the same as a cats claws does...really amazed me.

I have made some claws but have not used them yet...thanks for sharing here with us.....Winney

I don't have a problem with bulk..the body top is not gathered.
I clip away all pile from the neck edge for about 1/2" on larger bears...this removes a lot of bulk plus I can see better what I am doing.
Then I double thread with waxed linen  thread...and just gather all around  1/4" from the edge...pull tight.... then I go back and forth with stitches directly across from one another until I think everything is caught and pretty well lays FLAT..... then knot several times and bury the thread.....Winney

I had some very aggrivating problems last month when I made 2 little fleece doggie coats with plastic table cloth material on the outside...a raincoat! They turned out so cute but believe me.... I sure struggled a lot with them...and I use to make wedding gowns .... Ha!

So what I learned is...get a teflon foot ! It will save you an enourmous amount of time!

I did not buy one but what I did do that helped was to zig zag the very edges first.... even if it looks sloppy...dosn't matter...it will hold the edges together so then you CAN later stitch it without it " walking " all over the place.
You can also use a strip of tissue paper...like that thin gift paper you ca almost see thru..... Winney

This is great..what a celebration !!! YES ,congradulations to all you you wonderful artists !!!...Winney

No Daphne...yours is perfect..Lots of us are wordy....especially me,  I have a hard time seperating the details form the facts...hmmm, is that because I live in a fantasy world? errrrr...nope, not always....I live in a fabtasy world when I want to...he,he...

I think I am just a " detail" person ...they say creative people are " lateral" thinkers , they take alot of side roads in their thought process...which is great because we never settle right away on just one solution , we instead say
" what if" ...other people like bookeepers ,are point A to point B  people...they get right to the point.....my brother is like that....I think I drive him nuts sometimes...then ,many of us are a mix of both types...See...here I am analyzing stuff again...

Oh Ellen that idea about writing a bio like  another person  is writing about me is the best ! It would even be better if they would just write it..LOL....now, who can I get to do that? I did get it written but don't like it...I need to say more about my bearsa and less about me...will work on that again today.... Winney

Wow...yes, congradulations ! Hes a real winner Id say....Winney

Wow ...I just realized Daphne your About me is PERFECT !!! IT is really full of life..so Id say leave it alone!!! I

NOw,..I need to get to wrk on my page...struggle, struggle, struggle...... Winney

LOl....LOl....LOL   TOO LATE!!!!! .I already looked at it,,he, he.. Actually your About me page is fine...If I can help here.....the only thing I could say that could be  changed is the selection of some of the words...I think I would just simplify some of the Long words...like you suggested...down to earth ? Hope you don't get offended...you said you hated it...hmmm, I really struggle with the written word and sometimes put in too much...maybe that is what you feel you did ? ....OK..Now. I will go and try to find that link...oh wait, its right here on paper...DUH...here it is....

How to Write a Great Bio   http://www.utut.essortment.com/howwritebio_rfin.htm

Resumes are on this site too.... and other stuff...donch just love the word " stuff"......Winney

I just knew youd all give me some good advice...I will go take a look at your web site..
Daphne ...maybe we all should go see yours...lol  we can help each other..??? Good idea to include those things that are relative  about your bears...and to tell a little about yourself to make the human connection...

I did go find some bear artist bios on the net and tried to choose someone who seemed a lot like me or covered the task well enough....then I used theirs as an example only to write mine from...thats a hard way to go...and lo and behold I did find a place that gave some tips on writing a bio..now..that helped me better to see just how much to include and what.

I do think this is something many of could use some help with, especially the  beginners....there are a lot of artist/teachers  here that could probably come up with a simple guideline? DO THE TALENTED PEOPLE HEAR ME ?...YOHOO !!!  ..... .DON'T YALL  THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO PUT INTO THE TUTORIALS ?
ok ...thanks for all the tips everyone...love this bunch !..... Winney

HELPPPP !!! Well. I did start it last night ..... all I need to do is finish it.
Anyone have any guidlines? This is for my web site...so it won't be too long ..like you can say more for a magazine or perhaps a press release.... Winney

Oh Kirsten...Having a baby !!! Congratulations!!!! I do remember when I had my 3, your time is all used up ....at first........ So if you have to put things away for now..it wont be long and you will be back at it again soon...time passes by quickly.
I cant tell you how many times I have had to do this not only for the babies  but for just about every other crisis in life...which was many times ..... too many but...the wee bears were still created here and there... as they have such happy faces and are constant reminders of why the simple things in life are so important....something such as a teddy bear often made me feel more stable in the face of complex problems...

This past year I have experienced  a consistence illness that has  taken me away from making my bears a lot ...COPD...where I cant breath right so must sit under oxygen..then I got an idea...

I bought myself a small sewing basket with a tab closure and decided I would always keep at least one small bear to sew in there ..so anytime I have to " just sit" I have that one small bear I can make.... everything is in one place so I don't have to run all over looking for stuff. Another kind of bear I have been working with is small chrochet bears...and I think I could very easily add needlefelted bear faces, etc. So.... all I did was change the SIZE of my bears....One nice thing is I can pick up or put down the work anytime at a moments notice... so maybe you can do the same thing.... at least for awhile until baby is grown enough and is taking naps.

Hey...another idea just popped into my head and that is...those ATC"s Trading Cards everyone is talking about. If you have done scrapbooking then this may be the perfect bear thing for you too...???
Well  ..just another idea for you to bump around with..... One thing I  do know for sure is...don't stop learning or making those drawings of bears in you head...

Please don't stay away...come visit all the time and do post photos of your darling baby............. Winney

Ohhhh, I get it Nancy....good directions. I use to make felt and velveteen mice years ago..stil have my patterns...

I use to draw the tail like the shape you explained onto the fabric but...don't cut it out. Go ahead and stitch right on the line. then cut out 1/16th away for the stitch, fray check  and turn.

One thing you have to remember to do at the start is...to allow for the turning so that triangle shape plus some.for turning  would be in order here....after turning you can insert a wire or chinell stem...Just try some samples and you will find out how this works.

Later on I made ultrasuede tails  and would stitch on the line but NOt turn anything...just slip the wire inside after cutting out....
I like your method and will give that a try  next time.... Winney

OH MY GOSHHHHH !!Shelli...we use to trad playing cards when I was in Jr. high..girls would bring stacks of them to school and we'd site around lunch time and trade.The girls would have certain collections like horses. flowers etc...

Several years ago I saw a doll magazine that started to do this in sets ( I have a few) . I thought GREAT !....we could do this for teddy bears ( another one of my ideas that did not go anywhere, anyone else ?) ...But the doll magazine was selling them in sets...that put me off.

I absolutely love the idea of artist bear trading cards. made by artists , of THEIR bears would be soooo wonderful!
However...if this gets started ( and  it has ) I dont think for the public it will stay that way for long ...however, we artists can do whatever WE want in trading, let the public do what they will, we cant stop  them.

Hmmm, would that include photos of artists bears ? That would be nice from artists who don't draw or do digital art, etc...Id love to see a short About Me on the back ...then something about that particular bear. I wonder about copy rights??? liie...Hey I have one of Potbellys cards..would if I digitally copied it to trade ?( Mean thing to do ) Seeeeee.
OK..theres so much to cover here .....let the games begin !!!...Winney

Interesting topic...... I use ultrasuede or wool felt.I love the wool felt as it " gives" around the curves nicely.

Depending on the bear,,,I also like to use cotton velveteen , it can be dyed too...then sometimes I use real velvet
( lined ) and I do use the silky  fur coat lining if its nice,,, always lined the fabric types of materials...
Recently I found some very interesting textured upholstry fabric at a shop here...Ill be on the outlook for more of this..its weight is perfect for pads...Winney

He turned out just great..and the center seam adds to is character...cutie !!1  ....Winney

Oh Boo Hoo...I missed it !..Winney

So sorry to hear that Deb and Kassity ...my prayers go out to the familes...I just can't  seem to comprehend why our young kids get cancer and especially these kinds of cancers.....and why at all ? Cancer use to be a disease for the aged.
So many millions  and millions of dollars have already gone into research...you'd think they would have found a cure by now.I just wish this rotton disease would go away...I have lost many family members  from it too....Winney

Yes...its FREE and so is the other one whatever its called...do a search on Google....Winney