Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thank goodness the little guy was not injured and safe and sound back in the forest. Thanks for sharing.

Well Here is what I would do....I would have a sofa bed in the living room and make sure before they come to let them know that the living room will be their new "bedroom". Say, I " have a business to run and need unlimited access to my sewing room". Say how much you would love to have them (be very genuine and enthusiastic about it) Say you and your family will be sure to be very quiet in the morning if they should want to sleep in (of course I would be as noisy as I want if they should decide to sleep on the sofa). I would make sure to stay up very late in the evening watching TV in their "new bedroom". Any hint from them saying they are tired and want to retire would be met with "just after this movie is over we'll let you get your beauty rest". Doing those things with the up-most sincerity and hospitality will make their "visit" short and sweet if not at all.  That is what I would do.

Some tips:
-When buying the sofa bed, I'd make sure it is very uncomfortable (tell your husband you'll take care of buying the sofa. No need in having and argument with him over the comfort level for his parents). Make sure the mattress is good and thin. True Story: Mike's relatives stayed with us  and I made sure they had a horrible bed to sleep on. That was the one and only time they stayed with us. Every time they came to town they stayed with the other brother. It was a Win-Win for everybody!

-If you love your existing sofa and do not want to replace it with a sofa bed, I highly recommend the blow up bed/mattress. Target, Walmart has them. I would make sure it is plenty wide for two but not to wide too be too comfortable. In this same vain, I would conveniently hide the power pump and rightly hand over the manual pump to them at bed time. Bid a fond "goodnight", leaving them to prepare they bed for the evening. (Now if it were my Micheal's relatives, I would hide both manual and power pumps. I would suggest to his brother that he has a lot of hot air to blow and he should get started on blowing up his mattress. Seriously, I would tell him that.
-You could rent a fold up bed. Those war very uncomfortable with thin mattresses. That is a nice option for you fold them up and shove it in a corner during the day.

Hope this helps.

Dear Lisa: I think part of it is self confidence. Fear can paralyze you. If you always do what you've always done, than you will never be what you can be. So think of it this way, when you are 90 years old, do you want to look back on your life and say "I wish I tried ...." and feel regret.

Good luck Lisa.

Love it!!  :crackup:  :crackup:

:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  That sounds like a great idea to learn first aid for hour fury friends.

Hello Teddy Bear Friends. My father sent me this and I thought I would share it with you:

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about

eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school.   

He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings

created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and

how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.

The world will expect you to accomplish something

BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.

You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.

Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping:

They called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault,

so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring

as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,

cleaning your clothes and listening to you

talk about how cool you thought you were.   

So before you save the rain forest

from the parasites of your parent's generation,

try delousing the closet in your own room..

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers,

but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades

and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.

*This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters.

You don't get summers off and very few employers

are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.

*Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life.

In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds.

Chances are you'll end up working for one..

You could see if you could sell on consignment at some of the local quilting or fabric shops. But they would get a commission of course. So figure on a price you want and tell the shop to add on what they would want for selling it for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed look at all the green bears. All you have such tremendous imaginations!!!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Oh I am still practicing, even after 15 years of bear making!! I should say, though I do this as a hobby and sew only a handful of bears a year. I always look for new techniques though which I think helps me find what works for me.

She is a darling bear Jodie!! 

I think Karen is on to something. When I was beginning to make bears I thought I stuffed firmly but found out I wasn't. I learned to really pack in the fiberfill and the bear really look different. If you can squeeze the tummy and there is give, you did not put enough fiberfill in the bear. That may the the reason.

Oh my what an upsetting scene that must have been. Poor little thing must have been terrified. My kitty got into the garbage and the plastic bag had a handle. Luckily I was home to hear the awful commotion of him running around the front room with this plastic bag around his neck and garbage spilling out everywhere as he ran. Poor little thing. Another incident was when we put a flea collar on one of our kitties and I came home with her jaw caught in it! Her mouth was so red. She must have been licking around her neck and her mouth got caught. I cut it off and refused all flea collars for my animals since.

Yes, so many lessons to learn.....

Well that is simply darling! I love the nose.

What a sweetie pie! Congratulations on finishing your first bear. There are so many books out there you can read on bear making from minitures to big bears. Go to amazon.com and search for Nancy Tilberg, Ted Menten, Jennifer Lang. Also you can take near making classes on line. Ebearz University has all kinds of classes for the beginner or experienced. Here is the website:
http://www.kranbearys.com/Ebearz/index.htm

Wow how sad but a wonderful textile document of history.

:crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Goldie is darling!    Your first bear turned out great. I struggle with ears too. Many of the bear making books give directions on this so I'd try out all the techniques until you find one that works for you. I just completed a Ted Menten bear class online with ezbear university. Ted gave fabulous directions on sewing the ears into the seams of the head. They came out perfect. If you are interested in looking at the bear it is called Toots-Bear with an attitude. Here is the link:

http://www.kranbearys.com/Ebearz/index.htm

click on "faculty of bears". Next click on the picture that says Toots. If you take the class (it's very reasonable) you will learn so many new techniques in bear making including the ears.

Though I am not a professional bear artist, I have been making bears and other critters for 15 years. It was rather a fluke on how I began my making bears. In 1995 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy. I was 35 years old. When I was still in the hospital, a nurse walked in with a teddy bear and said “everybody always focus on children when they get cancer. Nobody ever thinks that an adult is suffering too. This bear is made by a group of people who do not want you or any adult to be forgotten†. She called it the Sojourn Bear.

When I was feeling better, I contacted the person who organized this mass teddy bear making initiative. I told her I don’t sew but offered to help in another ways? Well I went to their meetings and met a women (surviving cancer too) who taught me how to make bears. From there I never looked back....

That is just a darling bear you created!!     

You know, teaching may be a source of income for you. Go to your local community center and see if you can teach classes. In my community, they have all kinds of classes for a reasonable price (painting, drawing, and sculpting. I believe there is a beginners knitting class..). So consider giving knitting and crocheting classes. You could even go to a local quilting shop, craft stores like Michaels or Joanne’s and make arrangements to give classes. I don't know what the percentage could be but offer 30-40% of the proceeds?

Just some thoughts....

congratulations everybody :clap:  :clap:

What a darling bear! 

    . Your furry baby is so cute with the hat on.

Awww how sweet. My grandma had a Boston Terrier named Lucky. She loved that little dog with all her heart as I know you will too.