Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi I got the same message from "Eddy" this morning as well.  I would say it's the Teddy Talk site that's been hacked rather than individual accounts. However it did get me back. I've been busy with way too many other things

The loss of Alex Wilson this past Monday  leaves a huge hole in the Teddy Bear Community.  I have known and worked on shows with Janet and Alex for many years. He was a dear, sweet, caring man, always willing to lend a hand or give a bit of good advice.  My heart goes out to Janet and family.
Gail Griffiths
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bears
Canada

YES, Me Too!  I got the email saying there was a private massage for me on TT.
The only good thing to come out of this spam is that I got back on the site after a couple of months. I enjoyed all the great bears... You guys are so darn good...

I haven't been on the site much this summer as I have been up to my neck in renovating furniture, and painting about 100 miles of old pine Ikea shelving.  Now I'm playing catch up on my teddy bear projects before heading for our winter home in Florida at the end of the month.
We're stopping in Baltimore on the way to Sarasota to do the Hunt Valley Christmas show on November 1st. I hope to see some of you there and at the Brighstar show in Tampa in February.  Please look me up if you're there. 

ave a great Holiday Season.  I hope to get back on TT soon to show off some of my new stuff.
Hugs
Gail
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bears

I store great quantities  of mohair and the folded pieces can be a pain to deal with.  I love steaming small areas especially after the bear is made...but the easiest way to deal with larger areas  is with a light spray of water and a hair dryer and brush.  The only thing that won't work on very well is the curly matted finish. 
Just lay your fabric out ...most of us are working with fat quarters or 1/3 or 1/2 yards... weight the edges or pin... use a spray bottle of water ...lightly spritz...then just blow dry... your fur should go in any direction you choose. 
hope this helps
Gail

Hi Julie
I used to sew on a patch for my pandas but I found the result bulky and didn't quite catch it for me.  Then I tried using dye pens... I have been extremely happy with the result.  Brown can be a bit tricky...but with the black and white pandas...no problem.  It just works so much better to dye the fur to match then heat set it with a hair dryer to make it permanent.   If you use a colorless blending pen you can always remove some of the color if you hate it. I would think that air brushing would work equally as well ...However, it's a lot more of an investment to get into air brushing. And it requires a bit more precision to apply.
Hope this helps
Hugs
Gail

Hi Berryfun Joanne is right there is all kinds of great information on Puffy Cheeks in the index.  I used to puzzle over it too...tried darts ..bigger muzzles... in the end I just figured I needed a good dense fur and lots of scissor sculpting and a bit of needle sculpting and voila... puffy cheeks!  it's fun... try it.. just think of two little balls of fluff on each cheek and trim away...You'll find your own "look"  very quickly.
cheers and good luck
Gail

I know that the Golden teddy award nomination announcement is delayed...but I wonder when and where they will be announced. 
Hugs
Gail

OMG!  Tammy I am so proud of you.  Congrats... you deserve the win.  What a great little panda.  You sure had some tough competition though. See you back in Nova Scotia.  We'll be home in May.
Gail G

do you every do anything that isn't just the greatest?  another winner...
luv luv luv the blue eyes.  Shen will go to a new home very quickly...
Hugs
Gail

Thanks for the great feedback.  Sweet Bun is an albino bunny which is very common in my part of the world...thus the pink eyes. 
Hugs.
Gail

Thanks everyone for your wonderful feedback.  It's so great to hear such great comments from all of you. 
Gail H.... no I didn't get your email... Hope you had a safe trip home from Florida... I'm enjoying the bike...
I will be sure to send you a report and hopefully some photos of the Schaumburg show.
It's a new venue for me, so I don't know how well I will do.  The collectors at the Tampa show remembered me from
3 years ago, so I think that's why I did so well...
Hugs to all
Gail

Thanks Sue
Love Wales... never got to the north though... Hubby's family is from the Fishguard and Swansea area....
Greatest people  ever... love yur bears too... thanks for the input... I'm still a little unsure at times.  Always nervous before a show...really love the input and reassurance.
Hugs
Gail Griffiths

Penelope is my latest bear.  I'm hard at work trying to get some new stuff ready for the Schaumburg show in April.
She has open and close eyes and big blue eyes which I hand painted...and eyelashes and an open mouth.  I'm hoping that
collectors in the Chicago area will like my stuff.  We're driving a long way out of our way to go to the show on the way home from Florida to Nova Scotia!!!
Hugs
Gail
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bears

Sweet Bun is 14" tall and is made from dense white English Mohair.  Her ears and arms are bendy so she can get a good grip on her Easter egg.  Her face and feet are needle sculpted and lightly shaded.  Her handpainted pink glass eyes have 3 layers of color. She's weighted in her body and feet so she can perch on a chair or shelf.  I'm taking her to the Brightstar Show in Schaumburg next month along with several of her bear friends.  I should be relaxing in the Florida sunshine, but instead I'm up to my neck in bear making... I'll be posting a couple more over the next week.  Let me know what you think.
Hugs
Gail
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bears

Hi All
I just finished my Easter Bunny. "Sweet Bun" is 14" tall and made with dense white English mohair. She has bendy ears and arms, which allows her to get a pretty good grip on her Easter egg! Her eyes are hand painted glass and her sculpted face and feet are lightly shaded with dye pens.  Sweet Bun is weighted so she can perch on a chair or a shelf.  I'll be taking her to the Brightstar Show in Schaumburg next month.
Hugs
Gail
Bear Bottom Heirloom Bears

Tee Hee ..this is fun.... here's mine:
I did the macarena with my sister in your bathroom because I think I need some serious help.
:crackup:  :crackup:

OMG! I've been through a severe hurricane.  It is terrifying and devastating.  We'll keep positive thoughts and hope for a good outcome.
Mother nature can be very fickle.
Hugs
Gail

Susan
You are so kind to rescue this sweet loving mum and her pups.     Her beautiful face and her white marking  suggest the name "Bianca" to me ...which means "shining, white"....
Good luck with three beautiful additions to your family.
Hugs
Gail

Tee hee... at least his nose and toes are warm...

Thanks Daphne and Alison
I'm looking forward to Maine in July.  Bob and I pass by the area twice each year too and from Florida.  It will be nice to stop and "smell the roses".
You're right Alison....there is no easy way out.  However, I find preparing for a show less stressful than posting on eBay.
So the "easy" way in this case was referring to my shattered nerves :crackup:
Either way there is an adrenalin rush.  It's just so much more gratifying when that "rush" comes from meeting other artists and collectors face to face. With eBay the "rush" comes when you see your bear go for more than what you expected...that last minute bidding war is just way to exciting!!!  :pray:
It would be nice if that happened every time... and it would be great if every show were a success.  We live in hope :pray:
Hugs
Gail

It has been such a busy winter I haven't had nearly enough for Teddy Talk.  I just spent an hour catching up on all the threads... I re read a couple of mine and thought I'd do a little follow up to my last entry ....which talked about the teddy bear show I was going to in November..(has that much time really gone by?? :crackup:
I just got back to doing teddy bear shows this winter.. The Christmas show at Hunt Valley (Baltimore) in November was a great show, but not too successful for me.  I guess as a newbie I'll have to earn my way into the hearts of the local collectors.  I gave out lots and lots of business cards and got lots of positive feedback so I have high hopes for next November. 
On the other hand, I had a great show at the Brightstar teddy bear show in Tampa this past February 22.  It wasn't a big show but it sure did attract an enthusiastic crowd of collectors.  I used to do the "Bearly Spring" show in Tampa, but it folded a few years ago and that's the last show I did here until Brightstar this year.   
It is so good to know that in these difficult times that a bear artists can still have a resonable show . I must thank all the really loyal collectors who remembered me from 5 years ago...and I must especially thank Valerie for putting on such a great show.  This was the first Brightstar show for me, and it won't be the last... It was nice to see faces to go with the names of a couple of Teddy Talkers.
We're going to go to Schaumburg in April which is only a few thousand miles out of our way on the way home from Sarasota to Nova Scotia.
I can only hope that I have some success there.  This business can be unnerving at times.
I have had reasonable luck on eBay, but I find it even more unnerving than shows.  And there are sooo many issues with eBay lately I find myself looking for an easier way out.
It sure is good to read all the blogs...and I sure will try to make more time...
Hugs
Gail

Ohhhh I can't wait.  I submitted entries to Golden Teddies BECAUSE the deadline was delayed.  This is the very first time I have entered a major competition.  I waffled and waffled and the original deadline passed and I had regrets then I got the news it was extended...and I sent in my submission... So now I can suffer along with the other entrants until the nominations are published... There is soooo much amazing talent in this industry. 
Thanks Sarah for the delay... :crackup:
Cheers
Gail

okay...I've just read everyone's reason for hand or machine sewing...and here's mine...I machine sew
nearly all my bears for one simple reason...I stuff firmly and if I hand sew I find that I can see my stitching.   I sew around twice on every piece on every bear.  I don't want my bears popping appart.  I had that happen twice on bears I decided to take a short cut on and only sewed once around.  The chin seam popped open on one and the ear seam which I had sewn in split apart....and I had a lot of work to fix them. On the other hand I think that hand sewing is very relaxing and on very small bears it is fun... But for quality work and for bears that need firm stuffing, I think that machine sewn is superior.  OMG have I opened a can of worms????
This is just my opinion and this is what works for me.
I think anyone who makes bears should own a sewing machine... Mine is an old "Classic" black 1950's vintage Singer that can "sew through a wall"  It has one presser foot and sews only forward and backward...nothing fancy but incredibly reliable.  It sews around curves without even holding it....
I think when my machine goes I'll give up bear making
Just my thoughts on the subject
Hugs
Gail G

Okay since it really is Halloween and I posted my greeting way early 'cause I was getting ready to move all to Florida and had precious little time.... I thought I'd move it up so you could see it once again. Right now I am sitting in a campground on my way to the Huntvalley teddy bear show in Baltimore Maryland on Sunday, and I have an WIFI connection....yayyy... the second thing I did after checking me email was check TT... So many great bears and so many great people. .. so everyone... Happy Halloween and wish me luck for the show. :pray: .. I'll post a report when it's over.
Hugs
Gail G

Brilliant! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:
Gail G