Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Here are a couple of similar bears I finished that I already sold to a friend. They are made out of plush fur and their names are Mr. Daydreamer and Cuddles. I hope you like them.  :)

Thank you. I think he is one of my better bears I have done. I keep working at them to improve my bears.

Hi. Just thought I would mention that my favorite bear is the one I bought from a store when I was 6 years old. His name is Ben. I don't have a picture of him to share, but I still have him and probably always will. I have a lot of bears I collect though, so chosing my second favorite would be very hard. I guess I don't have a second favorite one. There are so many loveable bears.

Here is my latest creation named Cubby. He is very cute and loveable. He is one of two I made - the second one has a slightly bigger nose. He is 11 inches tall and made with high quality plush fur and ultrasuede paws. He is fully jointed and is made with hardboard and cotter pins for the joints. He is available for adoption. Just send me an email if you are interested. Let me know what you think about him. :)

Thanks for the encouraging words and support. I may just put a few of my bears on BearPile soon. I think a have a few good ones that someone may be interested in. I guess I don't need to worry about the business thing right now. I will just see how it goes. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just purchased a simple set from CR's Crafts. I didn't have to buy in bulk, and I just wanted to try them because of not using them before. I am trying another bear right now with the cotter pins. I think I will get the hang of one of the methods the more I use them. I do think the locknut and bolts is a more secure hold and a snugger fit for moving the limbs. I think I just need more practice with them, then I can chose which one works better for me. I have never heard of the other way of attaching the limbs with the screws. I can look into that one more, too, and try it out. I will post a picture of the new bear on here when he is done. I think he is going to come out very cute and be one of my better bears I have made so far, I hope.

Hi, thank you for the suggestions. I don't think I explained myself very well at first. I just finished a bear using the locknuts and bolts. Boy, that was hard to get them to tighten up. I am not sure about using them. Plus the kind that I purchased the hole was a little too small for the bolt to fit through, so I had to keep turning it to get the disk on. I also discovered that to use this kind of joints I have to attach the limbs to the body first. I wasn't so sure about the head, but I finished the head, then I had a hard time attaching it to the body to make a snug fit. I think it is snug enough. I also used the cotter pins on another bear I recently made. I, too, had a hard time getting them tight and down far enough for the fit that I wanted, but I think the bear came out okay. I guess I was just trying to figure out what is easier to use for most bear makers, because so far I haven't liked either of them. I am so used to putting my bears together with the plastic safety joints. They are so easy, but not good for artist quality bears to get the snug joints. I was using the plastic safety joints to make the bears child safe. Most of my bears are going to children. My friends are purchasing my bears for children, so I need to make them safe for that reason. I do want to get into the artist quality bears, though, that is why I am looking for a better quality joint system.

Thank you for your suggestions and honesty. I have thought about putting a few of my bears on BearPile. One or two of them might sell. I have been in touch with a couple of teddy bear artists over the past year. They tell me I should try BearPile and come up with a business name even though I don't have a business at this time. My family tells me "What are you going to do with all those bears you are making?" and my husband tells me "Don't get into it." I get confused about what to do. I think my bears are good (not the same as the successful artist bears which are great of course), but they are cute and may sell for a little bit of money. Do you think I can put them on BearPile and use a business name that is not registered? I thought about using my first name, and I have come up with a busines name that I can use; but it is not a registered official business that I would have. Also, I don't have a certificate of authority, so I would be selling as a hobbyist at this point and would only collect taxes for New York State sales. To get other opinions on this, do you think this would be okay? 

Hi, I wasn't sure if this is the place to put this topic or not, but I have been struggling with whether or not I should start to try to sell my bears more seriously. I have been making bears for about 4 years now. I think my bears are good, but no where's near as good as the bears I see at shows or at bear selling websites. I am not sure how to try to start to sell them. I am not able to go to local craft shows because there is no one willing to watch my daughter. I have thought about putting my bears online on a teddybear selling website, but I don't have a business. I am not ready to start a business, but I am curious to know if my bears are sellable. Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone else struggled with knowing when to start selling your bears? Thanks. Ruth

Hi, I haven't been on here for several months. I just started using bolts and locknuts with disks and cotter pins for the joints in my bears. I have to appologize from a few months ago when someone asked if she should stuff the joints before finishing putting the limbs on or after. Well, I have learned last night that I should have put the limbs on before stuffing them. I am using the locknuts type of joints for this bear and I am having a hard time getting them the right snugness for moving the limbs. I thought it could be done either way a few months ago when I was using plastic safety joints. I am learning. Any help from others on how to get the bolts and locknuts tighter would be appreciated. Thanks. Ruth

Here is my new bear I made named Sandy. She is made out of tan mohair, glass eyes and ultra-suede for the paws. The dress is store bought. I know she could use some improvements, but I am proud of her because she is one of the better bears I have made so far. I am continuing to make bears and hoping my skills get better. I hope you like her.

Thanks for all the responses. I did try the blow drying technique. She looks better than she did. I am placing a picture of her on the showcase. She is not very good compared to the other beautiful bears and friends on the showcase section here, but I am proud of how she came out compared to my previous bears I have made. See her on the showcase page. Also, I changed my avitar to Chester. He is one of my more recent bears, too. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I did find a nail cleaning brush (never used) that I tried on her this morning. It did help a little.  I will try the blow dryer idea first, and then the sellotape if that doesn't work. I did cut this bear out with the fur in the wrong direction, so she is going to be off with her fur anyway (unforturnately, so I hope I don't make that mistake again). I will put a picture of her on here in the gallary section when she is done. Her name is Sandy. Also, I am going to do the dryer idea before I cut out my next bear with mohair. It sounds like it will fluff up the fur better. Thank you again for the suggestions. 

Hi, I have a question about brushing out the bears I make out of mohair. I am currently working on a mohair bear, but the fur is laying flat even when I try to brush with with a softer brush or one of those old coarser cat brushes with the longer bristles. The fur just wants to stay flat. It is a dense mohair, and I think it is about 1/4 inch long fur. So it is a denser and thicker mohair. I was hoping it would look like a bear I purchased from a teddy bear artist which has fuzzy looking fur, not flat. Also, I have been having troubles with this bear anyway because I cut out the bear with the fur going in the wrong direction, which I thought was right. This may be part of my problem, but I don't think so. I made another bear out of mohair, same dense and length of fur (different color), the fur lays flat. I must be doing something wrong. Can anyone help me out with this? 

Hi, I know my bears may sound simple, but I use the plastic safety joints for right now. I stuff the limbs and then attach them to the body. I would like to learn how to use other joints though. I also have been keeping my bears child safe, because I give them away as gifts or donate some of them. I am also trying to get better with the way my bears look first. Then I can work towards using other kinds of joints. I don't know where to begin with that. I know my answer to your question doesn't help much, but I think for now I find it easier to stuff then attach.  Probably what ever way is easier for you is the way to go. I have read a few bear making books when I first started making bears three years ago or so, and I found my own way worked out better than what was being shown to me in the book on how to do something. I guess I like to do things differently sometimes. I hope this helps. Good luck.