Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

That's a real shame. I don't like facebook or use it and much prefer forums myself. I think they're safer too, well as safe as anything is on the Internet anyway. Hope others come along to post before too long.

Hi SueAnn, I do remember you from when I was last on here. I don't suppose there's many of the other members still posting, that's why I asked if there was another forum everyone has moved on to. I'd prefer to stay on here as this is the site that helped me back when I started so it seems unfair to go somewhere else but it's so quiet! There a reborn doll forum I frequent and that has near constant activity and posts so where has everyone gone? People are surely still making bears if they are making dolls?!

I was a member on here back around 2012ish I think and it was fairly busy here. I have dropped in to have a look but it looks very quiet and empty. Is the site still in use? Or has everyone moved on to a different site and if so, can somebody direct me to another forum for bear/plush artists please?

Hey Wubbiebear, sure of course I can.

She's a little English Cocker Spaniel, 10 inches high to the shoulder and 14 inches long from nose to the base of tail. Her tail would probably add another 5-6 inches. She's made out of a long pile faux fur which I've clipped into a typical spaniel cut (short on the face, legs & underside, left as is on ears, body & tail) in a golden caramel ginger color, a blend of all three as I shaded the original color to add some natural depth and tone as real hair would have. Her eyes are amber and her nose and eyelids are tan, again shaded to match the fur. She's not stuck in any particular position as she's got an armature in her to make her poseable.

There are photographs of her on the other thread, I don't know if you can zoom in or enlarge them enough?, but I hope I've managed to describe her enough for you .

Please meet Mollie, my latest creation:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OOAK-artist- … ect=mobile

I am quite new to this, if I have gotten anything wrong I apologize, I am entirely self taught and learning as I go.

Thank you for looking at my item.

Thank you SueAnn, I will put her now! I'll try and make the photos come out smaller, I realize these ones are rather big but I didn't know how to resize them. EDIT: I have deleted them instead as I can't make them go smaller .

Hi,

Not been on here for some time due to one thing or another, but I have made a new dog and wondered if you are allowed to advertise your items on the forum? If so where and how? I have gotten her listed on eBay but I thought I'd try and see if there's other places too .

Hello all It's been a while since I was last on here as  I have been busy with various stuff, but I am hoping to get back into making plush dogs again. This is my latest creation, Bella, a life size cream sable Pomeranian puppy. I am really happy with how she's turned out for two reasons, one that she's made from faux fur fabric not mohair, which has given a better finish, and the other is that she's my first successful attempt at shading fabric! Unlike the mohair, the pro markers don't rub off the fur fabric at all and I think they've bought her to life a lot more than the plain fabric did. So pleased I can finally do shading at last  .

Bella is 12" to the shoulder, she's filled with poly-fil and reborn baby fat pellets, and has a skeleton to allow her to be fully poseable.

This is my latest make,  he's a special 'memory dog' made as a replica of my own dog who I lost a month ago after fifteen wonderful years. What better keepsake than a plush version, especially as he's got some of my real dog's hair making up the stuffing, and his collar which has been slightly altered to make it fit his plush alter ego.

Thank you for those links, after re-looking at my dog I don't think there's any point in adding a mouth, as it simply won't show up against such a dark fabric.

I lost my old dog last week at the grand old age of 15, so I've put my other project on hold for a bit as I'm making a model 'memory dog' of him. It is coming along nicely and I'm considering putting a mouth on him, however not only have I not done a mouth on one of my dogs before so it's not something I have any experience of, the fur is black so I'm not even sure it'll even show to be worth trying    . Does anybody know of anything that would be noticeable but realistic? Or am I just giving myself unnecessary work?

Thank you Zsuzsi, that definitely helps .

Since I posted this thread, I discovered you can actually buy the back parts of those types of buttons in different sizes, so I was wondering if pressing a really small one into the oven clay would work? Basically making the pawpad into a button, then sewing it on. The button backs are aluminium I believe so I'm not sure if that would stand being put in an oven, but turkey foil is aluminium and that has no problems being heated up:/ .

The wire they put in glass eyes for attatching, is it jewellery wire or something else/stronger?  I want something strong that will bake in some sculpey clay and not go brittle or break off.

This is the sort of thing I'm trying to get:

Sorry the pic is so big, I don't know how to get it smaller

He's adorable! I love his face, especially that cute chocolate truffle like nose!

Thank you for your reply Erin, that's perfect, exactly the sort of info I needed! I am going to get some of those markers and practice on off cuts to get a feel for it. I've got some surgical spirit (the equivalent to what you call rubbing alcohol) so I'll see if it works the same way. For dogs, I mainly want to shade around the eyes and nose to add some depth, your kitty's eyes look super realistic with shading around them, as opposed to just sinking them into the fabric, but being able to do patterns or markings in the fur would be good also.

I have some Copic markers and promarkers from when I was trying to shade mohair, but it wouldn't dry properly and marked your hands after holding the dog, so I gave up with it. I'm hoping with the faux fur being synthetic, it will take better to being 'coloured in', which would work better for me too as I've discovered that mohair isn't right for what I want anyway. It makes really beautiful teddies but not very realistic dogs! I can't quite put my hand on it but their not 'fluffy' enough somehow, not like your kitty, which is nice and evenly furred all over .

Thanks Francesca, yes I have found that mohair doesn't give the right look for what I want, I stupidly thought that because it's very expensive, it would give a better finish than the cheaper priced faux fur, but clearly it doesn't work like that.

I am going to get some sculpey to try out, though I'm not sure about glueing it, I prefer to sew than glue if possible, as I'd be worried about something glued on just falling off later on. I had thought of poking the wire loop through the fabric so that it it completetly out of sight and feel, inside the dog. Out of interest, would Milliput epoxy putty work? I think it's similar to apoxie sculpt but it's a lot cheaper here.

I emailed probear earlier but haven't had a reply yet, I really want the doll armature, I know it costs more but I like it's flexibility, which my first dog, made with a wire armature doesn't have in quite the same way, though maybe that's me not doing a very good job with it!

Your cat is beautiful and very very lifelike! What you've done out of faux fur is what I'm hoping to do, but with dogs , so do you mind if I ask you if you have shaded around the eyes or nose with a black marker or something? As I had a terrible job shading mohair, in fact I didn't manage it, so I'm hoping the faux fur works better :).

Hello!

Not sure if you remember me, as I've not been on here since last March I think. I was making plush dogs and never meant to just dissapear, but my real dog suddenly had to have emergency surgery which meant I couldn't afford to buy fabric to carry on. Now though I have finally just finished paying the bill off and want to get back into the 'sew-ing' of things!

I have just finished sewing up the body for my new dog, high quality faux fur this time, as I think I prefer it to mohair, as it fluffs back up after being handled instead of staying 'flat' as my mohair dogs have done, plus it's a lot cheaper, which means they won't cost as much and will hopefully sell better. I also found with the mohair, if you need to clip it shorter on the nose/feet  it looks 'patchy' instead of fully furred, and doesn't all lie in the same direction.

Anyway, last time I posted I'd just tried to follow someone's great idea for silicone paw pads. Mine didn't turn out so great, it took me longer to make four decent pads than it did to do the rest of the entire dog! So I'll probably not bother with paw pads full stop, but as one last try, I've thought of something and I was wondering if it would work. My idea was to sculpt the pads out of sculpey oven clay ( provided you can put it in a electric oven as I don't have a gas one) with a loop of jewellery wire inserted in the back, then sew them in like you would with eyes that have loops on them. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the clay would crack or chip after a while, and how durable it is, especially as wouldn't be very thick. Has anyone used clay for paw pads?

Oh and one more thing, pro bears is the only place I can find 6mm armature, but it says their out of stock, anybody know how long they take to get things back in?

Nice to speak to you all again

I was going to follow your lead and use candle wax but there simply wasn't enough lying around the house and whilst looking for more I remembered the leather soap and thought I'd improvise. I live in a tiny town that nine and a half times out of ten either doesn't have anything you want or everything but what your actually after so I'm well used to improvising and finding alternatives for stuff :D. I remember when I was younger watching art and craft tv shows and the presenters would say stuff like "you'll get this in any craft store" and I'd think not around here you wouldn't as there is no craft store, and even if there was they wouldn't have it in :P. Thank goodness for the invention of online shopping!!

Thank you , they are coming along nicely at the moment and shouldn't take too long to finish as I've had more free time to work on them. I will definitely post pics whe their ready, and the paw pads when I've had a go at one to see how it comes out!

That is brilliant and so realistic! I like the claws too, but your paws are much bigger than mine, I don't think mine has the space to fit them on so they would have to be tiny and then they'd be very fiddly to make and fix on. Yours are awesome though!

It's probears mohair and it was pretty pricey so it should be good quality! I've got a brush like the one in the link, a slicker brush, in my dog grooming box so I'll give it a go. I didn't like to try it out without asking first incase it was too harsh and pulled the mohair out of the backing!

The mohair I bought was super soft and fluffy, but after squashing it about sewing it it's gone a bit flat looking. I have brushed it a little with a soft baby brush but I'm afraid of pulling it out and making it patchy. Is there any brush that is suitable to use? Or would mohair conditioner spray used on reborn babies work then blow drying it afterwards?

I made a mistake with the name, it's not varnish, it's nail strengthening solution. Not sure what exactly is in it, but I tried it out on one of my spare noses and it's worked great. I coated it twice to make sure and it's dried nice and glossy and waterproof. Gives a better finish than PVA too.

Thank you very much for your info, I like the idea so much I have had a go at practicing these already! Only I couldn't find silicone I this side of the pond, apparently it's either window & door silicone or bathroom one :D. My dad is a plumber and works with the stuff all the time so he told me to try the all purpose silicone sealant he's always using which dries nice and squidgy. I also tried a silicone roof sealant which is already black in color, but it's not quite as soft as the all purpose sealant. I have ordered some acrylic paint which should arrive this week so I'm looking forward to trying it out. I also didn't have enough candle wax or any polymer baking clay so I've improvised with a block of melted leather soap and Polyfilla wall plaster! So far, it's working well! I am making another Pom to improve on my first one, only I'm making two together this time, a cream one that I'm keeping as a demo dog and a orange/red one that I am going to try and sell .

These look awesome, that paw looks so real! I'm going to give this a try as I really want squidgy dog paws for my model. How much silicone do you use? And does it have to be acrylic paint?