Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Samantha, My 12 year old Harry Potter lovin' son just saw your HP miniatures and LOVED them!!

WOW!!! I Loved looking at all the great pictures of everyone's collectables! 

I collect keychains, I have about 30 of them and use them everyday, though it is getting quite heavy so I'll have to weed it out so I don't hurt the car or myself ...the good thing is I Never lose my keys! My husband and MIL buy them for me when they travel.

I also collect beach sand, I have baggies of sand from Hawaii, Nantucket, Aruba, Bermuda and about a dozen other beaches around the world.

I have tupperwares full of Beanie Babies that I've decided can be donated to the local hospital, to pass out to the sick kids to cheer them up...they're doing me no good sitting in the attic!

I also have a huge collection of Teddy Bear Times and Teddy Bear & Friends Magazines, also in the attic, which I'll probably never be able to part with!

And for some odd and unknown reason I have a large collection of notebooks, I must have about 20 of them in the house but I just keep buying more!! They're all sizes, pocket sized up to standard notebook size...I actually LOVE shopping with the kids for back to school and usually buy myself a bunch of notebooks and 3-4 "good" pens. Weird!

I almost forgot about my Kelly dolls (Barbie's little sister), I have 2 huge tupperwares of them in the attic, all in their nice mint boxes...I used to display them but my boys took to opening their boxes and playing with them *Gasp*  :crackup:  so off to the attic (protection) they went, they may find their way onto ebay someday, as I'm not terribly attached to them.

Hi Lisa, I guess I havn't been making them as long as you (only about 6 months give or take)...I've only just perfected my "pattern" (I've never drawn one out just cut right into the sock...maybe I should draw out exactly how I do it though...), I was perfecting it (and giving the "goofs" to my kids and their cousins  ) and am planning on listing some on ebay (since my clay bears and monkeys are getting tiresome to work with as I can't take them outside and work on them when the kids are in the pool!). I did follow your link and we do basically only the trunk/head almost the same (mine is more curved and I leave a longer neck...which I really could chop off as it just gets stuffed into the other sock when I sew the head to the body. I don't use fraycheck but do double stitch all my seams (accomplishes basically the same thing). Mine are sitters, I havn't done a standing one yet as I use the heel of one of the socks as a bum (tushy). I've been using buttons as eyes but do have oodles of TB glass eyes floating around from my bear making days...maybe I'll try them out. I just got a brainstorm for a panda sockie....off to find some black and white socks!!!

Ever try a mini from baby socks...THAT would be a fun challange! 

OMGosh! I've been making elephants like that for awhile, they're almost exactly the same! I buy the cheapo socks from Walmart (only a buck a pair) and just started chopping them up one day and came up with an elephant and a cat. I'll ask my DH to show me how to post pictures. I love your iceream sundae idea, that's great! I guess great minds think alike!  :clap:

2 edits! I can't spell today!!! 

Sooooo Cute!!  You're a very talented artist.  :clap: 

Debbie, I'm so sorry about your beautiful hen's passing, I really understand how bad you feel being a chicken lover myself. When I was a teenager we lived on a farm (chickens, goats, sheep, the occasional pig and neighbor's cow), I ADORED the Rhode Island Reds we had and used to carry one paticular hen into the house with me all the time (mom luckily thought it was cute). I unfortunatly can't have chickens where we live now (I'm lucky the DH lets me have my beloved pet rats...(he's not a rodent person  )). When we retire to the country you can bet I'll have my 3 pet chickens that I've wanted ever since we got married and I left the farm (20 years ago!).    Again, sorry to hear of her passing... :pray:

:crackup: HYSTERICAL!!! :crackup:

OMG That lady was certifiable!! I agree with Kim, hang up the darn phone!

I've always had a very tough time when one of my pets dies or has to be put to sleep. May your kitty RIP, chasing butterflies and lounging in the sun in kitty heaven.

I'd like to join in, I've been tweedling with the idea of a 20 inch traditional bear for awhile now (have the mohair, have a 90% perfected pattern...I'm still farting around with the gusset). When is the deadline? Could I also do one in my beloved polymer clay? I mostly do sad looking big heads in clay but I'd like to have a go at a traditional...(I'll have my hubby help me post some pictures of my clay bears)...

I've used both, I prefer Locknut for bigger bears and cotterpins for smaller bears. Locknuts make me feel like a hippo on rollerscates when trying to install them  (well the first couple of times!), it was a funny sight let me tell you . I can get the cotterpins in alot easier and tend to prefer them.

I TOLD my husband I liked the name Medi (weeks ago)! He said it sounded like medicine! I think pocket bear is cute or "a handful of love" of you want to get syrupy cute.

between 5 and 9 or so inches tall...Definatly not a mini but not a big bear....I've been trying to figure out a cute name for that size bear. Any ideas??

Great to meet you all! 
I'll post pictures as soon as we get back from vacation (we leave Saturday), I have no clue how to do it ...that's what my DH is for...   He has to show me how to post pictures on ebay so I'll just translate that knowledge to this board *hopefully* I'm very computer illiterate!

I'm so glad I stumbled across this board! I've been making bears & dolls for almost 10 years now and am presently making little polymer clay bears (to be listed on ebay after we get back from vacation...), I'm seriously thinking about digging out the mohair again! These boards are so inspiring and I've learned some new things (I thought I knew all there was to know about bear/pattern making but I Don't!     ). I LOVE bear patternmaking, it's my first love, I'd love to just design and sell patterns (and maybe one offs of the bears). Anyhoo enough of my blabbering, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate everyone on these boards, I feel at home here among other "bear folks".    

I've been designing TB patterns for almost 10 years (on and off) and have collected quite a bunch of them, I was thinking of laminating them for safekeeping, anyone out there laminate your patterns? I was also thinking of getting my DH to cut out some of my often used patterns in balsa or another lightweight but fairly sturdy (balsa isn't that sturdy) wood on the scroll saw, I think the minis would be okay on balsa...

Thank you Sonya, I was thinking of something like that (a beach ball snapped to mind), I'm not picky about perfectly round a little flat in the front and back is fine, I've just been trying to work out a new Anime pattern and the head was never satisfying me (got the arms, legs and body down pat). "Regular" bears are so much easier to design (been doing it for some 10 odd years)...

Hi All, I'm near about going nuts trying to figure out how to make a round head pattern. I've tried a clay ball and pinning tracing paper to it , I've tried marking up a tennis ball , I've guessed , and I'm going crazy trying to work it out....any help would be most welcome!