Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Well I use the olive soap when I paint needle felting , I use it with hot water and it helps to key the pigment into the wool surface...it's very mild. For painting onto fabric I use jam jar of water with a squeeze of detergent...washing up liquid or shampoo. I use it just like you would use water with paint and I just acts as a wetting agent which allows the fabric to accePt the colour more evenly...works really well for me...
You can buy fabric mediums but all they are very expensive and exactly the same...

Thanks so much!

My newest teeny bear..Orlando..

Just for your information today I went the COTTON PATCH in Hall Green Birmingham. They have a full range of Ginghers scissors and allowed me to try them I came away with a pair of 4 inch embroiderery ones which though small are so sharp along the whole blade that they are great for scissoring. I also got a pair of 5 inch razor blade tailors scissors which whiz through the fabric.
I paid £62 for 2 pairs. They have all the fiskars...and other brands. But next to the Ginghers the others feel clumpy in the hand.
If you are in the UK its worth a trip to this shop...its a quilters shop but full of wonderful treasure!

Fantastic bear!!!!

Thanks so much. The feet are just my usual style of feet in miniature. I use wool felt these days..after going through every other foot pad fabric over the last 11 years I like wool felt the best. I like leather too but felt does it for me!!!

This is LINDO...he is 4.5 inches tall which for me is minute. There are loads of great artists who make MUCH smaller bears than this ..but for me it's very small. That said I so loved making him and am making another 3.. As I love the pattern so much. I tweaked it too much with a little alpaca one and have had to step back and remake the head.
But this is a learning curve...the best things come in small packages...

I never leave the fabric in the dye. I just swill it round and when it's the right colour it comes out. I rinse till its running clear then wash it. Never had a problem. For those who say it will fade..I have fabrics that I dyed but didn't use and 11 yeas later they are still perfect. The water is straight out of the kettle and I just add the fabric wet after making sure the crystals are all dissolved. Sometimes the backing can thicken up but I don't think it matters. I just detangle the pile using a bit of conditioner...hair conditioner ...make sure you rinse that out though as it makes it sticky if you don't.

Oooh...Copic is a subject for great debate. I don't think it's the best airbrush system. The inks are sticky and not nice to work with. The blender pens are used after you place the colour and it fades it slightly....but I don't think it blends one colour into another well enough.
I use Createx airbrush paints ..and though I have an airbrush I never use it, preferring to hand paint. I use the paints with water and a drop of detergent in the water which does act as a wetting agent and enables the fabric to accept the colour more evenly. It works very well on needle felting ..in fact I have a bar of olive soap which I use along with the paints for that and it works very well. It gives a nice soft shading to fabric and felts.
I do have pens ..I buy all kinds but have found that Faber Castell pens are true to shade and the inks don't separate into the component ink colours like copics do. I have found that Copics can have purplish or greenish undertones which can be clearly seen in the light. I would worry that the browns would become purple or even green over time as they fade.
So the archival types of pen are better to ensure colour fast results.

Well I'd say that's a great job....you captured him very well....

Very sweet...

Joanne, I have a PayPal MasterCard...or Access card whatever it is. I do pay for things with it but the shop who buys from me doesn't pay me by PayPal...they pay by bank transfer...so do quite a few customers. I don't mind this but it means it's not as neat and tidy as I have things in different pots!!! Some people just don't do Paypal. I have a PayPal virtual terminal for folks who don't like Paypal..it means I can take card payments at fairs etc.
But the Paypal card is great...I use it all the time...but I also have a business one from my bank...

I have a business debit card with which I pay for most things....and I put everything through my bank account. I use the Paypal merchant account too. It's complicated though...I can't use Paypal for everything as the shop I deal with, and with whom I do a lot of business , does not of by Paypal, understandably, so I can't wrap it up with my PayPal account. Would be simpler but it doesn't work for me.
Good luck with it though. I need to get on that scheme instead of paying the accountant a wodge of cash every year!

Thank you so much...really appreciate your comments !

I am really looking forward to getting them!

In the UK if you are selling things that you make you have to pay tax...which is a pain in the neck but it's part of the business we all have to deal with..
I think if you get in early and send all your figures to the inland revenue they will work out your tax for you
They also have a programme online for doing it too....it's not hard to do.
I do have an accountant but to be honest I think it's expensive and I could probably do it myself.
I just have had the same guy for donkeys years and I am very bad at doing my accounts ....I always leave it to year end ...then it's a headache.

I just ordered a pair of 5 inch Ginghers... let you know how I get on!
They were £22 from a specialist scissor website

Don't know if I could get used to them...they are too much like secateurs ...I think they would take some effort to learn to use.

It's personal I know but for thicker piles and detailed sculpting the embroidery scissor blades are too short , forcing you to use the points..which makes little nicks in the pile if you aren't careful. If you use a long blade you can use the whole scissor.
The idea is to keep the scissors parallel as you cut ...so a longer blade works best. I use the tips for removing bulk and thinning out to blend long into short. I buy the pointy 5 inch Fiskars as they are good all rounders...but my old hairdressing ones were  fab because they are non serrated and sliced through the pile....they are 5 inch too. But like I said I think the acrylic piles wrecked them as they are not so good any more.

Having used this fabric I know how hard it is to work with. One thing I will say is that as it's a knitted fabric you might find it stretches out of shape when you stuff..especially the head. I lined it with fusible cotton lining which stabilised it.

I think your work is superb...clever...innovative...original...
I don't say it often. But WOW...

Very sweet...

You work is the best I have seen...unbelievably good and just gets better...

An amazing piece of creativity 

Thanks so much. The quality of all the fabrics for Intercal is brilliant. Both Tissavel and Tyber are as good as it gets.