Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

This is Boo...The Little Fisherman...he's in the small section...I entered him in the BBAAs and he was nominated but unplaced...however I love him and I think he's worth another shot...different eyes see different things maybe..who knows...

Here is Camille...she's a bunny...as if you didn't notice!!!

Anyway...not too imaginative...I was going to do all kinds of creatures...and I didn't make her with the TOBYS in mind...but I just loved her when she was finished...and enjoyed the designing and making of her....

This bear  is in the larger dressed section...he's got a starched collar , and tweeds...and very loud tie...I am pleased as I made the outfit all by myself...and sunce I am generally not that keen on making clothes for bears I am delighted that it came out as well as it did.....

Whatever the outcome I do like this entry....he was what I had in my head when I made him

Another superb piece Judi...expertly done...now I am positive I wasted my money on my enties......oh well!!

Good luck ..as if you'll need it!!

Another great bear.....I hope you do well..well I know you'll do well

Once again..so original...and very well designed....nice one Nancy!!

She's a stunner.....well done!

So original...very clever.....what else can I say!

I know....I know....it's just so annoying to think I just gave it all away...oh well...c'est la vie!!!

Estelle I was a Biba addict too...in fact we bought the book with all the fashions in it and I have great memories of the huge store in Kensington.

Stupidly, a few years ago when we were moving I said to my daughter,'Do you want all these...?' there must have been 10 different dresses and bits and pieces all from the Biba store ...even a make-up set with a rainbow of eyeshadows in a paintbox looking thing ...she looked and said...'Nah, it's too old fashioned...' so it all went to the charity shop...I kick myself every time I think of it...

You live and learn....

You know what, I feel really old because I can't relate to most of this stuff....I got married for the first time in 1974 and so I guess I had moved on!! My daughter was born in 1978 and she was into Bros and Five Star....

I am more of the 'Woodentops' and 'Andy Pandy' era...in 1970 I was sneaking into pubs trying to buy Babycham or Cherry 'B'....unsuccessfully most of the time!!!

I'm a bit too old to have been a little girl in the 70s...but I loved Skippy...though I loved the Forest Rangers best...does anyone else remember them....they were always radio-ing their Dad  saying 'XMY,556 A for Apple,over..."...or something on those lines....

Oh it takes me back....

That's a real scoop..well done Paula...it's much deserved.. :clap:

Right...I have never done this but looking at that first one I would say that they start in the centre and embroider around a curve , tapering to almost a point like a 'c' shape that's thicker at the top, first one side then the other, probably two or three layers, then when that is perfect and symmetrical, my guess is they then finish off with  long embroidery stitches straight down the centre to form a septum....

The hard part will be the symmetry.....best of luck!!!

Shantell..I think I know what you mean...I had it a few times...which is why I try to be meticulous about trimming the head seams thoroughly before I sew...it's so annoying because no matter what you do it is impossible to pluck it out.

One thing I would say though is that I found it is so important to make sure the seam under the nose is stitched flat open when you attach the head gusset at the nose, otherwise you get a kind of raising of one side taking place which kind of bunches the pile up on the lower side..in simple terms the seam will have a step in it on one side if it's not stitched open evenly. You could try adding a couple of extra millimetres seam allowance so it's easier to keep open when you sew.....

You probably already do all this anyway but it's just a thought....

I actually did a bit of a research kind of a thing before I made my first rabbit...and  came up with the fact that a real rabbit doesn't have a real bridge to his nose which is why when people just put long ears on bears they still look like bears...with long ears....

Rabbits have noses that aren't as defined as say a dogs nose...they kind of blend....

There are so many differences to take into account...here's my rabbit anyway...

My sister showed me it a while back...now I use it all the time...and then I print off the pics I like....fab!!

Judi, there is no easy way. You have to tell them the straight forward way. I became an old hand at it when my kids were young, we seemed to go through a period of pets dying...which they all do, as do we, inevitably.

Kids are actually quite good at dealing with dying, they rationalise and accept it better then we do as adults and what I learned is that it does make them aware of the vulnerability of things that live and breath and it's, in a way, a means of them becoming more able to deal with all the things life throws at them.

Finding the right words is hard, but if your cat had been sick beforehand then it makes the reason for it simpler to explain...but if it was an accident, it's harder.

I am more philosophical these days about losing pets, I always try to remember their life and how we were so lucky that they shared it with us for the time they did, and no matter how broken hearted I am I always try to think, quite soon afterwards,  that the silver lining is that now I have a place for another little soul  to come and share my fireside.

Thinking of you Judi....

Jenny

I pretty much do what Vicky does...I machine them first then pin to mark the spot..then I sew front and back with a tight ladder stitch turning the raw edge under as I go....and because I hate it so much, when I do a fair ,I usually have a whole afternoon full of ears to sew because I am very bad at leaving them pinned on till I feel like doing it.

I do find though when I have a lot to do I get faster and better as I go along... that's my excuse and I am sticking to it...

I am now an avid advocate of oil paints since Shelli promoted it so eloquently on TT...I do still use Copic and Marvi markers though where I want a definite line which is often with the look I try to achieve. I've use Copic pens on ultrasuede..but found you need to build up the shading from the palest colour first, overlaying with more intense colours to create a shaded look...often using tiny dots or wiggles or hatching to achieve the effect.

Markers do work but you need a light , deft touch and less is more...but I am in heaven since I used the oils ...along with a combination of the markers ....it works for me anyway..

I think it's a case of ..'Watch out world ...here comes Tami!!'....I would not have been so confident at posting my monstrous first bear...

Impressive workmanship and styling...you certainly  have an eye for  detail ....

She's a a star Deb...a real star

I hadn't properly read this thread since I decided that this year I would not make a resolution that I just simply break around February (or January)...

I can't be bothered with weight-loss regimes right now and though I probably do need to lose weight I'm not someone who lives to eat, though I have, like all the women in our family, inherited the tendency for roundness rather than straight up and down!! I wish I'd inherited my dads slim physique..instead of my mothers blubber.

No, my decision ought to be to get my paperwork organised once and for all....I have a box full of receipts, cheque-stubs bank and business card statements and stuff...and, as I have to have my tax return done in three weeks and counting I am beginning to ish I hadn't just chucked it all in the box to do ' later'.

It won't take me long to sort out but I loath and detest paperwork.

So it matters not how fat or slim you are, when the tax man asks how many bears you sold last year, you gotta tell him.....on time...or else

So that's my tentative resolution...to get my books in order.....but don't hold your breath.

Nice website...easy to navigate....love the colours.....all in all it's very good!!

I loved my 40s ...coz I felt young and grown-up at the same time....now I am in my 50s and I still feel the same...and now I can be grumpy too..and be very pleased about it!! I don't worry what people think now...and when I saw my dad ( 81) going past the house wearing my mothers anorak and hat I thought how lovely not to give a damn!! He did look funny though..strange thing is I don't think he even notices!!