Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

My newest bear is made with hand-dyed and distressed mohair.  The first bear I completed from a design of my own............ Hope you like him!

I'm sorry, Edie.  I don't know why that is.  I can see the whole photo on my screen...............

Chrissi, you are right!  The rabbit and the mouse are by Lori Ann Baker-Corelis.  And Wanda, you are right also!  The top right bear is by fellow Teddy-Talker Jane Perala.

Sorry, Shari.  But looking at the photo, it definitely looks like something Penny Noble would make.  If the photo was better, you would probably see that the blue bear was made by Karen O'Brien of Quiet Companions.

Right, Daphne!  But that was a little obvious........  So as not to cause any hurt feelings, since I am not a professional bear artist, I will say which bears were made by me.  Top row - first and third from left.  Bottom row - bear on wheels.  The rest were all made by professional bear artists who do really great work!

Hi everyone out there!
I wanted to show a photo to all you collectors out there of the great shelves I recently purchased from Pottery Barn for my bear collection.  They went up very easily and are 10 inches deep, so there is lots of room for even larger bears.  Anyway, I thought of a fun game to maybe help lighten the mood here!  See if you can name some of the artists who made these bears.  I will tell you that three of the bears ( and the doll ) were made by moi.  Some are obvious - some not so obvious.  Hope you enjoy my game of the day!
Thanks!
Connie Boggs

Paula,
That is one really terrific bear!  Wow!!!

Hello everyone and thanks for all the wonderful comments on my nutcracker.  I hope it is OK with everyone that I posted a non-bear.  I was just so excited when I finished that I had to share him with someone!  To answer the questions, I have been painting for about 5 years, off and on.  I've taken a few classes but mostly am self-taught.  The reason this nutcracker took me so long to finish is because I start things and get bored and put them aside and then pick them up again to finish later.  But there are many steps and layers in painting this particular piece, and it did take many hours.  He is big - about 24 inches tall.  I modelled the nose after my dad.  That is why I call him King Willie!  Thanks again for looking, everyone!

Not a bear exactly, but I'd like to share a gift I completed today for my husband for Father's Day.  Started it about a year ago.  The nose is sculpted with polymer clay.  The rest came to me as unpainted wood and I chose a grey mohair for the hair.  Hope you enjoy my "King Willy" nutcracker!

Love them all, but especially the black one!

Great looking little guy.  Love the hat!  Distressed bears are my favorite!

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to post and say such nice things about my new pink guy.  I have to admit that I am very pleased with the way he turned out.  Starting out with a really great pattern by Gregory Gyllenship helped.  I wish I could say I designed him!  Sigh.........  Someday.............

Just finished this bear yesterday.  It is a pattern from the November 2005 issue of Teddy Bear Scene.  The only change I made was to make the muzzle in the contrasting cream color.  That is a first for me.  Hope you like!

Penny, I posted this bear twice cuz I couldn't get a thumbnail.  My cubs are on the other posting!   

Every time I see this, it makes me laugh!

I could go cuddle him for you, Pipa.......  Just found out this morning the artist lives in my neighborhood!!!

I agree with you, Paula.  I have one negative feedback myself, and it was the direct result of a well-deserved negative I left.  Negative feedback should be more thoroughly investigated.

Thank you, everyone, for all the comments and compliments on my bear(s)!  To get the color, I used a taupe-colored mohair with a dark back and set it in warm Tropical Punch for about an hour.  Then I rinsed and spun it dry in my wash machine and set it out overnight.  I like how the dark back shows thru the pinkness - gives it sort of an aged appearance.  Its really weird how the cotton backing doesn't take the dye...........  The color in person is sort of salmony.  Anyway, it was something in my head I wanted to try so now its out of my system.  I need some more practice on the trimming and transitioning at the bridge of the nose.  In the photos, that area looks very choppy - not so bad in person.....

Anyway, now I am starting on another pink bear using the Gregory Gyllenship pattern from Teddy Bear Scene.  If it turns out, I will post photos.

Thanks again for looking, everyone!

Yay!!!  It worked.  I will get this stuff figured out yet!!

Hope this works and generate a thumbnail image for my earlier post.

Just wanted to introduce my newest bear.  Three weeks in the making ( I am very slow.......) and created from Jane Perala's Lucas pattern with some minor changes.  I dyed taupe-colored mohair with Tropical Punch Kool-aid ( an idea I got here).  Just finished her an hour ago.  My husband told me to "quit fussing with her and put on a bow."  Hope you all like her!!! 

Also including a new photo of my three other "bears......"

Kate,
My dad - a carpenter - has been finishing our lower level and has all his tools here.  One day I was visiting with him and saw all these wood shavings on the floor.  I picked them up and bunched them in my hands.  They compacted so nicely!  So he used one of his tools and made me a big pile of shavings.  I used them in my next bear in the head.  Spritzed them with water to slightly dampen them.  I couldn't believe how hard the nose was and with much less effort than using fiberfill.  It was a breakthru for me because the wood shavings are so easy to sew thru too!  Anyway, that's what I use now..........

Greeat information!  Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know what those screw thingies are called that don't have a head - you use a lock nut on them and you use an allen wrench to tighten them?  And are they available anywhere like a hardware store, instead of having to order them?

Thanks in advance!

Gregory does the most amazing noses on his bears.  I would love to know how he gets that shading on his noses.  I've exchanged a couple emails with him recently and he seems very nice but I felt funny asking him about his techniques.  I thought he might want to keep it a secret.  Does anyone out there know how he does it?