Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

yeah, the frog prince of twins...hahahhahah

Try not to let it get to you Kim...  happens all the time these days.
 
The good thing is.... she is in Germany and not many U.S. or Canadians shop there..   check out the end of auction prices and the actual sale sometime ...you will see what I mean.  Also ...they don't usually command the same prices at all...again check at auction end.  Your pics are great and the overall appearance of your bear is more appealing to me ...  the colours, the workmanship, the attention to tiny details..... etc......it is all obvious to the discriminating buyer.

Really cute little guy Vicki.... and great colours.....

wanted to say I like the little purple guy....how big is she/he?

I like to talk to my little bears too Penny ....  no biggy......

and...I certainly chat to myself and nobody in particular while I am shopping in the grocery store.  The produce guys hide when I show up...     especially when I do start to talk to them.....   telling them I need to borrow their pen to mark down the bruised bananas, etc..    I think it just sort of happens with age.... like, after we get to 40 even.....

and.... say.... what did happen with that 'frig' door?..........

I need some photo shop lessons too ..... haven't a clue what I am doing on there and want to do things with a pic to make a fancy avatar..... sigh.....

Brenda..     it was provincial summer games of '81 where they weed you out for the Olympics.   I lived in B.C. at the time.    It was in the barebow category and I had only been shooting for about 6 months.  Somehow I beat out girls that had been shooting for 20 years and they were not happy with such an upstart.  I hardly had any decent equipment or anything.  Anyway....  they must have practiced all winter after that because the following year I only managed a silver medal and second even though I shot 200 points better than my first year!!  Made 'em raise the bar at least.   Do you shoot?

Jane,...I am envious...I love speed in cars and on bikes.... wouldn't I just love to ride in the Aston-Martin!    And, on any of my rides...I sure would love to have the knives on my wheels to deter people from cutting me off or running me over.... 

Do we see any commonality yet in bear makers or are just a very diverse group?.... sounds like we have fun for sure......

I'll play too...

am a Summer Games gold medal archer....              I ride a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 cc.  motorcycle.....        I was one of only 4 girls working in a male dominated plywood plant for 6 years... (it was a union plant paying men's wages and I wanted to make twice what I could as a receptionist!)  I must have been nuts...but we were in great shape..!

I had to keep checking back to see what would eventually be the outcome..... or what was happening...... hahahhahahha  that was fun........

Hahahahahhah ....too funny Sandra...... I was laughing my head off reading your posts~!

It is a wonder you didn't vacuum little Tom up today never mind days gone by!  How tiny....      yeh...he probably went walk about in somebody's pocket and then they returned him recently.

Lots of good info here though.... thanks from me as well.  I have never liked the idea of dried flowers or bits of live things...they do get so dry and break easily.  Guess it must be made of clay or beads or ribbons etc... as mentioned in some of the posts. 
tx for a good laugh.....

Try to think of it this way Michelle......you are just helping Mother Nature maintain the balance.... 

I know....it probably doesn't help at all when we love all of the little things and just want them all to live....I have to pretend the "pecking order" doesn't exist most days.

You could try some of the hardware and building supply stores...or fastener shops....  ??

Hi Tammi...don't blame poor Marion for my post...lol .....

However, since I wrote it...I have also written the artist and she answered me right away...... and here is her letter.

.....................Hi Veronica,

No, none of my originals have foam centers!  All my original ideas are done in the traditional method of needle felting with a wool core and layering the colors on top. 

I created the foam method to simplifiy it for all craft enthusiasts  to be able to enjoy the entire process of learning the craft without becoming discuraged.  Many times often we have to train our eyes, hands and minds.   Training all three at the same time is difficult for most.  So, I designed the bear for everyone ahead of time, this way you can focus on training the eyes and hands first.  Then when your comfortable with having learned the basics you can become the designer knowing what to expect from the wool as you get to that step. 

I hope to be abel to bring the ease of the craft with the enjoyment of learning together and offer the crafts person  an original of mine. 

I hope you try it, I know the experience has been a truly fun one for everyone that has tried it.  But I warn you... it is very addictive!!!!!

Rosie Morse

........so, now we know the whole story........ thanks Rose for the clarification.........

Well, I guess the sad thing is ....she actually won the Toby Award for one of her bears with a foam base, didn't she?........   Hopefully those judges knew what they were judging there.  It must have rankled with the other contestants if they understood what they were seeing when they looked at it.   I am thinking that if this is how some bear makers will compete in future,  there really should be separate categories............. needle felted critters "with" and also "without" a foam or other type of core.   It certainly does make a difference how the finisehd product looks and behaves.

me too... count me in for next year already please.    What was I thinking.... why was I making a doll when I could have been making a bear???  ...sigh.......

whoops it got away too soon.. lol
In Canada we are allowed a measly $20 dollar purchase before we have to pay taxes on it...we are supposed to only pay on the amount over $20..but they usually just charge us on the whole amount and we usually just pay.  We pay our provincial tax and also a Federal tax...so usually a 14% flat rate.  Plus.... exchange rates on foreign currency is also tossed at us.  They must make a fortune on our puny little packages.  Sometimes the post office will still charge the obligatory $5 fee to "touch" it as it flies through customs...sometimes they don't.  If we receive a parcel as a gift... we are allowed $60 dollars worth before we have to pay.... it seems to be up to whoever handles a parcel as to whether they charge the $5 or $8 dollar customs fee.  There is no rhyme or reason.   On the back of the slip attached to your parcel...if you can actually get it off in one piece... (a virtual impossibility).... there is an area to fill out and state your case..in order to reclaim charges that we think are out of line.  I have actually made 4 claims in the past few years...for silly amounts like $3.43 just on principal.  They charged me on the total amount and I didn't like it.  They did indeed send me a cheque for each of the amounts.  But... the actual customs amount...forget it.  And..if any of the goods contained in a package were not actually manufactured in the U.S. or Mexico... (even if they are sold there) or even if they were ... I am sorry to say..I don't think our Post Office has ever heard of the NAFT Aagreement.

I can toss in a bit of info here..