Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

That's a really neat idea!
It's kind of like having a pen pal only better!

AndreaM

He's adorable!
I love clown bears!
I hope I don't sound too silly in asking what is a "swap bear"?

AndreaM

Thanks Helena,
It was nice to talk to you as well!   
I just checked out your web site.....it's fantastic!  Did you do it yourself?  I adore your Koala named 'Dinky'  He's precious!
I would love to have a website one day..........expencive though. 
Do you find it's worth having?

AndreaM

Hey Marion,
Yes I did take the course with Jennifer with the TBOV but I was only there on the Sunday for the design workshop..........I'm terrible at translating my ideas into bears, I know what I want, I just can't seem to make it happen.....sigh.  Did you go to that one too?  Or just the chimp one?

AndreaM

Hi there,
I hope you don't mind if I pipe in here.
I do purchase from Ebay and a lot of the sellers on my' favorites' list are from the UK.  I've never had a problem with shipping or service, my 'thing' is if there's an item I like to watch an auction for a few days before jumping in.........I know it's annoying but if I see two or more bidders from the UK fighting  it out  I won't bother bidding, simply because the excange rate of Canadian $'s to Pounds Sterling is nearly double!  Then add to that over seas shipping and postage..........you get the picture. 
I know it sounds a bit weird (probably because I'm a bit weird anyways ), but that's my veiw on it.
Does any of this make sense???????? Or am I really loosing it?
I think I'll stop now before I hurt myself
AndreaM

Hey Clare, 
There is absolutly nothing worse than feeling like you just can't face the day.
Here are a couple of things I like to do and you might like to try.......book yourself a 1 hour ( or longer, but definatley not shorter) massage.  Once you've done that I strongly recommend  a good session of 'retial therapy'  Treat yourself to something that makes you happy really good quality chocolate works well  If you don't like chocolate send it to me then go out and get yourself that Teddybear you've been eyeing for the last few weeks and carry him around every where with you like you did when you were a kid.
If this doesn't work try something that will allow you to release you frustration without getting arrested like squash, golf (altough not so great at this time of year) or kick boxing.  If that still doesn't work I agree with the others, put on some loud disco music and dance 'till you fall on the floor.
My last idea, put on a rediculous hat/wig/feather boa/clown nose and drive around.  The smiles you put on others faces will certanly lift your spirits!
My thought are with you :hug:
AndreaM

I    doing open mouthed bears!  Even thought they can be time consuming they're worth it ( when they work out of course)
I also recommend the EZ bear university for this type of thing.
I tooka a course with Jennifer Laing on bear design a few years ago and she helped me with this very problem.  It was several years ago so I will have to dig out my note book to remember exactly what she said.....I do remember her saying that you need to have a muzzle with enough depth to accomidate the addition of the open mouth (that is trial and error).  Then you cut a straight line into the muzzle parallel to the nose approx. 2/3 of the way down and I think about the same distance in (I have to refresh my memory on that)  The mouth itself can be just as simple as an oval shape....or you can experiment with more 'mouth-like' shapes as well.
But definatly consider the EZ Bear University it's great!!!!!

I used the same pens that Chrissi mentioned and they're great!
I went into my local art supply store with a scrap of ultrasuede and told them what I was looking for and why, they let me try them out to see which one I liked best.  They don't smudge (once it's dried) and they don't fade either!
Hope you can find them!
Andrea