Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wow, you girls did a great job.  VEry interesting and now we have a thread started with pictures too.
I wish we had a show like that here, that was close.  I would be there from sun up to sun down.
I was especially impressed that you were allowed to take pictures.  All the doll shows that I was an exhibitor in...almost all the doll artists would not allow any pictures to be taken.  I always did because I thought with something as technical as an original sculpted doll, what would be the harm and it is so much fun to go home and look at all the pictures.
I think doll artists are very different that teddy artists.
Anyway, I didn't mean to get off the subject....thank you for responding to my thread.
Nanc........

I wondered when somone was going to start a thread on our pets.
Kim, your poms are wonderful.  Our neighbors have one named Bailey and whenever I am outside and Bailey is outside, she always has to come over to bark at me...then when I stoop down and call her by name, the whole act starts.  She gets her tail wagging so hard, it wags her whole back end and she almost crawls over to me.  As soon as I pet her, she gets all giddy...what a little performer.

Marion, I loved your pictures.  I was raised with Bostons and I dearly love that breed.  I can remember each of them as pups...their little heads are soooo round.  Oh, your picture brings back such a rush of wonderful memories.  Our Bostons would lay with their back legs out just like that.  They are so lovable and such cuddlers...I miss having one.
Thank you ladies, for sharing your beloved pets.
nanc......

Jane, you will certainly be added to my prayer list and your children too.

I know this must be very traumatic for them.  My mother had a lung operation when I was just a wee one and it scared me to death...so I will certainly keep them in my prayers as well.

I feel certain everthing will be fine, with todays technology...it is amazing how much can be done.

Yes, please let us know if we can send e-cards to the hospital...with that many cards coming in, they would know you are truly 'special' to an awful lot of people and they BETTER treat you right! :D

We will miss you and look forward to your speedy recovery/return!

Hugs and blessings,
Nanc.......

Can someone tell me what Hugglets is? or was? or are?

One Flaw In Women

By the time the Lord made woman,
He was into his sixth day of working overtime?

An angel appeared and said,

"Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her?

She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,

have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable

and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,

have a lap that can hold four children at one time,

have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart

-and she will do everything

with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements.

"Only two hands!? No way!

And that's just on the standard model?

That's too much work for one day.

Wait until tomorrow to finish."

But I won't," the Lord protested.

"I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.

She already heals herself when she is sick

AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman.

"But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed,

"but I have also made her tough.

You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel.

The Lord replied,

"Not only will she be able to think,

she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something,

and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.

"Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.

I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak,"

the Lord corrected,

"that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy,

her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,

her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed.

"You are a genius, Lord.

You thought of everything!

Woman is truly amazing."

And she is!

= = = = = = =

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness,

love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Heather...if you keep your needle in the center position and line the cut edge of your fabric up with the far right outside edge of your pressure foot...lower your needle and you will see that you have an exact 1/4 inch.

that makes it so easy because you can just drive your fabric around, watching nothing but the outside edge of your fabric meeting up with the right edge of the pressure foot.

You can find your other seam allowances with the marks on the pressure plate of your sewing machine. 
Also move your needle to different positions and experiment to see what size seam you will get.

I hope this makes sense.  If not let me know and I will take a picture for you.  It is so easy once you know how to use your machine to your best advantage.

Let me know,
nanc........

well, I think ' y'all tauk funny'

Ok, girls...I tried cutting the pieces out first too...but what happened to me, was...with each piece that I put in, it would absorb a certain amount of the dye.  Then each piece after that first one, would come out just a little lighter each time.  So what do you do?  Keep adding a few granules of dye before dying the next piece?

Nanc.......

Heather, you can make a perfect seam allowance just using your pressure foot and the machine needle.
First let me ask you if you are able to move your needle from side to side on your machine?
nanc

Sue Ann...your bears are wonderful and I can see why they asked you to 'model' the new goods!

I love the 2 inch mohair, I would definitely be a buyer for that one.  I buy the 3 inch from Edinburgh all the time because I make the yorkies...but I would love a 2 inch so I would make smaller ones. 
That would be perfect.

I don't like the viscose fur...not because of what it is made of, I just don't like the look.

And I don't like the marble one.  It looks to me like that bear was in a food fight. :lol:

These are my tastes only...someone else perhaps would like the mottled look to fabric...but my vote and my money would go to the 2 inch tan mohair.

Nancy

Jane, I am an authority on what NOT to do to  mohair.

I bought some white 3 inch mohair, so I could dye it the different shades I wanted for yorkies.

Here is what happened to one batch.
I wanted to dye it the golden tan for one of my yorkies.
I mixed my dye and salt mixture, BUT...my 'pot' was too small for the amount of pile in the fabric.

I didn't realize it until I started to emerse the fabric.  What happened was, the part that I emersed first (being the center of the fabric OF COURSE ) was darker than the rest because I could not get the outer bands in the mixture as quickly.

So I decided to try Rit Dye color remover.  Phew does that stuff stink...I should have known right then, that this was going to turn out to be a disaster...but no, I had to try it.  The fabric immediately (and I do mean immediately)... turned this bright shade of green.

Horrified, I decided there was only one thing left to do and that was to put it back into the stink pot, to try to remove the green.

Do I have your attention yet?

It turned it into a big pile of goo!!
Yep, I took 1/2 yard (154.00) of fabric and turned it into light green goo!!

I hope this keeps you from making the same mistake that I did. 
Besure to have a dye pot that is large enough to accept the whole piece of fabric at one time.
I thought my pot was large enough, but where I got into trouble was the thickness of the pile.  That three inch fur made it much larger.

I have taken some fabrics that I purchased and didn't like the color, once they arrived and I was able to see them in person...and dyed them with some wonderful effects.

I purchased a dusty rose color to use in a panda bear, but it was a darker shade than I wanted, so I dyed it with a light brown color and it is truly beautiful.
I am all for taking fabrics and getting different looks.

I have to say, that the dye I purchased from Intercal, is the best I have used.  The black is far superior to the black that Rit has.

these are just my experiences, hope they help.
Nancy

Jane, another way is to freeze the little guy.  Wax will pop right off anything it is attached to, if frozen.  I don't know about residue tho.  I would think that once the big portion of wax is removed, you should be able to take a needle or small brass brush and work the residue right out.
Nancy

Kathy, I have the same problem with my cat...only he did not need any incouragement.  He always takes things I am working on...so when I am done at night, I have to put everything away. 
When this habit first started, I would purposely leave 'my seconds', out thinking he would get them...but somehow that little rascal would always take the ones that I didn't want him to get.
I have not figured out how he knows the difference....but he most certainly does.
He only bothers my mini's...not the bigger bears.
I am a big basket person, I like to keep different projects in different baskets and I can tote them out and about with me...and Bootsie will even get into my baskets. (I have to hide those too )
I could always tell if he had something he was not supposed to have because I would hear him tearing around the house chasing something.
If I made him a toy from left overs, he would have nothing to do with it...I have tried that.  It has to be 'the forbidden' for him and nothing else.
I love my Bootsie tho...so I just had to change my habit of leaving things around.
Nancy

Pulling stitches with all my might,
my Teddy is a 'chokin.
Fingers flying day and night,
my needle is a 'smokin.

:lol::lol:
Nanc........

Oh my gosh Dilu....I will never look at a gollie again without thinking of Mr. Bosley...what a riot!  ROFL
Your Mr. Bosley is just adorable.  I don't think I have ever known anyone quite as golliehappy as you.  Your little creations are just wonderful.
nanc.......

HiShantell,
I just purchased Photoshop Elements 3  ( you can see my past posts labeled HELP!!)
Anyway, I can tell you about a couple of my experiences.

I purchased the book called "Photoshop Elements, The Missing Manual" by Barbara Brundage...because I had read that this was the 'to die for book for Elements'...  It is a 500 page 'phone book', if you know what I mean...almost all verbiage with a few small pictures.  Pictures work for me, but if you are good with 'reading manuals' this is the one for you.
Now, the other day I went to the library and I just picked up a book that looked interesting to me, called Digital  Photography by Michael Wright.  As I started to glance thru it, it has a whole section on Elements 2.0 (which is pretty much like my version 3) and it is just page after page of pictures showing how to do wonderful things.  I wish I owned this book instead of, The Missing Manual.
I have also found a number of sites that have on-line training for Elements, which I am considering.  So if you decide to try Elements, I would be happy to supply the url's for these sites to you.
I am currently still using my "Picture It" which I used on my other computer that had Win98.   so much for progress.
Nanc......

I agree with you gals, I don't like the slippery squishy (highly technical bear terms) stuffing.  I have had a heck of a time finding the, not so slippery, squishy stuff...but finally found it at JoAnne Fabrics.  It is called Mountain Mist Fiber Loft.  A little pricey, but VERY worth it.
I will try mixing it, sounds great.
Plus with the cost of fuel here in Atlanta, it only cost me 30.00 to drive to JoAnnes!!!  argh!!!
Nanc.......

Thought some of you might want to grab a cup of coffee/tea and go to this site.
It has a lot of information about all the other auction sites available.  Some good, some not and why.

There is also a new item about 13 states considering sales tax for online sales.
Pretty interesting site.

fun to browse thru.
Nanc.....

http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php

Daphne, I understand that Fortune City does very well with Frontpage...they are very reasonable too.  You might want to check them out.  You can do all your own work also.
Nanc........

Jane and Kim, I thank you both  for your input also...and Jill, I hope you have enjoyed this information as much as I have. 

I think I pretty much have my answer....MORE STUFFING!!!
I have used my fingers only on the larger bears but on my minis, I have always used hymostats (sp?). 
I do believe now, that the sculpting and molding can only be done with extensive stuffing.
Kim, your bears are just so adorable and of course Shelli, by now, knows what I think of her bears! 
I want to achieve that lower jaw and have never been able to do it.  I will experiment this after noon...can hardly wait!
Thank you gals, for all of your input and the time it took to do it.
I greatly appreciate it.
Nancy

oh yes...Laura, thank you so much!!  I did get it.  When it is later in the evening, I will take the time to enjoy it...but for now, yes, my email address is correct under my avatar.

I have really enjoyed reading all the responses to my question.  It seems that everyone has a unanamous YES to the website usefulness.

Thank you so much.
Nanc....

So many times I have tried patterns, only to have the heads be completely different...not at all like the picture in any way, shape or form. (I am thinking now of Nancy Tillbergs pattern we are using for the Charity Sale...mine is NOTHING like the pictures)
After much studying of the pictures, I find that it really is the 'shape or form' part that is different.
So, I have read all that I can about stuffing heads and found there are a number of ways.
One said to stuff the nose first and then run a thread back and forth thru it to hold it into place and then continue to stuff the head, front first...stuffing to the back as you go.

Then, I read from another source to stuff from the back and work forward.

Would love to hear your experiences and what works best and why...for instance, to get a high forehead...or to make the face wider, what technique in stuffing would it take to achieve such attributes.

Nanc........

PS...I know that using the same pattern, each of our own style will come out in the face, I understand that...but why as an artist/craftperson can I not come even close.  It has to be in the stuffing, right?

Do you  ladies with websites, find that they increase your sales or are they just nice to keep your name and business out there.
I have several friends, not in the bear realm, who have websites and tell me that they really do not benefit from their websites except to be able to say that they have one.

I would love your honest imput as to what you feel your website has done for you.
Thanks gals,
Nanc.....

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Shaking Here}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Oh no Daphne, I am getting scared!!!

I have been working with WebEasy right now to get a website going and have decided to use Fortune City as my host (recommended by Lisa, and it looks great).  I called them yesterday to see if WebEasy is compatible and I need to get a domain name registered first.  It sounds like they won't know until I try to upload it but they did tell me all I have to do is save it to HTML...which Webeasy does.

Is this anything different from what you're
  experiencing Daphne?  I know Fortune City takes FrontPage beautifully.

so glad I read this before I did anything.  My hold up has been what to name...me! :lol:

NancyandFriends is taken up by Nancy Sinatra...how rude!!! :lol:

I know Shelli can help, if it hasn't already been taken care of.
nanc.......