Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Kirsten,
I'm so glad that a) you've got us back on topic:) (I think all would laugh if I said I had a thing for Mel Gibson or that I think for an 'old guy' Sean Connery is THE most handsome - especially in Hunt for Red October!) and b) I'm not the only one who has tried sharpies and had 'issues'!

The rest of you watch too much tellie!!:lol::lol: (By the way, I think Steve Irwin needs to take a sedative!! He gets my head to spinning!!)

Hugs, Daphne

Or just watch Crocadile Dundee!!
Steve Irwin is a riot - a bit over the top I think!!!

Winney - I've been told that women can have 'adult acne' as a PMS symptom. Then there is the myth that chocolate casues them. Either could be the case here! I crave chocolate when I have PMS so I'm double doomed! I don't moisturize - my face would be one big zit if I did as I break out from any moisturizer and many cleansers. I just have super sensitive skin.

Thanks for the cosmetology tips.... very good advice!
Hugs,
Daphne

I would be lost without my test eyes!!!! Ok, 'True Eyes' but whatever they are called... they are great!! I used to cut out circles of black felt, put straight pins thru the centers and use those to find the right placement of the eyes. But nothing beats the True Eyes.... they are pretty expensive but it saves me some time and preserves a bit of my sanity!! :rolleyes:

Daphne

So we're hip chicks, cool gals, hot mammas........ :lol::lol:

Penny and Dilu
when I'm feeling blue
all I need is a quick dose of you!

While out to eat on my Dad's 61st b'day last weekend my mother exclaims "Oooo Daphne, look at those grey hairs!" She was thrilled to see them all sticking out there on the top of my head above my left eye. She's had gray hair as long as I can remember. At 35 wouldn't you think she'd have a little sympathy for me? No way!!

I think that when gray hairs arrive those darned zits should retire!!! All you have to do is LOOK at my face and a zit pops up! My bears don't have zits or gray hairs above their left eye so they can't POSSIBLY look like me!!!:lol:

My bears DO look like me on the inside... soft and squishy and full of love and hugs!

Hugs, Daphne

Danni, that reminds me of being in grammar school (all those years ago) and the school's substitute teacher Ms. Webber. As we'd walk down the hall and approach our classroom door we could SMELL her perfume wafting into the hall and know our teacher was out that day. When I'd get home from school mom would know as she hugged me that we'd had Ms. Webber subbing! It was just awful! I agree, women should be more thoughtful!

Isn't art wonderful? NO RULES!
This is fun. I can picture each of you as you put your bear's 'face' on.
And reposition the ears and reposition the ears and.....:lol::lol::lol:
You've each given me inspiration to try doing things in a different order. I haven't been pleased with how my heads have been coming out. I think when I first started making bears I began with the nose, then eyes, then ears. Don't know why I switched but it's time to go back!!

Thanks for sharing!!:)
Variety is indeed the spice of life!!

When you are doing the head/face what order do you do the ears, eyes and nose in?

Another survey question! I ask because I wonder if there might be a different way that's more fool proof. And this fool needs all the help she can get sometimes!!:rolleyes:

I do the ears, get them placed evenly on the head, then do the eyes, centering them between the ears (which, if I'm really lucky, is also evenly spaced from the gusset seams) then I do the nose last, centering it between the eyes which, again, if I'm lucky, will be centered on the muzzle!

Thanks for your input!
Daphne

My bears look like a combination of.... ready?... my hubby and my dog!!! They have hubby's close together eyes and ocassionally his belly while often wearing the dog's quizzical or innocent expression with a serious mouth. They do not look like me!! I'll go search for pics.....

Mmmmm that chocolate is yummy! Thanks, Di!

Laure,
Yes, I think I was the one who mentioned the black sharpie thing (it may have been on the edinburgh message board tho', not sure about here.) Shelli would be too smart to do such a silly thing. That's more my speed! Now that I think of it, I should have let Shelli take the credit! :)

Hugs, Daphne

Louise - you might want to check out the topic "price??" posted on June 2 as this might help answer your question.

I charge $10-12 per inch. Or you can sit and figure out the cost of materials, your time, overhead etc.
The going price, to be competitive with everyone else (except a few of those incredibly talented, highly sought after artists :)) is the $10-12 per inch. I add more if I've made an outfit or added an antique item that was costly.

Daphne

OK, I wouldn't mind some of those scents... my grandparents had a farm when I was growing up. Grandpa always smelled like tractor grease! And I used to feed the chickens with grammie. My favoritest memories..... ahhhhh.

Farmer Daphne

Penny,
There is no 'wrong way'!!
I just can't wait to see the little guy's face, look him in the eye and fall in love! So the head gets done first. I do attach it to the body before I do anything. It's easier to have that unstuffed body to hang on to!
Once the face is done I have the motivation to finish him up quick. All the while I'm thinking of a name for him which is easiest when the face is done.
This makes me think of another question but I'll post it separate......
Hugs,
Daphne

OK, I have another technique to throw into the mix.... (I've got to stop checking posts just before bed - I end up sitting here waaaay past my bedtime! And I probably babble and make no sense!) Here goes:

First off this is when MACHINE SEWING a light and a dark fabric.
I'll sew with the dark fabric on the bottom. So on my bobbin is a matching dark thread. On the top is the light fabric, thus a matching light thread on my spool. It works for me - no unsightly colors in my seams. I guess it has to do with quilting and matching the backing with the same color thread while using a spool color that matches the top of the quilt.

When hand sewing I match the lighter fabric and if I had to use only one color thread in my machine would also use the lighter thread. Di's idea of coloring the thread if necessary is a good one in my book!! :)

G'Night!
Daphne

Laura is right - people are always more apt to speak up when something goes wrong and they are mad. How many people say to the cashier "You did a great job ringing up my groceries" or to a fellow driver on the street "Hey, you are a good driver". There is a 'hate' website for just about everything! Maybe even teddy bears! (OK, I hope not.)

Some things you just have to try for yourself. Educate yourself, cover yourself as best you can and give things a chance. What doesn't work for one person may work great for another. Paypal is used by thousands and thousands of people. Nothing is perfect, we are all human, the odds of things going wrong now and again are high. But remember, some of these folks who have gotten burned by paypal or a buyer may not have communicated or understood things clearly or followed proper procedures. Many folks don't admit to their errors and put the blame on someone else.

Just my extra two cents! :)

Hugs, Daphne

In the state of New Hampshire I did have to register my business name as a Trade Name with the state. This is so that, heaven forbid, I should ever get sued, I can at least prove first off that I am a registered business in the state of NH. (What good that'll do me I don't know but my business would be considered legal.) Secondly and more important to me is that no one else in the state of NH can use my business name or anything too similar to it. We don't have sales tax here so that was not a reason to register. I did not have to do anything further as far as the state is conecrned. I am a legal business just by registering the name and paying their minimal fee to keep my name active.

I do have to apply for tax id numbers from any other state I sell my bears in (at shows) and submit taxes with each of those states.

Definately consult the Penn. Secretary of State's office to find out what your state requirements are.
Good luck and welcom to the wonderful world of bears!!!
Hugs, Daphne

So, what everyone here is saying is to "Cover Your Bare, err...Bear Bottom!"

I'd never send a bear uninsured for one! Insurance is included in my shipping fees on eBay and my website!

Also, I agree that once funds have been put into your paypal account, they are yours to do with as you please. Whether you choose to use the money for eBay purchases or deposit it into your bank account (which, by the way, there is no fee for that transfer) that is your decision but should not effect the buyer who sent you that money. So, if they've paid and you have the money to cover shipping then I think it should be sent right away. If you can't cover shipping, which is understandable too, then yes, tell the buyer the truth and hope they'll understand.

All good advice here. Great, albeit, sticky topic!

Hugs, Daphne

Shelli & Laura Lynn, Thanks for the tips!

(Yes I seem to remember all of that Laura! :lol::lol::lol::lol:)

I hadn't thought of essentially saving each layer but I'm sure I can do that and I know I can highlight the layer I want to change but I think I had already compressed the layers by the time I realized I needed to edit the bear. I'll keep working at it. Right now I'm trying to actually MAKE bears instead of edit them on my computer. Not sure which is more fun but I do know which is more profitable! :rolleyes:

Stay tuned for Avatar #2!! ;)

Hugs, Daphne

Dilu,
My hubby is a potbellied pig (Penny I get my daily dose of laughter from reading your posts!) - a darned cute one at that! So that explains his sleep apnea. Sorry there doesn't seem to be a reason for your hubby's though.
Kirsten, you really had a great idea here!
Hugs, Daphne

Kirsten,
I tried teaching myself (with a lot of help from the "HELP" button!) Two nights of being up til the wee hours and that's what I came up with. I want to fix the bear's eye but can't figure out how to get back into that layer to edit it. The layer stuff really has me stumped! Don't worry - I will be enlisting your help!

We're actually away at our cabin this week and I'm supposed to NOT be "bearing" - HA! Have laptop and dial up connection... will work! (Brought the needle felting too... it's so inspiring up here in the back woods of Maine, I can't help but create!). Saw a moose this morning so I'm now felting a BLUE moose! (We're on Mt. Blue and my last name is German for Blue so why not!?!)

Anywho - thanks for the compliment on the avatar, Kirsten! We'll chat soon!

Daphne

Kirsten, Great topic! This is fun!!!
Dilu, you and Winney really crack me up! (Dilu, I have to kick my hubby in the night to get him breathing again. It is VERY scary when the snoring stops! I read somewhere - Dear Abby maybe? - that it's better to have a hubby beside you that snores than to not have him with you anymore. Who ever wrote it had just lost her hubby. It makes me think though - and tolerate things better!)

ANYWAY.....
If I were a bear I'd be 18" tall and have 1 1/4+" curly kid mohair fur, honey in color perhaps. Beautiful blue eyes and a dainty nose. I'd have to have a wobble head and fairly loose joints. I'd be stuffed firmly in my head (full of smarts of course!) and squishy everywhere else as I like being cuddly. Around my neck a loosely tied bow of quilter's cotton fabric in country colors (NO PINK!!) My feet would be big so everyone would notice my fancy sculpted toes. But those toes get cold a lot so a warm patchwork quilt would be a must to snuggle with on cold winter nights and picnic on in the summer. I'd also live on chocolate and cookies and Ben & Jerry's ice cream without worry!

We should all try designing ourselves 'in the fur' - what fun that could be!

Hugs, Daphne

Clare,
I love your bears! You have at least two wonderful styles. The old antique look is marvelous and those fairy bears as well as Sunset and Autumn are just adorable! :)
Thank you for sharing your website with us!

Hi Clare!
There are a few 'experiened' ava-artists (avatar makers) here that have made us all want fancy avatars. Laura Lynn did my first one which I loved. Then I've spent the last two nights (into the wee hours of the morn) teaching myself how to use Paint Shop Pro. I have a LOOOOONG way to go, loads more to learn but my current avatar was done by little ol' me. I'm with you - I'd much rather be sewing!
I can't wait to see more of your bears!!
Hugs and Welcome!
Daphne

Rita,

I've often felt as you do. HOWEVER, I have to agree with everyone else here that your bears definitely have a special "Rita" look to them that is all your own.

We can't force our art to be what it isn't. Open up those flood gates and let your heart and soul into the whole design process. Perhaps try something you've never dared try before. You may find a new look you like or you may begin to appreciate your existing style more.

But put those concerns aside about not having that special look..... your bears most definitely do! I recognize your bears - I've seen them in print. Leo, in particular I think! So your bears do have a look of distinction.

Hugs to you and thank you for joining in here!
Daphne