Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I always say do what you like and if you are doing what you like you will do well.
If you like making big head bears and animals then do that. And you will put the time into making them correctly and well.
If you like old teddies then make those.
Find what you like and make that.
I can't seem to get away from my big head patterns lately, but I have fun making them. The shoppes keep buying them so I assume that my collectors like them.       :dance:  :dance:
I would like to take the time to develop other designs but for now I must keep my nose in the mohair and my foot on the foot feed. 
Did I mention that I am taking a 2 month leave from my real job? Well I am... I need time to work on school work and time to recharge my batteries.
Happy New Year!

I got this in an e-mail this evening and had to pass it on! It is too funny!
:bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:  :bday:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best
wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible,
low stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the
winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable
traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or
secular practices of your choice, with respect for the
religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or
their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions
at all ...

... And a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and
medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the
generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due
respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose
contributions to society have helped make America great,
(not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any
other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the Western
Hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color,
age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of
computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms.
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original
greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually
implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and
is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the
sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to
perform as expected within the usual application of good
tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance
of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first,
and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or
issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

Happy New Year

When I look at a bear...
I get an overall impression of the bear... do I like the bear? do I like the theme that is presenting the bear?
Then I pick the bear up and inspect the workmanship. Are the rounds round are the straights straight
Do the paw pads have a nice round shape, there should be no sharp points from the sewing of the seam. I don't care for toes with points unless that is how they were designed. Are the proportions resonable? What type of bear/animal was the artist trying to create?
I feel the seams are they smooth and flat? or are they bumpy and lumpy?
I look at the bear a second or third time...
Even if I don't like the bear is the bear well made? Is the idea of the bear well executed?

At least that is how I looked at the bears I judged. I tired to be fair and give everyone a 1st but some just were not well done.
I feel for anyone who is asked to judge.
If I were asked to do it again I would.
Hope that helps.

Nope never heard of such a thing.

For my big head pandas I just use felt of a matching colour, it worked out great! I just attached them with my eyes. That is to say that I threaded the eyes and then strung the felt on too.

Everyone has come up with great suggestions.
I like the idea of lining the mohair patch with fabric and then applying. Shading is a favorite of my mum's. Airbrushing is a wonderful thing.

I just use thread and little locking stitches.
I start on one side then thread through to the other side then I take a small locking stitch. I repeat the locking stitch on the first side then shove the needle back through to complete one set of whiskers. I repeat this 2 more times and I end up with a set of 6 whiskers, 3 on each side.
You can see it in the image below

I was asked to judge a bear contest and it was an interesting experience...
I would say to just remember that judging depends on the judge...
What I like is different from what you like.
There were some of the bears that I judged that the craftsmanship was excellent, but the overall appeal was not there.
I only had a few pieces to judge and that made it harder.
I tried not to be to critical, but boy oh boy some of the workmanship was just not there.
They didn't list the names of the judges anywhere thankfully!
I was the only judge for the category.
I would gladly do it again, I liked being able to see what people are doing. I hope that the contestants found the feedback I gave them useful. Plus I have a better understanding of what is expected of me as a judge.

Shelli -
I have no idea, I might try to enter something. I have been so busy filling orders and working, I haven't had the time to think about it.
Right now I am working on things for Valentine's Day for the Toy Shoppe.  I would like to make something and have new pictures on hand to send in.
The photos I get from everyone now are this glossy matte type finish. There are no slick glossy photos like I use to get when I took pictures in Jr High or High school. I am going to try ordering a set of prints to be made at the lab and sent to the store and see if there is any difference.

I just sat at the computer typing away. I am also trying to get things ready for Valentine's Days, I have a shoppe that want things NOW! Other than that I was at work last night until about 10:30. They asked me if I wanted to leave, it was painfully slow last night. Saturdays are the days that my sister and I can ride to work together. So I told them if they would let Jessie leave then I would go. And sure enough they did so we went home.
We can only sell alcohol until 10:00pm, and it is always funny when people come in after 10 and try to buy beer. I just want to laugh in their faces, they all know that we can only sell until 10. But they act all upset and get mad.
:bday:  :bday: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  :bday:  :bday:

Well,
I know at our store they have the kodak picture maker, which if you use that you can get glossy prints from it.
I'll have to double check the glossy photos.
mmm...
I was just reading the rules for both the Golden Teddys and the TOBYS no where does it say the the photos should be glossy only professionally developed.
mmm...

These are the pictures that I just took for mom.
Well I just use walmart.com and upload the photos there and have them printed at my local walmart. I don't think they use "Image Intelligence" and I never have any problems with my pictures.

Wanda - I know that there is a Wal*Mart in Macomb... give them a try. Prints are only $0.19 each.

I would also suggest investing in a monitor calibration (sp?) kit. I don't have mine in front of me but it is called spyder something. I bought it about two years ago for about $150 and it helps me to get printed results that are closer to monitor results.  It suggests to calibrate your monitor every two weeks or so. I haven't found that I need to do that. But then I am not that graphic intensive. I just aim to get the pictures to look right on my screen and pray that everyone else sees the same thing.
For now I would suggest that you send Shelli everything and let her fix it and then after you win send her 10% of whatever you sell the bear for.
That reminds me I need to work on something for those...
Jared

Mary and Michelle command some of the top dollars on ebay in the teddy bear categories.
With Mary's dog please note that she also lists them in  the dog cateogries as well and I believe that it is the dog people that are spending that kind of money.
Never the less kudos to both of them.
:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Jo-Ann,
I just added one to my web site. Thanks for the info and yours is working. But it only works after you have added a web site to your favorites and then select that web site from your favorites.
Thanks again,
Jared

Yes I posted the information on her passing. The information had been pasted on to me by the yahoo teddy group that I belong too.

Shantell you did the right thing. Thanks
It is nice to know that there are people out there thinking of you and praying for you in your time of need. A very comforting thought.

Dilu -
Any help would be great!

If I find you a buyer I want the bear and 2% of the final sale price.   

Yes who is Pete Tong?

Happy Holidays!

I have enjoyed meeting everyone here on TT and look forward to meeting new friends in the years to come.

Who has time to cook, clean, shovel snow, wash the car... ??????
I sure don't.
I am still filling orders to get them out to the shoppes before Christmas!
Anyone wanna help?

       
Penny,
You are too funny...
I am reminded of the saying...
"Like a moth to the flame... "
Have you made those pattterns up yet?
I wanna see pictures when your done.

I get even bigger nutters at work. The ones that call you by your first name... just because you have to wear a badge with your name in BIG BLUE LETTERS, doesn't mean that you like to be called by your first name by total strangers...
I think I have had more people come in that were HIGH in the last two weeks than in my entire time with the company.

I forgot to mention when using keywords also remember to use common misspellings they can turn up hits for you too.
Teddies is correct
Teddys is incorrect
But both will turn up hits so use both.

Here are some keywords that might help... Remember to only use keywords that relate to your site.
Teddy
Teddys
Teddies
Bear
Bears
Teddy Bears
Hand Made
Hand Crafted
Mohair
Angora goat
Old Fashion
antique-style Teddys
Modern Bears
Artist made
Plush
Synethic
domestic Plush
Imported Plush
Glass eyes
Sew on Eyes
Excelsior
Poly fill
fully jointed

the list goes on and on.
There are several free keyword searches out there.
I use googles https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox
This is also helpful when creating a listing on ebay you can see related keywords that people looked up when looking up the keyword that you typed in.
Hope this helps,
Jared

I say just be careful and if something looks fishy it most likely is.

You can always send funny looking e-mails to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com, they will tell you if the e-mail is llegitmate or not.

I know that i have my frustartions with ebay.
Just remember they are a new company, even though it seems they have been around forever.
I watched a special on MSNBC here almost a year ago. They are dealing with growth issues that they couldn't possible have made plans for.
But I still think that there are many things that they could do to improve customer service not only to buyers but to sellers as well.

Gee isn't that sweet.
Dilu - maybe it's a BIG DIAMOND RING... 
Or maybe it was really a car part... 
Whatever it is we want pics when you get it.

I just sold a bunch of fleece hats that I made several years ago and nothing really started to happen until the last two days.
I am going to list a few more this weekend hopefully tonight. I added free shipping within the 48 states and offered a $3.00 shipping discount to other areas.
ebay id: hare1990

What I have noticed when I list bears and bunnies on ebay if I list them in the Featured Plus I can get more traffic and most of the time more money.
But If I start something out at $2.00 likes Michelle Lamb, mine only goes for about $5.00, while she gets $5,000. I don't get it.
So I usually start mine out at 50% of my retail and then place a reserve on it and if I am in the mood I will add a buy-it-now.

If I can wait till the last minute I do and then snipe it. But I also bid my max.