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Sorry you are sad and hope some of the advice helps.
I agree with Penny that in the u.k shows are mostly a waste of time and I never got advertissing money back really.I had a few dodgy years and who knows I could again.Right now everyone sells but that could allchange.I don't sell to shops ,advertise or do shows.I have regulars and ebay and thats it.
If you bears sell well elsewhere take a break from ebay if not perhaps a spell of working on your bears.
I looked at your site and the bears looked nice but perhaps you have not found that signature look.Hundreds of people make cute wee bears and you have to have a distinct look.I hope you don't think I am being hard but sometimes we need to face things.I would spend your time and money working on your own look rather than advertising etc.If you can say in all honesty they are just as you want them then discount what I say.I cannot judge as I am not an expert and my preference is for traditional bears and antique ones.You obviously have talent so just build on it and give your self esteem some time off.
Big pats from Diane xxxx
Oh he is so ugly (the dog not the nice child)but in a beautiful way.I love droopy lips and his are huge.I bet he drools.
Diane xx
Sorry Aleta but I like the first one.He looks like he has had a hard paper round and I like them that way.The last one is more like chick I agreee but is perhaps too perfect???
You are a clever girl aren't you???
Diane xxx
I have made a cream bear holding a suspect bunny for my easter challenge.
Well said ,we all ended on a happy note!!!
Diane xxx
Sad to hear you have lost a brother too Lisa,I miss mine every day as we were very close .He was an artist and I have many of his paintings on display which helps.
Sorry to hear what you had to go through Sue Ann but you are still here which counts.
Hopefully all these posts will shake people up a bit and send Lisa to get her bits and bobs checked.
Dianexxx
Ebay again???For all of you lucky enough to have a chioce in the matter I undersand completely.I have no husband ,live in partner ,sugar daddy,sponsor,(think I covered everything there)and a child to raise.If I boycotted ebay we would simply starve and be evicted.I have had no bad experiences but sympathise with all who have but when a company has more or less changed your life for the better it is very hard to not appreciate it.
That will be my last comment on the subject.
Diane xxx
I love your bunnies.I just finished one tonight but it is a bit of a horror!!!!Yours have such sweet wee faces!!!
Diane xxx
Thanks Diane for the link.
Scotland is a place that I would love to come and visit one day.
My anchestors on my Mothers side are from there - the Campbells.
My Parents went back and had such a great time visiting places and had such a wonderful time.Hugs
Carolyn
Maybe we could do a house swap as I have always longed to see New Zealand especially the mineral lakes.
Diane xxxx
Diane, thanks for the invitation but I think I'll leave Corson home LOL! The litte rat is so hockey crazy at just two years old, that he can now fire a slapshot 6 inches in the air and get it in the net! I sure wouldn't stand in front of him when he's playing outside, on the driveway- it's actually pretty funny as he is soooo serious about it. NHL here we come? Stranger things have happened LOL!
Hugs,
Brenda
I can't believe how big he is getting!!!He is real wee boy now and not a baby,so cute with his hockey stick.
Diane xxx
Hi Diane, well you'll see perhaps a roo or two where i am, rats..mmmm perhaps we'll visit the next property and see if they are breeding them for those snakes they love so much...(their wild life carers and i don't even wanna know what they have up there as long as they keep them on their side of the property).ha.ha....fruit bats, plenty of those too..you'll fit in well! There's quite a few macadamia and banana farms up here too and loads of yummy Mangoes (do you get Mangoes)?
Haven't you heard the saying those little 'Aussie battlers' they've been saying that for years...hard working Aussies..that's us! Funnily, once on Ebay a Gentleman (have to title him that) i purchased something from, when he saw that i was from Australia, he emailed me the postage costs etc..and said and how are our Little Convicts going Down Under...suppose were still thought of as 'Convicts' in that Great Land of England!
He received a lovely email back, told him i'm a half breed so he can't claim full victory!!, half of me was already here when they claimed Australia (my Grand mother is Aboriginal), the other half being my Scottish heritage that they kicked out of England for pinching a loaf of bread!! that makes up a good Breed, no Blue Bloods Down here and us convicts are doing just fine !! ha.ha.....suppose that's why we have our own English language down under turned into slang..cause there aint no blue Bloods!! ha.h.a :lol:
Greetings from the mother ship!!!I suppose you are not so much convicts as escapees from tyranny.
Mangoes cost a fortune here Lisa and I unfortunately love them.I eat them fresh ,dried and tinned.I guess they will be plentiful with all your sun.I eat lots of bananas and nuts too ,I should live in Australia.I have lots of books on the different species of marsupial rats.I just love them.We only have regular ones here.When we moved to this house my daughter had six which perched on her shoulder.It kept a lot of unwanted visitors away including mice.Now we have a semi ferral cat doing the job as all our pet rats have died off.
Its bed time here but I guess you are still beavering away.
Night night
Diane xxx
Well said Aleta.My brother died at 36 of skin cancer and I had a scare myself two years later..Hard to beleive with our climate!!!Thankfully I was fine and it was benign.I made a promise to him that I would never sun bathe and always use sun block.I have impressed that upon my daughter too.I use sun block all year round and so does she.I get very upset seeing wee kids tanned.A lot of people think it is healthy but as soon as the melanin starts to turn the skin brown it can activate cancerous cells.I think you are more educated in hot countries.The last few years have seen health warning on t.v here too at last
Diane xxx
I am glad you all liked the link.Open door here to anyone who fancies a visit.I love your scottish bear Sonya!!!
Diane xxx
Diane, I have to come and see you sometime - I love the scenery. I have one grandfather from Scotland, but know nothing about hime. I've tried to do internet searches for him, with the little bit I know, but no luck. You photos on the site are wonderful. I'm doing a lot of daydreaming today LOL!
Hugs,
Brenda
Brenda ,
I would love to see you here and take you to all my favourite haunts.Bring Corson too!!!!
Diane xxx
yeah we talk real great eh..so much slang, I'm sure true Blue English would loathe our English slang or what we have done to it.
Your definatly on, i'll take you up on that, my husband also wants to go to Scotland and Ireland and i can finally tell my (POP) who is really ill at present that someone in the family is going to visit his home..his of course a Macdonald, suppose there are heaps of MacDonald's over there?.
Your welcome to come here too anytime, your certainly welcome to stay with my family, probably winter time would suit you as it's still warm where i am and not hot like our Summers get.
Thanks for the url link on the mohair, no worries.
Happy Mothers day to you too, yes we have it in May as well.
One day I would love to take you up on that.I have had a lifelong love of Marsupials especially kangaroo rats and fruit bats.I would so love to see the wildlife and scenery and you too of course Lisa.You sound very genuine and I think you are a hard worker like myself.,that is something I really admire.
Maybe one day......
Diane xxx
I am hoping for a happy outcome for you and your family Daphne.
Diane xxx
It's in May, in France, but happy mother's day ! :hug:
Marion it is May in the U.S the French settlers must have had their way or perhaps it is a modern holiday.I am not sure.
I have had a nice day anyway.
Diane xxx
Hi Diane, it's lovely. We're thinking of staying at the Haven Holidays Caravan Park near Berwick this summer and it looks a lovely place to visit.
Thanks for that.
Hugs
Tina
Tina,You must come visit !!!As long as you like dogs which we have in abundance!!!
Diane xxx
Thanks Dianne, was waiting for this ..think i mentioned to you before i'd love to go to Scotland and Ireland, think it's so beautiful and have so much History..and legends, you guys spin the biggest Yarns more so than us Aussies...especially Pub Stories and Legends..get a huge kick out of the Scots that live here now telling us the legendry tales.. enjoyed reading the Berwickshire tale too. Can't wait to go there one day..i'll swap you my freckles for you Scottish complexion!! and well if you want you can have my Aussie accent too as i hate it..I don't think you can beat a good ol' Scottish accent, sounds awesome to listen to..How do you go with Postage and deliveries? :hug: lisa.
Funnily enough I love an Aussie accent.Not sure what your question about ostage refers to Lisa.If you mean the mohair site I put a link to I hear the delivery is very fast.Sorry If I am being thick???If ever you get over here you are very welcome to come stay.It better be Summer as we even get ice on the inside of the windows in winter!!I love the cold and like winter best.I don't do well in hot weather now although I used to go to Greece a lot and loved the heat.
Happy mothers day by the way ,but perhaps like the U.S you have it in May???
Diane xxxx
My village is ancient and steeped in history.We have many ancient sites .I have added a link to our community website if anyone would like to see.If you click on toursit info then gallery there are some nice pics of our buildings and scenery.There is nothing else here,one village shop and thats it for miles around.We get mostly history buffs and geologists visiting.
Diane xxx
http://www.cockburnspath.net/Community/ … ter_fs.htm
I know it is different in other countries but today is Mothers day here in Britain.
I got my breakfast made for me,a lovely home made card and a big box of chocolates.My daughter and my Mother and I have just spent the morning at The John Muir country park,watching Llamas,deer and a pond teeming with toads(we are easy pleased!).The sun has been shining and it felt like Spring at last.
I hope you are all having a lovely mothering Sunday even if it is the wrong date for you..
Diane xxxx
Sorry I can't agree here.Dear old ebay has paid all the bills now for over five years.Without it I would be stuffed.I have met lovely buyers and sellers and also two best pals through it.It has changed my life and made it possible for me to work from home.
I now think about 80% of my income is from ebay.I have had minor problems but if you watch all the regular artists selling time and time again it obviously is good for a lot of them.If bears were a hobby or a part time job I could possibly stay away but not for a full time income.Diane xx
I double stitch every seam in the whole bear so that if there are dodgy bits(hopefully not too many) I know they are safe.I would ladder stitch it as you are obviously worried and will no rest till its fixed.I made a mutant head the other day and tried to take i apart to use the stuffing.Thats when I knew my bears were bomb proof.It took ages to get the joint out and even loner to remove the eyes.I think a collector would have to inflict some serious abuse on a bear to damage it.
look at your finished bear in the mirror ,its like another set of eyes.
Diane xxx
I think your best bet is to sit and look through a book of old bears.Find what style you like and incorporate some of the features in your design.Change them a bit at a time till you get a traditional bear with your look.German American and British bears are all so different.If you are going for the german look you need the long muzzle long arms and hump,British bears have shorter limbs and broader foreheads.If you take your ime you will get your own version of a traditional design instead of a reproduction.My bears are supposed to resemble old german bears from about 1910 (I wish!!!!) but I like them to still be wee scones.
If you sit and sketch some bears from pictures you will find the shapes you need.
Hope this helps
Diane xxx
I wonder why Ilong for these old things???I must be at that weird age!!!!
Uh Oh - seems it's catching Nettie, i LOVE these things. But as i am just a young thing i don't think the age has anything to do with it!
(OK i'm lying about me age again :redface: )Penny
I am a slip of a girl too ha ha.
I wonder if the further away a thing gets the more you want it back?? I get very emotional even watching old music videos.What a sap!!!
I sometimes think it is because my brother died.I feel the link to my childhood has gone as I am not in touch with anyone from those days.Oh dear I have gone all morbid sorry!!!Perhas some chocolate would help???
Diane xxxx
You are very kind to warn us all in your time of trouble.I hope your dad can eat soon.
I have freind who has constant heartbrn and they test him every year in hospital.The procedure is painful but will prevent him from going through what your poor dad has.I will tell him your story.
Diane xxx
