Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Better late than never!!Compared to all yor houses we are very tackyyy!!All the lovely ornaments go away and out comes what some may see as junk.I love decorations from the 4o's through to the 60's .Mostly chennile and glitter.
These pictures are of two of our five trees!!!We have a seven foot traditional one in the lounge with lovely things on it but I love these two.The white one is a vintage 60,s tree with shiny brite baubles ,glass birds and blown glass ornaments on it.I have round it honeycomb santa's and giant Chrismas scraps form when I was wee.I also collect flock and velvet reindeer.I have this tree by my bed and sleep with the lights on.This  tree takes me back to the magical Christmas's I had as a child.
The green one is a forties tree that I won en ebay.It has even older birds and bobbles on it including my grans old santa in chennille and fir cone.At the bottom I have old bottle brush trees and a wonderful giraffe and moose .I also have a chad valley bank in the shape of a book from the fortiesForties stuff is getting very hard to afford so I may have to collect seventies next!!!

I get up early and my daughter and I open up whats in our stockings.She is 16 now and does one for me too.After that we get a flask of hot chocolate and take the dogs a two hour walk on the beach.The dogs and cat get whipped cream on their lunch and we will head off to my mum and dads.This is the first time in seven years that we will see them on Christmas day.I just learned to drive which is making life much easier.After lunch with them we wil ldrive back home and  lie around with all the animals eating till we fel sick and watching old movies.We open our parcels after Christmas dinner.
I sometimes get envious of people with big families.There used to be forty of us gathered but now there are only four.My four dogs ,cat and forty fish make quite good substitutes though.
I hope you all have lovely Christmas days.
Remember all the good christmas days with your Grandad Kate thats what I do.Mine used to arrive at 6.00 a.m to watch my late brother and I open our parcels.Grandads are special and we are lucky to have been close to ours.

Oh that must have been so sore!!!!My thumb has stopped throbbing as much and I will hopefully be sewing soon.Thanks for caring.I don't feel right if I don't speak to someone on teddy talk each day.It makes you feel connected.Pats all round
Diane xxx

What a warm fuzzy message.I haven't contributed much so far but reading all this cheered me up.I almost ripped my thumb nail of last night and I can't beleive how much pain I am in.I would rather be giving birth again and that was nippy!!!!
I don't thik I can sew today which will feel very weird indeed.
Have a lovely day everyone and hold all the nice thought
Diane xxxx

That was clever and considerate thanks Diane xxx

Try not to le this upset you too much Jenny.Being in the right and still penalised is frustrating.I had a mad woman leave me really nasty feed back saying buyers beware etc.She had tried to pay for my bear with a two year old cheque signed with only her first name???Under the vile feedback she left I put please refer to previous of mine and take a look at hers.I still get angry when I see I have not got 100% feedback through no fault of my own.Smile through it if you can
Diane xxx

I got a lovely one from a customer called Karen in Canada.
She sent me this nice picture of two of my bears in her Christmas display.The middle one is by my friend and her aunty Brenda Power.

I can see the first one is a wee bit scary but the felted one is very sweet.Thanks for joining in.

Sounds complicated on ebay.I will list him and just send the proceeds to wspa.I did that before and then forwarded the thankyou to the buyer.
It is very ealy morning here so I will wait till "the savo".Oh that brough back memeories of watching "Neighbours" when I was pregnant.Everyone said I would watch Australian soaps and I did.

I can't believe you all like him.Perhaps you are just being kind???He is quite big at eight inches.
Maybe I coul put him on ebay starting at just $10 and I will give the proceeds to Libearty.What do you think????
I have a bear in our local shop with guess the birthday for Libearty and I usually do another one before Christmas.But the bunny might do instead.

I found this poor critter while rumaging for fabric.He was supposed to be a cute bunny but turned out to be an extra for "The evil dead".I gave up on bunnies for a while after him!!!
Does anyone else have any scary creatures lurking about????

We have never spoken Nina but my thoughts are with you.I went through the same with my daughter when she was two.Luckily she was clear .Thinking of you
Diane

It must be strange having a hot Christmas.A white one looks lovely.We normally get snowed in and have power cuts.We have to go to bed at 4.30 when it gets dark and take dogs in with us for heat.The village I live in has no gas supply and very few open fires so when the electricity goes we are all stuck.We were like Australians last year and had a BBQ.It was great fun in the snow!

It takes me two days to put mine up and I am still making bears.It will be a couple of weeks till I can join in this one.We have five trees and loads of other stuff including a knitted by me (quite scary) nativity scene and it is impossible to work round it.I take my only proper holiday the week before Christmas.

So you like trolls too Shelli!I am trying to replace my collection that I donated to the kids hospital about 25 years ago.I have 20 1960 dam trolls including three vikings (no ginger haired ones sadly)I buy them at jumbles and on ebay sometimes.The dam 60'snes have soft hair and glass eyes like you mentioned .In the sventies they gradually became cheaper with nasty hair and cheaper plastic.I even love the smell of them.

I fancy your cake Marie!!!!I also may try the old black eyed peas thingy and hope it supplies pounds as well as dollars.I havent even ever seen a black eyed pea though!!

I would like an even more remote house with no neighbours and enough room for a rescue donkey,a faster end to bear bile farming,an end to the fur trade,a 1964 dam viking troll with ginger hair and more time to sew!!!!

Thanks Estelle .I am at that difficult age where the brain will not function properly.At least I was on the right track.
I could eat a quorn roast right now too.

How lovely you all are.Lots of pats to you all from me.(I have been more of a patter than a hugger even as a baby)

Dates,truffles (first thing in the morning) hot chocolate from a flask on the beach with the dogs,quorn roast with leek and mushroom sauce and ginger wine.I think I may have to go eat something now after reading all this.
I had no idea satsumas were a plum in the U.S I sold a bear called Satsuma in the U.S.He was bright orange which must have confused the buyer .Satsuma is also a period in china isn't it???I have seen satsuma pots on antique shows.Maybe the wee oranges came from that region??/who knows.

I can't make happy bears.They all look like they have had a hard paper round.I can make cute when I make anime like the wee pic I have added but my traditional bears are all forlorn  ,poor lambs.This doesn't reflect my character at all.I am guilty of laughing and smiling at nothing even when on my own.I don't know where the sad bears come from.

I was fed up sewing and enjoyed looking at all the wee souls.You all have lovely sprogs.
This is my wee girl (five foot ten actually) she is sixteen and studying hard.I am afraid all our photos have at least three real furbies in them.There are very few corners free of animals.

I have it easy this year.Las year I remember sittin with 25 boxes of chocolates still to eat a week after Christmas and thought "enough is enough".My friends and I are all donating to animal charities in each others names and just getting each other special cards.I am only buying for my daughter ,mum and dad and a few wee things for kids in the village.It is making it a much nicer Christmas all round.The few I am buying are all onlne which is much less stressfull!!!

"Those we love don't go away ,they walk beside us day by day"
Very sorry for your loss.I lost a dog a few years ago and although I still have four and a cat she is the last thought in my mind before I sleepevery night.We are lucky to be able to care so much for our pets.
Diane

Hi Paula,
I loved your site.Your bears are so different but still essentially teddies and cuddly looking.I loved the soft touch ones and liked your page about you.I am five years older and actually used to play with one of The Bay City Rollers as a child.It was the, not very good looking one, that lived a few doors down from my Granny.(of course that will mean nothing to you ,it is getting late and I am rambling)You have inspired me to put a page about myself and family on my site.
Well its bed time herE so "Bye bye baby ,baby bye bye."
Perhaps your next British bear could be "Shangalang"????
Diane xxxxx