Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Judi,
Congratulations on your fantastic achievement! Your work is truly amazing and the bears you entered are absolutely gorgeous.  You should be very proud!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Samantha,
Big congratulations to you on your fantastic awards and thank you so much for taking the time to post the photos - so nice to see all the lovely bears together!  I love your little bears on the snow - really sweet!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi!!!

Well done and big "CONGRATULATIONS"!!

Your bears are always so sweet, so I am not surprised you got an award!!

Big hugs

Marilyn 

Hello Shelly,

That is absolutely brilliant news!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!  You must be on cloud nine today, and so well deserved!

Clever bunny!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi everyone
I would just like to wish everyone who is exhibiting at Hove tomorrow (Sunday) a fantastic day, and hope that you all
do brilliantly!  I can't make it unfortunately so look forward to seeing lots of your pics (hint hint!) on dear old TT!

Good luck!

Hugs

Marilyn

Oh Vicki!!

What an adorable photo!  Your bears look absolutely gorgeous and in such wonderful colours!      I love every one of them!  You will do brilliantly at the show and I only wish I was there to see them!  Have a wonderful time.

Hugs

Marilyn 

I like it!! :clap:  :clap:

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Connie

This is a gorgeous little bear and has a beautiful character.  A big success I would say!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Marg

I love this little bear and adore the way you have photographed him!  He looks like he has been a naughty little bear and has just been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi, 

What a beautiful little bear!  Lovely photographs and she looks so dainty.  You have used my favourite colour combination of pink/green/white or cream. 

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Gemma,

What lovely bears!  You are sure to do very well at the show.  Good luck and have a lovely day!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Vicki,

Yes ...  another gorgeous little bear!!   

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Bea
What a cute little fellow!!  He looks like he has been up to mischief!!  I love needle felted faces!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Marlys,
What lovely little bears, and it is so refreshing to see a selection of nice colours.  I'm not surprised someone bought four!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Vicki

Thank you so much for passing this information on - I would probably have been one of those who would have been fooled if they caught me "on the hop".  I will pass this on to my friends too.

Hugs

Marilyn

Oh dear!!!!

I thought virtually the same thing as Marlys when I first saw the photo - I said it looked like something from a crime scene!!    Poor teddy ..  hope he soon gets his head together!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi Paula,

I hate to say it, but it happens here in the UK too as I have heard, via someone doing temp work for a courier,  of some terrible things that happen to our parcels at times.  I noticed a while ago that certain couriers always seem to deliver parcels with a large gaping hole in the side, apparently where parcels are "speared" to push them along the ground instead of picking them up, and larger parcels are sometimes treated to a bit of "fork lift" fun with the fork part of the truck.  And as for the  word "fragile", it seems to mean "fun time" to them and probably a good excuse for a drop kick!

So sorry to hear about the nose on your beautiful bear Paula.

Bear hugs

Marilyn

Hi Shelli,

Wow, I'm jealous!!!  This sounds a really exciting prospect for you and I think we can all tell which one you r-e-a-l-l-y prefer!!  You have to be really excited about where you are going to work, to enthuse you to get cracking on with your creative projects,  so I guess the first option is the one???!!!  You are sounding more enthusiastic already!!

Good luck!

Hugs,

Marilyn

Dear Daphne,

I am so sorry to hear about your problem but know exactly what you are going through.  I have suffered with this for many years now and over here in England, they can be known as ectopic beats, or extrasystoles, and are apparently perfectly okay.  Healthy people can get them so it doesn't mean anything is wrong, but if you are under stress or overtired, anxious, etc. then there is a likelihood that they will become troublesome.   

I can get them any time of the day and can start up out of the blue but then can go for some days with just the odd one or two.  When I first had then, I too used to find that I would notice them more at night and would suddenly sit bolt upright in a panic wondering what was going on.  I don't think it is anything to do with a panic attack because I used to get those, and in such circumstances, your heart beat races and goes fast. It is totally different from what you are experiencing, feeling that there is a pause and then comes a "thud" or heavier beat which can feel quite big at times.  It is just the unevenness of the spacing between the beats and can sometimes make you feel as though your heart is "turning over", a weird feeling.  But apparently, it is quite normal.  At the time though, it certainly doesn't feel like it , does it?!!!!

Now when I get them, and sometimes I get them one after the other for many hours, I get up and walk around taking controlled breaths and try to get on with normal things. I was told that drinking cold water can help too - I'm not sure of this but I do it anyway!!  I have read that exercise can abolish them but I certainly never feel like exercising when I get them!!  Quite the reverse, but do find that walking around for several minutes helps me. I also avoid caffeine.  I do have other heart issues anyway which were picked up from a test but I am not going to bore you with but it is a case that some people notice these beats, while others do not.  The main thing is not to worry - they will not hurt you.  Less worry means they will probably go away!  Also, it is very easy, believe me, to think that because you had a bad session of these beats at bedtime, means that you are going to have them again when you go to bed, a very easy thing to do, otherwise you will get yourself stressed about it and probably get them!!!  I used to get like that, and it is not good!!!  Your tests at the hospital showed there was nothing to worry about - so that is brilliant!

I have just noted something too that Shelli wrote about energy drinks, and I completely agree.  I went through a very similar thing as Shelli and discovered that energy drinks are a BIG no-no.  Even dear old Lucozade here in the UK and it's all down to the caffeine.  A lot of cold and cough remedies etc. contain caffeine which I didn't used to know about so I avoid them like the plague too.  Just have to keep reading all the labels!!

So Daphne, ....  relax!!!!!  Please don't worry and I am sure these will disappear.  If the odd one returns, just dismiss it and concentrate your thoughts in a different direction - bear making!!!!!

I wish you well and will be thinking of you.

Extra big hugs,

Marilyn

I could fly with him anyday ...  and I hate flying!!!!!

Hugs

Marilyn

Ah, a sweet little thing!  I see she is into hairdressing already!!!

Hugs

Marilyn

That brought a tear to my eye.    

Lovely little poem - I will keep that.

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi everyone!

What a brilliant topic Shelli - I have tried to go a day without TT (very hard!) and looks like I have been missing out !!    I agree and can sympathise with everyone's comments as I too am going through a very bad patch of losing my enthusiasm!  To complete one bear a month seems about my limit too!!  I do have fourteen on the go in various stages but have no enthusiasm to finish any. The computer being six feet away from my bearing table doesn't help either as I find I am constantly having "just a quick peek" which normally ends up being another hour with my nose pressed up to the screen, - like right now!!!!  

I know that when I was out at work full time, I got far more done on the creative side of things in my spare time because any spare time was so precious.  I think when you are at home, at least in my case, it is so easy to become a little too lazy about things and I do tend to find myself thinking "ok, I'll leave the stuffing until tomorrow" when I know full well that I should get on with it NOW!  Also, when tomorrow comes around, I have usually directed my attentions elsewhere.

One thing I can be sure of, that when I DO actually feel completely motivated and eager to get on, there will usually be something waiting in the wings to mess the whole day up, like a sudden rush to the vets, or someone wanting me to do something for them.  No-one seems to take my bear-making seriously and I do end up feeling almost embarrassed to say that I do it sometimes, which is really sad. :redface: 

I absolutely love being on my own with my own thoughts and having time to be creative (when I feel like it!) - unfortunately none of my friends  or relatives seem to have hobbies these days and I am sure people look upon me as being a little "odd", to be "at home with toys" as one delightful bod said to me once!  Having like-mind people around is certainly motivating and can help channel energy and thoughts in the right direction. I love to chat and have a good laugh too and think that a part-time job  would definitely be the answer and a good compromise but like Ellen, I too have a heart problem and am too scared now to take a job where I have to be confined or restricted  to an area - one of the reasons why I took up bear-making. Also, as Paula said, there is nothing out there to inspire you, at least not in our area unless you want to sit in a boring office all day.  So working at home seems the right thing to do but I know that if there were more part-time creative-type jobs around, then that would solve the problem, more money coming in from enjoyable employment plus hopefully a good social side too.   

So probably that is the answer Shelli, a really fun part-time job if you are fortunate to find one.  Working with a group of like-minded creative people would certainly be a big bonus to get those creative-juices working.

Good luck Shelli -I wish you well but I know that whatever you do will be brilliant.   

Hugs

Marilyn

Hi,
Yes, it is annoying   which is why I brought the subject up because there are a large number of people who, like my Mum, would turn a computer on and search websites etc without knowing how a computer works or indeed what functions are there for them, which is absolutely fine.  The people who contacted me about my website fell into this category and had never used the "refresh" button and didn't know what it did.  It certainly solved the problem, so I just thought that mentioning it here may help other people if they have a similar problem with various sites.  No harm in trying it - it may work, it may not!!

Happy browsing!
Hugs
Marilyn

Hi there!    
I would just like to bring up a little matter that could help everyone.  Now that you are looking at your screen, do you know where your "Refresh" button is? ( maybe called "Reload Page" or something else perhaps).  (On my page, it is a button on the top lefthand side, next to the back\forward button and looks like a curved arrow going backwards!) If not, please find it, as both Artists and potential customers could be missing out on things!   
 
I bring this matter up because a little while ago, a few people asked me when my website was going to be up and running.  It had been up for about a month  so I asked them to try again and let me know if they still couldn't find anything.  It transpired that with a few of them, they had "bookmarked" my website and it just kept reloading a very old page which just stated that my site was "coming soon" each time they tried. When I recommended they tried using the Reload /Refresh button, hey presto, the website came up!   
 
I have been experimenting with four computers, (AppleMac and a PC) to see if alterations to my website are automatically being reloaded properly.  On some it is working fine, on others it is not despite leaving it for a couple of days just to see.  I checked this out with my local Apple store and basically, with all the multitude of different computers around, their age, operating systems etc., it is so easy to be missing things on various websites because maybe your system is not potentially refreshing/reloading an updated website.  So, if in doubt, press your button on each new page and see if there are any changes. 
 
As an experiment, my website has been updated today and should show " ..updated 31st October".  If you log on to it, and it is still reading "21st October", then please press your refresh button and see if it changes!  If it already says the 31st, then that is fine.   
 
Thank you. 
 
Marilyn