Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I thought I'd been bad this week too and was scared to step on those scales, but to my astonishment I've lost another pound!!!  Must be the heat and all the water I've been drinking....I must be washing all the fat away    

Great Melissa, so pleased for you :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

What clever and talented people we all are on TT

Congrats, Shelli :clap:

Its hard to tell you girls about the landscape of our country because....well what would you say if we asked what the landscape of USA was like?  You'd say it has cold parts and deserts and swamp and its so big it has most climates, right?

Australia is the same size as USA and has just as many diverse landscapes.  Up north we have tropical areas, down south we have cooler climes.  Our hot winds come from the north, cold from the south and the water goes down the drain the opposite way to the northern hemisphere.....REALLY

We want everyone to have a 'fair go' and like people that are 'fair dinkum'. 
We like 'battlers' and LOVE chopping down 'tall poppies'.
We don't like people who talk 'bulldust' and we didn't ever throw shrimps on the barbie...we call them prawns and Matilda's right....they're too expensive.
Most of us were raised on vegemite on toast and even if we don't have it at home you can bet that you'll crave it if you leave oz without it!!
Being a Victorian (come from the state of Victoria) my religion is 'football' and my club is the best...Collingwood of course    

I'm terrified of the 'S' word (I live in the bush and we have snakes, though not many people get bitten) and its harder to get attacked by a shark than win the lottery!!

Our cities are the same as anywhere in the world but I've got to say that our air is sweeter than most places I've been.  Our skies are big and blue, the stars are bright and many but the flies outnumber them and we don't 'avagoodweekend' unless we remember the 'Aerogard' (insect repellent)

We laugh when people pay thousands of dollars for our 'pink birds' (they're GALLAHS folks and they're a pest that flies into our windscreens and drive us crazy)
We can't believe it when people overseas demonstrate about us culling kangaroos when necessary (we NEEDED to cull in an army base recently as there was a drought and the 'roos were going to starve...we only wanted to cull a few thousand...there were over 100,000 in there!!!)

We smile at tourists who only see the 'tourist traps' and unless you're a born and bred Aussie we'll always call you a 'pom', 'kiwi', 'yank' or 'wog', in a loving way, of course.

I can't believe the fools on juries and judges who reward these people for their foolishness.....no wonder our insurance premiums have skyrocketed......but it sure is funny reading about them    

How on earth do you get so much detail into such a small face?????   These are amazing Nancy :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Yahoo....After being upset last week cos I only lost 1 pound....this week I've lost 1 kilo (2 pounds).....I don't think its healthy to lose much more than that each week, so I'm pleased with that    

Dear Julia, Just saw what happened on news channel and want to send you all prayers and hugs. :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Hey, don't worry about losing a pound, I did that last week and was devastated, but I lost 2 pounds this week so keep your chin up

Aren't you all clever to 'embrace' this thread!!

Congrats Paula, though its no more than your great bears deserve :clap:  :clap:

I'm in love with your big guys....they're my 'cup of tea'....love the balance, proportions and THE FACES!!!

Now just sit back and wait for the orders, girl    

I'll check out the subscriptions too...see what the postage is like to down-under.

Love the very British theme    

He's a spiffey gent

I LIKE IT    

Dear Judi, You'll know what to tell your kids when the time comes, as everyone has already said, honesty and emotion teaches us life lessons.  Just know we all care and are thinking of you.  'Been there done that' too many times over the years and it never gets easier. 
Sad you have to sell your TOBY entry but I try to believe that there is a greater plan for us all and just maybe this is meant to be for a reason that none of us can see.....doesn't make it easier though. :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Patsy, I have used micron .05 on body tags, and find them a bit grabby, as Shelli said.   You can get ZIG double ended (.5 and 1.2) at spotlight and they are Pigment ink also, acid free,archival quality, waterproof etc. available in a few colours and seem to work for me on body tags, tracing my painted dresses etc.

Congrats on your first bear Tami :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Boy!! It's better than mine....you must be a 'natural' girl

I'm SOOOO pleased to read these posts because I missed the end of the auction and was dying to know the result.   GO JUDI :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Your work is truly stunning and its always nice to know that all that effort is appreciated.

I'm pouting...I've eaten salad ALL week and have been a really good girl...I've only lost about 1/2 kilo (1 pound).

My problem is my knees.  I've been showing 'Penny the Pug' each weekend and whilst it's been fun cos we're winning really big awards(Puppy in Show last week and Best of Breed and puppy in group yesterday) its killing my knees and I can't do much exercise during the week.  I can bearly climb on my eliptical thingie.

I'm judging next weekend in Toowoomba (north about 1000 miles) so will be on my feet all weekend and should hopefully lose some kilos, but will probably be stiff as @#$* for the next few days....its like a vicious circle.

Oh, woe is me....OK I've had my whinge and I feel guilty when I read about your probs and how gallantly you deal with them.  Dilu you're a gem :hug:  :hug:

Yep, I've used it too.  I buy it from spotlight when they have it on special.  I recently did a pretty aqua and dyed the felt for the pawpads at the same time and it looks great.  I also used a mix of cafeaulait and sahara gold to make a gold afghan hound.

Ooohhhh!!!  Makes me all maternal (for one nanosecond...til I remember the sleepless nights etc) :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

What an interesting topic...and one that is dear to my heart.  As it's already been pointed out, there is a big difference between judging, critiquing, grading, advise etc.

I'm a licenced all breeds dog judge (part of my income that took 20 years of study and testing) and have judged several bear shows and there are some BIG differences that make bear judging and critiquing so subjective as to make it near impossible to achieve any stability or consistancy between events and opinions.

Yes, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and personal interpretation of balance and symetry abounds, but at least in dogs we have a 'Breed Standard' written for EVERY breed....Yep pages specifying general appearance, characteristics, head, ears, eyes, mouth, nose, neck, forequarter, body, hindquarters, size, gait, coat, colour....but STILL personal interpretation can become controversial.(so-and-so put Freddie over Fang because he said that eye colour was more important than eye shape HE HE HE)

Now think how hard it is to critique and judge bears when there is no 'Standard'  to study and the chances of having someone judging with the training and credibility of Daphne are slim at best.  There is no publicity on who the judge is (I'm going by competitions in Australia) and there is actually a feeling of secrecy surrounding this (I believe that people who keep secrets have got something to hide!!) 

Advise on the other hand can be invaluable...but once again remember that it CAN be so subjective....I believe in cupping the ears to achieve a realistic anatomical appearance, but others may like a straight ear base?????  I like tight joints, particularly for my standing bears, others like them with more movement????

After all that,   I'd suggest that if you want guidance, you might find someone who's style of bears and opinions you enjoy and ask them for some advise.

This is so much fun :clap:  :clap:  :clap:
I can't believe how hard Quy and the gang work (and you too Shelli) just to perfect an already great experience.  This is unheard of in other forums and just goes to show the different attitude with TT.  I keep saying how much I love TT!!!

Jenn, you don't need people who behave like that!!!  Here's some hugs :hug:  :hug:  :hug: ...now shrug 'them there' awful one's off and have a chuckle at their pettiness...just remember that whilst they're talking about you they're leaving some other poor bugger alone!!! Oops are we allowed to say that!!

Jane, you did it again     You clever little thing you :clap:  :clap:

Congrats on the site, Danni, looks great :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Oops, I didn't get to send pics yet, but I promise I will.

All the beary best wishes for the new year and the webzine.