Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Bronwen, the teddy bear eyes I bought from Glasseyes all have loops. I think you have been looking at the reptile eyes - they don't have loops.   

I found the cat eyes - and they have loops on the back too:
http://glasseyes.com/cgi-bin/products.p … ode=125KOE

That is so kind and thoughtful of you, Jeremy  :hug:

I would love to have my name added to the draw - it is impossible to find any bear magazines here in Denmark and when I buy some, I have to order them from the Internet and wait forever for them to arrive.

Thank you 

Glasseyes.com has lots of diffent types of eyes:

http://glasseyes.com/index.html

Karen, your elephant is so cute     ... and so are the rest of your patterns! 

Hi Chloe 

I just had a look at the fauxthrow-site...WOW....great looking fabrics. Have you tried ordering fur from them (except the swatches I mean)? I looked at their FAQ-site and it seems they don't cut fatquarters. You would have to order a lap/knee-size piece (1 x 1.5 meter) to have enough for a medium sized bear as far as I can see. Do you know if they cut fatquarters?

Does the fur have much stretch?

The fur looks so soft and silky...I think I have to order some swatches 

Thanks for posting the link 

I found some long pile fur for minis here:

http://www.bearessence.com.au/?stg=1287

It doesn't look long pile to me - but I don't make minis so maybe it will look long pile on a small bear.

I found another cute elephant here

http://www.bearessence.com.au/

Hi 

Welcome to TT 

I don't know if there is a story behind the elephants - but they are cute 

Monica's Attic Treasures has made a cute elephant pattern:

http://www.monicasattictreasures.com.au … s%20p.html

I haven't made this elephant but I have made other bears from Monica's patterns and I love her patterns    They come with very clear instructions. Take a look at her website - she has lots of great tutorials as well.

:crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup: I was sure it had something to do with "preserve the Gorillas - make a donation to XXX"....something like that    :crackup:

Hi Mandie,

A couple of weeks ago I received 10 wonderful synthetic fur samples from
http://www.imstuffedfur.com/

Their prices are good and they have a very large selection of both short and long pile fur to choose from.  You can email Beverly and tell her what you are looking for and she will send you samples. They have much more than what you can see on the website.

Happy fur-hunting   

Sounds like lots of fun  Have a wonderful trip 

Just a thought....if the gel is that shiny, it should be great for bear noses too? I hate waxing noses - they look lumpy and feel greasy afterwards....definately worth trying this gel, I think 

It says that Jawjuice is a "destructive adhesive" and that it melts down plastic?    If it can melt plastic it can melt felt as well I guess 

I did a search too on the crystal gel Jenny mentioned and came up with something called 3D Crystal Lacquer. It is acid free and is used by doll makers for shiny lips and eyes on dolls. It is not too expensive so I think I will order a bottle and see how it turns out (better try it on scraps first...  )

I found this place in the UK that carries 3D Crystal Lacquer: http://www.celcrafts.co.uk/CrystalArtPics.htm (top left corner)

I though about varnish or glue too - I use that a lot for quilt projects that needs to stiffen...but I'm afraid that it will stiffen too much or crack.

Jawjuice? What a yaki name  :crackup:  :crackup: I haven't heard of that before but I have a link at home to a taxidermist. It sounds like the right thing to use. 

Thanks both of you  :hug:

I'm working on an open mouth bear right now and I would love to give him a wet-looking tongue and lips. I have made the tongue and the lips in pink and black felt but I was thinking that adding a wet look to his tongue and lips would give him a more natural look.

Any ideas?? 

I agree with Jo  Nancy's classes are great.

I've taken three classes so far and I loved them all.....plus the fact that you take the class at home when you have the time. I have been in other classes before and you either have to spent a whole weekend or drive a long way once a week in the evening when you are tired and rather would stay at home instead of making bears. With Nancy's classes, you take the class in your own pace and when you feel for it. 

I wrote Marilyn Jensen and she replied that she doesn't sell the pattern.....   So i guess I will have to try to alter the poodle pattern.....wish me luck so that the poor poodle doesn't end up looking like a Yeti or something like that instead of a Bichon ....   

Thanks 

I will contact Marilyn Jenson, Gail - maybe she has a pattern she would sell me....The bichon on her site is so cute and exactly what I am looking for. If not, I will buy the Sugar pattern from Lisa Pay (a poodle) and see if i can change it. A Bichon has a shorter muzzle and body than a poodle and the tail is different too but apart from that they are very much alike.

Now I know what to do the next couple of months!   

My daughter says her biggest wish for Christmas is a Bichon Frisé "bear" and of course she expects me to be able to make her one......Since she is my biggest (and only!  ) fan when it comes to bear making, I haven't found the courage to tell her that I might not be able to make her one  :redface: She is only 9 years old and thinks I can do ANYTHING and I would love to stay up on my pedestal until she reaches her teens and by then thinks I'm an idiot no matter what I do!   :crackup:

I don't make my own patterns yet - I'm working on a bear pattern but its my first and I think starting out with a dog pattern would be too difficult.

I have searched the Internet for Bichon-patterns but all I can find is a poodle pattern - and a poodle is not a Bichon even though most people ask when we walk our Bichon pup, Amy, if she is a poodle with an alternative hair cut! 

Does anyone know where I can find a Bichon-pattern?

Great topic 

So far, I have only shaded a couple of bears and practiced on scraps of mohair and it works fine with the copic markers and the blender (although one of the bears looked as if someone (me!) gave him 2 black eyes  ) - but ... practice (perhaps) makes perfect 

I always thought that you start shading with the copic marker and after that use the blender pen to soften the colours - but the other day I read in the instructions to a bear that you start with the blender pen and then use the copic marker afterwards?? Have any of you heard of this before? It said in the instructions that you "wet" the fabric where you want the shading with the blender pen first and then add colours with the copic markers. 

Am I doing it the wrong way adding colours first and using the blender pen afterwards?? 

Thanks, Judi 

Yes, I have caught the felting bug  Thanks to you actually.... :crackup:   I'm in your "fab felted faces"-class and it is SOOO much fun.  :dance: It looks odd when you start felting but its fun to see the shape develop as you go with the poke-poke-poke-turn-poke....  My daughter has started on a small needle felted bear too and we have both spent all afternoon and evenings the last couple of days needle felting. 

I noticed that when I finish with the 40-needle I can still see small holes in the felt - how do you get a smooth surface? It still gets a little lumpy and I find it hard to get it as smooth as I would like.

I think I will try cutting a bit off the muzzle parts of the pattern on my next bear and see what happens as I felt it. I guess its a matter of trying it a few times to know how much to cut off the pattern. 

What a wonderful pup!  I can't begin to imagine the hours you must have spent on this ... and the amout of wool either 

WOW

!!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap: You make the most outstanding and beautiful bears and this one is absolutely gorgeous    I'm always amazed when I see your bears that they have so very soulful and expressive eyes - this one too. .... 'sigh'....makes me wish I could make bears like that 

Your collector must be over the moon - I know I would be. 

How long does it take to airbrush a whole bear? It must take forever with all that colouring and layers of so many different colours?

I have just started needle felting - and I love it  (haven't lost any fingers either...yet!  )

Its so much fun and the bears I have seen with needle felted muzzles are so cute. I would love to try to needle felt a muzzle on my next bear but how much would you change a normal pattern (normal as in 'not intented to be felted') so that you can needle felt the muzzle? I was thinking that I could maybe use a photocopier and make the head parts i.e. 10% smaller than the rest of the bear?

If you use the pattern as it is, I would think that the bear's head would get too big when you add layers of wool/felt? 

Are there any "rules" when you make patterns for needle felted faces?  :doh:

What a wonderful bunny  No wonder, Hannah wants to keep Maisie to herself  The fabric looks wonderful and I know what you mean about the paw pad fabric. I have tried different fabric for the paws and some of it is impossible to sew.

My daughter keep all my bears too  When I first started making bears (I'm still a newbie) I thought I might be able to sell a few of them and earn enough to keep my costs of buying new supplies down - but I haven't sold any bears yet and I probably wont sell any either until the day my daughter "grows out" of bears  :crackup:

Anyway, I don't mind.....I love having my very own 1-member-fanclub