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Hi all!
I would first like to say that someone needs to take my debit card away from me. Hobby Lobby, JoAnne Fabrics, and Michaels are having WAY too many sales!!!!!!! 
Does anyone else here walk into a craft store and immediately start mulling over EVERY SINGLE ITEM that anyone could fathom incorporating into a bear idea? I now have about 30 million different colored pieces of material that I think I could possibly incorporate into a bear embellishment.... 50 million different colored strings, threads, perles, yarn, etc etc etc.... and about 80 million different colored beads.... ALL ferreted into our house (while my husband is at work, mind you!) and squirrelled away within the last, what, 3 months that I've been making bears. I now have embellishments to create roughly 4.9 bazillion wee bears.... I have, for the first time in my life an unhealthy obsession with glass seed beads.
I even caught myself tonight. There I was, in JoAnne fabrics, picking out yet another of 7 bolts of fabric that I already had piled overloading my bitty green cart. Why DO they offer teeny little shopping carts that, if you were to find a large bolt of beautifully luscious fur, it would be the ONLY thing you'd be able to wedge in there???? I will admit, I ended up making 3 separate trips to the cutting table tonight. How could anyone help it?! They are having this massive 70% off sale!!!!! Anywho, there I was, mulling over fabric when my husband called on his lunch break. He asked where I was.... I thought quick.... My eyes shot around the store, and I squeeked, "I'm at home........" Yeah, right.... that was so obvious my husband replied, "Hobby Lobby or JoAnne? and don't spend too much money." DANGIT! Busted. So what else could I do but rattle off about this wooooonderful fabric I found ad how it would make beeeeyooootiful ruffs for my bears and.... I'm only buying a little bit. 
He always gives up at that point... but, do I have a problem? 
They say, "You must put money into a business to make a business".... or something like that. But I never realized how FUN it could be to whittle away dollar bills on bear making supplies. Not to say I am a savvy bear business guru.... It's just fun altogether!
I have a dream.... A dream that some day.... I can walk into my supply room and it be like walking into Hobby Lobby, with everything imaginable to decorate my bear with at my disposal.... HA 
Meanwhile.... I'm going broke.
Thinking about joining Bead Obsessed Anonymous,
Kimberly W.
Hi Jan, welcome to TT! Ihaven't been here too awful long, either (about a month or so, I think!) and have already met SO many REALLY nice people and have learned SO much about bear making. This is the best forum ever!!
Again, like you haven't heard it 10 times already lol, I use hemostats. And I noticed no one's mentioned it yet, but I always lock mine when I turn just to make sure the fabric doesn't slip (I used to not lock them and my fabric would slip sometimes, darn near giving me a heart attack thinking it tore my fabric!). Also, I grab the furthest point I can. I leave my hole open on the back of (example) the arm, and I will grab the very tip of the paw and get a good hold. Once I've pulled that through, I use my hemostats to turn the 'shoulder' because that's usually left inside out. I also use the hemostats to push out any spots that are dimpled or whatever, from the inside out.
Good luck and don't forget to show us your bear!!
Kimberly W.
Kim,
That was a really nice email! I am the same way; emails like those really keep me going! Awesome motivation! Oh, by the way... I got my shipment of fur and such in yesterday.... so you know what that means...... ;)
Kimberly W.
Hi Dilu!
It's none other than Sassy Bears lined micro plush in light brown. It's just lovely!! He is super soft.
Kimberly W.
Hi all, just in case you didn't catch him in the Bears for Sale, here is little Beauregard! He's 2 1/2 inches tall standing, and one troublesome little guy! More pics are in the Bears for Sale, and on my eBay auction!
Kimberly W.
I wish I knew how to bellydance.....
Kimberly W.
P.S. Yeah Kimbee, that dog is titled "Welcome, guests!" Isn't that just like a darned dog?!? lol
Wow, I am in awe at all of the extra talent in here!
I, myself, also sculpt, draw, paint... I've started learning how to knit, but am still a novice. Here are a few of my other creations...
The black, brown and white dogs are Berner Bliss, my line of Bernese Mountain Dog sculptures... Some of you have seen my faeries before, and I also dabble in something new from time to time....
Unfortunately I don't have any of my drawings on the computer. 
No scanner... but here's a candle lid I did...
Kimbelry W.
Ohhh Stephanie, he has got the sweetest face! Hey, can I be an adopted daughter around my next birthday and get a cute fuzzy bear like that, too???? 
Kimberly W.
No Problem, Shantell. Thanks for starting this discussion so we could all be a little inspired and learn something new! I'm so glad I got a chance to try these wings, because I love making them! Probably would have been about 5 steps behind getting started if it weren't for this post!
Thanks, Kim B. for the compliment! Remember my first little dog??? lol
KimBee, I checked out your website.... I'm loving your little furry kids!!! I have two BIG furry kids! and two not so furry kids, too.... lol
Kimberly W.
Absolutely awesome!!!! I can see where she did probably give you several mule-kicks along the way... Would have probably bucked me completely off!
SO impressed!
Kimberly W.
No secret (except maybe the photo paper). I printed out those wings on the site that was mentioned before
http://www.elvenwork.com/wings.html
after resizing them down to about 2 inches tall. The kind of paper that I used might be the only secret, because I thought it caused the wings to transfer beautifully and all I had to do was peel them right off! I used Burlington brand, Satin Gloss coated inkjet photo paper (I think I bought it at Wal-Mart; it's a cheaper paper).
After I printed them out in a high resolution, I used really thin gauge wire (32 ga.) to make an armature that laid right along the top and bottom edges of the wings (this was the most time-comsuming part) with extra length (so I could put the beads on). I made a little loop on the wire where it would connect to my bear, so that I could attach it. After I laid the wire down, I got Translucent Liquid Sculpy and outlined around the wings, making sure I got the wire in there. I then used a paintbrush to smooth and thin out the Liquid Sculpey, covering the whole wing pattern. I baked it in the oven at JUST UNDER 300 degrees for 15 mins, then took them out. The wings just peeled right off the paper, with the image on them! I used a craft knife to smooth my edges and cut off any excess. Since they were in four separate parts, I super glued the tops and bottoms of the wings together.
I adorned them with little crystals and beads and viola!!
To attach, I left a tiny bit open in the back where I close up my bear, ran a needle and thread into the armpit, out that back little hole, through the wire loops, back in the hole, out through the other armpit, then back again to where I inserted the needle first. Then I just pulled tight and knotted it.
Hope that helps!
Kimberly W.
Hey Kimbee,
By the way, LOVELY photos in that post you put in of yourself... You are soooo pretty!!!!! I was replying to it when my two year old daughter turned off the power strip to the computer!!
Chloe is in the 'Bears For Sale'; I just posted her in there....
Kimberly W.
Hey Shantell,
Your post got me itching to do a little faerie bear... Here's a pic of the wings I made. Is this what you were looking for?
Kimberly W.
Thank you, everyone!
I don't do the sculptures nearly as much as Teddy Bears; I just don't have the time or energy to sit at the table and sculpt, what with two kids, working very early in the morning, etc. But every once in a while, I get this itch to sculpt and I've just gotta do it! lol. I also sculpt a line of Bernese Mountain Dog sculptures called 'Berner Bliss', but haven't had time to do those in a while, either.
I just seal it with (either glossy or satin, your pick) clear spray paint/sealer. It's easy to spray and dries super fast. I have tried a few other methods for wings, but did not like the outcome at all. But it's so fun to see what you can do with stuff laying around the house! I think I'm going to try wings out of polymer clay rolled out super thin (kind of like the tail on my mermaid). If I get them done any time soon, I'll post them on here, too!
What fun!
Kimberly W.
Thank you Winney! No, I didn't use organdy... It's actually wax paper and elmer's glue, glitter, sealant, a few beads to accent the wings.... I am so unconventional! lol I'm always trying to scheme up my own ways to do stuff!
Check out my mermaid that is made wet looking with Sassy Bear's nose gloss!!!! lol
Again, sorry for the nakeys!
Kimberly W.
Heather,
Yes, I've seen her website, too. Lovely little things, aren't they?
I am a baker, and marzipan really never gets mouldy. I don't know what it is about it (maybe just the fact that it's pretty gross tasting - to me at least! lol) but it just doesn't mold. It just stays in a perpetual state of..... well, marzipan! lol
Kimberly W.
Man, I have seen so many awesome wings in here!! I have saved I think a dozen sites in my favorites in the last 15 minutes!!
Here are my wings, I made them myself... I used (of all things, suprise!) wire for armature, elmer's glue, wax paper, and glitter..... Then I sealed it when I was all done.
Oh, sorry for the nakeys.... I do my faeries 'au naturale'..... lol
Kimberly W.
Dilu! I'm loving him! He's got such a cute little froliky personality! Hee hee 
Great job!
One of these days I'm going to try dying... I've been itching to.
Kimberly W.
Hmmm, yeah... I need someone to turn on the lights, too please...
?? ??
Kimberly W.
Oh, and by the way, your foot pads on Joey look pretty much like mine STILL do if I try to use ultrasuede. I swear I think I'm the only bear maker that has so much trouble with it!!!!
Kimberly W.
Hee hee, glad you didn't take offense! Whew! :hug:
But you SHOULD have been proud of him, if for nothing else, the fact that you took that step to try! And you should be proud of him, because if it weren't for him and feeling as though you'd accomplished something, you wouldn't be making bears, now would you?
And plus.... I haven't even TRIED to make a real fur bear. It's one of those dark, scary monsters in the closet I'm afraid of venturing toward!
P.S. The mottled face gives him SO much character!
Kimberly W.
