Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Since we had an earlier discussion concerning center seam bears, I thought I would post my newest creation.  I just finished him two days ago.  He is 12" tall and is a center seam design (4 head pieces).  He is as yet unnamed.   I like the "old" look of the center seam.

Kirsten,

Where are you going in Ohio?  We're not that big of a state, so the drive may not be too terribly long.

Well I have to agree with the others, he's precious.  He does have that cute baby look.

Shelli,

Just to let you know, I found the squirrel fur very easy to work with.  I made a squirrel of squirrel fur with fox for the tail.  She turned out really nice.  I hollowed out a walnut and glued the shell back together for her to hold.   She sold pretty quickly.  I will post a picture shortly.

Marie,

You're in our prayers.  A bit of advice, don't release any money or information without a complete investigation.  There are so many cases of fraud out there.  I'm not sure about the law there, but it sure sounds suspicious to me.

I do quite a few center seam bears.  And, yes, they do have four pieces instead of two.  I have never done one with two pieces.   To answer your question, why do it?  I do it when I am trying to get a certain antique look.  It is more work and you do have to really be careful matching the nose.  It certainly is not my favorite thing to do, but I do like the finished product.   So, the easy part is making the pattern (simply cut the gusset in half leaving a seam allowance),  making it come together is a bit tougher.

I think your bear is cute.  But I may know what your problem is.  I too just finished my bear for this same charity and he is cute.  I could not get satisfied with his looks though.  I finally figured out it is because it is not my style.  I cannot take a pattern from Nancy and make it look like one of my own.  Even though your bear is cute, it definitely is different from your own design.

If I may jump back to the killer teddy bears for a bit.  I'm not so sure about the killing bit, but teddy bears do have a way of getting you in trouble.  After church one Sunday morning we went out to eat with some friends.  My friend and I were minding our own business and having a conversation about teddy bears.  Apparently others in the restaurant were listening in.  This is what they heard, "Yes, I just ordered a bag of those joints."  "Oh, when you get the joints I'll have to come over to your house."  "Yes I ordered 100 of them."  My daughter interrupted our talk with a long drawn out MOM!  We then realized that there were people turned around backwards in their seats looking at us.  We half expected ATF agents to come storming in at any minute.  Explain that to the police.

Mark,

I went through Discover.  For a one time charge of $35.00 I received the hand imprint machine.  You call the charges in by phone.  There is a percentage fee charged but there are no monthly fees.

I use a pencil with a new eraser on it.  The eraser lets you get some traction.  But it is not always an easy thing to do.  There have been times when I just want to throw it across the room and walk away.  Patience is always in order.

I use an HP photosmart which I love.  It cost less than $200.00.  I have been very pleased with it.

Thanks everyone.  This is news to me.  I had to think a bit about it.  I did a show a week ago Saturday and sold this bear then.  My brain is a little fuzzy from exhaustion.  Last week I worked our county fair every day for a fund raiser.  A week of late nights, early mornings and much activity in between has just about done me in.  However, there is a silver lining, I lost weight that week.  Maybe I could use a few more weeks of the fair.  There has to be an easier way to lose.  I think I lost brain cells along with the fat and I can't spare the brain.

Thank you so much Sue Ann.  You are such a big help.  I really appreciate you.

I have been asked if I could provide a certificate with my bears.   Do any of you do this and if so, what does your certificate look like?  I'm sure I can make them, I just am not sure what they should look like.

I just talked to Dale Saturday at the Columbus show.  He was telling me his schedule for the past couple of weeks.  I don't think he's had too much time to chat.  I don't see how he keeps track of where he is at the moment.  He doesn't strike me as the type to offend easily and if he did, he would probably tell you.  Now about that remote, I would like to have one with the snore button taped "off" permanently.

This is a terrible subject to be into over my morning coffee.  I am not near as afraid of spiders as I once was, but I do know about the brown recluse.  A couple years ago a friend of ours was bitten on the leg and spent several days in the hospital.  She still has the scars from it.  Just a few days later my son was bitten on the leg.  I knew when I looked at his leg exactly what it was.  Some of my grandma's old herbal remedies immediately came to mind.  I made a paste of baking soda and cayenne pepper and put it on his leg (he said the cayenne hurt more than the bite).  He went to the doctor the next day for antibiotics and was well on the way to recovery.  The paste I put on the bite drew a lot of the venom out.  Grandma would have been proud of me.

Sue Ann and Daphne,

Beautiful, beautiful bears!

Victoria?

Thank you, Jane, for pointing that out to me.  Is there something in particular that you did to correct the problem?

Same here.  Who is that precious baby?

I think she needs a name that just says "royalty".  However, I can't think of such a name.  So I guess I am of little or no help.  Maybe after another cup of coffee.

Jane,

I noticed you said you are having problems with your hotmail account.  I emailed you twice.  Once I received a message failed notice.  So just in case, "Thank you so much for the banner".  I have added your links to my site.

Sue Ann,

Thank you so much for all of your help.  I realize Kelly asked the question, but I have gleaned so much from it.  I am doing a show in less than two weeks, so I am frantically looking for things that will help me.  You are just a spring of information.

Cute!  I say yay.

Jane,

It is a wicked world we live in.  But not all are so.  We must never stop looking for the good out there.  It's there, it just seems to get harder to find every day.  I guess maybe I have lived a sheltered life in sort.  I have witnessed very little violence in my lifetime.  The only incident that comes to mind is when I lived in Houston in the late 70's.  That big city was just too much for this country girl, I was always so scared when I lived there.  My husband bought me a dog for my birthday.  I picked out a St. Bernard.  I said I wanted a dog big enough to get people's attention.  He did just that a couple of times.  I sure was glad to have him with me.