Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Congratulations Kerren.  It's alright to toot your own horn, you have a beautiful creation there.

I think I'll give it a shot also.  The fee is small and I figure it's worth a chance.  I've not done too much in the way of advertising yet so I have a question.  Does anyone here have brochures to hand out at shows or do you just do business cards?  I have business cards but was wondering if I need to do more.  In some of the articles I have read they mention brochures.

Well, here is the best picture I could get of the eyes on my 24" girl.  By the way, she is now named Violet and the sheared beaver bear is no longer a he, her name is Ellie.  The necklace she wears is out of a lot of vintage jewelry I bought.

There are so many beautiful bears here.  I just am amazed.  You all do such great work.

CONGRATULATIONS!  Is this your first?

This is my 24" girl that I just finished last night.  She has hand painted eyes.  I found some nail polish in a kind of deep plum color and a coordinating lighter shade so I decided to experiment.  I added a little violet bow and a necklace with a violet stone.  When this girl is in the light, her eyes really grab your attention.  I love it when an experiment works.

Here's my newest real fur creation.  He is made of sheared beaver.  I am having a hard time getting a good picture of him.  A picture cannot tell you how incredibly soft he is.  You have to touch him to appreciate him.  I will take him to the show this month and if he doesn't sell, he's mine to keep.

Marie,

Your bear is absolutely adorable.  He has such a sweet baby face that makes you want to hug him.  Now I seem to remember that you have your first show real soon.  Good luck.

I have received an email inviting me to list in Hugglets.  I believe it is a teddy bear guide published in the UK.  Are any of you familiar with this publication?

I have used the string mohair a lot.  I always like to wash it in hot water even if I'm not dying it.  The heat makes the fibers kind of pop open.

I did a sailor bear and put a ship in a bottle with him.  I found it on ebay and ended up getting it for 99 cents.  After shipping it was under $4.

Well I am glad to hear that big bears seem to sell well at shows.  I am doing a show in a couple of weeks.  I was looking over what I would take and realized that I don't have but one mini.  I have talked about doing some for the show but have not done it.  I really prefer working on the bigger ones.  I too like a bear you can get your arms around.  The reason I don't have any minis is that I have sold them all to friends or given them as gifts.  So now I can stop worrying about not having any for the show.  This will be my first teddy bear show.  I have done one doll and bear show and did pretty good.  Actually, I did great considering the treasure I came home with.  There was a lady there who had bought a giant tote full of mohair at an auction.  The auction was from a teddy bear artist who was going out of business due to health reasons.   My daughter and I figured there was 400-500 dollars worth of nice mohair in the tote and she sold it to me for $40.00.  They were all large pieces and there were several whole yards of nice mohair.  Needless to say, I have been in mohair heaven since January.  I came home and looked at all of this beautiful fur and didn't know where to start.

I vote for the 2" mohair.  I think it would work great for making my Yorkies.

I have added links to my website.  If I have missed anyone, please let me know.  And, YES MARIE, you may come back here to link up when you are ready.

I have never had a problem so far with activists.  That is an issue that I was concerned about.  My sister, who has activist friends, says you are giving new life to that animal.  Back in the winter time I heard on the news where PETA was taking all of these old fur coats and giving them to the homeless.  I don't see a whole lot of difference, you are recycling the coat.  Of course, I don't think like an activist.

Do you find that a certain size bear seems to sell better than others?  I am working on a larger bear and was just curious about this subject.

Daphne,
Now that is too cool.  We have had a few bear sightings in our area, but never in my back yard.  I do get other creatures (deer, raccoons, skunks etc.)  Just the other evening I went to lock up the hens and when I rounded the corner there stood the cutest little skunk.  Fortunately I know a bit about dealing with these little guys.  Had that been my daughter, she would have let out a scream and it would have been all over (all over her that is).

Paula,

I will be adding your link soon.  Unfortunately, I am not sure how to do a banner, so I will deal with text links for now.

I use a regular glue stick.  I found that if you are doing a bigger bear, the fat sticks are better (just my preference).  I suppose the glue would wash out, but I assume because you won't be washing the fur that it will be OK.  Also after it is sewn and stuffed the lining is then firmly attached.  I certainly am no expert, but that is what I was told by someone who makes a lot of real fur bears.  Hope that helps.

Shelli,

I want to try to get my message to you across in the right way and hopefully be of some encouragement. 

I too never really had to deal with death of a loved one most of my life.  When I was 27 my mother died of cancer (its hard to believe but that will be 20 years ago in September).  When she was in the hospital dying I stayed in the waiting area most of the time.  I would step into the room for just a minute and right back out.  I was so afraid of seeing her die.  I beat myself up for years and years after because of that.  Then came the time when we had to have our dog put down.  I told myself that I would never again leave a dying loved one like I did my mom.  I held the dog while the injection was given.  It really was just like he went to sleep peacefully.  Just a couple years ago my grandmother was dying and I was able to be with her without being consumed by fear.  I don't mean to say that the pain of the loss is gone, but there is a certain peace I have.  I believe God has taught me a lot over the years.  I hope I could be of some help for you in these tough times.

My prayers are with the British people.  We can understand accidents, but I just cannot understand, and will never understand the senseless taking of innocent lives.

Our prayers are with you all.  Unfortunately, we here in the US know exactly what you are going through.   I agree with you Amanda, we cannot give in to this kind of act.  Just know that as tragic as this is, it will not bring you down.  You may stumble, but you will keep on going.  I think you will find that this will bring your people closer together.  Again, we're praying for you.  Stay safe.  The terrorists are not in control, God is in control.

Danni,

The group is a yahoo group for those selling on ebay.   I have the address below.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OOAKTEDDYBEARS_GROUP/

Sandy,

Sorry I took so long to reply, but we had a big cook out for the holiday so my place was swarming with people.  Of course, it took days to get ready for the whole thing.  But that is over and I survived. 

The show in Strongsville is the Northern Ohio Doll & Bear Show.  It is on Sunday, August 21 at the Holiday Inn Strongsville.  G& B Promotions, Shari Gordon 440-237-4263.  I have never done this show so I can't say if its good or not.  I met these promoters at another show in Marietta and they invited me to be here.  He said that they are in a very good location and they attract a good crowd.  So I guess we will see.

Sandra,

I live in Knox county, in the Mount Vernon area, so not too far away.  Do you plan to do any shows in the area?  I will be in Columbus in July and in Strongsville in August.

Amen, and amen!  Live rabbits do shed like crazy.  Except my Rex rabbit.  They have very short hair and do not shed, but then I certainly am not going to make a bear out of Gracie.  She's perfectly content to remain a live rabbit.  Spoiled rotten and happy about it.

If at all possible, I try to work on the coats outside on the patio.  It sure makes clean up a lot easier.  Do it on a day when there is a slight breeze and all that hair just flies away.

I also have a leather thimble that I use when sewing real fur.  I use it to push the needle through the pelts and it sure saves a lot of wear and tear on the finger.

Hello Shelli,

I have made several real fur bears and have found mink to be my favorite.  Mink is easy to work with and doesn't seem to shed as bad as some other fur and it also is probably the best seller.  I made one bear out of coyote and swore that I would never do that again.  I itched and sneezed the whole time and the fur is so thick and long that it was difficult to work with.  I can deal with the difficult part but the itching and sneezing is too much.  I am working on a bear with sheared beaver now.  I have the head finished as of last night.  I really wasn't sure if I would like this fur, but I can tell you right now that this is going to be one cute bear.  The pelts are somewhat thick but not too bad.  Glovers needles are the way to go.