Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Ok, I love the effect of air brushing, and I have two, one is called "Iwata" it comes with its own little cap attached, that you fill up. The other one,"Aztek" has several little caps, ranging in size, that you can fill, and then attach to the air brush, which I think is better than the Iwata. To both of these air brushes I have a cord, which I attach to a small electric compressor which when switched on makes a sound, but none of the 5 dogs seem to be distressed by it, more like a hair dryer been switched on. All I had to do was purchase a special adapter to fit the end of the cords to connect to the compressor. I think the compressor is just a normal stndard one and was not very expensive and the air  out put is enough only for an air brush.
Only thing I find is that either I must make several bears and do an air brushing session or it is simply easier to use the new marking pens available if it is one bear .

When I do use the air brush,I seem to have paint everywhere, on me, the floor,everywhere on the bear except where it should be, and will have to do one of the air brushing courses to LEARN what I should be doing as at the moment, I think I am not using the tools I have correctly.

Lynette

Marie,
Ok, now I have seen your picture I do REMEMBER you, and yes I thought you said you were from the Japanese Teddy Bear Teddies ( Magazine) phew am I pleased that things are finally sorting themselves out, just sorry that at the time I did not get the right connection.
Now , I would have dragged you off and taken you for some coffee ( or Japanese tea?)
Well next time, you will have a stand right next to mine.
See what happens when you get older, the brain starts wobbling   

Lynette

Marie, I do remember now, you could not decide between Leo or Tipo, the light or darker bear. Marie, a bit more behind the mohair of little Leo- I purchased that mohair when Daphne showed the picture of a bear she had seen on EBAy, and mentioned that the bear had been made from a new Schulte Alpaca mohair, here in TT. Then I contacted the suppliers at Probear in Germany and mentioned how they supplied it, and I am almost sure you ordered some of the alpaca. Well, Leo is made from that very same fabric- did you realize that when you saw  Leo ? (I of course had to also order the alpaca when I saw it here )
Also I remember you paid me 4 thousand yen, and I got all confused with the 300 yen, and then you gave me the 300 yen, did you think I was very stupid, I was still learning how your money worked !!!!!!!!

Well both you and Takeko signed my visitors book, the very first to sign in Japan, and the very first from TT to do so.  Tipo sold on the Sunday so also lives in Japan now.

Thank you so much for giving one of my bears a new home,as I said the next one will be on me

lynette

My dear Marie, How sorry I am that I did not realize who you were, you should have spanked me !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am partially deaf and afraid that sometimes I just pretend to hear, now I am trying to remember and place you, how I would have loved to have linked you to TT, I would have even given you a bear, in friendship !!!!!!!!!!!!!!grrrrrrrrrrrr,

Well I will make sure that next time a fred-i-bear finds he way to your home when I am back in Japan,

lynette

Just got email from my brother, with a picture of his house before the flood !!!!!!!!! it is still standing, so looks like they are OK, he is on a farm and has a riding school. The have 50 horses on the farm, it is called Valery Trails- so if any of you chatters are that way , please visit and tell him that I SAID you can have free rides
 
Lynette

Not heard from my brother and he is near that way  Valery/ Coffs harbour, but sure he must be OK otherwise we would have heard
Lynette

Maybe we should have the TT chatterbearmakers exhibitors at a fair, can you imagine all the wonderfull creations on show, a good excuse to all meet, what a week-end that would be.
Shelli- next to me was Gerry's Crafts from Oz- a translator was working for them and she gave me her card- her daughter was helping someone, so I could always contact her, or I think through the organisation you could arrange it. They did have a general translator covering an area, but you need someone at your table, to assist as soon as someone stops and looks. I would imagine it would be worth the expense.
Judi The Japanese artist was Eiko Suzuki.I took the picture as it was something different.

TITA
http://www.teddybear.co.jp/
if you go to the website and click on the Japansese  TITA 2007 ( right handside ) it will open up the information about this competition, lower down on this page you will find the ENGLISH application form which will give you all the details  ( in the meantime I will find my form and see if I have any other details)
1. You send in pictures of your bear, Close up of the face, and of the body- like other competitions, if your bear gets nominated, then you have to send the bear to Japan ( so do not make him/her to heavy) The bears are then judged as to which one is the 1,2,3,.
2. I think entries must be in by the end of April 2006( not confirmed yet)
(Appologies I have not studied my entry form yet but thought I would pass on the info- I have been nominated 4 times in this competition)   

I am learning all the time, but have now done shows from the West to the East, except for the USA and Canada which are next on my list, but I am willing to help and pass on my experiences , you just need to shout.

Lynette

Well , as the saying goes, it is always good to be back home.
The the show in Tokyo/Ebishu on Saurday/Sunday 11th and 12th March was an interesting show for me, as it was the first time I was visiting Japan. It took hours to get there, 13 hours to fly to Hong Kong, then another 4 hours to get to Tokyo with another 1 1/2 - 2 hours in a bus to get to the hotel, so jet lagged, and weary eyed I eventually arrived at the hotel.
Setting up at the show was just like any other show, with the same buzz around, artists meeting up , bears trying to escape having been confined in small places for lengthy times. Artists visiting from the USA, were Mac Pohlen, Rosalie Frischmann and Christy Frimage, plus others from Oz, New Zealand, Sweden, Holland and Taiwan.

When the doors opened on the Saturday morning, the people came running in , making a bee line to the artists whose bears they wanted. Then it was the normal buying spree. Japanese people are very polite, and will not approach you, if they do not speak English, which most of them, did not do at the show, so it is very important to make use of a translator, which if I go again, I will hire, normally young students. Also you must print your business cards in both English and Japansese as they will not take your cards if they are in English only. I did manage thou to sell bears, and one found a home with a blind customer. She felt the little bear, and it was amazing to watch her, she took about 15-20 minutes deciding on her choice and it was one of those sales which touched me. Another sale was a bear which was going to live in a paediatric unit, another thing very close to my heart.

The Japanese Teddy Bear Fan Club, who also sell supplies are introducing a new fabric for bear making- it is a pure silk (Mohair) in a 10mm, 18mm, 30mm pile in white and beige. I have ordered some and will receive it end of June. I was given a small 30mm piece and maybe I can make up something to show.

Scott, I did not go to any lace shops, but I did go mad buying fabric for baby clothes for the grand son expected on 17th July, and yes it is confirmed that it is a BOY. ( I also found BABY -GAP) So this new granny did buy lots of baby clothes, although she is still plain scared and will only be happy once the baby is here , safe and sound , because of my own personal loss.

So now I am back home, it is time to get back to bear making after my house has had a spring clean, which is my normal way of settling down and unwinding, shelves have been filled with food ( hubby seems to clean me out of everything when I am away) and I can get into my sewing room again and onto the pc to chat !!!!!

pictures of the show .
The group picture is of myself and my Taiwanese friends.

My tuppence worth, I just find that cotter pins with my bears never seem to be that tight, maybe I just do not have the strength to tightnen them. I know that the European artists seem to use them a lot, and if you purchase kits in Europe they will always come with cotter pins, with the cotter pin heads shaped like a T. Even using the special cotter pin turning tools, I can never get them that tight, and if I pull to hard, even having a washer in place, I can pull the T pin straight out, so have to start all over again. I know that a lot of my friends bears in Europe have a much looser limb and they are cute and of course will not fall off, some do have very tight limbs, maybe hubby does they attaching and has that extra strength to tightnen them.

I therefore with my bears use the lock/ nut/attach system. To make things easier, I bought myself a Bosch  electrical screw driver with the attachment that fits the nut.
To use,the screwdriver  fits the nut say on the limb being attached, while inside the body on the screw head I use one of the tools that you can purchase from a teddy bear supplier that holds the screw in place, and then screw the two together. I normally make it fairly tight, this way the limbs are firmly attached to the body.

With the head, of course I only have one opening, so here I will use a cotter pin, unless I use a screw that is self tapering( not sure of the right word) but one that does not need holding on the other side- then once it is in place you have to strip the shaft so that the nut does not come un done- not technical at all, only know how to do it- not the right words to explain this method, maybe hubby will know the right terms.

The electrical Bosch screw driver, was not that expensive, it is small, self charging  and easy and fast to use.

Lynette

Dear Helena,
No one can take your fears away, having friends on hand thou, will help and bring positive feelings into your life, which makes things just that little better to cope with and handle.

my thoughts are with you.
Lynette

Gaby from Vienna, Hello, one of the places I have been to with my bear travels, you will never get bored here, as they will not let you, as soon as you think you can settle down and relax , they up and hit you with something new to try, and it need not be with a bear as you can see from this excercise with Shel.

Lynette

Dear Jane,
All my support in giving you the strength to cope with what you have to face with your little one.
A big hug coming your way as well
:hug:
Lynette

Ok, this is my very first attempt, and you can all have a good laugh
it is very very basic, but this is the first time I have ever looked at a photo editing program, so buckets, ( were meant for the garden, pens for writing, )
we carry on
 
Lynette
p.s. do you think I have a cheek ????????????????????????????

grrrrrrrrr
see I am still growling, I have googled, I have printed, I have a pile of paper next to my pc, I found a video explaining fonts,( I saved the website) and yes I managed to cut  the picture away from the back ground, ha, so I learnt, to highlight, take the bucket, never mind kicking the bucket out of the front door, fill in the highlighted area, because my computer did not know which part of the picture was the background, so I had to tell it by filling in the area , then I could , preview it, say OK. All this was under FILTER/EXTRACT.

Shel do you think that there is hope for me ??????????????????????????????????

Lynette

p.s. you did say Sunday 2010

Lynette

Yesterday while trying to be a computer fundi  this arrived in my mail.
Fred and Francine are dear friends of mine who went to live in new Zealand many years ago.  The name" Fred-i-Bears" came about because of Fred- a long story. Vicky their daughter got married last Saturday up North in new Zealand, and this picture was taken at viky's hen party.
I can just imagine the laughs the men created, dressed as ballerina's. Vicly danced for the NZ Royal Ballet and has her own dance studio.
Fred is on the LHS

Just look at those hairy [INVALID] legs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a good laugh

Aleta, if you give up, then I will come over and tickle you, because I am battling like mad, I can't even get the picture of the flower taken off from its background !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sat almost the whole of yesterday at the pc, and would have sat all night, although in my sleep I was still trying to sort it all out, and now where am I , back at the pc, but I have to go out, so got myself all ready and will have to force myself away.

so its some more grrrrrr
I am putting dancing fred into his own topic, so that it does not interfere with the flow here
The most dangerous bear artist behind a pc !!!!!!!! thats me

Lynette

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

oh my golly gosh, first Judi with her needle felting, now Shelli with this, as if my poor brain does not have enough inside it 
At the moment , my printer is busy printing what Shel has said we must do, so that I can read thru it, then sit and try it, which will have to be this week-end as I have to finish off the bears for Japan, although I might just try it a bit later on, but then that means I will sit at the pc till I get it right.
I just keep learning and learning here in TT, thank you all for sharing, I truly appreaciate it all.

Lynette

Since this started, I have stuck to doing tummy excercises,walking/jogging got lost along the way, I went in one direction they went in another.
My diet, also got lost, but was returned. After sending blood samples for testing to the UK, it was found that I have a intolerance to Yeast, egg yolk, and oats. This means for the next 9-12 months I have to cut food products containing this from my diet. This means no cakes, bread, vinegar, muffins etc., which will automatically result in a weight loss, which after a few days I can already see. The biggest thing is to see if I can stop the irritating cough which wakes me during the night, and has been for the past 18 months.
With my immune system continually under stress by attacking these food intolerances, it makes you more susceptible to other health problems, and could be why I am always tired and lack energy, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Lynette

Shelli must have been thinking about me, as she knows if anyone needs HELP it is me, so I will get involved time permitting.
Japan show is around the corner and bears have to be finished.

Lynette

Thoughts with you and your family

lynette

Hope u feeling better
Lynette

I have not made that many mini's but have heard and have tried a quilting invisible thread. "SewArt " it comes in a clear and a smokey, both should be available at one of your local quilting shops.I can always ask my supplier in USA which shops would stock it if you want to get hold of it.It is very strong , has enough give in it, and you need only use a single strand.It is as the name says invisible.

Lynette

   
well done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lynette