Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

For me, I'd have to say homemade eggnog with fresh ground nutmeg!  Alcoholic or not, or even the prepared kind right out of the carton!  i can't get enough of the stuff!  Good thing it's not readily available year round... it's just unbelievably BAD for you!!!!!!!  Worse than drinking a quart of the richest vanilla ice cream!

And candy canes!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Oh this was an insanely big issue, and continues to be, I'm sure... especially since the trade magazines were also using the word 'thread bear' as well as like every artist who was making them.  Anyway, just the low down..... you can file a trademark on any words you want.  I could trademark 'coffee cup' if I wanted to, and then I hold a legitimate trademark on those words.  Whether it's enforceable in court of law is another matter entirely!  If I am the trademark holder of the  words 'coffee cups' and I show those trademark papers to eBay, I can participate in their Vero program and actually stop each and every auction in which those two words appear next to each other.  I could become the coffee cup Queen!  Halting every coffee cup auction in its tracks.  People would have to start calling them 'cups that may be used to hold one's coffee' or 'cups for coffee,'  just not  'coffee cups.'    Now, if I tried to get a legal injunction against someone for selling their coffee cups, and having the audacity to call them such.... well, we all know the judge would laugh in my face.  I actually read through all the statutes as well as a good deal of case law back when this was all going on.... and their isn't a leg to stand on in a court of law.  There are instances of people calling crocheted bears 'thread bears' back in the 1940's and 1950's.  It's a descriptor, much like coffee cups,  mohair bear, antique bear.... Anyway, it is a another lovely example of how eBay is NOT the real world, and how ridiculous their policies can be when applied across the board.  UUUGGGG! 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta

Helena!   :hug:   I 'm so sorry.  I can only imagine how awful this must feel. 

Were they the Nancy Ann Story Book dolls....?  The little ones about 6 inches high or so, Alice, RedRiding Hood, etc, etc.?

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I got that same e Mail from my Dad not too terribly long ago!  I loved the sentiment too!  So funny!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I think that's a good idea Marie.... there are collectors who like it and ones who don't. 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Louise,
  I am on the computer with my daughter right now, showing her the photo of herself... she thinks it funny to be "on" the computer!  Anyway, as I was scrolling down, she just fell in LOVE with the little bear on the left hand side of your avatar!  I asked her what it was that she liked so much.... she said, "That cute little bear is signing Mommy!"  AWWWW!  Just thought you'd like to know!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Okay... yesterday when I painted the library, I ran across that had our wedding photos in it.  Now, I had to scan it in, so it is horribly blurry and small. And it's 6 years old!  Honestly, I haven't changed much... just a bit more haggard around the eyes after having an additional two children!  Sorry for the quality & size, and I promise to get a proper photo up there asap... !  Anyway, you get the general idea, and you have the "pleasure of seeing my lovely husband in profile as well!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Here are my youngest two.  Miranda is 5, and Benjamin is 3.  My oldest is Baxter, age 12... almost 13--- OMG!  The little girl on the far right with the pink flower on her shirt is actually my cousin's child... what's that make her my first cousin once removed or something!    And yes... I KNOW that I owe a pic of myself... I know, I know, I know!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta

Carolyn!!!!  So glad that it wasn't a biggie and that you are safe and sound! 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Kathy, She's adorable!  That glossy little nose is just precious!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild THyme Originals

Hi Bonnie!!!  That is a great idea,  I've tried to hold upholstery thread with forcepts before, and broke it, just as Daphne did!  But that tape, acting as a barrier between the thread and metal... I'm trying it next time too!  Lot's of lovely little cuts on my index and pinky fingers here, even with all the callouses! 

Thanks Bonnie!  Hopefully my bleeding fingers will thank you too!
Oh, I will absolutely admit to editing out the cuts on my hands in my bear photos that show my hands.  I'd never attempt to "fix" a bear that way, but my hands... OH YES!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

First off.... Hi and welcome to the board Marie!

Second.... A great big congratulations to have been asked to present your bears at a signing event!  How exciting, and what a huge compliment to you and your furry friends!  I'd be ticked pink! 

Third... I don't sign my bears as a matter of course either, but will always do so when asked... that is, if there is an available place to sign them!  My bears are so small there generally isn't room, and often my foot pads are made of micro pile upholstery velvet, which won't really "take" a signature.  I take it as a huge compliment when I am asked to do so though!  If it makes my bear that much more special, or meaningful, or personally valuable to a customer to have it signed, then my all means, I'm signing away!  I generally use a Pigma Micron.  It's a micro pigmented archival quality ink...  acid free, waterproof, they dry FAST, don't smear, light fast, don't "bleed" even if exposed fresh to an alcohol solvent-type stuff like FreyCheck... Lovely pens they are!  I use a black or brown size 02, which is actually a .3mm line width.  they come a bit wider or more narrow as well though.  You can find them at most scrapbooking supply places, or in the scrapbook isle of a good sized craft shop.  JoAnne fabrics also carries them, though I've found that they are a little more expensive there.  I use them for tracing my patterns out onto most of the fabrics I use as well. 

If there isn't an appropriate area to sign... HMMMM.  I can't think of a super perfect solution.  Anyone?  You could however, tell your customer that you'd be happy to personally sign the hang tag (if it isn't laminated) or something like that? HMMMM....

Congratulations again!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Shelli, this had me doubled up in laughter!  I can only imagine.  Though isn't that what most women complain that they don't get enough of!? I guess the grass is always greener.

As a lawyer married to a lawyer... we have the most outrageous fights you can imagine!  Though I can't argue my way out of a box in the courtroom, my husband is a down and dirty, no holds barred REAL LAWYER, lawyer, with all the stereotypical lawyer like tendencies.  And, in the privacy of my own home, I can hold my own fairly well. Try having a good old fashioned, typical marital disagreement with someone who will actually shout "Objection!"  and cite a legal rule of evidence when things get hot and heavy!  The last time he did it I just started laughing so hard I think I actually peed my pants.  When he realized what he had done, he cracked up too, and fight over!  It's sort of an inside joke for us now.  He can NEVER, simply never admit to any kind of fault, even when it's staring him in the face. It's just not in his character. Promise me, if I ever run into any of you at a bear show, you won't say, "Objection, your honor, inadmissable hearsay. I move to strike the comment from the record!"  He'd just die! 

And Dilu, I humbly and graciously accept your offer!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Wow guys!  I seem quite uninteresting compared to all this!  Well..... I am a lawyer..... It's generally something that I don't even tell people, because I am so NOT the stereotypical lawyer.   I am terrified of speaking in public.... much less when someone is writing it all down.  I've NEVER done a trial... well, that's not completely true.  I did act as a prosecutor at my son's school when they did a mock trial.... Peter Rabbit was accused of trespassing and stealing veggies, etc.... And I was such a nervous wreck about even doing that... just pretending to be a lawyer in front of a bunch of kids!  Now, when it comes to the paperwork part of law, I have no problems.... I was a Philosophy major in college, so i can argue the pants off anyone... just only on paper!  The only time I ever had any part of trial work was when I was a guardian ad litem (that's a lawyer appointed by the court to act on behalf of the best interests of the children/the children's wishes in fairly messy divorce cases).  That's really almost more like a social work thing.  You are a witness as opposed to the person directing the whole deal.  Anyway, it's something that I don't often ever mention to anyone because obviously, people do often assume that you are a public speaking trial lawyer type, and I am just so NOT that!

Hi right back at ya Shelli!      :hug:   I agree with you whole heartedly Shelli about the whole "lawyer thing."  I am surrounded by them as well... my husband is a real, stereotypical lawyer, with a whole gang of real lawyer friends, and when ever we go out with them, I am always shaking in my shoes that I am going to have to SPEAK about the law!  I just can't compete at all verbally, so I generally just keep my mouth closed about the whole thing and try to talk more to the non-lawyer spouses!   

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Shelli... adorable little boys you have there!  And Ginger is a beautiful cat!  I miss having cats so much. 

Melissa.... I've never seen those bears of yours!  How precious!  I can see why you want to have on on your sales table at all times..... they MUST go fast!

Haley.... We all know that that area can be really tricky at times.... but I bet that if you came up with the idea on your own, it's still something that you can do without stepping on toes.  And as many of us have said before, no one want to be considered a "copier" (oh, just saying that reminds me of 4th grade and shielding my math quiz with a folder from the little boy who used to sit next to me and was a "copier!") But, if you've already made up the bear, I'd search the internet a bit and see if there haven't already been many other folks who have "done" that idea aside from the person whom you are worried you are infringing upon.  If you are interpreting the idea in exactly the same way, I'd say just keep the little guy for yourself so as not to step on any toes.... but I bet that you'll find that your interpretation is completely different, and your bear style is probably completely different as well.  Honestly, if every idea had to be 100% completely original, with no one ever having done it before... I don't think any of us could EVER make any bears!  That's not to say that there are no original characters or themes out there... I'm sure that there are.  One of the first ideas that I wrote down in my bear journal was to do a Queen Elizabeth bear complete with 16th century costuming.... Well, I thought that was completely original... that no one else would have ever done that before.  In the very few years that have past since that idea, I've now run across maybe 7 or 8 of them!  At least!  That's without even really actively looking!  Now, I never have done any bears with what I would consider costuming that elaborate for various reasons, and I may never get around to doing that bear!  I guess I'm saying, maybe you are being too hard on yourself!  We'd never have any more angels, or faeries, or Santas, or flower inspired bears, or Red Riding Hoods, or ballerinas..... etc.... etc.....etc......

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Hey, now that you have the experimentation done and the kinks reasonably worked out... it will be a breeze the next time around! That is if the meowsers don't find the tulle and "enjoy" it to their little feline hearts' content before you get around to making another! 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

So happy for you Stephanie!  He's a wonderful little guy!  I think you are right... he does have a very original, unique look to him!  Very cute!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild thyme Originals

Way to go Melissa!  A big hug  :hug:  And well deserved congratulations!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

On some side of my family we can go WAY back to the late 1500's... mostly English, and a whole bunch of them came here several expeditions after the Mayflower. 
On my Mom's maternal side we have DEEP Kentucky roots...I have a great-great-great-(I don't know how many more) grandfather named George White Freeman, he and his brother were on the Union side of the Civil War... but since they lived in Kentucky, well they couldn't quite make up their minds.... they were in charge of taking a group of defeated Southern soldiers up to where they were supposed to be held till the end of the war... but they changed their minds halfway there and let them all go!  I have several Revolutionary War ancestors... so I joined DAR back in high school.... the funny thing is, since my husband is full blooded Coptic Egyptian... our daughter qualifies for DAR!  I think she'll find that pretty cool when she's older... that she is a Daughter of the American Revolution AND 1/2 Egyptian! 
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

You can also use a thin wire instead of string the way that Pipa & Shelli described... if you don't want to use a flexible ruler, or don't have access to one.  Wire will tend to keep its shape a little better as you try to draw out the shape onto your paper.

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Yes, I've also noticed how often our sweet Jane points out the birthdays of our TT members-- so kind and thoughtful!  And a big thumbs up for Shelli who thought to publicly thank Jane for doing so!

Beary truly ours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I love snow... but then we have a 12 year old who likes to make extra pocket money shovling the stuff out of the driveway.  I would hate to do it myself! 
I think that for me, the change of seasons is such an important part of my very being.  Freezing temperatures are admittedly not my favorite part of the whole cycle, but they do make me ever so much more appreciative of those first soft, warm breezes and daffodils.  For me, I think that the bitter makes the sweet all that much more sweet!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Wow!  Those are gorgeous!  I see what you mean about the web design... looks kinda yucky, but some beautiful costumes there!  I like this one as well, because Drea really goes into the historical aspects of it all....

http://costume.dm.net/

It's fascinating stuff!  I always say that I must have been born a few centuries too late!  I'm just absolutely fascinated by the ways that women have manipulated their bodies using under garmets!  Not that I think all of it was at all healthy, both body image wise, and physically.... And certainly I am VERY comfortable in my Levi's and T-shirts, thank you very much! 

Yes... that's why I have antique-corsets as my eBay seller ID.... I've always been Wild Thyme Originals though... back when I was making the authentic reproduction corsets for SCA groups & other historically obsessed folks, when I was doing dolls, and now bears.... Why on Earth didn't I make that my seller ID?  And now of course, everyone is so used to it, I just can't seem to change it.  Maybe someday!  And 'Wild Thyme' is  from my favorite Shakespeare play... A Midsummer  Night's Dream     from Oberon's speech in Act II, Scene I....

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,......"

So, yes... mystery solved, and I can't even tell you how many times I've had to explain that whole progression to folks!  Way back when, I used to get e Mails about custom bondage outfits.... the custom corsets thing in combination with 'Wild Thyme' I guess..... never responded to those!   That's for sure!

Beary truly yours,
Wild Thyme Originals

I do have one of those flex rulers.... I got mine in the area where they sell archetecture type drafting tools in Staples..... for anyone who can't wait for a package to arrive from one of the bear supply places. 
Yes, Helena, it's an absolute gift to be able to back and forth 3-D to 2-D.... you use it very well!  Not all of us are so blessed!   :love:

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Shantell... I use clay models and pattern draping to design my patterns, it's a very labor intensive process, but it's about the only way I can do it since I am "dimensionally challenged!"  I can't draw 2-D for the life of me!  Actually, I can do it, but when I really want to get a specific shape that I see in my mind in three dimensions, the only way for me to do it is to make a 3-D model and then lay a bit of tissue or light fabric over it... trace where my seam lines will be, and put the darts in where I have to gather the fabric to fit the model piece. I am so envious of folks who can translate a three 3-D mental image into something that is 2-D on a paper pattern, but works up into that same 3-D image once stuffed.  It's just beyond what my mind can grasp!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals