Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hey girls!!!! There are three fabulous books on making minis, all of which have great patterns, and great tips...

1.  How to Make Enchanting Miniature Teddy Bears by Debbie Kesling
2.  Making and Dressing Miniature Teddy Bears by Julie K. Owen
3.  Creating Miniature Teddy Bears by Linda Mullins

Though for many of you experienced pattern drafters out there... a mini pattern really isn't much different than a full sized bear pattern. 

Emily Farmer has some great kits that include just about everything you need if you wish to try your hand at one without investing in books, materials, etc....
Her eBay store can be found at :
Emily Farmer's eBay Store

I can't personally vouch for the quality of her patterns & kits, having never bough one before, but I have purchased fabrics from her in the past and I have been VERY pleased with the quality and with her "customer service." 

Size is definitely a personal thing.... for both artist and buyer.  I do hear from a lot of folks who are running out of room for their collections and now prefer minis, though there are certainly also folks who wouldn't even consider buying a bear that they couldn't hug....  That's one of the reasons why I do both.  Even with bigger bears though... I feel much more at ease in the 10 inch range than I do at 15 or 16 inches. 
Anyone who is interested in trying a mini... feel free to ask me any questions you might have..... I'm always happy to help!:)  I think the tiniest one I ever made fit into a walnut shell..... I don't have the pics available this computer... they are on a CD somewhere in one of the boxes that are yet to be unpacked!  If you click on the below link, it may take you to a picture of Walden... my little nut shell guy... I say 'may' because I am still figuring out this whole BBCode thing!

Walden

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Actually, I just checked that link for Walden and it goes to the right album of my gallery, but not directly to his picture..... but after you click, just scroll down on the pics that are on the left side, then click on Walden to see a bit bigger pic of him.....

I have no oppinion on growlers... never heard one, never had one.... But I agree... that chocolate close-up was just down right MEAN!!!!!! Now I am simply going to have to go to the store and get some chocolate!  Maybe we have some here?  No... just checked the pantry... only chocolate chips.... (Yes, I ate a handfull, but it's just not the same!)

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Nancy.... The wee ones and I said a prayer especially for Stephanie and her family last night.

I know of several... then there are also quite a few that are specifically for mini makers.... I've sort of narrowed myself down to just TT.  Several of the mini boards have sort of just dwindled down to being a place to show what you have for sale... there are a couple of other boards that are great if you are interested in doing a lot of swaps (both bears & supplies), and challenges, and charity projects.... I love doing those, but unfortunately, time is a REAL factor for me, so I wasn't able to participate very frequently....  Teddy Talk certainly does have a nice mix of people, bear styles, sizes, etc..... I happen to really love it here!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I do try to write a few ofthem down from time to time either in my journal or in their baby books, which I am still throwing things into even though they are certainly NOT babies any longer.  I know they "grow up so fast," but why does it seem to take simply FOREVER when you are smack in the middle of it!;)

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

AWWWW... I always thank the man above that he blessed children with a sense of humor!  Actually, I guess it's more of a blessing for the parents and grandparents!  They do say the darnest things, don't they? 
My almost three year old is learning the Lord's prayer right now... and he always says

"Our Father
There's art in Heaven
Halloween is my name
My Kingdom come
I will be back
One Earth just like in Heaven

Give us this day
And give me some bread
And forgive us when we trespass
.....

Lead us nod into a temperature
And deliver us some evil
For mine is the Kingdom,
all the power and flowers forever...
The End"

Simply precious, and I have to bite my lip to keep from cracking up, he says it so seriously, and I certainly don't want him thinking that prayers are silly time!  I just can't imagine what he thinks all that means.... 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Sandy-- what a great bear, I can see why you are just tickled pink over the avatar! 
Shelli-- WOW!!!! You do absolutely GORGEOUS design work---- I can't believe that you are self taught! 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Shantell,
  Good to hear that all went well.... !  Eye problems are a real ball, aren't they!  That's my weak spot too:(  What an absolutely beautiful bear!!!!! Your son is a lucky duck for sure! 

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Can you just put a couple of tacking stitches on the sides near the ears or do you really want to have the possibility of removing it on a regular basis?  The magnets would work quite well if you haven't already stuffed and closed the head.

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

"I'm gonna freak out like a Ninja" has become and instant overnight success with my family... even my little guy (Ben- almost 3) is singing it (I gonna feek out 'ike a 'inja...) What a weirdly catchy tune that one is!

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Congratulations to all!  So wonderful to see your own name in print, isn't it!!!!?  I get all giddy every time it happens!  It's always great to see folks I "know" in the trade mags.   I've let my subscriptions to the European magazines lapse, and my Barnes and Nobels just stopped carrying them a couple of months ago :mad:.   They carry like 35 hunting and fishing mags, but now only two bear magazines!  Why, why why?

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I was going to tell you to do the same thing that Jane just said!  Right on Jane! 

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Hi Sarah,
  I change something every time.... except my arms.... My arms are often very much the same from bear to bear with maybe just a tweak to the size here and there... other than than, something slightly different evolves each and every time.  Oh.. and most of the time I use the same footpad shape....

As for the size of my bears... some of mine are full sized (still on the smallish size though 9-14 inches) and others are minis (anywhere from 1 and 1/2 inches to 5 inches).

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Okay Shelli.... So have you figured out my Zone of Proximal Development?  I'm just kidding.... I was thinking though.... so why is Shelli (someone whom I KNOW to be an envelope pushing, bar raising, bring on the next challenge type of gal) asking me why I am not content to just be satisfied with the degree of success which I have already gained?  Now I get it! 
That ZPD idea is way cool!  I wish that they did more of that with my oldest when he was in elementary.  We are in an absolutely amazing school district now, so I am hoping that it will be less of a problem... but before they put him in a self contained gifted class, he actually was so bored that he used to count the syllables as the teacher was speaking.... or pull out a strand of his hair and put it right up next to his ear and sort of run his thumb nail perpendicularly across the width of it and play little songs on his hair violin!  YIKES!  I have so much admiration and respect for the overwhelming majority of public school teachers- what a difficult, often underpaid challenge that is!  I'm sure they don't have the time to determine a ZPD for each kid and then try to somehow teach a class of 20 kids within those diameters individually.....
Back to Bears....
I do absolutely know what you mean though about taking a huge style risk after you have already sort of found a niche.  Even if my sales were to take a huge plunge, I just wouldn't be that happy doing the same thing over and over again.  There's certainly nothing wrong though with staying in your own niche if you find that niche to be a warm, happy safe place that cheers your soul and brings you satisfaction!  I'd LOVE to find THAT niche.

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Dear Shelli,
  Why fight it?  Well, for me at least, fighting it is what it's all about.  I love to push myself to the limits of what I think is possible for myself.  Example.... when I learned how to crochet with yarn it was difficult... then became like second nature...when I started with size 10 cotton it was really uncomfortable... then like cake.... now I can use a .5mm hook (about the diameter of a sewing needle) and the finest silk sewing thread imaginable and make a wee little bonnet for a wee little bear. 
I'm sure I always make minis and continue to push myself to go even smaller or use even more detail, etc... But the bigger bears do give me an opportunity to use other craft related skills that I've picked up along the way.... I've recently become a bit addicted to needle tatting ( I can only do it BIG so far) and with a bigger bear I can try to incorporate that in, etc...
Besides, I sometimes feel like I am going cross-eyed from working on just minis! (If I knew how to do a cross-eyed smilie... that would go right here!!!!)

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Oh Deb.... I've been there done that with my maternal grandparents.... It IS hard, it WILL get better, even if she never thanks you out loud, or even in her own mind, you will rest assured that you've done what you think is in her best interests.  I bet that when you were a wee one she agonized about the decisions she was making on your behalf, for your future... Now it's your turn to do the same thing for her.  Certainly there are no guarantees in life, but making an informed decision that comes from your heart as well is the best that any of us can do.  Sounds like the assisted living arrangement will be wonderful once everyone adjusts to it.  Might just be the boost she needs!  Big Hugs.

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I worked for quite some time before finding what was my "mini style."  Of course, one tiny little adjustment in a mini can make a huge world of difference in the overall look.   A couple of millimeters added to the gusset width here, an eye that is 1/2 a mm larger... reduce the body and limbs but just a a couple of percent and whammo... It's a baby bear!!!!  I think that much of my style is found in my proportions... at least that's what many others have told me and it is certainly something that I work on endlessly to perfect.  My larger bears just grew out of the minis.  Many of them are actually just enlargements of the same patterns that I use for minis... though I do find that I have to reduce my head size a bit for larger bears....   the basic pattern shapes have always been the same though... at least for the past year or so.  I just adjust darts here and there, take them out, put them in larger.....  I think that each person has an idea of "bearness" in her own mind and then one just strives to approximate that to a certain degree in each bear.  I think that's why many times you find that you may have several collectors in common with someone else who's work is similar to your own in some way.  I know that many of the collectors who buy my work on a regular basis also have bears from other artists who's work I am extremely drawn to as well.  I think it's a shared vision of "bearness." 
I know that I am still struggling a bit to find my "bearness" in the larger bears because for me the larger the bear gets the more absolutely foreign it feels to me in my hands!  I see just about everything I make or have made as inhabiting a world that is a bit larger than 1/12th scale!  Even when I was sculpting dolls, the women were about 6 inches tall and the babes about 2 1/2 inches!  It just feels right to me.  If I was a believer in past lives I'd have to say that I must have been very very TINY!:/

Beary truly,
Kim basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Kathy,
  Just took a peek at your "About me" page then your website.... both are just lovely as are your tiny mink wee ones!  Simply fetching!  I've never figured out how to make my About me page any different than the standard stock fill in the blanks thingy that eBay offers.... is this that language they call html?  Is it called that?  I am probably confusing this with something else... but isn't there some computer language you have to learn to  be able to do this?  I am probably making myself sound like a complete ignoramus of sorts!

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Dear Donna,
  I WISH I was clever enough with a computer to figure out a way around something!  I think nearly all my computer related mistakes as well as computer related triumphs have all been accidents!!!!:rolleyes:
From talking with the e Bay folks, (yes, you can actually speak to a REAL live person at eBay is you pester them enough!)  it is my understanding that THEY don't actually catch any of the problems that can occur with eBay listings.  It has to be reported by someone and brought to their attention before they do anything about it.  I'm sure that's gotta be true with a bizillion listings going up all the time.  That's one of the reasons why those awful scam auctions seem to stay around for so long, or it seems like sometimes they are only applying a specific rule against one person when there are a ton of people doing the same thing..... I'm sure glad though that they do their best to make it as fair of a marketplace as possible for all of us... buyers and sellers. 
I was just horrified to have had an auction pulled for a mistake that was completely inadvertent, and meanwhile there are all these scams or people auctioning off kidneys and such!  Though I did flat out make the mistake and violate their rules, and obviously did it again with Rory's listing!  Now I have a sticky note here on the monitor to remind me to check that the next time I recycle an ad... which is quite frequently... Thanks again Donna!

Kim Basta
Wild THyme Originals

Hi Donna!  Oh My Goodness, you are so right about that!  That link shows up because the auction listing service that I use, Andale, has this area where you are supposed to fill out your business information, phone number, street address, etc... they also have a box for you to fill in a website address.... I didn't really understand at first that it in fact linked to my "website."  When I had trouble with eBay account and my listing for "Landon" they did let me know that linking to a webisite on the listing page is a no-no.  I though that it was just going to show my business info, not items that I might have sale through my website.  When I relisted Landon, I did figure out how to deactivate that link and keep it from reappearing.  When I did my listing for Rory, I recycled my 1st ad for Landon... so the link appeared inadvertently!  Thanks so much for letting me know before I accidently did it again on my next listing!   

As folks have said before, you can have a link to your webpage on the "About Me" page of your listing, but not on your "Item Description" page of your listing.

It's a real pain in the patootie to have an auction shut down mid-run, so thanks a bunch for letting me know! I'd rather find out from someone here than have my auction cancelled!

Oh... I think that eBay sales are starting to pick up again.... kids are back in school, school supplies and wardrobes are purchased, school fees paid..... there always seems to be a dip around such transitional times.... right before taxes are due, right after Christmas, etc....  Though I swear, I don't think I'll really figure out the eBay market 'till the day I die.... it's certainly a confusing place.

Beary truly,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Doesn't eBay have a system wherby the credit you the fees for the listing if if you relist the item within a certain time frame or something like that?  I seem to recall that they do, though perhaps I am wrong?

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I also shove at least a bit of a scrap into the tummy cavity, in case teddy needs a little repair someday... though obviously, the outer fur would be weathered to some degree and the inner wouldn't be.... hmmm...
I save my larger scraps.... don't know what for yet, but I'm workin on a nice sized box of them.  Medium sized scraps of any material go to my daughter's school art department, or the nursing home across town (they do a lot of art therapy there). 
Perhaps the most fun one though... I did a lot of cutting and sewing on the deck this spring and summer while my wee ones were on the swing set.... and I pretty much just let the small scraps fall where they may....  along with all the fur that I cut from the seam allowance.... We had three robin nests this year.... and when I lifted my daughter up to see if there were any eggs in the nest... she said "MOMMY, they took one of your bears!"  Shocked and amazed by this statement, I got on a step ladder to see just what was going on.... the inside of two of the nests were lined with mohair!!!!! Imagine that!  And little blue eggs "snuggled" up in the center!

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

I also stuff my heads extremely firmly and I can also attest that it can be a physically painful process!  I haven't tried the stuffing tool that Shelli spoke so highly of... though I just may have to now, sounds wonderful!  Here's what I have done.... for minis and for larger mohair bears....
  For minis I use a pair of superthin needlenose tweezers... they are the type that have a scissor like handle like forceps....  Of course they kept poking though the fabric backing unless I was quite careful, so I coated just the very tips with a product called "Plasti-Cote."  It's a liquid plastic like material that dries to a rubbery coating.  It's sold in hardware stores to coat the handle ends of screwdrivers, tools etc....  You can find it in the hand tool section.  It's just a couple of bucks a bottle.  Anyway, it gives you a nice grip on the fiberfil and does really prevent the ends of the tool from poking through the fabric. 
  So, when I started making mohair  bears, I also coated the tips of a pair of forceps with the Plastic-Cote and used that to stuff.  With so much stuffing I did find that my hands were getting all marked up and sore from the metal handle part of the forceps, so I coated the handles of my forceps as well with a couple coats of the Platic-Cote... REALLY HELPS!  then i did the handles of my scissors, etc..... Now just about every tool I own has the handles coated with this stuff!  It sticks to metal quite well.... after many many months of repeated use i did find that the coating on the tips of one of my tools has started to peel off, so I just recoated it.  I just love the stuff.
  I think that when you close it basically a personal preference.... I used to joint and close before doing any sculpting, eye setting etc... Now, I tend to do it  after I have done about half of the thread sculpting.... I find that after I have squeezed and massaged the head extensively during the sculpting process, I can fit a bit more stuffing into some areas where I want more fullness.  It's different for every bear though.  I still haven't gotten into a groove as far as the order of steps on heads.  I just do what feels right and seems to work best for me.

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Okay... I just stick to my wee purple avatar for now.  She's a bear that I actually sorely miss, so it'll be nice to see her from time to time when I'm here at Teddy Talk. 

Thanks so much for the compliment about her.  I do miss making the tiny ones for sure.  Now that my middle child is in Kindergarten, I am hoping to find a bit more time for bear making in general.  I swear though, that three hours during afternoon Kindergarten just truly flies by!  I'll try to post pics when I get one done... If I can figure out how!

As for the music on my picturetrail site... Picture trail just has this option where you add a midi clip (music) to your photo albums.... It's easy as pie!  I love that little song too, and frequently find myself humming it as I go about my day.  I wrote them, and apparently it's not really a real song at all!  They said it was "just a midi clip."   

Kim basta
Wild Thyme Originals

Hey girls!  I didn't mean to sound like I was being defensive, if it sounded like I was.... Remember, I am NO LONGER a lawyer-- Thank GOD!  I chose to stop practicing when I was pregnant with my second child, and I've never looked back.  It wasn't something that I was particularly good at either--- I am way too shy to speak in public, and at 5'2" I don't exactly command a whole lot of attention in the courtroom!  My favorite part of practicing law was certainly adoptions--- I only handled the completely uncontested variety.... creating a family for parents and children who desperately need eachother.  Lots of tears and hugs all around.  That part I will miss.   Now I'm just a well educated woman playing with teddy bears & proud of it!

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals