Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Sue Ann,

I'll send you an email.  I have a pristine copy sitting here in front of me that I picked up from a local book store, and would be happy to send it to you.  If you need more than one copy, I can check and see if they have any more?

Kelly

Oh fun, I want to play!

- People who say things under their breath.  Always negative.  Always behind someone's back.  And because I have exceptionally good hearing, I can ALWAYS hear what they say!  It makes me crazy whether it's directed at me or somebody else.  Why do people never whisper GOOD things about other people?

- The packaging on new DVDs.  Plastic covering under which there is anywhere from one to three (!!!) additional seals on the case itself.  You can't get the sticky stuff off without digging dents in the case, and when you do get them off, it leave residue so that you now have a sticky new DVD case.  Grrrrrrr.  I bought it legitimately, don't treat me like a criminal! 

- People that honk for no apparent reason or very, very stupid reasons.  I was followed by someone a few months ago who honked when (1) I stopped at a red light, (2) I slowed down because there was a car making a turn ten cars ahead of us and everybody had slowed down so they didn't plow him over, and (3) no reason at all.

Feels good to good that off my chest 
Kelly

I was going to say something supportive, but never mind... Laura said it better!!!!

:crackup:
Kelly

Many of the terms that Nancy listed are interpreted differently by different programs.  What she describes as a "page view" would actually be called a "hit" by many site statistic tracking programs.  So a visit would be one visitor... who visited 20 pages on your web site, which counted as 20 "hits".  You can test that for yourself.  Make a note of what your current hits / visits number is, then visit your own web site.  While you're on your web site, click around through it a good 20 times or so, or even just sit on the home page and force it to reload 20 times (hold down your Shift key while clicking the reload button in your browser).  Then go see how your statistic numbers changed.  Of course, that only works if you haven't told your statistics counter to exclude yourself from the results 

Cheers,
Kelly

I also use copper-coated BBs for weight, as we were not satisfied with the heft of glass beads.  I did a fair amount of research a while back to make sure they would be OK to use.  Hopefully this will help ease your mind, Millie.

The verdigris (green color) that develops on copper will ONLY develop on copper that is exposed to outside elements, such as rain, humidity and pollution.  Not a problem for our bears (I should hope).  Copper that is not exposed to outside elements will, over time, naturally age from shiny to brown-ish.  How much and how fast depends on contaminants and usage.  Think of the old copper pennies... they are shades of brown but otherwise totally intact, they are not "degrading" in any way but just turned a new color.  Collectors of rare old copper coins are careful to keep new fingerprints off them (oil from the hands is a contaminant which could affect the coloration), but otherwise copper is not a concern. 

We place our copper BBs in a muslin bag more for reasons of convenience than any other (though I suppose there is a level of "just in case" there, too!), and then make sure that the muslin bag is buried well within the bear... but even that is more so that it cannot be felt from the outside.  I think as has been mentioned recently on the forum, everything changes with age.  I don't worry too much about a sealed bag of copper BBs buried in a bear, that has no exposure to... well... anything. 

That having been said, if anyone knows anything different about copper BBs, I'd love to hear about it!
Kelly

I'm with your webbie on this one, one banner is the usual and there are good reasons for it.  It is confusing to see it change in a random way throughout the pages.  My suggestion would be this... choose ONE banner for the top of your general pages.  Choose ONE other banner for the top of your catalog pages, and add a word (or words) to that banner indicating that it is your catalog... the change of banner will make more sense that way (as in "oh, I'm in another section of the site").  If you wish, take the other banners and put them at the BOTTOM of the pages (near your copyright statement), one per page and feel free to use them randomly on different pages if you like.  That way, if people scroll down a long page, your branding will still be at the bottom for them to see... and that banner doesn't need to match what's on the top. 

Regarding the menu buttons on the catalog page, yes, it's jarring to move your main menu sections from the right to the top on those pages.  However, I don't know what tool he's using to create that catalog... it may be entirely true that his catalog menu must go to the right and that he is in no position to over-ride that.  Consider treating the catalog section like a truly different part of your site, as it already "looks" different (it helps if you can make it look like you did that on purpose!).  With a different banner indicating that it is your catalog, consider also eliminating your main menu navigation (all those links that got moved from the right side to the top only on the catalog pages).  Put one link instead to guide them back to the rest of your site, "return to main menu" or something along those lines.

Just my $0.02
Kelly

Here's some food for thought.  Considered to be the most powerful woman in business in 2006, Indra Nooyi (CEO of Pepsi), had this to say about her belief in constant reinvention.

"The minute you've developed a new business model, it's extinct, because somebody is going to copy it."

It's life, it's business.  People will lie, cheat and steal when money or prestige is on the line, and it's in the bear industry, too.

Good luck to you,
Kelly

Eileen,

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved Lucy!  We have a Lucy here too, a little black border collie mix.  She sends wags and kisses your way, and big hugs from us  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Best wishes,
Kelly

Our thoughts are with you, your lovely daughter and your entire family at this time    :hug:

Hugs and best wishes,
Kelly

I'm no artist, but my mother is, so I ran your questions past her.  Hope I am relaying this all correctly, somebody correct me if I'm messing something up!

Her response was that she couldn't provide a simple answer, because there was no simple answer, and something about books being written on the subject of mixed medias.  Her recommendation is that, unless you want to make an in-depth study of the field, to stick with one media.  However, there are certain tried-and-true mixed media combinations that are fairly common, such as an acrylic underpainting with oil on top, or a watercolor base with something like pastels on top.  As far as fixative goes, it is not for use with oils and acrylics, but for art such as drawings and pastels, where the finished art can 'smudge' and fixative helps protect it.

Cheers,
Kelly

I hope everyone gets some time to relax over the weekend (and feel better, that means you Shelli and Daphne!).  I've just been sitting here thinking about how tough 2006 was in many ways, and realized that the goals I have set for myself in 2007 seem downright impossible.  NOW I'm tired, thinking of them!  On second thought, maybe I'd better enjoy the last few days of 2006...

Cheers,
Kelly

Someone got into our bear business account last year, which my mother and I share.  Turned out to be an inside job at our bank!  Our original bank had been acquired by a second bank, and we had been sent new debit cards with the new bank's name on them.  I was moving at the time and hadn't gotten around to activating my new card in a timely manner.  Obviously someone at the bank did a system search looking for 'unactivated' cards, probably presuming that the account was not being watched (wrong), and started slamming the account with [INVALID] purchases.   We caught it very early, and the money was refunded by our bank immediately. 

I did learn something though.  I would have caught it earlier still, as I'd been looking at our account statement online and saw a 'pending debit' of over $600 one evening.  We figured we'd call the bank in the morning if it was still there.  In the morning, it had disappeared.  We presumed there was a computer glitch at the bank, and thought nothing of it.  Turned out to be the jerk 'testing' the card before he started making actual purchases.  So if you ever see something unexplained pending in your account for even the smallest amount of time, CALL YOUR BANK RIGHT AWAY!  Yes, this is why it's great to be able to keep track of your statements online.

Aren't people jerks?   
Kelly

I scrolled quickly through the responses, hopefully I'm not repeating anything that has already been said.  But a few thoughts.  If she is in a Pediatric ICU, she is surrounded by a LOT of other sick and suffering children as well.  Instead of sending dozens of artist bears to one sick little girl (much though I think any kid would love it!), do you think that a charitable organization, such as Good Bears of the World, might be interested in providing teddies for ALL of the children in the ward?  Perhaps making a special event of it, maybe a "Teddy Bear Tea Party" or something along those lines where everyone got a teddy?  We could then all make financial donations to Good Bears to help make that happen, and maybe Shelli or others in CA could be there to help with bear distributions.  I just have this nagging thought that manufactured bears (that are cleanable) might be a better option for a kids in a hospital.  ??????

Kelly

LOL!  You've got me there, Dorothy!      

Cheers,
Kelly

Good gracious Gemma, nobody said anything even remotely like "never mention if you like another artist's work!".  My concern was that this was an entire topic devoted to "list your favorite people".  And as I stated above, every time I've seen a "list your favorite people" thread on any other board I've been to, it has ended with some very hurt people.  Not intentionally, but it has happened EVERY time I've ever seen it.   I think putting everybody's "list" in one place is what causes the hurt feelings... it is human nature to scroll down and see where you yourself stand.  And if you thought you were "part of the community" or "with friends" or somehow close to members of the board who then did NOT mention you, not once... well, I wouldn't care if I was or wasn't on any list in a collection of lists, but other people DO. 

Chrissi, I don't know about anyone who has "left" TT, but I've met a remarkable number of people this year at shows who lurk on this board but do not post for a variety of reasons.  They come up to me with "I've seen you on Teddy Talk!", which always surprises me because I don't think I post that often!  Though hopefully that means I do not usually come across as that scary, LOL.  Sometimes they tell me why they do not post here, sometimes they don't, but it's not really any of my business and I don't like to ask.  A question for another day, perhaps.

Kelly

Well, that's the first time I've been accused of trying to force cutsie poo nicie nice on others.

Look, ladies.  It's great to have favorites.  We all draw inspiration from different places and people, and it goes without saying that everyone has different favorites.  It's great to point them out and give them credit for the inspiration they have provided.  Sure, I have my favorites, too. 

However.  There are those of us who have seen "list your favorite people" type of discussions end very badly.  The end results that I personally have seen have been extremely cruel to undeserving souls.  So if someone gives a warning to be careful with this type of discussion, we're flower-pickin' tree-huggin' rope-skippin' goody goodies who won't let people express their "real views"?  Give me a break.  If it's real views and opinions that you want, then here is mine.  My experiences have shown me that lists are for groceries, not people.

Kelly

I have also seen "list your favorite people" type of posts on other community forums (not bears), and I agree with Daphne that they have a tendency to hurt people's feelings in the end.  It does not matter that they are all universally started with the best of intentions.  But yes, after 50 people list their favorites, it is a given that some very worthy names will have been excluded by simple oversight.  Some people don't mind.  Some people do.  I have seen some very lovely, wonderful people leave online communities in tears for being excluded off of lists like that, and they do not return.

Gemma, you need to understand that noone is personally attacking you.  I have seen some truly heartbreaking results from such lists, and wouldn't want to see it here.  Obviously Daphne, and others, have as well.  It leaves a lasting impression.

Kelly

Krista, I took a quick look at your code and didn't see anything at all that would have been a background.  Maybe that version didn't get saved?  If you want everything to be black, at the top of your code where it says <body> change it to

<body bgcolor="#000000">

Hope this helps!
Kelly

Bronwen, good for you!  This reminded me of a news story I read recently, so I dug it out to post a link.  It is about a blind and disabled student who is a brilliant musician and plays in the marching band, with him playing and his dad pushing his wheelchair in the formations.  With the support of his parents AND teachers, he has been able to prove what a superstar he is.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2643340&page=1

Tiffany, I hope you love being in your band! 

Kelly

If anyone needs to print up photos to enter into the competitions (deadlines coming this month and next for Golden Teddies and TOBYs), here's an FYI.  I think it was SueAnn last year that recommended getting your digital images printed through Winkflash online.  They are currently offering a sale to new members, 50 free 4"x6" prints on your first order (and 4"x6" happens to be a perfect size for competition entries)!  My total was a whopping $0.99 for shipping.  We are not discussing how much I spent last year running around between local camera shops and trying to get good prints made that way... grrrr. 

http://www.winkflash.com/default.asp

Click on "digital photo prints" on the lefthand side of the screen.  The first item was "50 free prints", and that's where you get the coupon code to use during checkout.  I don't know how long the sale will last though!

Cheers,
Kelly

Krista, 

I was thrown by that initially as well, but I think that if I'm reading it correctly, the list Mindy posted is just for people who sent their entry by postal mail / surface mail / snail mail (whatever it's called these days).   

People who submitted by email should have received a confirmation from Mindy directly.  I think!

Cheers,
Kelly

Yup!  Give it a try that way, you may find it's the best solution of all  :)

Cheers,
Kelly

There are quite a lot of things in this world that Word doesn't support (or doesn't support very well), so it's hard to say exactly what the problem is. 

However, your best bet is either going to be to print directly out of Photoshop, or create the image in Photoshop the exact size you want it, so that when you insert the image in Word it does not need any re-sizing.  When you have text in an image, that text will be particularly unfriendly towards being resized without losing clarity.  Or as a third choice, just insert the photo that you want into a template in Word, then type your text directly into Word so that you're dealing with actual text and not an image of it.

Aren't computers fun?    
Kelly

--- oops, editing here.  Just noticed that you said you were re-sizing in Photoshop.  How does the image look in Photoshop after you have re-sized it?  Blurry, or is it just inserting it into a Word document that makes it blurry?

What program are you using, and what file type?  The answers above are correct, file type and dpi can both have effects on this.  Also, if you are using a basic Windows program (like Word) to manipulate the size of your image, sometimes it looks blurry on the screen but prints just fine.

Kelly

I'm so sorry about your bunny, Heather.  My mother had to put her old corgi down a few years ago.  He had some neurologic problems, and had lost the use of one hind leg.  It got harder and harder for him to get around, some things were uncomfortable for him, but he seemed happy enough for a time.  The day he lost the use of his other hind leg, we made an appointment to have him put down and within 24 hours, he was released from his suffering.  He went with dignity and was missed terribly, but it was the right choice.  See what your vet says about your bunny, and good luck to you.

Hugs,
Kelly