Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wow!! How did that cat burglar get in there!? 

That is just ridiculous!!! I am so sorry to hear what happened to your terrier  . Such big dogs are like weapons, they can be so dangerous.... people who own the larger breeds (which are capable of serious damage) should be required to take their dogs to classes and socialize them at a young age and learn how to manage them. That owner has no excuse; he obviously screwed up from the very beginning and doesn't know a thing about owning a dog. He could even be giving off signals that his dog might pick up, if he feels nervous or angry his dog might sense that and make it uneasy which could even lead to its attacks... the dog just doesn't know how to act properly because he never worked with it. His dog deserves a new home where it will be kept safe from other dogs so that it can't cause any more harm (What is with this second chance stuff? After the dog hurts or kills another dog it has no right to be walking the streets when it is likely to attack again!!!)  and that guy should be locked up for being so reckless and irresponsible!!!!!!

Awww!! Such sweet dogs!! My calico cat autumn tends to get in my lap everytime I sit down and constantly wants to be the center of attention, maybe that is why my bears take so long, and usually by the time I stand up im covered in bear hair and cat fur!  :doh:   . My German Shepherd Dante on the other hand is quite helpful, he guards the packages and makes sure they get to the car safely   

Thank you all for the support and answers!
-Joanne,  I went back and took some time to look at your tutorials, there were a lot of things I missed the first time I saw them (either that or I just didn't quite understand it. I think I’m getting a little bit better of a grasp on things, and its starting to make more sense now. ) I totally missed the part where you said you make a "socket", light bulbs just went off in my head  :dance: . Adding the individual hair does seem very difficult.... I think maybe for now I will just learn how to needle felt and leave that to the pros     . I was thinking the same thing about widing the gusset, just wasn't quite sure... I never did make a bear from someone else’s pattern, I probably should have done that to start and learn.... I don't think im going to be able to do the wax noses now, my mom would kill me if I melted anything like that on her nice new stove  :redface: . Your blog says that modge podge works very well.. does that alone make the nose hard?

- Becky, thank you for the kind words, and yes you are so right all i see are the flaws!  . I think I might just keep this head in my desk drawer and take it out when I need a good laugh!

-Bobbie,
  You are so right, Joanne is definitely a pro and knows what she’s talking about!

- Gabriele,
Thanks for the encouragement!! I guess we all have to start somewhere!  :hug:

- Thelma,
That is a good suggestion to practice on some scraps, your bears are wonderful by the way!!

-Lynn,
Thank you for the kind words  

Hi everyone!!! I'm here again with some more questions.. I hope someone does not mind answering them    .
I decided I wanted to try some new techniques like needle felting , I always get frustrated when I make my bears face and the muzzle doesn't look quite right, and of course there is no way of changing it when you've trimmed to close so I am hoping that with this technique I might be able to have more control over the facial features. So my first problem I ran into was when I tried felting a nose, I'm at a little bit of a loss.... I've read on here that people "wax" their bears noses. Hopefully not to many of you will laugh at me when I tell you that I lit a candle and painted wet wax on my bears nose  :crackup: . I'm so clueless.  :crackup:  Anyways this leads me to my first question, what exactly do you "Wax" a bears nose with after you have felted it, and how do you apply it? I'm hoping the stuff you guys use is not like yankee candle wax because this poor bears nose feels so brittle.... I am trying to make a panda bear by the way. So now I'm curious, panda bears heads seem much wider, so how do you change your pattern to make the bears head appear this way? I'm also trying to figure out a new way to make eye lids, what I was doing before was a pain trying to get the eye lids even as well as avoiding that popping out look, and most of the time the lid would droop down giving my bears the apperance of being bored or tired of me working on them  . So is there any way to felt around the eyes and make eye lids...? I tried it on this panda but to me it looks like the eye is almost bulging out. OK last question here, I've seen several tutorials on how to insert mohair strands into the felt but I'm still at a loss... the little crimps in the mohair don't stay in place and when I try felting them in I usually miss. Maybe this just takes more practice.. or perhaps I'm dong it totally wrong  :doh: .  I'll attach a picture of my poor yankee candle bears nose for your enjoyment    .

He looks great!!! So small and cute 

Wow!!! incredible detail!!! She is adorable!     

So cute !!! I love his little pumpkin on wheels!!

It looks great!!!! And very professional!    :dance:

To funny !!!! :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Here in Florida I've run into many alligators when walking my dog, some even as large as 8 feet laying in the open or swimming around in the local ponds right next to the park. We also have a few wild boar, once one of them came from the woods and was running around my neighborhood chasing people (they have large tusks and a bad temper which makes them very dangerous.) Florida also has a ton of sandhill cranes which are giant 5 feet tall birds that like to lounge in the roads and not budge until you get out of your car and shoo them  . and we also do have some bears, although I have never seen one, my friend had a large black bear walk right up to her screen glass door and look in!!! 

Wow!!!! She is stunning!!! I love her outfit and her little elephant!  

I am so happy to hear that you guys like them!!! I enjoyed seeing the pictures very much its good to know that they made it there all in one piece! I could have never made one bear without your help, not only the fabric donations but all of the questions you both answered selflessly when I was stuck  :hug: ; in the beginning I didn't even know how to use fray check  :crackup: . Thank you Joanne and Becky for all your help, and all of the members of Teddy talk too, you guys are the best!!! Your answers and support really do mean a lot to me and have helped me learn so much !  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Aww so cute   

Your blog looks great, you did a wonderful job!!!! Love your bears and dragons!!!  I am now following  :dance:

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions!!  :hug:

Wow! He looks great!! I love his eyes, they give him a very sweet expression 

LOL, traveling in a toliet paper roll does not sound very comfortable!  :crackup: but im sure it would work well! I took your advice and just used a ton of bubble wrap that way you can have fun popping it twhen it arrives    :dance:

Rumple is to cute for words!!!!! I love his big smile!!! They make a very charming pair 

Very cute!!! I like this ones expression! 

WOW! Love the color!! Your dogs are always so unique, I look forward to seeing your new creations! Keep up the wonderful work!   

She is so beautiful!!! I love her curly fur and how you have done her face!    the clothes look great on her as well! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

Hello everyone! I was just curious as to how you all ship your bears? Is there a special way you wrap them, or something you place in there besides bubble wrap and pop corn to protect them from getting smashed up on their journey?.. I am partically wary of their faces being messed up. Any clever ideas would surely be appreciated!