Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Sue Ann,

My roots go back to the South.  My mom and dad told us that for every blackeyed pea we ate on New Year's Day, we would receive a dollar that year.  Needless to say, we ate lots of blackeyed peas and just knew we would be rich.   

NOT!!!

Hugs,

Wanda

Hey Gals,

Another good moisturizer is Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion which can be purchased at Walmart.  It is also non-greasy and makes that dry skin feel soooo good.  It is fragrance free, absorbs quickly and contains natural oatmeal (oat flour) which is very soothing to the skin.

Also, I get those dry skin, cold weather cracks on my thumbs and fingers which makes bearmaking painful.  When they start cracking, I use Super Glue to hold them together so they heal.

It is that time of year, we have 2 inches of snow on the ground this morning, simply beautiful!!!

Hugs,

Wanda

Jane,

Just sent that site to my daughter and told her it was her theme song!!!   She is an E-Bay Fanatic .... course I can't talk, I buy lots from there too.

Thanks for the chuckle.

Hugs,

Wanda

Kelly,

By all means get the book, Selling Your Dolls & Teddy Bears by Barb Lawrence.  I bought this book years ago and the principals it teaches are still good today.   It covers everything from  pricing your work to ways of advertising.

Check out Amazon.com ... good used books are rather cheap there.

Hugs,

Wanda

Hayley,

The best shows I have had where the ones I attended with the main intent of having FUN!!! 

I cheerfully greet customers by just saying "Hi, isn't this a wonderful show?" to get the ball rolling.  If they are just browsing, that's OK as they might be back around a second time.  If they are interested in a particular bear, I might tell them something about the mohair it's made from or something  special about this one bear.  Sometimes they ask "How did you do this?" and I tell them exactly how it is done.   Or they might be looking for a special bear that is not my forte, so I try to guide them to a booth that might have what they are looking for and believe it or not, they will remember how helpful you are.   It builds good PR for collectors and artists.

If you are excited about your bears, the customers get excited too.  It's kinda contagious.    And I consider each person attending the show as a guest in my house,  and I treat them as I would any guest.  They have paid admission and expect to have a good time seeing all the wonderful bears and most come to choose that one  or two special teddies to take home.

I tell my fellow workers, that going to a bear show is like  being 7 again and going to a huge toy store with your friends and playing with the bears.  Course they all think I'm nuts, but so what!!

Just be yourself and plan to have a great time.  I know we all want to sell, sell, sell, but if you first and foremost enjoy what you are doing, the selling will come naturally and you will make your collectors feel comfortable and have fun too.

It works for me !!

Hugs,

Wanda

There are several things I would love to have the time to do.

Organize all the recipes I have collected through the years and type them in Word and make my own cookbook

Organize all the family photos and put in albums

Make photo albums for the grandchildren so they have a record of the good times with grandma and grandpa

Learn how to use HTML and make my own website

Play with my camera and learn more than I now know about it

Make my own Christmas Cards and get that list started NOW!

Play with my Photoshop Elements and learn everything there is about it

Do the bear bookkeeping which is way, way past due and tax time is coming

Make at least one of the bears I have floating around in my head, from start to finish without any interruptions like, "what's for supper?" .... "The phone is ringing, can you get that?" .... Time to go to work, ugh! .... "we need groceries" .... "I can't find any clean socks" .... "where's my drill?" ..... (Yeah, Like I used it to bake a cake) ... "help me get the goats back in" ... or "help pen these dumb guineas" ....

I can probably think of more, but have to go fold laundry now .... need those socks!!!

Hugs,

Wanda

Ordering Bear Supplies ....

I try to stay away from the mohair specials, but fall victim to them quite frequently, so I do have lots of mohair.

I try to keep the disc and glass eye supplies filled as it takes a while for these to travel to the  Midwest.   Whenever I see my numbers falling on these two items, I take inventory on the 7 or so different sizes of discs and the different sizes of eyes and place an order.  I try to order as many things that I will be needing at one time to offset the shipping charges.

I too am always picking up a spool or two of thread and hanks of perle cotton when I get the chance especially when there is a sale going on.    Sometimes I bid on different things I can use to accessorize my bears on E-Bay.  I live in the middle of a huge cornfield and don't have the luxury of very many shops, so I surf the net and E-Bay ...you can find anything and everything on E-Bay.

After making several bears or getting ready for a show, my supplies get all messy and I take the time to re-organize so I know where everything is and how many I have.   There comes a time when I can't work because of the clutter, it distracts me and takes more time and effort to get the job done.   Don't get me wrong, my house would never make the Better Homes and Garden mag.  Far from it.

Anyhow, this is what works for me.

Hugs,

Wanda

Not that we need to spend more time on the ole computer, but I have found a great website for checking out all the different digital cameras plus some good forums with tips and advice on photography.

Have an older camera you need advise or instructions for?  Check out the timeline and find your camera or go to the specific make/model.

Go to    http://dpreview.com/

Enjoy!!!

Wanda

Shantell,

Sorry to hear your appointment did not go well.  Just wanted to share our experience.  My hubby had a macular pucker in his eye which distorted his vision.  Had surgery and then all the drops you wouldn't believe afterwards.  I was trying to work and administer the drops too (he couldn't do it).   We were battling the eye pressure too.  It just wouldn't come down.  Then the doctor discovered that one particular drop (a steriod if I remember right) was making the pressure come up, not the eye itself.   So he changed the drops and the pressure started coming down.   

It did take some time, so please be patient.  I know it is a hard thing to do especially since you want to work on those cute, furry little bears.   This is just a short setback.  I will pray that you too will be fine in a short while.  Hang in there!

Hugs,

Wanda

Hayley,

Oops! ... Yes, I know what you mean about the double neck joint. ..... Haven't tried one of those yet either, but I'm sure it would work.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Shelli,

I'm jealous, love the bears by Denise.

Judy,

Ordered the 1/2" kit from Sierra Meadows (might as well take advantage of their sale) and it is white, but feels very sturdy.   Ordering the 1/4" kit also for smaller bears.   Who sells the blue???

Hugs,

Wanda

Hayley,

I usually do make the bears heads "tilty" by using the cotterpin jointing method by not tightening the cotterpin real tight.    The double cotterpin method gives them a broken neck effect which I don't particularly like.

I was hoping the loc-line method would hold the head in a tilted position without it falling over.  Just something new to try.  Thanks for the info.

Hugs,

Wanda

Judi,

I usually close the head joint with the heavy eye floss which would be perfect for this technique.   The extra step for me would be sewing the loc-line where is it inserted into  the body.    I would then have to really make sure I got the loc-line sewn securely so it would not slip out of the body.  Egads!  That would be a nightmare!  Again, that floss is really strong and shouldn't tear or cut against the loc-line which is plastic and a smooth surface. 

So then the head could tilt.  For the head to swivel, it would turn around the loc-line in the head?  I'll have to give it a try.

Thank you for the info.

Hugs,

Wanda

Judi,

I knew I could count on you to answer my question.  Thanks so much.  I have seen Denise Purrington sell bears with locline in their necks and was having a hard time imagining how it would stay inside the body and inside the head.  I didn't know is she stitched the head to the body (with the locline inside head and body) so that the head would tilt from side to side, but not swivel, or if they did swivel too.

I ordered the 1/2" but am thinking it might be too large, so ordered some 1/4" locline for smaller bears.  Will do some experimenting.

Thanks again for the extra effort with the pics!

Wanda

I'm venturing into unfamiliar waters and want to try the loc-line.  I understand how to use it in the arms and legs, but don't know how to use it in the head and neck.  Does anyone have any suggestions???

Wanda

Gals,

I placed an order on 10-14 ....paid thru PayPal ...then this week I got an invoice for the order I placed on 10-14. 

They did call me after I sent them an e-mail saying I had already paid.  After another phone call, I found my receipt for PayPal and e-mailed it to them.

Last night I got a message with a refund or $4.20 ...they were out of two items I had ordered on 10-14.    So I hope the order is on it's way.

Wanda

Deb,

How did you get that interview with MY boss ????

How appropriate !!!

Thanks for the chuckle.

Wanda

Judi,

Close down your favorites box (bookmarks) ... then you can see the whole picture.

Hugs,

Wanda

Shelli,

Congratulations!!!!.....Well done!!!   Anxiously awaiting my copies also.

Hugs,

Wanda

Danni,

Yes, when I start pinching and pulling while sculpting, I sure don't want any seams to give, so double stitching is the answer for me.

And Jenny, I have a machine with adjustable speed, so I always use the lowest speed and then no matter how hard I push on my pedal, the stitches are a slow consistent rate so I can manipulate the curves without too much trouble and in the end, it does save time, for I don't have to take out stitches that went wild out of my planned route, so to speak.

Just have to experiment to find whatever works for each of us.

Hugs,

Wanda

Shelli,

I have never tried the upholstery thread as it looks to be very heavy for machine stitching.   So glad it works for you. 

I have used the Coats hand quilting thread and was reprimanded by my sewing machine repairman.  So I switched to Coats Dual Duty Plus Machine Quilting and Crafts thread for my machine stitching.  It is a finer thread so it does not compromise the machine and is very strong.  It can be found at Walmart and JoAnne Fabrics which has more color choices.  True, there isn't a wide range of colors in the Coats machine quilting thread, but enough to do a variety of bears.

Recently I did a bear that needed a totally different color thread, so I tried the Gutterman threads.  I was very happy with them, but they are a bit pricey, so I keep swatches of mohair in my purse and whenever I find the thread on sale, I am able to stock up and get the colors I use the most.

I do double stitch heads as this is the one area where stress is magnified with needle sculpting and inserted eyes.  Don't want any seams bursting.

Amazing how the same end results can be obtained with many different sources.

Hugs,

Wanda

Hayley,

Sorry to hear about your loss and now your back pain.  I have had my share of back problems in the past and I sympathize with you.  Do take care and I do hope you are much better very soon.

Thank you all for the congrats on the article.   Will let you know how it turns out.

Hugs,

Wanda

Denise,

The acrylic paints are also cheaper to buy than the Dynaflo.  If I make sure they are a watery consistency, it should work.  Will have to give it a try.  Thank you for the input.

Hugs,

Wanda

Judi,

I too use the airbrushing technique to shade the footpads, but use the Dynaflo airbrushing paints.  Are the acrylics you use just regular acrylic paint and are they as easy to use and do they need heat to set them?

Hugs,

Wanda

Shelli,

Ronald McDonald House Charities' mission is to provide comfort, support, and respite for families of seriously ill children in a compassionate and home-like environment.  This is done through the operation of the Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms at medical centers.  They also enhance the lives of children by awarding grants to programs that directly benefit children.

The Houses provide a safe haven offering all the comforts of home away from home.  They convey an atmosphere of compassion without the need for details.  Patients state it is a joyand lifting of spirits to come "home" after long, difficult days and nights at the hospital.  The clamness and beauty of it all helps them through another difficult day.

The auction is October 23 at Albany, NY and anyone desiring more info can contact Lori Emory at 518-438-2655 during the week.  This is a free will donation and documentation will be returned as to the price your bear brings at auction for tax purposes.  I try to donate each year as I work with two people who have had to use the House during difficult times.

Wanda

Sue Ann and Shelli,

Check out the Tips and Techniques for pics of my auction piece.  I goofed and listed it under the wrong category.   Shows how much I post!   Must be amateur night!!!   

Wanda