Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I just received an email request in response to my current listing. They asked that I pull my bear off the auction, state the best price I would accept and they would pay me in two payments. I reported them to Ebay.  That has never happened to me since I started selling bears on Ebay. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

I could probably make it to Texas but I would sure love to visit New England!  But I am thinking I better start mass producing my bears or charging a lot more for each one to be able to afford it. It would be fantastic if we could all get together..what a wonderful idea.

Thanks for all the great packaging ideas.  I didn't  realize that so many collectors hate the shipping costs. If that is true wouldn't it be to our advantage to include shipping as a benefit?  Although shipping outside of our respective countries would be quite prohibitive.  HHmmm.....any ideas on the international traveling bears?

Good idea Shelli! I do the head first and I can tell you I have had many of my heads rolling on the floor and have to beat my puppy to it because she thinks I just threw her a ball!:lol:

I have been told that when you live in California you get used to the occasional shaking of the ground. I have seen too many earthquake movies and that absolutely terrifies me!  I live in Nebraska and I am sure that those of you that do not live where a tornado is possible and sometimes probable, that they are quite terrifying also. But we are used to the occasional tornado warning just as some of you area the ground shaking at times. We just came back from vacationing in Washington State and visited Mt. St. Helen's. What an experience!  It was almost spiritual. I am still looking for the words that best describe being there with that majestic scenery and on the 25th anniversary of the devastating eruption. Who, living in that most beautiful state, would have thought that there would have ever been a volcanic eruption of that magnitude or even one at all in Washington State in the United States when they awoke that Sunday morning in May 1980? So I guess we all get kind of complacent about the little surprises that Mother Nature bestows upon us in all of the various locations we live in and accept them as a daily part of our lives.  I am just glad that the recent earthquake in California was minor and all my internet "bear family" is safe tonight!

Oh Rita..what an adorable little fellow!!!!

Love your new avatar Rita! Beary Awesome!!!!

Welcome Jean!

Love your sign so much I had to copy it for my fridge! Hope you don't mind...I just love it. 

I have four furry cats, one a 20 lb Himalayan, and a Schnoodle (dog).  So, although I vacuum constantly, you will find a hair or two or three at any particular time. Oh well. They are indeed my children. So I certainly know what you mean.  My husband works for the humane society here in Nebraska and all of our little family members have been rescued from the shelter. It's a no kill shelter and some of the horror stories  that I hear about how the animals are treated before they are rescued just makes me ill and then I give my little ones and extra hug. I finally had to tell him that I did not want to hear any more of the stories because I would probably have a lot more four legged family members than I do now.:)

I have a friend that was bitten by a brown recluse about 10 years ago and that poor man has been in and out of the hospital frequently ever since due to that spidey bite and its complications!  They are terrible!!

As far as racoons..they are cute from a distance but they are mean animals and not the friendly little creatures that they appear to be.  Possums are the oily little critters that I cannot tolerate. We had an infestation of them a few years ago in our back yard and they were horrible, ugly, and slimy rodents. They would eat out of the dog bowl and leave a slimy mess.  UGH! :mad:

Well, enough rambling. Just wanted to say welcome to the group!:D

Thank you for giving us your imput from the eyes of a collector Laura. I had never thought of it in that perspective before.

Dilu,

Thank you so much for your wisdom and inspiration!!   There has been a lot going on in my life lately and I guess I have been a a kind of slump too.  Have not been too inspired or creative. I know some of it is because of my internal confusion of late but also I just cannot seem to get a creative idea going.  Very frustrating to say the least. But what you said makes a lot of sense.  Thank you!  I am leaving for vacation in a couple of days to go visit one of my sons and my grandkids and I think I will take this time to rejuvenate....and come back with lots of ideas.

While I am gone I am going to scour the local antiqe and "what not" shops and see if I can find some "good things" for my bear making.

Again, thank you for widsom and helping me with an attitude change.

HUGS to you!

Love the avatar Laure!  Another great one from Shelli. You are so good to all of us!

Welcome Kirsten...Love your avatar too.  Great job!;)

Just wanted to say that I love all of the new avatars that are showing up on this forum. They are wonderful!:D

Hi Shelli!

Outstanding close ups of the eyes. I know your camera takes the close ups but the eyes speak for themselves.  Absolutely gorgeous!! Gives us all something to aspire to.:)

I just have to say....I love all of your Avatars! How are you all doing them? Would love to have one. They look so professional and fantastic.

Laure..love your site! Good luck with whatever route you take for your new one. I also would start over so it is entirely yours from beginning to wonderful finished product.

Happy Mother's Day back to all of you! I agree with Laure..this is truly a wonderful place. I also agree that we all must have a common thread running through us that brings us all together with much love and understanding and a willingness to be there for each other. I am so happy to be part of this group.

Have a wonderful day.

P.S. Judi...love the family pics!

These are not free books but Betty Lampen has a few books out for knitted bear sweaters. I think they are about $12.00. She has a website that you can order from. http://www.bettylampenknitbooks.com. The sweaters are all different styles and are adorable. Hope this helps.

Happy Mother's Day to you all!:D

Thank you Dilu. I have some of Arlene's on hand. Will give it a try. Thanks again!!!!:)

Hi Everyone!

Did I miss something? I would like to try the glue/water thing. Is there a particular kind of glue that works best?

Thank you Sue and Shelli. Glad to be here. I want to add something I tried for stand up bears that might work. I added wire to the legs just as I do for the bendable arms only I position the wire straight. The ideas for stuffing the feet as the above posts mentioned is great but adding the wire to the legs also gives them the strength to stand on their own. I did that on a couple of my bears and it worked. Might want to give it a try.

Hi Everyone!

This is great! I just found out that Intercal had this option.  My gosh, I have missed out on so many posts. I will spend a lot of time catching up. I am glad to be part of the group.