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newbearland Jan 30, 2006

She is adorable Shelli...and those eyes are to die for.

nettie Jan 30, 2006

I wish her final destination was here!!!!
Diane xxx

WildThyme Jan 30, 2006

Shelli... She is spectacular!  I'm sure that where ever she ends up, she'll be well loved!

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner SponsorJan 30, 2006

Shelli . . . your new avatar is superb!!

Gail Jan 31, 2006

I too love your new avatar
Hugs
Gail    

kassiebears Jan 31, 2006

Shelli..... there are so many very gifted girls & guys (Scott  ) on here.
I am including myself in there.
But.......

Your Teddies just make me smile.   
I just love the eyes. Your's and Judi's ; we can all only love them. 

       

Big Hugs  :hug:
Kassity

Jellybelly Bears Jan 31, 2006

Lovely bear Shelli   I have just begun dyeing fur too and like you, I love it 
I love the idea of the background too!  I would love to play around with it when I have a bit more time   Thanks for mentioning it!
Hugs Sarah

Shari Jan 31, 2006

She's adorable and amazing just like a "Shelli " bear is meant to be!!       :hug:

sheilaleigh Feb 3, 2006

Hi Shelli,

I love Wuzzy!!  She is just adorable!  I love all your bears.  Thank you for sharing with us the steps on how to do the digital background.

I have never used mohair before since I make mini bears, I always use vintage upholstery velvet.  I was wondering what type of mohair did you use? or what is the item number?

bear hugs, Sheila 

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorFeb 3, 2006

Aw, man!  I knew someone would ask me that.  I am such a dunderhead when it comes to keeping my mohair labelled because I like to be "new" each time I make a bear and so I don't pay attention to what I use.  I just buy and make!  Sorta dumb, actually... laughing here...

I know for certain it was part of the prepak offered here a month or so ago; I think it was four pieces of longish curly/matted mohair.

Oh, wait!  I think I have some upstairs...

Intercal's 380 S/CM

This mohair was also used to make POSY, above (next to WUZZY, for comparison)

For both POSY and WUZZY, I dyed the mohair.  For POSY I used RIT dye, and for WUZZY I used Cushing's Acid Dye, which you can get here.  The former is a fiber dye and the latter a protein dye.  The difference is basically which part of the fabric "takes" the dye better; a fiber dye "takes" better on the woven part of the mohair fabric... and a protein or acid dye "takes" better on the protein/hair part of the mohair fabric.

For POSY, I washed and washed and washed and washed this mohair and then sat on it for days because I had a very particular, soft, fuzzy look I was after for her.  For WUZZY, he was washed as part of the dyeing process, but no more than that.

THanks for asking; hope this helps!

kbonsall Feb 3, 2006

I love that Wuzzy is a redhead!!! I am making a "redhead" right now but it isnt as gorgeous as this color!  I really need to experiment with dyeing

sheilaleigh Feb 3, 2006

Hi Shelli,

Thank you for answering my question.  I love Posy!  Her eyes are beautiful.  I can't stop staring at her!  Can I ask another question?  You know that I have only made mini bears so I scissor sculpt the faces.  When you sculpt your faces, do you use scissors or shears?

hugs, Sheila

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorFeb 3, 2006

You can ask anything you want, Sheila.  But thanks for your delicacy!

I actually use both shears and scissors to trim.  I use big, noisy corded hair clippers to clip down the mohair on the three head pieces before I even sew them together; I generally do that at about 1/4 inch.  Generally this goes VERY quickly as the clippers are powerful and fast.  However, with a curly matted mohair, especially after dyeing and washing, you need to brush thru the mohair first, or you will hit clumps and snags as you move the clippers thru the hair, which quite possibly will cause bald spots and un-evenness.

After sewing the head pieces together, I use battery-operated moustache trimmers which have significantly shorter trim guards to take the muzzle hair down even further.  I don't necessarily keep it the same length across all areas.

If there's a bulky chunk of mohair I use the points of my scissors like a hairdressed would and chip into it to reduce that bulk.  I also use scissors to trim stragglers, and to clean up the inner eye area where clippers won't reach.  In fact, you really have to use scissors, very, very carefully, to get that nice eye line.

Hope this helps!  And thanks for the kind words about my bears, all! :hug:

sheilaleigh Feb 4, 2006

Thank you, Shelli, for explaining to me in such details.  You are so kind to share all your little tips!  I just hope that someday I can make beautiful bears like you!!   :pray:

hugs, Sheila

fredbear Feb 4, 2006

and a    for you Shel
Lynette

AnnG Feb 5, 2006

there's just something about a red head with green eyes. I love her