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Chaska, MinnesotaHello Teddy Bear Friends: I was looking at bears on ebay and came across a discription "hand sculpted nose using a marbling technique". The nose did look like marble and was cute. So my question to anybody who knows, how is that done?
Michelle
ToadBriarmy guess is, by smooshing two or more colors of polymer clay together
but not blending the colors completely. Then sculpting the nose shape,
sticking a wire loop in, & baking it to harden.
does that sound plausible? 
Nova Scotia,CanadaI would love to see that nose, can you post a link to the auction?
Chaska, MinnesotaShari: I was looking in e-bay this morning and did a search for "mink teddy bears". As I was looking, I sometimes click on the feedback button to see the artist other bears. If you click on the number it sometimes has the pictures. That is where I found one fabulous bear with a nose the artist said "using marbling technique". I don't remember which bear it was but there are not many under this category. Whoever made the bear did a fabulous job with the nose. It was so cute I turned to our friends in Teddy Talk to see if anybody knows how to do this technique.
Kim: thank you for suggesting the mixing of clays...that very well may be the trick....Something to experiment with...
Michelle
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0005163841
I think this is the link you were looking for.
Lynn
Nova Scotia,CanadaThanks Lynn 
Adorable bear!!
Seamore CollectiblesI'm very tempted to attempt that new technique.
I'll keep you posted.
Barebears by "Jai"I am wanting to make hand sculpted noses for my real fur bears and have heard a little about Jiffy Mold to make my own mold. Then, I went to a sewing meeting where a lady made dolls and used "paper clay" and said it would work great for my noses. Have any of you made your own nose mold and if so, what do you suggest using? Would love to learn this technique as I think it would look more realistic than embroidering the nose!! Thanks!! Jai
Tuppies TeddiesI too have just purchased polymer clay and want to learn how to make the shapes etc for these noses.
Also how to attach them to the muzzle.... glue or attach a loop at the back and attach like we do the eyes...
When I use polymer clay for noses on my puppies I first finish the head, trim away the fur from the nose area and then mold the clay to the dog where the nose will go. Once I have the shape and size I am happy with I carefully lift it off the dog and bake as per the instructions. Once cool it fits the dog's nose area perfectly and I attach it with Loctite super glue
Hope this is helpful- sure beats embroidering the nose and looks a lot more realistic
Hugs
Gail
Back Road BearsI don't usually cringe at super glue but might I suggest an alternative for attaching the nose??? (Not saying that the glue Gail uses isn't good or won't stand the test of time.... I have no idea!)
Use a glass eye..... press it into the center of the back of the nose before baking. Once baked in attach the nose just as you would an eye.
Back Road BearsOh, and when I clicked on that eBay link the photos didn't show up!? I went to her website but didn't see any bears with noses as described.
What about Kim-Bee's noses? It sounds like they might be the same technique though perhaps not the same look!
(Hope you don't mind me posting your noses here, Kim! They are just such a cool idea!)
Little Bear GuyI don't usually cringe at super glue but might I suggest an alternative for attaching the nose??? (Not saying that the glue Gail uses isn't good or won't stand the test of time.... I have no idea!)
Use a glass eye..... press it into the center of the back of the nose before baking. Once baked in attach the nose just as you would an eye.
That's a great idea Daphne but just remember you won't be able to pull it tight like you would an eye, the polymer will crack and break in two. I would suggest using a combination of the two , a little glue on the back of the nose just to help hold it in place since you can't really pull that hard.
Gail has the right idea though, when we do clay noses we do the same thing, we come up with the basic nose and then mold it on to the face, this way you can get it to fit perfectly.
big hugs
Shane
Back Road BearsWell, I've done many clay noses this way w/o a problem! SO FAR! (knock on wood!) They don't have to be sunk/pulled as hard as the eyes and I also use a dab of glue... just don't want to rely on glue alone! (I'm really not against glue! Really!)
As for the forming, etc. I do it the same way.... works like a charm!
fribbles, ltd...it really depends upon the type of clay you use. Sculpey isn't good for strength, however Kato and Fimo are great. I would try either one of those any day, simply because of the strength and the flex that those two clays have.
Amelia
Tuppies TeddiesThanks everyone, I like the sound of the glass eye, it won't fall out after baking will it? Or should I mould the clay a little bit around the edge of the eye?
You gals are so cool with freely helping us damsels in distress,, thank-you...
Back Road BearsI use FIMO for my noses... it's definitely very strong... perhaps why I haven't had a problem when setting the nose in. Shane... what do you guys use for clay????
Denise, when you put the eye into the back of the nose, build the clay around it...... only the loop should show.. not the eye.
Posts: 1,836If you don't want to use an eye for expense reasons, you can always just use wire alone. Create a loop that would stick out of the clay (just like the loop on the eye) but instead of the eye at the base make the wire into a "T" shape...so the bar of the "T" is in the clay and the stem/loop is sticking up out of the clay.
Hope that makes sense
:hug:
~Chrissi
Posts: 361If you want to make a nose and not use either of those methods to attach...try apoxy sculpt...mold the nose right on to the mohair, let air dry for several hours...it will NEVER come off...I use this stuff a lot in my doll making (shoes, etc.)...you can find it at a taxidermy store. Hope this helps.
Hugs, Nancy 
Little Bear GuyDaphne, we were using Fimo but we found we weren't liking it very much. It was difficult to work with, scratched and marked easily. It was a pain to transport bears as you had to always make sure the noses were so well wrapped up with lots of padding and bubble wrap. We switched over to an expoxy base clay, it air dries so doesn't need to be baked and it is cheap. It doesn't mark , won't break and again you can sculpt it right on to the bear and it stays. You could if you wanted I guess put a wire loop in the back of it and then attach it like an eye once it is dry. You do have a fair amount of work time with it at least an hour or so before it starts to set up.
big hugs
Shane
Hi Shane
Where do you get this epoxy based clay?
Hugs
Gail
Jellybelly BearsI'm really interested in the epoxy based clay too, sounds wonderful!
Back Road BearsYes shane, inquiring minds....
I put a clear coat on my noses once they cooled so didn't have problem with them marking up.
Jellybelly BearsMe too Daphne, I put a clear coat of gloss on mine and have had no hassles.
Apoxie Sculpt...Apoxie Sculpt... Apoxie Sculpt..
We get ours locally from a taxidermist...... but check the site and see where there may be a supplier near you..
