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Posts: 1Hi.
l have spent the last 4 days going through every thing written on this section to soak up as much information as my little brain can stand.
l just wanted to say thank you to you all for sharing all your skills.
l am a doll repaint artist who is going to try to make a few bears...just a few.
l am not going to become addicted to them like all of you...l'm not..l'm not.. 
This site is so lovely ..to not to see the clash of egos that occurs on the doll sites, the willingness to share your secrets is amazing...l am soooo impressed with you all. :clap:
A huge thank you.
You have covered just about any question l could have asked so l now go forth to create my first bear...l am not going to get addicted...l'm not l tell you !
(actually l love doing my dolls so l can't see myself stopping them and there are only so many hours in a day ! )
l have read a lot of things about creating noses and eyes with polymer clay.
Thought l might just add...l do a lot of sculpting with polymer clay using epoxie as an armature.
Eyes are very easily created for dolls ( done them for soft scupltured dolls) and l think they would work for bears eyes and noses too.
Using a bifurcated rivet ( l think your cotter pins would be equal to it)
l put a bit of epoxie on it (this just gives it enormous strength) then create the eye with polymer... then bake it ( epoxie bakes quite well without any adverse effects)
Eyes can be painted with genesis paints.. baked then coated with liquid polymer and baked again..gives a lovely shine to them...or they can be painted with acrylics and a coat of gloss varnish.
Also adding irredescent powders to the paint gives them the same sparkling effect as glitter would.
If you use a strong polymer clay (definatedly not sculpey..l use Ozzle) you won't get any marks or scratches on them.
Then eyes are inserted into the fabric and the pins turned back or curled.
The only down side is you can't pull them in to sculpt the eye area ( but l do all that before l insert the eyes)
But l would imagine if you used a wire in a "T" with the epoxie it would not come out.
l use baby oil to smooth the polymer .
The strong clays when baked properly are very hardy and won't break or crack.
The secret is starting with the polymer in a cold oven and use a thermometer in your oven as temperature is important and ovens never are at the same temperature as the dial says.... you will be suprised how they differ.
Cook to the packaged recommendation...mine is 235 degrees..10 minutes for 1/4 inch thickness...and this is timed from when your oven reaches the 235 degrees.
Then turn your oven off and don't take them out till it is completely cold.
l also saw a section on wings... l have a very easy method of doing wings using transparency sheets , lutrador fabric and 3D crystal lacquer.
Which if anyone is interested l will post later...don't want to bore you silly on my first posting.
Once again a very big thank you to you all.
Regards Lyn
PS ...l love all your bears..yep l have gone through all the photos too..you are all so talented
Chaska, MinnesotaLyn: So good to see a new face to our group. What a nice tip you gave on making eyes. Do you have a picture of them? Just curious.
Now I know you will never become addicted to bears (not). Actually, many bear artist make dolls as well. So I would imagine you will quickly see how much fun bears can be and decide to spend time doing them. I am the opposite of you. I started making bears and have, for the last two years, bought books on how to make soft sculptured dolls (I have not gotten my nerve to try one yet). I have been looking around for a class to take. I'm even willing to fly to another state for the classes but I can't seem to find one! Any suggestions on who is good and gives classes?
But anyways, if you have questions just post them; you will get a lot of help from us.
Happy bear making.
Past Time BearsThank you, Lyn, for your compliments. And we, in turn, appreciate your sharing the eye and wing techniques. Yes, I think there is a big crossover with dolls and teddies. I know I've made rag dolls for my bears to hold and I am mildly interested in making more dolls myself. Glad to have you aboard and hope you will drop in often.
Hello & welcome Lyn! :hug: Thank you for the compliments and the tips. 
Of course you won't get addicted... none of us are... 
Enjoy! And I'm looking forward to seeing the bears you create! 
EJ's CraftsAddicted to bear making...no way :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: Thanks for the eye info and maybe you can share the wing info too. I have never done wings but would be very interested in your technique. I also make soft dolls. I switch from one to the other and have for years.
BrisbaneWelcome to Teddy Talk Lyn. We love tips here on TT. I would love to hear about your wing technique. I am about to start having ago at wings myself.
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Therese
Matilda Huggington-beare bear making 
Bear-Handswelcome Lyn thanks for info and i to am interested in you wing chat. would be nice to see some your dolls to post some pics or do you have a site? bearhugs susan
Fulrfun BearsWelcome and thank you - I am another one who would be interested in your wing technique. We are a very generous group and always welcome people who aren't addicted to bear making (just wait)!
