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Daphne I think your three little Bears are just ever so cute and how lucky that your Aunt's grandaughters
will have something special to remember her by.
I have never worked with real fur as sometimes the smell puts me off when they have been sitting around in an attic for many years (I do not like the smell of moth balls).
Tammy thanks also for showing us your first real fur Bear - very cute and how clever both you and Daphne
are for making such lovely bears.
Hugs
Carolyn
Posts: 2,203Tammy, I want to be you when I grow up! 
I went to a antique store the other day. I saw a fur cape and all I thought about was what adorable bears it would make.
Rufnut Teddy'sDaph you are funny. They are cute in their own way your too hard on yourself. :dance:
Newcastle, OntarioHi Daphne,
You had to post these, just when I was thinking I should do something with my mum's mink hat and collar - now you've scared me off!
I think you did a marvelous job, making three bears look so uniform, when mink is that hard to work with. I can't make three mohair bears look the same LOL. Now, I agree the one in the middle is a bit woeful, and definitely looking for sympathy, but I like the one on the right. He looks quite cheeky and is telling me that "ah, just ingnore the other two - I'm the beauty in this group!" He looks like he'd elbow the others right out of the picture, if he had half a chance LOL.
Sooooooo, dear Daphne, what's the deal with working with mink or any fur, for that matter. What makes it so difficult and what are the pitfalls? I like to be forewarned before I hang myself LOL! I see one of the sellers on Ebay, that makes wonderful 5 inch bears from fur (including mink) and being the proverbial optimist that I am, I think I would like to try. Am I in for a fools game?
Hugs,
Brenda
Hi Brenda
I have been making natural fur bears for 8 years now and most of my income is from those bears. Yes they are a lot more work and do take much longer to make but they are definitely worth it when that are completed. If you are serious about making one then I would suggest you have a look at Nancy Tillberg's online class at www.kranbearys.com
Hugs
Gail
Daphne- girl you should be ashamed.... Calling them bears! Humph! Poor road kill critters! :hug:
Real fur is tough, I had a hard time with the face...
Cleathero CreationsDaphne,
We often are our own harshest critics and I have made a couple of bears that I cringed when they were finished but they went to lovingg homes where they were thought of as absolutely adorable.
I think the three musketeers are lovely and definately nothing to be ashamed of.
Dear Daphne,
Well , I have never worked with real fur, although someone gave me a piece of mink, which her daughter told her to get out of the shop !!!!and it is in a box here,waiting for my hands to get onto it. I have heard so many stories about what to do and what not to do when using real fur.
I can just imagine you working on them and cursing, but looks like you did not let them get the better of you, and they will make someone happy. My first bears cannot be parted from the recipients today, and I look at them and have to wonder what I thought I was trying to make. Thank heavens we live and learn.
Lynette
Back Road BearsThank you all once again!!!
Brenda, they are messy, hard on the hands when hand sewing, the fur is NOT forgiving in anyway! Like Kirsten, I have trouble when trimming the muzzle. All my snips show no matter how I do it or whether I use scissors, eletric trimmers or whatnot. They do take twice as long as mohair. There is just a lot to it.
I'm an instant gratification kind of person and can barely keep my attention focused long enough to finish a real fur bear when I know that, had it been mohair, I'd be done by now!
However, persian lamb fur is a different story... love that stuff!!!!! I'll make another bear of that someday. Maybe. Well, I'll think about it anyway. 
:D
I should say that for the right person, there is nothing wrong with using real fur! I've seen so many gorgeous real fur bears by artists who use nothing but!! It just takes a lot of patience and perseverance. The finished product can be so beautiful!
I'm just now wading thru some of the photo-rich forums. Daphne, your three little bears are very charming and cute! But I've made one -- just one -- real fur bear myself (with several stoles in a closet awaiting their turn.) And I share your feelings, that's it's just so much work! So it's not my first choice of materials, either... hence, the setoles still in the closet!
I probably will make more real fur critters at some point but for now I'm keeping myself challenged by experimenting with dyeing mohair for the first time.
The person who gets your mink bears is lucky, indeed... especially if you're not making any more of them! Ultra-rare! 
Matilda Huggington-beareActually Daphne the poor wee buggas all in a row terrified out of their poor wee wits by your rantings look rather cute. In a scared totally petrified kind of way.
I understand your grievance with fur though. Nothing worst than sneezing fur fluff. And then it ends up in your dinner.......
Luxembears...PS...I also want to mention the best scissors to use for cutting and trimming fur are mustach scissors. They grab the fur. I wouldn't use anything else.
Posts: 2,203Daphine, Maybe some day My bears will look as cute as yours :pray:
Back Road BearsAww, Jenn..... that's an easy accomplishment!!! Your bears will far exceed these silly minky bears!! These guys don't even hold a candle to my own mohair bears!!
Judi - Mustache scissors. Don't think I ever knew there was such a thing! Thanks for the suggestion!
Posts: 2,203I think they are sweet nontheless.
