Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Cindy,
That has happened to me a few times.  I have had people ask me to end the auction early so they can buy my bear.  I even had someone call me on the phone recently to request this.  I don't think it is a scam of any kind but rather someone who desperately wants a certain bear.

  I respond to these kinds of emails in a positive friendly manner saying that ebay frowns on this and that is would hurt my reputation as a seller.  Also, there are people who wait until the last few minutes to place a bid so this would not be fair to them.

People have been very understanding when I explain to them like this.

I have also had people ask ," What is your buy-it-now price?"  Again I had to explain that I was very sorry but there was no buy-it-now-price.

Another good way to respond to nasty emails is to tell them that the only body parts they own are the ones they were born with.  I wish I had thought of that at the time.:D

I agree Dilu, I too would go nuts making the same bear over and over...BBBOOOORRRIIINNNNGGGGG

THANK YOU LADIES!!!!

Dilu...better get working on more gollies....I sense there are a lot of bears laying in wait for thier own gollies to cuddle!!!

I agree with you ladies about ebay having more positive than negative experiences...it's just that we tend to really remember the bad ones because they have often hurt us and we don't want to get hurt again.

Hopefully this will make us all more aware and stronger;)

Love the comment , Shelli,

There are a lot of hammers out there but we are not  all nails. ( at least not ALL the time!)

I am sure Shelli has sooo much she will add to this but to add my two cents worth.

I think the most important elements, if you will, in submitting entires into the Toby's and Golden Teddy contests are Originality and Outstanding photos that truely show the personality of yor bear.  Rmember that the judges don't get to hold and cuddle each bear, thay only have a photo ...so your bear needs to jump out and grab thier attention.

If you are not a supurb photographer then hire one.  It is worth the money to have your bear in his/her best light for the judges.

Both the contests have tips for these photos like using a plain background, and using the right colored background best suited for your bear.  Like staying away from a white background for a white bear...stuff like that.

I have seen the contenders in my catagory for the Golden Teddy Award, in the over 14" undressed.  They are really terrific bears!  I am just thrilled to be nominated:)

Well, there's my two cents worth.:D

And thank YOU Dilu for all YOUR lovely comments.  Also I wanted to add that, WOW, sewing such small dollies is no easy task.  I have made a few four inch bears from mohair and found them to be quite a challenge...to say the least.  It sure takes talent and patience.

I don't know what happened to the picture Shelli...when I came back later all I got was a blank box with a small red x.  I edited the post and retried the photo again.....goofy computer stuff I guess:P

Laura,

I also have to add that I have recieved emails from people threatening me becuase I had put "whites" in the eyes of my bears.  That was "her" idea and I was "not allowed to do that." 

ALso I received an nasty email telling me that I was not allowed to put ears on the side of my bear's head...that was "her" ear placement.  There are only a cetain number of places on a bear's head to place the ears...and no one "owns" them.

Gee... I then wondered what was next...hhhmmmm maybe I shouldn't put a nose in the center of my bear's face...that might "belong" to someone else. LOL

You just cannot copyright boby parts...only the designs of those parts.  I think there is a lot of gray area there.

Sometimes I think people have "funny" ideas about things.

  Hi Jane,
I have been needle felting onto mohair since Aug of last year.  It is a time consuming process but I am really having fun !

You need to cut the mohair short in the area where you want to neddle felt.  I start with a larger needle and work down to the finer needles as I finsih with the finer details. 

The pictures posted here are some  examples of my needle-felted-onto-mohair bears.

I will be teaching an on-line course for needle felting onto mohair bears at North Country Teddy Bears  www.northcountryteddybears.com

I will be covering all the steps from start to finish including all the shading and details.  The plan right now is to have this class ready for the end of July.  I will be designing a bear just for this course and will be incudling a pattern for the mohair bear. 

Keep an eye on NCTB !

Louise is right on with the needles!  Edingurgh Imports has a very good starter kit which has all the needles and some white wool batt.  I am not sure if Intercal has these same supplies???  I need to check it out!

Hi everyone!  I just wanted to show you a photo of Dilu's Golly that I adopted...my Bear
Judi's Bear, grabbed her the minute I opened the box!!!  I think they look really cute together.

Dilu, Your golly is so well made I am very impressed!  You need to give yourself more credit though.   The sewing is perfect and the hair is adorable!  She has a littel part right down the back of her head.  I lover her hair and her cute little insey winsey button eyes!

She even has lace trimmed bloomers!  Dilu my dear...you need to indentify your work with a label of some kind or even sign the back of the bloomers.  100 years from now someone will want to know who the artist was.

I think every bear needs a golly..........Dilu and you other Golly makers should list some more gollies so every one's bear can have one.:D

Thanks Dilu!

When I soldmy first Judi's bear on this site, I had regrets and had to make another ...fast.  Now I have two more, one of which I hope to list soon.  The pictured has decided to live with me.

Thanks for the info Laura, that's realy good to know.

I have a few experiences with "weasels":mad:

Yes, thanks for sharing the info Laura.  I laughed out loud with the

Oh Sue Ann..A copper head.  Yikes, they are posionous right?  That's sounds pretty funny though, your hubby coming to ht erescue with a rolling pin!:lol:

Jossan, sorry to hear of your allergies to fur..especailly when you would like ot have a pet.  Is it the fur you are allergic to or the dander?  I have a dog that does not shed, she is a maltipoo (maltese and poodle), she's small too, only 9 pounds.

Winney, is that hairless dog called a Mexican Hairless? They are adorbale in a wierd kind of way.  I am sure they are very loveable.

Rita!  I too love your avatar!  Shelli did mine too and I print them for my hang tags. They look so professional.  I think I am going to have to hire this talented ladie to do some more. 

Hayley,  you look wonderful and so do your bears.  Thank you so much for sharing your picture:).  I enjoy, so much, seeing pictures of all our firends here.  It is so nice to put a face to these posts:):):):):):)  Lots of happy faces!!!!
HUGGIES!

Aaahhhh Louise...if you look anything like your avatar then you are simply ADORABLE!!!! NOT your dogs breakfast....that is funny though.:lol: We want to see your sweet face...and I know it is too!

Hey guess what I am doing now?  I am printing my avatar,  courtesy of our fabulous Shelli, onto business cards.  I bought IBM Inkjet Business Cards from Office Max.  They come in sheets and I can print the avatars onto these beautifully!  And I am a comuter moron too!  Anyway, I write the bears info in the back side and laminate it.   I use a small hole punch to loop the gold elastic cord though, then hang it around my bears neck.

I have been doing these kinds of tage for a long time, but just not with Shellis wonderful avatar she made for me.  They look so nice and professional.  THANKS AGAIN SHELLI!!!!

Now I am thinking of airbrushing the back of one of my jean jackets with this avatar.  Then I can be my own walking advertisment 'cause it has my website on it too.

I think go and have some tea...Bigelow English Breakfast Tea...in the mauve box! yum!

Me too Laura.  We are flying to see my dad and step mom this weekend so I will be taking some sewing for the plane ride.  They let you bring scissors too...just as long as they have rounded tips.:)

I'm with Laura.  I too do both, sewing the head and pads by hand.  SOmetimes I even sew the whole bear by hand just beacuse I love to sit and watch my kids play outside in the sandbox while I do my sewing.

The machine works well for me on the body and limbs.

Thanks for your input Pat, I am sure the dyes your are referring to do work well.
However , I would not do something, or suggest something that was "harmful" to my bears.   

I still believe from my experience that good quality acrylic paints work beautifully on real fur.  I have researched this and have found nothing that says that my methods of airbrushing on real fur will make the fur fall out.....I agree that excessive heat is bad.....BUT You don't actually NEED to heat set it as no one is ever going to submerge a bear under water.  Also, to heat set does not mean that you bring the entire pelt to a damaging temperature, only enough to "set" the paint.  A few sweeps of a hairdryer is not going to make the fur fall out...even over time.  Maybe if a bear is set in a sunny window for hours and hours, then maybe THAT would make the fur fall out.  ALSO, it's not like we are saturating a bear with paint here...I am talking about soft , delicate, light  accenting!

What I found to be bothersome was the fact that these listings contain language intended to mislead a potential collector ie "would NEVER put anything on my bears that should never be there like spray paint ". I think this is unfair to those artists who do airbrushing on thier bears.

Acrylic is a plastic and does not harm the fur.  If anyone says any different I think they are simply out to discredit me and others who airbrush.   I also think it makes the seller look bad to put down another's work.  I have heard this from so many people already, so I am not alone.

One thing is for sure...I would never put language in my listings that would bash anyone elses work!:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

I'm going away on vacation this weekend....I think I need it.

Rita, my first reaction when I saw him was, I WANT HIM.  I truley do, he is soooo adorable.  Are you going to sell him?

Shelli , what a great idea with the newsprint.  What a resource you are!!!

I'm IN on the tea party....and I drink tea...I'm orginally British and I grew up on the stuff...I think my mom even put it in my baby bottles!:P  Seriouly, I drink about 8 cups of tea a day...keeps me from nibbling and I have t watch my blood sugars if I plan on sticking around for the next 20 to 50 years!  Hey, tea is anantioxidant too.;)

Yeah, Shelli, I think the bears should come too.  We could all bring one bear and they can have their own tea party...ours could be just hangin' with the chicks.

One day we should really try this.

That's a great idea Nancy, to put in your listings that youwill be changing your seller ID.  Hey, can you post some photos of your dolls?  I would love to see them..and your faeries too.  I love faeries (did I spell that right?)

HUGGIES!

Hi Rita,
When I first starting making bears in 1995 I was afraid to try airbrushing on them even though I had been airbrushing for so many years. I can certainly understand your not wanting to ruin a bear.  Once I got over that fear I have been hooked ever since.  It is like the icing on a cake.

I teach an on-line class for beggining airbrushing ona bear.  I designe da bear for the course and I walk you hrough learning how to control the airbrush and then apply it to the bear.

I teach the class(at North Country Teddy Bears) with a commercial airbrush and I also include a section on the Copic System.  I was able to airbrush a bear with the Copic but I found it to be more difficult to use as you cannot control the airflow pressure or the amount of color that sprays.  SO,commercial airbrushes work the best.

You also need an air source.  Many people use an aircompressor.  I use a CO2 tank.  Either one works great.

From here, all you need it the know-how and LOTS of practice.  One thing you could try if you are apprehensive about airbrushing on a mohair bear (which is certainly inderstandable at first) is to add the details to a store purchased teddy bear, you know, like a cheap one from wal-mart or from a garage sale.  This way you have nothing to lose.

I have to say , though, that sometimes a mistake can turn itno a new undiscovered work of art.  Lets say you blobbed some paint on the bear..."yikes", you think....well, then you could turn that into a spotted bear, adding more paint to change the look.

Sorry to write a novel here.  There is so much to say about airbrushing,  the possibilities are endless.:)

Eileen,
Technically yes, you could remove some of the paint before it is heat set but it would be messy and would most likely look all smudged up.  It would require water.  I say 'technically' because I have not actually tried to remove acrylic paints once they are appplied, but they are water based and easily wash off my hands and airbrush.

Here's an example:  I used to airbrush designs on  T-shirts with acrylic paints for a couple who would then do the heat setting and resell them.  Anyway, a customer brought back a shirt after washing it and the areas that were properly heat set were fine...the other areas were washed-out-faded-looking.  She used an iron for heatsetting (which is fine for a T-shirt) and you could see the imprint of the iron...that is where the paint stayed.

Now, keep in mind that bears would not be put through the washer:o  obviously, but I still like to heat set the paint.

About lining the fur....still a good idea no matter the age or conditon of the fur.  Over time, the leather backing of the pelts can break down and weaken.  Lining the fur backing does take a little more time but is well worth the effort  to reinforce it and to make a good quality finished fur bear. (kind of like making it "bomb Proof" as Shelli would say:D)

Hi Nanc,

If the dynaflow and cushings paint are acrylic , they will work well on real fur and mohair.  It just needs to be thinned down so it flows smoothly.  To make it permanent, you will need to heat set it with a hair dryer.  The results can be beautiful .

There are other paints that work well on fur and mohair:  Createx Airbrush Paints and I especially like Liqutex acrylics.  They flow beautifully.  Permanent ink would work too.  I always use the acrylics with very good results.

hope this helps

Nanc...do people know you as a seller on ebay?  I would consider that if deciding to change your name. 

I wanted to change my seller ID from tbearpicnic to luxembears but everyone already knows me as the tbearpicnic, so I just left it alone.

You, of course, have to do what you think is best.