Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Ooooh Pen-Pen ! Please take care !!! :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

I think my favorite is my first 6'' bear but I can't show you for the moment as I'm waiting for the 5th March :). Luckily, as Dumfries, he will "sort of stay in the family" ;). My second favorite is Sirius, my Avatar bear. But beside my wild red ones,  I tend to prefer my latest bear... :)

Diane : Boris is absolutely marvellous ! I'm in love !

To all : such a fabulous bunch of bears ! I can see why they are your favorites !

Hugs,
Marion

Thanks to you all, dear friends : you are so supportive and helpful ! 
I will post more soon : I'm at my parents home with my 2 and 4 years old nephews... Thay are darling but I can't do anything :D.
hugs,
Marion

Really beautiful ! I now want to try oils too ! :hug:

Carolyn : I'm confused, this adorable bear is not mine, it is one of Sue Van Natten's creations... But I've got the same darling little elephant.... :redface:

Pen Pen : What a great trio ! Very complementary ! Thanks for sharing ! :hug:

Lisa : Thanks so much for your kind words ! I always ask myself lots and lots of questions ("would it be bad if... ?", "wouldn't if be offensive to do such or such thing... ?" ) and you sure gave me a wonderful answer for this particular one ! Thanks a lot for sharing your point of view !  
And thanks for your compliment on my face  :redface:... I didn't know I had a Dolly face but this pleases me very much  (I've just asked my future hubby if he agrees and he just looked at me without any expression before taking his book again...  ).
I permit myself to tell you that you are, as Sue Ann said, a very beautiful woman ! 

Bear hugs, friends, and good night (it's 1.15 a.m here  and I'm not a night owl....;) ),
Marion

Thanks friends !
I think I will try a few pairings, only when it will seem sound : I do not want to make the same thing as Sue Van Natten : I wouldn't feel comfortable. It will remain exceptional (and it's better for me to tell myself I must NOT buy hundreds of old soft toys, otherwise I would pass all days on ebay  :doh: :D)

Hugs,
Marion

PS : Diane : the poor wee 6 inch bear got arms and legs, I'm fixing his ears . I'm not sure he looks like an Acid Attic bear... I'll make pictures tonight, I promess  ;). His name is Marvin and I think I even prefer  this size to my beloved 9'' ^^.

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edit : I think I have a pathological problem with the smileys  :wacko:. I can't write a word without putting a little smiling face  ...

edit 2 : it begins badly : I do have this particular Steiff elephant  :

Thanks a lot Shelli for letting me know about Sue Van Natten's work ! I would have felt bad when finding her bears after having done mine ! (I think I'll avoid Steiff toys ^^)

Thanks a lot for your answer, Debbie !  :hug: I now feel confortable with it !
I sure will post pictures here when the bears are done (I must wait for the little animals to arrive before making the bears    : I've just won them on ebay ).
Lots of hugs,
Marion

Hi friends,

I've just bought some old soft toys (elephant, doggy, monkey) on ebay, thinking to give them as toys to  my bigger  bears. Do you think it is a problem if this kind of "accessory" is not hand made by the bearmaker ? I 'm planning to make some toys myself too, but those have a great true antic look :).

Lots of bear hugs,
Marion

Ezy wax is very much easier to apply melted. You can use several tools to put wax everywhere on the nose and to sculpt it : knife, needles, Games Workshop sculpting tool... Just put the metallic tool on a candle, then on the wax and finally on the nose . That's very very simple to work with.
Hugs,
Marion

edit : but I must admit it's time consuming to get a smooth render without holes when smoothing it with paper... I think it worths it !

Crochet ? 
Very impressive and beautiful cat ! :hug:

Bad flue, fly away now !  
I said : NOW 

...

Did it work ?

Dear Aleta, I hope you get better very soon ! Take care of you ! :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

This little one is sure amazing ! Very beautiful and these toes are to die for ! :hug:

They are so lovely ! I can't wait to see the hole family (parents and two babies if I have understood well  :love:) !
Hugs,
Marion

Just wanted to add a little something : I often sew the pieces and turn them on the right side before putting them in dye : I think it doesn't shrink like that and it's a good way to have the fur darker than the back fabric :).

They are truly wonderful ! I especially love the first with some white around the eyes !

Thanks so much for sharing, Sonya ! They are such a lovely couple !  :hug:

I've just  found this kind of things on the US ebay :


I'm asking the seller if it's possible to ship it to France. There are all sizes :
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl … mit=Search

Just in case of it can help someone :).

Hugs,
Marion

Smitten is marvelous and so is his nose ! I do not seal my waxed nose unless I want an extra shine, but it's not bee wax, it's black Eazy Wax... I would like to try bee wax too : it looks so sweet !

I have Pauline Cockrill's Teddy Bear Encyclopedia under the eyes, and, far as he is, he reminds me very much the 1930s golden J.K.Farnell's teddy of the page 51...
I'm looking again and again in this book, hoping to find something that looks like my (mm...maybe :rolleyes:) big pink guy on ebay and I now see likeness everywhere   :redface:  :redface:  :D.
I hope you'll enjoy the restoration ! I would like to have a try on a poor little guy in a bad state...
Hugs,
Marion

Congrats, Berta !

Congratulations  Jared !  :hug:

Congratulations Judi !! That's marvellous and so well deserved ! :hug:

Thanks Erin !  :hug:

Can we talk about old bears too ?

I'm quite excited as I wonder if I have not found a jewell on ebay :

I have so put a small bid on him, for the moment... But I do not know if I will go up...
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie … 6037035885

The auction page says that this bear is from the 1950s and that he was previously pink. He is 50 cm (19,8'').
I do not know makers very much...  I must admit my few knowledges are only about Steiff and not much more...

In fact I should not buy any more bear this year but, you know, one can not decently let a jewell fly away        ...

I would be grateful if someone can identify the maker :).

Lots of hugs,
Marion :hug:

edit : The nose and eyes seem to be the same as on this one :
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tillie-23-In-Gold-M … dZViewItem

Congratulations !!!!! I'm so happy for you ! And it's so well deserved ! Lots and lots of hugs, friends ! :hug:  :hug: