Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Clare,
I didn't take credit cards the first two years I did shows. Not all artists do so this shouldn't be much of surprise to your customers. Most will have a check or money in hand to give you. If you take paypal on the internet you could always take a small cash deposit from them at the show, send them a paypal invoice when you get home and once paid ship the bear to them...free shipping perhaps if that helps save the sale. Or, where this is in your home town perhaps you can hand deliver once the bear is paid for in full.

I remember being so nervous at my first show. Everyone warned me not to expect to sell anything but to think of it as exposure and getting my feet wet. I listened to 'lookers' comments and made note of which bears drew the most attention so I'd know what direction to head in with my bears. I really learned soo much at my first couple of shows!!!

Just relax and have fun... that's what teddy bears are all about!!! They're meant to make you feel good!!!

Good luck!!! Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Hugs,
Daphne

Laura,
Danni is right your bears have evolved quite nicely, though I absolutely love the ones on your old site! And so has your website.

You don't know til you try something how it's going to turn out and you don't learn unless you do it when it comes to websites. Mine has changed dramatically over the years and still has a long way to go to look professional but it's a learning experience and evolves as the other aspects of my bear business evolve.

Daphne

Laura - I can't wait for winter.... I always think of slow cooker meals as winter meals. Mom always made beef stew in hers and you could smell it all day. By dinner my stomach would be SCREAMING for stew!!! Thanks for the memories! I'll have to try your recipe... sounds yummy, much like a comfort food. I bet it would be good served with stuffing too!

I don't have any good recipes.... I HATE TO COOK!!! I have 5 ways to cook chicken, 2 (now three) to cook pork and then there's hamburgers and hot dogs, shepherd's pie (which I never make the same way twice), lasange(sp?) and mac & cheese. That's it! Gets pretty boring here! Oh, and I make a mean garden salad!:lol::lol::lol:

Lisa,
Love your avatar... perfect!!! The saying is very sweet.... I bet your babies have a bit of character thrown in for good measure too! :D
Daphne

Paula,
Jeesh!!! Well, that was the wedding supply site so I guess they figure you'll have lots of bows make!! Which shade of brown were you looking at? Perhaps there are enough of us here to split 54 yards!?!?!?!?! That's a lot of bear necks!!!! Yikes!! Do let us know if they'll ship a smaller quantity!
Daphne

Ok, Shelli, so, how much do you charge? How fast can you do it? Where do we send pics? Do you take Paypal?:lol:

The more the merrier, Marie!

Anyone else??

HA!:lol: You're as bad as I am, Shelli! I have absolutely no need for ribbon but I'm such a 'holic' about stuff like that.... fabric, ribbon, mohair, greeting cards, buttons, baskets, table linen & dishes.... yup, that about covers it!

Anyway, YES, by all means... when Paula wakes up (it's the middle of the night over there!) and lets us know if she wants 'in' and where she wants to order from we can go on a ribbon buying spree. I"ll collect the $$ and have the order sent here then off to you.

Daphne

Oh, Yes, yes!!!!

Sue Mei is just so sweet... she just softens my heart whenever I look at her. She looks at me as if to say 'Things aren't that bad.... it'll all be ok.'

I'll get you added this week!

Thanks, Tammy! I'm sorry I missed you!

Hugs, Daphne

Dilu - and the list is in alphabetical order to boot!:lol: Talk about a cake walk! Hee Hee!

Loretta - I'll get ya on there..... can't wait to see the rest of your site!!! It's such a process!!

Hugs, Daphne

Paula-
BUMMER! I didn't look at quantity or shipping $$. That's just crazy!
I wonder.... perhaps I could order it, split the quantity with you - I LOVE the wide dbl faced satin - and then ship your half to you. It would be a couple of weeks before you had it but would cost oh so much less! You could pay me via paypal for you portion. Just a thougt! I saw lots of neat ribbons I just might add to the order!:)
Daphne

Paula,
As I always love to search for ribbons and have NOTHING else to be doing with my time :lol::lol: I had fun surfing the internet for your ribbon. I don't know if any of these will help you but here goes:

http://www.beaucoupribbon.com/doublefac … npage2.htm
http://www.artisticribbon.com/2004Satin.htm
http://www.schiffribbons.com/ribbon_det … ter+Satins

I've forgotten if any of these had 2.5" cause I've looked at so many sites! It seems it's either 2.25 or 2.75" that is available.

Good luck, Paula! Sorry if these don't help!
Daphne

Absolutely, Meg!
It's done!!:)
Thanks for the link!

Shari - She's so cute!! Beaver! HA! What a goober that hubby is!! Hayley is right, they always have to be so blunt. And my husband always finds fault, then says "But it's still cute, can I keep him?" I've learned not to ask his opinion anymore!!! Took me the better part of 5 years, but I learned!!
Can't wait to see the next creation!
Hugs, Daphne

OK, I THINK I've gotten everyone's links added to my link page. I said I'd do it this weekend and I've got 1 hr. 7 mins. before the stroke of midnight into Monday! PHEW! I always work best under pressure!!

I've added the following:

All Bear
Bears N Bows
Bears By Beesley
Bumpkin Bears
Cakewalk Creations
Canna Bear Paint
Delartful Bears
KM Bears
Just Us Bears
Laura Lynn
Luxembears
Maddie Janes
Past Time Bears
Potbelly Bears
Pottershouse Bears
Rufnut Bears
Shar-Bears
Wisdom Bears

Did I miss anyone? :rolleyes:
Please give me a shout if I did so I can get you on there.
Thanks so much for swapping links!

Hugs,
Daphne

:lol::lol::lol:

Now I'm going to go to bed
with THAT stuck in my head!

Hubby knows... yet he trusted me with pearls for my b'day this year! He doesn't learn!!!:lol:

A friend of mine lost her wedding band in her house (which is always tidy) and found it 2 YEARS later!! So I have lots of hope!!!:)

Dilu - Oh, it was CLEANING... and organizing, but definitely cleaning as I took a whole trash bag out to the garage from my sewing room!! I'm sorry to disappoint you. But whenever I clean I always make a good find.... lost socks (that Tucker stole), that recipe I had torn out of a magazine, my favorite pair of sunglasses..... what hasn't turned up are the diamond earings my hubby gave me on valentine's day a few years ago. They've been missing almost 6 months but I haven't given up!!!

Hmm.... never had that happen but then I've never protected the photos on auction. There must be a reason why you've protected them. So, I suppose you need to decide if it's OK for the new mom of your panda to have the pictures. You wouldn't be giving them to anyone else. Maybe you can state that they are for her own personal use and hope she respects that. Or, suggest she take her own photos! The latter sounds a bit harsh. She may just keep an album of her artist bears on her computer. Or, maybe she's so excited about your panda that she wants to email a photo to her friends/family. I wonder if you could kindly ask her WHY she wants the pictures, would she settle for one?

I'll be anxious to hear what other's suggest. Let us know how this works out!
Daphne

Hayley,
Jazzy is adorable! :)
I had a hooded rat (black & white) named Molly. She used to sit on the kitchen table with me in the morning and eat her Cheerios out of her own little rat sized bowl very dainty like. VERY cute!!
Daphne

yeah, tho't of that... charging camera batteries as we speak but gotta go help hubby for a while as he's tree cutting and I'm the hauler-awayer.... gotta keep those muscles strong for bear joints! Or is it that the bear joints keep my muscles strong for hauling??? Hmmm....

Picture later today!

Laura,

I just had to tell you that I finished a bear today that reminded me so much of you and your bears.... she has bangs!!! And she's pink and had muzzle fur similar to bears you make until I was trimming and goofed so now she's got a close shave!!:lol:

The look was completely coincidental but you must have been on my mind some where in the process!!! That and I had the gusset piece upside down when I traced it!!! I'm liking the look though and am glad it's you and not, oh, Albert Einstein that I'm reminded of. :)

Just had to tell you!

Hugs,
Daphne

Shelli - You've missed your calling!!!!
For a moment I was back in American Lit. class!!!

Penny my dear, you work outside, in gardens where surely there are all kinds of creepy crawlys so this topic shouldn't bother you in the least!

Oh, one of my favorite subjects! MUSIC!

It all depends on my mood or what I'm doing. If I'm driving it has to be up beat and something I can sing to so I often listen to the Indigo Girls, Reba McIntyre, The Judds, Fleetwood Mac... they are in my vocal range and I love the harmony.

Other times I love to listen to Josh Grobin - what a voice that kid has!! (OK, he's not a 'kid' but he's young and gorgeous!). When I really want to relax I get out the Windham Hill CDs - amazing instrumentals, especially piano!

I listen to quite a bit of contemporary christian music - Rebecca St. James, Michael W. Smith, old Amy Grant (before she went secular), Rich Mullins (who has since passed away at a young age). I guess it's not all so 'contemporary' anymore! I just picked up a CD of 'alternative Christian' which I'm trying to grasp the concept of!

I also like quite a bit of country, classic rock from the 70's and when I need a trip down memory lane I listen to 80's tunes - I was a teenager then. Half the songs I hear from the 80's make me think "I remember ROLLER SKATING to that song!" YIKES!!! Then I think "I actually LIKED this stuff?"

So, my taste is quite varied. There! I could have summed it all up in one sentance and saved you all the time of reading this post and I could have gotten those ears sewn on my deaf bear!!!

Hugs,
Daphne

Great topic, Sue Ann... this'll be interesting!!

And where is this fairy now? Does it's owner know the source of those wings??
What a riot! I wouldn't have been able to get that close to the bee - knocked out or not.
Glad to know about nail polish remover though. Course, I'd just dump the whole bottle on whatever creep crawly was giving me the heebeegeebees! Then I'd have a lovely spot on my floor!!!