Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Well, here's the quick and dirty on the how.....

the eyes are the clear glass ones I get from my most favorite supplier (Dale of course!). 

Then I go and raid the nail polish drawer....2 coats of clear with glitter, 2 coats of pearlized pale blue, 2 coats of pearl white.....

the "whites" of the eyes are wool felt, the bottom layer under the white and the eye lids are the upholstry fabric that matches her feet. 

The eye lashes are the individual "clumps" of eyelashes available from our local Long's drug store, each group was glued to the underside of the eyelid BEFORE the eyelid was stitched down. 

When all that was done, I used the Coptic markers I bought from you to do the eyeliner.....

So, there you have it....credits all around to you, Dale, Shellie and Scott too for sharing what they do with eye treatments

Oh my, and it just seems more and more of these "grand dames" are leaving us, aren't they......no Betty Grable legs here, but maybe "Bette Davis eyes"!!

Be careful with this claim.  I had a lady that won an auction for something on Ebay and then claimed she couldn't get Paypal to work, etc., etc., etc., and wanted to send me money orders....ended up being a big SCAM!! 

I'd advise her to contact Paypal and have them help her get it straightened out through them.

Whatever you do, make sure the money is good before you ship her anything!!

Just my 2 cents worth

Here I am, in my new outfit!!

Don't you love my new bikini??  I hear dots are really "IN" this summer.  And it just says "Trixie"!!

The spa has been wonderful.  I highly recommend it to everyone....it will make you feel like a whole new bear.  Now I just need to relocate to a new home where I'll be really appreciated!

See ya around!

Love & Bear hugs
Trixie

Spa Keeper's note:  Trixie will be going on to Ebay this weekend (7/8-9)

The equipment issues got fixed, I've got my new face!!!

Well, the worst is over, the surgery is complete!

I have a new nose, a trimmer chin, smaller ears, WOW, I can't believe how good I look.

Only two more things to do before I leave the spa
    1) a new outfit is absolutely necessary, after all, its the new me
    2) "after" pictures (more time under the lights)

I've decided to start using a new name, I don't look anything like Dixie any more, so from now on, I'll only answer to Trixie!!

TTFN,

Love
Trixie

I just love my new eyes! 

It took some extra time and procedures, but I think my new eyelashes are great (no other bear in our den has them, so I'm feeling pretty special!) and they say my eyeliner is guaranteed never to run or be uneven.  Isn't cosmetic surgery grand?

Oh yes, my new nose is taking shape nicely too.  This is the same soft fabric that my feet were re-done in, so I'll be all color coordinated.

There were some "equipment issues"  in the operating room today, which is why my nose isn't complete yet, but I'm not too worried, I'm sure they'll get it taken care of

Love and bear hugs,

D

Surgeon's note:  the equipment issues were that the clippers I have used for at least 6 years gave up the ghost and had to be replaced!!

Take a look at my wonderful new feet!

The procedure took two whole hours on the "operating table"!

Each of my new foot and toe pads are a very soft upholstry fabric, all gathered around the edge, softly stuffed and stitched down. 

I think they look amazing!!

Next step is the rest of my new eyes....I'm really excited.

Love and bear hugs,
Dixie

I'm a real scary looking character here! 

Not to worry, I will actually have my baby blues back with the whole treatment is done.  Meantime, I have these "space markers" while the eyelid treatment takes place.

And here are the "acupuncture" pins in my feet.

I'm going to have a whole new look here too.

Time to get back to the treatment room!

Love and bear hugs,
Dixie

Well, they say we must begin with a clean slate, so here I am after Day 2....

My ears, eyes and nose have been removed.

I will be getting an eye lid lift, a nose job, ear remodeling and foot sculpting....YIKES!

Maybe its better I can't see what's going on right now!

Love and bear hugs,
Dixie

It's summer.  What's a bear to do with her vacation?  Well, Miss Dixie has decided that the right thing for her is a trip to the spa.  So, here is Dixie's story:

Day One

Today was my check in day.  Wow, I never thought it would take so long just to check in!! 

First there was weighing and measuring, then they told me I had to have a full series of pictures made since I have decided to go for the FULL EXTREME MAKEOVER!

I had to strip down, so here I am, trying to look modest.

This picture is the bottom of my feet.....I'm going to have a pedicure, so the spa folks wanted a record.

And here are my close ups.

Wow, you know I've decided that being naked wasn't so bad, those studio lights are HOT!

They tell me big things will happen tomorrow, so I need to rest up. 

I'll keep you all "in the loop", so you can see my progress.

Love and bear hugs,
Dixie

I just thought I'd share this week's funniest occurance with you all.

On June 11 I ordered 2 pieces of fabric and some eyes from my favorite mohair supplier, Intercal Trading Group in Costa Mesa, CA (who else would it be?). Usually when I order, the box arrives within about 5 days.

This time, however, the package took quite a round about route. Fortunately, Intercal always sends me a tracking number as soon as the package is shipped, so I can tell exactly what is going on.

Seems the package left Intercal's facility on Tuesday, June 13; then on June 14 it was in Cerritos, CA; on June 16 it was in Commerce City, CO, so far so good, but this is where it gets tricky!

Instead of going on a truck to Colorado Springs on the 16th, it just sat in the UPS facility until June 19, then for some reason still unknown, they put it on a truck to Salina, KS! So then it went to Salina, KS; followed by a trip to Lenexa, Ks, then back to Salina, KS, then back again to Commerce City, CO; where it was finally put on a truck to Colorado Springs.

If FINALLY arrived yesterday.  The box looks like its been used as the ball in a soccer game (must be that world cup fever has taken over in the UPS facility), but the contents were fine.

I guess the bears I make from the two pieces of fabric will have to be names Guilligan and Mary Ann.....(it was just to be a 2 hour cruise?)

Wow, what an amazing group we are.  I just can't resist putting in my thoughts on this one.

I took my husband's name when we married....it seemed the only right thing since our daughter already had his name (don't ask!)  The professional name recognition didn't mean much to me since I just had a job and no reputation as an artist.

I do know a couple that had both been married before and had no children from the first marriages and so decided to chose a new name that both of them took.  I thought that was a very creative way to start a whole new life.

Whatever you decide, I wish for you a lifetime of love and laughter!!

Gee, I've always managed to get pictures and a story written without bothering other artists while we're setting up....sounds like someone looking for a free "in" and breakfast to me.......it also sounds a bit like blackmail to me (If you don't let me in, I won't write about you) which seems kind of nasty to me

Just my 2 cents!

I just got a note from Nancy at North Country Teddy Bears telling me that the piece titled Ice Buddies that Nick & I submitted for the ACE is the May finalist!!  I'm SO excited!!!!!  I just had to share with some folks that would know what I'm talking about.........(and I go skipping off into the sunset........)

Anyway, here's a picture of the piece (these are little -- the penguin is only 3 inches tall!)

Well, I know there are a lot of you very talented folks out there that do your own websites, and I've reached the point where I feel the need for some new software to maintain mine.

Right now I'm using a very old program called HotDog which is basically just a compiler, but it does give me control over what shows up, where it shows up, etc.  (Ok, I admit I never met a control issue I didn't like) 
=;^)

So, can some of you give me some feed back on what you use, and what you like (or dislike) about it?

Thanks to you all!!

Okay SueAnn, it seems the more I know you, the more we share.

We are also the proud "parents" of a rescued dog....in our case a lovely black labrador with a tragic past....she and 83 other dogs were taken away from a breeder running a "Puppy farm" almost 2 years ago.  Only 35 of these dogs survived the ordeal.  Our baby, her 2 brothers and her mother were all in a small travel crate without food or water for over 4 days, her siblings survived too, her mother did not. 

I can not understand why people don't realize that a dog is NOT a possession!!  When you adopt a dog, you are making a lifetime commitment -- the lifetime of the dog.  They are our companions and bring a lot of joy to our lives, and we owe it to them to follow through!!

I can hardly wait to see pictures of both of your "babies" together!

Ok, this is just what I needed to get me off my duff and working on a bird that we've been talking about for a while. 

I have 'til the end of July, right?

I'm off to rummage in the fur bins.......

During the day there is a steady stream of people into the show to visit with artists. 

Here Teddy Talker Mark Nissen talks with long time collector Leslie O’Laughlin.

Jennifer Laing’s table was lovely.  She had copies of her book available for sale too.

Sun Ann had her rooster in the center of the table when she set up (he went to a new home by the end of the day!)

Nancy Dane, who is celebrating her 20th year of teddy building visits with a collector who had made a purchase.

Teddy Talker Janet Andersen had her lovely creations displayed in a bright spring like backdrop

Here is our table at the show (some of our pieces went to new homes too!)

Dale and Kjeld brought wonderful piles of fur for the artists to admire and select from for making new pieces.  Here Sue Ann finally gets to purchase the pretty English Mohair she had been keeping her eye on all day.

This year a doll club from the Albuquerque area held their meeting in the room next to the show and some of them came into the show to see what we had to offer.  Maybe next year they will come back again.

Well, here I am at the end of the show….all tucked into the computer case and ready to head home after a long day.  Looking forward to next year already!  Its lots of fun to visit with all the other bears!!

I know that Sue Ann took some pictures at the show too, so I hope she'll also share them with us all!

Its show day!  Before we go into the show room there’s time for a cup of coffee and to check messages from home.

At this show, Luann asked the artists to bring with them the first bear they ever made.  This is the table of  First Bears that the artists brought…..its amazing how different they are from what these artists make today.  (Can anyone tell who made any of these?)

Luann set up a table for the artists that she calls the Great Opportunity table.  Artists that wanted to participate put bears or other critters on the table to be sold at a set price.  Pieces that were 10” or smaller were sold for $50, pieces that were 11” to 15” were $75 and pieces 16” or bigger were $100.  When someone wanted to buy one of these,  Luann would have the customer take the animal to the artist to complete the transaction so the piece could be signed, etc. 

This is the first time (that we know of) that this has been tried, and we think it’s a pretty neat idea, and we hope Luann does it again next year.

This is the table of bears made by foreign artists.  Each year Luann has a group of artists from other countries send her some of their work.  At the show she has these items on display and available for sale.  This gives U.S. collectors the change to purchase work from artists that they otherwise might never see.

We’re here!  After we checked into the motel, we went in to visit for a moment with the people who were here to take the class with Jennifer Laing.  They were doing extreme makeovers! 

Here’s Jennifer teaching the class.  She was doing drawings and demonstrations of how she “remakes” different parts of the bears that came for makeovers.  She talked about feet and faces and how to use sculpting, markers and scissors to make the bears look great (hey, there were needles, but no botox!)

See all the bears laying on the table?  These are the ones the students brought for the class.  Soon we’ll see all of them appearing as transformed bears, made into superstars!!

I got the call, we are traveling to Albuquerque, NM, for the Lulu Bears show.  Oh goodie, oh goodie, another chance to visit with other bears and otherwise hobnob with artists! 

Here we are at the rest stop.  This is a stone marker about the Santa Fe Trail that is on Highway 25 between Colorado Springs, CO and Albuquerque, NM.  This was kind of fun sitting on top of the marker in the shade, watching the people with their kids and dogs coming and going in the rest stop.  The inscription on the marker reads:

“Santa Fe Trail (Via:  Bent’s Fort) 1822 – 1879  Marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Territory of New Mexico  1910”

We also have some entries in the URSA.....Ice Buddies in the vignette (#7) catagory, Fafa Bird in zoom (#9) and 3 pieces in trinkets and treasures (#10a)

I've been in there several times looking at all the AMAZING work.....and having a hard time selecting just one in each catagory!!

Ok, this one would not leave me alone until I got her done.  (Guess she had heard about the "Party" in Albuquerque this weekend)  Anyway, this is Bunnie.  Yet another departure from what I usually do, but I think she came out pretty well.

Thought for the day:  "Talent is God's gift to you, using that talent is your gift to God" (Red Skelton)

Challenge for the day:  Use that talent, whatever it may be!

Wow!  I just love the sparklie stuff for the noses.....and the blue eyes are awesome too. 

As usual, I see you are boldly going where no one has gone......

Thanks folks, for that great response!!  yes, its Joseph, and I was listening to the soundtrack that has Donnie Osmond as Joseph......the fabrics for his coat all came out of my quilt stash (yes folks, I do that too....could never stick to just one kind of "crafting").  He will be on my table on Sunday in Albuquerque, so if you're at the show, come by and see him.