Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Jenn, so sorry to hear what happened to you. I can only agree with all that has been said. I am always nervous when I swap, well have only done 3 swaps so far, but nervous every time. I would never tell the person if I didn't like their bear, but I would appreciate constructive comments from my swap partner on how to improve my work. Maybe you can approach the person and ask her directly? You did your best and if she thinks she could have done it better she can at least tell you how so you can learn. Its a matter of taste too.

Hope you feel better now.

Lots of hugs  :hug:  :hug:  :hug: 

Judi, he is superduperfabulistic. Great job!

I've been thinking about this pricing issue, which seems to come up now and then. I don't sell (yet), but to me there seems to be a difference between the price a hobbyist needs to take and the price someone  who lives off bear making needs. In Sweden, income taxes are very high and there is no lower limit below which I could sell tax free. This means, I would have to add 30-40% to the price I want for myself to cover taxes. For professional dealers another 25% in sales tax would need to be paid by the buyer. In Germany I wouldn't have to pay income tax below a certain amount and sales tax if applicable is only 16%. These differences would cause large differences in bear prices and since the bear market is international, especially with ebay, there is nothing that could be done about it if artists ever would agree on pricing strategies. BTW, sounds a bit like a cartell, doesn't it?

Has anyone else thought about taxes?

I think the highest price for one of Mary's yorkies which I saw was over 10,000 USD. It was a gorgeous dog, but who can pay such amounts?
Her bears are great too, but they sell for a lot less than her dogs.

Different traditions in different places. Here in Sweden(and in Germany) we buy our tree a few days (or a week) before Christmas, but put it up on Dec 24th. Then we leave it at least over New Year. In  Sweden tradition says it should be taken out on the 13th day after Christmas, which must be similar to your 12 days of Christmas. There is no song or ryme about that though. In Germany we don't have these 12 days, but often keep the tree for about that time span.
I have a tiny tree on a table in a corner between my small sofas. It has tiny lights and small decorations. This year its a fresh tree, as opposed to last year's which dropped its needles as soon as we took it in.

I'm on vacation so for me Christmas continues until Jan 8th.

Shantell, lovely panda. I can hardly see that the patches are painted, great job.

Merry Christmas

Thank you everybody! I could have googled it of course, do that all the time otherwise......
I didn't know you could make non-alcoholic eggnog nor that there are raw versus cooked versions.
Helena, Advokaat sounds like egg liqueur. I have that, just didn't know if it was the same as eggnog. We usually drink that in small glasses and it is thicker than what I see people drink on tv (thicker than Baileys Irish Cream).
Kim, I am also concerned about salmonella, although Swedish chicken are free from it, but there are other worse bacteria. Large amounts of sugar can kill bacteria, but I don't know if your recipe has enough sugar. In fresh egges, the white contains some substance which inhibits salmonella, which is why you can store eggs at room temperature for two weeks.
I think I will try making a small amount for my New Year's party. Got too much to prepare for Xistmas all ready 

Ahh, while I was typing there were more messages. Now I know, I can just mix Advokaat with milk or cream. I'll do that then.

Happy eggnoging everybody   

Estelle, you can buy tipped mohair in lots of colours. For a smaller piece you could try coloring the tips with a copic marker or something similar. Perhaps Shelli's method with oil paints would work too.

Hi US friends,
I keep hearing about eggnogg and on American tv series and movies people drink that at Christmas. Exactly what is in it please? Do you make it yourself or do you buy it?
It seems, Americans are having great parties at Xmas, while over here it is a more serious thing. We eat and drink, but we don't have parties, certainly not at work.

Hugs

The same to you Julia! My Russian is very limited although my husband's brother is married to a Russian and they speak Russian all the time with their two children. I can read cyrillic letters, but then I don't know what the word means :doh: 
I've been to Moscow twice, before and after that military coup in 1990 (was it? or 1991?). Those were exciting times.

Hugs

:hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Thank you guys! The lucky person is Shannon Lueskow, herself an impressive crochet artist. I don't think she is on this board.
I will make more of course. I have made two anime bears before this one, but the first was not my pattern and the second, well, let's say he is a matter of taste. 

Um, I think I may have said it wrong. I made the bear and gave it to someone in a swap. It was my gift to her.

:redface: :redface:  :redface:

Julia, she is 6.5 cm short (standing)

I wanted to show you my latest creation of an anime style crochet mini bear. Her name is Kameko and she was a gift in a secret swap. I had to wait until her new mom had opened the package (which she did a few days early  )

Hi Matilda,

I am on holiday as of now. I will send your bear after New Year. I am so excited.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too!!!!!!!

:hug:  :dance:  :dance:  :hug:

Just had to see what mine looks like. Perhaps I'll switch between Germany and Sweden from time to time. 

Germany and Sweden also celebrate Dec 26th. Its just called Second Christmas Day. I will be on vacation for two weeks, yoohoo.  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:
I'll get to make bears, watch tv (no tsunamis this year, please) and play my Playstation (umm )

Helena, no reason to be jealous. Sweden has very low salaries and the world's highest taxes. There are banks with high fees and low interest rates, but I avoid those.

Give me a holler in case you get to Stockholm. Maybe we can have a cup of tea or something. I'll give you a behind the scenes tour of the Natural History Museum.

Hugs

Here in Sweden (as in my home country Germany) the biggest day is Xmas Eve. I don't know what we'll do. Usually we go to my brother-in-law's, because they have two children (we don't), but they are moving at the moment and don't know if the new house will be ready. If we don't go it will be my hubby and me, maybe his mother if she feels like coming over. We'll eat a late dinner and open our pressies in the evening. Then I may take out my Playstation and play a game. I only do that during my two-week Xmas vacation, because we need my sewing table for eating (kitchen is not festive and this table is in the living room). We tidy up the living room, because my hub's birthday is Jan 3rd and we get guests. The rest of the year the room looks like a war zone    with all my sewing stuff piled everywhere.

Merry Christmas everybody

I think the EU has some law or rule or whatever legal term that banks must not charge more for transfers within the EU than they charge in their own country. My bank is free (only the credit card costs a moderate fee) and that includes international bank transfers worldwide. However, Sweden doesn't have the Euro either. Would save me a lot of money in exchange fees (there is a 1.65% fee for that) if all of Europe had the Euro. I have another bank which doesn't even charge an exchange fee, but they have a really bad customer service and my card just got used by someone who somehow stole the card no. and CVC code (the last three digits on the back of the card).  I suspect the bank had insufficient security on their servers. They have to take the fall since I didn't lose the card itself, but it taught me that the cheapest bank isn't always the best.

I also transfer money to Paypal so I don't have to use my card. Some ebay sellers won't accept cards through paypal and I feel better if my info isn't sent back and forth between my bank and paypal (after above experience until I calm down again  :teddybear:)

I can only agree with you Daphne and everybody else. This is a wonderful place. Just a few years ago this wasn't possible. Amazing times.

Ouch Diane, I feel with you. Five years ago I managed to rip my big toenail off. Didn't even hurt at that moment, but later, boy let me tell you. Took a year to grow back completely. It was in the middle of winter, I did it while down under where I could wear sandales, but back here I had to find the biggest shoes and walk carefully.    A thumb is probably worse 'cause you use it all the time, while a foot can rest when you sit down. I hope it heals fast and the pain passes.

Lots of hugs
:hug:  :hug:  :hug:

It never occurred to me that there is another way to pay your monthly invoices. In Germany and Sweden we do bank-to-bank transfers all the time and it works very smoothly and fast. I do it online with internet banking and the money is on the other account next day (3-4 days to another European country) or whatever day I specify. Giving someone my account information is safe as they can't use it to get money, just to send some. I wouldn't put that in the ebay auction info though, but give it to the winner by email if they ask about it.

Now I'm curious, how do you pay  your invoices if not by bank-to-bank transfer? This board teaches a lot more than bear making.

Merry Christmas

Use the bonded nylon. I use either that or some really strong twisted thread from Germany, for which I don't know the English term. Here in Sweden there is also a thread called bear thread, which is very strong. Pull as hard as you can on a piece of thread between your hands and if it doesn't break it should be ok. I'd wax it to make it less slippery. That way you can tie the knot without having the joint come loose.

Sabine

Hi Pipa, you can use any strong non-stretchy thread such as upholstery thread, dental floss or whatever you use for pulling in eyes. Double it for extra security.

Hope this helps

Sabine

Dilu, I just googled the disappearing favourites icons in Explorer and swiped the followig text off a website.

"This happens because of a few reasons:

- You've 'cleaned' the hard drive, emptying your browser cache

- You've had a browser window 'crash', corrupting your 'favicons'

or a few other reasons. The best way to fix it is to delete the website's 'Favourites' entry, and then add it again."

The person who asked about it on that website had doen a virus scan, which removed the icons.

So just add the Teddytalk webbsite to your favourites again and delete the old link.

I also found a link to a free utility that is supposed to make the icons stick. The website appears to be in German, but the program seems to be in English. You should be able to download it at the bottom of the page where it says "FavOrg ... downloads".

Sabine

Ha, Kimberly, I love fried spaghetti. Haven't made some in a long time, but as a kid I loved to do that. Real crispy brown and then some slices of cheese on top, yumyum.

Sabine