Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

So very handsome!  I'm excited you are back making beautiful bears!  Such a sad story, I'm glad that the little girl Logan will be remembered.

Shanna

Funny Story!  I often get a kick out of people's reactions as well.  I have gone in with nothing before (of course I've had the vaccinations, just in case).  I do hope that people do see their beauty though.  We are having problems on the East Coast with something called White Nose Syndrome and it's killing off hundreds of thousands of bats.  We really need some bat advocates now more than ever!  Thanks for sharing that funny story.

Shanna

Michelle-
   I haven't seen him.  It's possible that he became cat food  .  I used to work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife as a rehabilitator.  I only did transports and bat rehabilitation, never saw a mouse come through.  I'm wondering if they actually would rehab a mouse.  The bats were amazing...I loved loved loved it.  So unique to the animal kingdom and just because it's often misunderstood, bats are not rodents.  Just had to clear the record on that one, so many people think that they are.

Thanks everyone for your sympathetic ears!!

Shanna

I thought I would find a sympathetic ear hear and wanted to share.  Yesterday we were down at my Beau, Sean's cabin where his grandfather, his girlfriend and her cat are currently residing.  We were out on the boat and when we came in Sean said that the cat had gotten something.  The cat ran off when we approached so I walked closer to get a look and it was just a little baby mouse.  Sweet sweet sweet!  I picked up the little mouse with a towel and noticed that he had an injured leg (it was cut, I'm assuming from the kitty claws).  I wanted desperately to bring him home with me and watch over him for a few days so he could get back on his feet.  I was then going to release him in a safe area back near the cabin, but Sean refused.  As I am a visitor for the summer I felt there was nothing I could do.  I am afterall, a guest and he was very much against hosting a mouse in his house even for a few days.  I informed him, were we at my home, or a home that we shared, things would have turned out much differently, but I'm still pining away for that little baby mouse.  I took him to a pile of leaves that collected under an unused grill and was against a stone wall and near a bunch of mouse holes, but when we were driving off I saw the cat playing with another mouse and just hoped that it wasn't that little baby.

I've now started to stitch a little baby mouse.

Thanks for listening.

Shanna

It worked!  Thanks Daphne!  Apparently I'm not great at finding these links.  I feel like this happens to me all the time!

Hugs
Shanna

Adorable!

Darling.  I love the ears!

Thanks!  I've done a search and already know how to do a wobble joint, I'm tightening it as far as possible on both ends (per previous posts instructions) and am using disks that are just slightly smaller than the disks in the rest of the body and couldn't find a topic that discussed what else to try.  Maybe I will try cotterpins with smaller loops at the end??  Thanks Michelle for your tip, I'll give that a shot as well.

Shanna

Hi everyone-
   I like to do a wobble joint in my bears heads so that they have a little more range of motion, but when I try to do this with a bigger bear, the head ends up too floppy.  I don't have this problem with miniature bears, and I'm thinking that it might have something to do with the cotter pins that I'm using.  They are from intercal and came with the disks.  Does anyone have any tips on how I might be able to tighten up the joint.  I curl the cotter pin ends as tight as I can get them, but I think the loops might be too big?  Help please!

Thank you!

Shanna

That's what I've been using.  We have several store locally that sell them which is nice.  I'm going to go tomorrow to exchange this ink and acrylic paint and get  some more Prisma colors.

Thanks again Karen!!

Shanna

Thank-you!  I really like that you tested this, wonderful!  I will plan on returning these then and getting some Prisma colors instead.  Can I ask you which colors of Prisma performed the best?  Thank you so much for this valuable information!

Shanna

Hello everyone-
  I went to a local art store to buy more Prisma markers for shading, but the gentleman there who was helping me, informed me that Prisma would not be a good shading tool on bears as it is subject to shading and is not permanent to light.  He suggested instead that I use Acrylic ink and showed me where they were located.  I purchased one bottle of FW acrylic artists ink, but they were out of white in the FW brand and the same gentleman told me that the Winsor & Newton ink would work just as well.  This store only allow returns on unopened product and I wasn't sure if ink has been used by anyone before.  I thought I ought to check as this man was knowledgeable about supplies, but not the art of making teddies.  Can anyone help me out on this on?

Thanks!
Shanna

Good point Peter.

I added some additional shading and trimmed him up a little bit more, but I think I will leave him alone and try and improve my next bear to surpass him.  Thanks again everyone for your suggestions!

Shanna

stunning!

Thanks ladies!  I sent back a couple of my defective pairs and have a pair on order.  I'm trying to be patient while waiting for the package to get back to California and then the new eyes sent out.  Hopefully soon I will have a pair of 8mm and I can finish up this bear!  Thanks again!

Shanna

Just fantastic.  I really love her face!

Shanna

I've put eyelids on one of my minis.  I used a thick pearl cotton thread and glued them in place once I had them positioned where I wanted them.  They don't produce a sleepy effect however, and just outline the eye, not sure what you are looking for.

Shanna

I too use heavy duty thread.  I think I would get nervous using glue, I often put the eyes in and then decide that I want them somewhere else!  Good luck!

Shanna

Thanks!  I found her!  She posted a few more bears on ebay.  Her name is L&S bears and I think they are so cute with their little hats!  I'm hoping that I can arrange one as a birthday gift.  Thanks again!

Shanna

Wow Pat, thank you!  I am floored by your comments.  I didn't know that proportions were terribly challenging, I just draw it out as I go.  I still would love to take a design class like the one you spoke of as I think most of my designs are fairly basic.  Thank-you also for all the tips on making him special to me.  I think I have a hard time seeing the wow factor in any of my bears because they come out of my imagination which I see everyday.  I love looking at other peoples creations and getting a glimpse of their creative spirit as it's typically something I would have never though of.  It's possible that he would need to be totally different in order for me to be mostly satisfied with him, but I thought it would be worth trying something small.  Thanks again!!

Shanna

Cutest elephant ever, I'm amazed that he is crocheted!

Agh!  Your bears just get me everytime!!  I love this bear and hope she does well for you on ebay!

Hugs
Shanna

What a treat to see these bears!  They are both just gorgeous!!  I can't wait to see who else came home with you.

Shanna

Thanks everyone!  I always did want to try needle felting eyelids, but have never done it before and am a little low on funding this summer to start up a new hobby with all new supplies and equipment.  Maybe he will just have to remain slightly incomplete until there is a little more in the bank account.  Any other suggestions?

Shanna

Here he is!  My very first big bear.  I think he still needs a little work as he seems very ordinary to me...he has no WOW factor.  What do you think is missing?  I'm also attaching a photo of him and Sam who is my next biggest, it was quite a leap for me!!  His Trapunto paws took forever and I'm not 100% satisfied with them.  I think that they don't puff enough (even though I stuffed them rock hard) and I can't keep them shaded (keeps fading).  There are many things that I would have done differently if I were to redo this guy, but I guess that what firsts are all about.  Thanks for looking, I would love all feedback (especially where I can improve this guy).

Hugs
Shanna