Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Happiness is my little 20 month old coming up to me holding his arms out to be picked up and saying,"..hug? ..kiss?"  [awww!]

And my husband grinning at me while he's playing with the baby..

--and of COURSE getting new supplies in the mail!!!

=)

Amelia  *is happy and thankful and blessed*

*LOL*  Shane, that's where I got your Lil' Grizz bear from!  And it went for a bit less than I thought it would---I was happily surprised that I won! 

And, Jennie, I thought your little Ebbe was wonderful!  As a collector, I would've liked to see more photos of him on your listing---absolutely adorable ted!  And I really liked Rasmus when I saw him too!  Please keep at it, and don't let eBay be your yardstick of measuring success!  Instead let your bears be the yardstick---because they are truly wonderful!

Amelia

Tracy, am sending prayers your way.  Hope that all turns out for the best and is just a wake-up call for your hubby!

:hug:

Amelia

I was myself considering an ad in a different, non-teddy publication to generate interest---am hopeful of following through with that goal this year at some point.  I think the crossing over of markets is always a good thing.

..hate to bring up eBay as it's such a pain, but cross-posting in different categories is something the fairy artists are always working at---and I've emulated 'em.  I occassional list in miniatures, and in fairies, and in the art category besides the artist bears, and I've had success in that.  I think maybe mini bear artists are able to cross-list a bit easier than bigger bear artists because of the miniatures market.

As for the public classes and etc., those would be really fun, but I have a 20 month old at home and I work full-time, as does my husband.  Once I get home, the most important thing in my life is spending time with them..so I won't be able to do that.  I do get together with a librarian friend of mine, however, and we make bears together---she has grown children and she is networking and showing people at the library the bears we make together, and directing them towards teddies on the internet, so that's a good marketing process, but one I can't take credit for.

I manage a law office, and what with the methheads and stoners and drunk drivers, I must say I'm not particularly inspired to share teddies with the clients---for one thing, they usually already have a 'hobby' if you can call ruining your health and being a danger to others a hobby---and another, they're usually concentrated on trying to remedy their situations without going to prison.  [quirks eyebrows]

However, I do interact with the various courts in the surrounding cities and county, and I was contemplating bringing in some bear presents for the court workers who I've gotten to know over phoning about clients and etc.---they're such helpful people [if you know 'em!].    Another goal for the new year!

Amelia

..haven't read all of this thread, but wanted to post my opinions on the questionaire Shel put up.

1.  YES or NO:  Have you ever participated in a random teddy bear swap?  By random teddy bear swap, I mean a swap where your name is placed among a pool of names of participating artists, and then you are paired up with another bear artist randomly by the swap coordinator.

Yes.

2.  AGREE or DISAGREE:  All participants in random swaps must agree that they will accept, without public or private complaint, any bear that comes their way, as a condition of participation.

Agreed.  If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!

3.  YES or NO:  Do you think swaps should be sub-organized into categories?

Eh.  Up to the people who're swapping.  I personally like swapping for either other minis or bigger bears---since bigger bears are soemthing I don't often see, I treasure my biggy swap bear from Gina, and my needlefelted bear from Kim-Bee, and I wouldn't be adverse to swapping with another bigger bear artist.  I always feel guilty when I make a mini and get a biggy in return, seems like the big uns are lots more work to my mind, probably because I've not made one yet.

4.  If swaps are sub-organized into categories, do you think, for example, that mini makers should swap with mini makers?

or....Either/or, see above.

Do you think each participant should be able to CHOOSE which category he/she wishes to trade with?  For example, should a mini maker be able to specify that he/she wants to trade for a "biggun" bear?

To that, it depends on who is organizing the swap, and how much trouble they want to go through..perhaps it should be left up to the swap group and the manager?

4.  If you answered YES to question (3.), which categories would you like to see used?  Mark all that apply:

(a)  Size (small, medium, large... or mini, medium, biggun.)   Yes.
(b)  Style (contemporary, traditional, distressed, anime)        Yes--this one would be fun!
(c)  Skill level of bearmaker (beginner, intermediate, advanced)   No..for starters, how would that be judged?  By dollar selling price?  Awards?  Years experience?
(d)  Medium (needlefelted, mohair, synthetic)  Yes---would be interesting, but I don't really work in anything 'sides synthetic yet.

What about a possible themed swap?  Common theme, winter/hearts/etc.?

5.  If you marked "skill level of bearmaker" as a possible category, in question (4.), do you have any suggestions about the criteria a swap coordinator might use to determine the skill level of each participating artist?  Years making bears?  Price per bear?  Awards and honors?  Is this even a realistic option?

*LOL*  Shel, you're way ahead of me.  I need to read more before I post!  And I dunno if it's a realistic option---that would be very hard to have that be "fair", IMO.

6.  How long should swap participants be given to complete and ship their swap bear?

2-3 months..barring emergencies.

7.  What, if any, should the consequences be for those who commit to a swap, but never send a bear to their partner, even after receiving one themselves?

...hrm.  Well, if they're participating in a public swap, maybe the completed swaps should be announced and then the list of remaining swapees be listed below?  End result, people cannot be forced into sending a bear after receiving one of their own---even embarassment could be left behind if someone simply left the forum.  And no one would want to collect money as a security deposit until your swap bear was received by your partner..sticky situation all the way around.

8.  AGREE or DISAGREE:  The swap coordinate should not have to police swap participants.  Any problems which arise are the responsibility of each swap pairing to resolve.

Agree.  We're all adults---well, at least we're posta try to be..

Amelia

I have just come from several wesites where I was admiring the wonderful inspiring photos of bears in a natural habitat.  I recently tried photographing my miniature bear in a woodland setting, but to my eye it looked too busy:

Now, as artists AND as collectors, what do you prefer? 

I know for bigger bears, I simply adore seeing them in the crook of a tree limb [Judi's bears] or in a decorative setting [Aleta's darlings], and for miniatures I love seeing Nancy's miniatures in their walnut shells and reading the cute stories, or Chrissi's marvelous minis with their rough plank background---all of these examples I've listed are visually exciting to mine eye, and simply the photos alone are a treat, not to mention the descriptions.  And I don't mean to discriminate, there are lots of other artists here who are grand at making their photos equal a thousand words, these four artists were just ones that popped into my head.

However, for my bears, I've always been most happy with a solid background---this is probably due to my complete ineptness at interior design [really must have a talented girlfriend come over and help me 'do' my house, while I'm thinking of it]. 

Am wondering if perhaps an interesting background with a bear as a focal point rather than just the bear would be more visually exciting---well, that's obvious---but now do I build a miniature wood for my teds to gambol in while taking photos, or will a simple arrangement of interesting objects help showcase my bear?  Hrm.  Lots to think about!

Whew!  That post was a whole lotta rambling!

Amelia

..got beat to making an offer of extra fabric!  I was going to offer some mini fabrics too, Natasha---I was lucky enough to have a husband who booted me into bear making by buying a lot off eBay of marvelous upholstery fabrics from Vivienne Galli, and a bear making DVD.  It might take me awhile to lay my hands on the DVD, but I'd be happy to send you out a care package with some mini making materials---and your mother & baby koala turned out really well!  I am with Chrissi, adore your little pink panda!

Amelia

..actually, a DIY store would probably be more expensive---as a regular heat gun usually has at least three temperature settings, and an embossing gun has one.  However, you can definitely do more things with a regular heat gun.

Another thing to think of, a regular embossing gun might not be as big a blower as a heat gun---after all, one doesn't really WANT a ton of wind speed when trying to heat up embossing powder, otherwise the powder will scatter to the four corners of one's craft room. 

I know I paid $29.99 for mine [but it was a deluxe model, whatever that means!], but I think you should be able to pick one up off eBay for fairly cheap---women are always trying to dump their stamping supplies there.

..mmmm, stamping supplies on eBay..

Amelia *aka extraneous craft stuff addict*

No, Bobbie, when I was typing about pressing the wire into the nose, I was referring to polymer clay noses---I have mainly used Fimo [Fimo seems to be a stronger and more flexible clay, although it is firmer to work with].  Am wondering if part of your problem losing details when you pick the nose up is because you might be working with a too soft clay.  You might get some Fimo and try that out---but in the meantime, have thought up another way to perhaps form the nose with the heatset.

Now, what you are having problems with is getting the wire into what you sculpted---what if..?  you took the wire and baked a small [miniscule] amount of clay onto the loop, and then took your nose with the two end wires and poked the wire ends through a small piece of cardstock---then you could have a baked base to form your nose on, it would form with a flat area on the back.  You could also potentially bake it with the cardboard on the nose, and then if the clay stuck to it [I don't think it would though], you could merely rinse the cardboard off the polymer nose after it had cooled.

I've attached a quick dirty diagram of what I'm talking about, since I was rereading what I wrote and it didn't seem very clear.  And, with the clay crumbling, that means you cooked it longer than necessary to set the clay---but not long enough to completely cook it---I think you might need an actual embossing gun, you can spurt heat it for mere seconds at a time and then check to see if your underside nose clay [that would be closest to the bear's nose] is left uncured.

Did that make any sense?  Hope this can help!

Oh, and I just thought of something...you could also make your sculpted nose WITHOUT a wire, bake it, and then make a mold from it to form your next noses, put the clay in the mold and then the wire smushed into the soft clay in the mold, stick it in the freezer to harden the clay, and pull the nose out using the wire as a handle.

Amelia

Melissa, thank you so much for your expertise on this subject.  I hadn't even thought about the noses on the screw totally ruining a bear's face---I will probably buy some just to use the shapes to form my own, but won't be using them in a bear anytime soon.

I did get a baby sock and began practicing with DMC floss---I was happily surprised to see improvement within the first ten noses.  Have tried the silk thread, but so far am going to have to practice more with that, as I buggered it up and didn't get it straight enough.

Thanks to everyone for their responses, and good luck to us all on noses!

Amelia

..this came up on the main Tips 'n Techniques section, but I thought perhaps mini makers would have a different take, since upholstery fabric is a tad bit different than mohair.  Although there are some mini mohairs available out there, am thinking mostly of the synthetic upholstery fabrics [which is what the majority of my stash is].

La moi...am assuming that trimming the upholstery fabric would be fine for distressing---and the shading/dying for an aged appearance...but plucking am not certain about! 

So---how WOULD one go about creating an aged distressed miniature bear using synthetic fabrics?  And are there any examples from your own creations or another artist?  Am off to hopefully find some!

Amelia

w00t!  That IS tiny!!

Amelia

He is a wild 'un!  Absolutely a cutie!  Love the 'just for now' eyes!

Amelia

Vicki, this little panda is smashing!  Love her/him, s/he's got such a winsome face!

Amelia

What a sweet present---and a darling expression on that bear's face!  Lucky mom!

Amelia

..Pet name generators are some of my favorite ones for that block one gets when naming a bear:

http://www.bowwow.com.au/search/index.asp

http://gangstaname.com/pet_name.php

..and then elven and hobbit name generators are fun too:

http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/

http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

http://www.jokesunlimited.com/christmas_elf_name.php

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate. … rkelfnamer

--my stripper name would be Aspen Baxter [quirking eyebrows]---and Aleta, I like your idea!  Will have to try that one...Collywobbles is adorable, Judy! in spite of what it actually means..  Will have to file that one away!

Amelia 

Ah-HA!  Found 'em!! 

Another view of nose:

You can tell that in between the two wires there's enough space to put it on one of the wires on a wire rack, and the length of the wire will prevent the nose from falling off of the wire rack.

Amelia

Bobbie, my smallest noses are the same sizes as yours...what I've noticed that helps TREMENDOUSLY so they don't lose their shape in the oven is initially cooking just the surface with an embossing gun.  This hardens the top---so if you were sculpting it, sculpt the front on a flat surface without worrying about the wires, take a heat gun/embossing gun, blast it for about 30 seconds to a minute to set the clay [only the surface of the clay facing you is going to become hard], and then you can pick it up and, while handling the front without smooshing all that sculpting effort, you can then sink your wire into the back side of the clay, and THEN place it all in the oven to cook. 

Did that make sense?  Oh, and for baking---if you have a wire rack, you can just place the noses on the rack, with the two ends of the wire extending down and the nose atop the rack, they sit just fine for baking.

The way I do the wire into the backside of the nose is to make a complete circle overlapping, so that I'm sinking the little circle into the clay---then I have TWO wire ends coming out of the back, not one.  Just my opinion, but that makes it more secure.  Then I use a mini button to make sure the nose is flush up against the material..sometimes, in the tinier bear cases, I just twist the wire together.

I can get photos to show if need be.  I know I sent someone photos a longish time ago, can't remember who though.  Am hunting through emails to try and find it, but am unsure.

Amelia

Have just bought a lot of silk threads to try out for embroidering noses [which, quite frankly, I suck eggs at embroidering noses!], and I usually just make my own polymer noses [they're so much easier than embroidering], but I was looking at Sassy's resin noses to save time of making mini noses and wanted to know what the difference is between the ones that have a screw-type end, and the ones that just have a wire? 

I make my clay noses with two wires, and then use 'em like a cotter pin with a mini button...so both of the resin nose options are completely foreign to me.

Amelia

*huge screeches of EXCITEMENT!* Patty!!!  Did you know I live in the Swan?  Well, the extension of the valley---I was reading your post and got all excited 'cause I thought you were just down the Swan, I was all ready to call you up for a bear making party...

---and Swan Valley is beautiful, the Bob Marshal Wilderness too---I saw my very first grizzly bear there when we were going on a family drive...grizzlies are so majestic and HUGE when you see 'em, you really realize that we're the 'other red meat' to 'em..*LOL* 

If you ever plan a trip to your new business namesake, there's a free guest room at my house! 

Am off to look at your website!!  Still have a big grin on my face over your name---so awesome!!

Amelia

..I don't know, am on the fence on this one.  I don't call my creations 'bears' so much as I refer to 'em as "fribbles" and that's what I've called 'em since I was sixteen.  It fits for all my mediums, and I like to use it as a noun, so that's how my name came about [fribble means something frivolous, I figured it fit!].  I don't think of my bears as Amelia/Amy bears, and I guess I've never asked if any of my customers would prefer to use my name...always thought of the name as secondary to the actual fribble.

However, I am anal about words, fonts and names [my other half and I get into quibbles about semantics about once a week], so am perhaps weird.  I like your name, Debbie---because no matter what you call 'em they'll still be YOUR creations.  =)

Amelia

I have purchased a large panda for a friend of mine who is wild about pandas and adores 'em.  This is a fairly large bear, and oh-so-cuter than this photo portrays, but anyways---

The bear is 26"-28" sitting, so a bit of a lug.  He's got a lush thick synthetic fur [very pretty and soft], and I was thinking perhaps tweaking his pawpads & footpads [simple needlesculpting, I can handle that part of it], but I would also like to add some shading to his face, softening the black of his eyepatches and blending them into the white.  I don't have an airbrush...so what would be the best way to go about this?  Am not accustomed to working in this large of a size either, so should be fun!

Are oils safe to use for tinting on synthetics, or should I get some acrylic and try shading that way?  I'm not going to mess with taking the eyes out, they're just a large pupil with a simple ring of brown for an iris, so that's just average but since I'm not sewing it from scratch, can't complain there!

Thank you for your time!

=)

Best,

Amelia

Debbie, he is darling!  What a marvelous santa bear!  And I love the coloring, looks like the snow in Alaska when you look thru it...deeper blue underneath.  I especially like his muzzle, very distinct form and great mouth!  Very sweet. 

Hope to see more of your projects soon!!  =)

Amelia

Jennie, I love Mojje!!  He has such character, the aged look with the stitching is marvelous.  How did you get the fur off in patches?  Did you shave or pluck?  Am not certain how big bear artists do this.

Lucky new owner!

Amelia

..ooh, love that fabric!  Great face on the little girl, love the whole look of the bear!  It is a mini, right?

Lucky!

Amelia