Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thanks Alison!
   This was a pattern for that Cream with rose tip fabric (I washed it and air dried it and it is just DIVINE, so soft and fluffy).  I got impatient and just ended up giving her a standard gusset, but will try your suggestion on my next pattern.  Now I need to find some Pearl cotton in a nice charcoal gray for a nose!

Shanna

Hi everyone-
   Does anyone know where I can find a variety of colors for pearl cotton thread in size 8.  Everything I found at Michael's in Pearl was size 5 which is a little too thick for the size bear I'm working on.  Would I have better luck if I looked in a fabric store?  I found embroidery threads, but they didn't state that they were Pearl cotton and they were a bit too fine.

Thanks again!
Shanna

Thanks for your suggestions.  I have already tried adding width to the forehead which left me with to triangular a shape towards the top of the head.  It's hard to explain.  I thought I would round it out by adding darts, but the darts make little points where they end so that wasn't working either.  Maybe someday the mystery will be solved.  Thanks again!

Shanna

Hi everyone-
   I'm trying to design a new pattern for a bear with a nice wide forehead and when I make the gusset really wide, it seems to make the head too triangular, however, when I put in darts they create little points in the forehead.  Any suggestions?

Thanks
Shanna

He looks just like a sunset!  Just beautiful!

Shanna

Joanne, Thanks!  What type of glue would you try?

Shanna

I wanted to seal a nose, but not wax it.  I tried doing a search and came up with Aleenes instant decoupage for a nose shine, but wasn't sure if this would work as a sealant to sort of protect the nose as well.  Does anyone use anything different?  I also came across the mention of a 50/50 glue water mix, but wasn't sure what kind of glue was used.  Can anyone help me?  I have one 12" artist bear in my collection (the other is just a wee 3") and the nose is starting to get a little pilli (for loss of a better word) where the fibers are breaking down just a bit.  I thought this might help my bears avoid that look.

Thanks everyone!
Shanna

He's very sweet!

Thanks everyone.  It's really nice to see followers on my page (it was lonely).  I'm not sure how to follow your pages can anyone help?

Shanna

Thanks everyone for your help and your generous compliments on the head  .  Daphne, the 12mm eyes were the ones that I chose, thanks so much for sending them along!  I couldn't believe how fast the stuffing and eyes arrived, they were on my doorstep the next day!  Here's crossing my fingers that the double chin will be gone when the body is attached.

Thanks again
Shanna

I'm one of those newbies here.  I've been making bears for a little while now, but never knew there was a community!  I'm loving it.  Congratulations on your nomination, your creations are just amazing.  Welcome back!

Shanna

It was actually a lot of fun to create.  I don't know why I waited so long.  Just out of curiosity, how many of you who have blogs for their bears, post only bear related information on that blog?  I think my mom was disappointed that it wasn't going to be a personal blog, but I feel like I should keep that separated so that people who are interested in my bears don't have to sort through all the non-bear information.  Without further ado, here is my blog.

http://littleleafbears.blogspot.com/

Thanks for looking!

hugs
Shanna

Hi everyone,
    I have a problem with my newest design.  He seems to have a sort of double chin effect after I trim the cheeks.  Is there anyway to avoid this?  I'm not sure if I should be trimming back further, or if there is something I could do to my design to eliminate this.  Thanks everyone, here's a photo.

It's funny you mention this now.  I am working on my very first big bear and am right now at that critical ear stage.  I keep pinning them and re-pinning.  Each time I walk away I come back and think they need to be in a different spot.  Hopefully someday this bear will get ears!!  I completely agree that the positioning of a bears ears can drastically alter the look of the bear.

Shanna

Congratulations on another year!  I hope you have a wonderful day.

I love the blue eyes.  He is very sweet.

Thanks everyone for such kind comments.  I love the pick me up I get here as I am selling nothing currently and it's hard not to get discouraged.

I love her!  What wonderful bears you make.

Here is Alexander.  He is the biggest bear I've ever finished and stands 5.5" tall.  I named him Alexander because he seems to always be having a terrible horrible no good very bad hair day.  I loved the book when I was younger.  I plan on posting him on Bear Pile in a few days, but until then, he is listed on my blog.  As always, thanks for looking!

Oh my they are cute!   They make me want a hug!  Love them!

Shanna

Alison-
   Thanks for testing that for me.  I do things a bit differently and trace the outline and that is what I sew on.  I cut quite a bit outside of my outline for the seam allowance.  I guess I don't trust myself to be even all the way around  .  Your paint idea sounds like a good one, maybe I'll check into the costs for some acrylic paints.  It's such a small area that I'm hesitant to spend a large quantity of money on it especially since the mohair mostly hides it.  I still need to get some alcohol and am hoping that will at least help.  From now on I will try a permanent and be extra careful when re-styling the fur to poof the way I want it.  Thanks again!

Shanna

I am so happy for you and your family.  What a heart warming post!

He is darling!

Cute cute cute!!

He's fantastic.  Which class is this?  I would love a tutorial on design, right now I'm a trial and error girl and the error part gets frustrating!

Shanna