Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Best of luck Sophie!!

Congratulations Eva!  Awesome news!  :dance:

Gorgeous bear Melisa!   :clap:

Hi Jess!  Good to see you posting here!   

Congratulations on your win! 

I've deliberately and inadvertedly changed a category or two in my state fair in the last two years. 

3 years ago, my state fair had the dry felted and wet felted categories lumped together in one.  They are completely different techniques, so when I went to pick up my pieces i'd entered, I requested they split the categories.  I was asked to email the committee (which I did) and last year, for the first time, there was a dry felted category!

Last year, I entered 3 needle felted bears into the Teddy Bear categories.  I'm pretty sure I set the cat amongst the pigeons when I did that.  There was nothing to say that the bears had to be traditionally made.  I did extremely well with those bears (2 x 1st place and 1 x 2nd place) but due to my entering those categories, this year, they created a specific needle felted teddy bear category.    LOL!

It was because I wasn't allowed to enter my needle felted bears into the other teddy bear categories that this year, I decided to try hand sewing bears for the very first time.  (Oooh...rebel! haha!) I decided to enter 2 sewn teddy bears.  The two that were entered were literally my 1st and 3rd sewn bears that i'd ever made.  My 1st bear didn't place, but the 3rd bear that i'd made was a little 8cm mini bear that took out "Best bear in show" this year.     <--- that's my VERY shocked face right there.

ANYWAY...the moral of my long winded post is...it's great when the organisers of state fair competitons are open to changing categories and moving with the times....and we both know it's a little bit of a thrill to know that you were the one that set the wheels in motion. 

  He is absolutely gorgeous!  Wow...what a face!

If you stab your felting needle almost parallel to the surface, you'll be able to catch the stray fibres and it will hide them but for the most part you'll always have the strays.  Like Joanne, I take a pair of scissors and trim them away...then I go over the surface again with the felting needle, trim again and the go over the surface with the needle again.  The strays on my felted critters are pretty minimal after that.    Please don't pay any attention to how fuzzy the koala is in my picture on the left....that is a very early piece of work...must do something about changing that.  :crackup:  Current pieces are no where near as fuzzy. 

This was awesome news to wake up to!     This is "Too Pretty To Eat" and he's been nominated in the Artist Bear Non-traditional material category.

Congrats to all of the nominees!  :clap:

:clap:  SO cute!  Nice job Ali!

Agreed!  Sandi has done a brilliant job with this show.    The creations for both the ACD Awards and the Fantasy Ball itself are a sight to behold!  Do yourself a favour and check it out if you get the opportunity....you won't be disappointed. 

:clap:  Congratulations Alison, Kelly and Nichole!   :clap:   I'm really thrilled to say that i've been nominated too!   

Wow!  It looks like an amazing show!  I think i've just added a ton of "bears I hope to own one day" to my wish list! 
Thanks so much for the photos!  You've done a wonderful job.

With the idea of showing the photographs of all entries....I don't know if it would be possible cost-wise but perhaps something like a "Special Edition Mini Magazine" paired together with the magazine could be an option?  You could showcase the entries that way....

She's fabulous!   

Oh my gosh...I think that's one of the most adorable bears i've ever seen!     Soooo cute Melisa!  Nice job!  :clap:

This Aussie approves!     He's very cute.

:clap:  They are AWESOME Pat!  They made me smile as soon as I saw them.  You've done a wonderful job with them. 

LOVE this one so much!  He's adorable! 

:clap:  He's gorgeous Kim!!  I love his face.

I just commented your facebook but i'll do it here too shall I?     I really love this one...mind you...I don't think i've seen one from you that I haven't loved.     His colour is magnificent.

Australian Bear Creations Magazine is my favorite.  Lots of tips, profiles, patterns and information. 
http://www.woodlandspublishing.com.au/abc/index.html

Awwwww!  He's ADORABLE Sheryl!  Fabulous face and I love the mouth. 

He's gorgeous Melisa!  What an expressive face he has.    I just wanted to say your profile feature in Australian Bear Creations Magazine was a good read too. 

You know I love your bears...and this one is no exception.  He's so cute!  I really love his jumper too. 

Thanks so much Brenda!