Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wendy,
If you just want to dye the backing of the fabric use the Earth Pallette dye.  Turn the fabric to the backing and just paint a thin layer of paint on the back.  Let it dry in a warm place and you have a piece of fabric that has not colored the pile on the front of the fabric.   My friend in OZ does it all the time for her clown bears.  Let me know if you need her email to contact her directly.
Donna

Daphne,
That is what I am talking about.  I went out to the garage and got sidetracked and forgot to look.  I don't know how I get from one day to the next!
Donna

Shelly,
I did a small dragon class with Jennifer Laing.  We used paint for the spikes, claws and teeth on the dragon.  They were the small little jars that have a fine point on the tip of the bottle.  I will go dig in the garage and see what brand they are.
Donna

Jenny,
If you need it to be finer in the paw areas, you can run your armature wire down the middle of the loc-line and end the loc-line where it becomes too cumbersome for the limbs and then take the wire down to the end of the paw.  I do that with the rooster.  I can't wait to see your cat!
Donna

Jenny,
What I have seen with your size bears is the locline is used for the head and body then the wire armature for the arms etc.   I have used the locline for my other animals more than for the bears.  I use it as a skeleton for the giraffe, goat, donkey and rooster.    You also need to be aware that the locline makes a creaking nose as you move it and some people can be put off by that.  If you use plastic pellets in your bears you will want to put a little stuffing in the end of the locline so the pellets don't get inside and rattle.  You will need to end the locline at a point on the arm or pawpad where there will not be a bulge, I would guess from the pictures of your bears maybe 1/2" from the tip.  I would really like to see you use it in the head.  You already have a magnificently designed bear and I think the added posability (Is that a real word?) would just put your bears over the top.  Can you tell I like your bears?
Donna

Debbie,
Please let this be a happy ending!  I am already on the verge of tears.
Donna

Aleta,
Your chicks are ready for the San Jose Teddy Loves Holiday's theme.  You can leave some Easter and then these are ready for Halloween.  Get busy with the rest of the Holiday's July will be here before you know it.   I had a suggestion for a table buddy for that show.   Looking forward to seeing you again and getting into real mischief with you.
Bear Hugs,
Donna

SueAnn,
You may want to invest in a cat door that has the magnetic thing that will only work on certain collars, then put collars on your cats.  Stop feeding the outside animals.  We had a skunk in our living room because of the cat food.  That was not fun!   You will want to discourage the coyote from coming around.  Does he have a regular time he comes to eat?  As a kid on the farm I was not comfortable with the gun.  My dad would shoot them but he kept firecrackers by the back door for us females that were not real gun people.  The firecrackers did not hurt them in any way but kept them a safe distance from the house.  They would try to take down our medium sized dogs but not the german shepards.  I would try to trap him if you can't scare him away.
Donna

It is not embarrassing but strange.  I have my three legged money frogs in my show set-up.  The idea is to put it on the corner of your table facing your money bag so that money flows in.  I also have my Japanese Big Money come back panda.  Right now it is in my car.  It got lost while packing up the car after a show.  When I found it several months later I just hung it in the car and have not put it back in the show set-up.   I sound superstitious but I have seen an improvement since I put the frogs in my show set-up.
Donna

Extra batteries for your camera and calculator.

Band-aids, arnica gel, comfortable shoes, rubber pads to stand on, a calculator.  Pack into a suitcase on rollers.  Extra water, if you talk alot you will need it!  A bear to work on, it is a great conversation starter, but don't get so involved that you forget the collectors.  I'm sure I will think of more.
Donna

One of the classes I took used white floral wire run under the mohair.  You went in where you wanted one feeler and out at the other location.  You can either roll the ends down to make a knob on the end or attach a bead on the end of each.  They did not seem to need it but you could put a dot of glue to keep the feelers stable.
Donna

Hi Amelia,
I have used the Sharpie permanent marker and have not had any bleeding in the past.  If you are concerned just cut inside the traced lines and cut the entire bear out before putting it in the dye bath.  It sounds fun what you are trying to do with this bear.  Be sure to post pictures when you get it finished.
Donna

One of the workshops I took dealt with this issue.  We were taught to go with the nap.  We were also warned to watch that the nap doesn't change on you half way through the piece.  If you are dealing with a piece that has swirls in the design, go with the straight of the grain and just lay out the head according to the nap direction.  If you are dealing with a piece that has been manufactured incorrectly go with the nap.  Like Daphne says you will loose some fabric but save a lot of headache.  Years ago I found that lots of the tipped fabric was off.  It seems that it has improved over the years.  I had one piece of fabric that the nap went one direction on the left half of the fabric and the other direction on the right half.  That was fun!  Good luck and if it comes out weird just make it a punk bear!
Donna

Showers all weekend with the heaviest on Sunday.  Temps in the 50's so hopefully no snow. 
Donna

Daphne,
So glad to hear Dad is doing better.  You are all still in my prayers.  It sounds so much like what we went through with my Dad!  He had many good years after getting the heart and the blood pressure straightened out, so I will expect the same for your Dad.  You take care of you now and keep checking on Mom.
Bear Hugs,
Donna

Connie,
I would like to add here that I sell a screwdriver bit that fits into the end of the setscrew or grub screw.  You use it in place of the allen key.  I put mine in a racheting screwdriver and your jointing is a breeze.
Donna

Hi Sandra,
We do need a general size range you are shooting for in your bears.  Are you wanting to do smaller ones, say, 5-10 inches,  minis,  medium or large.  That will determine the size range of joints and eyes.  Most of my bears are from 4-16 inches and I use eyes from 4mm-12mm.  The joints for that range of bears that I use are 1/4-2 inches.
For the copic markers, my stand-bys are walnut, light walnut, chamois and black.   I have some pinks thrown in there for inside ears and open mouths.
Donna

You hang tough, girl!  You, Mom and Dad are in my prayers.
Donna

Hi Bev,
Sorry to hear about your Dad.  Does this mean we will not get to see you this year at Nevada City?
Donna

Heather,
Shelli is right, ladder stitch the area where the stitching shows.  If in the future this is a problem, double stitch your head.  Don't be hard on yourself, I have seen many of the big names that have flaws.  Some of them were so bad that I would not have put the bear on my table for sale.  It is good you care and this is a good learning experience for you.
Donna

Jane,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss.  I was really hoping that Holly would pull through.  You take care of yourself!
Heaps of Hugs,
Donna

Hi Amy,
The first thing that came to mind was to use the floral spray paint.  The brand I use is Design Master.  I would also try to use a green pipe cleaner and try tea or coffee stain.
Donna

Jenny,
If you don't have any luck finding the colors you need, wool felt will take dye beautifully.  Just a thought.
Donna

I like to use the setscrew method for jointing.  I started out using cotter pins but found that turning them hurt my wrists and I couldn't get a good consistent joint.  I moved onto the lock nut and bolt system and started glueing the disc to the bolt so I could close up the arms and legs before attaching them to the body.  I had some trouble with them coming loose and it would take a day of glueing joints.  So when I found the set screws I was in bear making heaven.  I use a bit in a ratcheting screwdriver to put in the end of the setscrew and then use a regular wrench to hold the nut.  In my opinion it works like a charm. 
Donna