Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Well?  How was Thanksgiving?   

I looked at the course descriptions at www.kranbearys.com.  Are they self-directed with regard to timing?  Or do you have to keep on schedule?

I use string, but will have to check out the flex ruler.  Thanks for the link.

I'm only 48, but remember their music well.  :lol:

Don't even know if I could choose a favorite!  http://www.creedence-revisited.com/music.html

Holy crap!  What a bargain.  Poor guy (seller). 

And to think everybody is watching those stupid Xbox 360's and not Bernina embroidery machines.  Kids around here are standing in line at Wal-Mart, buying Xbox's for $400, then putting on Ebay and selling them for $900 - $1,500.

If yer talkin' 'bout that avatar, I already posted (Chocolate Sushi Bar) that it's absolutely outstanding.  Excellent work Shelli!

:clap:

Dilu ~ I LOVE your avatar!  I'm soooo jealous.  Excellent!  :clap:

http://wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm

I can't do two turkeys in a row, so I usually do a turkey for Thanksgiving and a ham or pork for Christmas.  That just doesn't sound good, does it?

Ditto!  :dance:

I'm trying out Matilda's chocolate caramel fudge cake recipe on the family tomorrow!

Can't find it in a search of the web, but on the news this morning .... Saks Fifth Avenue has a new fun and yummy thing ... which I'd describe as a chocolate sushi bar.  New York for Christmas Dilu?

I'll keep looking.

From earlier this month:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9966060/

You're just implementing the old "work smarter, not harder" concept!

Bravo!   :clap:  ...  and thanks for the tip.

Clearly I'm not smokin' the right stuff.  Don't smoke at all, but you know what i mean.   

Daphne ~

Buy a gravy then.  The top part is a cinch.  :thumbsup:

If anyone is cutting out the white potatos, I have a recipe for a sweet potato souffle that's just incredible.

LOL, I think it's for a pan of dressing.  I'm pretty sure Paula Dean is that adorable southern cook (Georgia maybe) that always makes a mountain of food.  Could cut the recipe I'm sure.

Ellen, try to stay warm and dry (you too Kelly and Kim and Ginnie) over the holiday.  Sounds like we're gonna get it!

From foodtv, Paula Dean's dressing:

Good Old Country Stuffing

2 loaves oven-dried white bread (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
2 cups cooked white rice
1 sleeve crushed saltines
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 cups chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 stick butter, melted
Mushroom Giblet Gravy, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Crumble oven-dried bread into a large bowl. Add rice and saltines.

Cook sausage in a large skillet until it starts to brown. Add celery and onion and saute until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread and rice mixture. Add stock and mix well. Add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the stuffing mixture for the Mushroom Giblet Gravy.

Pour stuffing into a greased pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Mushroom Giblet Gravy:
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
Giblets from 1 turkey
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons reserved stuffing mixture
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
2 pints button mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring stock and giblets to a boil. Add bouillon and reserved stuffing mixture. Make a slurry by whisking together the cornstarch and water and add to the boiling stock; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms until browned in butter. Add mushrooms to gravy with egg and salt and pepper, to taste.

Well, of course you'd ask them ... that's assumed.   :rolleyes:
But I don't even keep a list of bidders, which, though not particularly helpful, would be interesting.

:thumbsup:

That's what I didn't think of ... no list ... duh!

Shari ~
I'm going to shamelessly steal your idea of keeping a pain journal.  I was in two accidents when I was 18, just a few weeks apart.  I fell off a horse onto a large rock and cracked my tailbone, then two weeks later an auto accident.  I couldn't walk immediately following the accident and crawled to a farmhouse.  Pretty resilient at 18 though, thankfully!

After the holidays, I'm going to pursue an acupuncturist for help.  Found out my medical plan covers 100% of services after a $25 per visit co-pay, and the acupuncturist must also be an MD.

:hug:

omg, jared ... i just never thought of that!

Thanks!

Dilu ~ I'm thinking of giving accupunture a whirl.  Am trying to find out if any portion of a treatment is covered under my health insurance plan.  I have a lot of pain in my neck, shoulders, hips. 

I feel for you Shari.

Yep, a regular chocolate bar.  I use half the bar to fit on the approx. 2" x 2" graham cracker. 

These treats are fat free, of course! 

Estelle ~

Exactly as SueAnn explained ... best when prepared and eaten at a campfire!  YUM!  My husband puts peanut butter on his graham crackers first.

I've been told by several mentor artists to just keep swinging (my paraphrase).  It takes considerable time to become a known vs. an unknown.  Patsy makes an excellent point.  It's important not to have expectations set too high for starting out.  By doing that we only set ourselves up for disappointment.

Afterthought ... actually, I guess the collectors are the teddy bear police, right?

I don't see why it would have to be jointed.  There are no teddy bear police.  Our individual integrity does the policing (right, wrong or otherwise).

I think if I incorporate child safe joints and eyes, etc., and my stated intention is for the bear to be child's toy, then yes, it's a child's toy, regardless of medium.  (What are the laws surrounding selling items intended for children?)

I don't think so as long as they are also original works.

Absolutely ... on the welcoming.  I think artists would have to price their bears accordingly, i.e., if there are fewer steps and/or less time, etc.

I think I agree, except that I think there is considerable creatively required to bring a teddy to life ~ apart from the pattern.  The fabric, the color, the paws, the embellishments, the painting/enhancements, the expression, the name, the .... you get the idea.  Sometimes my own pattern pieces look pretty much the same to me, and I'm not convinced that ALL the art is in drawing the pattern, but is in the envisioning of the end result.  (Not that my end result is always as envisioned, haha!)  Sometimes I feel most creative when I have to drop back 5 and punt to make something work. 

I also think collectors are smart enough to differentiate between minimal and over the top efforts in each piece.