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How cool! I'm going to show this to my son. He'll love it. We've been noticing how bright the planets have been in the early evening here. Great pic!
Alison
I just wanted to share something fun that my mom sent to me today.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/p … n_sim.html
I hope you all have fun carving pumpkins! I wasted so much time on this.
Hugs,
Alison
Schuco! I love their little old yes/no bears. They made amazing monkeys and some really funky things in the 60's. I have a 60's tiger that's mohair and plush combined that I picked up for a song.
Hugs,
Alison
I think we all probably get our chins out of whack every now and again. :crackup: Humans find beauty in symmetry so it's what we strive for in our creations. But, there is no perfectly symmetrical human face and I'm sure that goes for teddies too. We're making hand made little critters and any imperfections just make them all the more wonderful.
Hugs,
Alison
Wow, am I the only one out there that NEVER trims the fur from seams??? I don't think it necessary at all. But, what I do is probably more time consuming than all of your trimming. I pin and machine baste all of the seams, then I groom the seams ( pull all of the fur out, front and back ) then I sew all of the seam again with a really small stitch. I've tried trimming and found it a big hassle, even with trimmers. A friend of mine trims her seams with those sqizers, scissors that they sell at Edinburgh Imports. She swears by them, here's a link. http://www.edinburghimports.com/shoppin … 38=0140007
Hugs,
Alison
I don't look like my bears or my dogs. They are all much cuter than I. 
Sounds like a wonderful anniversary. You'd better keep him around for another 25!
Hugs,
Alison
Thank you all! I told my son you all loved the pink vest. He did look rather dashing if I do say so myself. My daughter has nerves of steel. She is very good at keeping on, even when she hits the worst notes you could imagine. She is very poised and lovely but mind you still 14. While both are such good kids, they certainly have their moments! It's nice to be able to brag about them when they do good. They worked very hard this year and everyone said it was the best show yet. We'll no doubt do another next year. It takes us a full year to forget how much work it is to put it all together!
Hugs,
Alison
If it seems like I've disappeared from the teddy bear scene for a few weeks, there was good reason. My kids put on a benefit show for breast cancer. This is the 3rd year and the show was GREAT! We named the show the Boob Tube Boogie because my daughter plays all TV theme songs. My son is the MC. He tells bad jokes and does TV trivia and this year my daughter's friend joined us as Vanna White, to hand out the trivia prizes. Mind you, all the trivia and prizes are linked to the theme songs my daughter plays. She played the theme to The A Team, my son did A Team trivia and the prize was Mr. T soap on a rope. Yes, they actually manufactured such a thing! Other prizes were Captain Kirks Guide to Women, and a Sweat Hogs snow cap. The kids get the audience involved and it's a lot of fun for everyone. They didn't raise quite as much money as last year ( a sign of the times) but did raise about $900.
I'm glad it's all over. I'm playing catch up now with some orders for shops but it was all well worth it! Here are some pics of the kids. The blond in the middle is my daughter's friend Zabrina. And the other blond is my son singing Green Acres. He put on a wig every time he had to sing Eva Gabor's part. It was hysterical. And, my beautiful daughter at the piano, she played 24 pieces. Oh, it took a lot to get my son to wear the hot pink vest but he looked smashing! The girls are 14 and my son is 12. I'm one proud momma!
Hugs,
Alison
Ladies,
I am feeling a bit dumb. What is this eBay pulse and how on earth do you get to it? I just went to eBay and clickety clicked directly to the artist bear category. Jenny, if you want to sort your search by price, time listed, etc. it's still there, just looks a bit different. It says sort by: best match then it has a little arrow. The arrow takes you to a drop down menu where you can choose how you want to sort. I have to say that I rarely read my eBay notices anymore. It's always bad news and I haven't been listing there as much. So maybe I missed info on this pulse thing. I'd love to be in the loop on this.
Thanks,
Alison
If you are having problems with only one leg, I would replace the hardware in that leg.
I think the problem you may be having on the head joint is that there's no way to hold the bolt from the inside of the head to keep it in place while you tighten the nut. You need a special joint for the head using a tap bolt. This is a bolt with the center hollowed out in a hex shape. You put a ratchet driver around the nut, put an allen wrench in the middle of the bolt and then tighten. You are able to keep the bolt still with the allen wrench while you tighten the nut with the ratchet.
Is this making any sense to you? I hope so. Perhaps someone else can word it better.
Hugs,
Alison
I created a line drawing of one of my bears. It's very simple. I don't use is much except for on my business cards and tags. This may be something that you could do fairly easily.
Hugs,
Alison
I'm not sure what you mean by body gusset. What shape of body are you going for? I do use a 3 piece body for one of my designs. The third piece is on the tummy and is football shaped. If you give us some more info on the look you are trying to achieve, perhaps we can all help out.
Hugs,
Alison
Kimberly,
I take pics on my front porch too! :photo: The neighbors think I'm a whack job. 
They are correct! I'm expecting someone to drive right into the front yard one of these days with their rubber necking. Especially when I'm out in the early morning trying to catch the lighting just right and I'm in my jammies.
Hugs,
Alison
I'm with Paula and Jenny. I just move on to the next project. I started selling my bears so I could afford more supplies to make more bears. It was hard to pack them up when I first started selling, but not any more. For me, the joy is in creating bears. It's a great honor that another person wants something I created. I'm always excited to ship a teddy off to a collector. And, I have some money for MORE MOHAIR!
Hugs!
Alison
When the favorite gift your husband has even given you was a ROOMBA robotic vacuum! :dance:
Carole,
I work for a doctor, who also happens to be my sister! Keep going and following up with your doctor. My sister will often gives series of 3 cortisone injections and with each injection, many patients see improvement. Do they have you on any oral anti-inflammatory medications? It's great that you are getting some therapy to help. If you feel like you've exhausted all of your options with one doctor by all means, seek a second opinion.
I have had a little bout with tennis elbow in the past. I now use really large needles to sew EVERYTHING. This has helped a lot. I don't get as much neck tension and my hands don't tire as easily. I have a much more relaxed grip because I am not trying to hold on to a tiny little needle. I typically use a 7 inch needle for nearly every task. I do have a large "J" needle that I use anytime I need to ladder stitch. You might want to try it and see if it helps. It will definitely take some getting used to but it sure has helped me.
Good luck & hugs!
Alison
Ellen,
I have been making bears for almost 10 years. I'm still slower than snail poop. I usually complete one bear a week, some weeks none! Take your time with each creation, don't rush. The time and patience will show. These are labors of love we are creating. When I have a deadline, I think I make the worst looking bears.
To help speed things up to prepare for shows, I have hired my daughter for grooming seams and other simple tasks that are time consuming. Taking stuffed heads along and embroidering the noses is a way to get a little work done during piano lessons. Or, take a sketch pad along to draw up new designs. Just find ways to squeeze in a little bear making here and there. Oh, and get your husband to do the dishes! I cook, he cleans and I can get a little more work in each evening!
Hugs,
Alison
I'll be doing the Lemonade Bears Benefit for the 3rd year. I sure hope we have a nice turn out of artists and collectors!
Hugs,
Alison
Don't mess with mother nature! Why on earth would doctors insist on a c-section at a specific time??? If the mother is healthy and the baby is healthy there is no need for a scheduled c-section just because the baby is breach. Babies sometimes do not turn until labor. So, tell your sis to relax, eat well, get plenty of rest and let nature take its course. And, like Wanda suggested, use music. I have heard that putting headphones with music around the bottom of the belly can encourage the baby to turn. In the event that the baby is still breach at 40 weeks only then should she consider a c-section. 40 weeks is full term, 37 weeks is 3 weeks early and 3 more weeks that the baby could turn on it's own. Now, if there is imminent danger to the baby or your sister, I can certainly see doing a c-section at 37 weeks. And, both her and baby should be monitored closely because of her medical history. I believe in medical intervention when needed but most c-sections are just convenient for the doctor who, more than likely, has a vacation planned. The rate of c-sections has sky rocketed over the years with doctors inducing labor instead of letting it happen naturally like God intended.
Good luck to her! I am a firm believer in natural childbirth. I had my second at home with a midwife. What a wonderful experience! Bringing a baby into the world with my husband there in my own home without the noise and disruption of a hospital and someone waking you every 15 minutes! No one whisking your baby away for this, that or the other. Just peace and beauty and relaxation! Jeeeeeez, I wish I could have another!
Hugs,
Alison
Lynn,
I wax my noses all the time. I do not use any wax seal. I would consider the waxing, sealing! What kind of wax do you use? I use 100% beeswax. I buy the pellets in the candle making section of the craft store. It gets really hard! Here's my technique. I put the pellets in a Pyrex measuring cup, heat it in the microwave for 4 or 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the wax, 
you want it really hot but be careful, it can catch on fire! I speak from experience on this! If the wax starts smoking, STOP THE MICROWAVE! Then, I use a natural bristled paint brush and brush the wax on. Make sure it's natural bristled, synthetic bristles will melt in the wax. I speak from experience on this as well. 
I heat the wax with a hair dryer until it looks like it disappears. This just sends the wax down to the lower threads of my nose (I have 3 layers in every nose.) Then, I reapply the wax. Usually just 2 applications does it. Then I buff with a lint free cotton cloth. That's it! Easy schmeasy as long as you don't catch the wax on fire! I hpe this helps!
Hugs!
Alison
Judi, WOW the jacket is fantastic. Jacquard makes lots of different paint and dyes for fiber art. The dye-na-flow is not opaque. Jacquard makes Neopaque which is and Lumiere which is the same in metalics. I have both but have not had luck with either. It's clog city and then I just hand the airbrush over to my hubby who has to take it completely apart. Is there any info in the library on how to prepare acrylics for airbrushing? I'll have to look. I'd like to try to use some other mediums but haven't had much luck with anything but the dye-na-flow. Jacquard now has a product they are calling airbrush colors that I may try but I'd like to be able to use some of the Neopauqe and Lumiere that I already purchased. Here's a link to the Jacquard website if anyone is interested in their products. http://www.jacquardproducts.com/
Hugs,
Alison
So sweet!
Alison
Yes, another Alison who spells her name correctly! 
