Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

catherine, i had thought to do it that way but my fat fingers wouldnt cooperate with such little bits of fabric  

i had an idea to use air dry clay instead of oven clay...then i could smosh the clay over the edge of the fabric....hide it that way....dunno guess i will just have to experiment.

thank you very much.....im rather smitten with him alltho im not compleatly happy with how untidy his ears look...their made of clay with material glued on the back...i love the look of them but i think i might have to experiment some more to hide that uneven edge....hmmm...does anyone have any ideas?

any imput would be much appreciated :hug:

just thought id show you all my new little bear "snookie"
he's 2 and 3quarter inches made from sassys smokey long pile :love:

thanks for looking :hug:

i hope she wont mind terribly....but it is rather rude of me considering that ive not told her how much i love her sloths...their great chloe......really fantastic and you know i never realised there were still sloths about...silly me thought they were extinct :wacko...or are they??...now im all confused(doesnt take much tho   )

lol...i was only half serious...if you dont wanna show us...dont feel pressured and certainly dont wake the twins up if their both asleep at the same time

comeon then cat...wheres that thing?...i wanna see    i could use a good laugh  

i too have a janome...i'd never sewed before i started making bears and my model came with a switch to control the speed , as well as the pedal...so thats why i bought it..lol...it does have about 40 stitches and probably other features, but i wouldnt know as all i do is back and forwards....oh and it has a needle threader that id be lost without

when posing a dog shaped bear??....does that sound confusing enough?

the bears body is long like a dog(in fact it started out as a dog - now im not sure what it is )
i want to pose it with its head sideways to its body...but to make the limbs look right they have to be waaaayyyy more towards the front on the back side...that goes against all the bear making rules about even, level limbs......i'm not sure what to do, so i thought i'd ask if anyone else has come across this and what you did about it...is it ok to have limbs all wonky like that?

heres a pic, its not a very good one as its night here and i had to use a flash...
 

thanks,
Natasha

p.s...i just put on some doggie shaped ears and tail(just cut from scraps...not how they'll stay)  and he is a dog after all im very pleased with how he's turning out so far

again, sorry about the poor pic

bye again

great to see you back here...i admit to being worried about you when noone had heard from you... :hug:  :hug: i hope the next year is a great one for you,
Natasha

thankyou all :hug:

varnish or nail polish?? maybe even a glue that drys clear??...id just experament with scraps of fabric to see what gives that shiny wet look....
what a great idea tho

thankyou both :hug:    yes....elephants are very addictive and lend themselves well to differant artists interpretations....latly here on tt there have been lots of them and none remotly alike...i think too that as long as its got a trunk it looks like an elephant, so that makes life easier

im planning to make some elephants for sale (hopefully soon)just have to iron out a few details with the patterns first...i find im enjoying just buggering around experimenting with lots of differant animals and techniques...they dont always work but even when they dont, the finished product still seems to have its own charm.....like my little tattered one.....he is really growing on me and he looks nothing like he was supposed to

anyway..thanks again for the replies...i like replies     i think maybe that i just like talking...even if it does feel as tho im talking to myself while typing...he he he

im in too...its exactly what im doing at the moment anyhoo...tho im not doing it well

gday everyone
i've not been on the forums alot latley...just never seem to find the time bettween kids and actually making the bears so now ive got a minute id show you what ive been upto...theres some new bears and ive recently been dabbeling in polyclay(not a skill of mine....but sure is fun ) i really enjoy sculpting :crackup: sorry i just burst out laughing here...calling what ive been doing, sculpting, is really stretching it   anyhow ive got some piccies for you...on with the show.....ok the show wanted to be at the top...does anyone know how to put the writing first??

the little clown elephant has got a needle sticking right through his self...i havnt finished the poor thing yet...hes about 3 inches without his hatand made from sassys, his ears are made from curtain lace that ive painted....i wanted somthing that would "flop"(cant think of a better word )and an old curtain is all i could get my hands on...lol...

the other elephant is about 4 inches sitting(all sizes are aprox.) sassys again with polyclay tusks

the fluffy brown one is 5 inches or so sitting made from synthetic...hes very soft but everytime i touch him i have to brush him again

and the tatty looking mini mohair bear is an experiment of sorts ....ive put him in the mini section too for comment(just thought id tell you incase you wanted to let me know how ratty he looks... :crackup: )

and the big 8inch bear there is my faverite hes such a charmer...i started him off ages ago and he was going to be an indian but the other day i heard this small voice calling me from my cupboard...."tash....tash....TASH"  and when i opened the door the poor unfinished bear threw himself at my feet and begged to be finished(sure...some people will say that my cupboard was just disgustingly full and it fell out...but i know better )anyway he told me that he didnt feel like being an indian anymore as he knew it sounded like more work that just a bear...and he knows i hate extra work...so in the sweetest voice ive ever heard,he told me he wanted to be 'just a bear'....im a big softy so i couldnt refuse and here he is...lol...sorry bout the big story, i got carried away, but it was fun  

ok thanks for putting up with me...and i hope you enjoy seeing my bears and elephants and 'Sculpting' :crackup:

Natty

hello all!
i decided to try somthing differant yesterday and thought id show him to you
hes a minature mohair bear about 3 inches sitting and i thought the pattern turned out well....tho this actual bear leaves a lot to be desired :crackup:  ive never tried to make somthing look old before and im not real keen on the job ive done...so im off to try again(boy are bears addictive - especially when they wont do as their told ) ive used prisma pencils...well actually i only own 1 black one   but i used it to shade and acidently pushed too hard so he ended up with one very black line on one side...so ofcourse i then had to put one on the other side, now he looks angry

Does anyone have any tips about aging mini bears?? cause i sure could use some

anyhoo, here he is...feel free to tell me exactly where ive gone wrong or what i could of done better

thanks muchly and enjoy!

Natasha...a.k.a...Natty

hah....youve got a glenn too i see silly buggers arent they  

yep....two and counting every time i make one i think might be cute enough to sell, he nabs it and he gives them awful names...he named a nice cute fluffy bear...rex...can you believe that? but i grumble about it while being secretly pleased that he likes them enough to claim them, still....im not showing him the next one  

i just love those girls

same here actually...i hope shes allright

thanks krista and sophie

Thank you...im off to check out that link now

hello all   now i feel a bit silly posting this as im not really new to bears anymore   but ive got a realistic bear project in mind and have absolutly no idea what mohair/ synthetic i need....i know what i want it to look like but no clue what all the differant pile lengths and styles mean. :redface: ....can someone please take pity on poor me and help me out

the fabric im after is... well, obviously brown (darkish) i want it to have a lighter backing...straight pile, dense(not sparse)...Cheap  
i dont really mind if its mohair or synthetic.

any ideas would be very muchly appreciated

thanks,
Natty

would it just be a case of taking a laptop with you for customers to use...then you check to see if it went through???all on the spot...sorry i dont even do shows...he he ...im just curious how it would work

and you had the nerve to call me cheeky...godd thing i like ya so much

sorry mate...i dont have any yet...im still fairly new to this and i make minis....so others scraps are my bear sized peices  
have you tried going to your local fabric stores and looking in their offcut bins? just a thought...

ok i'll admit it, im no help at all

youll have less money, have to make bears all day everyday which means it wont be just for fun anymore and you'll have to work for the boss(you)   

did that do the trick? 

nah im just joking....i like the sound of full time bear maker, heck thats probably what im going to be once the kids leave home...at the moment im a "whenever i can hide from the kids long enough to get a bear made" bear maker 

you do whatever feels right for you