Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Mrs. Lopsided???!!!  What NOW??  LOVE the King's English!!   Hooting drains, indeed!

Laure, you didn't make a "bad" request . . . I just didn't have Hallie's id# in place when you tried to look at her - it's fixed now.  Thank goodness for Quy!!

Hmmmmm . . . well, have to agree with you that the fur face IS cuter.  But, your sculpting abilities are wonderful!!  Have you done more?

Thanks much, Dawn!!

Joshua is adorable!!   Penny, do drains hoot in the UK??  I know loons laugh, but didn't know about the drains.  Our drains gurgle.   

Actually, this message board is a hoot!! 

That's a great idea, too, Dilu!  Keep posting those ideas, folks . . . I have TONS of scraps. 

Well, mincing felt would be a lot easier than mincing mohair, I would think.  Anyhoo, I'm not patient enough to take the time to do that.  Perhaps I could put the scraps in the blender??!!   

AAAAARRRRGGGG . . . Dale - deep fried????  And I suppose you've tried this???    Yes, I've contemplated stuffing bears with the scraps, but feel like they wouldn't "pack down" very well and would produce a beary "lumpy" creation!   Have you tried oven baked?! 

GREAT Old Ted, Laure!!!    I had that pattern early on, too, but my bear didn't turn out NEARLY as well as yours!  Think I used a stretchy fake fur, and you know what happens when you start stuffing . . . you can't quit! 

Danni, that's a really neat idea!!   Since I have five cats, I'm SURE I'll have plenty of scraps to make five mats.    Thanks, heaps!

This is for any and everybody who has solved the dilemma of a growing heap of fur scraps!!    After 8 years of making bears, I have accumulated a mountain of them.  Before my sweet ferrett died (after nine years) I would put piles of fur scraps in her cage and she would burrow into them and nap.  I now have a mesh laundry bag that drapes over a plastic tubing frame near where I cut out my patterns, and I throw the remnants in there as I cut.  My cats (5 of them) enjoy sleeping on the top of that mound (one at a time, of course), but the top of the fur is now even with the top of the frame; the cats kind of hang over the edge when they nap.  I can't stand the thought of throwing fur in the trash and having it go to the landfill.  Any pieces that are big enough to keep, I can use on my roosters or a smaller bear, but the tiny stuff that can't be used is about to take over my room!!  HELP!!

Welcome, picobaby . . . it will be fun to get to know you.

Thanks to all of you girls for your kind thoughts.  I'm supposing most of us have been through some bad times and by "hook or crook" we've arrived at this very place, at this very second.  Hooray for us!!
We can all form a huge virtual circle and give ourselves and each other a virtual hug. 

Jane, thanks much for your compliment on Sorbet!  She is the last of my "BabyCakes" collection.  A hug for your autistic son.

I made bears from commercial patterns and fabric store fake fur for about 6 months before I decided I wanted to create my own designs.  Finally after I had taken a design workshop from Linda Mead (formerly of Spare Bear Parts), I managed to get up enough courage to try my FIRST design in MOHAIR!! What a DISASTER!!  Of course, I still keep the little monster sitting in my work room to remind me of where I started . . . and very few people have seen that first attempt.  I applaud those whose first bears actually look like bears and are in proportion.  Way to go!!

Wow, Dilu . . . what an adventurous career you've had!!  It had to have its rewarding times, huh?  And such quick thinking on how to calm the Jedi knight!!

Whew, Laure!  Think you could have a great career as a novelist, too!

Laura and Dilu . . . thank you for your kind and thoughtful reponses to my "story" and I appreciate the hugs!

Well, I've stalled at revealing how I got into making bears because, besides other reasons, it involves a lifetime of repressed personal demons.  And who wants to publicize their psychological traumas??  However, I think it important to emphasize how much therapeutic value a teddy bear can have.  We in the bear industry all have our reasons for being here, but surely the reasons must have something to do with the charisma of our beloved teddies.  There's just something about them that charms us in some way.

My story begins just a few years ago . . . way after I had retired from my lifetime career of medical technology.  All of us have problems, big and small, throughout our lives and manage to wade through them.  Starting in 1996, I was hit with several large ones at once . . . and descended into a black hole of depression - not being able to cope very well or extricate myself from the abyss.  And the troubles continued to pile up so I became pretty desperate to find a way to deal with life . . . or not.  I was very fortunate to be in a department store one day and discovered a stuffed teddy that seemed to actually know what was going on in my head.  His look of compassion, empathy, friendship, understanding, and tenderness seemed to be just what I needed at the time, so I bought him . . . and many more after that.  When my budget began to be strained, I decided I could make my own therapy bears.  That's when I discovered a whole world out there dedicated to the teddy bear . . . collectors, artists, manufacturers, suppliers, show promotors, magazines, etc. - one that I never knew existed.  Wow . . . what an enlightenment!!  So now (long story short), thanks to therapy, anti-depressants, but mostly to making bears, I am doing well at coping with whatever life has to offer.  No doubt in my mind that teddy bears saved my life . . . and I decided I could declare it publicly so that others might know the powerful influence teddies can have.  Thanks for indulging me and reading this.  Big hugs to you all!! 

HA!!  Laure, that's toooo funny . . . the rat story!  Seedy, indeed!! 

What a handsome rat, Rita!!  Love his slightly mischievous look, too.  Great work!! 

Unfortunately, I didn't have any soft, stuffed toys as a child, but I was lucky enough to find my first teddy bear during a really awful period of my life (as a VERY MATURE adult).  That's when I became hooked on teddies and eventually started my bearmaking career.  And yes, I still have the bear that turned my life around.

Judi - I knew about Hayden and Hayden's Cub, but didn't know the circumstances under which your family died.  So very tragic . . . and I am so sad for family and friends that are left to wonder why it happened.  I understand fully how teddy bears saved your life - they saved mine also, and probably many more than we realize.  May you continue to work through your grief and give so much pleasure to others with your wonderful teddies.  Big hugs,

I second that, Shelli . . . absolutely stunning eyes!!

Judi . . . I am SOOOO impressed with your talent!!  Outstanding work!!!:D

Not goofy . . . quite a reasonable query!  I like to shade AFTER sewing them in and stuffing.  That way, they are smooth and firm - making the shading a LOT easier to apply.

I also use a "finishing touch" to my bears when I'm done.  I use Clairol's Herbal Essence Spray Gel to sort of "set" the fur where I want it to stay.  It also has a nice fragrance.  I sent a little "pocket bear" to a soldier in Iraq that I had been e-mailing and he said it smelled SO good when he got it . . . it was a really nice change to what he was used to smelling there!!  Just be sure whatever you use on the fur doesn't have alcohol in it.

You are very nice and generous, Dilu!!