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Me too, Paula--actually, it`s my first time entering any competition.
I`m just proud to be in such stellar company!
Gotta go vote . . .
How can you not become close to the lovely people who adopt your babies 
I think the trick is to lend a sympathetic ear when people need to share, vent, grieve--and assure yourself that listening is usually the greatest help you can give to a friend in crisis. We always wish we could do more, and sometimes can, but not often.
As a certifiable worry-wart, I have developed a technique. Whenever I start obsessing about a friend`s or family member`s problem, I call or email just to touch base. In most cases, it turns out that these people are feeling better, or moving on, or trying something else, and I realize that I`ve been worrying more than they have.
Listening is a contribution to solving the problem. Worrying just multiplies the suffering.
I`ve got a little black cat bleating at me as I write. Phoebe doesn`t want anything (I`ve tried many times over). She just wants to talk!
Heather,
I`ve never sewn teeny tiny footpads, so I`m not sure, but . . .
Maybe the problem is the direction of the seam allowances at the points where the pawpad meets the foot seams. If one pair of seam allowances is pressed left, one right, and another open, you`ll have three different-looking feet, especially on a tiny critter.
I tack all seam allowances open on the feet.
:dance: Congratulations, Peta--Noah is a very handsome little dude, and obviously the hit of the party!!
Sympathies on your soreness . . . my third arrived by Caesarian, and I thought I'd never stand up straight again, ouch. Of course, after the other two, I thought I'd never sit down again . . .
He's so precious. I want another one 
:hug: Jodi, darlin' :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
I am so sorry you're burdened with this ordeal, but there's no way someone as sweet and positive and loving and talented as you can go under!
I am also with Daphne and Shelli--get your own lawyer and make sure this foolish man takes care of your financial needs, and then some!!
WOW--I too received a little silver box from the Lemonade Benefit this morning--thank you Sandy!
Me too, Judi--no space in my cold room for food anymore!
Jai, your fur is almost certainly goat, if the fur is coarse and the pelt fairly heavy. I've got some Mongolian Lamb that looks very similar, but the fur is silky and the pelt is very thin.
Here's a pic of a little bear made from Nancy's Antique Bear pattern for a charity auction, in the Mongolian Lamb--
Rachael is sooooo lucky to have a little brother to decorate!! :crackup:
Hi Michelle,
I think Tissavel furs are probably much too thick for minis---Sassy's fabrics are perfect!
My favorite is the smoky longpile . . . . scrumptious!
Debbie--
Try the Tissavel at Prefurs--they're ultra-yummy, and priced from $124-134 per yard.
http://www.prefurs.com/10Browse.asp?cat … y+Tissavel
The rabbit in my avatar is made of Tissavel "polar bear".
They'll send you samples, for a fee. Unfortunately, they only ship by UPS so far, which costs a whackin' heap to Canada, but I'm thinking of asking them to use USPS.
Tissavel itself has agents in many countries, and you could try contacting their London agent
www.tissavel.com
I contacted their Canadian agent, but he wouldn't sell yardage to a retail customer.
Another source would be Fabfurs
http://www.fabfurs.com/index.asp
They don't offer samples or sell fur by the yard, but I've bought an Extra Large men's coat on sale, and taken it apart for the fur. Cheaper than Prefurs, not so nice (knitted backing), but far better than the funfurs you buy at most fabric stores.
I hope this helps!
I'm so confused that I'm not sure I understand what shill bidding is, anymore . . .
Debbie, it's good to hear a collector's point of view on all this. Most of the regular posters here are very nice people, wouldn't harm a fly types, but we do tend to get worked up from time to time. And personal. I blush :redface: to think of some of the things I've shared with the world, but usually rescued by a memory so bad that I can't remember what they were.
On copying, I think Debbie's right--collectors probably know as much or more about the market than we do, and they'll drive the copiers out. I still don't understand why eBay cannot find a way to catch copiers of text and photos. If there isn't a program that alerts them to such duplication of auctions, there should be.
I haven't had the honor of being copied myself, but I have benefited enormously from the tips and techniques, not to mention the support and the beautiful work displayed here on TT. If anyone felt I was copying her/his work, I would want to hear about it.
But when I design a rabbit or a mouse or a penguin or a bear, I don't really look at anyone else's work.st I've got a gazillion photos of the real beasties stored in my picture files, and I work from those.
The only time I really tried to duplicate another's work was during Paula's traditional bear challenge, when I downloaded as many pictures of early Steiffs as I could find. Richard Steiff wouldn't have lost any sleep over my traditional bear, but I certainly did!
Great info, Nancy--I've been proudly including my business name in my address. Before I did, my incoming packages were unopened. Time to rethink that one :doh:
Shane--you're joking, right? I thought we only had to charge GST/PST for domestic sales and shows!!
The only problem I've had sending from Canada to the US or abroad has been the slow delivery. I always track the moose, and find that it lingers at the sorting facility in Etobicoke (you don't want to know) for days and days and days, poor thing. But my outgoing packages do eventually reach the collectors unmangled. The only one opened (not by Canada Post) was a mouse that went to a collector in Sweden.
It's my incoming packages from anywhere else that get opened. They're mostly fur and other supplies, with business names in the return addresses and values over $40, so I guess it figures.
But I reserve the right to hate it. 
:redface: Apologies, all . . . CanadaPost is the laziest, wonkiest, screwist, wimpiest, greediest postal service on the planet.
If there's any way (any way) to sponge a few extra bucks off the mailing public, they'll find it.
Everybody goes home on Friday afternoon--no weekend activity. Nothing whatever between about 3:00 Friday and 11:00 Monday. Pickup from your mailbox? Ha ha ha ha ha.
It's not a service, it's a cash cow (sorry cows) for whatever reigning government. You pay duty on gifts, even if a package is clearly marked as such, because CanadaPost assumes that mail recipients are just as crooked as it is, and rarely delivers anything without charging taxes (15%) plus $5 for the trouble it takes to suck up your money. They assume that everybody cheats, so they ignore their own exemptions. Most packages I receive from the US and the UK have been opened.
The delivery people are always apologizing, but there's nothing they or anyone can do. The people in charge are always the dudes who failed at mailsorting. Couldn't handle the alphabet, or count past 10 because they ran out of fingers . . .
I'm beginning to think it would be worth taking the train to Buffalo to mail my critters. I have to watch their progress hawkwise to make sure they arrive at all. Once they're across the border, there's no problem.
Don't get me started . . .
Ditto to what Tammy said!
When we use CanadaPost online, we get a 5% discount, pay online via a credit card, and print our own shipping labels. I've got CanadaPost's postage calculator linked to each available critter on my website. So long as I've pre-entered the weight and dimensions of the package, customers can choose their own shipping method based on price and their address, and they just add that amount to the Paypal invoice.
I agree, Tammy--I wish we got free boxes & packing stuff too!!
cut your patches on the diagonal, not with the straight of the fabric's grain.
This is a great tip, Bobbie!
Eliza, if you want the black/white seamed area to look more natural, you can turn the seam allowances upward, or away from the direction of the fur's nap . This way, the fur appears to blend more naturally.
Jane, I don't have one, but I'm glad you asked, because I've never quite understood whether 'puffy cheeks' means puffy muzzle or puffy under the eye area (where my cheeks used to be).
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
Another good reason to stick with my all-chocolate no-flour recipe!!
Yikes, Dorothy, what a TRIP
Way to go, Dana!!
These are lovely bears--I wish my first attempts had looked so good!
You've got your Mom's talent 
:dance: Awesome, Daphne--I can't wait to see the movie!! :dance:
I agree--they should have credited you.
But you know for sure that WE DO!! :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Yuck. Absolutely wrong.
Naive mistakes are inevitable from time to time, but the intention to defraud is different, and all too common. It should definitely get the Penny-Punishment.
I can't remember exactly who said what, but after reading all your very thoughtful posts, I'm convinced that it will be up to Bear Artists to protect their own market on eBay. If eBay has nothing to lose by tolerating a certain amount of fraud, intentionally or not, we certainly do.
It doesn't surprise me at all that some artists whose work is in high demand can start bidding at 99 cents, with no reserve, and be almost certain of selling at high prices. The demand is already there, and the competitive excitement of the auction format only increases the demand. Nothing wrong with that. More power to them!
People like to compete and win--didn't a plain old Walmart bag sell for thousands recently? The seller created a high demand just by insisting that the thing was really, truly, nothing but an empty Walmart bag. I'd guess that buyers kept bidding just to see how high the price would go . . . you've got to feel sorry for the poor schmuck who got stuck with the winning bid!
It's awful to think that Bear Artists would stoop to shill bidding to create an artificial demand for their work. Maybe if we sellers were less reluctant to set reserves, the practice wouldn't be so common.
I think most bear collectors are smart enough to understand that beginners and lesser knowns can't afford to take the 99-cents-with-no-reserve risk. I don't think it would hurt to indicate this somewhere in an auction listing, in case some collectors haven't yet considered the issue in this light. Maybe some wouldn't want to take the chance on a newcomer, but if the reserve is reasonable, and the right collector sees the auction, the critter will probably sell. If not, you've paid your fees and taken your chances, and better luck next time.
In our category, eBay should not be primarily for bargain-hunters. For buyers, it's an opportunity to see a wide range of creations, and for sellers it's an opportunity to get their creations seen.
Moi? 62 and having the time of my life. :dance:
I've never felt better. Looked better, maybe, but . . . 
As somebody said, age is mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Hey, Brenda! I have been off for a while, tutoring too many students and learning to say 'no' to new ones.
Apparently the display can stand up to 3 feet high. Is that right?
Anyone coming to the Toronto TBOV in November is more than welcome to stay at my house. I no longer have a car, so I was planning to take a taxi to the show.
I just filled out the application online, provided my website so the organizers could approve my work, and I was IN!!
I'm so thrilled that there will be some TTers there . . . I was about to add the 'dance' icon, but it's disappeared.
Ooooh, great topic, Andrea!
I've just signed up for my first show . . . TBOV in Toronto, November 18th.
I'm already hyperventilating at the thought of coming up with a display, not to mention the necessary number of bears!
