Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

happiness is hanging out with all my new friends here on teddytalk
happiness is finding time to enjoy the smaller things in life
happiness is family
happiness is not somthing that can be mesured by what you have
happiness is ......

NEXT

i was just reading about a terrible storm in europe on the news, is everyone allright? sure hope so.

sending prayers to all,
natasha

i agree with everyone else.....the bears are amazing,just ask my husband...lol everytime i see one i like,(which is every one)i sing out "come see this isnt it cute,oh ilove it ,can i buy it?"he says "yes it is cute, no you cant buy it ,you cant afford it " glad i have him there for that otherwise id die of starvation buying every bear i see....lol(we have the same conversation at petshops too ).one day tho ,one day............... so congrats to all the fantastic artists and welcome to all the new bears

oh i will...never fear  its been my intention all along to pass on to others the kindness and generosity of spirit that ive been fortunate to recieve via all you wonderful, giving teddy talkers!

oh he is beautiful ,why oh why didnt i make him and how can you bear to part with him,in fact how does anybody manage to part with their gorgeus creations,i dont think i could bring myseff to do it,i spose id better learn before ive made too many otherwise ill end up wiyhout room in the house!

congrats :clap: very well done

Kim Basta - Right there with you :hug:  :hug:  :hug:
i am loving this post ,for me its not about the material(altho thats real nice too )but all the wonderful people im getting to know here today
unfortunatly the down side to that is that the poor dears have to get to know me too :crackup: i pity them,i really do
nah really this has been just fantastic we are keeping the spirit of friendship alive and kicking on teddytalk,yah to us,woohoo,congrats
anyone wants to talk/message/email me feel free to as i cant bite from this distance(well ive never accually tried.....hmm....)

shes about 8cm from head to beary bum

i certainly plan to do just that(i dont think i could accept all this kindness towards me if i didnt hope to find a way to "pay it forward"(did you watch that movie too)

i ran out of the material but plan to get more next time im in town
bye for now

not nearly as much as me today(honestly somtimes i cant even believe myself)by the way whoever wrote that we need a butt kicking smilie was extreamly wise and very much right ,anyone know where i can locate one ?

just underneath the post next to report edit and qoute is the delete button, i think

did it compleatly annoy you to not be able to delete ??
im always getting annoyed at the super market cause i cant find thing then sales person come along and finds it in 2 seconds,,drat them :twisted:

im not sure if its the right one tho could be another out there

touching on the the issue of no show swaps would it work to have everyones bears sent to the organisers address and when each pair is ready be sent out from there?? if theres a no show then the artist would get their own bear back
i realise that there is a postage issue with this idea but it popped into my head and i thought id just put it out there

also with the skill level catorgory thing, if the individual artist were honest i think it could work.im a new bear maker and while i would love to participate in a swap, theres no way i would yet as i am nowhere near the same level as ,well quite frankly..most everyone here and i also only use cheap materials as thats all i can afford.when i suggested skill levels in swaps i didnt mean really well defined,nitpicky levels based on how much the artists work is worth or how long u have been making bears but only really basic parameters,if your bears look about as good as mine maybe we can swap,sort of stuff(i wouldnt dare swap my bear(worth about $2 and looking even worse ha ha - with an experienced bear artist whose work sells for $$$$$.i know im not explaining this very well (i know what i mean).

also maybe a clear outline and set of instructions wouldnt go astray either(especially for new members(and for people like me who still,even with all this going on around them cant quite wrap my fuzzy little brain around how to participate succsessfully in a swap,)
i did ask a few questions about rules and if i could still join in even tho im a begginer but either missed the answer or never got one - if there was a permanent post with some info about swaps people could see what was expected to join in(i wonder how many of the missing bears were from people who got into a swap not knowing what was expected and/or without the experiance in bear making to feel confident in their work when looking at everyone elses bears involved and just sorta chickened out)

now if im off base (and i wouldnt be surprised )just disregard said above and never listen to me again(hmm maybe thats why noone talks to me anymore, i give them permission :crackup: )just kidding!

seriously tho maybe the best idea is the participate at your own risk that i read someone else say, and about the skill levels,maybe us beginers can just organise a come as they are swap whenever we feel the need

my two cents worth has turned into 2 dollers worth today - interest at work

ps.i believe i heard someone write that swaps were fun,not hard work and heaps of typing!

Thank You All

im not sure i deserve it but it seems ive got some great people around me. the best bit of all this is the overwhelming feeling of generosity and sharing and community all of this invokes and the new people(dare i say ..friends)that im meeting thru this.the world has tended to be a lonley and scary place for people in modern times but because of a few nice people here ive come to realise that there may be hope for us all yet,if only everyone made teddy bears! you all really are an amazing bunch of people here on teddy talk .i commend you all for your generous nature and hope to continue to get to know you all better

my goodness theres hope for the world yet
your kindness has litrally bought tears to my eyes
such generosity,i feel humbled, i really do
you dont even know me!
id feel bad tho taking other peoples stuff with nothing in return
id love to take you up on your offer but is there somthing i can do in return??
id be happy to trade somthing or maybe i could make a pattern and post it for everyone to use?
anyone have any suggestions?

i like making mini bears by the way but im better at big bears so far(such little stitches for such an impatient person )

if i can think of a way to somehow pass on the sharing and generosity to others that id recieve ill take you up on that offer(so,so,kind - i cant get over it in a world that is usually me me me gve give give etc. )i love this forum  

oh thank you so much for giving your opinion and advice(and taking the time to not only read the post but look at the site as well,your officially on my list of people for a perfect world!!)

just a quick question(this time) is there any websites that i can order off without a credit card as i dont have one and noone'scrazy enough to give me one :crackup: (im in australia so money orders are prob out too for international sites)

to be honest there..thats my 2nd quilt in that style and my 3rd alltogether and it looks better from a distance(as in the photo) than it does close up - havnt quite got the hang of sewing straight yet you should see the one i made with squares(disaster) :crackup:

hi since ive started making teddies ive been using really cheap(and i mean CHEAP..lol)fabric as its about all i can afford at the moment(3 wee mouths to feed,and one big husband size one!!!   :crackup: ) but since ive started designing my own patterns i have so many ideas swirling through my head about the kind of bears i want to create but none of them turn out how id like .Now, i know most of it is just that i need more practice(do i ever!)but i cant help feeling that some of the problem could be the quaility of the materials ive been using(can this be true...or just wishful thinking?).
Ps.ive looked at mohair prices and nearly dropped dead on the spot
So......does any one have any idea on cheaper fabrics that preform well or any tips on how to make a nice looking bear with any material?
Is it worth while buying a small piece of mohair just to see if it makes a differance?
Or could it be that its just me,maybe i need to approach things a differant way....

If anyone can spare a few mins to take a quick peek at the bears ive designed so far and  give your opinion on the designs(just to see if im on the right track)
(i promise i WILL NOT be offended by an honest answer,even a brutelly honest one)
i have a web site thingy with a gallery of bears @www.freewebs.com/almostbears

please your honesty in this case really is the best policy and very much appreciated as i respect all your opinions and im sorta hoping that one(or some) of you wonderful people here have been at a similar stage while trying to find your way as a bear creator,and that i can find my way there too,not for the fame or money but for the pride of knowing your doing something the best you can while learning new things everyday
(i have to admit in the spirt of honesty tho, to having a dream of making a bear that is sooooooo amazing that everyone that sees it is rendered speechless and cant believe i made it myself!! :crackup: )bet im not the only one

wow thats a huge post   but to sum it up...i guess im in a bit of a rut at the moment and wondering where to go from here?

to perservere or not to perservere ... that is the question

ps. to the people that take the time to even read to the end of this post - thank you, your the kind of poeple the world should be full of!

Best Wishes to you
   way to go after what you want i admire that
and im sure youll do just fine

hi i was wondering how gollys came about and what their history is......ive looked at dilus gollys and i am in love
how long have they been being made?
can anyone recomend some good sites?
what are the cultural aspects of their history?

etc etc etc......lol

thanks

thanks for that and can i say your polar bears are incredible,unbelievable,amazing,fantastic......etc(you get the picture?)in other words i love them!!

i know im being an ignoramus but what does ooak stand for??(dont laugh too hard at me )

ive been working on it again tonight  so heres an update

its done using paintshop pro my husband does the computer side for me so im not real sure on the details,somthing to do with posterising it

i find this sort of quilt easier than "proper"quilts cause i cant sew straight i made one quilt with squares and such but its a bit of a disaster
im happy you all like it as i thought it was pretty cool too thats why i had to share it even tho its not a teddy bear(it sure surprised me when it looked allright :crackup: )

yep thats my youngest boy  bailey(cute aint he )

i must say that i love your bears n tigers everytime i look at them i just have to shake my head and mutter "amazing"!!

hi  i finally started work on a quilt that id had cut out for yonks

its turning out quite better than i expected(considering its only my 2nd one)i had to share i just couldnt help myself

pics not real good but its night here so ....

i tried the captain underpants one and just had to share it

Tootie Wafflepants :crackup:

i think it suits me

i spose its the hair that makes him seem gollyish

thanks for taking the time to look at and reply to my post

ps ill let youse in on a little secret.....as im not real patient at turning smallish arms and legs i cheated and just stuffed the clothes
but oh well thats just me im afraid - lol

Tami E -just curious but ive noticed that your panda and a lot of peoples bears are photographed outside just sitting on the ground and even in trees,arent you worried about them getting dirty??after all a lot of work goes into making them...or is there a trade secret afoot that i dont know about to keep them squeeky clean?cause if i ever made bears as cute as that panda id be too scared to send them out to play!

after my last post i did look in ther library but just like at the supermarket i couldnt find what i was after   if anyone happens to know what section the topic would be under............

i had a look around while i was there and had myself quite a bit of fun in the library!!!