Photoshop

I have just started an online Photoshop class at Dollstreet. I have taken a class on Photoshop before, but it was an intense two day class and we learned so much in such a short time that it really didn't stick with me. I have also played around with Photoshop on my own a little, and was very pleased to come up with the temporary opening page for my website's new location and my banner ad for 100 Best Bear Artist Blogs. But somehow the information still is not filed in my memory. (Which is why my temporary opening page is still there!) Each time I try to do something again, I find myself staring at the screen thinking, how did I do that?

So, I am trying again.

In the first part of the class we explored the Photoshop environment and played with some filters. I had done this before, but it is always kind of fun, although not particularly useful for my business needs at the moment.

Here is a favorite photo of my favorite bear and doll, Figaro and His Puppet.


Here is the same photo skrinkwrapped!!! Actually the filter is called "plastic wrap", and I found the effect quite amusing! If you click on the picture to view it larger, you will see that they do indeed look like they are covered tightly in plastic wrap and pressed to a cardboard backing!


Here is one I rather liked called "poster edges".I particularly liked the way the lines accentuated the swirly texture of Figaro's fur and makes his puppet look antiqued. You may need to enlarge it to see what I mean.


Finally, I used a photograph of my Little Floppies and the filter called "rough pastels" to create these images. I love the texture of these in their large format. As smaller images they just look a little blurry, but larger, they really do look like "rough pastels".





There is a lot more to do, and by the end of the class I should have designed a new business card. I hope it will "stick" this time!

A Bear for Brendan

It's always exciting to get a package with new fur in it-and even more so, I have found recently, when the package comes with free mohair! Intercal, one of the main suppliers where I purchase the special fabrics for my bears, has had coupons on their site forever, and periodically they offer "double coupons". But for some reason, it is only in the last year that I have even taken note of them. I usually know what I need and "get in, get it, and get out". I'm sure if it was a physical store where I could go and see and touch all that delicious fur, I would not be so focused a shopper. It is a website though so it's not as easy to just browse.

When I opened my package and found these two lovely pieces of mohair were my "feebies" I was thrilled.



My son Brendan was impressed too. "Can I have them since they were free?" he asked. (He made a lovely bear last year and has been wanting to make another.)

"No, I need to make bears for my show," I replied.

"Well can you at least make me a bear with them?"

"Maybe," I told him. Then I asked, "Do you mean two bears, or one bear with both furs?"

"One with both," he said, and then he proceeded to describe a bear with mostly the orange, with a golden tummy and snout. Brendan has always been one of the greatest fans of my Teddy Bears. He loves them all and very often asks when he sadly watches me pack and ship the bears off to their new homes, "Will you make one like that for me someday?" My reply is usually the same. Maybe. In reality, I have made Brendan only one bear--the one I made for him when he was a newborn. But I don't say maybe to tease him. I really do want to make bears for him, but there are always shows and orders on the horizon, now is no different, and well...it never seems to happen.

"Yes, I'll make your bear," I suddenly decided. "I can design a new pattern for my show, and I can give you the prototype." I felt like this was a great idea. A prototype is not something I usually do, but this way I would not really have to stop working on show bears...the design would be for the show! Brendan liked the idea too, and he loves his little bear! He is naming him Peanut.



I think I'd have called him Marmalade because of his coloring, but Brendan has his reasons for the name he picked as well.




Next up, more big polar bears and something small and pink! Keep watching!

A Spot of Bears

After a very long dry spell, here's a little Teddy shower! School is out and I can redirect my creative energies from teaching art to making art! Here is the result!

First up is my second installment in the "Theodore Loves His Teddy" series which is exclusively available at Teddies of Mt. Holly in New Jersey. The bear is a 23" black bear cub made from extra dense alpaca, with his hand sculpted Teddy doll. I'm calling this one "Clifford Loves His Teddy" after Clifford Berryman the cartoonist who began the association between Teddy Roosevelt and the bear with his drawings. I'm rather fond of this guy so I took a few pictures...











Next, continuing with the theme of the dear Teddy Bear's namesake, but on a subsantially smaller scale is Li'l TR. I have been wanting to create a new small bear design for a little while so he was really fun. He was made as a gift.



The third bear I have to share is Jade. She is also an exclusive design (in this size) for Teddies of Mt. Holly.




And finally, here's Pippen! He's a large and lovely (if you don't mind my saying) summertime polar bear who's sporting a nautical style collar recalling seaside holidays. This bear is exclusively available from My Friends and Me in Leesburg. VA





I do hope to have some new bears available from my website soon, but if you'd like to get your paws on one of my first four bears of 2009, please contact these lovely shops!
Teddies of Mt. Holly
My Friends and Me

Awards??!!! Thank You!!!

Thank you so much to all of you who read and enjoy my blog and my bears even when I have been away from Teddy Bear making, and blogging. I came to my blog to finally post some new work, and found that three of my Teddy Bear making/loving peers have chosen me for blog awards. Vicki, of Baggaley Bears and Donna, of Donna and the Bears chose my blog chose my blog as the recipient of this award



and Jennifer of For the Love of a Teddy Bear chose my blog for the


Please visit Vicki's blog. Vicki makes wonderfully detailed tiny Teddy Bears which are sure to make any heart smile! The intricacy of them fools the eyes into thinking they are much larger bears in the photographs. I have occasionally made tiny bears with varying degrees of success, and I am so impressed with artists who make miniature bears with such lovely expression and craftsmanship!

Please visit Donna's blog. Donna is an award winning Teddy Bear artist who is also a lovely person! I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Donna at the 2005 TOBY Awards ceremony where we were both honored with a TOBY Award--very exciting. I got see her again last year at the Handmade Treasures Holiday Show and Sale in Hunt Valley, MD where I was lucky enough to adopt one of her sweet Teddies. He makes me think of Donna and that makes my heart smile!

Please visit Jennifer's blog . Jennifer's blog is a Lovely Blog indeed full of wonderful photos of the many things she creates and collects. Dolls and Teddy Bears make regular appearances of course as well as beautiful decorative items, sweets, and even her cat Max! (To my cats: Cats make great blog material, don't they Missy and Cinder!)

Next, I am supposed to pass the award along to ten deserving blogs...which I will do as soon as I get my kids fed! More later!

I Wish I Was a Teddy Bear

I came across the lyrics to this song on a forum and thought,"That has got to be the saddest Teddy Bear poem I have ever read!" Then, I noticed it was credited to Waylon Jennings, so, as always, I consulted my friend Google on the matter. I found out that the song, whose title is "The Teddy Bear Song", was written in 1969 by Don Earl and recorded several times by country singers including Barbara Fairchild, and Tanya Tucker as well as Waylon Jennings. Upon hearing the lyrics sung with the musical accompaniment, I was smitten! It is still sad, but very, very sweet. I was inspired to create my own music video for the song using photos of my Teddy Bear creations. I chose to use the Waylon Jennings recording of it because I like it best. I hope you enjoy this, my first ever music video!


You can view the video a little bit bigger in You Tube

I wish I had button eyes and a red felt nose
Shaggy cotton skin and just one set of clothes
Sittin' on a shelf in a local department store
With no dreams to dream and nothin' to be sorry for

I wish I was a teddy bear
Not livin' or lovin' nor goin' nowhere
I wish I was a teddy bear
And I wish that I never had fallen in love with you

I wish I had a wooden heart and a sawdust mind
Then your mem'ry wouldn't come around hurtin' all the time
With a sewed-on smile and a painted twinkle in my eye
And I never would have ever had to learn how to cry

I wish I had a string you could pull to make me say
What you want to hear from me to make you stay
Then I'd know every time I spoke the words were right
And none would know the mess I made of my life

I wish I was a teddy bear
Not livin' or lovin' nor goin' nowhere
I wish I was a teddy bear
And I wish that I never had fallen in love with you

Misha, the Little Bear

Like many Teddy Bear artists, I collect bears as well as making them. The same thing is true about dolls. And the latest edition to my bear collection is actually a doll!

This is Misha, the Little Bear. He is a Fairyland ball-jointed doll. I bought this doll to wear this little costume, which I bought because it reminds me of the one I made for my sons when they were toddlers. (You may see the costume on my nephew in this post.)

I chose black and white for these photos for a change of pace.








I am completely obsessed with these dolls. I really enjoyed painting his little face. I can't wait to finish a sculpt of my own.

Catching up...cleaning up...growing up.

I am slowly catching up with my orders, having several things in progress as usual. A new Teddy Roosevelt set for Teddies of Mt Holly is in progress(the bear and the doll) as are a couple of bunnies!

At the moment my studio is a shambles though! For hubby's 40th birthday we redecorated our basement family room and bought a big screen TV. Guess where we moved all the old furniture and the kids toys and stuff--my studio of course! The furniture is now out, but my floor and tables littered with bins and boxes of the kids things that we haven't decided what to do with yet. Today's project is to get it all put away so I can get back to the fun stuff.

Lastly, I thought I'd post a new picture of my studio cat, Missy, to share how much she has grown up! (and to add some visual interest to this post) She is a year old and we love her so much. Cinder has learned to love her too. He lets her lick his ears and head.


And to give Cinder equal time... here is a picture of him engaged in his favorite pastime-- snuggling with my husband, Sean. AAAAW Cute! If Sean sits down, Cinder is in his lap!



G'night!