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Text of the page (random words):
new avenue crew musings from the studio of debora hoffmann bear maker home about me new avenue crew musings from the studio of debora hoffmann bear maker feeds posts comments we ve moved may 8 2010 by debora hoffmann today is moving day new avenue crew is moving to its new blog home at http newavenuecrew blogspot com follow me posted in blog chat tagged blog chat leave a comment sprucing up the place may 4 2010 by debora hoffmann new avenue crew s new home was entirely too bare so i set to work whew not finished yet posted in blog chat tagged blog chat inspiration 2 comments on looking old and loved may 2 2010 by debora hoffmann aging doesn t come naturally to me i am hesitant i am far from brave a dash of color here a trim there some sandpaper dear readers please don t be alarmed i am talking about aging the little bear who s pictured two posts down having a quiet conversation with another bear in progress when i m facing a little bear with scissors some form of stain and fine grain sandpaper it sometimes seems that i should apologize to the little soul before i begin during the process and even afterward and not being the brave sort i hesitate to go too far because gulp the fur doesn t grow back last night before bed my daughter entered the room where i was working on aging the little bear she said oh he s cute and asked to hold him when she saw him up close she exclaimed he looks old i just smiled and told her that s what i was aiming for i only hope i can get the loved part in there too posted in blog chat tagged bear in progress blog chat 2 comments making the move may 1 2010 by debora hoffmann now it s nothing to worry about really i ve been thinking about doing this for quite some time now complexity is not something i need in my daily life unless i m working on a new design or something else i don t mind wrapping my head around and i do like design what might this be you say i have decided to make the move to blogger yes the new avenue crew blog will be moving to http newavenuecrew blogspot com sometime soon i have some things to work out like the aforementioned design and theme but i am excited about the possibilities i have found blogger much easier to work with and there are design themes available from third parties that are relatively easy to implement without cost wordpress charges a fee for customization but i don t even know how to work with css and so dear reader please be watching this space for my official moving announcement you can even go visit our new home right now but remember that the walls are bear er bare posted in blog chat tagged blog chat leave a comment quiet conversations april 28 2010 by debora hoffmann for the past few weeks i have had my bears in progress sitting on my bed two of them always seem to end up in what looks like a conspiratorial pose or one in which they are having a long chat or are looking lovingly into each others eyes i always smile when i see them i thought i would share a snapshot of them with you even though they are not finished a sneak peek at my sweet little chums in progress and tell you what i think they might be discussing goodness when do you think she will finally finish us i don t know but it s been years in my case mine too did you know that she is a proofreader during the day and she s a wife and mother and she works on us in between everything else oh what s a proofreader she makes sure that the written word sounds good looks good that kind of thing but why has it taken her so many years to make us she and her husband adopted their two teenage daughters last year that took a long time i m sure it did but you know i m really very glad she has come out of her bear making hibernation so we can be loved and adopted one day too me too by the way though it has taken a few years for her to make you she is going to age you some more your fur is what they call vintage upholstery mohair and she has already given you some worn spots on your ear forehead and muzzle her mom collected antique dolls for many years and so she became a fan of antique teddy bears she has made one other aged bear he looked well loved and that s what she wants for you oh it must be a good thing to be loved i think it must be posted in blog chat crew members tagged bear in progress blog chat quiet conversations leave a comment bears still in the works april 24 2010 by debora hoffmann herr grünhosen the fur has been flying here in the new avenue crew studio the four very patient bears i have in the works are finally seeing quite a bit of progress i would even venture to say that they re excited that they all might be finished soon the last two days i ve been sewing feet jointing limbs to bodies trimming and shading a face stuffing a foot and removing a head from a body cutting the body apart redesigning said body s pattern like i said the fur s been flying around here why did i part a head from its body well many years ago in a fit of creative energy i modified one of my head patterns and drew up a body to go with it i cut the pieces out of a lovely curly batik mohair and sewed them up then worked on the bear s head i was on a roll i wanted this to be a bigger bear but well i got a little carried away with the size of the body this poor bear patient soul has been waiting for me to rework his body these many years so yesterday said parting of head and body occurred today i hope to finish redesigning the body do some arms and legs to go with it cut them out and sew them up and joint this sweet bear of course the other three bears may call to me during this time and i may get sidetracked and work on one of them things like this have been known to happen here in the studio posted in blog chat crew members tagged bear in progress blog chat 4 comments wordless wednesday april 14 2010 by debora hoffmann posted in crew members tagged wordless wednesday leave a comment fun fur fact friday april 9 2010 by debora hoffmann welcome to fun fur fact friday our first installment in the fun fur fact files is about collecting and caring for these precious friends we call teddy bears when you are bitten by the bear bug there is only one remedy adopt a teddy bear as you hunt for that perfect new companion keep the following tips in mind buying bears buy what you like emmett avoid buying for investment unless it s a confirmed antique and you can have it appraised or a bear by a well known artist look at the quality of construction the stitches should be neat tidy and nearly invisible all the bear s joints should turn with the same ease there should not be lots of fur trapped in the seams the eyes should be firmly attached and evenly set the ears should also be evenly attached the nose stitches should be pulled with the same tension so there are no bumps or loops any added color should not rub off on your hands be sure the bear doesn t reek of smoke or moth balls where to find them shows teddy bear shows are a great way to find that special teddy and connect with like minded bear people some collectors like to know the artist behind the bear some won t buy the bear if they don t like the artist stores artist bears some stores hold artist signing events artist designed manufactured bears manufactured bears internet teddy bear artists web sites and blogs teddy bear forums ebay etsy magazines books antique stores you may be able to find old and new bears at antique stores beware of new bears that are made to look old and are being sold at a premium price garage sales and estate sales care and feeding keep teddy bears out of direct sunlight their fur may fade particularly if it has red tones periodically check your bears for carpet beetle larvae they will eat your bears and they especially like red felt keep bears off the floor if possible fluff and move your bears around every now and then periodic dusting is important perhaps use a vacuum nozzle covered with a pantyhose leg surface clean only never throw a teddy bear into a washing machine or dryer use only suds on the fur not the backing and dab with clean water to remove towel off with a clean cloth old bears and manufactured bears such as steiff are more desirable if their tags are intact try to keep all original ribbons clothes tags and so on that come with any bear you purchase old or new hugs are great for a bear s well being not to mention a person s be sure to keep a close eye on your teddy bears when they re around honey or scones with jam posted in blog chat crew members tagged fun fur fact friday 2 comments wordless wednesday april 7 2010 by debora hoffmann posted in crew members tagged wordless wednesday leave a comment teddy bear tidbit tuesday march 30 2010 by debora hoffmann welcome to teddy bear tidbit tuesday wherein i share with you a tidbit from teddy bear lore many of you may be wondering about teddy s origins haven t we always had teddy bears with us in 1902 the first teddy bears were created in both germany and the united states according to tradition the teddy bear got its start in america when the political cartoon below was published telling the story of president theodore roosevelt s refusal to shoot a tied bear cub drawing the line in mississippi by clifford berryman and in germany richard steiff nephew of the founder of the toy firm steiff is credited with creating the first teddy bear he studied bears in the zoo and based his creation on their characteristics see the picture below of an early steiff bear early steiff teddy bear circa 1904 because this article tells the story much more eloquently than i can and because this is tidbit tuesday i will point you to the teddy bear and friends magazine archive http www teddybearandfriends com archive articles history html in the more than 100 years since the first teddy bears were created they have become our companions our confidants our comforts have you hugged your teddy today posted in blog chat teddy bear sites tagged teddy bear tidbit tuesday leave a comment older posts welcome to new avenue crew s blog where i debora hoffmann share with you the goings on here in the crew studio my thoughts my ideas my creations it s all here for you to enjoy so grab a cup of tea with a smidgeon of honey and feel free to mosey around my musings ha lee adopted contact the crew you can contact me at the new avenue crew studio anytime by sending me an e mail or leaving a comment on the blog i d love to hear from you if you would like to receive an e mail from me when new crew members are available let me know i ll be happy to add you to the mailing list herr grünhosen adopted geneva adopted subscribe to new avenue crew s blog you can subscribe to the new avenue crew blog and receive notifications of new posts just enter your e mail address email address sign me up join 2 other subscribers longfellow and levi both adopted oolong adopted new avenue crew blog pages about me william the cub and chocoli both adopted james adopted proud to be a member of the guild of master bearcrafters bailey adopted two little bears in progress bear in progress blog chat fun fur fact friday inspiration juniper names quiet conversations stuffing summer teddy bear tidbit tuesday wordless wednesday gunnison adopted archives archives select month may 2010 april 2010 march 2010 july 2008 june 2008 may 2008 april 2008 november 2006 categories blog chat crew members teddy bear sites bear artists blogs acid attic bears anna duditskaya baggaley bears bear bits bear treasures bearing all bears just b claws beckoning bears bingle bears brady bears studio bumpkin bears cupboard bears desertmountainbear dog patch critters donna and the bears draffin bears duffyantiques ellen borggreve design flutter by bears and friends gotta share this heidiland inside my studio jrb creations land of nod studios lost bears louise peers miniatures love bears all things mary george bears mary myrtle miniatures maryann wills masha i medvedi new avenue crew q d patooties s reetz bears seraphim bears swan valley bears the silly bear the spotted hare three o clock thoughts tiny bear wee scone bears weinbaeren whendi s bears teddy bear sites teddy talk bear artists worldwide bears and buds edinburgh imports intercal teddy bear friends teddy bear review the guild of master bearcrafters blog at wordpress com wpthemes new avenue crew blog at wordpress com subscribe subscribed new avenue crew sign me up already have a wordpress com account log in now privacy new avenue crew subscribe subscribed sign up log in report this content view site in reader manage subscriptions collapse this bar loading comments write a comment email required name required website design a site like this with wordpress com get started