How to paint glass eyes

This is a very good tutorial to add some wonderful sparkling colours to some boring clear glass eyes for your teddy bear... :)

The materials you will need are:

• A pair of clear glass eyes of your choice
• Glittery or shimmer nail polish in the colour of your choice (I've used blue shimmer)
• Gold or silver acrylic paint (I've used gold)
• Black acrylic paint
• Some 'Blue Tack' or some plasticine (to hold the eyes to the surface you'll be working on)
• A fine liner brush and a flat brush

 

Use a small amount of Blue Tack to hold each eye to the bench or work surface

 

With the help of a liner brush, paint fine lines with gold paint on the back of the eyes. Let it dry completely.

 

Now paint the entire back of the eye with the nail polish of your choice (blue in my case). Let it dry.

 

Apply a second coat of nail polish to give the eyes good coverage and bring out the colour of the eyes. Let it dry thoroughly.

 

With a flat brush and black acrylic paint, paint the back of the eyes. Let the paint dry.

 

To protect the work you've done, paint the back of the eyes with clear nail polish and let it dry.

 

And voila!

You can paint clear glass eyes with any colour nail polish you wish, but you can also substitute the colour nail polish by painting the eyes with some white PVA glue, letting it dry and then brush some iridescent eye shadow powder over the dry PVA. Then protect the colour with some clear nail polish.

 

Keyohi's Cookie bag and cookies

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I posted anything here, but I'm back and ready to show you how to create some wonderful accessories for your bears!

This is a bag to carry cookies, but it can simply be change to carry anything you'd like to put in it... potpourri, flowers, toys, wrapped gifts, etc.



Materials needed:

• 20cm x 10cm of felt or windcheater fabric
• A small scrap of calico or cotton fabric (for the sign)
• Thread to match fabric
• No 5 black or brown perle cotton
• 2 small wooden beads
• Polyester stuffing
• Dark colour Copic marker and airbrushing kit (optional)
• Cream and chocolate colour Fimo or Sculpey modelling clay
• Multi-coloured micro beads (can be found in scrapbooking or nails stores)
• Sharp knife
• Old toothbrush
• Rolling pin or something round to roll out the clay with
• An oven to cook the clay in

First cut the fabric chosen for the bag and place it on a plastic bag or newspaper which you can discard latter (this is to protect the area you're working on)

 

Airbrush one of the longer sides of the fabric. This will be the top of the bag (this step is optional). Set aside.

 

 

Cut a piece of calico or cotton fabric in a rectangular shape and pull some threads all around to fray the fabric. Pin corners onto a cork tile or something that will make the fabric steady. Write the word 'COOKIES' or 'TOYS' or anything you would like the bag to carry, with a permanent marking en or the fine tip of a Copic marker pen. 

 

 

Place the cotton sign as shown on the photo below, and with needle and thread, run a running stitch around the sign to hold it to the bag fabric

 

 

With wrong sides of the fabric facing, sew bag sides from top to bottom

 

 

Still with wrong sides of the fabric facing, move the seam you've just made to the middle back of the bag and sew bottom of the bag from side to side.

 

 

Run a running stitch at the top of the bag with needle and perle cotton thread, meeting at the front of the bag.

 

 

Add a wooden bead at each end of the perle cotton thread and make a couple of knots so the beads don't slide off. Fray the perle cotton thread's ends.

Your bag is now finished... :)

 

Now for the Cookies!!!

Start with a small piece of chocolate colour modelling clay. Knead it till soft and roll it into a ball.

 

 

Flatten it with the help of a rolling pin or something like it till the clay is about 2mm thin.

 

 

Cut as shown below with a sharp knife or blade... there is no specific shape to follow as long as he pieces are somehow thin strips.

 

 

Then cut the strips into smaller pieces (this will be the chocolate bits on your cookies). Set aside.

 

 

Start kneading a larger piece of cream or ochre colour clay till soft. 

 

 

Roll it in a sausage shape and cut into 4 or 5 similar size pieces.

 

 

Roll them into a ball and flatten them slightly

 

Then with an old toothbrush make indentations on the top of each cookie

 

Add the chocolate pieces you've cut before onto 3 of the cookies with the help of a toothpick or tweezers

 

Press them slightly but not too much as you want them to have a three dimensional look

 

The other 2 cookies can be covered with some micro beads (simulating the 'hundred & thousand' topping)

 

Bake cookies in a oven for about 20 to 25 minutes following the recommended temperature on the clay's packet.

 

Place some polyester stuffing inside the bag and then add some of the cookies on top. The rest of the cookies can be place outside the bag showing what an overflow of cookies Keyohi has... :)

How to string join the limbs of a bear

If you ever wondered how to string join the limbs of your small bear... here's how.



Once you have your teddy cut, sewn and stuffed, and of course, you have also joined the head to the body with a couple of discs and cotter pin(s); you can start joining the limbs to the body.

To do this you’ll need a fairly long piece of upholstery thread, a doll needle (long enough to go from one side to the other of the body), and a few pins to mark where the limbs will be attached to the body.

With double upholstery thread on your needle and a nice knot, insert needle at the side of the body where one of the legs will be sewn to. Make a knot to secure the thread.

Then insert the needle from one side to the other of the pin of the leg. About  a 0.5cm – 1/8” stitch.

Insert the needle and thread back into the body (where you’ve started)

And through the body coming out where the other pin is (that’s where the other leg will be attached).

Pull thread tight and make a couple of knots to secure.

Make a stitch with the needle from one side to the other of the pin of the leg (like you did with the first leg)

Insert the needle and thread back into the body, coming out across the other side of the body, where the opposite arm will be attached (my index is pointing where the needle should come out).

Pull thread tight and make a couple of knots to secure.

Make a stitch with the needle from one side to the other of the pin of the arm (like you did with the legs)

 

Insert the needle and thread back where the knot is, and through the body coming out where the other pin is (that’s where the other arm will be attached).

Pull thread tight and make a couple of knots to secure.

Make a stitch with the needle from one side to the other of the pin of the arm (like you did with the first arm)

Insert the needle and thread back into the body coming out at the back seam of the body.

Pull thread tight and finish off with a couple of knots. Cut excess thread off… and you’re done!

Your little bear is now ready to give you a hug or wait to be dressed…!