Tear Bear Tutorials Instructions and How-To's

How to Make a Shirt for your Tear Bear

2010-07-07T14:12:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick and easy way to make a shirt for your tear bear.

1. Trace your tear bear pattern on the back side of your cardstock or patterned paper. The dotted lines represent where to cut out.

2. Cut the pieces out approximately 1/8" from your tracing to accommodate "fluff" on your teddy..

3. Cut the top part of the arm piece to create short sleeves, or just the lower portion to create long sleeves. Trim the bottom part of the belly to make the shirt. You can add a curve to show off your bear's "belly".

4. Grab your "birthday suit" bear... head detached.

5. Dress your headless bear by laying the clothes on top of him/her.

6. Once you get your bear dressed, glue it all down. For this I usually use Fabri-Tac. Then attach the head.

Attach your critter to a scrapbook page or a card... or just sit back and admire your beary cute teddy.

You can ink, chalk, add embellishments, frill, ribbon, or whatever tickles your fancy to your outfits. You should do this before you attach the clothing to the bear.

♥ Hugs ♥

New releases coming June 1st!

2010-05-27T00:12:00.000-04:00

Many of you have asked, begged and pleaded for a monkey pattern. I honestly lost count of all the emails and requests made on our Facebook fan page. Because I adore you all SOOOOO MUCH, I am pleased to bring to you NEW 2 releases for June 1. Drum roll please...

Miko stands just about 5" when complete. His inner ears are small pieces of Cream pulled from remnant mulberry paper which is easy to do, even for the beginner. I used only 1 layer of our 165gsm Mocha and our standard 150gsm Cream Mulberry Paper to create Miko's example. 2 layers of cream were used on Mikos belly and muzzle. Everything else is only one layer. And, he's got FLUFF! Oh, I LOVE OUR MULBERRY PAPER! I've gotta tell you, I adore this color combination for Miko. I think he wears the color well. Don't you?

5 sets of precut eyes and 5 noses are included with Miko's pattern. Additional pre-cut eyes (small tear drop) and the Miko's newly designed nose will also be available in our store on June 1st. The nose even looks cute on Oliver and our traditional Teddy.

Up next....

Boston's example was created using 1 layer of our Ginger Mulberry Paper, and 2 layers of our Cream Mulberry Paper. I only used 1 layer for the 4 paws. She didn't need anymore than that otherwise she looks a bit unnatural and unproportional. 5 sets of pre-cut small tear drop eyes and 5 pre-cut noses are included with her pattern. Additional eyes and noses may be purchased in our store.

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or send me a direct email.

♥ Hugs ♥

Tear Bear 101 Class Highlight at The Beary Scrap

2010-05-15T22:28:00.001-04:00

Happy Day to all you! Today at the shop we had our Tear Bear 101 Class. What a packed house of fabulous ladies - and talented too I must say. For 99% of them, this was their very first attempt at making a Tear Bear. You'd never know it based on the results of their little critters. They blew me away!

Many of you know that I don't make bears very often. Yes, I actually made a bear today while walking the ladies through the process step by step, trying not to leave anything out. What I love the most is making the patterns and teaching my students everything I've learned over many years of trial and error. I keep no secrets and share with our students anything I can think of to make their creative endeavours in the "tear bear" world easier. Oh, if you had only seen my very first bear - it was horrid!

The ladies gave me permission to post their gorgeous faces and adorable bears to share with you all.

Don't they look focused?

Charlotte is missing from the photo - she was having car problems.

Suzie

(sorry for the blur. Sandy didn't realize my camera take a second to focus)

Pat

Kim B.

Cathy

Kim

Linda

Janet

Colleen's Bear

(Colleen wouldn't let me take her picture - so modest - LOL - luv ya Sweetie!)

And finally, Sandy wouldn't let me get away without taking my photo. I hate having my picture taken too. BTW, I was as tired as I look :)

Me!

So there you have it. A wrap of today's class and our New Tear Bear Artist's. Girls, I will have a certificate for you this next week so that you can proudly display your new talent. For our Out-of-Town travelers, please email me with your address and I will mail it to you.

If any of you have a blog or would l and would like a badge to use on message boards, here you go...

Simply right click and save to your computer. You can resize it if needed. Or, grab the code for a smaller size bar compatible image. Just copy and paste wherever you need it.

Thank you ladies for a delightful day! I hope you all had a delightful afternoon, and learned a little something too.

♥ Hugs ♥

Under Construction

2010-04-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

I will be revamping this blog for easier use... please "bear" with me.

Our Tear Bear Tutorial now has it's own page! More updates to this blog are coming soon.

I hope you are enjoying the new layout.

Thanks a bunch!

Answers to your Questions...

2010-03-18T13:39:00.001-04:00

We've received several questions from our friend over the past few day. Some of these were great questions, so I felt I should post them here for everyone who may be wondering the same thing.

I think I'm fluffing too much!...

I suppose I need to figure out how to make one of those videos, but I'm not that computer savvy - LOL. I'll see what I can do.

If you are getting all the way down to the glue, then yes, you are fluffing too much or brushing too hard. You only want to fluff the edges of your critter, not the inside of the bear. With light strokes, run your silver brush along the edge of the bear part, maybe 3 times... I stress lightly, but not so lightly that you are "bearly" touching your bear (no pun intended *grins*). Using a "comma" (or "C") like stroke I find works best. Use GENTLE strokes... remember, you aren't grooming your pooch. *wink*. If you click any of the images below, you can see the "fluff" in more detail. Adding some chalk really makes the fluff "pop" too.

What is this Nylon Brush for?

The Nylon (black bristle) brush is what I use to groom or clean up my critter. Once the bear is complete, all parts are dried, my final step is to remove any loose fuzz that is stuck to my bear. Of course, this creates another episode of "sneezing" for me - LOL. I also use it for the muzzle of my bear because I don't like alot of "fluff" on it. That is just my personal preference though. I'll also use it to create "circular" fluff on the paws. See image below this post.

How do I position the eyes properly?

Positioning eyes can be tricky sometimes. When I make my bears, I always glue the muzzle in place first. This gives me a good starting point so that I can space everything else out evening.

Once I've attached the muzzle, I then glue on the ears. Keep them low. If you position them too high, your bear may end up looking like a mouse.

Now that the basic part of the head is done, I then glue the nose to the muzzle. I like to position mine higher on the muzzle.

Use the nose as a guide to evenly space out your eyes. You may want to position then first before attaching them permanately to the critter.

I Think I Mixed Up My Patterns?

No problem... just call me. I've done this quite a few times already. I'll walk you through which piece goes with what Beary Sweet Design. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get colored acrylic yet, but we are working on it. In the meantime, what I recommend doing is getting those garage sale stickers, you know the circle sticker you can find at Staples, and dotting each pattern a differnt color. Cutting up some address lables and coloring them in works great too - that's what I do. It's the most I've been able to play with my copic - LOL.

Once you've colored your labels and attached them to your parts, make sure you note, or color, or put a colored sticker on your baggie or packaging insert. I've started etching the first letter of the pattern on the pieces along with it's coordinating label letter. Example, Charlie's head is labeled "C/H". "C" for Charlie, "H" for Head.

I hope I was able to shed some light on your questions. Please feel free to email me with any other questions you may have. I will do my best to get back to you ASAP. Please include in your email you phone number and the best time to call you. I find the phone to be easier for me to get to.. typing takes too long. Besides, I can muti-task when I'm on the phone. Most of all, I love being able to actually talk to our customers!

New shades of Mulberry Paper now Available!

2010-03-18T13:34:00.001-04:00

Hello Friends! We've received some lucious shades of mulberry paper on Tuesday. I was so excited to see the quality and the color of these papers! We have a new shade of Cream that will be replacing the "old stuff". This "cream" is truly soft & creamy, making it so easy to work with! I just had to play with it. Of course I should have been doing other things. Here is my example of a bear I created using the new "Cream" toned paper.

This example is up against our new shade of 165gms Mocha! It's so hard to get the colors right in a photograph. As you can see, the "fluff" is so much nicer. All it took was some LIGHT strokes along the edges with our Fluff Me! Steel Brush. I chalked him up a little with some Creamy Brown Fluid Chalk too.

Next I created a little bear with the new 165gsm Mocha Mulberry Paper. This paper truly needs only one layer to achieve a lot of fluff. You will want to wet this paper before you tear it - LOL. Just take a look...

For this little guy, I used a different technique for fluffing. Remember, he is only made with 1 layer of mulberry paper. To make his fur somewhat curly, after I had him assembled, I took my water barrel brush and lightly dampened the edges. I then took my Beary Creative Tear Bear Tool and "picked" at the fibers along the edge. Finally, I allowed him to dry. That was it. Pretty neat, huh?

As for the color, it is similar to our current Dark Khaki shade, but much lighter. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this shade, but after making a few bears the other night, it's really grown on me. I think it's my new favorite!

I'll try to get some samples of our new 165gsm Ginger Brown loaded in my next post.

Hugs and Smiles

Kimm

"Charlie Chick" Easter Tear Bear Pattern

2010-03-06T01:07:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday Friends! I'm back with the second pattern I promised you. For your creative endevours, I bring to you "Charlie" our sweet chick.

For those of you that know my family, you've probably caught on that the names we have been giving our patterns resemble someone or a pet in our family. Granted, our Tear Bear remains nameless at the moment. Hmm... I think we'll have to poll our audience for that in the near future. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

Anyway, "Oliver" is named after my husband's Springer Spaniel. "Bella" has been named after my sister's Pug (sorry, no bunnies in the family, and Charlie.... well, he was named by my dear hubby.

Charlie will begin shipping on Tuesday, March 9 2009 along with Bella. Pre-orders are now being accepted on our website. Just follow the link HERE.

I'm glad you came by to visit.

Hugs & Smiles,

Bella Bunny Pattern Preview

2010-03-04T11:20:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! I know you have all been waiting for a new mulberry paper pattern. I'm very excited to finally start getting back on track here. We've had so much going on the past few weeks that it's been overwhelming... although the journey has been exciting.

This is "Bella Bunny". Bella was created using our NEW SUPER EXTRA THICK WHTIE MULBERRY PAPER. This new shipment is the BEST white we have ever worked with. I know you are going to love it. It fluffs beautifully, and you have more control over tearing it. You will need to use your "Beary Creative Tear Bear Tool" and a waterflow brush when working with this paper. The results are truly amazing!

Bella is one sweet bunny that can be created with her ears down, or her ears up using the additional parts that are included in this pattern.

Best of all, you can Mix-it-Up with Bella. Add her head to your tear bear pattern and you've got yourself a standing Bunny.

Bella is in production right now and will begin shipping Tuesday, March 9. We will start taking pre-orders for Bella on Friday.

I should have one more pattern ready to reveal tomorrow. Yeah, can you believe it? Two in one month - WOW!

NEW MULBERRY PAPER and Changes ...

We are also pleased to announce we have received restocks on white and grey mulberry paper. We have been working with one of our manufacturers for the last several weeks reviewing samples, testing colors and thicknesses. I told you've I've been busy - LOL. You will start seeing some changes in our color selection, and thickness availability. The quality of the paper is SUPERB, by far the most impressive I have worked with to this date.

We also have a new color in our line up. Remember "MOCHA"? Well it's back and better than ever before. This paper is SUPER Extra Thick. I can even get away with using one layer when making my bears. I'm going to be using this for "Oliver's" tutorial that I lost when my computer crashed.

Hugs & Smiles!

Pre-Order Oliver the Dog!

2010-01-26T00:41:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone! If you live in NEPA, could you believe the weather? It was like spring today. I could live with that every day until summer... even with the rain. It was refreshing!

I've got some exciting news! Oliver the Dog is now available for pre-order! I know, you've all been waiting so patiently for him. *wink*.

Oliver will begin shipping on February 1, 2010. You can pre-order your "Oliver" today. A tutorial will be posted on the blog no later than February 7, 2010, but either way, if you already paper piece, Oliver is pretty simply to put together and the color image on the packaging is a great reference. I'll even tell you how I created the adorable hearts that look flawless on his back paws!

I'll be back tomorrow with a post and cool tutorial from my friend Kim who made the most beautiful Valentines Day cards! You won't want to miss this.

XOXOXO

Reindeer "Tear Bear" Assembly Tutorial

2009-12-04T00:53:00.004-05:00

LIMITED EDITION TEMPLATE!

Hello Friends!

As promised, I was able to get a tutorial together for assembling our new Reindeer Paper Piecing Template. It's been 24 hours since our release! The comments have been overwhelming from all of you. I've received serveral emails from our website on how adorable it is. I'm does my heart good knowing that you are all pleased. {smiles}.

Okay, so here we go.

The first thing I did was traced all of my parts onto the back side of the mulberry paper. I chose Caramel paper for my Reindeer.

*** One thing to remember: decide which way you want your reindeer to face. If you want his head to the left, you will trace the opposite way onto your mulberry paper. I wanted mine facing left, so I flipped over the important pieced (my letters on my pattern were backwards) - the body and the tail are the only 2 pieces you will need to worry about. ***

The way this template is designed, you will need to completed heads. 1 is the actual head, and the other makes up the breast of the body.

Notice that I marked each part with it's corresponding letter in the middle of each piece. This will help you match up your pieced for layering and assembly. I hate when I put a something together upside down. LOL

Here's a quick tip for saving paper. Notice how I matched up the lines for the legs. Spacing isn't an issue when you are dealing with pieces like this. Using the edge of your paper is okay too as long as it is going to be glued behind something and not visible.

After I've traced all my piecing, I then go over them with my watertank brush. I only do about 4-5 at a time and then tear, otherwise, by the time you get back to tearing, your water will have dried already.

After wetting, I lay them out to dry.

Once your pieces have dried, go ahead and start matching up the layers. Isn't it easier now that you've marked them with your pencil?

After layering, let the glue dry for a little while.

Now it's time to fluff your pieces. Yeah, I made a mess, and I sneezed through the whole thing - lol. I haven't done that in a while.

Time to add some chalk. I used Colorbox Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk. It is a richer color and really makes the dimensional aspects of this piecing pop.

Oh, don't forget to cut out your cardstock piecings! This part is next. I added some fluid chalk to the antlers before attaching them to my reindeer.

The first thing I did was adhere the muzzle to the head. This makes it easier to position the ears correctly.

To attach the ears and antlers, I placed a dab of adhesive to the ear where it would meet with the head. I lined both pieces up symetrically for even placement. Then, I tucked the antlers between the the head and ears. I had enough adhesive on the ears that I didn't need anymore for the antlers.

Here is how your reindeer should look.

Lets work on finishing the head. I used my paper shaper paw punch for the eyes. I like little eyes on my reindeer, but you could use bigger ones if you choose. Remember, it's all about personality.

To aide me in positioning the eyes, I first attached the nose using my craft tweezers. Just a dab of adhesive will do. I chose red... my guy is Rudolph. Next, add the eyes.

Before I went any further, I attached the hoofs to the very bottom of each leg.

Remember that extra head? Here is where it goes. If you marked it, you will be sure to get the correct placement. Add a bit of adhesive to the top of the 2nd head and attach it to the back of the "actual" head as shown.

Here is how your reindeer should look so far.

Next, we are going to add the first set of legs. Notice that I layer them. I placed one just a smidge on top of the other to give it a dimensional look. I ran some glue along the top of both legs and attached them to the back of the breast.

I think our reindeer needs a body. Again, if you marked your piece correctly, you'll know which way you should be assembling.

Attach the body to the back of the breast. It should also be on top of the front legs.

He's looking good so far.

Now, attach the hind legs the same way you attached the front legs. Notice, the 4th leg is a bit on top of the 3rd. The third is completely behind the 2nd. Boy, I hope that made sense - LOL.

Our last attachment is the tail. A little dab will do it. Adhere the tail to the back of the body.

Well, I never said the back side was pretty, now did I. Anyway, here is what the back of your dear should look like.

Pencil marks can easily be removed with your fluffing brush. Just use light stokes across the letters and it will come right out.

And here is my finished Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I added some Holly and Berrys and a cute bell collar. I decided that his breast needed a hint of white so I simply tore a small triangular piece (single layer) of mulberry paper and glued it in place. I added some Xmas Red Stickles to the Berries and Nose. I used my white gel pen to highlight the eyes, hooves and antlers. I grabbed my fine tip black pigma pen for eyebrows.

There you have it. Now, isn't he adorable? Now sit back and admire your masterpiece! And don't forget to share them with us.

Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave us a comment or post a note to your blog so we can visit.

New Pattern Now Available!

2009-12-03T01:21:00.003-05:00

Hello friends!

I know I'm a little late getting our new pattern released, but really... what else is new - LOL. This wasn't the one I had planned on doing, but given the Spirit of Christmas is in the air, I thought a Reindeer was most appropriate.

Isn't he just adorable! He is designed to have more of a "3D" effect. You can view the pattern specifics and purchase it HERE. I've used our Caramel and White Mulberry paper to create him.

I have changed up our packaging for this one since he requires a bit more guidance for assembly. I hope to have some tips posted on the Tear Bear Blog tomorrow.

Patty's First Tear Bear

2009-11-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share a bear that was created by Patty in her first attempt using our patterns. This adorable little bear she created truly displays how easy our patterns are to use.

Didn't he turn out adorable!

You can visit Patty's blog to see her amazing work, and not just bears... she makes the most adorable cards too.

Thanks so much for sharing with us Patty!

Show us your Bears!!!

2009-11-24T20:33:00.001-05:00

We've had great responses from our community of bear makers out there, so I thought it was about time that you all start showing off your bears! Just comment below with a link to where we can find your amazing bear!

Watch in the next few days as I will have a newly release critter coming out, along with some really cute digi stamps too!

Have a great night,
KImm

Adhesives

2009-11-07T23:56:00.004-05:00

There is often a lot of confusion when it comes to adhesive for making mulberry paper tear bears. The following adhesives will work fine on your mulberry paper critters. You can use your favorite adhesive if you are making cardstock bears.

The adhesive you choose should be from the list below. Keep in mind that mulberry paper is similar to fabric. Certain adhesives will not bond to the mulberry paper and may seep through and ruin your creation.

Glue stick: I never recommend glue sticks for scrapbooking, but for the purpose of creating mulberry paper tear critters, a glue stick works just fine. It is quick drying and economical. Make sure that the glue is acid free and safe for scrapbooking.
Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue*: An all purpose adhesive that that is perfect for layering your mulberry paper critter and attaching parts. This glue dries clear and quickly and is my personal favorite for tear bears. Use for mulberry paper only, not cardstock. It will warp.
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue (for eyes and nose)*: This is an option adhesive that you can use to adhere the eyes and nose to your critters. This adhesive may also be used to make your critters. I like using this glue for the smaller pieces because it has a fine tip and is easy to control the amount you apply. Be careful not to use too much. It will seep out along the edges leaving very unattractive marks on your bear or critters.
Fabri-Tac*: When in doubt, grab the Tac! This is by far one of my favorite adhesives. I use it for everything from making torn critters, attaching photo mats to my scrapbook layouts, and making mini albums. I recommend using this adhesive if you will be adding “clothing” to your bears. It is quick drying, and economical because you can use is sparingly. It is messy and has a bit of an odor to it, but well worth dealing with.

What Not TO USE:
Do not use Glue dots, 3D dimensional tabs, a tape runner or thin liquid adhesives when assembling your mulberry paper bear. Glue dots, tape runners, and photo tabs will not bond to the paper. And may cause your parts to “shift” or fall apart over time. These adhesives are okay for attaching your finished bear to your projects.

Thin liquid adhesives will seep through your paper and damage your paper piecing making in look very unattractive.

Welcome!

2009-11-07T13:32:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our new blog... "It's all about the Bear". This blog will hopefully serve to be a great reference for all of your tear bear questions. We will be posting our full instructions on how to make a tear bear, tips on fluffing, assembling, creating outfits (paper, fabric and ribbon dresses) and tons more.

Anyway, stay tuned because I am crossing my fingers to have some info posted this weekend.

Thanks for stoppping by,

Kimm