Old brown bear in need of repair

[elize]

I visited my niece this weekend and she asked me if I wanted her old brown bear? I did not know she owned a teddy :weird::confused2::weird:

I was curious to see the fellow and asked her about his history. The bear belonged to her cousins' brother who got it from his older brother. She got the bear around 1960/61.

When she got him he had a name: " Boesman" in English it means "bushman".

I am going to repair his left arm, give him new eyes and a nose.(he lost his one eye and it was replaced with a red glass button)

My aunt nearly threw Ted away and my niece just said NO, SOMEDAY, SOMEONE will really appreciate Ted. I was so happy when I got Ted yesterday.

I'll post pictures as I am repairing Ted.

[elize]

I took Teds' arm off yesterday morning and was so surprised to see that a nail was used as a "cotter pin" and the washers are made of copper and the discs made of pressed paper.:puzzled:

[elize]

I had to open the left arm as it was torn and the disc was broken. Never had I seen stuffing like this before and after some research I found out it is called "wadding" and it is a soft stuffing of kapok and tiny pieces of material. :puzzled::oh::puzzled:

[elize]

What a mission to take the head off as it was stitched onto the body after the disc broke.

The stuffing on the inside of the body is a mixture of excelsior,kapok and pieces of material. The excelsior had made a lot of dust and it was actually a job I did not enjoy:eek:

Finally I gave Ted a voice as I think he was quiet long enough.:rolleye2:

[bobbybaer]

Whow Elize - you have a good "hard" work in front of you!
It's amazing to see your pics!

[elize]

At last the Brown Bear that I fixed. It was quite a job to take the arm off and mend the arm but he looks like new.

He looks like a handsome fellow in his new jumper and bow-tie.

[elize]

Here is a before- and -after picture of my first Ted that I have renovated.:Winking:

[elize]

Whow Elize - you have a good "hard" work in front of you!
It's amazing to see your pics!
It was good "hard" work. I must say I did enjoy renovating the bear very much."happy6:

[lovenshire]

WOW, I just found this and am amazed at the difference! What a handsome bear he turned out to be.
The onely bear I "renovated" was one large bear my hubby found in the street. He had been run over several times and full of grease and road grime. Poor old fellow hubby was going to put him in the "can". I scrubbed stain remover into him, put him in a pillow case, and tossed him into the washer. He came out just beautiful. He is so soft and fluffy now and has a place in my heart! (Don't think your Ted could have survived my rough treatment!)

[elize]

lovenshire, I don't think my old bear would have survived rough treatment. When I first saw his stuffing I really did not think I would be able to fix him up.:confused3:

A bit of love and care can bring an old bear or toy back to life. "happy6:

[Elizabeth]

He really looks great after a bit of TLC:Winking:

[Romafree]

How rewarding it must be for you to look at the "before" and "After" pics!! Brilliant job!! I adore him, love the bow tie!! Ana x

[elize]

In a way it is very rewarding to take and old bear and fix him up. :3bears:

[Orsogiona]

Waw Elize, Fabulous job!
Did you have to replace the stuffing or you used the old one?

[elize]

Thanks Orsogiona, the stuffing I removed I threw away as it smelled a bit and it was discolored. I only replaced the stuffing in the one arm and a bit in the body when I added the growler/voice box.