For those of you who are unfamiliar with tear bears, they are fuzzy, handmade teddy bear paper piecing that are so cute you will want to hug them. With sparkly eyes, fuzzy limbs and adorable clothes, these bears make sweet page accents for any occasion. Their limbs are poseable so they can be positioned in a variety of ways!
What will you need??
•Chalk
•Lightbox
•Black pen
•Water pen or cotton swab
•Quick drying glue
•Brown mulberry paper
•Toothbrush
•Black cardstock
•White paper
•White pen
Step by Step
Select a piece of light brown mulberry paper, which is a handmade paper with fibers in it. When torn, the edges remain fuzzy. You can find mulberry paper at ACMoore or online at a variety of scrapbooking sites.
Step 2
Draw a pattern for your tear bear on a white sheet of paper. If you need a pattern, you can download and print one from About.com (just search tear bear pattern). It should include one large pear shape for the torso, one medium round circle for the head, four medium rounded rectangles for the arms and legs, five small ovals for the hands, feet and muzzle, and two small half circles for the ear. These can be sized up or down for a small, medium or large bear.
Step 3
Place your mulberry paper over the pattern sheet.
Step 4
Trace a line around one pattern image, using a water pen or a wet cotton swab. You should be able to see the pattern paper through the mulberry paper. If you cannot see the pattern, use a light box to help illuminate the image.
Step 5
Tear on the wet line to remove the shape from the mulberry paper. Repeat this process until you have torn out all 13 body parts.
Step 6
Stipple the edges of the body parts with a toothbrush to help them appear fuzzy.
Step 7
Apply chalk to the edges of the body parts. Make sure the paper is dry first. A slightly lighter color of brown is best. Use pink chalk on the cheeks.
Step 8
Assemble your bear. The hands and feet should lay on top of the arms and legs. The ears should be behind the head and the muzzle should be near the bottom of the face.
Step 9
Glue the body pieces together using quick drying glue.
Step 10
Cut out two small circles for the eye and one small oval for the nose from black cardstock.
Step 11
Glue the eyes over the muzzle and glue the nose in the top center of the muzzle. Using a white pen, add three small white dots on each piece as the sparkle in their eyes and the wetness of their nose.
Step 12
Draw a black line down the muzzle from the nose for the mouth and add two eyebrows.
Now that your tear bear is complete, you can dress them up and try different poses before gluing!
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