Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

well you know, it's not that absurd a premise, after all...
remember J. Edgar Hoover!  :crackup:

hee. the internet is truly overrun with Kims. There's
a horde of us on the other internet forum I visit daily, too.
It's funny there's the abundance of Tammys here too -
my sister's name is Tami!

so you see why I don't mind if you do call me 'toadbriar' -
at least then I'll know for sure you're really talking to ME! 

My aunt & gramma have had cancer too; my gramma almost 30 years ago.

They've come SUCH a long way in treating it since then; it's not like it
used to be. Did the doctor have anything more to say other than the lumps
are cancerous? I know your grandma will lose her breast; what does it look
like for your mom? & I hope your sister gets to feeling better, too!
May your troubles pass quickly & be a lot smaller up close.

judi when you say sculpt an eye socket, are you referring to needle
felting, or something beyond that?

I have been meaning to get some nice grosgrain ribbon in
dark 'manly' colors like cranberry, navy, & black to use as boy bows.
I have some from JoAnns but it is synthetic & looks shiny & cheap to
me on the bears. But an effect more like a string tie than a 'bow'. Some
homespun fabric in ticking or plaid can have torn edges & work as a primitive
sort of ribbon. How about a boy scout style bandanna?

There are different STYLES of vests - a victorian waistcoat with a watch chain would be
adorable, if you wanted to get into something a little more involved (which seems to be
my problem more often than not lol)

I don't see a lot of bears with jacquard trim collars, & that could be very handsome.

Yes I was dazzled by her baby panda recently!!! His mouth seems to open &
close also. I was wondering if anyone had tried emailing her to ask about her
mouths.

LOL @ catching flies

hahahahah Judi I was just going to say when I saw that first head,
PLEASE make a chipmunk! You could paint his stripes just right, too!

I don't make poofy-cheeked guys but I've found this thread to be utterly
fascinating just the same. & seeing all the examples really makes learning
so much easier! TT people are so generous with helpfulness 

bronwen that sounds like an interesting book, can you give more info?

& I love that second spotty bear with his mouth open, he is saying
"check out my awesome dalmatian spots!" 

woooow you guys are zippy with the responses! I didn't think he'd get
looked at so fast!

Well my Pal is going on a week-long trip this Tuesday so I am not mailing
this guy for a little while. I am IMPATIENT cause I want to 'see' her open it! lol
She still doesn't even know it's me   can ya tell I get excited about this stuff!   

Thanks so much, I was giggling madly the whole time I did his feeties.
I wanted to make him chubbly cause everyone loves big 'squishy' rats, but one
must resist deliberately makin them obese really...so my pal gets a big fat
GUILT FREE rat 

Really I don't make enough guys with butt cheeks. roflmao  :crackup:

Tracy have you got pics of Miss Annie?! wanna see!

Renae, I'm sorry about the grandvermin (& Miss Emily, for that matter).
I'd LOVE to see what you'd make, though. I have felted a couple:

The needlefelted stuff I see around here at TT, though, makes my lumpies look
like something the cat gacked up. rofl Maybe I need to try better wool...
I've seen some merino needle felted stuff that was smooth as could be.

(suuuuure, blame the wool)  :crackup:    :crackup:

.....why does the cracking up guy have dracula hair?

I'm wondering about the .5 cat.....!

not sure if I wanna know!

Here is a rat I've made for a Secret Pal exchange on another board.
He's made from plush synthetic felt, with ultrasuede for tail & feet etc.
I hope she likes him 

I think it's pretty much safe to say I love all acid attic bears 

Hey ya know, I lost track of this thread & forgot to say THANK YOU!  :redface:

Renae he's framed the frog prince?? does he work in a frame shop? that is so cool :-D

the dancin ratties are my actual ratties. Runcible is the only one of them still alive. They
don't live long enough.

Hayley thank you again!

kassie yep they are all my guys - I make all sorts of stuff (mostly messes)

1. What time is it? 1:34 PM
2. What's your full name? what, here on the internet in front of everybody?? :redface: Kim Parkhurst
3. What are you most afraid of? panic attacks
4. What is the most recent movie that you've seen in a theatre? The Village - movies are expensive!
5. What was the most recent book you read: some flower fairies art book by Cicely Mary Barker
6. Place of birth? Buffalo, NY
7. Favorite new food? Mint chocolate chip ice cream! ok, new to me. I thought it would be gross, my whole life. I was wrong 
8. What's your natural hair color. catfood-color. CANNED catfood color.
9. Ever been to Alaska? After growing up in Buffalo?? Why????
10. Ever been toilet roll papering?  does in the theatre at Rocky Horror Picture Show count?
11. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes
12. Been in a car accident? Just rear-ended enough to crunk a bumper
13. Croutons or bacon bits? guacomole
14. Favorite day of the week? saturday!
15. Favorite Restaurant? a cheap indian restaurant with takeaway would be my favorite
16. Favorite Flower? coneflower
17. Favorite sport to watch? GO SABRES!
18. Favorite Drink? vanilla cherry diet coke
19. Favorite ice cream? a Ben & Jerry's orange chocolate thing I used to see
20. Disney or Warner Brothers? Pixar & Spumco
21. Favorite fast food restaurant? my weakness is for Boston Market
22. Color of your bedroom carpet? is laundry a color?
23. How many times did you fail your driving test? I passed first time despite doing a 'california roll' at the stop sign
24. Before you filled out this, who filled it out before you? Put the name of the person who filled this out before you. BHBears!
25. What do you do most often when you are bored? read, surf, play PC games
26. Who will respond to this the quickest?
27. Who is the person you enjoyed reading their responses most?
28. Who is the person most likely to respond?
29. Who are you are most curious to see responses from?
30. Favorite TV show House MD
31. Ford or Chevy? Saturn
32. What are you listening to right now? Andy is noodling around on the ukelele. Bumbershoot the rat is going sipsipsip at the water bottle.
33. What is your favorite color? raspberry & orange together, with purple & turquoise around too
34. How many tattoos do you have? one tiny triangle on my ankle
35. How many pets do you have? 2 dogs, 3 cats, 5 rats, 2 snakes, 1 gecko
36. Which came first the chicken or the egg? the chicken's ancestor was the dinosaur
37. What would you like to accomplish before you die? immortality
38. Who's answers did you enjoy the most? they're all intriguing 

Can I just pop in to comment about "no right click".....
if you wanna use this, PLEASE don't use it on any links!

I am one of those people who opens every link in a new window -
& you gotta right click to do that. Getting a little dialogue box that
pops up & accuses me of attempted theft when I do this is really
really annoying.

a simple (c) & artist info or URL on the photo in a place where it
can't easily be cropped out, can be another option to prevent
theft.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents 

*BUMP*

I am angsty to know if the stuff I sent got there or not yet! 
(& if it was in the least bit useful, lol)

Hayley of Just Us Bears did surprise me with an email that
she did make me an avatar! over 100 posts of me running around
nekkid was hard to ignore anymore I spose, lol....so scuse me
while I vogue in the mirror to admire my new avatar fabulousness        :dance:  :clap:  :photo:

Thanks Hayley!!!   

I know I can't be the only one who doesn't use stuff for
the purpose it was intended - art supplies don't just come
from the art store, by any means. Any of us who've weighted
a bear with BBs or steel shot knows this! So what's your weird
tool or material of choice?

Mine is an old toothbrush. I dip the bristles into a paint
wash (usually dye na flow) & comb the color through the
fur. The brush spreads it pretty evenly & can scrub the color
into wool or velvet paw pads if I want a grungy sort of effect.

& whoever suggested the use of the tiny alligator clips from
Radio Shack is my new hero. They work GREAT for holding
arm pieces together for hand sewing, & my foot pads are better
& easier because of the clips holding them in place as I sew.

I age my bears down with a mix of brown waterproof india inks,
dye na flow fabric paint, & water, in a spritz bottle. Misted on &
combed through it gives a nice effect & dries with no texture
affecting the feel of the mohair. It's subtle once dry but an essential
part of the process for me now.

So what have you got? 

I'm sorry for your loss Aleta. May you find peace & comfort.

do you have any shish kebob skewers? the blunt end is my best tool
for turning out tiny difficult bits like that.

ok, don't lend me your actual ears...just the tips of them...
oh wait...I mean....

give me your tips on attaching ears! 
or any ear wisdom at all....!

I don't mark patterns for ear placement because I want to
decide where they go for each bear once the head is stuffed
& face is on. But sewing the little boogers on is not easy, so
I thought I'd solicit whatever wisdom there may be on the subject!

The least little shift changes their espression so much; I can't pin them
on in the same configuration they'd be sewn on, so pinning is useless
to me. Anyhow the pins always fall out cause the fur is dense & springy.
Placing an ear pinned flat doesn't give the same effect at all as you'll
have when it's sewn with the edge against the head. & it's not easy
to sew that edge to the big round head, either!

Curved needles help me A LOT. But I just eyeball, take some stitches,
eyeball again. & hope that ear #2 matches up somewhat with #1!
Can I be doing better?

thanks!

There's such a wonderful children's book in this idea   

well except for this part! 

Lovely spider ya got there.....I don't mind those at all, but
these harmless guys

give me the screamies 

(I'm tellin ya, we really need the EEEEK!!! smiley!)

I have heard of, but not read, Artemis Fowl 

I looooove short story horror anthologies. Stephen King's short story collections
like Skeleton Crew, Different Seasons, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, etc
are pretty much utterly delicious reading indulgence perfection for me. I could use
some new books but I spent $25 of pin money on renewing my flickr.com membership,
so I am rereading some stuff for a bit. I think it's '100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories' right
now, one of Barnes & Noble's collection series which really is quite better than one might expect.

I recently finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Cell, The Year's
Best Horror 16, & a couple of Kathy Reichs thrillers.

Mom burns through a mess of Robert B. Parker's Spenser mysteries which she picks up
cheap at book sales. Then she offloads them on me by the sackful. So I keep track of
the adventures of Spenser, Hawk, Susan, & Pearl as well as I used to know Nancy,
Bess, & George.

Do any of you fantasy fans like Terry Pratchett? He's wicked good fun, Mort I think is my
favorite book of his.

I love Lord of the Rings - reread it every couple years since 6th grade & get something
new out of it each time. I only watched the first film of the recent movies, because while
it WAS well done & gorgeous, I already knew the story so well it was hard to sit through
the movie!

For nonfiction, Oliver Sacks & Desmond Morris have been pretty good. One of my
favorites to revisit is called A Natural History of the Senses. I don't recall the author
but amazon will know. It's wonderful. I do enjoy some true crime, if it gives insight
into the mindset & psychology of the criminal. John S. Douglas' Mindhunter &
subsequent books are my favorite of that genre. In Cold Blood by Capote is the first
of that type I'd read, & it really remains a favorite.

Oh & I have subscriptions to Quilting Arts & Fortean Times, if that adds any further
insight into my psyche!  :lol:

It's pretty funny in a ghastly sort of way. My amazon.com recommendations are all:

Sexual Homicide Patterns & Motives, Grisly Horrific Murders, Serial Killers, The Real Jack
the Ripper,  etc etc etc & then.........How to Make Teddy Bears!

I know ratties are old enough to breed @ 5 weeks.
if the mice are old enough to be away from Mama, they prolly
are not far off.

Mice are adorable 
But I love that my woodgies are big enough to hug:

Hodgepodge with Bumbershoot in the background

Sausage (RIP) getting syringe-fed some Boost

hairless Alfie (RIP) modeling a needle-felted fez

that is a beautiful cornsnake by the way! my Ted is the same color but
yours has more of the pretty yellow 

Hey now....
watch it!!!! :doh:

--kim turns 32 in a couple weeks, is NOT an antique