Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

your first sewn??? jeez woman she is gorgeous!
honestly everyone here at TT is ominously talented 

hi sewingstars, it's great to see you here!
she is beautiful, I love the colors in her dress
matching the backing of the mohair & all. she
looks great!

stick around, this is an awesome group of amazingly
talented folks. & they tell you how they do stuff - it's
a great community!

-toadbriar kim, also kimhotep on flickr

ah he's lovely!
& I know he MUST be a love with that
breed combination!

Ah I just finished a bunny! I am gonna list him
on ebay Sunday night but here he is 

will tea work on synthetic felt as well as it does on cotton?
if so, I can have a lot more fun than I thought I could have...lol

wow how sweet his face is! thanks Kim!

thanks for the info everyone!
I might have to duck into Sally's Beauty Supply
next time I am in civilization... I halfheartedly
tried the WHITE dye-na-flow, which does BUPKUS.
well at least I used up most of the useless stuff &
did absolutely no harm to my little guinea-pig experiment
bunny! sheesh lol

See, I knew that anything I thought of, for SURE there
would be people here who have thought of it, experimented,
found better solutions, & ended up with something more fabulous
than I could conceive of, lol. that's how this place works!

I am a little bummed that I can't draw spots on anyone with
my clorox gel bleach pen, though!

thanks again!

I love this bunny! & I am feelin ya on how it is
to have to change fiddly little stuff...grumble...lol

I'd do airbrushing if you can. needle felting will
take forever. airbrushing will be speedy & look
just right!

ah I lurve your black cherry bear!

these red bears are really growing on me...
I am used to not being jazzed about
'funny color' bears but those antique
red guys keep charming me... 

ah I'm sorry - just saw this. My thoughts are with Magic - really
it's not fair. Dobes have enough health issues to dodge without
adding harmful treats from the pet store to the mix, ya know?

Part of the problem is there are so many different SORTS of dogs,
& even with different 'chewing styles'. I might give a greenie to a pug
or an italian greyhound - MAYBE. They really ought to label these things
for toy sized dogs only.

It's terrible the stuff that gets sold for pets. the Hartz flea collar type products
that would literally kill a greyhound by poisoning; the 'goldfish' bowls that are by
no means an adequate size for a goldfish (who should have at minimum 10 gallons
of filtered water per fish, IIRC, unless you want to kill them slowly by poisoning them
with their own ammonia); dog food with ingredients like peanut shells & 'meat byproducts'
(WHAT kind of meat??)

People SHOULD be able to trust that dog treats are safe for dogs, cat food
is nourishing for cats, & goldfish bowls are appropriate housing for goldfish.
I could understand special circumstances like a pet with allergies or special
needs not being able to use the default 'off the shelf' products. But in general
these things should be safe, good, & right.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. It's just a thing that really irks me as being
terribly unethical, to take advantage of people who have every reason to
expect they are choosing the right goodies & stuff for their beloved pets.
& this is an example of why, with a name, a cute face, & an $8000 price tag 

please, how is Magic? Dobes are such extraordinary dogs.

I buy Greenies but ONLY to give to the pet rats! they gnaw them -
chew them into little shavings, not big chunks. The chewie treats I
give to the dogs are bull pizzles/bully sticks, whatever you want to
call them (ahem dried bull penises)  They last a decent
amount of time & are REALLY entirely digestable.

is there a link to the ebay auction someone could post?
I am curious AND lazy...lol

I have seen some very cool stuff done on cotton
with clorox bleach pens - using them to draw on
a teeshirt or jeans gives a cool batik effect. I thought
I might be able to get some nifty results by using bleach
to selectively remove color on a bear, but further research
says that chlorine bleach does Very Unpleasant Things to
protein fibers like wool, mohair, & silk. It'd probably work
fine on the cotton backing, but I'd want something that
would affect the hair AND the backing both. Or at least
just the mohair. Maybe hydrogen peroxide?

Has anyone tried anything like this, & if so, what were the
results?  I know I could use light fabric paint but I am not
hugely thrilled with the effect that provides.

thanks!
-toadbriar kim, im mad scientist mode 

have you been heating the dye & mohair?
if I had to wait hours for stuff to happen....
nothing would happen! lol I am NOT
patient.

I do mine in a heavy ziploc bag in a mixing
bowl (in case of leaks) in the microwave.
3 mins on high, 3 mins to rest, & then
check the color of the water. if the water
is not clear or milky, it goes in for more
cooking. it's done when all the dye has
gone into the fibers & the water is clear
or milky. All the color gets driven into the
wool.

then you rinse with a bit of detergent til the
rinsewater runs clear.

each square looks a different color to me!
I think you got some exciting results!
it just seems to have taken ages!

LOL @ this thread...
I like the costumed bears shown here!
Um. but in a different way from how I
like clowns...lol

I happen to collect scary clowns & toys
(no scary bears tho!) here are some of my
clowns:

it's only fun if they're scary by accident.
I need a photo of my wind-up chimp who plays
the cymbals...he is only in the background here:

maybe just a little bit bent....lol

I mixed colors of kool aid & added food coloring for a stronger
effect. I did use vinegar, even with the kool aid. kool aid or
food coloring + vinegar will dye protein fibers like wool, mohair,
or silk, but will not dye plant fibers like cotton. so your mohair
will take the dye but the fabric backing will not. I have heard
that the colors will work on cotton if you add salt, but I have
not tried it.

I used it to dye wool for needle felting. Here is the wool used on
a bear in the original wool color of brown mixed with silvery white:

Here is the same wool after dyeing with the kool aid to get it more
rich orangey-brown:

sorry for the hijack - I just think dyeing over other colors is fun 

wait wait wait--

why do pads at all?
real bunnies don't have pads on their feet - see?

thank you so much!  I am having fun with this project!

Tracy, ratties are delightful aren't they! I have 6 right now & never would
have guessed there could be so much love in such tiny critters.
You might enjoy this rat forum, people are so cool, & the chat folks
are really nice. I'm 'redslurpee' on there
http://www.goosemoose.com/component/opt … /forum,rat

lol & Georgie's lack of hair is genetic - it doesn't affect him at
all except he has a bit of a faster metabolism to produce more
body heat. So he eats & drinks more. & feels like a suede hot
water bottle. lol

thanks!

in progress. ultrasuede over a firm-stuffed
flannel mannekin body 

I'll update later when she is finished :-)

for those of ya who have never seen a hairless rat...
this is one of my sweet pet rats Georgie 

thanks for lookin!
--toadbriar kim 

I think the tulip paint has some body to it - it is
too thick to flow. It's kind of like that cake decorating
gel you can write with. Or toothpaste.

& Hyacinth is gorgeous. I thought I didn't
like 'funny-colored' bears! sheesh rofl

Paula I have to smile when your bears are smiling at me!  :D
Can you tell me about that awesome collar the pink girlie
is wearing? it looks amazingly cool!

thanks!
- toadbriar Kim

lol I've been called worse than toadbriar! I will sign my
posts from now on. But it seems like there are multiple
Kims on every board I post on!  :lol:

OK Angelina Fiber is NEAT! STUFF! It is sorta like sparkly
iridescent easter grass but is as fine as hair. I use it loose
to mix into wool for felting, but it can also be heat-fused into
a sheet if you put it between 2 pieces of parchment paper
& hit it with a dry iron. It's good for magical stuff like fairy
wings & so on, especially if you layer it with transparent
filmy textiles like organza etc. You can also fuse it into a
sheet with inclusions mixed in, like strands of fiber. or with
some tulle netting sandwiched in.

here is one page about it:
http://dollmakersink.com/angelina_fiber.htm
there are many more. just google angelina fiber.  :lol:

have fun!
-Toadbriar Kim

gorgeous! & the clothes are exquisite. I have a weakness
for vintage lace & ribbons & beads etc...I love the bead fringe
you used, too. What a gentle & kindly expression you've achieved
with her. congrats!

I had such a ball, too! my first show to visit, & I saw
such neat stuff. All the bear folks were just the nicest
people you could meet & it was awesome seeing the
huge range of styles just at this one event.

so the next one's in april huh?

well you could make the tail pull up over
the legs like a sock. You can have loads of
fun with fancy sparkly fabrics, Lumiere pearlescent
fabric paint, beading (freshwater pearls?) & fins
made out of fused angelina fiber sheets,
on organza with decorative stitching to make
them look 'finny'...

oooh I wanna make fish tails now!    :dance:

but the burning question is,
is she gonna have a shell bra?? hee hee hee