Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

:clap:  :clap:  :clap: luv, luv, luv'in it  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

we've had a new clutch of goslings hatch out this week at KD&CO, both the yellow barnyard type and the 'wild' canadian type and I thought you might like a peek. . .

the goslings are 6"-7" tall (depending on how you pose them) and are made of schulte feather mohair with leather beaks, feet & eyelinds over german glass eyes) they have also locline necks & spines, wired wings & jointed legs.

the goslings are available on etsy.   thanks for looking!!

:clap:  :clap:  :clap: love, love, lovin it! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

gosh, thanks, everyone. . . it's always great to visit TT and get a hug  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

meet 'Pumpkin'  8" tall, belgian synthetic w/leather paws, claws & eyelids, multi-jointed, leather 'tin' can w/silk label & leather pumpkin.

:clap: utterly charming and exquisitely conceived  :clap:

I'd like to add my congratulations to all the winners  - and add an especial thanks to everyone who voted for my 'Polar Pals'.  it's the first time I've ever entered the Golden Teddies, and you could've knocked me over with a feather when I found out.  thanks again  :hug:

thanks, everyone  :hug:  :hug:  :hug: I gotta confess I'm loving his pj's too.  I wish I had a pair like that myself  :redface:

meet PJ, my latest trashcan ted

PJ is 14" tall and made of shulte feathered mohair with leather paw pads, nose & eyelids & polymer claws.  PJ sports flannel jammies made of vintage civil-war era print fabric, a feather pillow made of antique linen & a toy bunny from germany.

:hug:  :hug:  :hug: thanks, everyone!  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

'Duck Soup' left me in a birding mood, and although I don't usually do reprises, I really enjoy doing the leather vignettes, so I've been working on a snowy egret with chick for the last few weeks.  as Egrets live further south, I was able to make this one a bit more lush and tropical - and I never thought I'd find a use for that lavender & peach snakeskin, but it sure makes terrific flowers!

thanks, everyone - ya'll are sweet as pie  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

and so many questions & comments that I don't know where to start. .

first of all . . . not perfect, or even close.  you probably ought to know that I don't cook for myself - ever.  I subsist on Lean Cuisine, toast & coffee.  I know how to cook because I was the food service director at a christian youth outreach camp for 10 years (Young Life).  (I can't cook for one, but I can still whip up a dinner for 500 with my eyes closed)

the folded, free-form style of pie is french & called a 'galette'.  they are usually open-faced, about 8" across and meant to serve 2.  I didn't invent it, but I've never seen it done at 14" with 5 pounds of fruitand serving 10.  I've never been a fan of pie before, but I like the ratio of fruit-to-crust here much better than a regular pie.

(and probably the REASON more people don't bake pies this way is that the whole things weighs in at about 15 pounds and has to be baked on a baking stone on the floor of a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes before being moved to the second shelf to finish off.  it's a dangerous operation andI've got the burn scars to prove it.  gives an exceptionally crisp crust, though)

my mother has no secret 'family' recipes that don't involve either 2 cans of Campbells Soup or 2 containers of Cool Whip, sometimes in the same recipe.  I use cookbooks and online forums to do my research, then take it from there. 

(for most fruit pies I toss the fruit with bit of sugar, let it bleed for a few hours, drain the juices, reduce the juice to about 1/4 cup. and add a splash of a liqueur like Chambord or Jack Daniels before folding them into the crust.  fresh fruit doesn't need much dressing)

I haven't been in the studio much this summer, but I've been spending a lot of creative time in the kitchen.  I've been baking cakes for a local cafe for the 5 years, but this spring they asked if I could handle supplying them with a more diversified menu & I started to tackle pies, puddings and cobblers.  It's been a lot of fun, but I miss sharing with the list, so I thought I'd post a few of my other creative efforts. . .

the first pic is my 'very berry cherry' galette, 4 lbs of cherries, blueberries, raspberries & blackberries w'a spalsh of chambord.  that's a sour cream coconut icebox cake in the background, plasted & filled with 4 lbs of shredded coconut.

deep dish white peach w/raspberries & blackberries, sour cream apple pecan in the background.

pineapple upside-down cake

raspberry-nectarine pie

peach pie (spiked w/Jack Danials) and sour cream apple w/salted pecan crumble.

these were really fun.  It's hard to put your own stamp on pie, so I started baking my apple pies in a 1o" cast iron skillet.  It holds over 5 lbs of apples!

the peach pie - and most of my other pies are baked on 14" cast iron griddles.  the trick here is rolling out a 28" pie crust and manouvering it into place w/out tearing it

coconut cake (again) banana w/white chocolate frosting & toasted walnuts, 3x darl chocolate cake (my best seller, w/over 3lbs of Callebaut dark chocolate between the cake, filling & frosting) and chocolate cupcake-cones.

gosh, thanks, everybody! :hug: ya'll are just great!  I had a really great time with this piece (I've been spend a lot of time in the kitchen this summer and food is ever on my mind - although this one is inspired more by phrases like 'don't play with your food', 'it looks too good to eat' and 'fresh, natural food' than with an actual meal  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

it's been a hectic summer, but I've finally managed to whip something up. . . a little

Duck Soup!

copper-bottom saucepan & veggies - sweet peas, carrots, beets, celery & cabbage are constructed of leather, ducks are leather & sassy mini fur with a full armature & wired wings.

:redface:  :redface:  :redface:  says the woman who says 'I'll just carve tiny teeth and claws out of moose antlers. . .  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

thanksabunch, everyone, for your sweet comments and compliments  :hug:

:clap:  :clap:  :clap: AdOrAblE little chap, oh mistress of mink  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

:clap:  :clap:  :clap: ToTaLLy CompleTely EnChantinG :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

loving the crystal beaded 'wake'  :dance: very clever  :dance:

:clap:  :clap:  :clap: ab-SO-LuteLeY aDorABle! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

:clap:  :clap: aGaiN!!  :clap:  :clap:

thanks, everyone!  I finally got this guy finished & his auction posted if you'd like a peek:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0470987471

gosh, thanks, everyone    ya'll are great.  I'm still not finished with hiskit yet, hopefully today. . . (yeah, where have we heard that before. . .  :redface: )

:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap: really exquisite - and really exquisitely done.  a beautiful, beautiful bear  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

howdy ya'll!  I haven't been online - or in the studio much this summer - but here's a sneak peak at the one bear I did make this month, Gunther Grizzly, a bear in young adulthood.  Gunther is 16" long, has 17 joints & pose-able neck and spine.  trapunto leather pawpads, leather nose & claws & wired ears.  Gunther is supposed to be a trashcan ted, but i haven't finished his trash stash yet.  I photographed him today with some fishing kit I had in the studio.  I'll post an updated link when I post his auction, probably tuesday.

'How bears want you to think they catch fish. .  '

The one that got away. ..

How bears REALLY catch fish. . .

hey, thanks, everyone!  Ya'll are great!  your comments and compliments are truly appreciated!  I 'm pleased to say that the trashcan twins didn't make it to ebay, but sold outright, so you'll have to wait for a website update to hear their story. in the meantime, here are a few more pics. . .

Tami, the fur is a particularly bristle-y antique mohair that spent it's former life as the lining of a carriage robe.  it was pretty nasty to work with, but I sure love the end results.  :dance:

Tommi & Tilly, twin trashcan teds - Vintage/antique mohair, 7" long, 4.5" high at the shoulder, multi-jointed, comes with a 5" leather trashcan & 9 leather 'tin cans'