Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

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Milly Me®
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Thea-MillyMe Jan 21, 2014

Introducing " I give you a piece of childhood " - aka Sophie's Toys
1390307686_i_give_you_a_piece_of_childhood-press_photo.jpg

Featuring:
Made of hand dyed beige Schulte viscose , German glass eyes , stuffing: poly fibre, sheepwool & glass pallets, 4-way hardware jointed, posable neck joint, hand coloration & tinted markings, sculpted facial features, handmade cotton dress & knitted cardigan, cotton shoes in leather look, my first design with bent legs, accessoiries: wooden box & toys.
Size: ± 29 cm - 11.4 inches (overall piece)

I spent many many weeks (acutally months) blisfully creating Sophie and her toys into a one-of-a-kind vignette.
and I just love at how this set turned out!
The idea for this vignette is based on the bookcover from one of the well known books by Jill Barklem: Brambley Hedge. I love these books and those adorable mouse pictures
This piece is also referring to my own childhood where I could play endlessly with my own dolls and teddy bears.

Sophie wears a darling dress that I especially designed for her. It's made of cotton and trimmed with beautiful fine French laces. Some parts were too small for the sewing machine and therefore are stitched by hand.
Underneath an underskirt made of ultra-thin cotton gaze trimmed with a piece of ruffled blue lace.
The ball is made of cotton in sun faded old blues & reds and then aged, she can hold it between her paws without any support.
Sophie's cardigan is made of cotton in sandstone beige with old brique edges. I was difficult to knit a perfect fit and I had to knit it at least 3 times. Third time lucky!!!

She has unique hand tinted markings on her face and lopped ears (they can swivel!).

Sophie's shoes are made from fabric which I gave a leather look.

These little itty-bitty bunnies were such fun to make. They are made from cotton (left) and viscose (right).
They are hand tinted, aged and very loosly thread jointed for a frumpy feel and look.
Size: 12 cm - 4.7 inches from the tip of the ears to the tip of the toes.

The box has embroidered sides and this is the backside.

I found this petite rocking hores a few years ago and put him in a box amongst lotsa other toys where it was kindly waiting...I "stripped" him to give him this new look. I even managed to root his little tail and its horse manes.

This lil' bunny is sitting behind the wooden block and posed this way you can read the word SHE.
But wait.....there is more.....I painted more letters, when you see all 6 sides next to each other they spell:

After much deliberation, I decided to enter the Toby Awards this year. My piece "I give you a piece of childhood " was picked out in the vignette category and I won a Toby Award.
I'm thrilled to be included this year as it is my first entry ever and my first award ever. I think every other teddy bear artist will remember their first awards too.
I'm blessed to deserve such great recognition and I feel very proud.
It encourages absolutely to make new designs (the list is slightly growing) and I hope to realize them this year.

Thanks for looking & reading this topic!

Thea xoxo

PS: wanna see more >> CLICK HERE <<

2 users like this: Elli, Fleur

Posts: 107

threadbears Jan 21, 2014

Wow, what great detail! She is exquisite, and congrats on winning a Toby for her--it is well deserved--especially since it is your first entry and award! I love that you explain all of the work that goes into your items, even down to the accessories. Again, congrats! She is lovely.

Posts: 233