Vintage Children's Books- Molly Brett

from The Adventures of Plush and Tatty by Molly Brett, published by the Medici Society

What were your favourite books as a child? The Teddy Forest Library is beginning to amass a rather lovely collection of beautifully illustrated children's books. I find them quite inspiring when making bears and other crafts. Here are some pages from a recent thrift shop find, The Adventures of Plush and Tatty, by Molly Brett. I highly recommend googling Molly Brett's whimsical and charming illustrations.

Tatty has a boating mishap from The Adventures of Plush and Tatty by Molly Brett

disaster strikes the cookout from The Adventures of Plush and Tatty by Molly Brett

from The Adventures of Plush and Tatty by Molly Brett

What do you take inspiration from?

West Coast Creature Feature-The Somewhat Intimidating Sandhill Crane

Sandhill crane family, photographed by smallgirl

This month's West Coast Creature feature is the Sandhill Crane, a bird that I find a bit intimidating. The first time I saw one, it scared me because I rounded the corner on a local nature trail and BAM there it was, with its huge beak and yellow eyes. I wasn't expecting to see one and I'm rather petite, and it came up to at least my chest level. In my area, the resident sandhill cranes are known to be aggressive sometimes, which is understandable if nature nerds like me pop out of nowhere and surprise them. Anyways, the sandhill crane is beautiful, majestic, and can be found in wetlands all over North America, if you are lucky to spot one.

Happy birding!

DIY Craft-How to recycle a bus ticket into an artist trading card

One crow sorrow, by smallgirl

The bears and I have been fascinated by artist trading cards lately and made some today out of all those used bus tickets sitting in my purse. Artist trading cards, or ATCs are tiny 2 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch works of art, traded by their makers with other makers, much like trading sports cards (does anyone do that anymore?).

What you need:
Scissors, Glue stick, Cardstock scraps, Ruler, Pen
Bus tickets
Paint, markers, sparkles, collage materials, etc for decorating

What to do:

1. Base coat your bus ticket with paint or colour it
2. ATCs must be 2.5 by 3.5 inches, so you will need to add a bit to your bus ticket.
3. Here's how: Cut some 2.5 and 3.5 inch strips from your cardstock

4. Glue the strips together to form either an "L" shape or a box shape. As long as you have cut with the right measurements, all you need to do is line up the corners of your strips. This is your frame.

5. Position your bus ticket over the frame until the edges are parallel and glue. You now have a card to work with.

6. Go wild! Create whatever cool images you want on your card and start trading.

Three crows a wedding, by smallgirl

Seven crows a secret, by smallgirl

Seven crows ATCs by smallgirl

Here, I've decorated a set of ATCs with the beautiful West Coast bird, the northwestern crow.
Let me know if you want to swap :)
Happy trading!
For more info on ATCs, go here: http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/

Summertime...

It seems that summer is finally here in Teddy Forest!



My dear old handmade doll, Porky the Porcupine, and Suzannah are enjoying the garden

Just enjoying the flowers in the early morning cool, enjoying  the beach in the afternoon, and watching patiently for barred owls and coyotes in the evenings. West coast = Best coast!

Enjoy the sunshine if you are lucky enough to have it!



DIY Craft- Fun block stamp prints with recycled materials :)

do it yourself recycled block printing by smallgirl

The teddies in Teddy Forest have a super-fun stamping technique to share. It's cheaper than linoleum block printing, uses recycled materials, and doesn't require sharp tools, so it's easy with kids from kindergarten up (and fun for adults too!).

What you need:

Scissors
Ballpoint pen and pencil
Thin foam, like an old take-out container or scrap funfoam
Piece of thin cardboard, cut from a cereal box or cardstock will do
Glue
Washable paint
Paper to print on

What to do:
1. Draw your shapes/picture on the foam with a ballpoint pen and cut them out with scissors.
2. Scratch additional detail onto the shapes/picture using a sharp pencil. Try to go deep, so that the paint won't fill the depressions.
3. Glue your shapes onto a piece of thin cardboard. You now have your block print stamp!
4. When the glue is dry, spread paint on your shapes. Acrylics work well.
5. Press your stamp onto paper. You may need to practice a few times to find your desired amount of paint, as it can spread with pressing.

Bears in starlight by smallgirl

Voila! You have a fun, beautiful print! If you carefully wipe off the excess paint with a bit of water, you can use your stamp again and again.

Happy crafting!

As seen on: http://stamping.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-stamp-from-recycled-materials/2012/08/21/

West Coast Creature Feature-The Terrifying Carnivorous Round-leaved Sundew

It looks as though Teddy Forest is fast evolving into a nature blog, but fear not! The bears still live in Teddy Forest and will be reporting soon. It's just that now that nice weather is finally upon us, I'm spending more time outside exploring than inside making. So, here is an amazing plant I want to share with you...



Round-leaved sundew, by smallgirl

Strictly, the round-leaved sundew is not a West Coast "creature," as it is a plant and a widespread species in Northern Europe, Asia and North America. Here, it lives in the Pacific Northwest and southern Alaska. It is fascinating to observe as it devours mosquitoes and damselflies. Like our friends the bats and birds, this plant is beneficial to humans in its control of insects. In my area, it is considered locally rare as urban development has destroyed much of its wetland habitat. Lately, I have been involved in restoring a bog, one of only two remaining bog habitats in my city, and home to the round-leaved sundew.
PS: I am absolutely loving West Coast bogs and wetlands lately. I've been reading David M. Carrol's Swampwalker Journal, about wetlands in the Eastern States, but we have our share on the West Coast too, so get out there to respect and enjoy them and all that lives there!!

Happy bogging!

West Coast Creature Feature-The Beautiful Barn Swallow

barn swallows in nest, photographed by smallgirl

While not strictly a "west coast" animal, as they are found all over the world, the barn swallow is a beautiful sight here on the West Coast. Although common, its numbers have declined in Washington state and is "blue-listed" (special concern) in British Columbia. These wonderful birds help farmers and the wider population by controlling insects, so thank a barn swallow today!

Fly high and have a lovely day today!

Hope has eyes!

Hope, needlefelted and photographed by smallgirl

My dear little moon bear, Hope, who I needle-felted several months ago has been patiently waiting to see the world. I was short a pair of glass eyes and didn't want to order a whole package online just for one bear, so poor Hope waited and waited in the dark. Yesterday, on a routine visit to my local sewing shop, I discovered that they have started selling German glass eyes by the pair, so of course Hope got eyes right away. Here he is exploring the garden.

needle felted moon bear, Hope, by smallgirl

To find out more about moon bears and how to protect them from cruelty and the medicine trade, please visit: http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?UID=2J0NIOGTVCWA

Paddington Bear is Desperately Seeking Summer

Paddington meets a banana slug by smallgirl

It rains a lot in the West Coast Temperate Rainforest, which makes it so lush and green here, but sometimes Teddy Forest bears want to go to the beach instead of jump in puddles. At least the banana slugs are pleased, although Paddington looks unsure. Maybe tomorrow the sun will come out...or the next day...or the next day.

Wishing you sunshine, rainbows, and puddle-jumping fun!

Red Hot- A Teddy Forest Friend Restoration

Teddy Bear Restoration

Before

Do you have any old things that you made as a child that you can't bear to throw out? I do, especially if they happen to be bears! Red Hot, a failed Brownie Valentine's Day project, was battered and old with only one arm (yes, the sad white pom pom counts as an arm). Rather than banishing him to the landfill, everyone in Teddy Forest rallied together to fix him up. We hope that his transformation will inspire you to save some of your old friends (and just be satified with having old things) too.

On the operating table

Red Hot's New Look

Have a fantastic weekend and try to reuse and refurbish rather than throw out!

"I mean, perfect is a lot to expect from something, right? We all have our faults [...] If something doesn't work exactly right, or maybe needs some special treatment, you don't just throw it away. Everything can't be fully operational all the time. Sometimes, we need to have the patience to give something the little nudge it needs." from Keeping the Moon, by Sarah Dessen (in many ways, this book got me through highschool and contributed to who I am today)