Day #99: Filed for later...

Enough said!

P.S. Excuse the out-of-orderness....I had some upload issues!

Day #101: Not Vegetarian Friendly

You were warned. If you are a vegetarian, you can pretend this is some sort of tofu-tempeh treat. Our locavore friends will be happy to know that this if from Faith Farms and is from pastured pork.

Quick Update

You probably think I fell off the wagon again, but I have actually been studiously building puppets and photographing them for this blog. (Really!)

My fabulous red laptop, however, decided to go on strike (or something). She would not boot up. She turned out, but then I would click on my little icon and nothing would happen. For days now, I have been turning my computer on several times a day, crossing my fingers, saying a little prayer, sprinkling Holy Water, chanting, whatever. Today I must've done something different, because it actually worked.

So, for those of you who have been following along consider this an apology for the deluge of multiple post notices that are about to appear in your inbox.

Fingers crossed that my computer will continue to function for today!

P.S. I will be backdating the finished posts for continuity's sake. Then I think I will pick a week and call it "Summer School," where I can really catch up!

P.S. Update to my update: I've been trying to upload video clips...blogger has been slow and uncooperative. So things are taking much longer than I would like. My apologies!

Day #97 and #98: The Magic of Velcro (two birds, one stone)

Technically speaking, I made four puppets, not just two. Well, maybe even more than that. We had birthday parties this weekend for good friends of my youngest daughter. I could've just gone out and got them something at the store, but I really wanted to do this instead. (I hope they like them!)

A few years ago, I took a workshop and learned about this fabulous velcro-compatible fabric. The "hard" side of the velcro will stick to it...so if you make a plain puppet...

Tabula rasa.

With a little bit of Velcro, you have endless possibilities!

Everybody loves pirates, right?

Lovely braids!

Pensive.

More pensive!

You'd be mad, too, if the other puppet got the pink braids that are longer!

The eyes, mouths, eye patches, hair, and whatnot are all removable and switchable. Huzzah! I hope they have fun with their toys! There should be many adventures!

So, for those of you who hang out here...feel free to chime in and let me know if I am cheating by calling this "two" works.

Day #96: A Little Bit Nuts

I was finishing up at the studio and contemplating what I could do for today's post. I was thinking about all the materials at the studio. Wondering what I could use. I looked around...

A bunch of nuts, bolts, nails?

So I came up with an idea that really didn't work out. I took a wingnut and tried to make an object puppet. I wanted the nut to be like a fish fin on a bolt. I tried, but it didn't really work like I wanted to.

But I think an important part of any process is coming up with ideas that do not work. Ideas that are, well, bad. Before you can be good at something, you need an opportunity to be bad at it. Brainstorming is mostly finding bad ideas in search of a route to a better idea.

As you can see, it didn't work.

But there are many more ideas out there!

Day #95: The Ubiquitous Paper Bag

I didn't plan on posting a paper bag puppet, but my youngest daughter made this fabulous creation. I, um, think it's an insect? See the six legs?

Day #95: Twister

There has been a lot of stuff in the news with hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes...My older daughter is terrified of tornadoes. I blame it on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Well, I was looking at a slinky the other day and wondering if you could make a tornado-ish puppet from one. I decided an experiment was in order.

I was not satisfied. I found a different type of wire -- a big bundle of it -- for Twister 2.0!

Better!

Day #94: Skull Appreciation Day (by Tegwyn)

We made it out to Gallery5 for the "Skull Appreciation Day" show and art-making event. The show is full of skulls, skulls, skulls galore! All designed, created by many different artists from throughout the country. This morning they had all kinds of skull-centric art and activities for children and families. Both of our girls participated, and our youngest made a skull mask.

And a mask is a kind of puppet...

Day #93: Eggin' You On...

My children are often in inspiration to me.

OK, it's true that they often make doing art difficult, they make messes all over the place, they draw on the carpet, they "cause confusion and delay." (If you don't know the reference of that last phrase you are likely not a parent.) But, yes, it is ultimately all worth it.

We had some leftover Easter Eggs that morphed into puppets. Here is the basic evolutionary journey:

Eggs in a helmet. Shiny!

But then the eggs became more...

And then they became very, very scary.  (Beware: Graphic violence towards tiny plastic bear in a play-do sleeping bag may be too much for some people's sensitivities!)

P.S. I am painfully aware that I SHOULD be on Day 120. Bear with me...I hope to catch up.