Character Reveal...

Hi everyone!!!

I have a new character to show everyone...here's a quick description of him, his name is Rabbit.

Rabbit is a puppet that is similar to Yeti, Sr. By that, I mean he's a two handed puppet where you control his head with one hand and his arm with your other hand. He has awesome ears that flop around s you move his head...you never know where they're going to end up when you're just playing around with him, but with a bit of practice you can flop them forward, backward, or even have one forward and the other backward!!

He's got cool little teeth and a nifty looking nose.

Here's the story for Rabbit...

"Rabbit is a janitor at a local junior high school. He's worked hard his whole life, and was recently promoted to Head Janitor at Foresthill Junior High. He hasn't let his promotion go to his head, as he continues to believe that hard work always pays off. He's always in to work early, and always going home after everyone else. He's a model worker and has used this drive to help him get everything he wants in life.

Rabbit lives in his hole with his wife and his son. They are both very proud of Rabbit, but his son goes to Foresthill Junior High. Sometime's he gets picked on by the other kids because of his dad's profession. If only the other kids understood that no matter what Rabbit does for a living, the fact that he puts carrots and lettuce on the table everyday is all that really matters.

When Rabbit isn't working late, or going to work early, he enjoys flying kites and just being outdoors. He is planning a camping trip for his family to Yellowstone Park for sometime this coming summer...if he can pull himself away from work for a couple of weeks!!"

Rabbit is a great character, and I'm sure you'll love him as much as I do. If you're interested in a Rabbit, let me know. I primarily make him in the tan colored fleece, but he would be available in any of the fleece colors that I have...so if you want a neon green Rabbit, you can get him!!!

Thanks for your interest, and again, Happy Holidays!!!

Jeff

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

And, to those of you that don't celebrate Christmas...Happy Holidays!! 

I just wanted to take a quick second to let everyone know that I've got a big reveal coming up soon.  I need to get some video work finished for part of it, but let's just say that THREE new characters will be springing up really soon.

So, I hope you all have a great holiday and a Happy New Year!!!

New Character Coming Soon...

Hello everyone!! 

I wanted to let everyone know that there will be a new character coming in the next few days.  He is tentatively going to be a Basic PLUS character, so his pricing will be $60.  However, I am working on some different eyes for him that may be able to bring him down into the Basic character range.

I also am very close to getting done with one of the projects that I've been working on for a while.  Otserp may be ready to go in the next week or two. 

King is still in the process of being designed.  I've run into some snags with his "house," and I'm trying to work through them but not having much luck.  I'll keep at it, though, and hopefully I'll be able to release him soon. 

Ultimate Yeti, Sr is still in the works, as well.  I've still had no luck securing the fur for him.  I may have to end up looking for the fur at another outlet if I don't get any luck any time soon. 

Finally, the project that my wife has been helping me with is temporarily on hold.  I wanted to do something really cool with the eyes for that puppet, but the size just wasn't working out.  So I'm in the process of reworking the entire design to create a slightly larger head so that the eyes will be able to work with him.  I'll keep you guys updated on any status changes for him...but for now he's kind of on the back burner. 

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you guys will enjoy the new character when he hops in later this week!!!

Some Updates...

Hi everyone.

I am sorry, but I still haven't had a chance to upload the character description and the video that I want to make of McGarrett.  I've been really busy and haven't gotten much time to do it lately.  I will try to get it up this coming Sunday.  I really want the video to be up so everyone can see how cool McGarrett's ears are.

I also wanted to mention that I've still got some more great characters that I'm working on.  Some that I mentioned before, and some new ones.

I'm still waiting on the fur for the Ultimate Yeti, Sr.  It's been out of stock for a little while, and when it came back in stock I missed out and by the time I got my order placed it was gone again.  So I'll be on the look out still for that fur.  I know it's going to be amazing when I finally get it.  I also have another addition to the Ultimate Yeti, Sr that will make him that much more cool...but it's a secret for now!!!

I'm also still waiting on the project that my wife has been helping me with.  I was going to try to do something really interesting with the eyes on that puppet, but after drawing it up I don't know if the size of the puppet will accommodate what I wanted to do.

So that's the update on the projects mentioned earlier...now I'll tell you about a couple of projects that I'll be starting to work on soon as well.

The first is Otserp.  I'll explain the name when I introduce him.  He's going to be a fleece puppet in the body style that Yeti, Jr is...but he's going to have some super special ears.  I'll leave it at that, and hope that you guys like him when you see him.

The next is King.  King's a character idea that a lady named Alice that I work with came up with.  It's a variation of the Dion puppet that I'm sure will make HISS-tory as a Puppets by Jeff Original.  I'll just leave it at that.

Last, I would like to once again thank everyone for your support.  I'm still growing as a puppet seller, and I have slowed down my listings on Ebay and Etsy while I try to complete my entire line up of characters.

Thanks again!!!
Jeff

McGarrett is Now Available!!!

Hello friends.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have found a suitable replacement fur for the material I used to make McGarrett.  It's slightly longer, but I actually think it looks better. 

The fur he was made out of was apparently a "Halloween Only" material from a local supplier, so I will be sure to buy as much of it as possible next year. 

McGarrett will go for $65.  I'll have him added to the Characters Page soon. 

New Character...Tentatively...

Hi everyone!! About a week ago I sent out an e-mail to my customers mentioning that a new character was coming.

Well, I've been having some trouble nailing down the material from a distributor. The original distributor for the material no longer has any, and I am in the process of trying to find a new distributor to be able to provide this great character to all of my customers.

I have an assuring lead on a source for the fabric, so hopefully within the next week or so I will be able to have this guy available.

Until then, I wanted to show everyone a quick photo of McGarrett. He's a dog, and he has something that the other puppets don't...those ears. See, they aren't just on top of his head, they can be posed in any angle that you would like.

Hopefully I'll have this guy ready soon, until then, please enjoy this teaser photo!!!

Current Projects...

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that there are a few projects that I'm currently working on that hopefully I will have available soon.

The first project is an Ultimate Yeti. This Yeti will feature an absolutely fantastic faux fur that looks so real you'll swear it came from a real Yeti!!! If you add an Ultimate Yeti to your Yeti Family Collection, you'll have three great puppets that will absolutely knock your audience out!!!

The second project is a Dog. He'll be based on some of the other heads that I have now, but he'll be furry and have ears, like all good dogs should. Basically, think Dart but furry and with floppy ears, and you'll have a good idea of where the Dog will be coming from.

Finally, I have this amazing fabric that I picked up a while back that I've been waiting to do something with. Well, my wife has helped me pick a style for it, and now I'm just waiting on her to come up with a name and I'll be making him and offering him. He'll be similar to Yeti, Sr but with this amazingly crazy fur and a surprise for his eye design.

Keep checking back often, you never know when there will be an update!!!!

Thanks for your support everyone!!!!

Jeff

New Character...Introducing, Dion!!!!

Hi everyone. Thanks for checking out my site and looking at this new creation.

I wanted to post a video of this new guy, because pictures don't really do him justice.

Here's Dion.



He's a plant. Dion is actually short for Dionaea Muscipula Maximus, which is basically "Giant Venus Flytrap." I don't really know where Dion came from. All I know is that there's this little dog that lives down the street from me that is always in my yard going to the bathroom. One day he was near the side of my house where there's a bit of overgrowth and I went to chase him away, and when I got around that corner he was gone. The only thing left was his leash, which was near the ground in front of this odd looking plant. As I walked near the plant, I noticed that it looked really odd.

I dug it out of the ground and put it into this blue bucket that I have, and that is where Dion is to this day.

Dion is a GREAT puppet. He's got loads of personality, is completely different than anything else that I've done, and is something that you aren't going to see very often. I think he'd be great for some stand up comedy or some walk around comedy. The cool thing about a plant that's a puppet, you don't have to even give it a voice at all. It's voice could basically be controlled only by it's actions, which means you wouldn't need any kind of ventriloquist skills or anything like that.

I'm still working out the pricing of Dion, but I'm thinking that he's going to fit into the Ultimate Line of puppets that I have, which would put him in the area of Javelin. With that said, I'm seriously thinking about adjusting the price for the Ultimate Line altogether, so if you're interested in a Dion puppet, let me know and we can work something out.

Thanks for checking him out!!!!

Puppets by Jeff Presents...Javelin!!!!

Here's my newest character...Javelin. 

He's the first of my "Ultimate Characters," and his price point will be $120.  That price includes everything seen in the video. 

Check him out!!!!

Update on New Character...

Hi everyone. 

I wanted to make a quick update on the puppet that I was going to be introducing.  I had been planning on introducing this character as a Basic PLUS Character, but some things have changed.

I've basically added a LOT more features to this puppet than I was originally planning, and as such I've come up with an entirely new line for this guy. 

He's going to be great, and I think he'll fit into my lineup really well. 

I should have him done in the next couple of days. 

New Character Coming Soon...

Very shortly I will be introducing my next Basic PLUS Character.  He's going to be similar to a puppet that's already available, but different.  Let's just say he's one of the puppet's big brother. 

I also will be adding Yeti, Sr to the Character's section with the next couple of days, complete with a biography and information about the puppet. 

Stay tuned!!

New Prices for All Puppets...

As I strive to try to find a good pricing point for my puppets, I have started to realize that maybe they are priced a bit high. 

I am lowering the prices on all of the puppets by a few dollars.  I really hope this doesn't cause anyone to shy away from the products thinking that they aren't good quality.  The price cut is being done for several reasons.  First, I need to build up a customer base, and lower priced characters will allow me to do just that.  Second, I have been getting better at making them, so less materials are wasted, and less time is wasted.  That means that the cost for materials has gone down slightly, as has the cost for what is effectively the labor.  Third, I really want to get into selling more and more puppets, so hopefully the lower price point will attract new buyers. 

The price changes are as follows:

Instead of $50 for a Basic Character, the cost will now be $40. 
Instead of $75 for a BasicPLUS Character, the cost will now be $65.

Both of these new price points don't change the prices of accessories or additions to the puppets. 

I hope these new prices will help bring in some more business, and make those returning for more business even happier that they have. 

Thanks for your time.

Jeff

A New Puppet, Yeti, Sr!!!

Hi everyone.

Here is a quick picture of Yeti, Sr.  He's my first advanced puppet, and is a "live arm" puppet.  That means that your hand goes into his hand to give him unprecedented control.  He's made with the same care and quality as all of my other puppets, and is a great character for your show if you need a puppet that can interact in more human ways.

Watch the video to see what I mean, and get introduced to Yeti, Sr!!!

A New Character Tomorrow...

I've been working hard the last couple of days coming up with another new character. 

Yeti, Sr will be revealed tomorrow.  He's a very special puppet, and will be the first "Advanced" puppet in my lineup. 

He'll include something that none of my other puppets have yet, and that's LIVE ARMS!!  That's right, Yeti, Sr is going to be a live arm puppet where one of your hands goes into his hand and controls it's every movement.  It's something that's GREAT to have when you are doing a show, as puppets that have a live arm can do things that others can't...like pick things up, throw things, and crumple things up. 

I will also be introducing another new, but familiar, character early next week.  It's someone you've seen before, but he's all grown up now!!! 

Finally, I have gotten some GREAT new fabric that I will be using to create a new character...I'm not sure what direction I want to go with it yet, but be on the lookout for him in the next couple of weeks!!

Two Puppets Up on Ebay...

There are currently two puppets available on Ebay.  Bid now and get a good deal on a great puppet!!!  Puppets on Ebay generally start the bidding at $20-25 less than what they sell for on the site.  There is currently a Vlad and a Dart available on Ebay. 

Yeti, Junior Now Available for Purchase...

Hi everyone!!

There is a new character available here at Puppets by Jeff.

Yeti, Junior is now available for purchase.  Orders on him will take approximately seven days to complete as he is a made to order puppet. 

Here is a picture of the completed character.

Another Sneak Peek...

Interested in seeing a character that I'm currently working on?? Here's your chance...this guy isn't only currently being worked on, he's basically done and is available for purchase RIGHT NOW!!! He won't be listed on the site until I get pictures of his finished body up, but right now he's only awaiting some arms and he'll be complete.

For now, here's a picture of his head, which as we all know, is the most important part of any puppet!!!!

Want to know a bit about this character???

His name is Yeti, Jr.  Here's what Wikipedia has to say about yetis in general:

"The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century.

The scientific community generally regards the Yeti as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence, yet it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology. The Yeti may be considered a sort of parallel to the Bigfoot of North America."

Well, Yeti, Jr might have something to say about that whole "Yeti as a legend" part.  He doesn't take too kindly to people not believing he exists, especially when he's sitting down right now studying for a calculus test. 

You might be wondering, why is YJ not white??  Well, not many people know this, but Yetis are born a darker color, and as they get older their fur starts to turn to the more white like color that most people think of when they think of a Yeti.  Yeti is currently 22 years old, but that's still really young by Yeti standards.  He won't start to turn colors for another three or four years. 

Yeti currently attends Central Michigan University where he is studying for a degree in psychology.  He is in his 3rd year as an exchange student, and he currently heads up the NTSO at Central...that's the Nepal-Tibet Student Organization. 


Yeti, Jr is a GREAT puppet character.  His fur gives him so much character and makes him look so realistic.  His eyes are the same type of eyes used on many famous monster puppets (think of one that likes cookies and you'll know what I'm talking about).  He fits your hand perfectly and has foam grips for your fingers and thumb to keep them in position for performance.  He also has a foam skull that fills out his head wonderfully, and it's held in place by his eyes so there's no need to worry about it slipping out of position!! 

YJ's arms will be similar to my other puppet's arms, but they will have less filling in them due to the nature of the fur...it's nice and thick, so too much filling would make the arms look too big.  YJ will be available with legs, as are all of my puppets, and his feet will be a special design only for Yeti, Junior. 

As mentioned, YJ is available for purchase now, and I will have updated pictures of him in a finished state in a couple of days!!!

Vlad as a Finished Character

I finished the clothing for Vlad today, and he is now available for purchase if you like.  You can see a photo of him right here!!!

Camo Paddy and Dart...Just Hanging Out, Waiting to Get Started On Their Cross Country Move...

Here is a Camo Paddy and the Orange Dart.  These two puppets were custom orders and are being shipped to California where they will meet up with Yellow Dart who moved there a few weeks ago. 

I really like how they both turned out.  Orange Dart looks great with the yellow eyes, and Cammo Paddy looks spectacular with the tie-die camo fleece. 

New Dart Completed

Here is a custom ordered Dart puppet in orange with the "frog" style feet and legs. 

I finished him up and realized I had forgotten to put the tongue in place, so that will be added.  Even without that in place, I think you can get a good idea of what the whole puppet looks like.  I really like the feet and legs when they are added to these puppets. 

A New Dart is Available for Auction!!!!

A Quick Teaser Picture

Hi everyone.

I wanted to give you guys a quick preview picture of one of three characters that I'm working on that I will hopefully have available for purchase soon. 

This is Vlad.  Vlad is a young vampire. He has a problem, though. He's hemophobic. That means he's scared of blood...the sight of it, the thought of it, everything about it just really creeps him out. Because of this, Vlad isn't very accepted by most of his kind. He still likes to dress up like a classical vampire, but he simply can't bring himself to have anything to do with blood. 

I am currently working on an outfit design for Vlad.  it's going to be the most intricate outfit yet, and will actually take more time to finish than the puppet itself does.  It's going to be a black robe with some highlights on it, and around that robe will go a "cloak" or "cape" if you will, along with the classic vampire collar thing on his cape. 

I really like the design for Vlad that I have right now.  He has that classic slicked back Dracula hair with a widow's peak.  He has tiny little fangs that show when his mouth is open or when he smiles, but easily slip behind his jaws when his mouth is closed without bending or damaging them. 

Vlad is going to be a bit more expensive puppet than the others that I have made, simply because all Vlad puppets will come with the outfit that I am designing for them.  The hair is also a bit time consuming to get together, so that means he takes a lot longer to put together than my other puppets.

Look for Vlad to be available sometime in September. 

Dart Arrived Safely...

Well, Dart made it to the Golden Coast safe and sound.  He arrived early this morning, and his new owner had good things to say about him. 

The positive feedback on Ebay went like this:

"WOW...all I can say is WOW! What a great high quality puppet!!!! THANK YOU!!!!"

Thanks Mike, for buying my first puppet.  I hope you enjoy him.  I hope to sell more!!!  

Got a .Com Address.

Tonight I got a .com for my Puppets by Jeff blog. 

It should show up at www.puppetsbyjeff.com sometime in the next 12-48 hours or so.  It will be interesting to see how it works out, because it's just going to forward anyone that types that in to the blog here.  Maybe one day I'll put together a real website and it can forward to that, but for now the blog, in my opinion, is a great direction to try and take this endeavor. 

Look for www.puppetsbyjeff.com to be live soon!!!

All Boxed Up, and Ready to Go!!!!

I have my first puppet that I have sold all boxed up and ready to go. 

Yup, Dart is heading for the West Coast.  That's a LONG ways away from Michigan where he was born.  He should be alright though.  Dart isn't one for the cold weather, and he DEFINITELY has an eye for the surfer girls that are sure to be hanging out in California. 

I will miss you Dart.  I had so much fun making you.  I can only hope you bring as much joy to your new owner as you have to me.  Have a safe trip...

The Arm Rod Tutorial

Here is the arm rod tutorial that I have created for how to use the arm rod with your Puppets by Jeff puppet. 


Enjoy!!!!

Welcome to Puppets By Jeff...

Hi!!!

Thanks for coming and checking out my blog.  This site will be used for pictures, videos, and information about the puppets that I am creating and selling...and maybe some other things about puppets. 

For more information about me, and not the puppets, be sure to check out my personal blog at Gimpdiggity.blogspot.com.

Thanks!!!  And check back often for more information about Puppets By Jeff!!!!