New Character Coming Soon, and Maybe Some Website Changes!!!

Hi everyone!!!

I've got a new character that's about to be unveiled!!  He was a custom order for a customer, but he's so great he just HAS to be added to the normal rotation.  He's a frog...and he looks VERY wise!!  We'll just leave it at that until I can get his pictures loaded up!!!

Second, there's may be a few changes to the website soon.

I am thinking about changing my categories of puppets from what they are currently to something that lumps similar characters into the same categories.  For instance, I may be moving Dart, Paddy, Javelin, and this new character all into a "The Frogs" category, and then listing each one's description and price right with the description.  I would also put a category like "The Yetis" for the Yeti characters. 

The reason I am thinking about doing this is because some of the puppets don't really seem to fit into the categories very well.  For example, some of the characters are placed into one category, but then priced higher than the standard for that category.  Mogul is an example of this.  He's in the Basic PLUS category, but he's more expensive, which kind of throws the category right out the window. 

The current setup for categories that I am looking at is as follows:

The Frogs
Dart
Paddy
*Unrevealed New Character, Wise Old Frog*
Javelin

The Yetis
Yeti, Sr
Yeti, Jr
*Unrevealed New Character, Mrs. Yeti*

Aliens and Monsters
Blip
Mogul
Vlad
Dion
*Unrevealed New Character, Otserp*
*Unrevealed New Character, Perry*

Furry Friends
*Unrevealed Replacement for Rabbit*
McGarrett

By doing this reworking, I will be able to not lump the characters into categories that they might not fit in, and I will also be able to have them priced more appropriately for what they are. 

As the winter draws near, it's time for me to get back into the swing of making puppets.  I STILL need to replace a few of my own, and I need to get finished on these new models that I've been working on.  Some of them have been nearly done for a LONG time now, and I just haven't had the time to finish them. 

Long Time, No Post...

Hello everyone!!!

I know that it has been a VERY long time since I posted anything on this site, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have NOT forgotten about my puppets. 

I just kind of feel that puppet making for me is more of a fall or winter type of hobby, and when it's nicer outside I tend to have a few other things that I work on. 

But, I have a few updates that I wanted to let everyone know.

First off, I will be working on two Dart puppets for a lady at work.  She wants a couple for her kids, so I plan on working on those soon.  They won't be any different than the Darts that I have done in the past, in fact, they are even colors that I have already done.  Blue and orange. 

Second, I have still got a couple of puppets to make for myself.  I still need to replace my Yeti, Jr...but I'll be looking at a few different ideas for making his mouth, because I really struggled on the mouth with the last Yeti, Jr I tried to make.  Unfortunately, when I started looking, it turned out I had been making the mouth wrong on these last couple of puppets I had made.  It had worked in the past, but for some reason it just wasn't working this last time.  I also still need to make myself a Perry the Dinosaur puppet.  I am going to make him just like the one I made for my customer, only a different color. 

Third, I have a good idea for another puppet that will be listed on the site.  It's going to be a relative of Dart and Paddy, but a bit different.  I think he'll turn out pretty well, but I have a couple of things to work out with him before I seriously get started on him. 

Fourth, I have one puppet that is almost ready to be listed on the site.  He's going to be replacing one of the puppets.  This will mark the first time that I have retired a character.  I'm doing this because I was never really 100% happy with the way this puppet turned out, but I am 100% happy with the way a similar puppet turned out...so I figured, if I'm not happy with one, why not replace it with one that I am happy with?? 

Fifth, I haven't forgotten about the video I was going to do showing some of the other puppets that I have in my collection that haven't been made by myself, but instead have been purchased.  I will work on that in the coming weeks as well. 

Finally, I thank everyone for continuing to support my puppets...especially my wife, Cathy, who has been telling me for a few weeks now that I need to work on a puppet or two.  I hope to have the new character designed and possibly ready for construction in the next couple of weeks, and I also plan on having that replacement character done extremely soon. 

Updates...Updates...Updates...

Soon I will have some updates.  I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating as often as I would like to, but I've been busy doing LOTS of other things...not the least of which was working on Perry...which was a GREAT success.

I'll have video and photos of him up in the next few days.

As for other puppets??

Otserp has been revised.  He was the puppet that I was contemplating canceling.  I revised the parts of him that I didn't like and will be listing him on the site soon.

I will also be listing another version of Rabbit soon, that is smaller and in my opinion a bit cuter.

Both of them will be ready soon.

Not to mention, Perry will be added to my list of characters available for purchase.  The custom order came out so well that I simply can't NOT list him as an available character.

As for stuff I'm working on other than those puppets, I'm making another Yeti, Jr for myself as I ended up sending mine to a customer.  I may try to do something slightly different with the mouth on this Yeti, Jr...but I'm not entirely sure.

Overall, Perry took me a LONG time to design and make...but the finished product was well worth the wait in my opinion.  I'll be making another one of him for myself as well to showcase him in a different color scheme.  I'm thinking of going with a royal blue for mine, where the one I made for my customer was yellow.

Hi Everyone!!

Just wanted to take a quick second to update some things. 

First off, I apologize about the lack of new characters.  I STILL am in the finishing process of several of them, however, one of the puppets might end up being scrapped.  Why, you ask??  Well, because he simply didn't come out the way that I had hoped he would.  One part of him is really cool, so I will probably incorporate that into a new design, but for now I'm thinking he'll just end up in my collection and not really be shown.  It's POSSIBLE that I could modify him and end up releasing him with just a slight modification, but one part of him really didn't come out the way that I would have liked.  Oh well, you live and learn, right??

I also wanted to mention that I am currently in the design and build process of my very first commissioned puppet.  It's a dinosaur, and I'm going all out on it!!  Here's a picture that I was given to work with. 

He's basically going to be a puppet similar in size to Dart or Paddy.  His skull is a modified Dart skull to add the dual colors and the horn/spike on the back of it.  I've made a pattern for his legs and feet and they are going to be great.  I also have something special planned for his arms that will make them very dinosaur like...but that's a secret that won't be shown until I get them built. 

It's coming along pretty well.  The process of designing the patterns is time consuming, and I went through several designs before I had the legs correct.  I'm going to run into the same thing with the tail, I'm sure.  The head, however, was actually quite a bit easier than I had anticipated it to be. 

More info on Perry the Dinosaur as he progresses. 

Last, but definitely not least, I have sold a full body Yeti, Jr.  So I wanted to post a picture of what Yeti, Jr looks like completely finished with legs and everything.  So here he is!! 

I don't currently have my own Yeti, Jr laying around now, so I'm going to have to make myself another one.  I was sad to see him go...he's one of my favorites...but I'm sure he'll find lots of love in his new home.  Besides, it gives me an excuse to make another one, right???

Hi Everyone!!!

Hey everybody.  Jeff here.

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I'm still working on puppets.  I have two that are nearly ready to be released, and one that is ready to be shown, but I don't know if I'll actually be selling him.  Right now he's more of a showpiece to show what I can do.  Of course, if anyone wanted to commission one like him, that could be arranged. 

I'm also still in the planning stages for the video of many of the other puppets that I have purchased. 

I've been pretty busy lately, which is why there hasn't been much new in the last few weeks...but rest assured I still have puppets in the works...some of which I haven't even mentioned before!!!

Mogul!!!

Hi everyone.

I know it's been a while since I showed you guys a new character.  I apologize for that.  I had planned on getting several characters done in January, but in the middle of the month my Grandfather passed away, and I really just didn't feel like doing much puppeting.  But I'm back, and I figured I'd give you guys something awesome that hopefully was worth the wait!! 

I still have several characters that are ALMOST done...including Otserp, a small bunny character, and a really...REALLY cool bird.  The bird is something I've made but I'm not sure if I'll be selling it because he's VERY hard to make and would probably cost quite a bit.  But if anyone's interested, I might be able to make him on a special order type basis.  More on that in another post on another day, though. 

Today, I'd like to introduce you guys to Mogul. 

Mogul comes from another planet...actually, he comes from Ganymede, one of the large moons around Jupiter.  I don't know how he got here.  He claims to have been brought by another group of aliens and left here to spy on us.  He's not a very good spy, though.  I caught him trying to eat a stick in the tree in my backyard one day.  I don't know why he was trying to eat sticks.  He actually is like our very own monkeys here on earth in that he really likes bananas.  Because of this, I kind of think of him as a space monkey.  Bananas and popcorn are his two favorite foods.  He would do just about anything for them. 

Mogul enjoys climbing, as do most other monkeys.  He has a pretty serious problem.  You know the saying "What goes up must come down?"  That's not necessarily the case with Mogul.  He has a tendency to climb so high into a tree that he can't get down.  I'm constantly having to get my 30 foot extension ladder out to climb up into a tree and retrieve him.  I feel bad punishing him for it, though, because he gets so scared when he's stuck up there.  He just shakes and shivers until we're all the way back down on the ground.  I keep hoping that one day he'll be able to get down on his own, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Mogul is an absolutely fantastic puppet.  He's full of all kinds of personality.  Just look at those eyes and that fur!!!  His fur is similar to Yeti, Jr, but obviously a different color.  His body is basically just like Dart or Paddy, so if you have one of those puppets you'll have a firm grasp on how to control and use Mogul.  His arms are attached with doll joints.  His eyes are just like Paddy's, but covered in that awesome fur so it looks like they are actually part of his head, instead of just attached to the head.  Now for the coolest part...

...Mogul's body is patchworked together.  Basically, he's a standard fleece body attached to the all fur head.  On top of that fleece, however, I have attached a ton of small cut pieces of the fur to make it so his entire body is covered in fur.  Why is it done this way??  Easy.  The fur is actually striped purple and black, but I didn't want his body striped.  By patchworking it together, I was able to make it look as though the body is just black and purple in random different spots.  I also was able to attach pieces with the nap of the fur going in different directions, which allows for the extra messy looking fur that looks so perfect on him. 

Mogul will be a Basic PLUS character, but he will come in at a price of $75 due to the time consuming work of cutting and attaching all the pieces of fur.  But trust me, he's worth every penny.  Mogul can also have legs added to him for an additional $25. 


Thanks for looking and your continued support!!!

Updates...

Hi friends.

I wanted to take a minute to give a few updates.

First off, I apologize for the lack of new characters recently.  I  have two that are almost ready to go, and I was going to be getting them up this past Wednesday, but unfortunately my grandfather passed away and we had a funeral and a burial to go to, so I simply didn't have time to finish the characters up.

So I'll be trying to get them done soon.  There are three that are pretty much done, they just need to have the final little touches put onto them.

After those three are revealed, I have two more ideas in the works that will be interesting I think.

Other than that, I also am planning on doing a video to show some of the OTHER puppets in my collection...some of them that I have bought from other talented puppet builders.

Thanks for your continued support.

Jeff

A Quick Update...

Hi everyone.

I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that I still have several puppets in the works...and three of them are just about ready to be released.

One of those two, in my opinion, is absolutely amazing.  He's going to be an Ultimate Character and he's going to require more time than normal to finish him.

The other is a family member of Rabbit, and has some really cool ears.  I like the way he has turned out.

I am still working out kinks on a couple of the other projects.  King is on hold right now because I simply can't get a part of him to work out the way that I want it to.  Ultimate Yeti, Sr is still in the works as I still try to nail down the fabric that I want for him.

The project that my wife has been helping me with is also coming along now.  I've got a good plan laid for it, and hopefully will be able to start putting the plan to the sewing machine in the next couple of weeks.  I think he's going to be a pretty cool and interesting puppet.