Crawwwk!

How do you type the sound a raven makes?!
"Crawwwk" is my best bet.



Last weekend I bought a set of 10+ hand puppet patterns online here. So far I've made the raven with moveable mouth and a simple horse. Of course I just happened to have black crushed velvet in my mondo fabric stash. What could work better? And black vinyl-leather for the beak and feet... score!

As for the simple horse-- I probably shouldn't have used fleece. I should have used flannel. Fleece just stretches too much when it comes to stuffing the head. Live and learn. I'm planning on making a movable-mouth horse next by adapting the donkey pattern. I found some inexpensive tan corduroy and some cute trim to use as a bridal. We'll see. I'll share of course when I finish it.

Even if you're cheap like me... I mean frugal... I would highly recommend this pattern set. You print them right from the site and it's only $15 for 22 puppet patterns total. So far I've found them very easy to follow and put together. Kudos to you puppet pattern lady!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Professional Puppeteer

When I was a kid I wanted to be either an artist or a puppeteer when I grew up. I got a marionette for my 7th birthday and spent the next few years doing puppet shows and building my own marionettes out of scrap wood and fabric, fishing line, and picture-hanging hooks (I don't think I'll ever grow out of the "weird kid" stage).



So it is my hope that Camster loves puppets as much as I do. I have included an awful pattern in this post for a hand puppet you can make out of scrap fleece, felt, or an old scarf.
These measurements are very approximate so adjust the size to fit your hand or smaller to fit your child's hand.



1. First cut out the bottom and top (green and blue) out of the same color fleece or felt. You will notice that the top (blue) is longer by 1.5 inches. This makes the upper and lower jaws line up better once it is sewn.

2. Then cut out the inside of the mouth (pink) out of either a red or pink fleece/felt. Fold in half and mark lightly with a washable fabric marker.

3. Lay the inside mouth piece (pink) over of the top piece (blue) so that they line up. Sew across the arch -of where the lip will be- only going from one mark to other on one half of the inside mouth piece (see diagram A).

4. Do the same with the bottom piece (green) and the other half of the inside mouth piece (pink) so that each (the green and the blue) are sewn onto the inside mouth piece (pink) without being sewn together (see diagram B).

5. Now fold the mouth piece (pink) in half so that it is sandwiched in between the top (blue) and bottom (green) pieces and sew from the corner of the mouth down to the bottom of the straight "tube" on both sides.

6. Now just turn it inside out and add your embellishments: eyes, nose, teeth, ears, etc.