I finished the round headed puppet I was working on.



The puppet is supposed to be a Peruvian boy but realistically he could be any central or south American boy, depending on how you outfitted him.

This week, if all goes as planned, I'll introduce him to his new owner, a teacher that wants to use him to help teach her students. It will be the first time she has gotten to see him. I hope to surprise her with him at school and get to see the students as they meet him for the first time.

In case you're wondering about his clothes ... His school teacher, owner is very excited about getting to pick out those herself.  So I guess I have to wait to see how he gets outfitted.

Now I just have to get the paper patterns scanned and ready for distribution and this project is done.

Oh yeah, there is a nearly complete description of the build materials on the Bashful Puppet Blog

Jon

Very well done.....I hope you can get a few pictures of the teacher and her new student....the best one of course because she can control this one. 

Maybe you could ask her to pick some clothing and give them to you and you can have the puppet dressed for his first showing.  I would just give her the size of the clothing that she needs and let her find something.  You could even find a plain shirt for the first showing and then she can remove it and dress him up as she wishes.  I would hate to have him exposed on his first showing in front of the class.   Just a suggestion of course.... 

It looks like a great pattern you have there.....I am sure people will grab it up.

Daryl H

A picture of the teacher with the puppet would be cool.  If you could capture her smile and delight on a photo, it would be a nice memory photo for you and perhaps a nice little marketing photo of your work in action!

Thats a good idea Puppet lady ..................... I have always wished many months later that would have taken pictures of my projects and started a photo book albulm to carry about with me to show potential customers of my work.
Jon I love the puppet.............. this will be a great teaching tool for this teacher.

Billy D.

Hi Jon,
Nice puppet.  I always take pictures of my puppets before they go to their new home and I try to get the new owner to send me a picture of them with the puppet.  This way potential customers can see the size in relationship to a real person. Sometimes it's hard to tell just how large a puppet is if it's in a picture by itself.  Another thing I do that my customers seems to really love is I give them a birth certificate and a care package (how to handle, store and clean their puppet) some manipulation instructions and a thank you letter. All in a colorful little folder.  I've been told by others that I should charge for this stuff, but it doesn't cost that much to print a few sheets of paper and the folders only cost me ten cent apiece (I purchased them when school was letting out for the summer and a lot of supplies were on clearance).  Besides, sometimes you have to do little things for your customers, they're likely to send someone your way. They really like this, since a lot of people have no idea on how to care for or use their puppet. 

Billy,
what ever you do, start a photo album of the puppets you make, not only for customers to see but also for you to see how you have progress with your building. 


Angel

Angel:
I like the idea of care instructions.  Would you be willing to share those?  I'd like to send some with my puppets but have no idea what to write.

Sure Puppetlady! 
This is what I use but feel free to add or subtract any info.  Hope this helps.  If there's anything you think I should add or take out let me know.

                Handling and Care instructions for your new puppet:   

1.   NEVER handle your puppet by its face, this will surely cause stains, your hands are oily and can be dirty. (think about what happens when you put your hands in your face).

2.   Always store your puppet on a puppet-stand under plastic, in the box that you received them in, or in a plastic bin with no more than 2 puppets to a bin depending on the size of the bin; do not “squish” your puppets on top of one another. Never store your puppet in extreme heat, store it in a cool dry place.

3.   Never pull on your puppets' body; you don't want to accidentally rip anything.  When you take your puppet off your hand NEVER pull it by the neck, lay your puppet in your arm as if you're cradling a baby and slide /pull your hand out.

4.   Your puppet comes with an upper and lower strap or finger tubes, two upper tubes one lower, in the mouth this is to aid you in the movement of the mouth. To use the straps in the mouth put four fingers under the top strap and your thumb under the bottom. To use the finger tubes you need to place your pinkie in one tube, your pointer finger in the other and your middle and ring finger go on top of the two tubes, your thumb goes in the bottom tube.  Even though the straps and tubes are secure still Do not pull on them you do not to want them to come undone. As with anything, with proper care is a must.

I truly hope that you will enjoy your new puppet, if you follow the above instructions your puppet will enjoy a long and happy life.



I have my company name at the top of the page, and my company address, phone number, email and soon to be website address at the bottom of the page.  I also insert a business card in the folder.


Angel

Thanks Angel!  This is great!

You're welcome.  Glad to be able to help.


Angel

That is a great idea to include with your puppets.....thanks for sharing Angel!

Daryl H