Hey Gang!

Lately I have been discovering neat little tips and secrets as I have been bulding puppets.
I dont think there is a thread here with every day uses for materials we use to make puppets.

I would like to start one where every member can share a tip or secret they have discovered or have been shared with. After all we are a family of puppet lovers and with all the sharing ideas and techniques we discuss, I think this thread should get filled up with real brilliant tips and secrets.

Lets here some of your Tips and Ideas..... 


1. Styrofoam egg cartons : Great for paints. Mixing/holding colors and washes clean.

2. Airbrushing/painting small items:  Glue them to a flat surface with your glue gun. Just a dab. I use a little wood board. When they done and dry carefully pull them off.

More to come...

Puppet Hugs,
Sonny 

1. Always keep a scrap of fabric at your side before sewing/painting, and be sure to test what you're doing before actually doing it.
2. If you're machine/tool isn't working, always checked you've turned it on at the powerpoint first 
3. A cardboard box with rows of holes in one side makes for a good (and cheap) stand to stick your rods in while they are drying (after gluing wire into rods for instance), or simply to keep them out of the way.

For the eyes, I mostly use ping pong ball cut in half and I use to attached just with the hot glue(Sometime it mess a little bit), but I discover that I could attach a joint doll to the half of the ping pong ball (With hot glue) and then with the plastic stick from the joint doll press it to the face putting the plastic ring where it goes to hold it(Without using hot glue that can create any mess on the face)

My 2 cents.

Hey folks...thanks for all the useful tips.

Bhanu

Use a free motion foot on your sewing machine to sew those pesky fingers!!!

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned on this site before, but the idea came to me this evening. What about using plastic chocolate moulds for eyes?

One great tip I learned from watching one of Paul Louis's videos on expert village. When working with a hot glue gun, when you put the glue in and then you have to hold your fabric on it to have it bond properly, to prevent from being burned, simply wet your fingers in cold water before applying pressure on your fabric and it will help the glue cool and harden much faster and it will prevent your fingers from getting burned.

I have a tendency to accidently put items into my paints as they sit out on the table.  I now grab a piece of scrap from the trash to put my paint blob on and then LEAVE the scrap resting in the top of my trash can so I don't drag my fabric or papers through it.  When I'm finished painting, my disposable paint tray is already in the trash can.

I like using surgical forceps to stuff fingers with polyfill.  You can shove it in tight spots more easily and control the placement of each little puff more precisely.  I also like using a variety of tools to turn fingers and arm tubes right side out (a dowel rod or a spaghetti strap turner mostly)

1. Airbrush cleaner: 409 or Fantastic. Much cheaper than the airbrush cleaner sold and works like a charm.
I ususally run clean water through as the last cleaner.

2. Latex eye lids: Cover a plastic eye or ping pong ball with latex(which everone you will be using on the puppet) . Let completely dry for a few days. Using a razor, cut the desired eye lid size. If you want color, make sure you mix in some acrylic paint with the latex to get your color you want.

...just a reminder, Whaen adding color to latex, dont make it too dark. Colored latex dries DARKER.

Brilliant thread! Bookmark, Bookmark, Bookmark!!!!!
Dolls joint on ping pong ball is new and great, another way (also good for plastic spoon eyes too)...
Glue a little foam (poly) inside the concave shape, cut off flush with the eye and glue the foam to the head to give a greater surface area.
Or... Glue the foam inside then cover with fabric using stitch and glue then sew on. Sewing eyes on means less mess and the ability to unpick and change if you want.
If you sew eyes on and one is not sitting straight try stuffing poly fill under it with surgical tweezers till it lifts, (good for eyes "on top" of a head where height is important.
1st time glue gun users, keep the tip moving over a small area to avoid a big lump of glue oozing out and into every crevice surrounding the thing you are trying to glue. Float it back and forward, just touching the surface as you slowly squeeze the trigger.
More to come I'm sure and I'm looking forward to reading more!
Scoob