As far as a strap for the mouthboard,...have you seen the "foam tube" method or the "half ball" method. I find those are some of my favorite techniques.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1713968333500&set=a.1090658791151.15618.1366934516&type=1&theater

Here's the foam tube enforced with a Shamwow type of material. I like to use that material on the mouthboard because it is very absorbant and doesn't promote any sweat slippage of your hand  in the mouthboard.

Sonny,
Do the Dremel glue guns hold up well? I've always used cheap glue guns because they seem to burn out so fast.

I have used the Dremel for about 3 years now and will not use another brand. What i really like about the Dremel I posted is it has Multi temp and a light on the tip to help see those hard to reach spots. It is a bit pricey, but worth the money. I will work on puppets all day and that poor glue gun is on all day....tuff little bugger.

Ooooo...I likes it! I've looked online but I'm not finding anyone with Dremel glue guns in stock but this has got me thinking of upgrading to a nicer, multitemp gun. Time to go shopping!

Hello again! Sorry I haven't been able to put up photos. Now I have some, and I've ggotten a lot done since the last photos:


Here are the arms, stuffed and ready to be sewn to the body.


And here's the head and body, sewn together with the mouthplate and inner foam skull piece in place.

On a related note, I forgot to add anything for my fingers to slip into to keep them next to the mouthplate. Is that a really big problem, or should I be fine?

You should be fine without finger tubes or straps. Before they where all the rage I preformed just fine without them.   I do think they can really help but especially on a larger puppet but this is a pretty small puppet so should not give you too much trouble.  I always had more issues with keeping control of the top mouth plate and finger tubes really help there but you can always cut and cram a piece of foam up in the head that can help snug your hand against the top plate.

Also remember that a good pattern design (pinhead is a good design) creates a puppet that the mouth is open by default and you are forcing it closed.  Where straps or finger tubes come into play is when you need some help opening the mouth but this should happen naturally when you relax your hand. Granted with more use this "springing open" won't be as strong but should last a while.

You're making great progress! Can't wait to see what the end result is (:

As Shawn said, considering the size of the pinhead, you should be ok without anything for holding your fingers. But it really depends on your preference as a puppeteer, some of mine can not work with straps and some love them. I would say just try your puppet on for awhile and see how it feels.

If you feel like it's not comfortable, you can add in a simple solution without tearing your puppet apart. Using your "foam mouth" pattern, fold it in half (semi-circle) and cut out a piece of foam. You can then glue that along the rim of the skull inside the puppet, right above where your fingers would go so they can stay in place (:

Thanks for the constant support everyone!

Today, I finally attached the nose to my puppet! Yesterday, I also attached the arms.



Now, what I'm wondering is what should I use for the arm rods, and how would I go about attaching them?

I got myself steelrods used by florists to hold up flowers (1,8 mm). Since you have a soft puppet you might try this way of bending the rods into bracelets and fit the arms into the rods. This guy here made a tutorial for armrods. I have to admit that part one ist quite anoying since he doesn't show anything 'till close to the end and the whole tutorial is messed up concerning the music, but the ideas are neat:




But there are far more experienced people here.