Great work! Reminds me of Donkey from Shrek! Love the ears - are they poseable?

Very nice Julie!  You are really turning out some unique puppets! I see that Billy answered your question about the image inclusion. If you are still unsure use the Modify link on your original post and you'll see what Billy did.

Thanks everyone!  I think I understand how to link the photo now. LOL

Thanks Billy, as always coming to our rescue.

Gompie, The Zebra puppet from Madagascar is absolutely beautiful.  Made by Axtell.  Never thought of that, but it does sort of resemble him.

Na, Thanks..yes, the ears are pose-able. 

I wish the detail would show up in the photo.  Shading etc...

Julie

Na, Thanks..yes, the ears are pose-able. 

Thought so - amazing work. Gee, I wish I had the talent to make foam puppets like that.

When you are adding things like the ears that stand up.  What methods do you use for attaching?  I'm going to add some antennae to a caterpillar puppet, but I don't want them to fall over.  Should I go all the way through the foam and then something underneath?  I always have trouble making things stand up like that.

It depends on what the ear, antennae (feature) is made from such as polyfoam, backer rod etc.  If you just stuff the ear you won't get it to stand up as if it were foam or something else inside the ear (or whatever).  So....the Donkey ear is two pieces of 1/2" foam glued together with wire running around the outer edge.  The edge of the foam is pinched together.  Then the ear is covered with fleece.  Since Donkey's head is slightly pointed at the top I slant the bottom edge of the ear to match the slope of the head.  I then hot glue just the ear to the head making sure to only glue down the foam, so I can sew through fabric.  I pin it in place while the glue is cooling.  Then I hand stitch it into place. 

For something small like an antennae you can use a very small doll joint to attach it through the foam.  I have found that a lot of it has to do with the sturdiness of the appendage. So, if you just make a fabric tube and stuff it with fiber fill for an antennae and attach the doll joint or sew it then it will fall over as the stuffy get compressed.

Also if the head foam is very light weight or the fabric is very stretchy the weight of the ears etc will pull it over, so structure is important.

Make sense? 

We sometimes use thin bendable sprinkler hose which you can get from any hardware store.. this should help them stay upright

Julie mentioned the doll joint for attaching something like an antennae. Why this works so well is it gives you a good solid base.  Along that same idea would be if you took say a piece of wire and pushed it through your foam then bent the wire on the inside of the head so it is in a circle that lays flat against the inside of the head against the foam then glued a round piece of felt over that you would have a good solid base that antennae or even an ear could be built over. Remember when ever you use wire to give something structure in a puppet you should bend over or cover the end of the wire so it does not eventually poke through any foam of fabric.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way our little community of artists is so free and open with ideas. The sharing of knowledge between everyone here is truly awesome! Just one more reason I love it here with my buddies at P&S! 

Julie, that is exactly what I needed to know.  I think in the past when I had trouble it is because the appendage was too heavy for the head structure and/or the fabric was not strong enough.  So thank you for that tip!

Shawn I was thinking exactly of trying that technique.  You described it very clearly.

Puppetainer - I second that!!