Hello,

Michael here, 36 years old and really new to puppetry.

I always found puppets interesting, but never got involved in it.

Things started to change when:
-I got a daughter about 2 years ago, who love cookie monster and elmo.
-I got some Folkmanis puppets for her
-I visited the Center for Puppetry Art in Atlanta

Since then, I made a "brake cable" controlled rat for an halloween "ratatouille" costume. Nothing fancy, a really messy job actually, but it made a funny costume.

And now I'm trying to build a cookie monster puppet for my daughter's birthday, and maybe an Elmo for christmas.

Besides that, I'm an avid woodworker and musician.

Welcome to PandS!  I answered your question in the other area... The side note was written before I read this.  You'll be fine.   When I first got into puppetry I started by replicating the masters work.  Nothing really wrong with that. There are those now though who actually try to profit from others ideas and creativity by duplicating the work of famous folks and then selling it.  That is frowned upon in the Puppet community. Building something if you are a fan or in your case your daughter is fine.

Thanks Shawn !

I'm really just trying to make something fun for my daughter.

I just went with the characters she likes the most, even if I think it might have been somehow easier to go with a character of my own (nobody would known if the shape of the head is not exactly what it was intended to be).

Don't get too caught up in the making it exact. A big blue furry monster for her is going to be loved and looked at as the same cookie monster she sees on TV.   Also if you look at toys and graphics of him that are out there they don't always look exactly like the puppet.

honestly, unless you are absolutely meticulous, you aren't going to get it exact unless you cheat like I used to do and get a stuffed figure of what you are trying to recreate and just gut it and make a mouth plate for it. Just think that years from now, she is going to cherish it and brag about how you made it for her, even if it doesn't look exact. Remember to post pics when you are done.

Even in the show itself he did change a lot, yes.

My daughter got a glimpse of my prototype (black fleece and cotton balls for eyes), and she still thought it was Cookie Monster, so she will be pleased no matter what.
Now it's more about her daddy who loves to tinker with stuff (well, it has to be done for november 16th, so I won't tinker too much either).

And I'll sure post pictures when it's done, yes.

It's a bit off-topic, but I needed to make a costume in a rush (we decided to go trick-or-treating at 3:30PM...).

I had some fur and fleece to make a Elmo puppet so...






The sewing is a bit "rough", but I had to rush.

Pretty cool! I like how you put the eyes and nose on the jacket.