While it would be possible that gmail was some how blocking any email coming from the puptcrit site, your ping should still have gone through. It does look like the IP associated with puptcrit.org is blacklisted on some services but over all has a pretty good record.  Then again gmail can be picky.   If you figure out a solution let us know.

So who had a baby? Is this one of those Kardashian folks? ...just kidding.  Nice reporting Nigel.

Andrew over at PuppetVision wrote about the Detroit Institute of Art and it's puppetry collection. http://puppetvision.info/2013/07/will-an-important-puppetry-collection-by-lost-to-detroits-bankruptcy.html

CNN even had some things to say about it. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/18/us/michigan-detroit-howdy-doody 

It is kind of interesting what the  Detroit News had to say about it. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130718/METRO01/307180040/Howdy-Doody-may-test-limits-protecting-Detroit-assets

The custody fight proved that a promise to the DIA is taken seriously, even when it involves a TV mannequin that’s more Michaels craft store than Michelangelo.

That was from the author of the article Laura Berman.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Cut two pieces of red fabric in the shape of lips and stitch or glue onto the puppet. If you can find a shiny fabric then it would look like gloss lipstick. There are fabric paints you can use to paint the lips on.

BTW: Since you did not say I assume you are talking about on a hand in mouth puppets made of foam and fabric. On my marionettes I've simply painted the lips on then used high gloss clear finger nail polish over the color.

It could work, it all depends on how you approach it. Hand in mouth or "Muppet" style puppets are inherently comical so if you don't do it right then the stories may not come off as scary. Then again you could approach it from the angle of doing the stories in a tongue in cheek manner so they are funny versions of the stories. Can be hard to do.  Marionettes on the other hand could make the series a lot more scarey. Many find them creepy even in children stories.

I agree with Na.  I've seen puppeteers that preform an entire show with just a pile of sticks. Have to say that one did not catch my fancy much but it does illustrate the definition of puppetry that it is the manipulation of any inanimate object.   Some of my favorite puppet performances use very simple basic puppets.

Always yes to the business card! I as a consumer tend to throw my receipts away pretty fast but I have a stack of business cards!

My personal choice on bags would be go cheap, go paper and offer them but do not automatically put them in a bag. They may very well have a bag already they can use or think of the advantages of them carrying the puppet around so it is seen by others. Part of my answer is motivated by conservation... do we really need more trash?

You might want to try Wonderflex. http://www.wonderflexworld.com/ You might be able to repair the broken areas with it.

Personally what I would do is strip them of the fur or fabric covering and then make a pattern of the shell using the tape up method we have talked about here before. Then you would have a pattern you could use to make a brand new shell out of EVA high density foam. The old shell I would bet is going to continue to degrade so patching might just be a stop gap measure.

While you may not be able to throw them in the washing machine you can still give them a hand washing. Think of it in terms of if you had to clean your favorite covered sitting chair. A damp cloth and some cleaner should do the job. You could also try some of the carpet cleaners but make sure to test on a spot not visible just like you would if cleaning your carpet.

You might want to have a look at this post. http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,8202.0.html Great idea for storage and has dust covers to keep the grime off.

Sounds like there is a budding puppeteer on the rise!