Any questions? If you have a question about the contest rules or submission requirements, please feel free to post the question here and we’ll make sure to answer as soon as possible. Someone else just may be wondering the same thing!

We are proud to announce Project Puppet’s second annual puppet contest - “Once Upon A Puppet”! That’s right, a puppet contest with a fairytale theme! So now’s your chance to give the storybooks some competition. You may create your own original version of a famous storybook or fairytale character or create an entirely new character (with a fairytale flair, of course). The character can be built from any one of the four Simple Series patterns available at Project Puppet.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $200 USD cash prize! So dust off the old storybooks for inspiration and start planning your character. The entry deadline will be August 31, 2007. Find more information and details about the contest on the official announcement page, or read the complete contest rules.

A very special thanks to contest sponsor Puppeteers Unite!

We recently held a survey to find out what you would like to see next at Project Puppet. What made the top of the list? A new Monster Series! This little guy is the most recent puppet created by the Project Puppet workshop, though done in a style not so “Project Puppet” but very familiar, I’m sure. You may be looking at the basis for the first pattern in the new Monster Series. Consider this sneak peek!

Check out this great character sketch of a Texas Chili Cook, “cooked” up by first-time puppet builder Zee Risek. Where’s the puppet, you ask? Well, you’ll have to visit Zee’s puppet blog to see the progress!

And that’s not all. Zee has candidly documented the entire process from receiving the Punto Pattern in the mail to the almost finished puppet character, with all the mistakes and successes that come with building a puppet for the first time.

Zee’s account echoes the experience of many first-time puppet builders. Mistakes are made, but serve as great teachers for the next character. Finding new materials is always exciting. And seeing a character take shape and live is what keeps the puppet builder building. Keep up the great work, Zee, and thanks for sharing!

Now through July 29, 2007, when you purchase one Forma Series pattern, that’s the Rotondo Pattern, the Punto Pattern, or the Ovale Pattern, you can receive a second Forma Series pattern at half the price!

If you asked twenty different puppet builders how to construct a mouthplate for a hand puppet, you would more than likely get twenty different answers and quite a long list of materials. The materials used for mouthplates, as well as the many different techniques and styles of mouthplate grips, are as diverse as the people that build them. The mouthplate is certainly a great area of the puppet building process with which to experiment.

The Forma Series, available here at Project Puppet, utilizes foam core to construct the mouthplate. Foam core was chosen because of it’s availability and because no special tools or heavy equipment is necessary to work with the material. Other materials, however, may be used in place of the foam core, making the puppet more durable, especially under heavy use.

Here are some materials you may want to try:

• Rigid Plastic Sheets - Plastic is a great alternative because it can be both rigid and lightweight. You can browse your local hobby shop for plastic sheets or check out the Plastruct website for information or to order a catalog.
• Corrugated Plastic Sheets - Corrugated plastic looks just like corrugated cardboard, only it’s plastic - go figure. You can find plenty of this material at your local sign shop.
• Hobbyist Plywood - Hobbyist plywood is used in model or doll house construction and comes in various thicknesses. Your local craft or hobby store should carry a selection. Balsa wood or basswood sheets can also be a nice lightweight alternative.

Let’s not forget the Simple Series! Here are a couple of alternatives to replace the stiffened felt that is used for the Simple Series mouthplates.

• Gasket Rubber - Gasket rubber is a great material for a flexible mouthplate that can still hold it’s shape, ideal for the Glorified Sock Puppet Pattern. You can pick up gasket rubber at a plumbing supply or order it online.
• Rigid Plastic Sheets - Rigid sheet plastic can also be used in place of the stiffened felt for a non-flexible mouthplate in any of the Simple Series patterns. This works especially well for the Melonhead Pattern as no foam core reinforcement is necessary.

One of the easiest ways to improve your building skills is to begin experimenting with different materials. The materials used in the Project Puppet patterns were chosen for two reasons.

• They do the job. In other words, they have the necessary properties essential to the particular piece or function of a typical hand puppet.
• They are readily available. We made it a point to choose materials that could easily be found in your local craft or hobby store and that were relatively inexpensive.

That being said, there other materials that can be substituted within the confines of the Project Puppet patterns that can add to the quality and durability of the finished puppet. In the following posts we’ll consider a few materials and a few suitable substitutions to start your mind rolling on the possibilities.

It is our aim at Project Puppet to provide a solid foundation of hand puppet construction techniques for the aspiring puppet builder/puppeteer. The Project Puppet patterns are not designed as a be all and end all solution to building puppets. Far from it! In fact, no puppet pattern or puppet company could truthfully make that claim.

It is our wish that our customers learn from the Project Puppet patterns and then build and add to those skills by experimenting with different materials and techniques. In that line of thought, the next series of posts, entitled “Improving Your Skills…”, will highlight some ways you can start to improve your adeptness as a puppet builder. So stay tuned…and enjoy!

Talk about great characters! If you haven’t already (or even if you have), take a look at Philip Hatter’s Thistledown Puppets. The puppet company was founded in 2006 and has quickly assembled an outstanding cast of puppet characters built by Philip himself. Thistledown Puppets offers live shows as well as custom puppet building services.

And best of all, you don’t have to be in Roanoke, Virginia to enjoy Thistledown Puppets’ performances. Check out their YouTube page!

Posted below is one of our favorites.

Hey, by the way, Project Puppet is graciously mentioned in the Studio Tour. Thistledown Puppets is definitely a company to keep your eye on and a great source for inspiration.

David Thornton of the new Puppetechnics.com wrote to tell us what he and his team have been “cooking” up in the UK and about their success in using the Project Puppet patterns. Bob Todger Green (pictured above on the right) is Puppetechnics’ spokesman of sorts. He used to be a local weather man until lighting struck (wiping out the rest of the news crew) making him South West News International’s number one (and only) news reporter. Bob was made using the Punto Puppet Pattern along with the Punto Fleece Covering Pattern. You can catch Bob’s newscasts on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/puppetechnics.

Not only is Puppetechnics venturing out into video puppetry, but they also are performing a live show entitled “The Secret of Gooney Farm” at a snazzy looking puppet theater in Miniatura Park.

Puppetechnics.com is building up to a full launch of their website in September 2007. In the meantime, however, there are a few teasers and previews posted on the site. Check out the Puppetechnics’ Movie Studio. See if you can spot glimpses of the Project Puppet patterns serving as the understucture of some of Puppetechnics’ cast of characters. We love it!

And, as if that’s not enough, Puppetechnics is hiring!