Born On the Forth of July

Here he is. My new puppet that I finished this weekend. Not quite knowing what I was doing when I made his clothes I realized that if he was going to have a hand inside of him that his ears were too long and would interfere with the fingers that control the front paws. I decided to use a small gourd, cut and cleaned out, tucked inside the top of the black fabric and attached it all to the head. This gave him a "neck" and raised the ears enough to get my fingers into the arm holes. Then I found a very cool "collar" (at the thrift store) that just fit his new neck and glued it all together. Look at him. He's so proud of himself.

The prospector just about had a heart attack when I pulled the sewing machine out and sewed the little outfit. I haven't used the machine in years. It was very basic and easy. I did short paws in honor of the Pupster, Carl. I stuffed the arms and some of the chest with Poly fill and if I decide not to use him as a puppet, I can fill him up with more Poly fill and make him into a pillow.

Then I let him take a nap. After being born and all, he was a very tired pup.

Oh, by the way; I had three people offer ideas for his name. The names were Homer, Gourdo, and Jake. I loved them all but, after careful consideration, I Chose GOURDO, because I just think it's cute and I might use him as our greeter for the next gourd show. It just fits. Thank you all for the ideas.

This was so much fun. I also want to thank Mary Jane for the wonderful workshop. Making a puppet is such a personal thing to do and the possibilities are endless. Your feel like you're giving birth to a new little being, without the pain of childbirth of course.