Om nom nom

I had the neat experience of setting up as a vendor at the first ever Maker Faire here in Phoenix. In 2008 I participated in the San Mateo Maker Faire & had a super fun time doing it. But as Phoenix usually goes, this was more intimate &...sweatier.

Lots of puppets found new homes, which means I'll be adding lots of new puppets to my shop soon! (I came home & made 36 more!) Before I went, I resolved to make a few puppets that were incredibly rad, (instead of focusing on "what can people afford to spend right now & I'll spend my time accordingly") & I think it was a good decision. I made a crocodile that I so totally want to keep. Then I made an owl & a fox, because I've succumbed to being trendy. Somehow or other it led down the path of "they're all predators...they need prey!" & thus the "Food Chain Friends" series was born.

Keep your eye out for them, & let me know if you think 2-puppet sets would be appealing. Downside: they're elaborate puppets, so they cost a little bit more than the average one. A set could be pricey. Upside: They'll be together! Forever!...unless the person who buys them gives one away.

Also, there's a poll on the facebook fanpage if you want respond to it. It's just one question. Let me just say the business side of running a business is totally all businessy & stuff.

101 and counting!

So in less than 30 days, I've added 97 new puppets to my etsy shop, and have made 24 more for local shops. I'm working on a project for a local theater company (pictured above) & I made myself a new banner and profile picture on Etsy. I'm going to go ahead & give myself a little pat on the back. *Jazz Hands!*

Together Again

I'm pleased to announce that not only did I win the Handmade Olympics (& have meant to post that all year long), but also, after 3 (maybe 4) years, I'm back to building puppets full-time!

So somewhere between March and now, I fell into making inchworm rod puppets. Thankfully they're soft and adorable. You can't get hurt on adorable. Well, you can, but those are less serious muscle-injuries.

So hopefully I'll remember to post more here, now that I don't have a pesky day job weighing me down.

You can find them in my Etsy shop, and if you're in Phoenix, starting next week you can find them at local boutique MADE art boutique, on the southwest corner of Roosevelt and 5th Street in an oasis of cultural loveliness. And after you've visited MADE, go next door to Jobot & order a crepe. For serious, they're amazing.

I'm really excited to be onto this next chapter of Puppet Pie. I have shipping tubes! TUBES! do you know how fun it is to get a tube in the mail? I know that x70. If only they had arrived in a giant tube.

Upcoming Puppetry events:

Puppet Slam in Phoenix on September 2nd & 3rd (call 602 262 2050 for tickets)

Pirate Party at the Great AZ Puppet Theater at 2pm on Sept. 11th (Guild meeting to follow)

MAYBE the Sunnyslope artwalk on Saturday, October 8th from 5-9pm

Maker Faire Phoenix October 15th! I'll either be presenting or vending. We'll see!

Plug any of those things into your google machine & you'll get all kinds of details. It'll be fun!

-Stacey

Happy Pi Day, 2011!

Hey guys!

Happy Pi Day! I almost missed it (whew).

I apologize for not posting about the fate of the handmade olympics. I was actually super-duper sick during the whole thing. I had about 5 days of being well & then I was (am) super-duper sick again. (My immune system is on vacation). Anyway, I'm starting to climb the health hill again, and I'll be back to my old "not sick 70% of the year" self in no time.

Serious thanks to everyone who has been patient with me.

Alright then, go out & have some pie to celebrate the few hours of Pi Day we have left!

A race to the finish!

It's been a race that's captured the heart's of the world (if by the world you mean me), and now there are only a few hours left to vote! It only takes about 30 seconds (honestly) & it's oh so easy! I'm only a few votes behind 1st place right now & I have a real honest-to-goodness chance at winning! (Which would be totally awesome because I really want to be an olympic gold medalist!)

Thanks to everyone (friends, family, fans) for putting up with my constant bombardment of "vote for me vote for me" on the facebook & the twitter (and the in-person, too). You guys are awesome to tweet, retweet, repost, share & everything. I love feeling so supported!

Alright then, get out & vote for my Dragon Finger Puppet! Remember you can vote from your mobile device, too!

Shooting for Gold!

So a few crafty people I know were holding/sponsoring something called The Handmade Olympics. It's over on the swanky blogger bloggity blog blog, rikarakstudio and the prizes look snappy!

I didn't enter something myself because I didn't know what to enter, so I just decided to watch on the sidelines. But lo' and behold, I get a message saying that one of my puppets has been, not only nominated, but also chosen to be one of the final 7 to be voted on! Voted on by YOU dear reader. Voted on by you.

So here's my dearest and humblestest requestestest: Please vote for Digby the Honknose Clownbat finger puppet! His picture is at the all-the-way-bottom and you'll find the voting box just underneath him (he's listed last). I'm shooting for Gold, but I'll be happy with whatever prize I actually win (even if that means it's just lots and lots of votes)!

Thanks guys!

Puppets Are for Grown Ups

I've been doing puppet shows for grown-ups (otherwise known as Puppet Slams) since 2002. Yes, yes, the phrase, "grown-ups" has a slightly juvenile sound to it (likely because if you're saying "grown-ups" you either hang out with small children a lot, or you are one), but let's face it...if I said "Puppets Are for Adults," your minds would race down the gutter farther than a cartoon fedora in a Disney short.

That doesn't mean Puppet Slams have all of the wholesome goodness that a Disney short would (holy lemon balls, no!), but usually you'll find artists with enough sense that you won't see 45 minutes of puppet porn. Usually. Honestly I don't know what you will see, but I know at our Slams here in Phoenix, you'll laugh, you'll guffaw, & you'll chuckle. Maybe less guffawing than laughing or chuckling... but your personal boundaries for what you feel is appropriate may be pushed. In a good way. You may take offense at some things. Some things may offend you with intention. Should you go? Yes. Are you sad that you don't live in Phoenix (other than for the magnificent winter weather)? You don't have to be!

www.PupppetSlam.com is a super snappy website that delivers all kinds of fantastical news about Puppet Slams held all over the darn place! It's so exciting that I felt that it deserved two sentences in a row with exclamation marks. Do you see how awesome it is?? (Now TWO question marks? All caps?? What has this post turned into? A giant vat of amazing!? Why I do believe you're right!) ....... Run by IBEX Puppetry, the Puppet Slam Network is like the cartoon network, only more awesome, not on cable tv, and it will make your Chia pet's hair grow better than that time you gave it a mixture of beer & tabasco sauce. (Sometimes I wonder why people let me have a computer.) (...or the power of parenthesis.)

If there's one thing you should learn from the internet, it's that there are so many fantastical subcultures in the world. You should partake in them. All of them. Or just this one. Either way.

Ok so maybe you're not on the snappy email list that tells you when and where things are taking place. It's okay. I'll hook you up. Because I'm nice like that! Just click on this link & you'll be transported there like a kitten in a carrier on the way to the vet...except it will be a whole lot faster, and you won't be trapped, or crying, scared, or sliding around on a towel while your owner sings you lullabies hoping it will calm you down even though it won't. Stupid owner. And why you continue to sleep in the carrier when you get home completely baffles everyone. You hate it when it's in the car! Silly you.

Hey, do you want avoid relying on me whenever possible? Good choice! You can sign up to receive those snappy emails yourself! Way to be proactive, reader! I think you'll be happy you took that step.

Soooo, yeah. You should go to a Puppet Slam near you. You should sign up for the Puppet Slam Network's email list (brought to you by IBEX Puppetry) and then you should apologize to your kitten..... or something like that.

3 Days Left!

So there are 3 days left to vote for a winner in the photo contest! Vote in the poll in the upper right. Amanda's is the Blue Monster who has throughly turned his back on her (not indicative of their entire relationship, I'm sure). Naomi's is the giant shadow puppet cookie about to eat the tiny finger puppet cookie (an amazing replica I might add). Jamie's is the bar scene, showing once & for all that my puppets like to get their drink on. (Please note that no bar fights have been started. They're quite the civilized drunks.) Wheee!

Photo Contest Contestants! (Finally!)

So life kinda got in the way of Puppet Pie & the photo contest (Read that: Burglary (incl. all of our laptops & cameras), a few diagnosis for our son, school IEP stuff, goose bite infection (...yeah), heater/AC replacement, and a hole in our ceiling.) But I'm looking forward to seeing who the winner is & diving into Puppet Pie face first with a fork in my fist & no napkin to clean the mess (I live dangerously like that). So yeah, thanks for your patience, guys!

So anyway, there were 3 entries to the photo contest...which I think should be annual... I mean, that will give you guys a whole lot of time to come up with new, fun, and exciting ways to play with & photograph your puppets, right? RIGHT! Alright, so let's get started.

Entry #1 is Amanda's.

"This guy keeps me company all the time... this is a picture of him snubbing me, but he's normally pretty friendly... I don't know what was up the day I took this..."

Entry #2 is from Naomi

"I loved the idea of one of my puppets attacking one of Stacey's. What better way than with a giant shadow puppet nomming on the finger puppet!"

Entry #3 is from Jamie

"Puppet Western Bar: Back in the old West after a long day on the trail puppets were able to put their felt up at a local boarding house where they could find a room, warm meal, plentiful libations and engaging company. Just don’t pull on the bartenders’ udders."

So there ya have it. Which one is your favorite? Go vote off to the right. Voting will close February 2nd at midnight blogger-time. The winner & their prize will be announced hopefully sometime when I get around to it in February. (2010 taught me to not promise any real kind of dates)

Wheee!