beetlegrass

$2 & 75¢

Today at the Seekonk (MA) Speedway Flea Market, purchased these things:

Had been looking for a motorcycle for my Prince finger puppet for awhile, and today a dealer had a bunch of them for $2 apiece -- all Harley Davidson models.
Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in not snatching up the other ones, because the idea of making an entire puppet motorcycle gang is appealing to me... leather... bandannas... granny glasses... long white beards...
Eh, maybe the dealer'll be back another week.
This bike came on a base, which conveniently screws off.
Now I'm ALSO wondering if all the convertible cars that I've passed by BECAUSE they were on stands could also have been easily detached.
Next time I'll look, how's that?

I got the hedgehog on the right today for 75¢; the one on the left I got at the flea market about two years ago, which is also about the time that this actual conversation took place. (Name changed to protect blahblah.)
The bird's commentary is my own addition.
Duh.

The concept & design of this puppet are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Flea Market Round-Up -- Yee-Haw! (Bullwhip Snap.)

There was no flea market today -- outdoor flea markets don't do too well in the rain. Go figure.
But that doesn't matter to us, does it, because I still have purchases from the past few weeks to show you.
Here they are, being demo'd by Witchoo, Zapp the Robot, Shocky the Monkey, Li'lvinia, Cowboy Cooper, and Bossie the Cow.
This week's batch-o-stuff is fairly weapon-heavy, as you'll see.



A buck a bike. These things really work, with the pedals making the back tire rotate.
Who's more excited about that than me?
Also exciting: the fact that my robot's "hands" fit the handlebars perfectly!



Here's some more of the G.I.Joe stuff that I was telling you about last week. The mess kit (with knife and spoon), the canteen, the grenades, each at 50¢, so $2 for what you see here. The pineapple and the bananas are from a Hello Kitty drinks bar that I have.



You've heard of a Shotgun Wedding, yes?
Well this is a High-Powered Rifle with a Telescopic Lens Wedding.
Gotta keep up with the times.
This cost 50¢, another G.I. Joe item.



A quote from the movie "The Untouchables", 1987.
Machine guns: 50¢ each.



This cap gun cost a whopping $4, but I think it's worth it. Toy guns seem to fetch fairly high prices at the flea market, in my limited experience.



This mounted head came from the same dealer that I got the bikes from, and this cost $1 as well.
So excited to find this, cuz it really fleshes out the Cowboy Cooper scenario. He's been getting a lot of stuff recently. He'd better watch it or the other puppets will get jealous and throw him in a pit.



Lyrics: Metallica.
This play gun holster cost 50¢, and, while it's plastic, it's a fairly convincing leather look-alike.
I think people should wear holsters for their cellphones.
It's my turn to start a new trend.
(The toy guns were purchased last summer.)

OK, so, for all the stuff purchased since this flea season started shown above: $11.50.
Not so bad, eh?

The concept & design of these puppets and their stories are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Flea Market Stove & Coat Rack

Here to show you this installment of flea market finds are: The Lobster Theodore, Cowboy Cooper, Winnie the Palomino and Hitchcock the Hitching Post.

BEEF.
It WASN'T what was for dinner.

Get it... mount?

The beginnings of this feud: "Chapter 1"  "Chapter 2"

I got both the stove & the coat rack last week from the same dealer at the Seekonk (MA) Speedway Flea Market, for a combined price of $5.
The stove is really cast iron, and the door really opens.
Can you say "miniature fire" and "tiny logs"?
I didn't think so.
Was happy to find one of these stoves in this smaller scale, cuz it "fits" my finger puppets better than the larger models we had growing up.

The concept & design of these puppets and their stories are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Flea Market Finds

The Seekonk (MA) Speedway Flea Market has been back in session since April 6th, so now that my camera et al are back & functioning once again, I kin shows ya what I've been gittin'!

Here are just a few of the things that I've bought in the past few weeks -- will show you the rest (I promise!) another day v. v. soon.

Got this thimble and another one for 50¢. I got it because it seems I'm all about the thimbles these days, PLUS the added bonus of the words "PROV., R.I."
(I like Providence... have I mentioned that once or a billion times before?)

Got this key today for 1 slim dollah for my wee pal NayNay, who collects them.
Don't know if he'll like this one or not, but I dug it, so he's getting it. (Nah nah, NayNay.)

This G.I. Joe stuff is just a drop in the bucket of what I got. They were selling stuff for 50¢ a piece, and I bought $8 worth of stuff from them. So, if Megan buys $8 worth of G.I. Joe stuff, and each item costs 50¢, how many pieces of G.I. Joe stuff did Megan purchase?
(Included in this purchase: some karate outfits and weaponry!!! Yay!)

Got all these doll clothes for a mere dollar. The light blue dress still smells like gasoline, even after a bath.
Err... its bath. Not mine.
There's gotta be a story behind a gasoline-soaked doll dress.
I suspect a mean older brother.

All images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Freaky Fingers Side Show: Armstrong "Arms" Akimbo, the Strong Man

Armstrong "Arms" Akimbo is Freaky Fingers Side Show's resident Strong Man.
Where else COULD he have ended up, given his name???

Armstrong has hair in very select areas which just don't happen to include his head.
His mustache is fake fur to which I've applied Elmer's glue -- to give it its stiffness and to create the handlebar shape.
In addition to the stitched arm & armpit hair, you may notice the chest hair patterning.
This patterning may or may not have been inspired by the chest hair growth patterns of 1 or more of the males in my family.
And those chest hair patterns may or may not have the nickname, "Jingle Bell Man".
I can neither confirm nor deny.
But it just shows ta go ya: Just about anything can serve as inspiration.

Above, Left: Remember when I showed you this WIP? Now you're seeing the FP (Finished Product).
My Inner Engineer had fun coming up with this new spin on what a "finger puppet" can be.
Above, Right: Here's a detail of the barbell, which is made from felted wool balls and a wooden stick colored with a silver Sharpie. The funny thing is, considering how STRONG Arms is: I store him lying down, so as not to stress the arm that's holding the weight.

Thanks in part to his popularity at Freaky Fingers, Armstrong has been able to take advantage of many lucrative endorsement deals. (Strong AND rich ... and he's single, Ladies!)
He's proud of his Fiber-Os box, as it shows his massive back with its stitched-in shoulder blades.

Before settling down with the side show, Arms circumnavigated the globe for various weight-lifting competitions and sweat rag conventions.
(Photographed with a flea market globe and a card from a Mexican Bingo game.)

Couldn't resist taking a shot of Armstrong with his hero, Charles Atlas, in one of that muscle man's classic ads. They're both wearing animal prints... awww....

I made a YouTube music video with Arms and Charles; click on the link to see the silliness.
The challenge in making the video was that I had to do everything in one take. With my left hand occupied with operating Arms, this meant my right hand had to operate Charles and the other props AND turn on the stereo and the camera.
Needless to say, I had to practice a few times.
Making life easier: the recent purchase of a tripod.
Who'da figured.

For other puppets in this series:

• Midget & Dwarf 
• Pierced Man 
• Fat Lady 
• Bearded Lady 
• Pinhead 
• Siamese Twins 

The concept & design of this puppet and its stories are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are © Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

WIP: We Are #1!

The form on the left is the Work-In-Progress.
No, I'm not trying to combat all those giant foam fingers at sporting events with my own felted version.
It is the basis for an upcoming finger puppet.
Won't tell you what yet.
We'll let that be a surprise.
As you might be able to tell, my entire left hand was used in this wet felting project.
After my forefinger and thumb were wrapped, I realized I should have laid out some strips of 48" roving to make it easier to wrap my fist. I had only laid out 12" lengths.
So, with my hand partly bound, had to do that activity in a slightly hampered way.
What I go through for my "art"!
The pain.
The sacrifice.
Anyway, it took quite a while to felt this amount of roving.
Almost an hour of being in hot soapy water.
Then a long time of rinsing out with cold water, then carefully extricating my hand from its woolly shell.
Pleased that the plan in my head worked out pretty well, first time out of the gate.

Image is © Megan E. Jeffery, 2008.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Things Purchased in the Past Week

Had a niece visiting me last week, so we traipsed all over Providence: seeing the sites; experiencing the shops; feeling the rain. :-)
Here are some of the things I came away with...

This swivel chair ($13), part of the Designer Chair series from reac JAPAN, was purchased at The Curatorium, a great shop on Wickenden Street that I've mentioned before.
Wanted to show you Fabriczio (who loves all things designer-y) sitting in the chair to show scale.
I think I really really really need to get some more chairs. They are soooooo cute!!!

Little rubber elephant (50 cents) was another purchase at The Curatorium. 
Now he has found a buddy in a plastic elephant I have. Big Elephant helps Little Elephant see over the crowds at the parade.

Above, left: Stickers by Bob's Your Uncle; got 'em at The Curatorium.
Above, right: Red drafting tape (was in dire need), purchased at The RISD Store.
My alumni discount applies. Does yours?

Two hackey sacks ($1.50/pc.), cut up for my own nefarious purposes. (No, I didn't buy them this way.)
Purchased at OOP! on Westminster Street.

Movie ticket to JUNO; seen twice in two weeks.
It's really really rare that I'll see a movie twice in a theater, but this one is so worth it.
The writing; the acting; the animation sequence; the music: go see it. Really great.
Also saw: Atonement, and, while beautiful to look at, I'm not really getting all the hype.
Just felt kinda empty.

The above book, NOT purchased but rather was hand-bound by my niece and given to me. Nice!

Click on images to see them larger.
Images are © Megan E. Jeffery, 2008.
Finger puppet's concept, design, name, and image are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

As Promised...

Remember back when I was talking about the stuff that Santa gave me? And I told you about the "Inanimate" stickers (by Fred) that can turn household items into 'friends'?
Well, as promised, here are a few office-y type things with their new mouths and eyeballs.
Enjoy!

Now I just want to poke the phone in her nose.

Angry lamp: "You take one step closer and this lightbulb's gonna get it!"

CD stuff: one is not happy; the other is goofy.

Let sleeping staplers lie.

And here they are in a communal setting.

Booty Call

Santa saw fit to pay me another visit this year, even though some would say that I have been Nothing But Naughty.
Fortunately for me, my Santa is fairly lenient with me as regards behavior.
Without further ado, here's the bounty of treasures that was bestowed upon me:

Above: A sock giraffe! Asked my sister what I should name him, and, after a moment's consideration, the answer came back, "Nehi." Heeheehee... I said, "Nehi needs a necktie!", so of course, there needs to be a kids' book entitled, Nehi's Neckties, wouldn't you agree?

Awesome pail, more pix below...
Too-cute Ladybug racers, more pix below...

Wooden zwieback, so funny. Toast seems to be becoming a theme in my work right now. Guess I'll have to ride that wave for awhile.

A Box O Fun! Nehi's maracas are just ONE of the treats (out of 25!) that were inside. I will save the others (each individually wrapped) for dinner parties, etc.

Above: Ladybug races often bring out the worst in their participants.

Above: Zapp welcomes the Robot Pail into the fold. The inside of the pail is cool, too, with stars and a moon and the earth at the bottom.

Above: Robot puzzles (contains 3!) and miniature toys which I can't wait to use in future photos!

Above: Close-up of the miniatures.

Above: Stuff for the home and for the home office... Chopstick holders, Hello Kitty chipboard pieces (for scrap-booking or what-have-you), Lego coasters (perfect colors for my dining room), notebook paper reinforcements in funky colors/patterns, Santa Post-it notes, stickers, and Tiki pencil toppers!

Above: Fun crafty things: stickers & elastic & sequins & ribbon & postage stamps & a funny head pen.
(The Inanimate stickers are to put on items around your home to turn them into 'friends'. I'll follow up with photos on how I use these, don't worry.)

Above: A close-up of the Polish postage stamp featuring finger puppets! So cute. Love the blue hand on the left.

Above: Ways I can entertain myself... a movie, a homemade CD of Christmas music, and a reprint of a 1940s book, called How to Get Along with Boys. It may be too late for this book to have any good effect. Here's an excerpt:

"Dates" rarely happen. You must first meet a man and manage to impress him sufficiently to be asked. Then, if you like, you may affect surprise.

Do not neglect your girl friends; some of them have brothers; or their boyfriends have friends. In the normal social activities of a group, you may meet someone you like.

If you live in a small town where the eligible males are numbered and it is impossible to meet other men, you might prevail upon your family to move to a larger city. It is not advisable to consider moving to improve your marital opportunities unless you have family there or at least obtain your parents' consent and approval.

Also: A lip balm and some ham & egg bandages will see to my health care needs for the next year.

Above: More books to read! Hooray! All comedic memoirs, too, even better...

Above: Chocolates & Gum!
(Notice how I've cropped the cookie box and the blue bag of Kisses... Yeah, they've been opened and are being eaten...)

Above: Close-up of the gum with quite possibly the best. name. ever.
I'm almost afraid to chew it, I mean: look at those sad eyes! How do I dare?!?

Above: 3 tags that were on the gifts -- Santa is a right artsy old elf...

Singing in my Elvis voice: Merry Christmas, Santa, sure did treat me nice...

Click on images to see them larger.

These images are © Megan E. Jeffery, 2007.
The concept/design/image of the robot finger puppet is the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Your Portrait in Roving.

Made a custom-designed finger puppet for a Christmas present. It's based on a character that the intended recipient has developed and performs as.
Her character's first name is Gladys, but for this MINIature version, I've gone with "Minnie", short for Minerva. Click on the images to see them slightly larger.

Max is a mumbler because his tail is always in his mouf. So he's not always intelligible.
Minnie's glasses are a flea market find --  a doll's (Barbie or the like) pair that I added fake rhinestones to.
The fact that I'm willing to let these glasses go should be proof of my love.
I stitched around Minnie's formidable boozum to give it extra definition.

Minnie's pillbox hat was made from a felted wool ball, wool felt, and some black netting. Did a Google image search on pillbox hats so I could do this teeny version. Details are important when making a character.

I don't know if the REAL character says the above, but since it was something that I grew up hearing, thought I'd cram the words in Minerva's mouth.
Dressing table and stool are from my childhood doll house.
You can see my arm in the reflection. I'm wearing a black sweater. :-)

Above: TV and phone are from my childhood collection of doll house stuff.

Above: An update on an old fave. Wallpaper and floor paper I've had since elementary school. Never used the wallpaper because I wanted to "save it for something special". Now that 30 years have passed, it might be time...
The cupboard is one of those cheap wooden ones you can get from the craft store. I blasted this one with spray paint for some other project.

Above, left: Here's the backside of Minnie ("Not my best side, you know! I'm afraid you'll have to use your wide angle lens, Honey"), showing the "pearl" buttons down the back of her dress.
The recipient of this puppet spun the yarn that I used to make the hair; thought it'd be cute to "give it back" to her in a different format.
The bun is a couched felted wool ball, and am so pleased with the way it came out!
The real character wears chopsticks in her bun, so I tried to replicate that by using sequin pins that I blackened with a Sharpie marker.

Above, right: This is how I'm going to package her, along with a little hang-tag.
I JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE this clear plastic pocketbook, and it is so perfect I could just squeal!
(In fact, I did.)
I don't even remember where/when I got it. Maybe someone housed a present to me in it?
Regardless: It's for moments like these that I never. throw. anything. away.

The concept/design of this puppet and its images are the property of Megan E. Jeffery, © 2007.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.