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.

Freaky Every Day

In greeting cards, "every day" cards are the ones that say "Hello", "Congratulations", "Thank You", "Best Wishes", "Get Well Soon", "Keep in Touch", etc.

It's for this very reason that I'm calling the every day line of the side show cards "Freaky Every Day".
It was a natural.
Here are just two:

The birthday card above with Ping & Pong has a back story to it.

Back in 1973 (I'm guessing), my sister gave my brother a book called Very Special People by Frederick Drimmer.

The book had a whole host of human marvels in it, including the famous Siamese twins, Chang & Eng, but the best part about this oddball gift was that she inscribed it, "Happy Birthday to a Very Special Person".

It's one of those things that became a family joke, so I had to pay tribute to that.

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 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.

Making Things

Coming up with various ways to use my Couched Cushion print-outs for the upcoming SURTEX show.

Followed up on my sister's suggestion to make bookmarks as a giveaway... here's just a sampling; the rest are in the press packets.

"Faked out" several gift bags using bias tape, ball fringe, trim, and handles from other bags that I painted.
These bags aren't 3-dimensional; they're just to give potential buyers an idea of what can be done with the surface design of the Couched Cushions.

The name, concept, design, and images of "Couched Cushions" are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose.
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.

Couched Patterns

Why it never occurred to me to play around with Photoshop's Pattern Maker UNTIL TODAY is another mystery for the ages. I didn't even know it existed! Which may be a good thing, because now I'll have to experiment with it morning, noon, and night.

All the pattern swatches above came from this Couched Cushion:

The name, concept, design, and images of "Couched Cushions" are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Yeah, They're What You Think They Are.

Made these little delights (using Fimo) a couple of months ago, and have since "shellacked" them for an *authentic* shininess.

There is a purpose for making these, besides just the overriding desire to be silly.
They are to go with doggie finger puppets for a photo shoot with fire hydrants.

Attempts to make puddles of pee have not yet met with success.
Have tried Elmer's glue tinted with yellow acrylic paint.
Nope. Didn't work.

Have tried pouring a stain/varnish onto a piece of acetate, but the stain was too brown.
Grrr. Thwarted again.

I'll keep trying 'til I get it right.
It's THAT important.

Image is © Megan E. Jeffery. All Rights Reserved.

Another Couched Quilt

Another Couched Cushion "Quilt", this time using 3 different pillows as jumping-off points.
OK, I think I need to go outside now.

The name, concept, design, and images of "Couched Cushions" are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Couched Quilt

Another color experiment using my Couched Cushions.
All of these squares are from this same source:

Am starting to see images in the repeated shapes: dragonflies, magnifying glasses.
This is work that doesn't feel like work; it's like playtime to see how colors interact.
And when you play: isn't that when you get the best results?

The name, concept, design, and images of "Couched Cushions" are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Couched Nine Square

Creating different colorways with my Couched Cushions, using the different sliders in Photoshop (Hue & Saturation, etc.) to create interesting combinations.
Getting stuff together for my debut at SURTEX (a big art licensing trade show) next month.
I have a dream that one day ALL surfaces on Earth will be covered in these designs.

The name, concept, design, and images of "Couched Cushions" are the property of Megan E. Jeffery.
These images are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.