It's not a cat without whiskers!

Every cat and dog hand puppet I make naturally requires whiskers. The standard option is to use sewing thread, or buy some kind of string. I like making all elements of the puppet by hand, so I chose to create whiskers using the same materials as the rest of the puppet. I wasn't sure at first how to do this - not at all! But as with all art, there are synchronous occurrences and the light bulb goes on! I randomly turned on a video on Youtube about how to make a hood which included a thick cord to cinch it tight around the face. The lady created this cord in a way I would not have thought of myself, because in principle it involves laying out fibers horizontally, rather than vertically. Anyway, I took the technique and simply scaled it down to make thinner strings.

Check out this time-lapse video and then try it yourself!

All that's required is a little wool, water, soap and time. The amount of wool and the amount of pulling affect the thickness of your finished string. If your string is too thin, it will break, and if too thick, it won't look right as whiskers. Trial and error is necessary to obtain the right thickness and consistency for your project.

Good luck!!!

Where to put your tooth fairy money?

Hot off the press - a felted wool piggy bank!

Don't know where to put that annoying spare change which usually just falls between the couch cushions or is left laying around the car? How about trying out this adorable kitty piggy bank? Find it here on Etsy.

Here's the various steps of it's creation:

I tested out a 3-D template consisting of a jar, a bowl and some foam. This was a complete experiment as I usually use a 2-D template. But I thought it was worth a try in order to make the form round with less arm work.

Covered my template with wool. I realized this was not the best way to create the form, but you live and learn.

Part of the face is needle felted.

Here's the piggy bank being used.

Why is Mechano the Cat of the Future? Find out!

While on the mission to make a new product, a felted piggy bank, I realized that in fact I had stumbled upon a new form of hand puppet. I've fallen in love! This particular cat is staying with me, as he's already like a part of the family, but I do intend to make more of this type.

Despite the body being quite rotund, it is a comfortable fit for the hand, thanks to the bottom felted piece which has a slit, through which you pass your hand. It wraps snugly around the wrist for a nice fit.

The idea for this video comes from the classic cartoon, Tom and Jerry. Tom was too lazy to catch mice, so his master bought Mechano - Cat of Tomorrow, to take care of business.

All available hand puppets can be found on my Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/Kandinskystudio