Tips from the Weird Kid

Customize your Antron!

Posted by John Kernaghan on

Did you know that we can custom dye Antron fleece to match an existing swatch you have? We can also match the fabric to a Pantone number that you provide to us. Custom-dyed antron is a great option for skin tones or for matching to corporate/school colors. And don't forget that antron fleece is easy to work with and is great at hiding seams. Contact us today to find out more and place your order! Now get building!

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Esther? No, not your auntie...I'm talking about foam!

Posted by John Kernaghan on

Esther foam has to be one of my favorite foams to carve - mainly due to its ability to be rigid enough to hold up to carving and rasping while remaining soft and flexible. For this reason I love to use it to make mascot feet, puppet bodies, and puppet limbs. As you can see in the first image below the foam is soft enough that i can press my thumb into it and it fully recovers.  In the second and third image you can see how precise it can be cut through using an olfa knife.  The final image...

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Foam Fast 74 Glue...I'm Stuck on You!

Posted by John Kernaghan on

Glue is such an important part of building mascots and puppets and the kind of spray glue is crucial to your success.  I struggled for a long time using 3M Super 77 mainly because it was easy to find and I really liked it's strength and the fact that it's basically clear however, I can't stand the misting! As you may or may not know this type of spray glue loves to mist.  Since most of the time we only want glue in a very specific spot, this can be very troublesome.  Not to mention that it sort of gets...

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Upholstery foam...is for sitting.

Posted by John Kernaghan on

While upholstery foam is great for sofas, chairs and headboards, it's my opinion that it should NEVER be used for mascots and puppets. The main issue I have with using this foam for building mascots and puppets is that it's an opened cell foam product. Opened cell basically means that it easily absorbs moisture, for example from breathing or perspiration. That can become problematic and unpleasant, especially if more than one person has to wear the costume or use the puppet. In addition, trapped moisture is a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of fungus and bacteria. Closed cell foam...

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Ahead of the Curve

Posted by John Kernaghan on

When you first start using a curved needle, it might feel a bit like driving on the other side of the road at first, but once you get used to it....there will be no turning back! If you've ever tried to hand sew something in a crevice or keep two pieces of fabric flat while hand sewing with a regular straight needle you know it's a pain.  You either end up with much bigger stitches then you want, or you have to pull the fabric so far away from what you're sewing that it never looks quite like you imagined....

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