Kitchen Pest

I came home today hearing that we have a fly problem in the kitchen– a problem I created. Often in the summer this problem is due to fruit that ripened while we were away at work, which then attracted fruit flies. But our house has another kind of kitchen pest: an artist who leaves work on the kitchen counter.

I am sure I am not the only one guilty of this offense. Thankfully, this particular fly problem was pretty easy to address. After taking a few photos for the blog, I put the puppet away in the closet.

This, as puppets go, is a fairly inexpensive and quick puppet build. The materials used:

• 5 sheets of 8.5" x11" craft felt, 45¢ per sheet, in pink olive, goldenrod, fuzzy black, black
• 2 plastic 18mm faux pearls, 4 per bag for $1.99 each- pearl paint removed
• 1 red sports shoe string, hollow style, $1.79 per pair
• 3 styrofoam balls 2" diameter, 79¢ each
• 12 feet of 16 gage armature wire (armature wire from Utrecht is approx. $5.00 for 33 feet)
• 2" of 2-part hardening epoxy putty (this is a small portion of a larger tube that costs around $6.00)
• 6 T-nuts, at 23¢ each
• 1/8 yard of translucent blue fabric scrap– fabric store scrap bin purchase, 80¢
• 23 gage (thin) armature wire, special lab purchase 35¢ for 24 feet; not all 24 feet were used
• 1 sewing needle and some thread (blue, black and olive)
• 1 hand full of cotton cosmetic puffs (cotton balls, an entire bag is 99¢)
• some Elmer's glue all

All told the supplies cost less than $15.00.

The bee, because that is really what this character is, took about 8 hours to assemble. I made it in small shifts on a number of different days. Now it is ready to animate...as soon as it is done eating this cup cake.