Bartman Hand Puppet

the Simpsons are a part of everyones memory
and it is part of my childhood memory
the first picture i had taken for a passport was while i was wearing a bartman t-shirt
so this puppet is connected with my childhood
 

you will need:
 materials:
a lot of thin sponge/foam   (it is found in mattresses to cover the springs)so use an old mattress because you can find this on
the street or in your attic
spray paint yellow purple
styrofoam balls (found in craft stores)
craft rubber(also craft stores)
cheap fleece, purple and orange black (99 cents store in europe in form of blanket)
some metal wire
hot glue
contact cement(builders market)
duct tape
thread
cardboard

tools :
hot glue gun
a pencil or old paint brush to apply the contact cement
sewing machine
face mask for painting if you paint  indoors
pliers to cut metal wire
scissors
marker

cut two pieces from your sponge
50/30 centimeters and 30 /30 centimeters
one will form a big cylinder an the other a small one
make a stencil  of a triangle for the hair from a piece of cardboard
mark the triangles with a marker
cut triangles

glue the sides of the piece to form a cylinder
do the same with the small piece

to glue you need to apply the contact cement on both sides of the sponge ,wait two minutes and then bond the edges together  always use contact cement for sponge because it works really good and it is elastic

to glue the hair so it looks nice you will have to apply contact cement on the upper edge , wait 2 minutes and then fold the edge in two so it looks roundish
i recommend pushing the center with a pencil

take the piece of cardboard and place the big cylinder over
trace the edge with a marker
trace a line across the circle about one third in distance
place small cylinder and trace as shown in the picture

cut mouth board using a cutter and   cut across the line dividing the two circles but be careful
cut just the first layer of the cardboard so you can fold it easier
glue black fleece using hot glue  (be careful it is really hot)
cut fleece around the cardboard leaving 1 centimeter allowance
glue over the edge and to the other side

glue cylinders together with contact cement leaving space for the mouth board to be attached
paint with spray paint but do not use to much because the sponge will become brittle
wait to dry
attach the mouth board careful

 

cut the styrofoam ball in two halves
make a cylinder from sponge square and glue one end in such way as to be round(here you need to experiment a little)

make a big cylinder
cut upper sides at angle
glue together

 

stitch tshirt   
you will have to eye ball it for size
use sewing machine on normal straight stitch

apply masking tape and then
spray paint the purple mask
i glued eyes before and this was a silly problem in this step

make arms (cylinders of fleece turned on the other side)
hands(piece of foam with the side glued round)or you can stitch it on a folded piece of fleece and  stuff with polyester stuffing
glue eyes now not like me ,before painting  :P and nose and ears
use hot glue for eyes because contact cement burns the styrofoam
glue under lip  (this is a piece of sponge with the under corners cut off and glued
dress the body with t shirt 
introduce the small cylinder in the body

glue hands and arms

attach cape
this cape is made from a square of purple fleece with two ribbons sewn on the sides

take a tour of berlin with bartman  :D