Dinosaur Train

I know this isn't technically a Muppet but Dinosaur Train is a Jim Henson Company production, so I'm going with it.

I made this mask of Buddy the T-Rex because we're going to Paleopalooza this weekend at Philly's Academy of Natural Science. Buddy and Dr. Scott Sampson will be there and we are super excited.

I know it's been a while since I posted here and if you're still reading along, thank you! I'm still putting tons of balloons on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/blackcatballooncompany) and sometimes out on Twitter (@blackcatballoon). Muppets and non-Muppets will still be posted here occasionally (more often now, I hope, since I got an app for Blogger.) My computer is slow and I don't fire it up all that often, hence the silence here.

Sweetums

I never go to movies on opening weekend, mostly because I'm curmudgeonly and entirely unwilling to wait in line for anything that I can just waltz into a week later.

Except for this. I swear to all that is green and felt-y, I will make it to The Muppets before this weekend is over. I will also get a baby sitter because I'd really like to see it without having to make four potty trips before the opening credits end.

Until then, here's Sweetums. He's not full-length (I'd planned on it but ran out of brown balloons.) I'll do him again later when I get some more supplies. I also think the head would make a fantastic balloon mask.

Scooter/ Muppets on SNL

As a kid, I liked Scooter a lot. A LOT. I remember really wanting a shiny green jacket like his and the fact that we both wore glasses? A sign that the unassuming show gopher and my kindergarten self were soulmates.

So now you know what kind of nerdy kid I was.

This week's SNL was excellent. I'm not one to go running for every Muppets talk show appearance and tv cameo but I would've watched for Jason Segel alone and the Muppet stuff turned out to be really great. I loved the opening song, Kermit's "REALLY?!?" with Seth Meyers and especially the closing where the Muppeteers appeared onstage with their characters. I saw some complaints about it but personally, I loved seeing the performers who usually fade into the background.

If you haven't watched it, at least go look up Jason Segel's adorable and highly amusing Andre the Giant impression.

Pumpkin Costume Cookie Monster

Another Halloween on Sesame Street balloon. These have been really fun to do.

Trick or cookie!

Vampire Elmo

I've missed the Muppet Project! My fall schedule's left me too busy to twist for fun lately but I really wanted to do some new Halloween stuff.

Here's the thing, though: while I love costumes and candy, I don't like scary things. I sometimes get spooked by my neighbors' seasonal blow-up lawn decorations. The only way to get me on a haunted hayride is to tranquilize me like a wild animal. Name a horror movie and I can guarantee that I've never seen (nor will I ever) see it. Simply put, I'm a Halloween wimp.

To that end, I set out to make the cutest, un-spookiest Halloween Muppet possible.

Elmo vants to suck your juice box.

Cookie Monster

It's been a busy summer & I haven't made a new Muppet balloon in a little while but I had to share this:

A while back I referenced Tom Waits/Rowlf mashup videos on YouTube. They're pretty good but someone has really nailed it with a less-expected combo: Cookie Monster/Tom Waits. LOVE.

One small problem: I'm likely to find myself muttering this song under my breath when I make Cookie Monster balloons. And I make a LOT of Cookie Monster balloons.

More Muppets coming soon!

The Count

One Count, one monocle, one bat and one candelabra. Ah ah ah!

A little bit of detail on The Count's accessories:

I love balloon candelabras beyond all reason.

Making this balloon has forced me to go watch The Count's "unnecessary censorship" YouTube video again. This being a family-friendly blog, I won't link to it here (though, as the name implies, there's technically nothing explicit in it.) If you haven't seen it, go look it up.* It's delightful.

*Unless you're a kid. Then don't.

Down at Fraggle Rock

Banana tree shirts never go out of style.

Here we go, Fraggle-lovers. Let's dance our cares away! Worries for another day.

I started the Fraggle thing off with Wembley for two reasons:

1.) I've always liked his banana tree shirt.

2.) He's been on my mind ever since James Hance depicted him as my beloved Wash in his Muppets/Firefly mashup, Firefrog.

I hadn't seen Fraggle Rock since I was kid, so my memories are a little fuzzy. When I watched an episode the other day, I realized that while I know the basics (subterranean radish-loving mammals, Gorgs, Doozers) I'd forgotten much of it--like how damp and mossy Fraggle Rock is. I imagine it smells like cheese in there and it skeeves me out a little bit.

I am, however, hatching a plan to make a Trash Heap Halloween costume.

Bert and Ernie

 A while back, I made an Ernie and said that when I finally did Bert, he'd get his own blog entry as well. So I tried that: 

Bernice is a very rare breed of pigeon. You've probably never heard of it.

Is there already a Hipster Bert meme out there? There has to be (and if there's not, somebody go forth, make it and maybe link back to here.) The ugly shirt, the argyles, the obsession with things no else one cares about--give that guy a scarf and some glasses and he's good to go.

(Bert's pigeon Bernice here is modelled after my Mo Willems pigeon balloon. Fitting, since before writing some of the funniest kids' books in the world, Willems was an Emmy-winning Sesame Street writer.)

Bert looked pretty good by himself but it just felt wrong to have him without his best friend and constant source of consternation. I had to re-make Ernie.

Much better now:

For extra fun, here's an early failed version of my Bert balloon. He's more balloony Bond villain than likable-but-boring paperclip enthusiast:

No, Mr. Snuffleupagus. I expect you to die.

P.S. Blogger's been kind of buggy lately and not letting me respond to comments. I apologize for any unanswered questions/comments and hope to have it figured out soon!

Abby Cadabby

Another trip to Sesame Street:

Abby's wings:

Kermit: This Time, It's Easier Being Green

Remember how I said I didn't like my first try at the Miss Piggy balloon? I liked my first Kermit even less.

Here's the next incarnation. I'm digging this one a whole lot more.

Despite appearances, this picture was not taken in a Sears Portait Studio.

Miss Piggy, Part Deux

I worked on this while watching the Glee season finale and I think Miss Piggy will now forever remind me just a little bit of Rachel Berry.

I did a Miss Piggy balloon way back in the beginning of this project and was never really happy with it. Tonight, I was suddenly struck with ideas for refining the design and I finally understood that Miss Piggy has to have her evening gown, gloves and, yes, a tasteful amount of pig cleavage.

I'm pretty happy with this one and also kind of looking forward to seeing how many people stumble upon my blog by googling "pig cleavage."

The New Guy

After seeing the Green With Envy trailer for the new Muppet movie, I got to thinking about the new guy in the Muppetverse, Walter.

According to my always trusty source Muppet Wiki, Walter is roommates with Jason Segel's character in the movie. I'm always a bit leery of new Muppets but if this dude's good enough for Jason Segel, he's good enough for me. After all, the guy's like Ghandi, but better. He likes puppets!

Oscar the Grouch




Oscar always makes me think about Garbage's "I'm Only Happy When it Rains"

 
I've been feeling sort of uninspired lately--blah, cranky and generally unproductive. After giving in and wallowing in my lousy mood for a while, I finally got to work and ended up with one of my favorite Muppet/Sesame Street balloons so far and am feeling much perkier.

I guess it's ironic that this story about Oscar's miserable origins (from the Muppet Wiki) makes me really, really happy:

According to Sesame Street Unpaved, "The character of Oscar was inspired by a nasty waiter from a restaurant called Oscar's Tavern in Manhattan. Jim Henson and Jon Stone were waited on by a man who was so rude and grouchy that he surpassed annoying and started to actually amuse both Jim and Jon. They were so entertained that going to Oscar's Tavern became a sort of masochistic form of luncheon entertainment for them, and their waiter forever became immortalized as the world's most famous Grouch." In the Ask Henson.com web column, Jim Henson Company Archivist Karen Falk said that the restaurant was named Oscar's Salt of the Sea -- and went on to say, "Some of the designs that we have in the Archives were done by Jim Henson on Oscar's paper placemats!"

Now SCRAM! (And, uh, come back soon. I'm thinking of trying Oscar's buddy Slimey next.)

5/16

If you're here, you're a Muppet fan and you probably already know that today is the 21st anniversary of Jim Henson's death.

I don't have any new Muppet balloon designs today, but here's this, guaranteed to make you cry or at least give you that punched-in-the-gut feeling (via @CakeWrecks and @ThinkGeek):

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson.

Clearly, it's time to get cracking on some new Muppet balloons. Coming soon!

Penguins

"What my father figured out was if you can't get out, you just either blow something up, or you eat something, or you just throw penguins in the air." --Brian Henson

The penguin post seems as good a place as any to talk about Weezer's  Keep Fishin' video. My favorite band, Muppets (in Weezer shirts!) and rocking out, flipping penguins make this just about perfect. I'll even admit that for a while, the background pic on my phone was a screen grab of Kermit with his head on Rivers' shoulder. Le sigh.

My kids always beg to watch the video and then express deep concern that Pat Wilson will miss his chance to drum with the Muppets.

Requests

I got requests for Pepe and Beaker recently. Check the archives, y'all! Beaker's in January and Pepe's in March.

I'm thinking about Electric Mayhem. Fueled by a huge pile of leftover Easter candy, I might work on Dr. Teeth soon.

Big Bird

 I don't know about you, but I'm kind of in the mood for a birdseed milkshake. (For real. I'm sure it would be gross but every time Big Bird orders one at Hooper's, I get hungry.)

At 6'6" Big Bird is the tallest balloon sculpture I've made yet. It's a little under 2 feet shy of the real Bird (he's 8'2".) I may try this again one day when I can shoot pictures outside and go for actual size.

I didn't have a stand tall enough, so it took two of us to control the big guy for pictures.

Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the...west?

My balloon twisting productivity was slowed this week by illness and an out-of-control repair project that ate my house. Happily, things are getting better now and I'll be back on my game very soon.

While I've got some things in the works, I'm also open to suggestions. What Muppets (and Fraggles and Sesame Street characters) would you guys like to see in future posts?

I just found this pic--it's the popped remains of several of my early Muppets. You can especially see Miss Piggy's eyes and Rowlf's piano keys. Creeeeepy.

Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphone

I'd planned on doing Dr. Bunsen Honeydew next but the idea of a balloon Muppaphone overtook me and I had to do it.



I can't find the clip that I really wanted to link to (a talk spot where Kermit asks the Muppaphones if it hurts when Marvin plays them. The Muppaphones tremble and one asks "Is he still there?") Instead, here they are doing The Witch Doctor, purely because I don't want to be the only one singing this song all day.