Why do two (very) grown woman spend their spare time making puppets? And what does that have to do with Adventure?

We know it’s odd. Believe us, we see the side-eye glances when we meet someone new and explain to them coyly, “we make sock puppets.” But then we show them some photos and their eyes open wide. They realize, as Stacey points out to us often, that it isn’t just puppets. This is art. And every creation is an adventure to odd places in search of just the right material to fashion a button, a bow or a hat.

Our start to puppetting

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start at the beginning. As sisters growing up in Massachusetts, we spent lot of time indoors crafting. As adults, when life got very hard a few years ago, we decided we needed something that was going to make us smile. So we thought back on those happy, stress-free times and looked at each other and said “puppets,” naturally.

At first we were reluctant. We didn’t want to be known as the “crazy puppet ladies.” But now we wear that title as a badge of honor.

We began making Passionistas Puppet Portraits in the summer of 2016. We made our Emmy predictions in puppets. We did an Oscar fashion retrospective and a tribute to costume designer Bob Mackie. The crown jewels in our collection are all four Beatles in their Sgt. Pepper outfits and a jumpsuit-wearing Elvis with 1200 hand-placed beads in the shape of an eagle.So you might be wondering, where do you find the exact right color lime green satin for John’s Sgt. Pepper outfit? Do they make teeny, tiny epaulettes for Ringo’s shoulders? And how exactly do you bedazzle Elvis’ cape? That’s where the adventure comes in.

Let’s just say we have two new best friends named Joann and Michael. Our motto is, if it goes on a puppet, we make it. A lot of our materials come directly from these craft stores. From beads to buttons, hot glue to paint, leather to chains, we spend hours in the aisles on little mini-adventures trying to find the supplies that will work best.

We mold buttons out of clay or make musical instruments out of cardboard. We’ve been to train stores, party supply stores, $.99 stores. Let’s just say we know the downtown Los Angeles fabric district like the back of our puppet-making hands. And every time that perfect material works to create the ideal piece of the latest puppet portrait, we shriek with glee.

Pure and simple, puppets make us smile. But we quickly realized, we weren’t the only ones smiling. Our fan base was starting grow. When we post each portrait on social media, we regularly get the question, “Where can I get one?”

National Puppet Day

So this year on National Puppet Day, we held a contest. We asked people to send us their most “Puppet Worthy” photo and the winners would get their very own custom Passionistas Puppet Portrait.

The entries came in and guess who was a finalist? Your adventure guru Stacey Newman Weldon. How could we resist making that white, ruffle-y dress, leather bustier with gold cord and blue tri-corner hat covered with drop pearls, beaded objects, pirate patches and a large white plume? This was the dictionary definition of “Puppet Worthy.” And an adventure we couldn’t wait to take.

The Stacey Puppet

The first challenge was the dress. Sure, we’ve made lots of puppet-sized clothes before, but never an off-the-shoulder number. Then we made the bustier — finding the correctly proportioned gold cord was a challenge. Of course, we also had to track down just the right color and thickness of yarn to make Stacey’s gorgeous blue hair.

And then came the hat. Making the tri-corner headpiece was a style we never tackled before and boy was it fun. We used clay for the pearls, flowers and jewels. We found just the right cord for the trim. And those patches? Hand drawn. After all, they don’t make pirate skulls that small.

Of course, the best part was, we finished it just in time for Stacey’s next adventure at Burning Man. Have a good burn Stacey and Puppet Stacey. Send lots of pictures.

NOTE from Stacey: Want to learn more about these two wonderful puppet adventuresses?  Check out below!

Website: Popculturepassionistas.com/puppets

Facebook: OfficialPopCulturePassionistas

Twitter: PCPassionistas

Instagram: popculturepassionistas

UPDATE: Puppet Stacey at Burning Man 2018

Puppet Stacey and I getting ready at our tent. Full day of exploring Burning Man!

A clear day at Burning Man. Puppet Stacey and I enjoyed exploring all the art! It was a challenge to keep her from climbing all the things!

Puppet Stacey and me in front of Euterpe, a 12 meter tall puppet created by a Spanish street theater company, Carros de Foc

We climbed a huge chair to hold hands with Euterpe!

Euterpe’s grandfather, Alberto, sits across the table. When the two talk, they share their interesting experiences and accumulated knowledge to help Burning Man attendees learn self-acceptance. Puppet Stacey definitely loves who she is!

Sharing some celebratory champagne at Burning Man, the party-girl Puppet Stacey was ready to find some pirating adventures!