Hello everybody, I am doing a little post about a “Making with Mom” video that I made for the @FabooNews You Tube channel. The photos above show my making process for the “One I made Earlier” example robot. You will notice in the main video (which you can find below) that I give instructions on how to make the head a rigid, fixed head rather than a spinning one. I was concerned that if it should be used by children as a toy then the upturned sharp pencil end (which is underneath the spinning head) could be dangerous.
If, however, you are an adult or keep it out of reach of kids on a high shelf, the way it works is just literally the right shape of lid (this one is from a deodorant) and it is literally just balancing on top of the pencil. The graphite means that it is almost frictionless and spins undisturbed with very little effort.
Enjoy the “How To…” video below:
You may also like to watch Episode 3 of “Al & Kai’s Faboo News” which contains the story all about the “Berts” robots made from scrap materials by clicking HERE
There are 3 other main episodes on the @faboonews channel plus a number of “Faboo News Extra” videos. Do watch like and subscribe to the channel if you enjoy it. We really appreciate your help to spread the Faboo News.
We really need more good news stories from YOU. You can be an adult or a child and it can be something small or something big. You could share a joke or something you’ve achieved, or something that makes you smile. Click on the “Faboo Yous” tab at FabooNews.com to share your news and be on the show.
If you a teacher at a school, we would love to hear from you. Please CLICK HERE to find out about Faboo Workshops and what we can offer you in a visit to your school 😊.
Tim Austin & I have been working incredibly hard on a new TV series for kids which premieres tomorrow.
As some of you already know, it is a positive news and entertainment show with puppets. Think The Muppets meets Newsround. We have also been inspired by some of the TV shows we used to watch as kids such as Rainbow.
It is an antidote to the majority of news in the mainstream press which is depressing and overwhelming to say the least. The things we watch, read and listen to have a profound effect on our mental health and our experience of day to day life. This show is something positive, silly and fun to sit down and watch with the kids, or on your own or let the kids watch on their own while you grab a sit down and a cup of tea or get a bit of housework done with the knowledge that it is full of wholesome, uplifting stuff.
The series is starting tomorrow and there will be a new episode every Saturday for the next 12 weeks (with a break for Christmas).
We have the next 3 episodes already made and we are looking forward to creating the rest for everyone to enjoy.
We would love for you to watch and share the show with all your friends and anyone you think might be interested.
There is also the opportunity for you to get involved and BE IN THE SHOW by getting in touch with your own Faboo News. Just click “Faboo Yous” on the website to get in touch.
You can watch the show at faboonews.com or on the Youtube channel. Please like, subscribe and follow our socials to find out when new episodes and content are available.
Each episode has a theme and the first three coming up are “Transport”, “Halloween” and “Peace & Quiet”.
As well as puppeteering Kai, I have been designing and making costumes, props and a couple of sock puppet characters, “Tony” and “Ped”; who are socks that live in Al and Kai’s basement and act as the Faboo News production crew.
Tim came up the initial design for these and wanted them to be very mobile and expressive like Kermit the frog, so was at first not keen to let me add a mouthplate. However, he soon found that it was very difficult to operate them without and agreed to let me add one afterwards, (the eagle eyed will spot which episode the mouth-plates were installed and which they were not 🤣).
I am also appearing in the show as “Mom” (Al and Kai’s mum) and Tim (who came up with the entire concept for the show and is currently doing, puppeteering, filming, editing and promo.) is playing “Dad” (Al and Kai’s dad). It’s just your conventional family group (human mum and dad with Anteater and Capybara children/siblings).
“Little Miss Seamstress” did an excellent job of customising Dad’s jacket for us. Check out her Facebook Page HERE.
Mom (amongst other things) will be doing a “Mom makes” segment where Mom will be doing various fun and simple crafts for kids to make (some may require a bit of help from adult helpers depending on the craft and the kids’ age/ability level). We aim to use materials you can easily get hold of and are inexpensive (reusing/recycling as much as possible).
While Tim came up with the initial design for the Al & Kai puppets, the excellent Joe Peek made the puppets in consultation with Tim and we are very happy with how they came out.
The Patreon page is now live and you can access it from faboonews.com. Patrons will be able to access all the episodes a week early and also access exclusive behind the scenes content and other goodies. So, check it out to see how you can support us and what fun rewards you can get!
We are currently putting this together on a shoestring budget and we hope that if you like the show you will help us to make it more sustainable going forward (e.g. paying ourselves properly and being able to afford to bring in others to help with editing etc. so Tim doesn’t have a nervous breakdown trying to do everything himself).
So to recap, things you can do to support us are:
Watch the show!
Tell all your friends and family about it.
Follow us on the social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and of course Youtube) links are on the website HERE
Become a Patron (access the Patreon page from faboonews.com)
Send us your Faboo News and BE ON THE SHOW!👍😍
(A big thank-you to everyone who already supported our crowdfunder for the show 😊).
Puppet Lady 