People Puppets
Make one to look like you and one to look like all your friends.
You need:
Empty Paper Towel Tube
Jumbo Craft Stick
Tacky Glue
Paint and Brush
Markers
Two Wiggle Eyes -- 20mm
Ribbon Bows
Scissors
Instructions:
Glue a jumbo craft stick inside the empty tube for a handle. To make hair, cut strips down one side 4". Bend or curl the
pieces around a fat marker. Trim. Paint the face and hair. Glue on wiggle eyes. Draw on details with marker. Glue on
hair bows if desired.
Balloon Head Puppets
This puppet will walk and wave when you wiggle the stick back and forth. These puppets are nearly 3 feet tall.
You Need:
3 sheets construction paper for clothes
2 sheets skin colored paper
1 sheet dark paper for shoes
1 party balloon
1 long cardboard tube
Tissue paper, yarn, or strips of paper for hair
Scraps of paper for eyes, mouth, and nose
Pencil
Scissors
Tape or glue
Markers
Instructions:
Arms and Hands:
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2.
3.
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6.
7.
Cut one of the sheets of construction paper for clothes in half lengthwise.
Overlap the short end of paper with the short end of the other piece, then glue or tape them together.
Place your hand on a piece of skin colored paper, with your fingers spread out.
Trace around your hand using a pencil, then trace your hand a second time on the same sheet of paper.
Cut out the hands.
Place the wrist end of each hand to the short ends of the arms.
Glue the hands to the arms.
Legs and Feet:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cut one of the sheets of construction paper in half lengthwise for the legs.
To make the shoes place the short end of a leg on a piece of construction paper.
Trace along the short end of the leg using a pencil.
Draw a half circle that goes from one end of the line to the other.
Draw a second circle the same way. These will be the shoes.
Cut out the shoes and then tape or glue the straight end of the shoes to the ends of the puppet’s legs.
Body:
1. To make a regular body cut off the top third of a piece of construction paper.
2. Tape or glue the top ends of the legs to the bottom edge of the body.
3. Tape or glue the top edge of the body to the center of the bottom edge of the arms.
Head:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Inflate a balloon and tie off the end.
Cut eyes, nose, and mouth from construction paper. Tape them to the front of the balloon.
Tape or glue your choice of hair to the top of the balloon.
To attach the balloon head, stick the knot of the balloon inside of the end of the cardboard tube, then tape the
balloon to the tube.
5. Lay the tube face down on top of the puppet’s body so that the bottom of the balloon lines up with the top of the
body.
6. Tape the top third of the tube to the body.
Another Balloon Puppet
Materials
balloon
stickers or markers
paper
tape
coin
yarn or strips of paper for hair
construction paper cut out in the shape of ears for
animals
blow up the balloon
use stickers or markers to create face
use yarn or strips of paper for hair for people puppets
cut out the shape of ears for animal puppets and tape to head
color the feet and make a hole in the center
push the tied end of the balloon through the hole in the feet
if it has trouble standing up, tape a coin on the bottom of the feet to balance it.
Paper Bag Animal Puppet
Make animal paper bag puppets. See the
Frog example on the right.
PUTTING THE PUPPET TOGETHER
Paint the front of your paper bag to match the color of your animal.
Draw 2 circles and paint the same color as your bag. Put one of the painted circles in front of you. Draw 2 more circles a little
smaller than your painted circles on white paper and glue them to the center of the painted circles. Draw 2 more circles on
black paper a little smaller than the white circles and glue them to the center of the white circles. Now you have two eyes!
Cut out a strip of red construction paper to make a tongue. Take the red long rectangle and wrap it around a pencil to give it a
curl. This will be the tongue.
By this time, your bag should be dry.
Glue the eyes onto the top of the HEAD. You can see from the photo above that the eyes stick up over the top of the head.
OPTIONAL: draw two tiny black lines (nostrils) onto the head.
Lift the FLAP and glue the tongue underneath.
Face Puppets
Materials
Plastic Lids
Construction Paper
Markers
Craft Glue
Yarn
Popsicle Sticks
Tape
Safety Scissors
Instructions
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Everybody loves puppets! You can make your own by tracing circles onto the construction paper, using the lid.
Have a grown-up help you cut out the circles.
Put on your thinking cap to create the face of your puppet.
Glue the circles to the lids.
Have a grown-up help you glue yarn to the faces to look like hair.
Tape a Popsicle stick to the back of each face so you can hold them up like puppets.
Time to put on a puppet show for all your friends!
How to Make a Wooden Spoon Puppet
All you need is a wooden spoon, some crafty bits and pieces and the ability to draw a face and you'll be making a puppet in no time. Try to make
several so that you can hold your own puppet show with friends.
Make the puppet's face. Draw a face on the inside of the wooden spoon using felt tip pens. Draw whatever expression suits the puppet
you're making - happy, sad, angry, poking a tongue out etc. You might like to make either a person or an animal. Consider other possible
ideas, including an alien, a fairytale character or a mythical beast.
Decorate the puppet. Use masking tape to stick pieces of tissue paper and scrap material to your wooden spoon for clothing (or scales,
armour etc.). This is a lot less messy than glue and you can change the features any time you feel like it. Stick the craft items to the handle
to create a costume for your puppet.
Create the puppet's arms and legs. Add pipe cleaners for arms and legs by twisting them around the handle. Add other
features. Add feathers to the head of your wooden spoon puppet. You might also like to try some of the other items suggested in "Tips".
Make more puppets. Then you can put on a puppet show!
Easy Puppets From Stuffed Animals
We all have a house full of stuffed animals! Turn them into fun, new toys for your little ones.
You Need:
Small to medium sized stuffed animals
Scissors
Fabric Glue
Instructions:
This is very easy to do with the right stuffed animals. To make sure you have the right size, spread your fingers and line
your hand up with the stuffed animal to see if your fingers will reach into the arms and the head.
Open up 5" of the back seam of the stuffed animal from the neck down. Remove the stuffing from the body, head and
arms. Leave the stuffing in the legs. Use fabric glue inside the upper leg to seal in the stuffing.
If the head is large, you will want to add some support. Depending upon the shape and size of the head, use a piece of
Styrofoam, foam, or layers of batting glued inside.
Turn inside the side the two seams in the back, gluing into place.
Felt Hand Puppets
Entertain family and friends with home-made puppets!
8" x 10" felt squares in different colors (two of each color)
Scissors
Any glue that comes in a plastic bottle with a narrow tip
Straight pins
Buttons, lace, pipe cleaners, yarn, pom-poms, scraps of material
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2.
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7.
Draw a pattern for your puppet character on a piece of paper and cut out the
puppet pattern.
Choose two pieces of felt that are the same color for the main body of the puppet.
Place the felt pieces one on top of the other, and then pin the puppet pattern
securely to the felt. Make sure that the pins go through both layers. (Adults should
do this step for young children.)
Cut out the pattern, being careful to cut both layers at the same time. Remove
the pattern and pins from the felt. These pieces of felt are the front and back of
your puppet's body.
Think about what you want your puppet to look like, and select the items that will
help you do this. For example, you might choose buttons for the eyes, yarn for the
hair and mouth, and a tiny pom-pom for the nose. Arrange these items on one
piece of felt, but don't glue anything yet. You just want to see how everything
looks. When you're satisfied with how your puppet looks, glue the items to the felt.
This will be the front of your puppet.
Use the other piece of felt for the back of your puppet. Trace a thin line of glue
around the entire edge of this piece, except for the bottom. Carefully place the
front piece of your puppet on the glued back. Let it dry overnight.
Make lots of puppets and use them to have a puppet show for family and friends.
Pizza-Box Puppet
Materials:
Damp cloth
Pizza box
Gift wrap
Construction paper
Glue
Pen or pencil
Scissors
String
Buttons
Dowels or sticks
How to Make:
1. Clean a (not too greasy!) pizza box with a damp cloth. Cover the top and the sides with gift wrap.
2. Make eyes, a nose, a mouth, a beard, and legs from construction paper. Glue them on.
3. With a pen or pencil, poke four holes in the bottom of the box, one in each corner. Poke one hole in the top of the
box, behind the creature’s nose.
4. Cut five 2-foot-long pieces of string. Tie a button on one end of each.
5. Slip four of the strings through the holes in the bottom so that the buttons are inside the box. Bring the string ends
around to the top of the box, and tie them to a 12-inch long dowel or stick so that the puppet hangs evenly.
6. Slip the fifth string through the hole in the top so that the button is inside the box. Tie the string end to another
dowel or stick.
7. To make your puppet pal “talk,” hold one dowel in one hand and move the other dowel with your other hand.
Juice Can Puppets
Kids love making these puppets for two reasons: one, the juice cans fit so well on their hands; and two, there are no rules
for how the puppets are supposed to look.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Clean frozen juice cans
Construction paper
Glue
Felt
Goggley eyes
Assorted decorations (buttons, feathers, sequins, etc.)
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1.
Cover the juice can by gluing on construction paper or fabric, then place the can upright on a table (with
the opening at the bottom).
2. Glue felt arm strips midway down both sides of the can and leg strips to the front of the lower
edge.
3. Set out the rest of your decorations and watch as your children create some interesting characters.