How To Craft A Paper Puppet (For Kids)
Did you know that making your paper Puppet is super easy? Not to mention that you'll have tons of fun while you cut, fold, and paste away. You don't even need to spend a lot of money to get you started.
Materials
- 2 Sheets white construction paper A4 or 12 by 18 inch
- 1 Glue
- 1 Scissors
- 1 Pen Or other coloring utensils
Instructions
- You do this by taking one of the longer edges of your paper and fold it up only a third of the way. Then, you should do the same thing with the opposite long edge. Do this until you have three sections that are equal in length and width. But you shouldn't worry if your folds aren't perfect. The thing is one of your flaps will be used at the bottom of your paper Puppet. So, nobody should notice if any of your edges don't align properly.
- Once you have your flaps in place, you should open up your top fold and smear glue on the inside of your flap. You should carefully squeeze your glue in thin lines down the length of your paper. This should help you to avoid using too much glue. If you use too much it'll create a thick layer that will make your paper soggy. The most ideal choice of glue that you should use to achieve a neat fold is white school glue or a common glue stick. When you've applied it, you should press down your glued flap onto the other folded flap. Doing this should help you avoid your flaps becoming undone. When you're done, your paper should look like a long and narrow rectangle.
- You should rotate your rectangle to a vertical position. Your short sides of your rectangular paper will be at the top and bottom. Keeping your paper in this position should help you to fold it easily for the following steps. Then, you should fold your rectangle in half by bringing your top and bottom edges together. Creasing your paper at your fold point should help you to keep it in place. You want to avoid any untidy seams from showing on your finished Puppet. To make sure that you avoid this, you should fold your paper so that your glued edge remains inside your folded paper.
- Now that your rectangle is folded in half, you should fold each of your flaps down so that your edges align with your centerfold. Again, you want to crease your paper to ensure that it stays in place. Do this for both of your flaps. You should try your best to ensure that your edges align as perfectly as possible. This will help you to avoid having a crooked puppet. If you want to check if you've folded your paper correctly, your folded paper should form a 'W' or 'M' shape when you look at it from the side.
- Once your flaps are in place, it's time to glue your two outside folds down. Remember to only use a thin layer of glue to avoid any sogginess. Most importantly, don't forget to press down your glued flaps to make sure that they stay in place. Just hold it down for no longer than 20 seconds. But leave the center of your paper unglued. This is where your puppet's mouth will be. The side view of your folded paper should now look like a 'V'.
- Take a separate piece of paper and draw bunny ears or whatever ears that you prefer. Now, take your pair of scissors to cut out the drawn out ear shape. Do this for both ears of your Puppet.
- Take your colorful pens and start decorating. In this video a pink pen was used to color the ears. You can choose any color that you want. If you don't have colorful pens, you can use markers as a substitute.
- You can take your folded edges and decorate the front with your eyes, mouth, and whiskers. You want your puppet's face to be as colorful and interesting as possible. So, the more drawings that you add the better.
- Now that your puppet's face is done and looks attractive, you should glue your ears on it. If you want to add colorful designs like 3D decorations, you should go ahead. Just be careful with using heavier decorations like popsicle sticks for example. They usually require a stronger glue like hot glue to hold them better. And some types of gems can also give you the same problem. You don't want your kids worrying about your puppet falling apart while you give them a show.
- By now, you should have a complete face for your puppet. You should have two openings on the edges of your Puppet. This is where you'll place your fingers. When you put your thumb in one of the openings, you should make sure that it's at the bottom. The rest of your fingers will be inserted into the top opening. This will make it easier for you to open and close your puppet's mouth. All you need to do is to open and close your fingers to mimic your puppet doing the same to their mouth. Using your dominant hand to control your Puppet is the most ideal way of having fun.
Notes
Start having some fun with this incredibly easy to make paper puppet!