These puppets are perfect for a birthday party, or even an ordinary rainy day. With everyday craft materials you can make a butterfly, bird, or fun animal puppet.
Like the giant balloons in parades, these puppets seem to float from the tops of their long handles. You can make the handles from long cardboard tubes, like the ones that come with wrapping paper, or by taping together empty paper towel or toilet paper tubes. (Either way, it's recycling!) To give the cardboard a more festive look, cover it with colored paper or leftover wrapping paper.
To make people puppets, see the "Big People Puppets" article.
Butterfly
Swish the stick back and forth to make this beautiful butterfly flap its wings.
- 2 sheets tissue paper (For best results, use different shades of similar colors, like yellow and orange, pink and red, or light purple and dark purple.)
- 2 sheets construction paper
- 1 long cardboard tube (or short tubes taped together)
- scissors
- markers
- tape
Wings:
- Cut each piece of tissue paper into the shape of butterfly wings.
- In one sheet of tissue paper, cut two or three slits in each wing.
- Lay the butterfly with the slits on top of the plain butterfly, and tape them together around the edges.
Face:
- Cut a circle from construction paper. (You want to trace a large paper cup.)
- Draw a face on the circle.
- Cut out two antennae, and tape them to the top of the face.
Stick:
- Cut a sheet of construction paper in half from top to bottom.
- Wrap one of the pieces around the top of the tube, and the other piece around the bottom.
- Tape the edges of the construction paper to the tube. (It's okay if a little bit of tube shows on the back.)
- Lay the tube on the center of the butterfly wings, so the top of the tube lines up with the top of the wings.
- Tape the tube to the tissue paper, then tape the face to the top of the tube.
Balloon Puppets
You can use two balloons to make a bird, rabbit, or puppy puppet... or almost any animal you can imagine.
(Note: You should not make balloon puppets for very young children, who could swallow pieces of the balloon if it pops. Try a butterfly instead.)
- 2 balloons
- 3 sheets colored paper
- markers or scraps of colored paper for face
- 1 long cardboard tube (or short tubes taped together)
- tape
To make:
- Inflate the balloons and tie off the ends.
- Tape the knot of one balloon to the inside of the top of the cardboard tube, so the balloon hangs over the edge. (This will be the body.)
- Stick the knot of the other balloon into the end of the tube, then tape the balloon to the tube. (This will be the head.)
- Draw a face on the head balloon using markers, or cut eyes, a nose, and a mouth from colored paper and tape them to the front of the head balloon.
- Cut a tail, ears, legs, or wings from colored paper and tape them to the body balloon.
To play with your balloon puppet, move the handle up and down to make the wings or ears flap.
