Lucky the Puppy Stuffed Animal Puppet - 11-16-08

Stuffed Animal Puppets
Old or thrift store stuffed animals can easily be turned into puppets. Make a small slit in the back of the animal, pull out some of the stuffing, and sew a sock into the inside of the animal to slip your hand inside. Instant puppet!

Above, you see Lucky the Puppy. He was a free stuffed animal caught at a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Orleans. I removed some of his stuffing, inserted a green children’s sock inside him (all the way up to his mouth) and then sewed the sock to the stuffed animal to close the hole. Here is his underside.

Lucky the Puppy Stuffed Animal Puppet Underside - 11-16-08

Happy Tales to You! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Butterfly Finger Puppet - 11-16-08

Finger Puppets
Cut the fingers off an old or inexpensive glove and create a finger puppet. Finger puppets are fun for young children who may not have the hand-eye coordination to manipulate a larger puppet. Finger puppets work well with shoebox puppet theaters.

The above finger puppet was made from the index finger cut from a knit glove. Hot glue was applied around the bottom of the finger to prevent fraying. The butterfly is simply made with Foamies foam, a chenille stick, and a craft popsicle stick.

Butterfly Finger Puppet underside - 11-16-08

Happy Tales to You! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

The Three Litle Pigs Glove Puppet - 11-16-08

Glove Puppets I love making a series of puppets out of a glove. Glove puppets work well with the telling of a classic tale such as “The Three Little Pigs.” Each of the fingers becomes a character – the mama pig, the three little pigs, and of course, the big bad wolf. In the glove puppet above, made with a stretchy men’s work glove, the pinky finger features the Mama Pig with an apron, the ring finger features the first pig with his straw, the middle finger is the second pig with his sticks, the index finger is the third pig with his bricks, and the thumb becomes the Big Bad Wolf complete with a dinner napkin, fork and knife.

“Cinderella” can also be depicted with a glove puppet – the evil stepmother, the two stepsisters, Cinderella, and the handsome prince. Glove puppets work well with younger children. You can even have the children get “hands-on” and create glove puppets of their own. Have a ton of fun!

Happy Tales to You! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Eliana & Turkey Wooden Spoon Puppet 11-12-08

Turkey Wooden Spoon Puppet
Supplies:
Large wooden spoon
Construction paper (for feathers, beak and wattle)
Scissors
Glue gun
Large googly eyes
Markers

Directions:
Color the flat side of a large wooden spoon with a brown marker. Color slightly down the handle for the turkey’s neck. On four different colored sheets of construction paper (yellow, orange, red, brown, cream, green… fall colors), trace a child’s hand. Cut out each hand and layer them on top of each other, creating feathers. Staple them together. Glue the feather to the wooden spoon (should be glued to the curved side of the spoon). Glue two googly eyes on the flat side of the wooden spoon. Underneath the eyes, glue an orange construction paper triangle for the beak. Beneath that, glue a red construction paper wattle. Cut a small 1/2 inch strip of yellow construction paper to create a collar (this will separate the turkey’s neck from the rest of the wooden handle of the spoon). Done! Now you have a simple Gobbler puppet that can be used for Thanksgivings to come. You can even have the children make their own turkeys and stick them in Styrofoam, in a vase or bowl, creating a Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Gobble! Gobble!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Wrapping Mummy Roll Craft - October 18, 2008

Wrappin’ Mummy Roll Craft

Supplies:
1 tissue paper roll
Old t-shirt ripped into 1 inch strips or gauze
Pot of old coffee
Large googly eyes
Hot glue

Directions:
To make the t-shirt or gauze look old, soak it in the coffee for 10-20 minutes. Allow to dry. Gluing one end down, wrap a foot long strip around the tissue paper roll. Glue the final end down. Glue large googly eyes to your mummy. Now you have a wrappin’ mummy roll!

Batty Sock Bat Craft - October 17, 2008

Batty Sock Bat Craft

Supplies:
New sock
Fiberfill stuffing
1 large sheet of foam matching the color of sock
1 Red chenille stick
1 chenille stick in a color matching the sock
Two medium size Googly Eyes
White cardstock or index card
Hot glue

Directions:
Stuff one sock with fiberfill about 3/4 full. Tie the end of the sock closed with a matching chenille stick, leaving a long piece to use as a hanger. Cut wings and ears out of foam and hot glue to the body. Glue on Googly Eyes. Cut a small piece of red chenille stick to create a mouth. Cut two sharp fangs out of cardstock or index card. Glue to body. When complete, hang upside down in front of a window. This is a great craft to go with the book, Bats at the Library!

Boo Bag Craft - October 17, 2008

Craft: Boo Bags
Supplies:
White paper lunch bags
Extra large Googly Eyes
Single hole punch
Long chenille stick (or 2 twisted together)
Black marker

Directions:
Instead of buying expensive, fancy Halloween goody bags, have the children make their own Boo Bags. Open a white paper lunch bag. Roll down the top twice to create a cuff. Flatten the bag and glue extra large Googly Eyes to one side of the bag. Draw a circular mouth underneath with the words BOO! in a speech bubble. Hole punch each side of the cuff and fasten chenille stick, creating a handle. Fill with your favorite goodies! Note: For extra pizzazz, cut arms out of index cards or cardstock and glue them to the sides.

Fancy Nancy - Paper Doll Chains

Fancy Nancy written by Jane O’Connor and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser is a book about precocious little Nancy who loves everything “fancy.” It’s become a phenomenon, endearing little girls across the nation. I thought the classic paper doll chain would be a perfect accompaniment for Fancy Nancy.

Materials:
Large piece of construction paper cut in half vertically (4.5″ X 12″)
Scissors
Crayons or markers

Directions:
Cut a large sheet of construction paper in half, vertically (4.5″ X 12″). Fold it into 4 parts, accordion style.

Paper Doll Chain - The Accordion Fold

Next draw the pattern. The pattern must extend to each side of the folds.

Fancy Nancy -Paper Doll Pattern

Then cut the pattern out.

Fancy Nancy - Cutting the Paper Doll Chain

Finally, color the dolls. We used the illustrations in Fancy Nancy for inspiration.

Fancy Nancy - Eliana Coloring the Paper Doll Chain

This simple craft is so much fun. Get crazy and creative!

Fancy Nancy - Beautiful Paper Doll Chain!

Look how cute the dolls are on Eliana’s bulletin board.

Fancy Nancy - Paper Doll Chain on Eliana's Bulletin Board

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Leaf Man - Gather leaves

Friends:

Leaf Man is a fantastic book by Lois Ehlert where the leaves transform into people, birds, fish, vegetables, trees, and more. It’s a great book for the Fall but works year round because trees are everywhere!

Materials:
Lots of different leaves in varying colors
Sheet of white paper
Pictures of animals (if you wish)

Directions:
First, gather leaves. Gather a variety in different colors. We try to pick leaves that have already fallen to the ground. Next, decide what type of animal you want to make and begin assembling the leaves on a white sheet of paper. This may take some experimentation. Try not to alter the shapes of the leaves – work with what you have. Creating leaf illustrations is like assembling a puzzle. Disassemble the puzzle and start again! Here are some examples. This is a mouse by Eliana.

Leaf Mouse by Eliana

This is a peacock created by moi!

Leaf Peacock by Dianne

This next one was a mother-daughter effort. Can you guess what it is?

Leaf Gator Snapping a Fish

Use your imagination to create something whimsical, something wonderful!

Leaf Man Book & Leaf Peacock

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne