Make a Puppet with an Empty Bottle and a Broom Stick

Puppets are a way to have hours of fun on a tight budget. Use whatever craft scraps you have lying around or take a trip to the craft store to get your creative juices flowing. All you need to get puppeteering, besides embellishments and an active imagination of course, is an empty bottle and a broom handle.

Steps

Preparing the Bottle and Broom

  1. Pick a puppet handle. When choosing a puppet handle, consider how long you want it to be. If you want your puppet to be the same height as you, use the broom stick. If you’d like a short puppet, look for a stick outside or a ruler.
  2. Remove the broom head (Optional). If you’ve picked a broom to be your puppet handle, you’ll need to remove the broom head. This can be done by simply twisting off the sweeping part of the broom.[1] If you’re having trouble, ask an adult for help.
    • Remember, when you remove the broom head, twist left. If you can’t remember which direction to twist, simply think “righty tighty lefty loosey”.[2]
  3. Pick a puppet body. You’ll need to use a plastic bottle for the body of your puppet. Generally, a larger bottle is ideal. A bottle with a smaller opening will move around less on the handle. Some examples of good bottle choices for the puppet are soda bottles, shampoo bottles, or a milk carton.
    • Once you’ve chosen your bottle, make sure it will fit onto the broom by quickly inserting the handle into the bottle opening.
  4. Wash the bottle. When decorating, you want to start with a clean bottle. To clean the bottle, twist off the lid completely. Add a few drops of soap into the bottle and fill it half way with warm water. Recap the lid. Now shake that bottle until the soap is foamy and white.[3] Once you’re satisfied with your shaking job, remove the lid and rinse the bottle until all the soap is out.
    • Before decorating, make sure the bottle is completely dried. This will help any decorations properly stick.

Decorating the Bottle

  1. Heat up the glue gun. To heat up the glue gun, first insert a stick of glue into the back. Sticks of glue and hot glue guns are inexpensive and are available at the dollar store. Wait until the glue is dripping hot before using.[4]
  2. Add a face. Put a face on your puppet to give it a lifelike look. Simply glue on googly or button eyes.[5] If you want to add a nose or mouth, consider using sequins, stickers, or a row of buttons.
  3. Give it arms. If you want your puppet to have limbs, it can be done easily. Cut some string or yarn the length you want the arms or legs to be. Cut out a hand, foot, paw or fin in craft foam. Attach the string to the bottle using hot glue and allow it to dry. Now glue the arm onto the other end of the string.[5]
  4. Style some hair. Want to give your puppet a funky hairdo? Lay a strip of paper down. The longer you want the hair to be, the wider your strip should be. Taking scissors, cut approximately ¾ of the way deep into the paper. Continue to cut small strips all the way down the length of the paper. Now, taking the uncut end of the paper, glue it onto the bottle.
    • Once your hair is cut, you can glue it two ways. Either glue the solid strip with the “hair” facing upwards and crazy, or glue the strip with the “hair” facing down, over the puppets eyes.[6]
    • Hair can also be made by gluing several strands of yarn or string to the head of the puppet.
  5. Add an outfit. Using felt or craft foam, cut out a dress, shorts, a sweater, or any article of clothing. Mix and match by using felt for one article of clothing and foam for another. After you’ve cut the clothes out, you can add sequins or mini-buttons to help add to your puppet. Once ready, simply glue your clothing onto the bottom using the hot glue gun.
    • When using a glue gun, hold the nose against the bottle and gently squeeze the trigger. The nose is where the glue comes out. Wipe the nose of the glue gun onto the bottle and pull away.[4] Now stick on your clothing.
  6. Make it an animal. If you don’t want a human puppet, you can easily turn your puppet into an animal. Using foam, cut out a cat tail and ears, a lion’s mane, or an elephant trunk.[5] Once you’ve decided, glue your animal accessories onto your puppet.
  7. Be patient. Using a hot glue gun can be frustrating if done incorrectly. Once you glue a piece, do not glue another unless you are sure you can do it without moving the puppet. Trying to move a puppet with liquid glue will leave a big, ruined mess.[4]
    • Never touch hot glue. Don’t test to see if the glue is dry by touching it. Simply let it sit for approximately 30 minutes.[4]

Assembling Your Puppet

  1. Check that your puppet is dried. Before you put your handle into the puppet, you want it to be completely dried. Otherwise, you could end up with decorations on the floor. Test your puppet by gently touching the decorations. If they don’t fall off, you’re likely okay to insert the handle.
  2. Flip your bottle upside down. Start with your bottle’s opening facing down towards your feet. This will likely mean your puppet is upside down.
  3. Insert the handle. Once your puppet is flipped upside down, simply insert your handle into the bottle’s opening. Be gentle, to avoid any decorations from falling off.
  4. Put on a puppet show. Your puppet is now put together! Whether you've created a show or just want to let your puppet roam free, enjoy playing with it. Try giving it a fun voice and catchy name.
    • Make sure to play gently. Your puppet will easily fall off if turned upside down or if flung around forcefully.

Warnings

  • If you wish to cut your bottle to change the shape, ask an adult for help.

Things You'll Need

  • An empty plastic bottle
  • Pole, long handle or stick
  • Decorations such as googly eyes, foam, felt or glitter
  • A hot glue gun
  • Scissors

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://cleanmyspace.com/how-to-clean-your-cleaning-tools/
  2. ↑ https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-the-saying-lefty-loosey-righty-tighty
  3. ↑ http://lovingthebike.com/uncategorized/how-to-clean-a-water-bottle
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://blog.consumercrafts.com/craft-basics-main/how-to-hot-glue-tips/
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 http://www.motts.com/fun-n-games/recycled-bottle-puppet
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-rih8Yx9y4
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