Make a Simple Paper Puppet

Puppets can be fun to make, but what if you only have paper on hand? Fortunately, it is easy to make a puppet with just a sheet of paper and some tape or glue. If you have other supplies on hand, such as popsicle sticks, you can get even fancier. With a little bit of time and creativity, you'll be on your way to making a handful of puppets. When you are done, you can even treat your friends and family to a show.

Steps

Making a Hand Puppet

1. Fold a piece of construction paper into thirds, lengthwise. You will end up with a long, skinny rectangle. You can use any color you want. If you don't have any construction paper, you can use printer paper instead.
2. Tape the paper shut along the side seam. This will help keep your puppet together. Do not tape the top and bottom openings shut, however. These will make pockets for your thumb and fingers to go into.
3. Fold the paper rectangle in half, widthwise. The open ends should be at the bottom of the rectangle. The folded part should be at the top.
4. Fold the open ends back towards the top. Start with the side that is facing you. Once you have it folded up, flip the paper over, and fold the other side. You will end up with something that looks like an W or zigzag when you turn the paper sideways.
5. Make sure that the puppet is facing the right direction. The two folded edges should be facing you. They will make the mouth. The two open edges should be facing away from you. They will make the top of the puppet's head. This is important. If the folded paper is not facing the right way, your puppet may end up upside down.
6. Draw the puppet's face, but skip the mouth. Add some eyes in the middle of the paper, and a nose towards the bottom. Don't worry about the mouth just yet. You can draw the eyes and nose using crayons or markers.
   • To make a fancier puppet, glue on some buttons or googly eyes for the eyes.
   • To make a silly puppet, glue on a pompom for the nose.
   • If you glued anything on, make sure you let the glue dry before you move on to the next step.
7. Open the puppet up and color in the mouth. If you'd like, you can even add a tongue and some teeth.
8. Play with the puppet. Turn the puppet so that the two openings are facing you. Slip your fingers into the top opening, where the eyes and nose are. Slip your thumb into the bottom opening. Move your fingers and thumb towards/away from each other to make the puppet talk.

Making a Stick Puppet

1. Get a piece of paper. It can be construction paper, printer paper, or cardstock. If you'd like to make a "shadow" puppet, use black paper.
2. Draw the shape of your puppet on the paper. Try to it roughly the size of your hand. If you make the shape too big, your puppet will be too flimsy and flop over. The shape can be anything you want: an animal, a circle, a square, and so forth.
   • Circles make great bases for faces.
   • Squares make great robot faces.
   • Animal shapes make great shadow puppets.
   • If you aren't good at drawing, print out a cartoon character or animal on a sheet of paper instead.
3. Cut the shape out using a pair of scissors. Be sure to stay within the lines that you drew.
4. Decorate the puppet. Draw some eyes, nose, and a mouth. You can even add some hair or clothes. Remember, if you glue anything on, let the glue dry before moving onto the next step. Listed below are some ideas to get you started:
   • Monsters make great stick puppets. Get silly with your design. Give your monster one eye, or three. If you want to give him a tongue, draw polka dots on it.
   • Cut shapes, such as arms, legs, ears, and horns out of construction paper, then glue or tape them onto your puppet.
   • Glue on some yarn or colored pipe cleaners for hair. If you'd like short, curly hair, try macaroni.
   • Glue on some buttons or googly eyes for eyes, and a pompom for the nose.
5. Tape or glue a popsicle stick to the back of your puppet. If you don't have any popsicle sticks at home, you can use a short, wooden dowel or even a drinking straw.
6. Play with your puppet. Sit behind a table, and hold your puppet so that it sticks up from behind it. Wave your puppet from side-to-side to make it move and talk.

Making a Walking Finger Puppet

1. Draw a rounded shape the size of your palm on a sheet of colored paper. This will make the body of your puppet. Your shape can be anything you want it to be, but good body shapes for puppets include circles, ovals, eggs, and lumps.
   • Make sure that the puppet is large enough to cover the back of your hand; you will eventually be sticking your fingers through it to make it "walk."
   • You can use construction paper, but cardstock will be sturdier.
2. Cut the shape out using a pair of scissors. If your puppet has some thin parts, such as antlers or antenna, be sure to leave some space around them. This way, they won't break off.
3. Cut two small holes near the bottom of your puppet's body. The holes need to be big enough for your first two fingers to fit through. They should also be about ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) apart.
4. Decorate your puppet. You can color it with crayons or markers, or you can glue on things like buttons or pompoms. Be sure to give it some eyes, a nose, and mouth. You can even give it some other details, such as clothing and hair. If you glued anything on, remember to let the puppet dry before moving on to the next step.
   • If you'd like to get fancy, glue on some buttons or googly eyes for the eyes, and a pompom for the nose.
5. Play with your puppet. Turn your puppet so that the blank side is facing you. Stick your first two fingers through the holes in the bottom. Place your fingers on the table, and move them to make your puppet walk or dance.

Making a Finger Puppet

1. Draw or print out a picture of a cartoon character on a sheet of paper. The image needs to be about the same size as your finger. It's okay if the image is a little bit wider, but not by too much.
   • To make a more durable puppet, use cardstock paper instead.
2. Cut the character out using a pair of scissors. If the character has some thin parts, like antenna or antlers, leave some white space around those areas. This way, they won't break off.
3. Cut a ½ by 2 inch (1.27 by 5.08 centimeters) strip from a sheet of paper. This will make the band for your finger to slide through. Try to match the color of the strip to the color of the puppet.
4. Form a ring with the strip. Overlap the two narrow ends until you get a ring shape. The ring should be large enough to fit your finger. Don't make it too tight, or the paper will rip when you bend your finger.
5. Secure the ends with tape. Once you have the right fit, wrap a piece of tape around the seam to keep the ring together.
6. Glue or tape the strip to the back of your character. The bottom edge of the ring should be aligned with the bottom edge of your puppet.
7. Play with your finger puppet. Wait for the glue to dry, if you were using it, and slide the puppet onto your finger. Wiggle your finger side-to-side and back-and-forth to make the puppet move and talk.

Tips

• Make some puppets based on characters from your favorite story. When you are done, use the puppets to act the story out.
• Construction paper is great for puppets, but it isn't very strong. To make a more durable puppet, use colored cardstock instead.
• Get silly with your designs. If you can't think of something, try combining parts of different animals, such as: elephant eyes, pig's nose, and owl eyes.
• Keep the puppets in a box when you are done so they don't get ruined.
• Put on a puppet show when you are done.
• Monsters and robots make great puppets.

Things You'll Need

Making a Hand Puppet

• Paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Glue and googly eyes (optional)

Making a Stick Puppet

• Paper
• Scissors
• Popsicle stick, straw, or short dowel
• Tape or glue
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Making a Walking Finger Puppet

• Paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Glue (optional)

Making a Finger Puppet

• Paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Tape and/or glue

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• Construct Muppet Style Puppets
• Make Your Own Wilson the Volleyball Prop
• Make Finger Puppets

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Paper Bag Puppet