Paper cup horse puppets

We just love a fun handmade toy craft! These cute paper cup horse puppets are not only fun to make put provide plenty of fun play too! There’s so much you can do with them – Why not build some pony jumps out of toys or books for your horses to jump, or you could use some Duplo to build some stables.

You will need

Paper cups
Paint and paintbrush (optional)
Coloured paper
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue
Wool scraps
String (optional)

How to make our paper cup horse puppets

Take two paper cups and cover them in your chosen coloured paint before popping them aside to dry.

Once dry take the first paper cup to make the horses head. Glue two ears down just inside the rim of the cup, add two Googly eyes and two nostrils. Finish the head by trimming and gluing on some wool scraps to make the mane.

Glue the two paper cups together with both of the openings facing backwards. Take some more wool scraps and glue them onto the back of the second paper cup to make the tail.

Next it’s time to make the legs. Cut out two equal strips of paper and glue them together at a right angle. Take turns folding one strip over to make a spring, once you reach the end use a little glue to secure the spring in place. Cut out a circle for the hoof and glue it to one end of the spring, glue the other end of the spring onto the horse to make a leg. Repeat this process for the other three legs.

To add some string to your horse puppets simple pierce a small hole in the body of the horse just behind where the two cups join. Pierce a second hole in the head cup slightly away from the rim (we placed ours under the mane so that it was hidden). Take your length of string and tie a large knot into it so that it will not pull through the hole. Thread the loose end through the body cup and then through the head cup. Once completely dry Your horse puppet is finished and ready to play with!