*please note that this post may contain amazon affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase from the links provided i may make a small commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps me keep this blog running.
A few weeks back, my son asked me if we could buy a puppet theatre to play with. I have to say I was shocked at the prices of some of the puppets that we looked at! I know too well what my son is like, he’ll desperately want something and when he finally gets it he’ll play with it for a couple of days before it disappears to the back of the cupboard for goodness knows how long. It was then that I had the idea that maybe we could make our own DIY cardboard puppet theatre. That way we wouldn’t just spend time together playing with it but also building it too.
My little guy loved the idea and said that he wanted to make a red puppet show. So, when our big craft order arrived we instantly got to work on the box. It’s been so lovely spending so much time together over the last few days. I wasn’t sure how he was going to get on with no school but having him home has been such a pleasure. The best thing about this project is that it’s one we can keep adding to over time by adding new puppets to our collection!
To start with, take your cardboard box and open the ends. Cut off the Back of the box to give you three equal sections as you can see above. Our box was a little bit small so rather than cutting the ends off we glued them together at the corners to make it taller.
Draw your window onto your puppet theatre before cutting it out. Then, cut the top of your theatre into a slight arch.
*just an after thought. If you want to easily add working curtains make sure the sides pieces are a couple of cm higher than the top of your window. We didn’t do this and had to fiddle with our curtains to get them to hang properly.
Now for the fun part! Cover your puppet theatre in your chosen paint. You may want to paint the front and back, we only did the front as we’re running low on red paint!
To hang the curtains you’ll need to make a hole at the top of each of your two sides. They’ll need to be 2-3cm higher than your window. Thread a length of string through one hole, across the middle and out the other hole. Pull the string tightly before knotting the ends securely on the outside of your theatre. My son cut up an old pillowcase to make his curtains and folded them over his string before securing the loose end in place with double sided tape (I had originally planned on tidying the curtains up and sewing them together for him. To be honest though, his double sided tape has held up perfectly).
*If like ours, your curtains a little bit low use some tape or glue in the centre to lift them slightly.
To make your changeable scenery, cut out some different floors (such as grass and sea). Attach magnets to each side. You’ll also need to line up two magnets just beneath your window so you can switch your scenery.
To finish add some decoration to the front of your show. We wanted to keep it as simple as possible so we just glued on some white paper stripes and some yellow stars. once dry you puppet theatre is finished! Doesn’t it look fab? My son is so pleased with his!
*please note this post may contain amazon affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase via any of the links provided i may make a commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps me keep this site up and running
I’m back again with another wooden spoon puppet craft that we made to go with our cardboard puppet theatre! Today’s puppet is this awesome wooden spoon pirate captain puppet that my son dreamed up and I helped him make. We have had so much fun on this project and I think this might be one of my favourite puppets that we have made so far. We’ve made up several different stories around him and my little lad is already coming up with loads of ideas for accessories that we can make to go with him too!
Self adhesive felt(we prefer to use self adhesive rather than felt and felt glue as it means that my son can do the sticking rather than just watch me doing it all. We just only peel off the bits we want to stick).
Scissors
Glue gun
How to make our wooden spoon pirate captain puppet
Start off by taking your lollipop stick and gluing it centrally across the neck of your wooden spoon, this will make the pirate’s arm. Then you’ll need to give your pirate a face. We started off by cutting out and sticking down a beard, we then added the hat on top before sticking on two grumpy eyes and a mouth.
To make the t-shirt, place your captain on to the back of your felt and draw your shirt shape around it on to the paper backing before cutting it out. Remember your shirt will need to be wider than your puppet frame in all places.
To save felt you could just stick one shirt piece to the front. However, we’re planning on using our puppets long term so wanted to make them sturdy as possible. We drew around our shirt shape and cut out a second identical piece to make the back. If you decide to cut out a back piece too remember to draw around the shirt with both felt sides facing outwards as they will be on the spoon, otherwise your pieces might not match up!
To attach your pirate shirt, peel off the backing paper and attach one to the front of your spoon and one to the back. Pinch the two sides together to meet and secure in the middle. Repeat the same process to make a little pair of trousers.
Finish off your pirate by adding some decoration. We cut out some yellow felt strips for the sleeves and the bottom of his shirt and we also added some yellow buttons. Finally we gave our pirate a sword by cutting out a white blade with a black hilt and sticking them together on one of our lollipop stick hands
*please note this post may contain amazon affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase via any of the links provided i may make a commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps me keep this site up and running*
Here is yet another wooden spoon puppet craft that we made to go with our cardboard puppet theatre project. This is my son’s wicked wooden spoon witch puppet and doesn’t she look great! I’ve really enjoyed making these with him the last few days. They’re a bit tricky for him to make alone so we’ve spent a lot of time doing them together which has been so lovely.
When they announced that schools were going to be shut, i did wonder how he would get on being home so much with just his parents and little sister. I am so blessed to say that he has been absolutely brilliant and every day has been a pleasure. He does of course miss seeing his friends and cousins but these little ones are just so resilient. He’s made the best of every day and we’ve been finding whatever we can to do to make the days a bit easier. There’s no denying he’s probably watched a little bit too much paw patrol, but we have also had loads of fun outdoors and plenty of crafting and educational fun indoors and let’s be honest all that really matters is that they’re happy and that they get through this the best they possibly can until we regain a bit of normality.
Start off by taking your lollipop stick and gluing it centrally across the top of your wooden spoon handle – just below the head, this will make the arms. Then, take your puppet and coat it in green paint before putting it aside to dry.
Now it’s time to give your witch some hair, to make ours we glued some wool scraps around the edge of the wooden spoon head. Then add two eyes, a nose and a mouth to make your witch’s face.
Cut out a witches hat and stick it down in place at the top of your spoon head.
Place your witch puppet on to the back of your felt and draw your dress shape around it. You will need to make sure your dress Is a bit bigger than your spoon all the way around.
To save felt you could just stick one dress piece to the front. However we’re planning on using our puppets long term and wanted to make them sturdy as possible. We drew around our dress shape and cut out a second identical piece to make the back. If you decide to cut out a back piece too remember to draw around the dress with both felt sides facing outwards as they will be on the spoon, otherwise your pieces might not match up!
To attach your witches dress lightly stick one side to the front of your spoon and the other to the back. Pinch the two pieces together to meet and stick in the middle. Finish off you wooden spoon witch puppet by adding a magic wand. My son also added some snips in to the bottom of his witches dress too which i think looks fab!
*please note this post may contain amazon affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase via any of the links provided i may make a commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps me keep this site up and running*
For the last few days we’ve been working on a new crafty project. With all the time we have had on our hands it has been so lovely having a big project for us to work on. If you haven’t guessed already, what we have been making is our very own DIY puppet theatre and some wooden spoon puppets to go with it. We’ve had so much fun both making our puppets and playing with them and today I’m really excited to be sharing the first of out new creations with you – our wooden spoon princess puppet!
Isn’t she just adorable? Shes been the centre of many of my sons stories, sometimes she is a princess who needs saving and other times she is the one who saves everyone. One thing I have definitely noticed since playing with the puppets is how much it’s helped strengthen my little guys ability to create a story, it’s also helped with his confidence too.
Self adhesive felt (you could of course use regular felt and felt glue but we like to use self adhesive and just peel off the bits we want to stick, this way my son can stick them himself rather than just watching me glue!)
Lollipop stick
Scissors
Glue gun
How to make our wooden spoon princess puppet
To start off glue your lollipop stick centrally across the top of your spoon to make two arms. Next, give your princess some hair, to do this we glued some wool scraps around the curve of the spoon. Add two eyes and a mouth to make her face.
To make the dress, place your puppet onto the back of your felt and draw your dress shape around it on the backing paper. You’ll need to make sure your dress is wider than your puppet in all places.
To save felt you could just stick one dress piece to the front. However we’re planning on using our puppets long term and wanted to make them sturdy as possible. We drew around our dress shape and cut out a second identical piece to make the back. If you decide to cut out a back piece too remember to draw around the dress with both felt sides facing outwards as they will be on the spoon, otherwise your pieces might not match up!
To make our princesses’ cape we cut out a white cape shape with an elongated v shaped collar. The collar might look a bit odd now but it’s how you’ll fold your cape around your spoon.
To attach the dress, stick your first dress piece on to the front and your second on the back. Then pinch them together to meet and stick in the middle. To add the cape place the puppet centrally on it (felt side facing forward). Remove the backing from just a square at the end of each side of your collar and fold the collar over the arms before securing them together at the chest. My little guy then added a cute little bow to look like a fastener.
Finish off your awesome wooden spoon princess puppet by giving her a felt crown and adding any optional decorations. isn’t she just adorable!
