Craft Series #3

I think I have wasted enough time since my last craft post so here is a cute simple project to do for your little kiddos. My children are 3 and 1 and this was perfect for my 3 year old. I put the entire thing together in like 15 minutes and it kept him entertained all through the cooking of dinner and afterwards! So a kid kept entertained all evening - I think it is well worth it!

It is a Puppet Stage - Puppets included!

I will admit I took the shortcut route and simply went on Nick.com and printed out the Backyardigans puppets they had. They were about three inches tall and so you just had to print them out, cut them out and attach to any type of stick. They of course recommended Popsicle sticks but I was out of those so grabbed some straws. Anything a child can hold it up with will work! I even just taped the straw on instead of dragging out my glue gun and making a mess.

The stage simply consisted of a shoe box. You set the shoe box on it's side (throw the lid away) and on the bottom part cut a rectangle out from the edge. The picture is bad - but hopefully you can still see how I did it. (If not go to Nick.com and look up the Backyardigans puppets - it will explain how to do it too)

Then print out any background you want for your puppet adventure - beach, jungle, city, etc. Glue the background onto the inside of the box on all three sides.

You can also get creative and cut pieces of fabric to glue on the top edges of the stage to make curtains for the stage.

Now you can be as creative or as simple as you want. My child being 3 it wasn't worth much more effort because I knew it would be destroyed by the next day but if your kids are older and gentler they might enjoy being a little more extensive with the design. You can find any animal or people figure to print out or paint your own! Attach a Popsicle stick or anything that will work to hold the puppet with. you can even paint clothes or hats on your figures to match the background you chose. If you want to make a castle for a princess you can add glitter to your puppets or make her a crown! Just have fun with it!

Hope your kids enjoy their puppet stage!