DIY Tinkerbell Styrofoam Puppet

I made this Tinkerbell puppet for a little tyke who likes puppets:

This cutout was my inspiration:

My tools:

Thin white styrofoam box, led pencil, markers, scissors, plastic stick for support.

Similarly to my other puppets...

I drew the fairy in the styrofoam, looking at the picture for guidance.  My drawing wasn't perfect.  I redrew as I went, trying to make it more and more like the picture.  You can only draw and redraw so many times, because the grooves made by the led pencil (no pencil marks, just grooves) start to become noticeable after too many times, so draw carefully!

It's a little hard to see, but I traced grooves with the led pencil, and over that, you draw over with black sharpie.  I prefer permanent black marker because otherwise the color rubs off.

You can then color in in marker in colors matching those of my inspiration picture:

Now, it's time to cut out the fairy, carefully, leaving the section between her hair bun and below her arm uncut:

Try to cut precisely.  I made larger cuts, then cut closer to the fairy.

I made a support stick cutting out a strip of plastic from a hard plastic that came in the packaging of a box that contained electronics.  I shaved off the edges using a scissors blade and tapered it down at the end to stick into the puppet.   You can use any sturdy plastic that comes from packaging or a similar hard plastic to shape the stick, or simply tape a popsicle stick to the back, leaving a section hanging down over the bottom.

I threaded the stick through Tinkerbell like so:

I made small slits in the styrofoam to accomodate the plastic and then pushed the stick, expanding the styrofoam with it and threading it through.  At the very top, the slit was made between the bun and wing, close to the top of her head.  I made a very small slit here.  I placed the stick behind the fairy before cutting, lining my cuts up with the styrofoam and then making the slit over where the plastic was placed.

... And, this is the final result!

The same puppet can be made based on any other image with a simple google search!  Better to start off with something simple if you're not comfortable with drawing.  Alternatively, rather than drawing grooves with pencil, non-permanent marker can be used (check to make sure you can rub it off with cloth on the styrofoam before proceeding) to first draw the image and this can be erased without making grooves (this way, you allow yourself more room for errors.

Enjoy !!  Let me know if you have any questions or comments :).

LJR, Kraft Queen

Olaf Finger Puppet DIY

After making the jumbo finger puppet in my last post, I went ahead and did a google search to find another character to bring to the puppet-verse.  I picked "Olaf", the much loved snowman from the "Frozen" Disney movie.  I chose him because he's a favorite with the younguns and it would be a simple enough puppet to draw, without needing to color too much on the white cardboard that would serve as my base (this time from a white cardboard box cover), since he's made of snow.

This was my inspiration:

Again, I looked at the picture, drew in pencil using short strokes, and then went over in sharpie pen with single lines, drawing carefully and then erasing the pencil:

 If you're not comfortable drawing with pencil, you can print out a picture of Olaf, trace over the cardboard either a) with a marker that will leak through the paper onto the cardboard or b) with a pen that has run out of ink, with a heavy hand, pressing hard into the cardboard beneath, to make grooves which you can then draw over directly on the cardboard, with sharpie.  



Then color buttons and eyes in black sharpie or marker, arms and hair in brown marker. 

... cut out around the black outline.  Be careful not to bend the cardboard.  Try to cut parallel to the cardboard without bending, cutting closer and closer to the black outline.  Press your second and fourth finger to the feet and trace in pencil, then cut out these holes as well, making a smaller hole, fitting your fingers into them, and cutting wider, to accommodate your fingers.  Outline the inside of the holes with black sharpie:

Now, it's time for the final touch!  The carrot nose :).  A few swipes with an orange marker and you're good to go!  Olaf is complete!  It's not the tale of Frosty the snowman, but as far as bringing snowmen to life I think this one comes close!  


Here's the finished product:

Enjoy!!

LJR, Kraft Queen

Jumbo Finger Puppet DIY

I made this jumbo-sized finger puppet for a toddler:

This was my inspiration from http://brightappleblossom.blogspot.ca/2013/02/animal-finger-puppet-valentines.html :

I drew an image looking at this picture for guidance, first in pencil, drawing short pencil strokes and re-tracing where I wanted to get it to look more like the original.  I then traced over with sharpie pen, erased the pencil, and colored with either sharpie or crayon based on the colors shown in the original finger puppet.  I used cardboard:  the white inside of a chocolate box!

So, first, draw (pencil is forgiving and allows you to draw and redraw on the same surface until you get it right!) and trace (with sharpie):

...then erase (pencil marks):

... color:

... Cut (I can color over the outer edges because this will be cut off anyway.  I smudged black crayon with a crumpled piece of paper to make this black more uniform.  Alternatively a sharpie can be used for the spots as well):

The udder portion of this step is optional.  I drew in an udder to surround the points where my fingers would go.  I placed my fingers at the base of the cardboard, cut "Cs" around my fingers and cut holes loosely around these "Cs".  I kept cutting and re-shaping until I could fit the last (furthest from my palm) joint of each of my fingers (and thumb) through the holes comfortably.  I then drew an udder, first loosely in pencil, and then tracing over with sharpie as before.  You can cut the holes as you like, no udder required, but I think it adds a nice touch!

This is how the puppet will look:

Here's a glimpse of the chocolate box!  I stick to the inner, non-glossy side.  If you like, you can cover this back, drawing over with sharpie, or placing paper over, tracing the edges (cutting a little bit inside the edge so that it does not show from the front and cover the edge with sharpie) and glue this to the back.  You can also draw on this back once the paper is glued on, either a cow's back, or another animal altogether for a two in one puppet!:

And here is the finished product!  No drawing experience required.  Just be sure to draw single lines with the sharpie to keep the drawing looking clean.  Don't draw with sharpie until you are pleased with your pencil drawing.

This is a simple way to make a cute puppet that will wow the child (/children) in your life!  Make more puppets based on the other drawings in the linked blog, or looking for your creature of choice via a good old google search.  Skip the jumbo puppet and go miniature if you like!  Let me know if you have any questions / comments!

LJR, Kraft Queen