Stick and hand puppets and other puppet crafts at Barry4kids, the kids' website of Barry the dog

Puppets are a great tool you can use to stretch your imagination. Puppets can be made using any supplies you like. That's why there are different types of puppets: hand puppets and stick puppets, finger puppets, paper bag puppets, and even sock puppets. With the ideas you find at Barry4kids you can make a few of these puppets and put on a puppet show with your favourite heroes. Then the fun begins! What your puppet becomes depends on you.

STICK PUPPETS

Stick puppets are a great craft for you, they are easy to make and can be made using any materials you like. With these fun frog stick puppets you may put on a show at home or at school of the beautiful tale The Frogs’ Race.

Template for the frog stick puppet

Supplies you need for each puppet:
1. one A4 white cardboard sheet
2. one stick of white glue
3. a pair of scissors
4. construction paper or felt (or any other suitable fabric) in a variety of colours
5. colour pencils (if necessary ) and a black marker
6. stick for the puppet

Instructions:
1. Print out the drawing on the A4 white cardboard sheet. You may use colour cardboard instead.
2. Cut out the various drawings.
Be careful with the scissors!
3. Glue the felt (or fabric) or paper you have chosen onto the cut-out drawings (you have to cut out the drawings again). You may paint the drawings, or use colour cardboard, instead.
4. Glue the stick onto the back of the puppet
5. Do some finishing touch.

If you print out the drawings on colour cardboard (green, red, yellow, blue), you have an easier task. As you may learn, frogs in the wild exist in all colours and shapes.

HAND PUPPETS

Hand puppets demand a little more work because you need to hand sew front and back felt pieces together. You may then ask an adult to help you. When your puppets are all done, you may start staging a performance at home, or at school, and invite your friends. Choose a story with characters taken from these animals. Click to get the respective template.

Template for black cat Fifi hand puppet		Template for dog hand puppet

Template for ladybird hand puppet		Template for lion hand puppet

Template for dog or wolf hand puppet		Template for rabbit hand puppet

Template for John the Rat hand puppet		Template for bear hand puppet

Template for frog hand puppet		Template for pig hand puppet

Supplies you need for each puppet:
1. one A4 white cardboard sheet
2. Body and head: felt in the colour you like
3. Details (nose, ears, belly, others): pieces of scrap coloured felts. Make the eyes out of felt, or buy google eyes instead
4. Sewing needle and thread in the colours matching the felts; thimble
5. Fabric scissors
6. Black marker
7. Glue (optional)

Instructions:
1. Print out the template(s) on a A4 white cardboard sheet.
2. Cut out the template with the scissors. Then cut out your puppet out of the felt. For some puppets length must be increased (centimeters as shown on the template) when cutting out of the felt. Be careful with the scissors!
3. Apply/sew the details (mouth, nose, eyes, etc.) to the front piece of the puppet.
4. Hand sew the front and the back pieces together.
5. Paint any final detail, for example whiskers or eyebrows.

Barry's signature

Dulce Rodrigues