Ever since my 3-year-old daughter saw “Curious George Goes to the Hospital” on video she has been on a puppet kick. (In one scene George puts on a puppet show for the sick children at the hospital and my daughter falls down laughing each time she sees George with puppets on his hands and feet.)
The first time she watched the tape I made her a set of sock puppets so she could put on a show “just like George.” But, recently I found an even better way to create hand puppets that feature your favorite photos. They are more realistic than sock puppets… and the best part is that your entire family can become part of the show. All you need to do is find a few full-length photos of your loved ones and let your imagination take over.
My daughter happens to love animals so I went through the last set of prints I took while we were at the zoo in Hawaii. We chose about a half dozens shots of the zoo animals and added them to the stack of pet shots I had. Then, we gathered full-length shots of grandma and grandpa, my brother wearing his firefighter’s uniform, my daughter and a few of her friends, and made them into puppets.
Making them couldn’t have been easier (the project is as kid-friendly as it gets) and now that my daughter has her main characters in place she is able to have daily puppet shows starring her favorite two-legged and four-legged friends. The adventures she makes up with the photo puppets are hilarious. If you have young children I highly recommend this photo project.
PHOTO PUPPETS
What You Need:
· Full-length photos of people or animals
· Card Stock
· Scissors
· Glue
· Tape
· Craft Sticks
Directions:
Choose a bunch of your favorite photos featuring people or pets. You could either go with a theme such as zoo animals or jungle animals. (Tip: You can find a ton of great photos online.)
Cut out the image you want to feature on your puppet.
Use a piece of tape to stick the photo to the sheet of card stock. Use the scissors to cut the outline of the person or animal, making sure to cut the card stock underneath.
Place a craft stick between the photo and card stock, and glue it all together, making sure that the edges of the photo and card stock line up.
Allow the glue to dry thoroughly before using puppet.
Related Articles:
Photo Cards for Easter and Mother’s Day
Photography Potpourri: Photo Labels and Photo Gear
Showing Off the “Lights of Your Life”
Making Christmas Ornaments From Your Favorite Photographs
Fun Photo Project: Photo Flowers
Travel Tips: Keeping the Memories Alive
Fun Photo Projects—Thank You Cards
Creating A Fabulous Photo Wall