Puppets are such an amazing tool for imagination. They talk to each other, they talk to the audience or they make up their own stories. I made this puppet theater for the girls I nannied, ages 2 and 3. I started with a curtain from Ikea. The curtain came in a set of 2. I plan to use the second curtain for another puppet theater later on. I bought a 1/2 yard of plain blue fabric from hobby lobby to create the little curtains. The 1/2 yard was plenty to make mini curtains for 2 puppet theaters. I used red ribbon I already had on the top and sides of the mini curtains. The 2 bows used as curtain tie backs are secured onto the light blue so they will stay in place when you untie them. The girls open the mini curtains when the show is starting and close them when it's over. Since storytelling skills are still at their beginning stage with the girls, their favorite parts are to open and close the curtains, hear the applause, and take a bow. There are lots of neat tutorials for making your own puppets, but I ended up ordering a pack of animal puppets on amazon instead. The puppets aren't amazing quality, but they were great for taking a toddler beating and the best price when it came to the time I was saving. Now that I know the girls like the puppet show concept, I'll invest more time into hand making some quality puppets. I used a tension curtain rod from target to keep the puppet theater up. I love this option because it doesn't damage the walls, you can use it in any doorway, and the theater can be set at different heights for a tall or tiny puppet enthusiast. I've seen other puppet theaters where they use nails on either side of the doorway to hang the theater. I like this option when playing with toddlers because you never know when an excited puppet will yank the show down on top of them all. The idea of the tension rod falling on their heads scares me, but I didn't want to give the gift without a proper way to hang it. Thankfully the rod is lightweight, and the girls understand what will happen if they pull hard on the curtain. It's just those mischievious puppets we'll need to watch out for. Fun inspiration and tutorials:
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| From Country Living |
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| From Love & Sugar Kisses |
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| From The Crafty Cupboard |
Adorable Puppet Tutorials:
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| From The Idea Room |
| From FiskarsCrafts |
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| From Soto Softies |
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| From Redmush |
Such a great idea. thanks !
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