In my never-ending quest to put googly eyes on things, I decided to make a puppet. Just a simple puppet, with a mouth I could open and close. With this in mind, I went to the craft store.
My first stop was in the flower arranging section. The green foam that is available in the floral department is much easier to cut than Styrofoam and it’s usually a little cheaper as well. Then I headed for the felt. Felt is a great material for beginning puppet-makers. It is soft and flexible, it comes in all sorts of colors, and it’s also cheap. That way if you mess up, it doesn’t represent such a large investment. I also got a tube of glue that didn’t contain any solvents. Remember – foam is basically plastic and a glue with solvents will dissolve your foam and release fumes that are VERY toxic.
Once I got home, I cut my small foam ball in half (I used a breadknife). I used a piece of felt, cut to the proper dimensions, to connect the two halves and allow for movement. I used glue on this part. Then I cut more felt and sewed around the edges to create a top and bottom covering. I kept things fairly simple for this first effort. I left some extra felt to act as a cape that hides my hand when I play with the puppet.
It’s a simple first effort, but I’m rather pleased. Now I can’t wait to make another puppet! In the meantime, I shall call this one Blaupunkt. You can watch him in action in this video I posted on YouTube!
