#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--SPOON PUPPETS

Every so often I like to repeat a favorite post from the past since our readership has grown so much over the last six years. With spring break coming up, these wooden spoon puppets are a perfect afternoon activity for a day when you have nothing else planned. When the puppets are finished, have the children stage a puppet show.

Materials

12” wooden spoon; 6-1/2” x 16” piece of fabric; 3” x 4” flesh-colored felt; 3/4-yd. 1-3/4” wide gathered lace; 4” length of 1” wide gathered lace; 1/2-yd. 1/8” wide satin ribbon; acrylic paint: flesh, dk. flesh, pink and black; acrylic satin varnish; paint brushes; curly doll hair; 4” straw hat; 1” miniature butterfly; paint brushes; tacky glue; low-temp glue gun; graphite paper; pencil; basic sewing supplies

1. Paint spoon bowl, sides of bowl, and approximately 1” of the handle below the bowl with 2 coats flesh paint, allowing paint to dry between coats. 

2. Print out face and hand patterns, enlarging face pattern box to 1-3/4” wide and hand pattern box to 2-1/4” wide.

3. Using graphite paper and pencil, ransfer face pattern to the bowl of the spoon.

4. Paint the mouth pink. To make eyes and freckles, dip the brush handle end into paint and dot eyes in black and freckles in dk. flesh. Allow to dry.

5. Apply 2 coats of satin varnish over painted areas.

6. Sew a length of wide lace to the bottom long edge of the print fabric. Using a 1/4” seam, sew the short ends of the fabric right sides together. Press under remaining long edge 1/4”.

7. To make the dress, run a gathering stitch along the pressed edge of the fabric. Gather tightly around the spoon directly under the bowl. Apply a small amount of tacky glue to hold the fabric to the spoon at the neck.

8. Gather a 6” length of remaining wide lace. Tie tightly around the neck over the gathered fabric for a collar.

9. Gut two hands from the flesh felt. Glue a hand to either side of the dress as shown in photo. Cut the 1” lace in half. Glue each half over a hand to form cuff.

9. Using tacky glue, glue lengths of doll hair to back and edges of spoon.

10. Using the glue gun, glue hat to the back of the head and butterfly to hat brim.

11. Make a bow from the ribbon. Glue to center front of collar.