Cereal Box Puppets – Spring Lamb Craft
Time for a super Lovely Easter Craft, or Spring Craft – as I always think little sheep or lamb crafts for throughout spring, or even as a Sheep Craft for Eid Al Adha! So whatever you are celebrating or your interests are, grab that Cereal Box and lets get recycling!
If you love Sheep Crafts then this is one for you! These are a part of our Sky Kids Best Makes Ever! Series that we created for stay at home kids during the pandemic. We are now able to share the makes in detail, here on Red Ted Art too. Which is very fun and exciting! Oh and by “we” I mean Arty Crafty Kids who partnered up with me to deliver have the projects!
In this post I show you how to make an articulated puppet without the need for a template. So it is perfect for anyone that hasn’t got a printer, or wants to get extra creative. The shapes use are really simple and I know you can make it, without a template… that said… if you are however looking for a spring puppet with template instead, why not give our little dancing bunnies puppets ago (includes one freebie template):
Let’s get making!
Also note: affiliate links have been added to this post – should you choose to purchase via these, I will earn a small commission that goes towards the upkeep of this site!
To make these dancing sheep, you will need the following supplies:
I have used as “back to basic” supplies as possible, to make these super accessible. Though you will need some split pins.
Cereal boxes are ideal for this craft, as they have the right kind of regidity, whilst still being easy to cut and paint. If you don’t have a cereal box, then those amazon book envelops work well, or you can use light card.
- One cereal box per puppet
- Paints – we used acrylic paints in white, black and blue – I like System 3, but if you are working with younger kids, you may want to use poster paints
- Paint brushes
- Scissors
- Sharpie or Marker pen
- Glue stick
- Hole punch
- Brads/ Split pins x4 per puppet
- Baker’s twine or string
As with all our crafts, I do like to encourage you to work with WHAT YOU HAVE already! Can you “make do” with supplies at home?
Watch the Lamb Paper Puppet Video Tutorial Here:
It is also available on YouTube here, if you prefer!
How to make your articulated sheep puppet from cereal boxes
So, as mentioned, we going to make this little dancing lamb WITHOUT a template. Because of this… when you are prepping your cardboard boxes, you MAY wish to paint some extra sheets of card, as “spares”, in case you want to recut something.
Paint your basic shapes
Begin by painting the two main pannels of your card board box. You will need:
- 1 large area in “body color”
- 1 smaller block for the face in “face color”
- 2 strips for legs and arms with blocks of hooves at either end (each strip will be cut in half, so you have four arms and legs in total)
Add your outlines
Now it is time to make your shapes.
For the main body a made a big cloud like shape.
Then I drew to ears.
Cut your shapes as you go for sizing
Cut these out roughly – I actually like seeing a bit of the outline.
Check that you are happy with the “size of the ears”.
Cut the face
Cut out an oval face and check the size.
Cut down if need be – but not too much! I did cut mine a little smaller.
Once you are happy, you can add facial features.
Cut the arms and legs
Now it is time to cut out our legs.
Cut the big strips in half – so you have enough for four two legs/ arms.
Then cut out a foot with a hoove and cut a triangle into the hoof if your wish.
I actually made my arms and legs more less the same size. But youc an make the arms smaller if you wish.
Tidy up the arms and legs and round of the tops (which will make them easier to move later.
I added some little lines to each, to give them the same feel as the sheep’s main boady and ears.
You should have this set of shapes
You should now have all your basic shapes as per the picture:
- A big cloud like body
- A face (oval)
- Two ears
- 4 arms and legs
Articulated Puppet Assembly
Next you will need your split pins, baker’s twine and a needle.
Now it is time to make your holes!
You will need to make four holes for the arms and legs INTO the sheep’s body.
And a hole each into the legs and arms.
Now you are ready for your threading.
Add your puppet string in a I shape
The photos may not be quite good enough to see… so you may want to watch the embedded video! but I have tried to add some lines on the image so you can see how the string goes. Here is another from the paper puppets:
You need to use the needle to make the small holes for your twine into the legs and position the needle entry points as showin in the diagram above the hole punch holdes. You will need to make a captial I shape with your baker’s twine.
Once all the twine is added, you can secure the arms and legs with the split pins.
More easy every day projects from our Sky Kids Best Make’s Ever Spring Series:
These crafts are all suitable as lovely spring OR Easter themed crafts! If you are looking for some more great ideas, why not take a peak at this great Easter Craft collection:
