Growing up with a mother who was a preschool teacher, I became accustomed to reading time involving props like felt board shapes or  puppets.   I was reminded of this when I saw these turkey finger puppet gloves by Lorie from Reading  Confetti.  She made them to go with the book “10 Fat Turkeys” by Tony Johnston, but they would also be fun just for play!  I mean, what kid doesn’t love finger puppets?  [how to make turkey finger puppet gloves]

Project estimate:

• Gloves, $1
• Pipe cleaners, on hand or $1
• Craft foam or felt,  on hand or $1
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

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Katie from Matsutake has some of the most adorable ideas I’ve ever seen, including these cuties, which are dolls based on characters from the book Where the Wild Things Are. And, they’re cleverly made of toilet paper and paper towel tubes! She also made a bunch of super cute Halloweeny dolls, too. You have to check it out! [click here for tutorial] [via]

You can customize these TP tube dolls in any way you like. It would be fun to make a nativity set, your family, or other favorite characters from books, movies, etc. (Ooh, maybe I can make my Alexander Girard-inspired dolls out of TP tubes!) Of course, it goes without saying that this is a great activity for the kiddos!

Project Estimate:

• Toilet paper tubes, on hand
• Acrylic paint, on hand

Total: FREE

p.s. Just for fun, here are some other great Where the Wild Things Are crafts, treats, and activities via the Crafty Crow:

My favorites:

• Whimsy Love’s Stop Motion Puppet How-To
• Max Ornament by Flickr user batzie09
• Cupcakes by Flickr user Claire_Issa

p.p.s. I don’t usually do this, but because I’ve seen some cool WTWTA stuff lately, here are some cute Where the Wild Things Are things for sale at Etsy:

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Does anyone else have a bag or two of dollar store pipecleaners on hand just in case? I love pipecleaners. They’re so versatile, cheap, and they come in tons of colors. They’re great for open-ended kid activities because they allow kids to be creative.

This free-standing dino wasn’t very stable

My three year-old son is just starting to discover dinosaurs (his favorite: the T-Rex. How do boys learn this stuff? Is it just part of their DNA?), so we decided to make dinosaur toys out of pipecleaners, inspired by a Family Fun magazine activity. The Family Fun version is a brontosaurus (brachiosaurus?)-type dino with legs, and a long neck and tail. When we tried to make a dinosaur using their instructions, it wasn’t very stable, so I thought I would reinterpret the activity into my favorite type of toy: a finger puppet! [check my blog over at Make & Takes today for the companion red T-Rex instructions]

This is a great make-anytime activity that you can do with minimal preparation. Pull this one out next time your kid says she’s bored, or on a rainy day.

Project Estimate:

• Pipecleaners, $1 or on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand
• Pen, on hand
• Glue, optional

Total cost: Free and up

Time Needed: 15 minutes

Ages: 3 and up. Your 3 year-old will need help, but will probably really enjoy the end result! She’ll like to coil pipecleaners around a pen, so be sure to let her do it along with you as you make one. Also, pipecleaners are easy to bend, so these toys won’t last for long with younger kids, but it’s still a fun activity.

To Make:

• Connect three pipecleaners end-to-end, and wrap around your finger to create the body.

• Connect two pipecleaners end-to-end, and wrap half around a pen or pencil, overlapping the pipecleaner onto itself to create the head, and then coil the rest around to form the neck.

• Attach neck to body, by bending pipecleaner, or using glue if desired.

• Coil one pipecleaner around pen or pencil to form tail, leaving about an inch straight for attaching to body.

• For arms, bend one pipecleaner into a V-shape, and coil each half around pen. Attach to body.
• If desired, create legs in a similar way and attach to body (we didn’t make legs).
• Attach googly eyes with glue. I used “quick dry” craft glue, and honestly, it didn’t work that well with the pipecleaner fuzz. You might be better off with hot glue (although, this is a job for you, not your kids. I know you already know that.)

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This is my last Star Wars post… for now! If you are hungry for more Star Wars crafts, be sure to visit the Star Wars Crafts community. I made some simple Star Wars finger puppets from craft felt (one of the best crafty bargains around – at about a quarter a sheet!).

You can make finger puppets in any shape or theme you want to. You can construct them from simple shapes, you can add googly eyes (or not), or button eyes. You can basically embellish them any way you want to. Great summer craft for kids!

Tips: If you have specific characters in mind (like these Star Wars guys), I recommend doing a quick sketch in your sketchbook so you know what pieces to cut out. I glued additional pieces to the backs of the heads to reinforce the puppets, since regular craft felt is not very stiff.

Project Estimate:

• 3 or more sheets of felt, about $1
• Craft glue (I used Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue), on hand
• (optional) Googly eyes, on hand or a huge pack for $1

Total: $1 and up

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Another cute Easter idea: use baby socks turned inside out to make cute little chick finger puppets. These would be a fun addition to your Easter baskets (they’d be super cute stretched over a candy-filled plastic egg), or just a fun activity for a rainy Spring day. They’d also be cute baby shower decorations, or a good addition to an Easter tree. [project: Better Homes & Gardens]

The project uses feather boa tufts, but you can also use yarn, or how about buying a little yellow furry stuffed animal at the dollar store and cutting it up to use for a cheaper alternative to the boa? For the eyes, you can use googly eyes or buttons if you don’t want to use black beads, or you can embroider them on.

Project Estimate:

• Baby sock, a pair for $1
• Black beads, googly eyes, or buttons, on hand or $1
• Feather boa tufts or alternative, on hand or $1
• Orange pipe cleaners, $1
• Orange felt, on hand or $.25

Total cost: $1 and up

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