With the Kids

Leaf People Finger Puppets

Fall is the perfect time to get outside with your kids and stock up on the free craft supplies that Mother Nature provides for you. Collect twigs, pine cones, acorns and bark that has come off of branches or tree trunks. Leaves on the other hand have a limited crafting life. Because a leaf is only its fullest while nutrients are being pumped through its veins, once it falls from the tree it will soon begin to wither and harden. You can preserve their shape by pressing them in the pages of heavy books or laminate them between two sheets of contact paper.

You can certainly use leaves in fun projects, but keep in mind that they will wither eventually. Because of this, I’m going to show you how to make two versions of these cute leaf people finger puppets; one with natural supplies and one with synthetic. Either way is fun and a great way to celebrate the coming of Autumn!

Supplies for leaf people finger puppets:

Natural:

  • cardboard tubes
  • pebbles or bark
  • leaves
  • twigs
  • wiggle eyes

Synthetic:

  • cardboard tubes
  • buttons
  • chenille stem
  • construction paper
  • silk leaves
  • wiggle eyes

Tools:

  • scissors
  • glue stick
  • hot glue gun

Natural Puppets

Begin by hot gluing the leaf to the top of the cardboard tube for the head. Next, hot glue the twigs to the sides of the tube for the arms.

Hot glue pebbles or small pieces of bark to the front of the tube for buttons. Finally, add wiggle eyes to the leaf head.

Synthetic Puppets

First use a glue stick to cover the cardboard tube with construction paper.

Next, hot glue a silk leaf to the top of the cardboard tube. Glue on buttons and wiggle eyes and add chenille stems for the arms.

These puppets are easy to make and kids will love having their own little puppet show with these cute leaf people!

25 comments

  1. Those puppets are soooo cool !! I spotted that one of our users just pinned this up to her Pinspire collection and I just wanted to verify that you are okay with this. Don’t hesitate to get in touch for the link ([email protected])

  2. Finally got around to making these with my 4-year old daughter today. We had a great time! Fun idea – we love simple yet creative crafts! Thank you!

  3. I saw these on the feature on iVillage and had to come over to tell you how adorable they are!! (My craft stick scarecrows are part of the feature, too. Yay!) I love these, and might have to whip some up with my kids. Awesome idea! :)

  4. We did these today in my son’s preschool – well, a version of them. I used my Silhouette to cut out leaf shapes then just provided a bunch of random things to glue onto the tube bodies. The kids loved their silly spindly pipe cleaner arms and the fact that each kiddo got to design his own little person. I can also say that with a little help, this pleased kids from 23 months to almost 3 1/2 years old. :)

  5. When I saw the link on Twitter this is not what I expected. I admit I laughed when I saw the gang in the first photo. They crack me up. The group seems to have so much personality. I can imagine the kids will have a blast creating, but will also love bringing their characters to life.

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