Paper Bag Pilgrim Puppet

This is a fun and easy cut and paste paper craft that uses a paper bag as a base to make a pilgrim puppet.

Materials:

You can make a brown pilgrim with a brown paper bag or use different colors of paint if you feel like getting creative.

• a paper lunch bag,
• a printer,
• some crayons,
• scissors,
• glue,
• paper for the printer

Optional:

• big wiggly eyes.

Print the Template:

• Print out the template of choice (color or b&w)
• Colour (as required) and cut out the template pieces.

Get Familiar with Your Paper Bag:

• I'm going to walk through this slowly.  Look at your paper bag.
• It should be closed and flat like a piece of paper.  Just like when they are brand new.
• On one side, it's all smooth.  This will be the BACK of your puppet.
  • It's important that all the kids get the back and front straight at the beginning!
• On the other side there's a flippy tab (which is typically the bottom of the bag when you're carrying your lunch around...)
  • This flippy tab will be the HEAD.
• Lift the flippy tab up a bit.  Underneath of the tab will be the mouth,
  • When the child puts her hand in the bag, she'll be able to make the puppet talk.
• Look at the rest of the front of the bag.  (The 3/4 or so of the bag below the part with the flippy tab)  This will be the BODY.
• Look at the sides of the bag.  There should be a FLAP of paper.  
  • We'll be slipping the arms (template 2) into this flap.
  • If the kids goof and glue the arms onto the front or back of the bag, it isn't a big deal.
• OK, now that we're comfy with our bags, let's craft!

Assembling Your Puppet:

• If using TEMPLATE 2, glue the collar onto the BODY just below the HEAD.
• Glue the mouth underneath the flippy tab so you can see a tiny part of it sticking out when the flap is closed -- it will overlap the collar a little bit.
• Glue the hair at the top of the HEAD.
• Glue the eyes onto the HEAD below the hair.  If you like, you can use wiggly eyes instead of the paper template pieces.
• Glue the hat over the hair.
• Glue the nose under the eyes.
• Glue the eyebrows over the eyes.
• Glue the mustache onto the HEAD, below the nose, so it overlaps the flippy tab a little bit.

NOTE: the arms, belt, shoes and collar are on template 2.  If you feel the project is too big for your child, you can skip the second template and have a simpler armless puppet.

• Glue the arms into the FLAP.
• Glue the round button onto the chest -- I like to put it right over the collar.
• Glue the belt onto the BODY
• Glue the shoes onto the very bottom of the BODY
• Glue the corn into one of the hands.

Craft Templates:

• Close template window when done printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template 1   (color)   or   (B&W)

Template 2   (color)   or   (B&W)