This being the Year of the Dog, I decided to look for some simple dog crafts to do with N. I thought this dog puppet craft that I found online was pretty cute, plus I had all the materials needed, so I decided to try it out with N.
Materials Needed
Two toilet rolls Red paint Twine/String/Yarn One bendy straw One normal straw Two ice-cream sticks Googly eyes Glue Scissors Tape Hole puncher
Instructions
1. Paint the toilet rolls red (or any other colour you like) and let them dry thoroughly. We left ours to dry overnight, just to be extra safe.
2. Cut one of the toilet rolls into half to make the head and ears. Cut one of the halves into a long figure eight.
3. Glue the long figure eight onto one end of the cut toilet roll. This will be the dog’s head.
4. Glue the two ice-cream sticks together to make a cross. Set it aside to dry properly.
5. Punch four holes on one side of the longer toilet roll. These will be for the legs.
6. Cut two equally long strands of twine, and thread one through two holes each.
7. Cut the normal straw into four equal segments. Thread each one through each side of the twine, then tie a knot at the bottom to hold the straw in place. These make up the legs.
8. Punch two holes on opposite ends of the top of the dog’s body.
9. Carefully bend in a bit of the dog’s head where the ears are glued, so that the ears will pop out a little. Paste the googly eyes onto the head. Punch holes at the top of the dog’s head, as well as directly below it, so that you can thread the twine through it.
10. Cut a long strand of twine and thread it through the dog’s body and head.
11. Tie the twine to the ice-cream sticks. I couldn’t manage to do this properly, and ended up taping the twine down, so that it wouldn’t unravel.
12. Cut the bendy straw, and tape it to the back of the dog’s body to make the tail.
13. Your dog puppet is ready to be played with!
Honestly, I think this craft was a little too difficult for N to do on his own, and I had to help him quite a bit with most of the steps. I tried to get him as involved as possible, and I think he enjoyed himself. He was really pleased with the final product, and was busy showing it to his siblings as he sang “How Much is the Doggy in the Window” to them.
Showing Didi and Meimei his dog puppet
Have fun!
PS. For a slightly easier craft, you can try making big and small fish out of red packets HERE.
PPS. If you’re looking for a CNY-related book to read, try Happy Chinese New Year, Elena!.
Comments