How to Create a Muppet

If you and your children love the Muppets, you should try creating one of your very own. It's a great craft project for kids and also makes a great event for parties. Here's how to create a Muppet puppet with your children in just an afternoon.

Things You'll Need

• Large piece of styrofoam
• Stretchy fleece (about a yard)
• Children's clothing
• Pre-purchased eyes (bottle caps or buttons maybe substituted)
• Black and red felt
• Spray adhesive
• Scissors
• Towels

Instructions

1. Carve the styrofoam into the shape of a Muppet puppet head. (Supervise young children.) You can use a work knife or even an open pair of scissors. The main focus should be in creating a forehead (by carving out eye cavities), a socket for the nose and a place for the mouth. Remember to leave styrofoam in place for the cheeks.

2. Add your Muppet puppet skin. This is the large piece of fleece you have purchased. Spray the back of it with some stretch adhesive. Then affix the skin to the styrofoam head you just made. Be sure that you stretch the skin so that it's tight. Using some pins to help hold the fleece is helpful. Trim away any excess "skin."

3. Place your nose in the appropriate place. You can cut a nose out of the styrofoam and stick it on with the spray adhesive. Then take a piece of scrap fleece and cover the styrofoam nose so that the entire Muppet head is now covered.

4. Attach your eyes using the spray adhesive.

5. Affix other characteristics to your Muppet such as eye-brows or a mustache.

6. Cover the inside of the Muppet's mouth with a piece of black felt. That will give the appearance of the mouth being partially open. Don't worry about lips; most Muppets don't have them as a feature.

7. Dress up your Muppet. Now it's time to place the styrofoam head into some children's clothes. You can stuff the clothes with towels to make it appear as if there is a body inside. Voila, in just a few short steps you have created a Muppet puppet.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have left-over fleece, make a couple of hands for your Muppet. Simply trace a hand, cut it out and stuff with stuffing material. Use a little needle and thread and your Muppet will have hands in no time.

• Ears are another cool feature that you can add to your Muppet by simply tracing an ear shape, cutting out four patterns, placing a little stuffing material in between two of the patterns and then sewing them together. Then affix your ears to the Muppet using spray adhesive.

• A glue gun can be substituted for the spray adhesive.

• Don't stop with just one, you can create a whole family of Muppets. Make sure you create a place for them to live too.