Teddy Bear Puppet

Materials:

12" (30cm) stuffed bear *
5" x 7" (13cm x 18cm) sheet of red foam
pencil
scissors
hot glue gun with glue sticks

* This project will completely remake your teddy bear! You can find inexpensive bears ready to make into puppets in just about any craft store.

Variation: Just about any stuffed doll can be made into a puppet with a little imagination and the mouth piece (as shown in the altnerative designs at the right). After that, some clothes, accessories and a good personality are all you need to make a cool character for your puppet show.

1. Draw and cut out the mouth from a sheet of red foam (figure A). The size of the mouth will depend on the size of the bear and the size of your hand.

2. Glue the mouth together. Start by gluing along the outside edge of the middle diamond (figure B) and bringing the lower triangle up to attach the edges. Glue the other side the same way, so that you make a mouth shape (figure C).

3. When you are finished, make sure the mouth fits your hand and that all the glued edges are secured (figure D).

4. Use scissors to make a 4-inch (10cm) horizontal cut along the mouth of the bear. The cut should be centered under the nose of the bear (figure E). You might have to adjust the size of your cuts to fit your stuffed bear.

5. Cut a 2-inch (5cm) diameter circle out of the back of the bear's head (figure F).

6. Pull some stuffing out of the back of the bear's head. Most of what you pull out should be in the mouth area (figure G).

Tip: Make sure you leave enough stuffing in the head of the bear to keep the shape of the head. Also be careful with the nose of the bear, making sure enough stuffing is left to keep the shape of the nose.

7. Push the red foam mouthpiece through the hole in the back of the head and into the bear's mouth (figure H). The edge of the foam mouth should touch the edge of the cut you made. Use scissors to adjust the slit to fit the foam if necessary. Glue the edge of the fur to the rim of the mouth, starting under the nose and working around the lips (figure I).

8. Apply the glue to the foam mouth and then press the fur of the bear to it, making sure to press inward so none of the inside stuffing of the bear shows (figure J).

9. Glue the back opening of the bear to the back of the mouth (figures K and L).

10. Tuck all the stuffing into the bear, and as you glue, roll the bear's material inward to keep the cut edge from fraying (figures M and N).

11. Dress the bear as you like.

Tip: If the stitching of the nose is lost when you pull out the stuffing, glue the nose back in place or add a black pom-pom for the nose.