Make a personalized gift that will be your little one’s cherished toy and friend for years
November 12, 7 p.m.
Cost: By donation
Our children’s toys are too expensive…and, their fascination with them doesn’t last long enough for the price. Most have shapes and faces that have no resemblance to humankind or reality. But what to do???
Make a personalized gift that will be your little one’s cherished toy and friend for years…and may even be tucked away to pull out when their children need a toy at the grandparents’ home years in the future!
What is it? A very simple—but dear—hand puppet. When my children were little with all of their toys laying on the floor, and them talking to their hand (with a sock on their hand as if it were a little friend)…I realized that with a face, they could really have the friend they desired “on demand” if they could find it in the stack of toys.
I made a puppet of sorts: The hair was the color of their hair and the eyes the color of their eyes. The clothes were cut from one of their outgrown shirts. My children LOVED and cherished their puppets. I know one survived to belong to our grandchild!
My husband and I even got the idea of going to the kindergarten at our children’s school and doing puppet workshops where the children selected their puppet parts then sat on my lap and “helped” me sew the parts into a finished puppet. We did that for many years with many groups. I can no longer do that…but, rather than let it die, I turn the puppet making over to the parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, and anyone who is interested! Come to the workshop and see what you can create! It will be the most cherished and longest “lived” gift you give to the little one in your life for a long time!
I will not have all the puppet parts on hand for you to select from as I used to. But I will have a completed puppet for you to adore, and patterns for you. I will talk through the assembly process. All the while we’ll share parenting wisdom, grandparenting wisdom, and aunt/uncle wisdom and enjoy the gift of children in our lives!
If you’ve ever done basic sewing, you will go home ready to make and sew your own puppets.
Skills required:
- Tracing your hand.
- Cutting the fabric on the tracing you did.
- Selecting and “dressing” the cut out of your hand.
- Simple embroidery for faces so there are no buttons for little ones to pull off and accidentally swallow. I used straight stitch, satin stitch, and French knot—but you can use any you know that fit the task of eyes, nose mouth. The puppets are truly customizable to the child receiving the gift! I’ve added glasses, freckles, one green eye and one blue eye…whatever needs are there, you can accommodate!
- Braiding for girl-style hair.
- Glueing
- Top stitching
- Basic machine stitching (seams)
- Applying imagination
CAUTION: This activity stimulates imagination to a level you may have forgotten is possible. Be prepared to LOVE making puppets. It’s not what you think…it’s W A Y better!
Contact the event instructor with questions: