Dragonfly Puppet - made from Recycled Materials

We've been spotting plenty of dragonflies around our garden & Minnie is completely fascinated by them. The only problem for her is that they move just a little too fast! We thought we'd have a go at creating a dragonfly puppet which might hang around a little longer. Recently we've collected a quite a bit of packing paper from parcels & thought this was a great way to recycle some of it.

To create our puppet we used:
Packing paper / newspaper
Garden sticks
Scraps of coloured tissue paper
Sheets of blue wrapping paper
A meter of Punchinella
Glue stick
Masking tape
Double sided tape
Screwdriver

1. We scrunched up the packing paper to create a body shape for our dragonfly. Then wrapped it in another layer of the paper to create a smoother finish, & secured with masking tape.

2. Minnie & I then wrapped it with the sheets of blue tissue paper & sealed with glue.

3. Using the double sided tape Minnie stuck square shapes all over the body, peeled off the backing (with a little bit of help) & added her choice of coloured tissue paper! (We found the double sided tape easier then adding glue, as the colour from the tissue sometimes runs, & glue sticks can cause the paper to rip.)

4. To attach the stick handle to the base of the puppet we used a screwdriver to make a hole through the paper, & added some strong glue before pushing the stick through (holding in place for 1 min to secure).

5. To create the wings I cut four large wing shapes from the punchinella, & twisted two of these together, securing the ends with masking tape. I repeated with the remaining two wings.

6. Using the screwdriver we made a hole either side of the dragonfly puppet, added UHU to the holes as before, & pushed the taped end of the wing into the puppet.

7. Minnie added tissue paper eyes & our dragonfly puppet was ready to fly!

The wings looked like they were sprinkled with jewels as they caught the sunlight.

This large puppet has been brilliant for inspiring lots of physical outdoor play, imaginative play, & story telling! It's provided another opportunity to explore insects & habitats, & it's again highlighted the value of reusing & recycling! And this beautiful puppet has cost next to nothing to make!