POST AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY AISLING HEGARTY, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY JOCIE ORANGIO
The tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a classic, and what better way to recreate a classic tale than acting it out yourself? These popsicle puppets are the perfect way to tell the story of Goldilocks, and even add your own twist to it!
Materials
- Felt
- Ribbon
- Yellow yarn
- Popsicle sticks
- Flat wooden circular disks (can be found at a craft store)
- Markers
- Template
Tool
- Glue gun
- Scissors
- Pins
Step 1
In preparing for this project, it’s definitely in your best interest as a crafter to use the attached template. I like to use templates because it is the most foolproof way to make sure your felt pieces are the right size. I would also suggest, in the interest of time, which for each felt piece you need two of (for instance, the arms and legs) to only use the template for one piece. What I did was, for example, cut out one “arm” using the template. Then I put that “arm” over another piece of felt, and used that as a guide (shown in image). Of course, you can always re-pin the template on each piece, but with a project with so many pieces, all that pinning just becomes time-consuming.
Step 2
Cut out all the felt pieces, get out that hot glue gun, and go to town!
Step 3
Using with the popsicle sticks and glue gun, glue the round wooden disks about a quarter inch over the top of the Popsicle sticks for all four characters.
Step 4
Steps 1-3 will leave you with all the necessary pieces to begin clothing your characters.
Step 5
Next, you’ll create the felt bodies of each character. I first glued the felt body on to the Popsicle stick, and then glued the felt arms and legs on to the body. I found that it looks the best if you glue the arms and legs from behind the body (as shown in image). It just looks more natural. For Goldilocks, her “body” is just her dress, so that is easy enough to glue.
Step 6
Now for the fun parts. Glue the previously made felt “clothing” provided in the template to the bodies of the characters: the overalls for Papa and Baby Bear, and a dress and apron for Mama Bear. It may even be easier to glue the clothing on to the bodies before you glue the bodies on to the Popsicle sticks. I personally did it in the opposite order, and it turned out fine, but it may just make it easier for you as a crafter to have the clothes glued on first.
Step 7
Step 7 shows the process of making Goldilock’s hair. To do so cut the appropriate length of hair to drape over her head from the yellow yarn and simply glue it on.
Step 8
For the final details, cut out a small amount of ribbon for each character in the Bear family: Two pieces of blue ribbon for both the Papa and Baby Bear, to complete the “overalls” and for the Mama Bear, a cute white ribbon tied around her waist helps complete the apron.
Step 9
Now, for the final step, and for me the hardest one. Never having been a spectacular artist, for me the most difficult step is drawing the faces on to each character. The face is really up to the crafter, but I would at least suggest the basic eyes, nose and mouth. I find the big brown nose to be an adorable asset to this project, but maybe that’s just me.
Step 10
Now that the faces are drawn, your characters are all done. Get ready for some puppet theater!
