DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Paper Bag Frankenstein Puppet

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

This is a fun and easy cut and paste paper craft that uses a paper bag as a base to make a Frankenstein's monster puppet.

I know, I know... most of his just call him Frankenstein, but Frankenstein was actually the scientist that created the monster. I love books!

You can make a green Frankenstein with a brown body or use different colors if you feel like getting creative.

a paper lunch bag (white or brown will work),
green paint or green paper (or color of your choice if you're making a different colored puppet)
a printer,
some crayons,
scissors,
glue,
paper

I'm going to walk through this slowly. Look at your paper bag.
It should be closed and flat like a piece of paper. Just like when they are brand new.
On one side, it's all smooth. This will be the BACK of your puppet
- It's important that all the kids get the back and front straight at the beginning!
On the other side there's a flippy tab (which is typically the bottom of the bag when you're carrying your lunch around...)
- This flippy tab will be the HEAD.
Lift the flippy tab up a bit. Underneath of the tab will be the mouth,
- When the child puts her hand in the bag, she'll be able to make the puppet talk.
Look at the rest of the front of the bag. (The 3/4 or so of the bag below the part with the flippy tab) This will be the BODY.
Look at the sides of the bag. There should be a FLAP of paper.
- We'll be slipping the arms (template 2) into this flap.
- If the kids goof and glue the arms onto the front or back of the bag, it isn't a big deal.
OK, now that we're comfy with our bags, let's craft!

Green Face: Cover the HEAD with green paper (just glue it on and trim) or paint green and let dry.
Glue the mouth underneath the flippy tab so you can see a tiny part of it sticking out when the flap is closed.
Glue the lip onto the HEAD so it meets up with the part of the mouth that is sticking out when the flap is closed (so it looks like the upper and bottom lip match up to make a mouth)
Glue the ears behind the HEAD.
Glue the hair at the top of the HEAD.
Glue the eyes onto the HEAD below the hair. If you like, you can use wiggly eyes instead of the paper template pieces.
Glue the nose under the eyes.
Glue the eyebrows over the eyes.
Glue the bolts under the ears.
Optional: use a black marker to draw a scar or two onto the HEAD..
Glue the arms into the FLAP.
Glue the bow onto the chest
NOTE: the arms and the bow are on template 2. If you feel the project is too big for your child, you can skip the second template and have an armless puppet.

Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).