Here are 3 of the puppets made by students at Burgmann Anglican School in the October School holidays in 2004. We ran out of time to sew the shoes and hands on. The workshop went from 10-4 over 2 days. To get everything done without rushing, I would change the time to 9-5.

Witch String Puppet.

Using the same skeleton and string system, you can make any puppet you like. This puppet takes longer to make than the clown as the face requires several hours of work. This would probably take two and a half days to make.

Other puppets.

Here are the puppets that were made by St Mary’s students in Crookwell. They can be adapted to any specifications. They are also inexpensive and most are quick to make. The students made the puppets and presented plays to the school at the end of the year.

I bought this large Elmo toy when it was on sale. To turn it into a puppet it made a slit up the back, removed some of the stuffing and inserted a piece of fabric like a large sock and sewed it in place. All he needs is a piece of wire attached to his hands and he becomes a Muppet. Luckily, the head and body were connected so the mouth can be moved. 

Here is a golf club cover that I bought for $10 from Kmart. To turn it into a puppet I slit the lining at the top and sewed in a piece of fabric that let me feel inside the head and mouth.

This a the theatre that I designed and my father built for use with the puppets. This is now available to any of my students who wish to work with puppets. It can also be hired by schools if they wish to use it and the puppets that I have in my collection. It is 200cm tall and 180cm wide but it was designed to fold up and fit in the back of my car. It fits 4 students very comfortably in it and there a some backdrops that can be used: white wall with window and curtain; 2 mountains and a river; a forest; a cityscape; and the moon.

I also have 2 small theatres: one that sits on a table and another small one that stands on its own. They are both for solo puppet use.