How to Make a Groundhog Pop-Up Puppet
Is spring around the corner, or do we have six more weeks of winter? Ask a groundhog and find out! This cute pop-up puppet is simple to make and loaded with personality.
Sock
Scissors
Paper cup
Ballpoint pen
Permanent markers
Hot glue gun
Googly eyes
Rubber bands
1/4" Wooden dowel (3 times the length of your cup)
Before you begin, gather up your materials. While most materials are recyclable and easy to find, it can be hard to find a wooden dowel. You want one that's about 1/4 of an inch thick and at least three times as long as your cup.
Glue the dowel to the inside of the toe of the sock in order to secure it.
Turn the sock inside out with your hand still inside. Spread your fingers wide so that you can place a dot of glue on the toe of the sock and press the end of your dowel into it. Be careful in this step as the hot glue can seep through the fabric and burn fingers.
Roll the sock back down the dowel, right-side-out. To create the ears, pinch the side of the sock until you get a little "poof." Wrap a rubber band around the base of the poof to secure it. Repeat on the opposite side.
Stuff the inside of your sock with stuffing. Make sure to distribute the stuffing all around the dowel so that you get a nice, even, round shape. Be sure not to overstuff your groundhog's head! You want him to fit inside of your cup, so make sure it's no bigger than the bottom of your cup.
Tie a rubber band around the groundhog's "neck" to secure it.
Using your hot glue gun, you can glue on googly eyes, or even a puffball nose!
If you don't have googly eyes or puffballs, you can draw a face on your groundhog using a permanent marker.
If you want to make arms for your groundhog, use the same technique as you did for his ears. Pinch off a bit of sock on the side of the groundhog, and secure the "poof" with a rubber band.
Poke a pen or something sharp through the center of the bottom of your cup to make a hole.
Poke the end of your dowel through the hole in the cup so that the groundhog goes inside the cup, as shown in the picture.
To hide the inner workings of your puppet, you're going to secure the base of the sock to the top of the cup. Place a line of hot glue at the rim of the cup and carefully stretch the fabric over it.
Continue around the rim of the cup, so that the base of the sock is glued to the outside of the cup.
Once all the glue is dry, it's time to play! By pulling down on your dowel, the groundhog hides inside the cup!
Push up on the dowel, and the groundhog pops right out! Does he see his shadow?
You can also make a pop-up bunny instead of a groundhog. You can glue big floppy ears to the top of your bunny's head, and use a paper plate to create a brim around the cup. Cover it in black paper or duct tape and you have a magician's top hat with a magically appearing bunny!
