These types of crafts are those we get the most ‘bang for our buck,’ so to speak. We had some stiffened black felt left over from our Olaf dress up costume and we used those remnants for a set of Halloween shadow puppets. Click through to see all of our adorable new friends and a tutorial, complete with a free printable!
It was the witching hour and I needed something to get the kiddo to dinner without any fussing in between. A quick, no mess craft like these Halloween shadow puppets was the answer. Elise would shout out something that was Halloween-like to her and I would draw it and get her approval before I cut it out of the felt.
I found out two things:
1. A witch’s hat doesn’t look like a hat at all when cut from felt.
2. My daughter is quite picky about what a ghost should look like.
We did this activity as a family just before bed time, but shadow puppets are a great activity for the winter months because it gets dark so early. I tried to capture the fun, but my point and shoot camera is inadequate. And no, it is not my lack of photography skills… :)
There are only a couple of things you need to whip up your own set of Halloween shadow puppets:
- black stiffened felt
- duct tape cut into small pieces
- hole punch and scissors
- bamboo skewers / chopsticks / straws / sticks from the yard
I put together a quick printable of some of the puppets we created even though you most likely won’t need it. As you can guess, the instructions are ridiculously simple. Trace the shapes onto stiffened black felt using chalk and cut them out. I used a hole punch for the eyes. Using your choice of stick, tape the felt to the stick and enjoy!
I had a small, empty meringue powder canister and used that as a holder for these puppets. I lined the top edge in the same red duct tape I used to adhere the felt to the chopsticks. I rifled around in my scraps and found three strips of burlap that fit around the tin, so those won and were Mod-Podged (can I use that as a verb?) to the canister. A few turns of white raffia ribbon and a pair of googly eyes made my mummy Halloween shadow puppets holder complete.
Shameless request for promotion – would you consider sharing this with your friends and followers?
If you’re down this far, you might want to check out some other ‘good-ol-fashioned, non-screen time, witching hour’ fun we’ve had here at Ruffles and Rain Boots.
Where we party: our list of link parties where we’ve shared Ruffles and Rain Boots’ playful creativity. Oh and guess what? Aimee from It’s Overflowing selected this as a feature! We are overflowing with joy that she liked this – she has exquisite taste, of course, so be sure to stop by and visit It’s Overflowing. This project was featured at the On Display Thursday party by both Bre and Carmody – stop by and join the fun!
Noa Ambar Regev says
These look cute and so much fun!
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Thanks so much! Our little one and her friends are still playing with these after a year. We put them into toy rotation and use them as story starters.
It’s amazing how something so simple can be so lasting. Thanks for stopping by and I love your printables!!
Aimee @ItsOverflowing says
I love your cute shadow puppets! Featuring you tomorrow! XO, Aimee – ItsOverflowing.com
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Wow, thank you so much Aimee! See you tomorrow!
Sarah Marchant says
These are super cute! As a kid, I would have been enthralled by them!
Sarah Nenni-Daher says
She really loves them, Sarah. They have been shadow puppets, tea party guests, FROZEN friends and so many more add-ons to her creative days. Thanks for stopping by!
Ashley ~ 3 Little Greenwoods says
I love this super easy and fun Halloween activity! My boys could do this all by themselves! ;)
Pinning!
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Show Me Saturdays! Hope you will link up again this weekend (Saturday mornings at 7:00am EST).
Happy Halloween!
~ Ashley
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Carmody says
Love Love Love!
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Bre @ Average But Inspired says
Sarah, these are totally awesome! Love them! Thanks so much for linking at On Display Thursday. I’m featuring you tonight! – Bre @ Average But Inspired
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Thank you so much, Bre for the feature and for such a great party.
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says
Aww these are so cute! I Pinned it.
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Thanks so much, Melissa! Glad to have connected and I am now following!
Kyla @HouseofHipsters.com says
These are super fun! My kids will love them! Found you on the Flamingo Toes link up!
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Love the Flamingo Toes party, Kyla! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great time with the puppets – we sure are.
Kim says
These are really cute! I am going to show this to my eight year old daughter…for she would probably love to create something like this for her younger brother. Thanks for the idea!
Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Oh, what a sweet girl to be thinking of her younger brother. You’re welcome for the idea, Kim, and thank you for stopping by today!
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! How cute and thanks for sharing at our #SayGdayParty
Please make sure to revisit if you haven’t already to Say G’day to the hosts and another person at the party!
Cheers! Joanne @ What’s On The List Pinned
Joy @ Joy Love Food says
Very cute! I have 2 2-years olds who will love these, my 6 year old will too :) Pinning!
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
So glad you could find them useful, Joy and thank you for pinning!
Jen says
This is brilliant and easy and so dang cute!
It seems like there is that hour in between diner and bedtime where you just plain need something to do. I have oodles of black felt in my craft cabinet and we are so making these tonight.
Thanks for sharing!
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
That witching hour can be brutal, Jen. I’m sure the kids will love it (and we love it because it gets the lights turned off and the mood calmed down a bit before bed).
Kathi Nenni says
These could make great alternatives to sweets for trick or treaters. The look awesomely scary (no, not really)!
Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Haha – Elise had a tea party with her ‘shadow friends’ yesterday. Each of them got cups, saucers, spoons and even pretend ‘pasties.’ I am laughing so hard I’m crying, even when I think about it a day later! :)
We actually are still using these as shadow puppets which is nice, too.
Heather {Woods of Bell Trees} says
These are so cute! My boy LOVES shadow puppets! He’ll be super excited to see these!
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Sarah Nenni-Daher says
Right, Heather?! I didn’t know how well these were going to go over with her, but she is loving them. We’ve used them quite a few times before bed and it really helps to calm down at the end of a long day. I will be making some winter friends for her, I’m sure.