Halloween shadow puppets

remember if you cannot be trusted with scissors or are under 8 years of age please get a responsible adult to help you!

you will need;

•  construction paper
• black poster paint 
• paint brush 
• scissors
• glue
• transparent or white drinking straws
• scotch tape
• hole punch 
• craft knife
• white fabric or thin sheet of paper
• string
• lamp
• optional cellophane

STEPS 

1.first start with some templates which you can draw or find our print out sheets.

think about how you want your characters to look, remember it's your story so be as creative as you like. find books or use images on the internet to be your source of inspiration. 

2. next cut each individual character out.

3. hole punch any features you wish to emphasize  these would be facial features such as eyes, nose and mouth. or letter on superheroes or stars or patterns.

4. next use the black poster paint to paint each of your characters, this will turn them into silhouettes. Take extra care not to paint over furniture remember to lay down old newspaper or scrap paper before you start to paint. and wash your hands before you touch anything else. you may also wish to put an apron or old painting shirt before you start too.  most poster paint is water soluble meaning it will wash out but check on your paint bottle first as some vary. 

5. let your painted characters dry 

6. if you wish to give your characters eyes colour for an extra spooky effect then add some colored cellophane over the back of the character where their eyes are located. to add pupils either paint a blob on the front of the cellophane or cut small circles of paper using the hole punch and paint then black (let the paint dry before you touch it and be careful when gluing.) 

7. using the scotch tape attach your clear or white drinking straw to the back of your characters.

this is how you will move your silhouettes. 

if you need a longer handle then attach two straws end to end using some tape. 

 8. to make a screen use some thin white fabric or a sheet of thin white paper or maybe tracing paper if you have any. cut is to the desired size.

9. if you want to add some back ground to your story try cutting some shapes such as a moon or trees and hedges and attaching them to one side of your screen.

10. tape the shapes you have cut to the front of the screen

11. this a view from the audience prospective meaning this is the side of the screen the audience will see. 

    this is the side of the screen the puppeteer (you)  will see. 

the finished product