Make a Tube Dude!
One of the easiest puppets you’ll ever make is a Tube Dude. As you can see, I’ve made a lot of Tube Dudes! Now it’s your turn. You can make your Tube Dude however you’d like, but here’s how I do it, in five easy steps.
FIRST: Get the tube. It can be a paper towel tube, toilet paper tube, pencil, stick, paper cup—whatever! Make it light weight, but strong enough to glue on the eyes, nose, and everything.
SECOND: Decide what kind of puppet eyes you want. I like to use buttons, but you can cut out paper, or fabric, or use pompoms, or popcorn…get creative! Use these ideas for the nose, too.
NOTE ABOUT GLUE: You can use white glue, and you could use a hot glue gun, but be careful, and if you’re younger, you might like an adult to help you. That hot glue is HOT!
THIRD: Hair. I think every Tube Dude should have special hair. I like to scrunch up fabric and stuff it down in there. Crumpled paper is good, too. Make it crazy hair! If you wrap Chanille wire around a pencil, it gets springy, and that makes funny hair that wiggles around!
FOURTH: Do a costume if you want to, or add arms and legs, or a smile. How about braids, or flowers, or boots, or a great big hat? All. Up. To. You!
FIFTH: Find your Tube Dude’s personality. Maybe bashful. Maybe happy. A fast runner, or a flying bird, going as high as you can throw it! Or does your Tube Dude have super powers?
The main thing: have fun! Make a bunch of Tube Dudes and put on a puppet show! You’ll feel so good when this wonderful thing happens: People laugh.
Check out my video, “My First Two Puppets” for tons of Tube Dude making ideas! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yowm_g4D7NQ&list=PLpTYQg9y1bKXAz7iUjVICXcOxR3nP-x_3&index=21